Interesting Books & Favorites | Economics, Information, and Cultural Anthropology through the Lens of Fermentation [Rooted in Local Climate]

An environment good for microbes is also a good environment for humans

Fermentation is incredibly profound. Miso, soy sauce, vinegar, natto, nukazuke (rice bran pickles), bread, yogurt, kusaya, narezushi, katsuobushi, black tea... In oceans, mountains, rivers, and remote islands, unique fermentation cultures unparalleled anywhere else in the world have been passed down in tiny villages with populations of only a few thousand.

Why is fermentation a travel destination?

Soy sauce and miso breweries, sake breweries, wineries, and breweries. I often choose fermentation as a travel destination. I hadn't been able to put the reason into words well, but I found the answer in "Japan Fermentation Travelogue".

What is needed for fermentation is a place rich in nature with clean water and air, located at a transportation hub, and where the history of the land is etched.

An environment good for microbes is also a good environment for humans

With that in mind, here are 3 books that re-examine things through "fermentation". Through disciplines that seem unrelated to fermentation—"economics," "cultural anthropology," and "informatics"—we look at lives rooted in the local climate.

Not "making" miso, but "becoming" miso

The 'perishable' economy discovered by a rural bakery

From an money-centered 'non-perishable' economy to a 'perishable' economy that repeats fermentation

Money does not return to the soil even after time passes. It is eternally "non-perishable". On the contrary, it continues to increase indefinitely through "profits" gained from investments and "interest" from lending and borrowing money. This "non-perishable" money creates the absurdity of capitalism.

From a 'non-perishable' economy to a 'perishable' economy to

When the environment is set and "bacteria" grow, food moves toward "fermentation". Similarly, when "people" grow, work moves toward "fermentation". In contrast to the capitalist structure of making "food" (products) cheaper to make "work" (labor) cheaper, if both people and bacteria are nurtured with rich vitality, their potential is fully realized. Instead of the "

money worship" of the economy, move toward "bacteria worship". Instead of taking out "loans" for work, conduct business by borrowing the power of local bacteria, or "bacterial loans". Instead of a "gold standard", move toward a "bacteria standard". From macroeconomics to the microeconomics of running a bakery.

A book that provides insight into the "economy" through "fermentation".

Nazo-doko: An Editorial Technique Where Thoughts Ferment

"Information" lacks "nature"

An economic system that prioritizes profit can never lead to a rich culture. What is needed is a "natural information medium" that aligns with the rhythms that humans inherently possess as biological beings.

Countless microorganisms (= users) wriggle within diverse nutrient sources of rice bran (= digital information), fermenting (= remixing, brushing up) them to produce delicious fermented foods (= new works, information)...

Just like a rice bran bed that returns flavorful pickles through fermentation when vegetables are added, a vessel that returns questions as material to advance thinking when knowledge is input—a bed that nurtures mysteries (= mystery bed).

In today's environment where all information can be obtained instantly, how we can generate essential mysteries and questions becomes the most important thing.

Fermentation Cultural Anthropology

Unraveling the mysteries of culture and technology related to human life through fermentation

Fermentation culture is also local culture. From small regional cities to farming and fishing villages, there is a fermentation culture nurtured by the climate and culture of each mountain, plain, sea, and river.

Sake, miso, soy sauce, koji, yeast, indigo, and lactic acid bacteria. Humans have developed culture by mastering the power of fermentation, which is the power of microorganisms. In contrast to the idea that the human "mind" was established and a human singularity occurred when writing was invented in ancient Asia, this is the concept that humans reached a singularity the moment they discovered and mastered microorganisms and fermentation.

「Homo Fermentum」

A grand concept that humanity has evolved into beings that ferment microorganisms. A book that discusses climate, society, economy, art, and the future from the keywords of "fermentation" and "microorganisms."

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