Preserving Japan's "Culture of Wood" with 200 Year-Old Forests

The Forestry Agency of Japan has launched a campaign to create "Koji no Mori"(Forests for Ancient Matters) in response to a call from Wahei Tatematsu, a Japanese writer. The campaign aims at supplying wood to restore traditional buildings such as Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples that symbolize Japan's traditional "culture of wood."

Some 3,700 Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and castles are designated as national treasures and important cultural properties in Japan, and about 90 percent or 3,300 of them are wooden structures. Those wooden buildings have been preserved by minor repairs every 100-150 years and major ones every 200 years.

Timbers that are durable and of the same kind, quality and diameter as the original material are necessary to repair and restore the wooden buildings, and this means that 100 year-old trees or even 400 year-old trees are needed. The supply of such trees is scarce, however, in both national and private forests within the country.

The Forestry Agency is working to create "Koji no Mori" at about ten national forest sites in locations that include Kyoto, Nara, and Nagano. The first "Koji no Mori" was created at the Kurama Mountain National Forest in Kyoto, near the city where many historical buildings designated as cultural assets are situated. With help from citizens and volunteers, the agency planted trees in this forest, which will be able to supply large-diameter, tall, 200 to 400 year-old Japanese cypress.




Posted: 2002/11/17 08:02:42 PM
Japanese version