daisugi
{{Short description|Traditional Japanese forestry technique}}
{{Italic title}}
File:New breed Dai Sugi 02.jpg
{{nihongo||台杉|Daisugi}} is a Japanese technique related to pollarding, used on Cryptomeria ({{transliteration|ja|sugi}}) trees.{{cite book |last1=Nōrinshō |first1=S |year=1926 |title=Forestry of the "Sugi" (Cryptomeria Japonica, Don) and the "Karamatsu" (Larix Leptolepis Gord) |publisher=Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry| page=27}}{{cite book |last1=Numata |first1=M. |year=1974 |title=Flora and vegetation of Japan}}{{cite book |last1=Ohba |first1=K. |chapter=Clonal forestry with sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) |title=Clonal forestry II |date=1993 |publisher=Springer |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |pages=66–90}} The term roughly translates to "platform cedar".{{Cite web|url=https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/10/daisugi-trees-japan/|title=A Japanese Forestry Technique Prunes Upper Branches to Create a Tree Platform for More Sustainable Harvests|date=October 27, 2020}}
When applied in a silviculture context, the {{transliteration|ja|daisugi}} method requires trunks to be pruned every 2–4 years in order to maintain the straight, clear grain that they are coveted for.{{Cite news |last=Hassan |first=Farah |date=July 2, 2023 |title=The 600-year-old guide to Japanese sustainable forestry: Daisugi method |url=https://lampoonmagazine.com/article/2023/07/02/the-600-year-old-guide-to-japanese-sustainable-forestry-daisugi-method/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325062758/https://lampoonmagazine.com/article/2023/07/02/the-600-year-old-guide-to-japanese-sustainable-forestry-daisugi-method/ |archive-date=March 25, 2024 |access-date=April 9, 2024 |work=Lampoon Magazine |publisher=Lampoon Publishing House}}{{Cite web |last=Stewart |first=Jessica |date=2020-07-31 |title=Incredible 15th-Century Japanese Technique for Growing Ultra-Straight Cedar Trees |url=https://mymodernmet.com/kitayama-cedar-daisugi/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=My Modern Met |language=en}}
History
In the Muromachi period a form of very straight and stylized Sukiya-zukuri architecture was highly fashionable in Japan, resulting in a rise in demand for straight, uniform logs.{{Cite journal |last1=Jong |first1=W. De |last2=Urushima |first2=A. Flores |last3=Jacquet |first3=B. |last4=Takahashi |first4=T. |date=2022-09-01 |title=Cedars of the North Mountains: Historical forest culture and practices in modern day nature policies |url=https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cfa/ifr/2022/00000024/00000003/art00008# |journal=International Forestry Review |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=380–392 |doi=10.1505/146554822835941896|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |last=Taaffe |first=Gerard |date=2002-09-26 |title=Trees that tower over the past and present |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2002/09/26/environment/trees-that-tower-over-the-past-and-present/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=The Japan Times |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-03-13 |title=Feeling the trees shivering: endangered environmental knowledge in northern Kyoto |url=https://www.kyotojournal.org/uncategorized/feeling-the-trees-shivering-endangered-environmental-knowledge-in-northern-kyoto/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Kyoto Journal |language=en-US}} As a response, the {{transliteration|ja|daisugi}} method was developed by foresters in the Kitayama area of Kyoto,{{Cite web |title=北山杉story - 北山杉のはじまりと歴史 {{!}} 京都北山丸太生産協同組合 |url=https://www.kyotokitayamamaruta.com/history/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.kyotokitayamamaruta.com}} though other forms of vegetative reproduction such as the propagation of cuttings remained the dominant afforestation technique across the country.{{Cite journal |last=Totman |first=Conrad |date=1986 |title=Plantation Forestry in Early Modern Japan: Economic Aspects of Its Emergence |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3743653 |journal=Agricultural History |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=23–51 |jstor=3743653 |issn=0002-1482}}
Kitayama foresters increased the value of their {{transliteration|ja|daisugi}} logs by applying a unique sand polishing method that gave the wood a smooth, shiny finish. The development of the sanding method is attributed to a local fable about a traveling monk who was cared for by Kitayama villagers, it is said that he repaid their kindness by sharing his forestry knowledge with them.{{Cite web |title=北山杉の里 中川 - Story of Kitayama Cedars ( for children ) 北山杉の話 |url=https://sites.google.com/a/transwordtgm.com/iwai-forest-industry/association-of-nakagawa-revitalization-project/kitayama-cedars-kids-brochure |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=sites.google.com |language=en-US}}
Due to their strength and aesthetic value, Kitayama’s {{transliteration|ja|daisugi}} logs, and similar specialty lumber such as Kitayama Maruta logs{{Cite web |title=Kitayama Maruta: Japanese cedar logs {{!}} Wood & Bamboo Work {{!}} Kyoto {{!}} JTCO: Japanese Traditional Culture Promotion & Development Organization |url=https://www.jtco.or.jp/en/japanese-crafts/?act=detail&id=219&p=26&c=29 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.jtco.or.jp}} became popular in tea room construction, such as the tokonoma alcove.
Modern practice
Although originally a forestry management technique, {{transliteration|ja|daisugi}} has also found its way into Japanese gardens as an aesthetic feature.{{Cite web|url=https://www.spoon-tamago.com/2020/10/20/daisugi-japanese-forestry-technique/|title=Daisugi: The Japanese Forestry Technique of Creating a Tree Platform for Other Trees|date=October 20, 2020|access-date=December 8, 2020|archive-date=February 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228182733/https://www.spoon-tamago.com/2020/10/20/daisugi-japanese-forestry-technique/|url-status=dead}}
Examples of {{transliteration|ja|daisugi}} forestry can still be found in areas of northern Kyoto where it was developed, though Kitayama sugi plantations do not contribute significantly to the domestic lumber market as they once did. In the Village of Nakagawa in the Kyoto prefecture, efforts are underway to preserve traditional Japanese sugi silviculture practices such as {{transliteration|ja|daisugi}}, and the sand polishing technique used to finish {{transliteration|ja|daisugi}} logs.
References
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