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Forest Culture, Arts & Media

Forests as cultural assets and the cultural assets created from them

5.13Wed 2026

Charcoal depicted in a 1943 toddler magazine Forest resources touted as an alternative to oil during wartime

Rikugien Garden, located near Komagome Station on the JR Yamanote Line in Tokyo, is a famous garden created by Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa. In the Meiji era (1868-1912), the garden was owned by Yataro Iwasaki, founder of Mitsubishi [...].

5.11Mon 2026

Reading "Beech Belt Culture" by Takeshi Umehara et al.

The potential natural vegetation in Japan is considered to be evergreen broad-leaved in southwestern Japan and deciduous broad-leaved in northeastern Japan. The former are also called terrestrial broadleaf forests, and are known as "terrestrial broadleaf forests" [...].

4.30Thu 2026

The role of the forest in mobilizing social relational capital.

*Previous column here [The Goddess's Eye View] The Economics of "Sansrei" Connecting Fragmented Forests and Cities - From Anonymous Supply Chains [...].

4.28Tuesday, 2026

How to Design the "Entrance" to Forest Services: Hinohara Village's Linkage of Small Centers to Attract Urban Dwellers

Cultural Use of Forests in Europe In recent years, the cultural value of forests, which goes beyond timber production, and the forest services that take advantage of this value [...]...

4.24Fri 2026

Trees have been in contact with us through play and healing. Reassessing their benefits in our daily lives.

Until the Showa period, many of the tools necessary in daily life, such as chopsticks, chests of drawers, and tables, were made of wood, and since long ago, people have been exposed to wood and protected by it [...].

4.9Thu 2026

The Aesthetics of Wood and Musical Instruments that are Shaved and Polished - The Structure of Wood Value as Seen from the "35% Yield Rate

Round objects become square. Wood is formed from logs, which change shape into square columns and beam girders. As it is cut away from its original volume, the remaining [...].

4.3Fri 2026

Ghibli Forest Connects to Jomon and Asia: Reading "Terrestrial Forest Culture: The Depths of Japanese Culture" edited by Shumpei Kamiyama (Part 2)

*Previous column: "Civilization Theory of Forests" raised during the high-growth period Read "The Culture of Terrestrial Forests: The Depths of Japanese Culture" edited by Shumpei Ueyama ([...])

3.2Mon 2026

The "Civilization of Forests" Theory Proposed during the Period of Rapid Economic Growth: Reading "The Culture of Terrestrial Forests: The Depths of Japanese Culture" edited by Shumpei Ueyama (Part 1)

The potential natural vegetation of the Japanese archipelago is broad-leaved. The potential natural vegetation is divided into two major areas in Japan, with the mountains of the Chubu region and the Tohoku region being the summer [...].

2.25Wed 2026

The Historical Significance of Disposable Chopsticks Originating in Japan: The Edo Period Eating-Out Culture Supported by the Use of Sugi (Japanese Cedar)

Disposable chopsticks were born in Japan. Therefore, among countries where chopsticks are mainly used for eating, the use of disposable chopsticks is one of the features of Japanese [...].

2.18Wed 2026

The "Teshin" Theory of Restoring Return as a Manner of Forest Circulation

*Previous columns are here [From a Shinto priest's perspective] As a manner of forest circulation, we transcend the division of responsibility between the past and the future in the "middle and present" time frame.

1.29Thu 2026

Forest Circular Economy Talk Live Vol.2
Women Creating Forest Work - Practical Conference on Connecting Forests and Communities
Friday, February 27, 2026, 12:30 - 14:00, Online

In order to sustainably utilize Japan's forest resources, it is essential to make decisions and implement them on the ground, turning harvesting, utilization, and regeneration into an integrated [...].

1.28Wed 2026

The Future of Utilization of Domestic Timber and Forest Circulation, as Questioned by Familiar Waribashi Chopsticks Originating in Japan

In the 1990s and early 2000s, when global environmental issues were in the spotlight, problems such as deforestation and carbon dioxide generation were "circumscribed [...].

1.27Tuesday, 2026

A forest in the heart of Tokyo protected by a gunpowder depot and imperial estate Old trees in the Nature Education Park that tell their history

The deepest forest in central Tokyo is probably the forest in the Nature Education Park. The Nature Education Park is located on the Yamanote [...].

1.23Fri 2026

Reading Akira Miyawaki's "Plants and Humans: The Balance of Biological Society" (Part 2)

*Previous column is here What happens if we leave the forest unattended... "Potential Natural Vegetation" Perspective Akira Miyawaki, "Plants and Humans: The Rose of Biological Society [...]" (in Japanese)

1.22Thu 2026

The "Nakami-Imai" time frame transcends the division of responsibility between the past and the future as a manner of forest circulation.

The moment we call forests "resources," the cycle begins to break down. But in the eyes of Shintoism, [...]...

1.21Wed 2026

Life Cycles of Forests and Oceans - "The Power to Read Water" in the Story of Migratory Trout

In December 2025, I translated a volume of nature writing. The trout tell the story of the river: riparian creatures, forests, and humanity [...].

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