Akita Cedar, which has been close to people's lives since ancient times, is a close look at the reasons and secrets [Akita Prefecture]

Forests account for 67% of Japan's land area. Akita Prefecture has a forest coverage rate of 72%, which is higher than the average, and is well known for its broadleaf forests, mainly beech trees, and coniferous forests, mainly Akita Sanchi Mountains (Akita and Aomori prefectures)

Cedar is a tree native to Japan

Japanese cedars are a common sight from southern Hokkaido to Yakushima (Kagoshima Prefecture). But did you know that Japanese cedars are unique to Japan? They are classified as part of the Cupressaceae family, Cupressaceae subfamily, and the Japanese cedar is the only species in the genus that is endemic to Japan

Some of you may be wondering, "What?" Cedars like "Himalayan cedars" and "Cedars of Lebanon" are well-known cedar trees. However, these trees are only named "XX Cedars" in Japan because they resemble cedars, but they are actually members of the pine family

There are cedar forests in China, and they are used for building materials and other purposes. However, these cedars were brought over from Japan several hundred years ago, and because they are such useful trees, they became widely cultivated. Now, there are areas where forests that resemble virgin forests are spreading, but they are all artificial forests and there is not a single natural cedar tree

Cedar has been used in a variety of ways as a useful tree since ancient times

When did cedars first appear? All we know so far is that fossils dating back 5.3 million years (late Miocene) have been found in Akita, Iwate, and Yamagata prefectures, but it is thought that they may have existed even before that. However, the Japanese archipelago separated from the continent about 20 million years ago, so cedars were not present in the period before that when they were connected to the continent by land

Cedar has many unique features, including being soft and easy to process, lightweight and easy to handle, durable and resistant to moisture and corrosion, and strong enough to withstand natural insects and decay, beautiful grain and a relaxing fragrance, and excellent humidity control, maintaining just the right amount of indoor humidity. For these reasons, it has long been used for building materials, furniture, shelves (fences), tableware, barrels, and more

Akita cedar fences and pillars discovered at building site in Akita Prefecture

In Akita Prefecture, around 850 (early Heian period), square cedar timbers that were used for the outer fence were excavated from the site of Hotta no Saku (Semboku-cho, Daisen City, a national historic site), a frontline fort used by the Yamato court in attacks on the Emishi, the indigenous people of the Tohoku region

Hotta fence ruins＜Information＞

• Facility name: Hottasaku ruins
• Address: 95 Nakayachi, Hotta, Daisen City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0187-63-8972 (Daisen City Tourism, Culture and Sports Department, Cultural Properties Division)
• Exhibition period: Late April to mid-November
• Closed: Obon period, mid-November to late April
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:00 (last entry 15:30)
• Admission fee: Free
• URL: Hotta fence ruins
• access
  • Public transportation: Take the Akita Shinkansen, JR Ou Main Line, or JR Tazawako Line from Omagari Station and get off at the "Umizo Bunka Center" bus stop, or take a taxi for about 15 minutes
  • By car: Approximately 20 minutes from Omagari IC on the Akita Expressway

Google Map

Cedar pillars and planks have also been found at the Kurumidate ruins (Kitaakita City), the remains of a building from the mid-Heian period

The Kurumikan ruins were discovered by chance in 1961 during ground maintenance work at Takanosu Junior High School (Kitaakita City), and subsequent investigations revealed that the building was buried by a mudslide caused by the eruption of Lake Towada volcano, which is believed to have occurred in 915. The roof of the building was washed away by the mudslide, but the area below the roof miraculously remained standing. The Kurumikan ruins are a historic site in Kitaakita City, and many of the excavated items, including cedar wood, have been designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan. However, the ruins have been backfilled for protection, and the storage facility for the excavated items is not open to the public, so it is not possible to visit

Kurumikan Ruins＜Information＞

• Facility name: Kurumikan Ruins (closed to the public)
• Address: 1 Bosawa Ueno, Kitaakita City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0186-62-6618 (Kitaakita City Board of Education, Lifelong Learning Division)
• URL: Kurumikan ruins
• access
  • Public transportation: Approximately 15 minutes on foot or 6 minutes by taxi from Takanosu Station on the JR Ou Main Line or Takanosu Station on the Akita Nairiku Jukan Line, or approximately 15 minutes by car from Odate-Noshiro Airport
  • By car: Approximately 15 minutes from Odate-Noshiro Airport IC on the Akita Expressway

