IJSF: Time-Traveled to 1901, Changing History with 21st Century Tech

Type SF Agricultural Machinery

CHAPTER 30

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December 1920

Meguro Racetrack

At the racetrack grandstands, wealthy farmers (gōnō) owning more than 10 hectares of farmland from across the country have gathered. They have received invitations from the Regent. For these farmers, being invited to an event attended by the Regent is an honor to be passed down through generations. Everyone is excitedly making their way to the venue.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming despite the cold weather. Now, we will have a greeting from His Highness. Please stand."

The host, Sōryū Takashiro, used a microphone and loudspeaker made by the Space Force with vacuum tubes.

Everyone stood and looked towards the special seat where the Regent was.

"Thank you all for coming. The machines introduced today are essential for the future of agriculture. Please pay close attention."

After the Regent's greeting, and once everyone was seated again, Sōryū continued.

"Now, we will present the Type SF Mark 1 Tiller and the Type SF Mark 1 Rice Transplanter developed under His Highness' leadership!"

*Note: Type SF is a short for "Type Space Force."

The cloth covering the tiller and rice transplanter was removed, revealing the gleaming machines with red and white color schemes.

At that time, most tillers (mainly tractors) were equipped with steam engines, which made them incredibly large and impractical for Japanese farmers to easily adopt. A few years earlier, the smaller and more accessible Fordson Model F tractor had been developed, but only a few had made their way to Japan. However, these new machines were much smaller...

They were about the size of early 21st-century power tillers. The wealthy farmers had expected something much larger given the announcement of a revolutionary new agricultural machine. They were somewhat disappointed.

*Note: Please search for "power tiller." It's too difficult to explain in writing.

"Now, let's begin the demonstration."

The operator walked towards the tiller and bowed, causing a stir in the audience.

"A woman? Can women operate machines?"

Everyone was puzzled, wondering if a woman could handle agricultural machinery.

"Apologies for the late introduction. The person demonstrating the tiller today is Shizuko Kawashima, a 15-year-old enrolled in the Imperial Space Force Academy's comprehensive course. Despite her young age, she is unmatched in operating the tiller."

She wore a work kimono with a slim hakama and had a tenugui (hand towel) wrapped around her head like a tea-picking woman. She had light makeup on and was genuinely cute. Ignoring the murmuring, Kawashima bowed her head politely and stood in front of the tiller. When she pulled the starter rope, "Vroom! Vroom-vroom-vroom," the engine started effortlessly.

"What? The engine started with just that?"

"A woman did it so easily?"

"Unbelievable!"

Everyone expressed their amazement in unison.

At the time, engines were either steam engines or hot bulb engines, both of which required 30 minutes to an hour to start. Even gasoline engines, used primarily in imported cars, required a strong man to crank the engine manually with a crank handle to get it running.