Original subtitles

imagine a realm where the seasons

rhythms rule where centuries of

agriculture and fishing have reshaped

the land yet where people and nature

remain in harmony sang Goro Tanaka

lives in just such a paradise at 83 he's

the guardian of one of Japan's secret

water gardens over a thousand years

towns and villages have developed a

unique system to make Springs and water

part of their homes from inside their

houses the stream pours into Japan's

largest freshwater lake near the ancient

capital of Kyoto

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this is a habitat so precious the

Japanese have a special word for it

Sakuya villages their mountains give way

to planes

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they are exceptional environments

essential to both the people who

maintain them and to the wildlife that

now share them

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late February at Lake Biwa an area five

times the size of Paris its year has

four distinct seasons Reed's desiccated

by winter winds feel the heat of spring

they are all that remained the rest have

gone to make roofs or screens flames

consume both pest and weed the ash will

prove a powerful fertilizer

destruction creates the very conditions

in which a wide range of species will

eventually flourish by April new shoots

sprout the fire and smoke have provoked

new growth spring puts on its new coat

meltwater cascades from the mountains

swelling the lake till it brims over

parched earth soaks into wetland

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sudden sounds split question of the day

a chain of male cop dance after a female

some are longer than a man's arm but

she's bigger still heavy with eggs she

releases her eggs up to 200,000 and

males race to festivals

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for the rest of the year these carp

inhabit the chill depths of the lake the

sport they must seek warm shadows

Springs rising energy is released over

200 car crowd here today

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the conditions created by the firing of

the marsh offer an ideal site for

breeding

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there are only a few days a year when so

many fish from here sangolo the

fishermen won't miss his chance his

methods his 20 year old boat his bamboo

pole all are tried and tested it takes

years to really master the art of

punting the river crosses with fresh

Mountain torrents but here and there

natural springs were up from the bottom

the marsh is a maze but to Zangaro it's

as familiar as his garden he has some 50

traps set in various corners

Oh

No

the cop our lake B was spring gift

sangolo only fishes from March to June

when the shoals retreat to the lake he

uses a simple snare of traditional

materials

there's not even any bait he just sinks

a trap for the fish to swim into where

he places it depends on the weather and

where he thinks the fish will swim that

day

intuition Springs from long experience

his Hall includes other fish as well as

carp as they all flock to spawn in the

shallows

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this trap is full of carp called

crucians with a single trap he may net a

dozen fish to take home

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[Applause]

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[Applause]

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Soula son Goro returns he prepares the

fish for the table the catch is usually

sold or cooked for supper that evening

but today he's preparing Funes sushi who

knows who she is believed to be how

sushi first started perhaps a thousand

years ago it's salted and fermented

crucian carp and rice it smells sour and

takes a long time to make first salt

your fish stand for three months

mix with boiled rice to ferment leave

another six months the ingredients rice

and fish are the key items of the

Japanese diet

Sango goes home lies about two

kilometres inland from the lake shore

water from bore holes under the village

is piped into the houses

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after it's been used the water passes

into a man-made stream what could be a

parent canal teams with hidden life

as spring gives way to early summer

aquatic plants reach for the Sun this

one takes its name from the tree flower

it resembles the plum flower and the

water bottle

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this little stickleback has no scales

and can only live in the clearest of

fresh water it normally prefers cold

northern currents this is the furthest

south it's from

[Applause]

the channel also harbors some

strange-looking creatures

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Brook lampreys primitive the jawless

fish that resemble ins a river crab

discovers just how slippery lampreys are

the channel through the village is home

to creatures large and small the water

sustains people too and in turn they use

it sustainably each home has a built-in

pool or water tank that lies partly

inside partly outside its walls in the

pool lounge friendly ornamental carp a

continuous stream of spring water is

piped right into a basin so fresh water

is always available

the carp are not purely ornamental nor

are they to be eaten

people rinse out pots in the terrace and

clean their freshly picked vegetables if

they simply pour the food scraps back in

the water they risk polluting the whole

village supply however carp can scour

out even the greasy or burnt pans they

do the washing up in Satoru ARMA

villages this traditional arrangement is

called the riverside method it's used

all over Japan cleaned up by the carp

the tank water eventually rejoins the

channel

for some wildlife the man-made Creek

provides an ideal place to raise young

like this variety of fresh water goby

a small fish about as long as a little

finger the villagers call it the tiny

mud crawler a male is busy excavating a

breeding site the even bottom supplies a

perfect hidey hole as always the best

locations are highly sought after here

comes another male he had like to move

in and he's prepared to fight for it

both do all they can to look threatening

opening their mouths and erecting their

dorsal fins to look bigger it's a

victory for the sitting tenant

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there's another goby behind him

