As DJ CO-MA, he won the DMC WORLD FINAL at the age of 26 and the IDA WORLD FINAL at the age of 29, holding two major titles in the DJ world.
Using frustration as a springboard
Dedicated to rice farming
Hironobu Komagata, a 42-year-old farmer who mainly grows rice and watermelons in the Okuwabara district of Minamiuonuma City, is still considered a young farmer. He has an unusual career history, having been active in industries completely unrelated to agriculture, including winning the world DJ championship in his twenties. However, when he began to feel that his talent as a DJ was reaching its limits, he discovered rice farming.
"After winning the world championship, I continued to compete in other competitions, but the results were not as I had hoped, and my passion for DJing began to wane. That's when I discovered rice farming. My parents were farmers, so I took over and took on the challenge of growing rice in earnest.
The first thing I did after taking over was to enter a rice contest. I wanted to see how delicious our rice was. But the results were disappointing."
As expected, even novice farmers were no match for the rice contest, which brought together experts from all over the country.
"Frustrated, I tried for several years to produce even tastier rice, but the results were not great. So I went to ask local veteran farmers for advice and got them drunk at drinking parties called meetings to get information (laughs). One of the young farmers I became friends with at those parties was Seki Tomoharu of Seki Farm. He is a rice-growing expert whom I call my mentor, and he wins numerous awards every year. We were close in age, so we quickly became friends, and he taught me all kinds of things, from the basics to advanced techniques, from how to water and weed. One of the things that was particularly helpful was the existence of bokashi fertilizer. Bokashi fertilizer is a fertilizer made by fermenting organic fertilizers such as rice bran and animal manure, and I learned that this is the secret to making delicious rice. Of course, I wasn't taught the entire mixture, so I experimented with various bokashi fertilizers and created my own."
Minamiuonuma rice, grown in mineral-rich water, has a strong aroma, firm grains, and a distinct sweetness.
Perhaps due to repeated trial and error and the use of bokashi fertilizer, the rice won the highest gold award at the 17th Japan's Best Rice Contest in Shizuoka in 2020. In 2021, it won a special award at the 23rd International Rice Taste Analysis and Appraisal Competition (hereinafter referred to as the Taste Contest), making it a series of impressive achievements.
"I was really happy to finally get a result in the tasting contest that I had been aiming for. However, I have yet to win the gold medal, so I would like to get closer to the ideal taste that I am aiming for."
What does Komagata consider to be the ideal taste? "First of all, the aroma, and then sweetness. Above all, I think it's rice that's packed with umami. A taste where the original flavor of the rice spreads throughout your mouth. This is difficult to achieve because the way the umami comes out varies depending on the ingredients in the bokashi fertilizer. Bokashi fertilizer gives off a refined aroma and flavor rather than a strong taste. Adding seafood-based fertilizer can make the flavor even stronger, so I'm trying to find the balance that will give me the taste I want."
Komagata's rice fields are located at the foot of a deep forest. Underground water, which has seeped in from melting snow, flows into the fields.
For rice cultivation
The benefits of snow are immeasurable
The water that flows through the rice fields of Minamiuonuma is underground water that has melted from the snow that has accumulated on the mountains and seeped into the bedrock over many years. As a result, the water is rich in minerals and contains plenty of nutrients from the earth. It is said that Minamiuonuma Koshihikari rice grows by absorbing this water, making it delicious. Komagata has his own theory about the relationship between snow and rice.
"It snows often in this town, but because we're at such a high altitude that it snows, the temperature difference between day and night is large. The difference in temperature during the ripening period when the rice ears are forming leads to tastier rice, so I think the temperature difference that comes with being at a high altitude is a benefit for rice cultivation. I also think it gets the microorganisms under the snow active. When the temperature drops below zero, the lactic acid bacteria and other microorganisms that help build soil don't become active, but the temperature under the snow never drops below zero. So I think that even while the snow is piled up, the microorganisms are still active to some extent, creating good soil."
Currently, there are 2827 rice farming entities in Minamiuonuma, but there are not many farmers who apply to contests and continue to take on the challenge like Komagata. What does he think about the significance of growing rice in Minamiuonuma?
"Minamiuonuma is blessed with all the elements needed to produce delicious rice, such as soil, a basin topography with large temperature differences, and abundant meltwater. And the rice always carries the Minamiuonuma brand. But rather than taking advantage of the brand and the fact that all the conditions are met to produce rice haphazardly, I want to keep working hard to bring the rice closer to my ideal flavor, one that I personally consider delicious."
