Source: Peatix

We, the Shibuya Ward Community Botanical Center, have decided to launch the "Shibuya Medicinal Herb Research Institute for Everyone."

The "Shibuya Medicinal Herb Laboratory for Everyone" is an initiative to update the wisdom and techniques that Japanese people of the past used to skillfully incorporate and utilize familiar herbs, trees, and flowers in their daily lives to suit our modern lifestyles. Together with participants, we will shed light on the usefulness of plants that are now overlooked, invite experts to give lectures, and create products that will actually be useful in everyday life.

The first product to be released since the launch of the Shibuya Medicinal Herb Research Institute is pyrethrum.

Most people probably won't recognize the name, but this perennial plant of the Asteraceae family, native to Yugoslavia, is actually very familiar to Japanese people. Perhaps it's a nostalgic feature of the coming season, and the smoke and scent of this plant that drifts out of nowhere is one of the quintessential Japanese summer scenes. Yes, pyrethrum is the plant that is the raw material for mosquito coils.

Pyrethrum was introduced to Japan in 1885-1886, and cultivation began in Wakayama before spreading throughout the country.
Around 1940, pyrethrum accounted for 90% of global production and was an important crop for earning foreign currency. However, cultivation of pyrethrum declined after World War II. After insecticides were introduced by GHQ, synthetic chemical insecticides began to be used domestically, leading to a steady decline in cultivation, and today pyrethrum is a plant known only to a select few.
* Reference material: "The History of Pyrethrum Cultivation and Mosquito Coils, Part 1 and Part 2" (Akira Omae, Economic Theory, No. 306, March 2002/No. 319, May 2004)

This workshop will focus on pyrethrum, for which Japan was once a major producer. For the past 20 years, the company has been cultivating pyrethrum on a farm in Hokkaido and using it to produce insect repellent incense that is safe for humans and pets. Sachie Oshima, second-generation representative of Rinnesha and representative of the Honsho Kenkyusho RINNE, will be the instructor. The workshop will talk about pyrethrum cultivation and include a workshop where participants can actually make their own insect repellent incense using pyrethrum.

Even if you try to make a perfect circle with your own hands,
Since it's not possible to make it like this, this time we will make a 15cm stick-shaped insect repellent incense coil!
You are free to arrange them as you like, such as into star or heart shapes, so you can create your own original insect repellent incense.

■Date and time: July 20th (Sat) Start time: 13:00, End time: 14:30 *Registration begins at 12:45

■ Location: Shibuya Ward Fureai Botanical Center 3F Gallery

■Participation fee: 4,000 yen (including materials and admission fee, excluding tax) You will take home 15 to 20 handmade incense sticks, each approximately 15 cm in size.

■ Number of positions available: 12

■What to bring ・Container for carrying incense sticks home (approximately medium-sized Ziploc container) ・Hand towel ・If you are concerned about getting dirty, please bring an apron and vinyl gloves ・If you are concerned about powder, please bring a mask

■ Course Contents
12:45 Reception begins
13:00～ Explanation of how to make mosquito coils
13:10～ Work begins
14:00～ Drying and lecture by lecturer Mr. Oshima on pyrethrum
14:30 Scheduled to end

*Photos of the event may be used on the official website of the Botanical Garden Center and on social media.

■Instructor: Sachie Oshima / The second generation CEO of Rinnesha Co., Ltd., a natural food store in Tsushima City, Aichi Prefecture that has been in business for over 40 years.

They sell food products such as carefully selected seasonings and vegetables from producers all over the country, as well as original insect repellent incense made from pyrethrum grown on their own farm in Hokkaido, and produce items that can be used in daily life, such as Akamaru Mint, a type of peppermint native to Hokkaido.

*Also, to commemorate the start of the event, we will be holding the second part of the Shibuya Medicinal Herb Research Institute on the same day, "Making Akamaru Mint Spray to Make Summer Life Comfortable." You can also participate in both workshops in succession. Please come along and join us!

Venue