The first lotus that Kuninosuke Noguchi, the founder, cultivated was the variety called “Yanagi (willow lotus)”. It was a lotus which was native to the Lake Kasumigaura at that time. The lotus roots, long and thin like willow leaves, tend to grow deep under the mud, and very deep in rice fields. Thinking back to these fields where many lotus roots were growing, we named our brand “Yanagida”.

There used to be no machines. Our ancestors harvested Yanagi lotus roots by hand using a small hoe. In order to harvest them in the mud without damaging them, advanced technical capabilities of farming are required in addition to a great amount of labour. That is because you have to imagine the lotus roots hidden in the mud.

Farmers’ techniques and skills can be acquired through constant interacting, observing, and watching the growth of the crops. In other words, it depends upon on their love for the crops. Furthermore, beyond the accumulation of personal experience, techniques developed through hard work have been passed down from parents to children, from generation to generation.

This used to be the norm for farmers, but it is gradually being forgotten due to the wave of high-technology that is rushing into the agricultural industry. To inherit what our unnamed ancestors left to us, and to convey the value of agriculture to the society: This is our philosophy behind the name “Yanagida” which literally means “the field of Yanagi lotus”.