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Kuni: A Japanese Vision and Practice for Urban-Rural Reconnection Paperback – October 18, 2022

by Tsuyoshi Sekihara (Author), Richard McCarthy (Author), Kathleen Finlay (Foreword)

4.7 9 ratings

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“Reading Kuni makes me want to dive into rural Japan...this book reminds me that leaders emerge when and where you least expect it.”
— ALICE WATERS, founder of Chez Panisse restaurant, activist, and author

A guide to reviving and revitalizing forgotten places and communities through the Japanese principles of kuni

Kuni offers a unique model for the revitalization of rural and deindustrialized lands and communities--and shares lessons in citizen-led regeneration for all of us, regardless of where we live.

“Kuni” is both a reimagining of the Japanese word for nation and an approach to reviving communities. It shows what happens when dedicated people band together and invest their hearts, minds, and souls back into a community, modeling a new way of living that actually works. A kuni can be created anywhere--even a hamlet on the verge of extinction--and embodies 7 key principles:

Everyone is equal in a kuni

Kuni is equipped with a Regional Management Organization--a democratic organization that takes care of small public services

Kuni is a link between residents and repeat visitors

Life in a kuni is circular--consumption and production are in balance

Kuni embraces the whole person

Kuni can be a place for young people who seek interconnectedness

The time for kuni is now

Kuni offers a compelling vision of regenerative relationships that can take root in the United States--and anywhere. With spare and beautiful prose and useful principles for reviving rural places, this book addresses our longing for a hopeful revolution of everyday life.

Print length

176 pages
Language

English
Publisher

North Atlantic Books
Publication date

October 18, 2022
Dimensions

5.53 x 0.46 x 8.49 inches
ISBN-10

1623177316
ISBN-13

978-1623177317
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From the Publisher

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From the Book

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The natural beauty of rural Japan’s mountainous rice villages continues to be one of the primary assets on which locals can still trade. Located in the mountains, the community is only twenty minutes away from the Sea of Japan.	One of the commitments the Regional Management Organization makes to the elderly population of the region is to deliver food during the winter, when it is unsafe for seniors to venture out for food.	In Japan, rural communities possess beautiful yet dilapidated housing. Many are one and two-hundred-year-old farmhouses. In rural Joetsu, they are slowly being renovated to serve current community needs: as community centers, short-term rentals, restaurants, museums, and housing for those who remain.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Reading Kuni makes me want to dive into rural Japan. Heartbreaking in many ways, this book reminds me that leaders emerge when and where you least expect it.”
—ALICE WATERS, founder of Chez Panisse restaurant, activist, and author

“Mr. Tsuyoshi Sekihara is not a scholar. But in a different era, he would have been.... If society understands the value of his work, it will be a sign that it has become a little better.”
—KUMI SEIKE, professor at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

“We need more kuni—healing and bridging between people divided by geography. From Japan to the Americas, forgotten rural communities desperately need new paths to forge a future.”
—RICARDO SALVADOR, senior scientist and director of the Food and Environment Program at the
Union of Concerned Scientists

“What are the universal values common to all humanity? In a kuni—a place full of vitality and where humans have pride and free will—individuals continually engage in courageous practice and never cease to question their work. In Tsuyoshi Sekihara’s new theory of kuni, we find signs of light that will help us survive in this difficult time.”
—TAKAO AOKI, board chair of KODO Group/ Kitamaesen Co., Ltd.

“This is a much-needed and hugely attractive idea—or set of ideas—for overcoming the rural/urban divide, which sadly does exist and usually breeds a lack of understanding that goes both ways.”
—DEBORAH MADISON, cookbook author and chef

“I am immensely proud of Kuni. This book is the outcome of a multi-year US-Japan rural exchange program and is a testament to how exchange programs can positively impact international dialogue and understanding and help innovative leaders see their work in new, illuminating, and fresh ways. Kudos to Richard McCarthy and Tsuyoshi Sekihara, who generously wrote this book so that others working on the rural-urban divide can benefit from their expertise and experience.”
—AMBASSADOR MOTOATSU SAKURAI, president emeritus of Japan Society, Inc.

“This remarkable East meets West manifesto for the best of an enlightened globalization may bring us all back to where we should be: home. Sekihara and McCarthy urge us to return home, to defend fragile rural places that our criminal food system plunders. Best read over rice dishes.”
—CARLO PETRINI, founder of Slow Food

“In Kuni, we witness how valuable community-level exchanges between the United States and Japan can be to facilitate sharing of lessons learned and best practices on common challenges facing our two countries. As two innovative leaders of their respective societies, McCarthy and Sekihara not only help shed light on a key issue of concern shared by the United States and Japan, but also encourage us all that important ideas and experiences are being shared between the two countries to strengthen urban-rural ties and help rural communities thrive. Their collaboration is an exceptional manifestation of sub-national exchanges that form a strong foundation for an enduring US-Japan relationship, and will also be a significant resource for rural revitalization efforts in communities around the world.”
—KAZUYO KATO, executive director of Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA)

