Angelove Estate

The next stage of my kanpyo journey took me to the Tochigi Prefecture. The current home of 99% of kanpyo production in Japan. Understanding where and how kanpyo was made was another integral part of my Japan journey. After finishing with Kiyoshi-san in Ginza, the production team and I drove over two hours outside of Tokyo to Mibu-chou, where we were going to spend the rest of shoot schedule. I was finally going to see a farm that cultivates yugao or fukube, as it is referred to regionally.

We were up bright and early to meet the aptly named, Tochigi family… multiple generations with Kinue-san, the matriarch at a spry 88. She has been actively involved with the farming and manufacturing of kanpyo for over 80 years. The current head farmer, is her son the charismatic Isao-san. The entire clan waited for me with signs welcoming my arrival. I was completely overwhelmed by the spectacle, but I guess it makes good televisions.

We wasted no time getting into the swing of things. I was given a hat and sweat towel by Isao-san’s daughter Sayaka-san and put to work. Our task was to collect all the fukube for tomorrow. Isao went through the field selecting the perfect 6-7kg gourds. He cut them and the younger tweens and teens helped to bring them from the vine to the road in between the plots. 

Barreling towards us in an adorable little pick-up truck was another octogenarian, and Aunt to Isao-san, Mei-san. She and her lifelong friend Tami-chan, also in her 80’s were the glue holding the operation together. As Mei-san drove the truck, we started filling it with the fukube. Our goal was at least 150-200… 

At some point, I was asked to select some fukube and cut them from the vine, with the help of Hibiki-san, Rilika-san, and Issa-san. Of all the younger kids in the Tochigi family, Hibiki-san, at 11 routinely came by the farm after school and baseball practice to help out. As many of the young people, leave agriculture for life in the big city. The cottage industry that is kanpyo is declining… Hopefully, kids like Hibiki are the future.

After we had loaded the entire truck, we went to drop them off in the tent. This is where I had my first lesson in how to shave the gourds. There is spinning wheel, which I got to use to shave the fukube into the dried strips that become kanpyo. I am a bit of a afraid of power tools… a scaredy cat when it comes to mechanical things… weed trimmers, drills, chainsaws… no thank you. So having a camera on my while I was attempting to shave large 6-7kg gourd brought out my uncoordinated side. The look on my face pretty much says it all.

Once we finished our agricultural work for the day, we went to the family’s restaurant Tochigi-ya. A local haunt known for its fried chicken. I was going to learn different recipes and ways to use kanpyo besides a maki roll. In the kitchen I was cooking with Emiliya-san & Akiko-san. We were making a roll with tamagio, kanpyo and cucumber with funky fish sprinkles… The next was kara aga, or deep fried marinated kanpyo. I couldn’t help but think that the kanpyo kara aga would well well in a roll. Like a tempura roll, but with kanpyo. They told me that no one had ever tried that… so I set to work, using the left over ingredients to create this special roll as a surprise for the family. 

My kara aga kanpyo roll.

Once we were finished it was time to get ready for the party. I wasn’t quite sure exactly what was going to take place, but there certainly many more people than earlier. When I arrived in the room there were at least 50 people all family members. I was the guest of honor and it was overwhelming. I couldn’t believe that this was all arranged for me.

It is Japanese custom that you don’t pour your own drink, you always pour for others and my cup runith over… beer, sake, plum wine… I couldn’t kampai fast enough… I definitely got Bulgarian Nazdrave vibes. Speeches were made and lots of food was eaten… I have never seen so many different preparations of kanpyo and I love everyone. My brain was spinning.

As the party progressed, it came to the time in the evening for karaoke. I somehow knew that there might be a chance that I would need to sing, so I did think of a few songs in advance. First up was Isao-san. He picked a classic song by his Idol the famous Japanese rocker E-chan… The Tochigi farm was almost shrine to the enigmatic singer. As a member of the E-chan fan club… Isao-san had a special towel that he wore while listening to his music and tending to the fukube. 

So it was an obvious choice that he would perform one of his songs. This particular song had an audience participation component, where at a certain point we will chant “heyhey” and twirl our napkins… despite the copious amount of libations that flowed in my direction… I got into the groove rather quickly.

When it was my turn… I was thinking of doing Tina Turner Proud Mary, but it wasn’t an options, so I found another classic, Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. A wonderful song that also reminds me of my late Aunt Caroline. When I mentioned that to Isao-san, he told me about his sister that he lost earlier in the year to cancer. The next song we did together. It was her favorite. Hey Jude. It was very emotional… 

While the party continued on into the night… I left around 10pm. We started work at 5am the next morning and I couldn’t party like a rockstar. I bid everyone my farewell and collapse from exhaustion in my hotel.