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she's hanging upside down and she's

laying eggs the victory over the den

gave her a place to spawn in safety

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the old simple life of satella ma

communities is attracting some young

Japanese back from the cities

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it's June four months after the hungry

flames licked their reeds that rose from

the ashes

now reach overhead the Martian landscape

takes on its summer look the dense

growth is almost like a jungle a world

filled with tiny lives each single Reed

stem is a microcosm tiny organisms

called pseudo plankton live on their

surface forests of tentacles reach out

to seize organic material

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earlier in spring young carp

hatched in the flooded fields they stay

there for about three months the reed

beds are their nurseries where they have

plenty to eat and are concealed from

predatory birds an infant fish who it's

a sudden end it's been grabbed the

attacker is the larva of Japan's largest

dragonfly this aggressive ambusher hides

in sand or gravel

only its head protrudes as it lies in

wait for its prey it's correct name is

the golden ringed dragonfly but to the

Japanese and to Salgado in its handout

form it's the king of dragonflies Jake's

accompany apparent coot now is the best

time to find food and about calls in

warning the cause the coots number-one

enemy a weasel egg thief and baby coots

snatcher and Harris Cape waterfowl have

to guard against foxes and snakes too

for safety Greaves make floating

fortresses and Kurd to firmly rooted

plants

an adult bird is particularly alert when

the eggs are hatching

each crib has its own territory and each

nests at the same place every year

here comes Sangala the birds know him

already

this is his regular route he spends two

hours checking all the traps he said

yesterday his work done sang Goro

returns to the landing stage you should

see the ones that got away

turning muddy banks into reedbeds has

paid dividends he has nearly 50 fish in

all of eight different types

Tsang Gordo won't eat the smallest fish

he puts them aside he will share his

good fortune this grey heron knows what

will happen next

Tseng Gordo finishes cleaning out his

boat and another pair of eyes watches

his every move

each fishing season this kite pays

Zangaro a visit when sang Goro

leaves the grey heron doesn't wait any

longer it's happy to clear up sang Goro

left the tiddlers for the birds it's his

way of sharing nature's riches with

those around him

and they are only too pleased to take

part

the kite will take the fish back to

hungry chicks where the village houses

crowd most twisted together the buffer

gardens alone pie the talents when a

branch is a large nest there are two

chicks there we're developing steadily

under the watchful eyes of the villagers

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[Applause]

Tsang Gordo's gift is a token of the

villagers close ties with wildlife force

angora fishing is not just a job

viewers de varela Juliana several

Italian origin had done on the traps

capture relatively small numbers of fish

but this means stocks aren't depleted or

they thought you could ever get up 700

dollars Erin cuz we're at the as Noah

you know as no Chino I got under that

head turns across almost my my anything

anthology unit taking from nature

without exhausting its supply is

practiced throughout subtle yama reads

will make blinds indispensable in the

pair of the Javanese summer

the stems are left for a year to season

then each is straightened local

materials find a use locally it's five

days since the gobies first laid eggs in

the village channel

the male is still around

he's very protective

keeping predators away and taking great

care of his offspring golden eyes peer

out of the egg capsules they're ready to

break out the anxious father fans them

keeping them oxygenated

the newly hatched young are barely the

size of a match head tiny as they are

they're about to embark on a journey

they will ride the current the two

kilometers to Lake Biwa there they will

feed on the abundant plankton at the

same time another new life is about to

undergo a striking change

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the lava of a golden ring dragonfly in

the dark hidden from predators it

quietly begins its metamorphosis

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the lava is now a fully winged

in ten days it will be sexually mature

and ready to trigger the next generation

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in the sticky heat of mid-july villagers

gather overgrown ballasts block the

stream time to clear the water practice

20 families band together for their part

of the channel for the villagers it's a

welcome task their ancestors carried out

for hundreds of years for the fish in

the creek it's a huge nuisance flushed

out of the shady vegetation they seek

refuge elsewhere

it's the children's big moment

[Applause]