Google Map

Toyotomi Hideyoshi used Akita cedar when building Fushimi Castle

It is said that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the one who first used Akita cedar outside of the Akita area and made it famous. When Hideyoshi was building Fushimi Castle, he ordered the search for suitable timber for the castle. The type he liked best was Akita cedar. He immediately ordered the Akita clan, a powerful clan that ruled the northern part of Ugo Province (Akita Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture) at the time (almost all of Akita Prefecture), to send Akita cedar to Kyoto

The Akita clan used axes and saws to cut down the Akita cedar trees that grew wild in the area along the Yoneshiro River, and then used the river to collect them at Noshiro Port. From Noshiro Port, they transported them across the Sea of ​​Japan on large ships to Tsuruga (Fukui Prefecture), and from Tsuruga they delivered them to Kyoto by land transport and by ship on Lake Biwa

The Satake Kubota clan set its sights on Akita cedar as a source of income for the clan

During the Edo period, the Satake clan became the feudal lords of the Akita region. The first feudal lord, Satake Yoshinobu (1570-1633), first set his sights on Akita cedar, which had become popular in the Kyoto area. There are records that he began selling Akita cedar to other feudal domains in 1604

Yoshinobu's development of Akita cedar was greatly influenced by the belief of his chief retainer, Shibue Masamitsu (1574-1614), that "The treasure of the nation is the mountains, and the decline of the mountains means the decline of the nation." Following Masamitsu's teachings, Yoshinobu focused on protecting forest resources while also cutting down trees

In the mid-Edo period, the natural cedar forests were devastated by excessive logging

Later, with the prosperity of the Edo Shogunate, Akita cedar became extremely popular in Edo, and felling became a priority to keep up with demand. The Akita domain's finances improved, but the domain's population continued to grow, and consumption within the domain for housing, firewood, charcoal, and other purposes also increased. As a result, by the late 1600s, most of the natural cedar trees in areas accessible to humans had been cut down, leaving little product to sell

As income from timber decreased, the Kubota Domain focused on developing mines for silver, copper, lead, and other products located deep in the tributaries of the Yoneshiro River. Products from mines such as Ani Mine (Kitaakita City) and Tara Mine (Fujisato Town) contributed greatly to the domain's finances. However, the construction of the mines required the consumption of large amounts of wood for frame timber and firepower, which led to further degradation of the forests and reached a limit

Sensing a sense of crisis, the Kubota clan put in place a policy of forest protection and cultivation, but it took decades for the cedar trees to grow, and the effects were not immediate. The dark ages for Akita cedar continued until the late 1700s

Yoshikazu Satake, the 9th lord of the Kubota domain, who saved the Akita cedar

In 1785, the eighth feudal lord, Satake Yoshiatsu (1748-1785), suddenly died, and he was succeeded by Satake Yoshikazu (1775-1815), who was only 11 years old at the time. Witnessing the deterioration of the Akita cedar forests, he felt that even if not in his time, they would surely become a national treasure in the future, and he investigated the causes of the forest degradation and advocated for reforestation. First, he created a forest register to understand the logging situation, and decided that 70% of the profits from the sales of cedar trees planted by local residents would be returned to the residents (until then, this was split equally between the residents and the domain) (Cultural Reform), encouraging the residents to reforest

A vassal of Yoshikazu named Kato Keirin (1768-1834) played a major role in this forest reform. Keirin traveled deep into the mountains, where officials normally did not venture, and thoroughly inspected the forests within the domain. Based on this experience, he devised a reform plan, and the number of cedar trees planted by the vassals reached 2.5 million. Kato Keirin is known as father of Akita cedar

Yoshikazu Satake founded the Meitokukan domain school and asked Masumi Sugae to compile the "Masumi Sugae Travelogue."

Yoshikazu became the domain's lord at the age of 11 and passed away at the age of 41. During this time, he also devoted himself to academics. He founded the domain school, Meitokukan, and, with an emphasis on education that valued individuality, produced many talented students. He also met local historian Sugae Masumi (1754-1829) and asked him to compile a geography of the Kubota domain's territory (the six counties of Dewa). This work eventually came to fruition as "Sugae Masumi's Travels, " which was later dedicated to Meitokukan. "Sugae Masumi's Travels" has been carefully preserved at Meitokukan ever since. The travelogue, along with colorful illustrations depicting the scenery, customs, and events of the time, make it an invaluable resource for understanding the Edo period. "Sugae Masumi's Travels" is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property.

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

[First] Sugae Masumi walked in Oga Peninsula - Sankaze Mountain and the Head Mountains of Faith [Akita Prefecture]　

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/36741

Masumi Sugae (Sugaremi / 1754-1829). He traveled mainly in northern Japan and Hokkaido, a kid in the Edo period, and wrote the scenery, people's lives, and customs with colored drawings (insertions). At the age of 48, he entered Akita and walked around Akita until he died at the age of 76. It is also known as the first folk scholar in Japan, and the book "Masumi Sugae Masumi Swinging" in Akita Prefecture's clan school "Meitoku -kan" is designated as a national important cultural property. Masumi Sugae is called [Oga's Gofu].

