In the heart of rural Japan lies Satoyama, a landscape of lakes and rivers home to an incredible variety of fish, water birds, snakes and dragonflies. This poetic documentary follows 83-year-old fisherman Sangoro Tanaka, who lives according to an ancient way of life that has much to teach the world about sustainable living.
Nature Documentary hosted by Sir David Attenborough and published by NHK in 1999 - English narration For at least 2,000 years, a unique way of life has flourished around the shores of Japan's largest freshwater lake - Lake Biwa - fed by more than 500 rivers that descend from the rugged, forested interior of Honshu Island. To exploit the abundant mountain water, generations of farmers have transformed the foothills surrounding the lake into a maze of ingeniously engineered terraced fields. The balance between humans and nature is reflected in the Japanese name for the cultivated areas: Satoyama.
BBC combination of NHK's Satoyama: Japan's Secret Garden (1999) and Satoyama: Japan's Secret Watergarden (2004) The first program focuses on the agricultural cycle of rice paddies on hillsides in Japan.
The second program takes a look at a traditional water-supply system called a "kabata", which not only provides water to village households but also nurtures a vast diversity of fish, insects, birds, and other creatures. Both programs offer insights into environmentally sustainable living.