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with wild creatures so close children

experience nature directly fish and

birds are an everyday part of their

lives three months have elapsed at Tsang

Goro's house sangalans wife chicano

washes the fish salted in spring next

she will bury them in rice sang Goro's

job is the back-breaking bit

first they lay out the fish evenly then

they cover them they build up several

mares

the rice starch feeds microorganisms

that cause fermentation

more still no hope you know with

nature's blessing lafoon Assoc will be

good again this year

after the cleanup the channel runs

smooth and clear small-fry are

encouraged to return the young goobers

are now the size of a fingernail ten

times as big as they were

the hatchlings from the village have

spent two months feeding on Lake beavers

Plankton's

they press on upstream no obstacle

deters them not even vertical walls

in laven the channel narrows and ahead

lies something only too keen to greet

them

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it's a Japanese tea or batter it feeds

on fish which is unusual for terrestrial

snakes

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the quick brown keelback catches the

lazy goby

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those who escaped continue their travels

upstream they must avoid herons and

carnivorous fish true

the little go bees must find somewhere

safe from ambushes they bump into a row

of fence posts inside a carp which won't

attack them it's the channel that

carries away the households used water

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Sanga rose pool offers the young Gabby

sanctuary even if he will have to do the

dishes

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the villagers enjoy the humid days of

late summer with their natural neighbors

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[Applause]

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it's a drowsy afternoon the moist air

drains everyone's energy

the temperature of the spring water in

the house pools remains a constant

pleasure

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Oh

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at last the fiery side burns itself out

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autumn brings welcome fresh breezes it's

time to gather rice the staple food of

the Japanese as the rice dries in the

autumn Sun the smell of hay spreads

across the fields

with the harvest in the time has come to

give thanks sang Goro picks to live fish

from the house pool they will survive

but tomorrow is the day the god of the

rice paddy goes back to the mountains he

won't depart without being given

offerings rice cakes sake white radishes

and the fresh fish

Tsang Gorrell believes that the god of

his rice paddy will eat before leaving

the god will return next spring when

rice is sown again

each element in nature has its own God

every tree rock and stream 8 million

gods of nature in all prayer and ritual

express sang Goro's gratitude

he's almost totally self-sufficient

thanks to the gifts of nature

it's December winters harshness lose

bitter winds start to gust from the lake

sturdy green gives way to brittle gold

nine months have passed since the

scorched earth sent out shoots

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now the reeds saw above the slender

stems will make screens and thatch

the farmers cut carefully they don't

snap or bend the long stalks practice

has made them perfect

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they heap of the bundles into a

tent-like shape called a round stand the

stands will be left to dry all through

the winter

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the stones are visible reminders of the

taste connection between the farmers and

the environment they have created

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winter rips the north of Lake Biwa

the reedbeds shown no sign of life

but even snow can't totally erase the

traces of spring in San Goro's house the

local delicacy is finally ready

he caught the carp in his trap in spring

he and his wife salted them and when

summer came covered them in rice to

ferment now a further six months have

passed

they will eat both fish and rice inside

is more evidence of nature's bounty the

orange eggs son Goro

invites his neighbors to share the

fuller sushi after half a year of

maturing the fish has a sour taste of

cheese slow food that is endlessly

satisfying preparation preservation and

finally appreciation the precious

pleasures of people living at close to

nature right next to their dining room

there is the basin full to the brim it's

cool in summer warm in winter

the Japanese describe tight-knit

relationships as being as close as water

and fish intimate and inseparable like

the pool and this little refugee the

Dobby sits in a quiet corner waiting for

spring

March finally comes round again the

reedbeds have stepped throughout the

winter now

the first rays of Sun coax warmth into

them

once more the silence yields to sounds

of life as the rhythm of the Year picks

up so do lives human and animal

the Japanese have another saying water

comes the fish live they mean that when

the right time comes everything

Salgado knows that in the way of Sabu

Yama everything has its season

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together sattell yama people and nature

we've life into a seamless fabric

blessed by water circling on its journey

without end

new season new year a new cycle or begin

in Japan's secret water garden

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you

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you