Rice crops and field work begin with tillage (耕耘 ko’un in Japanese). Tillage is the process of softening land before sowing or planting to add the appropriate amount of oxygen and moisture to the soil.

The Japanese character "耕" is a combination of the characters for "plow" (耒) and "well" (井). A plow is used to create square sections with ridges and furrows in farmland. The character "耘" combines "plow" with the bottom part of the character for "cloud" (雲) to indicate the airiness of soil after it has been softened with a plow.

The character "耘" can also be read as kusagiru, meaning to cut and remove weeds from a field. Since both characters are partially comprised of the character for plow, we know that tools and equipment were used in ancient times to till the land (For example, a wooden hoe from the late Jomon period, which is thought to be the oldest in Japan, was excavated in Kochi where our company’s head office and factory are located).

The way tillage is done differs for each crop and region, and every piece of equipment and tools has its own unique features.

In the most basic plowing method, soil is stirred up when tilled, but then soil clods have to be crushed up using different tools and equipment. For that reason, rotary tillage operation is often done in tillage with tractors, which can perform soil tilling and clod breaking simultaneously and is also effective for the land levelling.

Rotary tillage operations differ in the use of rotaries and tiller tines depending on regions and crops. Through the development, manufacturing, and sales of tillage blades, our company continues to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

We believe in the Japanese proverb "The used hoe rows bright." We will continue to produce products that our customers can use for years to come.