HTC is now just 10days away!✨ On campus, the committees are getting excited and have been busy holding meetings and preparing for the celebration.From today, we will start the countdown to HTC on SNS📢 We hope that you will join us
On September 16, the 54th anniversary of ARI’s founding, a commemorative service was held at ARI. Following a program featuring stories from the early days by Mrs. Shinko Takami, a wife of one of the founders, Toshihiro Takami, the ARI Peace Declaration was presented by our director, Osamu Arakawa.
After lunch, we held a community event at a nearby park, where we divided ourselves into groups to express peace through music, poetry, dance, and drama. To deepen mutual understanding and our friendships, we also enjoyed playing games together.
The Asian Rural Institute Peace Declaration was drafted based on the joint resolution and declaration on peace presented at the 2007 symposium themed “Peace from the Soil.” It incorporates the views of this year’s community members and reflects recent global circumstances. The declaration clarifies ARI’s stance on war responsibility by adding perspectives on “Peace from the Soil”—one of the Institute’s core themes—and responsibilities regarding nuclear weapons.
For ARI, which annually accepts participants from areas invaded by Japan during World War II, war responsibility is a theme from which we cannot escape with any reasons.
25 years ago, Osamu got a big shock by the words of an Indonesian participant. While visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum with participants, he told to an atomic bomb survivor, “Because the atomic bombs were dropped, my country was saved.” These words came from the memory of a family deeply scarred by the Japanese invasion. For that participant, the war’s end meant the restoration of life and dignity.
Justifying the atomic bombings is never permissible, yet we must never forget the tragedies experienced by all sides nor the historical truth. Therefore, we believe it is of great significance for ARI, where members from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds gather, to clarify its approach to confronting the history of war.
Arakawa says;
“I wish to oppose war itself from the standpoint of protecting life and dignity, against the prevailing atmosphere of war and arguments justifying nuclear deterrence. Peace is not merely the absence of conflict; we must face each other’s differences and pain, and build relationships with sincerity. I believe this attitude is the basis for a society where may we live together.”
Read the ARI Peace Declaration — On the 80th Anniversary of the End of World War II : https://ari.ac.jp/en/asian-rural-institute-peace-declaration/
Peace from Food Summer Donation Campaign – Special Gift
Until Sunday, September 21, anyone who signs up as a new monthly supporter through the campaign site will receive a limited-edition T-shirt
This year’s design features a corn motif on a golden harvest background. It’s an original design that reflects the season here at the Asian Rural Institute.
Its natural tone makes the T-shirt easy to wear in everyday life and is suitable for all ages!
Available sizes: S, M, L, XL
In the photos…
We invite you to join us as a monthly supporter and help us cultivate “Peace from Food” together.
Learn more here:
https://ari.ac.jp/donate/peace2025?ari=news
※ For those who are already monthly supporters, the T-shirt is also available at ¥1,500 + shipping.
Please contact us at:
[email protected]
Please note: We are unable to ship internationally.
Once a week, as a special feature, we will share messages from supporters of ARI.
In this fifth installment, we introduce a “Food is …” message from Mr. Toru Sakawa of the Natural Farm Ureshipa Moshiri
“Food is… Source of Life”
As organic farmers, we strive to work alongside our crops and livestock, allowing each to fully express their innate power and shine with life. We believe that receiving these vibrant beings as the “nourishment of life” gives us more than just physical nutrition. We believe that their radiant life force becomes the energy that allows us to live with love and peace, and to be our true selves.
Natural Farm Ureshipa Moshiri: https://www.instagram.com/ureshipa_moshiri/
Ureshipamoshiri is an Ainu word that means “the natural world itself… the real world where all living beings nurture each other.”
For 30 years, we have been practicing permaculture, organic farming, and agroecology in the mountains of Iwate, aiming to create a farm where we can truly feel the connections of “nurturing each other.” Forty years have passed since I first encountered the Asian Rural Institute in high school, and I continue to seek what I can do to “live together.”