The next day was going to be the busiest, which I couldn’t imagine considering our first shooting day was so full on. When we arrived around 6 the Tochigi farm was operating at max capacity. Isao-san was hard at work shaving the fukube and Mei-san and Tami-chan were working to collect the strips of fresh kanpyo to hang in the aerated green house. It was time consuming and tricky work. The strands of kanpyo varied and length and were very slippery. It wasn’t always easy getting them to stay on the polls. It wasn’t like herding cats, it was like herding snakes. The kanpyo had a mind of its own.

Once Isao-san finished shaving the 150-ish fukube from the day before, and all the kanpyo was hung-up, we had time for breakfast. It was another kanpyo inspired meal. A soup with egg and kanpyo and a soy and rice pocket tied with a kanpyo bow. It was all delicious, as usual. It was nice sitting down with everyone and enjoying a traditional breakfast with everyone on the kanpyo crew.

After breakfast, we drove around so Koki-san could get some additional footage. We did some drone shots of me walking over a bridge and arriving in Mibu-chou. There was something big happening tonight, but I didn’t know what it was. Isao-san gifted me with a yukata, a traditional ensemble, not as formal as a kimono, but equally gorgeous… I was going to be dressed up for the evenings festivities.

With some time to relax, Isao-san’s uncle Masai-san brought me to the sports barn, which was outfitted as a driving range and batting cage. It was quite a cool feature to the farm. The Tochigi family are crazy about baseball and golf. While I am not an avid golfer, I like to play and try to play with my Dad in NY whenever I get the chance. With the cameras rolling we went to the indoor putting green and hits some balls. I didn’t do half bad, but I was no match for Masai-san. Thinking we were finished we then started doing some driving. It was so cool. I really had a blast and learned some valuable tips for my next golf session with my Dad.

It was late in the afternoon and now that play time was over, we needed to finish with the kanpyo. They had dried all afternoon and now they needed to be moved and combined to finish drying overnight. It involved moistening with a power sprayer, similar to one that we use in the distillery for the cherries and systematic tapping and stacking of the poles to make 4 in 1. Isao-san’s daughter Sayaka-san helped me to go through the rows and make sure that everything was spaced properly and unstuck. 

After the kanpyo would continue trying and would be collected at the end of the day to be packaged for sale. After seeing the entire process unfold from farm to table, I have a new respect and deeper understanding not only of traditional Japanese enterprise and the people responsible for keeping the kanpyo tradition alive. 

After work, we headed back to the Tochigi’s restaurant Tochigi-ya. We weren’t cooking, but I was about the get the full dress-up treatment. I was escorted to the back room with all the women beautifully dressed in the yukata’s. The colors and patters were breathtaking. They first started with my hair and decorated my tresses with custom made clips, just for me… then the task of dressing me was next. Because the show was to air on the “Golden Hour” they needed to tame my breasts. They stuffed me with bath towels below and between my cleavage to make me look even larger than I already was. I took a photo to show Angel the numbers bath towels that they wrapped around me. It was quite funny. After all the primping and fussing, I was ready. I felt gorgeous… ginormous, but gorgeous. Another component was that I also needed to learn the traditional kanpyo dance. I was given about 10 minutes of a tutorial before I was sent out to the masses. I still wasn’t entirely sure what was coming, but I would be doing it in traditional wooden sandals, mens of course.

I was guided outside in the dark and around the back of the restaurant where the entire town greeted me and dressed for a kanpyo festival. Technically the festival was to be held on the 26th of August, but they re-created the festival for my benefit. It was amazing. I don’t think I will fully be able to express what it was like to see an entire town gather in your honor… true maybe people just want to be on television, but everyone was dressed up and ready to celebrate the honorable fukube. Once the dancing start… I was quickly dragged into the fray, despite my 10 minute tutorial, I quickly picked up the dance. It was the Japanese version of the horo, but I was also twirling a hat. It was sweltering and the sweat was pouring off me. I was having a fantastic time. Even thinking about it fills me with joy and emotion. We danced and played games and took photos… It was magical evening.

At the end of the night, I reluctantly had to say good bye. While many of the towns people, I would never see again… I knew in the morning, I would have to say goodbye to the rest of the Tochigi family, Isao-san, my feisty octogenarians and the rest of the amazing people that made my experience life changing. 

It was finally time to exchange our gifts. I had brought rakia, soap and small vials of Bulgarian rose oil in wooden dolls. I also had some Kyustendil postcards. There were so many people, I couldn’t decide how to gift and thank everyone for the kindness they had showed me. I surprised myself, when I started crying while saying good bye. How could people I have only known for three days feel like family. I felt such a connection, such compassion for the Tochigi family. I want to see them all again. I hope that my life path leads me back to Japan, but this time with my family. Mei-san at 82 promised she would stay alive to wait for my return. I hope I don’t disappoint her.