Shibata Kinshi 柴田欣志

Location: Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Background: Baker's son from Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture; family in fermentation trades
Died: Before October 1965
Known for: Pioneering the concept of enzyme agriculture (酵素農法)

Note: Cho's translators rendered the name as "Shibada Genshi" — this is a transliteration artifact through Korean phonology. The correct Japanese is 柴田欣志, confirmed by the National Diet Library catalog.

Relevance to Cho Han-Kyu

Cho named Shibata as his fourth teacher (after God, Ooinoue, and Yamagishi):

"The greatest teacher is God. Over 95% of natural farming knowledge comes from the Bible. The second teacher is [Ooinoue]. The third is [Yamagishi]. The fourth is Shibata, who first came up with the concept of enzyme."

Shibata's contribution to Cho's thinking: enzymes and microorganisms as the foundational mechanism of life and soil health. This maps directly to KNF's emphasis on indigenous microorganisms (IMO), fermented solutions, and the biochemistry of soil life.

Biography

Shibata came from a bakery/brewing family. Diagnosed with tuberculosis, he abandoned bakery work and retreated to the mountains to make charcoal. Through a visionary experience — described as a dream or revelation — he was guided to "eat the tender shoots from branches or grass facing east, first illuminated by morning sunlight." Following this guidance, he recovered from tuberculosis; medical examination confirmed his cure.

After recovery, he experimented with extracted plant shoot juice in bread-making. The dough "fermented excellently and the bread tasted remarkably fragrant," revitalizing his bakery business. This led him from baking to the broader study of enzymes and fermentation in agriculture.

The October 1965 Visit

Cho visited Shibata's farmhouse in October 1965 — after Shibata's death. From Cho's account in Janong Natural Farming:

"I visited his house in October 1965. It was an ordinary farmhouse with paddy and field. In the center of the field was a small hut for making and keeping enzymes. There were many Japanese cedar barrels full of enzymes in the hut."

Key observations during the visit:

In the middle of a dry field stood a small building of about 40 square yards used to store and produce enzymes
Inside: cedar containers (杉樽) filled with enzyme liquid
Crops in the surrounding field were thriving; weak trees were sprouting fresh buds
Beans stored for 10 years in the enzyme liquid were still edible and would sprout when planted

Cho was guided through the property by Shibata's wife, who told him: "The most prolific tree is the cedar, while the chocolate vine (akebia) bears the most futile fruits."

The Enzyme Method (酵素農法)

Developed around 1945, during Japan's post-war food and fertilizer shortages. The method used fermentation starters to accelerate compost decomposition. Shibata's bakery background in fermentation informed his innovation.

Core Process

元種 (Motodane — "Original Strain"): Extracted enzymes from fruits and vegetables using sugar to create osmotic pressure. This initial extract served as the starter culture.
中種 (Nakadane — "Middle Strain"): The original strain was cultured in cedar barrels with carrots, bananas, and figs to create a more potent culture.
酵素肥料 (Enzyme Fertilizer): The middle strain was mixed with rice bran, diatomaceous earth, and manure to create the final enzyme fertilizer applied to fields.

Reception

The method attracted a considerable following; training seminars drew people from across Japan. However, when tested by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, the tests showed no measurable effect — damaging Shibata's formal reputation. His followers continued to refine and develop improved versions, and his broader insight — that microbial fermentation processes drive soil health — proved foundational.

Published Works

酵素法御進講草案 (Enzyme Method Lecture Draft) — published June 1947 by the Japan Agricultural Method Research Institute. Confirmed in the National Diet Library catalog. This is his only verified published work.

Cho also references a book called 酵素法之本意 (The True Meaning of the Enzyme Method), which he describes as his "house treasure." This work has not been found in the NDL catalog and may be a privately circulated manuscript.

The Naming Innovation

Shibata appears to have been the first person to call a fermented agricultural preparation "酵素" (enzyme). The word existed in Japanese since 1899 (from the German "Enzym"), but Shibata repurposed it as a name for his fermentation starters. As one historian noted: "If he had called it 'fermentation agent,' nobody would be writing about it 70 years later."

This naming choice propagated through the entire lineage: Shimamoto's products, modern Japanese enzyme health foods, and Cho's own Korean preparations all carry the enzyme concept forward.

Lineage and Influence

Shibata's enzyme farming method was adopted at the Oomoto (大本) religious farm in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture. There, Shimamoto Kakuya (島本覚也, 1899-1974) learned it and, coming from a koji (麹) fermentation family, improved on Shibata's method by developing BYM Food — a dried powder that solved the preservation problem. The Shimamoto Microbial Farming Method carries Shibata's tradition forward to the present day.

Separately, Cho visited in 1965 and carried Shibata's enzyme concept into Korean Natural Farming:

IMO (Indigenous Microorganisms) parallels Shibata's enzyme starter culture approach
FPJ/FFJ (Fermented Plant/Fruit Juice) mirrors the sugar-extraction method Shibata used for his "original strain"
Cedar containers are specifically recommended in KNF, echoing Shibata's cedar barrels

Cho describes Shibata's influence as opening his "eyes to the remarkable world of enzymes and microorganisms" — a conceptual awakening rather than a specific technique transfer.

Sources

Cho Han-Kyu, Janong Natural Farming (2003 English edition), pages 6-8, 118
Shimamoto Kunihiko, 酵素で土をつくる島本微生物農法 (Nobunkyo, 1987)
National Diet Library catalog records for 柴田欣志
hakkou.kuni-naka.com — "酵素とは何か？酵素農法の歴史から考える"
Cho Han-Kyu lecture transcripts, 2017–2018 (PKNF archive)