“Richard McCarthy is one the most playful and ground-breaking thought leaders in the Americas.”
—GARY NABHAN, ethnobotanist and author

About the Author

TSUYOSHI SEKIHARA is founder of the Kamiechigo Yamazato Fan Club, a community development organization focused on the holistic revival of Japan’s rural areas. Under Sekihara’s leadership, Kamiechigo became a program model for Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. In 2019, he traveled to New York City to feature in three days of symposia at the Japan Society. For 25+ years, RICHARD MCCARTHY has played both hyper local and global roles in growing community through food. His innovations include: a workers’ cooperative with public housing residents; the nation’s first farmers market health incentive pilots; and an international research fellowship to measure the human, social, and financial capital in community markets. McCarthy’s work has become increasingly global through partnerships with the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development, Project for Public Spaces, and Slow Food. He is a frequent public speaker, author, and organizer of conferences, symposia, and festivals.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ North Atlantic Books (October 18, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1623177316
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1623177317
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.53 x 0.46 x 8.49 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #489,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #20 in Regional Politics Planning
- #198 in Asian & Asian Descent Studies
- #302 in Sustainable Agriculture (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 9 ratings

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Richard McCarthy
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Richard McCarthy is an author, speaker and community development specialist who sees food as a pivotal organizing tool. Devoted to the theory that behavior change comes first, he has recently published his first book with co-author Tsuyoshi Sekihara of Niigata, Japan: KUNI, A Japanese Vision and Practice for Urban-Rural Reconnection on North Atlantic Books.
He serves as the Provisional President for the newly-formed World Farmers Markets Coalition based in Rome in order to grow the capacity of farmers markets internationally. He also serves on the board of Slow Food International.
Founder of the New Orleans practitioners’ think tank devoted to public markets for public good — Market Umbrella and its flagship Crescent City Farmers Market in 1995, he played a pivotal role in rebuilding the regional food community after the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster. He served as the Executive Director for Slow Food USA, President and co-founder of the US Farmers Market Coalition, where he piloted and expanded the use of health incentive programs in farmers markets.
Born in Europe, raised in New Orleans, educated in the United Kingdom, he lives with his family in both urban and rural New York. He received his BA from Richmond University in London, and his Msc from the London School of Economics.
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Tsuyoshi Sekihara
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4.7 out of 5

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Sally

City and Country---stronger together!

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2022

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I loved this book!
The Urban-Rural Reconnection is happening all over America.
Learning how they are doing this in Japan made me recognize this movement here and gave me ideas of how this could help my community. Richard's story of New Orleans and their rural-urban connection was a fantastic illustration.
A great read and a fabulous gift for anyone wanting to understand how these two communities are complementary rather than foreign to one another.

2 people found this helpful

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TRW

Lessons from Japan

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2022

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Fascinating case study that demonstrates the power of one individual to enhance the lives of many, including his own. Translating this Japanese success to American and European sensibilities is inspiring and actionable.

This is a must read for those interested in strengthening community, urbanism, sustainability and self determination.

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Will Szal

An Exploration of a Fundamental Development Pattern

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024

This book is co-written by Sekihara (Japanese) and McCarthy (American).

Kuni is a Japanese word that traditionally means "nation," but can also mean "community." Sekihara has claimed it to describe the urban-rural model he has been pioneer in Japan.

I've long been mulling over the structure of civilization. One of the basic patterns involves the relationships between urban and rural. These distribution patterns often follow other factors, such as watersheds (cities are often found where rivers converge, or where a river meets the ocean). You can't understand cities without understanding their rural surroundings, and vice versa. For example, the notable cuisine of a city is informed by the food systems that surrounding it (agriculture, fisheries, etc.).

As a child, I thought there were rural people and urban people. As I've grown, I've learned that time spent in urban and rural places lives on a continuum. Some people might be 90% rural, 10% urban, others 50:50, and still others 10:90. For example, people living in rural places might go to the city to go to a hospital, to catch a plane, or to go to the opera. People living in urban areas might go to the countryside for vacation, for recreation, or for a retreat.

Sekihara looks at these patterns in the Japanese context. Demographically, Japan is one of the most urban and oldest countries. This means that despite their national pride for rural culture, their villages are in collapse. Sekihara has been developing ways to build meaningful and functional relationships between villages and cities.

One example offered in the book involves traditional rice production. The village only sells rice to one hundred urban purchasers. The purchasers are paying substantially above "market" price, so as to subsidize a traditional way of life. But with this purchase, they gain the insurance the village offers in the face of disaster; if there is an earthquake, etc. the village will give them room and board until it is safe for them to go home again. I find this a fascinating way to offer a bundled product that is relevant in a time of war and climate chaos.

If I have one criticism of the book, it is that it is too short! I would love to hear more stories both from Sekihara and McCarthy, and would be excited to explore how these concepts might be developed in the US context.

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Kuni: A Japanese Vision and Practice for Urban-Rural Reconnection Paperback – October 18, 2022

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