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Interactions of knowledge systems in shiitake mushroom production: a case study on the Noto Peninsula, Japan

  • Special Feature: Original Article
  • Science-Policy Interface and Traditional Knowledge in Social Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS)
  • Published:
Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

This paper examines the relationships between traditional and modern scientific knowledge regarding shiitake mushroom production in the Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan. In the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, the success of a new variety of shiitake, the Noto-Temari brand, has boosted the number of farmers, the majority of whom are new to mushroom production. Looking at the production of raw and dried mushrooms of the Noto-Temari brand, the paper compares the knowledge systems of conventional farmers and the newcomers to mushroom production. In the case of the premium-quality Noto-Temari brand, the newcomers achieve a higher rate of production than the conventional mushroom producers do. We apply the knowledge conversion framework of Polanyi (1966) to understand the dynamics of the knowledge system, and find that, in our case, traditional knowledge and techniques can be productive but can also represent obstacles to the adoption of new technology. In other words, it is possible that a knowledge of conventional technology interferes with the utilization of modern knowledge to grow the premium-quality Noto-Temari brand.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Human and Socio-Environmental Studies, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Ryo Kohsaka

  2. Center for Policy Studies, Kumamoto University, 2-40-1 Kurokami Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, 860-8555, Japan

    Mitsuyuki Tomiyoshi

  3. Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, United Nations University, 5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8925, Japan

    Osamu Saito

  4. Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-oiwakecho, Sakyoku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Shizuka Hashimoto

  5. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), Montreal, Canada

    Leah Mohammend

Authors
  1. Ryo Kohsaka
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  2. Mitsuyuki Tomiyoshi
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  3. Osamu Saito
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  4. Shizuka Hashimoto
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  5. Leah Mohammend
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Correspondence to Ryo Kohsaka.

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Kohsaka, R., Tomiyoshi, M., Saito, O. et al. Interactions of knowledge systems in shiitake mushroom production: a case study on the Noto Peninsula, Japan. J For Res 20, 453–463 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-015-0491-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-015-0491-4

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