When We Hear the Voice of the Mountains: The Ideas of Mountain Villages that Swung between Blessings and Development from Ancient Times to the First Half of the Twentieth Century

When We Hear the Voice of the Mountains: The Ideas of Mountain Villages that Swung between Blessings and Development from Ancient Times to the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Since ancient times, the mountains of Japan have supported people's lives as a source of blessings. Wild vegetables, nuts, meat from hunting, crops from slash-and-burn farming, firewood, lumber, and other living resources are evidence of the close ties between mountains and people. Development activities in mountain villages were originally merely an extension of the activities necessary to make a living, and as long as they were carried out to the extent necessary, coexistence with nature could be maintained. However, excessive human intervention and use that exceeds the mountain's capacity to regenerate will quickly damage the mountain, and the effect will be felt in the village life itself.

Of particular importance is the fact that mountain resources can be divided into renewable and non-renewable resources. While firewood, timber, and wild vegetables are resources that can be recycled over time, underground resources, including minerals and metals, end when they are dug up, and in many cases the prosperity they brought to the region turned into rapid decline. What pervades the history of mountain villages is the divergence of destinies brought about by the nature of these two resources.

Moreover, the mountains were never a closed and isolated world. From ancient times to modern times, mountain villages traded with the plains and port towns, transporting timber and minerals and receiving in return salt, cloth, iron tools, and other goods to make a living. While this exchange with the outside world has led mountain villages to a richer culture, it has also led to excessive extraction and forced development. The light and shadow of development were always two sides of the same coin.

It should be emphasized that the history of the mountain villages cannot be described simply in terms of development=evil. The traditional wisdom of taking in the bounty of the mountains and using it with care has been shaken by diverse factors such as external demand, political change, and technological innovation. Each time, mountain villages have lived their lives while seeking to determine how much they can rely on the power of the mountains and how much is in jeopardy.

This complex historical perspective is also relevant to today's environmental issues. In order to obtain the necessary resources while protecting the forests and soil, we must understand the rhythm of regeneration of the mountains and adjust our human activities within a range that does not exceed that rhythm. Listening to the voice of the mountains means listening carefully to the delicate equilibrium between nature and humans, a challenge that has continued from ancient times to the present.