Hideyuki Miyakawa, the Japanese visionary who combined design, organic farming and a love for Tuscany in his life, has died at 88.
Hideyuki Miyakawa, founder of the Bulichella estate in Suvereto and a leading figure in Tuscan viticulture, has passed away at the age of 88. With him goes a man with an extraordinary history, capable of transforming a youthful journey around the world into a new way of living, working and interpreting the relationship between man and nature.
From the streets of the world to Italy
Born in Maebashi, Japan, after his studies, at the age of 22, Hideyuki Miyakawa decided to embark on a journey that would change his life. A trip around the world with his friend Akane. News of this extraordinary feat quickly spread throughout Japan, sparking enthusiasm and support. The Yamaguchi company provided two motorcycles that would become their faithful traveling companions. The 1960 Rome Olympics were just around the corner, and Hudeyuki arrived in Italy after a long motorcycle journey through Asia and Europe.
That experience marked his bond with our country forever. In Turin he entered the world of automotive design, collaborating with absolute protagonists of the sector and participating in the birth of Italdesign alongside Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. His creativity, his keen eye for lines and functionality, remained a hallmark even in later life.
The move to Tuscany and the birth of Bulichella
The turning point came in the 1980s, when he decided to move with his family to Tuscany to start a community and agricultural project based on sustainability, harmony and respect for the land. Thus, in 1983, the following was born. Bulichella, an estate that anticipated by many years the sensibility for organic farming and for a model of conscious rural life. Since 1999 the estate became the exclusive property of the Miyakawa family, Hideyuki with his wife Marisa and children, who have guided its growth with passion and consistency.
Under his vision, Bulichella has become a landmark of the Val di Cornia. Producing wines appreciated in Italy and abroad, oils of great finesse and enhancing a model of authentic agricultural hospitality. As president of the Val di Cornia Wine Consortium, Miyakawa also contributed to the achievement of the Suvereto DOCG in 2012, a key milestone for the area’s notoriety.
In addition to the entrepreneur and the winemaker, the memory of the man remains: curious, open-minded, deeply attached to his large and multicultural family. Convinced that the meeting of cultures was an asset and not a challenge. His life itself was the most eloquent demonstration of this.
Tuscany loses a silent innovator, a builder of bridges between distant worlds, a man who knew how to give roots to a dream born on the other side of the planet. Hideyuki Miyakawa’s legacy will live on in the vineyards of Bulichella. In the community he helped create and in a story that remains an example of vision, courage and harmony between cultures and landscapes.
The editorial staff of DoctorWine joins in the grief of the Miyakawa family. The funeral will be held on Tuesday, December 2, at 10 a.m. in San Giusto Parish, Suvereto.
