Igusa Farmers in Kumamoto Struggle after Powerful Quake

Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 18 (Jiji Press)--Last month's major earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, dealt a heavy blow to farmers of "igusa" rush grass.

In Yatsushiro, a Kumamoto city which accounts for about 90 pct of igusa production in the country, work sheds were destroyed in the earthquake.

Kotaro Oiwa, a 39-year-old igusa farmer in the Senchomachikogade district, screwed up his face while staring at his work shed that was devastated by the earthquake. The tremblor occurred when he was about to start processing harvested igusa into tatami mats.

All five of his looms were crushed in the destroyed shed. Some 2,000 bags of igusa remain in a storage room without being processed. "I'm worried about my income," he said.

Oiwa produces three types of igusa, including the high-quality "Hinomidori" brand, at his paddy of some 1,500 square meters.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]