2025Journal articleFree to read
YUKUN, HE, HE, YUZHONG, Kiyoyama, Yohei, Ishida, Shigeyuki, Hama-cha Co-Creation Team
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
This paper documents a "non-predefined" field practice conducted from 2024–2025 concerning Hama-cha, a traditional tencha (raw material for matcha) cultivated on the sandy riverbanks of the Kizu River in Kyoto. This Japanese cultural heritage practice is currently threatened by labor aging and persistent operational difficulties. The research began not with a predetermined plan, but with an incidental interview with a local farmer, Mr. Ishida. The study details the researchers' process of navigating "ambiguous field entry," where accessing tacit knowledge was difficult as farmers prioritized production over dialogue. It also addresses the "uncertainty of the problem-solving pathway," as both farmers and researchers recognized the labor shortage but lacked clear solutions. To bridge the gap between the researchers' goal (accessing tacit knowledge) and the farmers' needs (alleviating labor shortages) , the authors proposed a "Third Question". This concept was operationalized through a Hama-cha Tea-picking Process Manual (MVP Handbook Production Plan). This "Minimum Viable Product" (MVP) was designed as a minimal collaborative structure to lower the entry barrier for external participants and create an acceptable "collaboration interface". This proposal successfully enabled deep engagement, allowing the researchers to participate in and document on-site operations, including spring pruning and the first-flush (ichiban-cha) mechanical harvest. The paper introduces "Distributed Co-Creation" as a theoretical framework, a model where actors with divergent goals can collaborate on a shared prototype without requiring consensus. This approach aims to build new connections deemed essential for the cultural sustainability of urban agriculture. This work is part of the Just Grow…
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Study type
Agronomy / cultivation
Growing, shading and harvesting tea for matcha.
Assigned automatically from the title, abstract and subject terms.
Topics
Matcha is mentioned in passing here (named in the abstract).
YUKUN, HE, HE, YUZHONG, Kiyoyama, Yohei, Ishida, Shigeyuki, Hama-cha Co-Creation Team. (2025). Hama-cha Field Note (2024–2025): A Non-Planned Engagement in Cultural Sustainability of Urban Agriculture. Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17531993
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17531993
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