All countries have their defining flowers, Dutch tulips, the English rose, for example. Today we associate Japan with the Cherry blossom, or maybe the Chrysanthemum, but for about 300 years, the Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) was a major player in Japanese agricultural-economy.
Once grown all over the country as a major cash crop, today it is only properly grown in the iconic Tachiya River valley in Yamagata prefecture, where locals liked to bring impressed Imperial and Shogunate officials to view the endless fields of orange flowers from the mountain.
The flower arrived in Japan via Korea, according to tradition, in 538 A.D. It had come a long way from its origin on the shores of the rive Nile in Egypt (it probably made its way via the silk route together with Roman Imperial glassware which has also been found in Japan).
Safflower, called benibara, was used primarily in make up (its red color was perfect for lipstick and rouge because like balm it did not dry or damage the skin), cooking and lighting oil, fabric dye, ink, spice, medicine, etc. everything except the roots. But the petals was king.
Growing safflower and harvesting the seeds was an incredibly sensitive and labor intensive activity. A hectare of flowers yielded only 12kg of dried petals, which packed as cakes was transported by horse (almost no-one used horses in agriculture or transport) and boat to market.
Really high quality safflower, can only be harvested in July from the first glimmer of sunrise until the sun has dried the morning dew. This is why the Tachiya river valley in Yamagata was the perfect spot: every summer morning it is covered in thick fog rising from the river.
The commercial growing of safflower started in 6th c. but really took off in early 17th c. when peace meant people had time and money to spend on colors, beauty. When cheaper chemical dyes were invented in 19th c. the tradition almost died out. Today it is a protected heritage.
Bonus: there is a funny story about the poet Hachiemon Suzuki (1651-1722), also a wealthy safflower merchant, who when having arrived by boat to his warehouse in Tokyo was told by a delegation of local merchants that they were boycotting him due to his high prices, returned to...
...his ship and promptly burned his entire cargo, worth millions, in front of the merchants. When the horrible news got out prices of safflower skyrocketed all over the city. However, the clever Hachiemon had bluffed by only burning bales of dirty laundry. Obviously he ended up..
...making a fortune, most of which he spent by promptly renting every brothel and courtesan in the city, for three days, ordering them only to get some much needed sleep. For his tricking of the merchants and lavish spending on the prostitutes, he became an instant folk hero.

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More from @wrathofgnon

23 Apr
So how do we fix unsustainable cities and suburbs? How do we go back from the machine scale to the human scale? In the same way that a one-size-fits-all sort of lifestyle was imposed on our cities, there are going to be as many solutions as there are cities and developments...
...a combination of leading by example, studying the past while trying to put ourselves in the shoes of those coming after us. Both carrots and whips. There is no need to raze and rebuild, rather we should consolidate, and stop subsidizing that which can't be sustained.
Good cities are always built on the human scale, useful to anyone regardless of age or possession of a driver's license, and have access to sun and water to some degree. Apart from that they can differ, a city in Algeria will look and work differently from a city in Ecuador.
Read 8 tweets
20 Apr
Three myths of cars:
1. Without cars we can't get around.
It is because of all the space devoted to cars and car infrastructure that we need them to get around in the first place. Traditional cities are compact and usable by anyone on foot or wheel.
Three myths of cars:
2. It would take draconian rules to rid our cities of cars.
It is because of draconian rules that we can't build the kind of neighborhoods and cities where we don't need them: try going against your city zoning laws, building codes, traffic regulations etc.
3. We need cars for the large populations of cities.
Modern cities typically devote 55% of their surface space to parking, and less than 2-3% to homes and housing. Add traffic infrastructure to this and you end up with what we have now: cities built for cars.
Read 4 tweets
14 Apr
Beautiful 3D reconstruction of the acropolis of Pergamon, one of the largest cities of the ancient world. Building something of this size is one thing, but how did they supply a city built on top of a 350m tall mountain without springs in an arid climate?
The water infrastructure of Pergamon was a wonder of the ancient world. At first they used cisterns to store rainwater, but the city quickly outgrew what they could possible hope to harvest and store, so they dug deep wells, so deep they could only be used for emergencies...
In the 2nd century B.C. they built a system of clay pipes connecting a series of natural springs up to 25km away to two sediment basins 4km away from the acropolis, at a height of 376m. But the acropolis was separated from the reservoir by a deep valley. How to get water across?
Read 7 tweets
10 Apr
The 1912 old Yokohama Rubber Co. Hall is a gorgeous example of how to build to achieve comfort in sub-tropical climates without modern air conditioning: tall ceilings and windows and a large cupola ensures natural ventilation, the wrap around porch controls solar (over) heating. Image
All buildings are compromises, and with bearable winters and unbearable summers you build to see you through the summers. Indoor humidity is effectively controlled by plaster and wooden surfaces throughout over a breathable timber frame. ImageImage
The company wanted to tear it down in 2003 but a public and official outcry stopped the destruction and it is now open to the public. Beauty literally saved it. Here are my own photos from today's visit. ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
9 Apr
There is no way we can keep up the waste that is single use packaging. The future will be reusable containers brought from home and bulk markets in everything from wine to shampoo. And we will be better, healthier, richer, and happier for it.
"But Wrath, bringing your old jars to fill with milk or pickles from a barrel is unhygienic!"
"I sterilize my old jars by the dozen, we could've shop staff or machines sterilize the jars customers bring in. It'ld also cut down greatly on food waste to always buy just enough."
“But Wrath, I have a big brain and a phd in economics and your idea is inefficient and expensive. We can't afford it!”
“But we can afford this?”
Read 5 tweets
2 Apr
In temperate climates, if you can't build your town near water you simply build water near your town. The cost of digging a canal deep enough for boat, barge, sail, is peanuts compared to the land value increase. And don't forget to make it the main route, for maximum effect.
If the authorities disapprove tell them it is not a canal but a wetland restoration/preservation project or a commercial aquaculture project to grow ecological fish or crayfish for the local markets.
The goal of course is to have water so clean that on summer nights your town is surrounded by millions of fireflies, an insect so sensitive to pollution only the cleanest waters can host it. And that is surer proof than any Government or corporate greenwashed LEED certificate.
Read 4 tweets

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