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Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

[Second Edition] Suga Masumi walked in Oga Peninsula - Interested in the strange rocks along the coast [Akita Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/36715

Masumi Sugae in the Edo period (1754-1829) introduces the Edo period and modern times based on [Oga Gofu], which wrote the Oga Peninsula. <Masumi Sugae. Following the Oga Peninsula where you walked, the second is the "Spring Wind of Oga", which resumed your trip to the Oga Peninsula and traveled on the north coast, and "Oga no Suzukaze" and "Oga no Island style" around the west coast. This article is written while referring to the Akita Prefectural Museum of Museum, the Kokugan Bunkan, the book, the National Diet Library, and the contemporary translation book published in 2000. The date of the Edo period is the date and time (the lunar calendar) written by Masumi unless there is a paradise. See Akita Prefectural Museum Kan ...

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Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

[Third] Sugae Masumi walked in the Oga Peninsula - Encountered a major earthquake [Akita Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/36506

Based on the Oga Peninsula's journey, Masumi Sugae (from 1754-1829), a traveler in the Edo period, will be introduced in contrast to the Edo period based on [Oga's Five Wind]. <Following the Oga Peninsula where Masumi Sugae walked> The third is the final volume of Oga, "Oga no Kazu", which starts on July 18, 1810. In "Oga no Kazu", it describes the emotions of the historic earthquakes and the misery around you. This article is written while referring to the Akita Prefectural Museum, the National Library Corporation, the National Diet Library, and the contemporary translation book published in 2000. The date of the Edo period is as long as there is no proviso ...

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Even after the Meiji period, demand for Akita cedar remained high, and reckless logging continued

Led by Yoshikazu, subsequent feudal lords worked hard to maintain and revive Akita cedar, but after the Meiji Restoration, much of the land became national forest and came under government management. Demand for Akita cedar remained high even after the Meiji era, and as Japan rapidly modernized during the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1985), the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), and World War I (1914-1918), large-scale logging continued, primarily in the manmade forests that had been planted during the Edo period and had thrived

In 1945, massive air raids by the Allied forces, led by the United States, left many major cities in ruins, and after the war, people were busy rebuilding them. Demand for timber reached its peak, and not only natural Akita cedars, but even forests that had been protected as conservation forests were cut down. Cedar trees were planted again on the vacant lots, and large-scale artificial cedar forests were born

At the end of the 20th century, the government finally began to protect Akita cedars

The government, judging that demand for timber would continue for another 40 to 50 years, began planting fast-growing cedar trees in forests across the country. However, because broad-leaved trees grow slowly, even mixed forests of broad-leaved trees such as oak and Japanese oak were cut down and replaced with cedar forests. This was fine when demand for domestic timber was high, but in the 1990s, timber imports were liberalized and demand for cedar decreased. Furthermore, prices plummeted, leading to the worst possible outcome. As a result, the number of people involved in forestry plummeted, and many of the cedar forests that had grown well 40 years after planting were left unattended (which is what is causing the hay fever we suffer today)

Even so, the demand for Akita cedar was still higher than other cedars, and natural cedar in particular was given priority for commercialization. In 1997, the government finally realized that this was a problem and began to protect natural cedar. First, plans to cut down natural cedar were halted and management shifted to a system that prioritized conservation. Today, as far as Akita cedar is concerned, the cutting down of natural cedar is prohibited as a general rule, and only artificial forests that were planted before the Meiji period and are 80 to 100 years old are in circulation

Good news: A new species of cedar with half the pollen count has been developed in Akita Prefecture

Meanwhile, research into pollen-free cedar trees is also beginning to progress

In 2019, two new varieties that reduce pollen dispersion by half were developed in Akita Prefecture. They were developed by the Resource Utilization Department of the Akita Prefectural Forestry Research and Training Center, and seeds will go on sale in 2025 (Reiwa 7)

The Tohoku Regional Forest Office is also promoting the planting of cedar trees that produce less pollen, and is also conducting research into pollen-free cedar trees. In a few decades, we may see a time when we no longer suffer from cedar pollen allergies

NORIJUN

My love of travel grew, and I used to write a travel magazine, and now I'm a travel writer for the web. During my research, I visited all 47 prefectures in Japan, mainly in the Tohoku region, but my fun part is soaking in hot springs and experiencing traditional Japanese culture such as old townscapes, lifestyles, and performing arts and crafts.