Cover : Compost Mandala / Wakana Kawamura
This illustration is the frontispiece from the book “Minna no Chikyu Catalog” (Everyone’s Earth Catalog), captivated by the world of compost. How kitchen scraps from your home mysteriously transform into rich, fluffy soil? Realizing that the secret lies in the work of microorganisms, she was deeply moved. This “Mandala” expresses the relay of life that unfolds in a world invisible to us. Please take a moment to observe how kitchen scraps connect to delicious vegetables, and then to us.
Cover Tittle : KUJIKA
January/February : All Lives Sustaining One Another
This artwork was created in 2018. I drew this illustration based on the theme “All Lives Sustaining One Another” for greenz.jp, an online magazine.
At the time, when I spoke with the people at greenz—whom I had long admired—I truly felt that illustrations have the power to convey things that cannot be seen, and to deliver messages to people.
The world we inhabit, I felt, is filled with countless human beings, each existing individually, yet at the same time all lives sustaining one another. Although we may not always be aware of it, we are constantly connected to one another—sometimes in harmony, sometimes in conflict.
There are moments when our thoughts move, when our hearts are stirred, or when we are shaken. I drew this piece while imagining such a world—one shaped by those unseen connections.
Illustration by Wakana Kawamura
We relocated to Miharu Cho, Fukushima Pref. in order to practice Permaculture but Again, in 2011, moved to kume Minami Cho Okayama Pref., due to the earthquake Disaster. We built a multiple purpose cooking oven with Pechka function to it. We are now building out Permaculture design from near targets at gentle pace.
Co-representative, Permaculture Design Lab LLC Permaculture designer & illustrator
Based in Shizuoka Prefecture. While studying abroad in the United States, she encountered permaculture while studying landscape design. She co-authored “Minna no Ouchi Catalog” (Everyone’s Home Catalog) and is currently involved in multiple projects centered on the circulation of life.
She has declared a goal of creating 1,000 forest gardens across Japan by 2034. She also manages the online school Yorozu and the Forest Garden Workshop.
March/April : Pitcher plant (Carnivorous Flower)
This illustration of a carnivorous plant comes from the children’s book Řez kočkou, published by the Czech publishing house Bežíliška in 2017. The book offers imaginative cross-sections of various curious objects – from machines to animals and plants – and this particular image provides a glimpse inside a carnivorous flower.
It reveals the plant’s inner workings and hidden secrets, accompanied by fun facts and playful visual details that spark curiosity and invite exploration.
Illustration by Tereza Vostradovská
She is an artist, illustrator, and animator based in Prague, Czech Republic. She focuses mainly on work for children – illustrating books, creating original animated films, and contributing to educational projects.
Her work combines a sense of detail, storytelling, and gentle humor. She often finds inspiration in nature and in observing the everyday world around her.
May/June : Growing Rice Together
In the rice fields of Itoshiro, blessed with abundant water flowing from Mt. Hakusan, where rice is grown without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers, many living creatures gather. To ensure that young rice plants are not eaten by these creatures, people carefully hand-weed the fields.
This work depicts the scenery of rice fields where, with the help of these living beings, the rice slowly grows and the landscape of the paddies unfolds.
Illustration by Kanae Teshigahara
She is a picture-book author and illustrator, and also the mother of a child with a disability. Inspired by her family’s rice fields in Itoshiro (Gifu Prefecture), she creates works under the name “VIDA Garden” (meaning “life” in Portuguese).
Through her daily life, she expresses the interconnectedness of life, welcomes children into her world, and continues her creative activities based in Hakusan City, Gifu Prefecture.
Instagram: @kanae_teshigahara
July/August : Diversity of Duck Species
I created an illustration gathering many different breeds of ducks, each with its own colors, shapes, and unique features. Together, they form a lively and surprising flock.
A small tribute to diversity and the beauty of differences
Illustration by Camilla Pintonato
She was born in mainland Venice in 1991. From an early age, she always loved drawing and receiving praise. Then, at five, she discovered that by doing the former, she could earn the latter, and thus began her brilliant career in this field.
She studied illustration and graphics at IUAV in Venice, ISIA in Urbino, and MiMaster in Milan. Camilla is the creator of several books, including Full Moon (PaPress), Detective Mole (HarperCollins), and The Biggest Mistake (Eerdmans).
She also created and illustrated Chickenology (PaPress)—winner of the Panzoni Prize and the 2021 Andersen Prize for Best Non-fiction Book—along with the other three titles in the series: Pigology, Sheepology, and Rabbitology.
More recently, she illustrated La mosca verdolina (Rizzoli), a bestseller written by Nobel Prize winner in Physics Giorgio Parisi.
September/October : Japan’s Traditional Preserved Food Born from Nature: “Funazushi”
In Ohara, a quiet village of thatched-roof houses in the northern part of Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, I took part in making funazushi. The Lake Biwa Canal flows through the village, and crucian carp for funazushi are carefully caught in the clear waters of Lake Biwa.
The funazushi, which takes about a year and a half to complete, has a flavor that deepens through fermentation, developing a rich sourness and profound taste. It is a Japanese preserved food born from nature’s wisdom, nurtured by the local climate.
I would like to continue to cherish and pass on this food culture.
Illustration by Akiko Tanaka / kicodesign
After graduating from Nihon University College of Art, she worked at an advertising production company. In 2006, she spent a year in New Zealand studying permaculture.
In the same year, she completed the Rainbow Valley Farm Permaculture Design Course. After returning to Japan, she began working as a graphic designer under the name kicodesign.
Based mainly in Kyoto, she engages in regionally rooted activities focused on natural lifestyles. She provides design services—such as websites, pamphlets, flyers, and logo design—for a wide range of clients, including individuals, companies, schools, and clinics.
Website: www.kicodesign.com
November/December : Ants and Decomposing
Ant Hill This illustration is from the book Hravouka, published in 2016 by the Czech publishing house Bežíliška. It follows the journey of a little mouse who keeps a research journal about the natural world surrounding her burrow.
The anthill becomes an exciting terrain for discovery and for observing the industrious creatures that live there. The illustration was created with watercolor on watercolor paper and later digitally refined.
Illustration by Tereza Vostradovská
She is an artist, illustrator, and animator based in Prague, Czech Republic. She focuses mainly on work for children – illustrating books, creating original animated films, and contributing to educational projects.
Her work combines a sense of detail, storytelling, and gentle humor. She often finds inspiration in nature and in observing the everyday world around her.
Production team
Producer / Director : Riko Hirata
Permaculture Designer, California State Ciertified Counselor
KUJIKA
http://kujika.jp
Design : Toru Hatanaka
Farmer / Graphic Designer / Curry maniac
Grows Rice at Rice terraces in Kamogawa, Chiba Japan
http://www.so-kurashi.com/
WEB：MICHIO YAMASHITA
Produced by Permaculturists’ Network
