Working the earth with your own two hands isn't exactly the type of activity that many of us would choose to don our Sunday best for. It probably wouldn't even occur to most people to bother primping or preening because it's not as if the crops really care how you look. Farming is a dirty business after all, with dust swirling in the air, the sun beating down on your neck and endless acres to plow, fertilize, weed, water and harvest. Breaking a sweat is just part of the process but Japanese model, singer and fashionista farm girl pioneer Shiho Fujita is intent on proving that you don't have to be schlumpy to show the land who's boss. Why would a twenty-something have any interest in digging in the dirt? Her motivation happens to be one part damage control, one part fresh green entrepreneurial spirit.
The leader of this new female-targeted farming subculture set out to revamp the public's perception of what Japanese gals or ganguro gyaru are really all about. Prior to Fujita's one-woman-campaign, gyaru were perceived as merely just living in the moment and lacking any real academic or life goals, plus their tendency to sport a perpetually tanned look and overall focus on vanity led to the general impression by society that they were not to be taken seriously. Determined to give this segment of the population a complete makeover so that their true values could shine, Fujita established herself as a prolific blogger which then yielded her a huge following and she cleverly encouraged her fans (the majority of which were fashion-conscious teens) to join her on her gyaruo farm.
In addition to penning a book on gal farming and designing a line of farm-yet-fashion-worthy overalls, the newly minted green thumb spends one day each week cultivating 24 hectares of rice fields in the village of Ogata, Akita Prefecture Mizuho along with her enthusiastic farm-fashionista cohorts (called nogyaru, a hybrid of the Japanese words "nojyo" or farm and "gyaru" or girl/gal). True to their roots, the girls show up for their service dressed to the nines, with full makeup, nails and hair arranged just so and the final product of their labors -- Shibuya Rice - is now sold online.
Japanese farming has become somewhat of a dying art in recent years (close to 50% of the country's farmers are over 70 years of age) so this new nogyaru subculture could very well give the discipline a much-needed shot in the arm. Studies have found that generation Y perceives farming as a creative, rustic and generally hip activity, something that the government must be immensely relieved about since within the last two decades, the amount of abandoned farmland has tripled. Of critics who question her commitment and intentions, Fujita has said, "I'm just standing at the starting line. I believe that Japan's agri-scene won't change unless young people are motivated." This year, she intends to augment her rice crops with paired vegetable and flower plantings and hopes sometime in the future to expand her gal farmer concept overseas.
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