Modern Japanese English Translations and Content Analysis of ‘Additional Forest Methods Somayama Houshikichou Shitsugi’ from the ‘Eight Volumes on Forest Administration.'

摘要

‘Somayama Houshikichou Shitsugi [Additional Forest Methods]’ was promulgated in 1747 as a supplementary volume to ‘Somayama Houshikichou [Forest Methods]’ which had been published a decade earlier in 1737. The contents once again affirm principles outlined in the earlier ‘Somayama Houshikichou’ but also include additional statutes on new matters. ‘Somayama Houshikichou’ consisted of three sections: ‘Aspects of Forest Terrain,’ ‘The Growth and Management of Forests’ and ‘Understanding Types of Forest.’ Out of a total of 28 articles, 11 covered geomorphic analysis of forest terrain, 8 articles dealt with the growth and management of forests and 9 articles looked at how to judge types of forests by appearance from afar. ‘Somayama Houshikichou Shitsugi,’ in contrast, contains 18 articles, 11 of which contain provisions related to forest growth and management, 5 articles deal with building materials required for ships and the main palace at Shuri Gusuku and 2 articles focus on the use of community or village forests, called ‘sanya’ or ‘satoyama.’ One of the most noticeable features of ‘Somayama Houshikichou Shitsugi’ was the set of improvement measures for barren land areas within community forests. Barren areas within community forest that lay abandoned were called ‘nigatsuchi’ and ‘sabitsuchi.’ According to soil specialists, these barren areas did not contain high-salinity soils. Because the pH value of the ‘nigatsuchi’ and ‘sabitsuchi’ soil in these areas was between 2-3 very little could grow there. What follows below are methods for improving barren land areas described within ‘Somayama Houshikichou Shitsugi.’ In locations with ‘nigatsuchi’ and ‘sabitsuchi’ soil types it is possible to improve the soil quality so that crops can be grown. Holes are dug at a depth of 42 centimeters, 21 centimeters under the topsoil on the upper layer and 21 centimeters above the subsoil on the lower level. Leave this area exposed to tlle elements for one year and then mix together the soil from the upper and lower levels. This method is being taught to farmers in Okinawa Prefecture even today so as to avoid damage to crops as a result of repeated cultivation. A second feature of ‘Somayama Houshikichou Shitsugi’ is the use of so-called ‘kuimishiki’ community forest areas for food cultivation. These were also known as ‘kinawabata,’ ‘sanyabata,’ ‘yamabata’ or ‘akikaebata.’ In most cases these areas were in community forests in proximity to farming communities but such cultivation was also carried out within royal government-administered forest areas, depending on the region. For several years the cultivation of crops would be carried out within government forest areas but after that the area would return to government control for forest planting through a slash-and-burn method of afforestation. In terms of specifically community forest areas there are cases of land used for crop cultivation for several years but then turned over for forest planting but in most cases the areas remained as regular fields used for crop cultivation. This method of usage, under a joint utilization form, was administered by the village community and carried out under a formula by which responsibility was assigned to individual households. The cultivated product was primarily various types of potato. The use of community forests for crop cultivation seems to have been very important for food supply at the time because these were areas not subject to tax tribute payments and therefore no payment burden was placed on the local farmers.