Modern Japanese & English Translations and Content Analysis of 'Provisions Related to Forest Planning [Somayama nitsuki Souhakarai no Joujou]' from the 'Eight Volumes on Forest Administration.'

摘要

By studying this collection of provisions we can understand three new points. The initial point is that this is the first time forest planning for individual regions within the Ryukyu Kingdom has been mentioned. For example, because there are no areas of somayama (government-administered forest) in Agunijima, Tonakijima and Iejima the timber requirements of these regions has to be covered using forest resources from the Kunigami and Nakagami districts of Okinawa Island. In contrast, because Iheyajima, Kumejima and Keramajima do have areas of somayama they can be entirely self-sufficient in terms of their timber requirements. In the case of Miyakojima, somayama will have to be developed there in order that it can eventually be self-sufficient in terms of timber. The second point is that looking at the case of Miyakojima we can see that there was an extensive system of timber distribution in effect. For example, when a ship was to be built in Miyakojima it was necessary to travel to Yaeyama in order to get the required timber. Additionally, in the case of lumber required for house construction it was necessary for Miyako to purchase timber from Yaeyama or from Okinawa Island. The most expensive lumber was that purchased at high cost from local Ryukyuan maaransen or from Yamatobune out of Kagoshima. If one were to make a conjecture based on the contents of the document it would appear that by this time on Miyakojima there was already in place a system very much like a timber market with lumber transported to the islands by ship from locations within the kingdom and beyond. The third point relates to the shift in the size of the population of Ryukyu. While in earlier times there were perhaps 70,000-80,000 inhabitants, by the time Sai On had become a sanshikan (member of the Council of Three) in 1728 the population had increased to 200,000. This population increase, along with the need for timber to build palaces at Shuri Castle or to build Chinese-style ships greatly increased the demand for wood. It is thought that this increased demand for timber was a major factor in determining the development of effective conservation and administration policies for the forest resources of Ryukyu.