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Nature and People in Japan

Here is more information from Takeshi Kusakari on people's cultural association with nature in Japan.

If you have not read about his woodland management in Hokkaido, please click his photo to jump to his essay.





(Kusakari and the log house, the base for conservation projects in his local woodland)

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Nature and People in Japan
Takeshi Kusakari, Forester, Tomakomai City, Hokkaido, Japan

In 1727, a book called The History of Japan was published in London. It was written by Engelbert Kaempher, a scientist and doctor serving in the Dutch East Indian Company, whose base in Japan was Nagasaki, Kyushu.

On his journey from Nagasaki to Edo(now Tokyo) to meet Shogun, Kaempher recorded what he saw about nature, wildlife, culture, religion and industries in the country, and compiled his journal into the book, in which he mentions about the urban and rural scenes in Japan of those days: 'In the countryside, rice fields, crop fields and woodlands along the road are well managed and all the waste from farming is recycled. In the urban areas well-swept streets are cleanc.'

However, through the 20th century we have lost 'greenness' from our daily life. This phenomenon was not limited to my local region, but occurred all across the country. After a rapid sprawl of urban development, we have ended up with living in an environment in which 'greenness' is foreign to us. We did not consider to maintain green areas in the city, or more precisely, we did not feel like having it. Greenness was lost, or rather sacrificed for the rapid industrialization and sheer convenience and efficiency of life.

However, we have not lost our native feeling of respect for nature. It is still at the depth of our mind, and more and more seeds of nature conservation will germinate in every corner of our society to restore the lost 'greenness' to recreate our 'Garden Islands' as referred by Kaempfer. Not only the grassroots who have already been striving for the better environment, the government has also put up 'the Creation of a Beautiful Country' in its main policies.

I believe that our woodland management project is a step forward for achieving a harmonious coexistence of wildlife and people as well as an ideal lifestyle in a beautiful, green-rich environment.

Copyright of all text and images belong to Takeshi Kusakari. Text translated by Mari Sato.

Takeshi Kusakari is very happy to hear from you about his project.
Please click here and say Hi! to him by email!

If your PC reads Japanese, please click here to visit Kusakari's site
on his woodland management and flower gardening projects!


I am very grateful to Takeshi for kindly writing this essay. I hope further success of his project and prosperity and happiness to all the members!



Copyright except for the text and images by Takeshi Kusakari (C) 2000 Mari Sato All rights reserved.