As organic farmers, we strive to work alongside our crops and livestock, allowing each to fully express their innate power and shine with life. We believe that receiving these vibrant beings as the “nourishment of life” gives us more than just physical nutrition. We believe that their radiant life force becomes the energy that allows us to live with love and peace, and to be our true selves.
Peace from Food Donation Campaign
August 1(Fri) – September 21(Sun), 2025
Campaign site: https://ari.ac.jp/donate/peace2025/en?ari=news
From August 1, Asian Rural Institute is running the “Peace from Food” Donation Campaign.
Throughout the month of August and September, we are sharing voices from our community members and supporters on Instagram and Facebook Stories, centered around the theme “What does food mean to you?”
All past stories can also be viewed on our Instagram Highlights.
Each year’s Rural Leaders Training Program hosts new participants, with unique backgrounds and incredible dreams of rural transformation. Our staff visit ARI graduates in the field, seeing the fruits of their labor. Now, the work of our participants and graduates from 2024 is available to read in our 2024 Annual Report.
Learn more about our most recent year of successes and challenges by following the link below. Available in English and Japanese.
Downloads – Asian Rural Institute
Today was our 54th Foundation Day. We will report on it later, so please look forward!
Sharing a meal around the round tables at Koinonia Dining Hall is a precious time here at ARI. We share the fruits of our daily labor at every meal, express gratitude for each other’s work, and celebrate the bountiful harvest.
Would you like to join us at our table and share moments of fellowship?
During the campaign period, those who make a donation to ARI via the special campaign page can participate free of charge in a mini eco-tour program with lunch, held in September 27 (Sat) or November 22 (Sat).
(Please note that transportation costs to ARI are the responsibility of each participant.)
For details, please visit the special campaign website: https://ari.ac.jp/donate/peace2025/en
“Nutritious meals nourish both body and soul.”
So says Debora, an ARI graduate who now volunteers. She repeated these words carefully and emphatically, time and again.
For Debora, eating is not merely an act of survival. It is a vital practice that cultivates inner peace.
In a painting she created, vibrant fruits like mangoes, bananas, and dragon fruit—grown in her homeland of Indonesia—are vividly depicted.
Being nourished—it nurtures not only the body but also the soul, and it creates connections between people.
This simple yet truly vital lesson is what we are learning from Debora.
Interviewed & Written by Konoha Yamanaka (ARI Volunteer)
Click here to read the series of articles
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 1
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 2
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 3 ← Now, you’re here.
We have uploaded more details about the Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC) on the following page. Please check it out!
Here is the information on the above page.
Dates: October 18 & 19 (Sat & Sun) 10:00-15:30
Theme: Sowing the seed of love for a peaceful tomorrow
Time Schedule:
10:00 Entry open
10:15-11:15 Harvest thanksgiving worship
11:30-15:30 Food stall, stage performances, games, etc. open
Shuttle Buses:
Departure from Nasushiobara Sta. West Exit (bus rotary): 09:45
Departure from ARI: 15:30 and 16:30
Parking: Karino Kominkan (Tsukinukizawa 231, Nasushiobara, Tochigi)
Shuttle buses are available to the venue.
* Please bring your own tableware.
Cooking together, sharing laughter, and working hand in hand—
a meal made with many hearts brings more than just nourishment.
This month, the FEAST members, who regularly prepare delicious meals for the Koinonia Dining Hall,
are leading an art project called “Cooking for Peace”
Through their artwork, they express the idea of peace through food.
Each piece reflects a unique perspective—please take a moment to explore their creations!
https://ari.ac.jp/peace-from-food-cooking-for-peace-vol-1/?ari=news
Watch all our online events again!
Join the ARI life with family and friends!
We're looking for on-campus volunteers
Tsukinukizawa 442-1
Tochigi, Nasushiobara
329-2703 JAPAN
[email protected]
+81-287-36-3111 (tel)
+81-287-37-5833 (fax)
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