After installing a wood stove in my home, I began to enter the forest to make firewood. Through this process, I touched the trees and learned about the trees, the forest, the mountains, and eventually, the entire region.
In the southeast of Shikoku, there is an abundance of evergreen broadleaf trees such as Ubame oak and Arakashi, which are prime materials for producing high-quality firewood and charcoal. The firewood and charcoal produced from these trees have long supported the lives of the people.
The pioneers established a forestry technique called "Koriki forestry," which involves selective logging (takubatsu) of trees at the appropriate age and utilizes the sprouting power of evergreen broadleaf trees that grow from the stumps after cutting. This technique was registered as a Forestry Heritage by the Japanese Forest Society in 2017.Koriki forestry created a highly economical, cyclical, and sustainable forest, which became a major supply source of firewood and charcoal fuel, supporting the energy needs of the Kansai metropolitan area.Even after several centuries, the grand autumn festival and the "Chosa" (taiko float), which are considered symbols of civic pride in the Hiwasa area, have their origins in the trade and cultural exchanges with the Kansai region through the firewood and charcoal industry.Livelihoods, industries, the economy, as well as culture and history, all revolved around the forests. The southeast of Shikoku has greatly benefited from the evergreen broadleaf forests.
The energy revolution, where wood fuel was replaced by fossil fuels. The fertilizer revolution brought about by the widespread use of chemical fertilizers. And the decline in market value of coniferous forests, which rapidly expanded after the war, due to trade liberalization.As a result of these changes, we began to distance ourselves from the forests, which had once been vital sources of resources. The forests, which had been so carefully cherished, lost their economic value, and people gradually ceased their involvement with them.
Abandoned and left like orphans, the forests have become saturated with trees, and beneath the lush greenery, various problems are emerging. In the southeast of Shikoku, as logging and forest management have ceased, trees have grown larger, leading to the spread of insect damage and fallen trees. The forests, which purify the air and water and sustain both people and the creatures of rivers and seas, are beginning to lose their ability to maintain this vital cycle.
For people to remain involved in the mountains, they need not only ideals and knowledge, but also economic motivation. Once again, we are committed to rebuilding a sustainable relationship between people and forests by creating value in forests for trees, thereby becoming an engine of demand for lumber. Please look forward to the challenge of Tree Company Shikoku no Migishita, Ltd.