Converting the Forces of Nature into a Cultural Force: An Invitation to Pursue the Study of Satoyamas

Abstract

After Word War II, the Japanese Government focused on economic growth, and hence the growth of cities, and has started to reform systems related to environmental preservation. We have lived through the coastal effects of the tsunami and the nuclear power plant accidents caused by the unprecedented great earthquake. These experiences lead us to radically reconsider human beings’ relationship with nature. Satoyama Studies is a source of ideas for reintroducing the forces of nature to human culture to create a way of life where humans coexist with nature, recovering quality of life while restraining unlimited economic growth. This chapter introduces the importance of Satoyama Studies as a form of local research, it reviews the Old Calendar as a cultural force, and the value of Satoyama Studies as a source of education about how to live and also how to prepare for death, and the discovery of the practice of tree burial, and it attempts to explain why Satoyama Studies are important for peace building.

A Satoyama may be only a little village near the mountains, only at best a Satoyama. Yet, even so, it is a Satoyama.