The Meaning of Premises Forests Surrounding Village Residences and Regional Inhabitants' Consciousness in Island Regions : Bise Village of Motobu Town in Okinawa Prefecture as an Example

Autor: Nakama, Yuei, Kikuchi, Koh
Jazyk: japonština
Předmět:
Zdroj: 琉球大学農学部学術報告. (50):77-83
ISSN: 0370-4246
Popis: Bise village at lat. 26' 42N. and long. 127' 53E. is located at the tip of the Motobu peninsula in the northern part of Okinawa island. The administrative district belongs to Motobu town. The village is on an arc-like dune with a length of 1.1 km. The total population of the village is 593 (as of March 2003) and well balanced; males are 299 and females 294. People over 60 occupy more than half of the population. The main industry is agriculture and sugarcane is the key crop. In Bise village, premises forests of Garcinia subelliptica Merr. with heights of 8-12 m, chest-height diameters of 30-60 cm and estimated ages over 100 years can be seen (Miyagi, 1983). These premises forests must have been formed artificially starting in the modern era. The village people call the Garcinia subelliptica puku: gi or to: purugi: in a local dialect. They have been utilizing the trees in various ways for a long time. They buried the trees in the sand under the sea for a long period of time to make them a mothproof and used them as timber for pillars, beams and floors. Withered branches and leaves were used as fuel. Leaves were used in place of toilet paper and for Japanese sandals. In Okinawa prefecture, there are villages where premises forests (forests surrounding each person's residence by Garcinia subelliptica) are still well preserved. Garcinia subelliptica Merr. forests have been considered useful, but since they also block off the sunshine, they have been cut down and, thus, are disappearing. Bise Village, taken as an example for this thesis, is a good example of where the Garcinia subelliptica forests have been well preserved in Okinawa prefecture. Premises forests of Garcinia subelliptica in Okinawa have been grown throughout history and how to make use of them from now on has become a big issue. In this thesis, it is intended to explore structures of appreciation for evaluation today through researching how regional inhabitants think about premises forests of Garcinia subelliptica based upon their historical meaning by taking Bise village as a case study. Regarding the formation of villages in Ryukyus in the modern era, it is a historical fact that ideas based upon Fung-Shui were applied. It can be considered that premises forests of Garcinia subelliptica in Bise were formed in conformity with the ideas of Fung-Shui by the royal capital during the process of modern re-formation of villages. According to principles of Fung-Shui, it is topography that divines the fortunes of the land. With the Fung-Shui, earth is a living organism and the vital energy (vital energy pulse or dragon pulse) runs through it. Being able to read right and wrong of geographical features, through which the life energy flows, is the basis of Fung-Shui. Fung-Shui seem to have been introduced from China in the end of the 14th century. Today, Fung-Shui principles are distributed mainly in the cultural sphere of the countries of East Asia such as southern China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Ryukyu. The way of thinking based upon Fung-Shui was applied to a wide variety of fields from the planning of houses, villages, cemeteries, cities and metropolises to management of mountains as a national policy in Ryukyus from the 17th through the 18th century. Fung-Shui landscapes, which were made artificially in modern times, including premises forests (forests surrounding each person's residence by Garcinia subelliptica), have been a rational land utilization system to harmonize human activities with the variety of living things in island regions. Regarding regional in habitants' appreciation of the premises forests, they evaluate their functions primarily as softening typhoons and heat and also consider them essential for preservation of views and peace of mind. They think the forests of Garcinia subelliptica should be utilized for environmental education and tourist attractions.
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Databáze: OpenAIRE
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