A Historical Reconstruction of the Changing Relationship Between Forests and People in Japan : A Case Study of Hirosaki Domain in the Nineteenth Century
This chapter explores the relationship between people and forests during Japan’s Tokuagwa period, focusing on Hirosaki domain in northern Honshu, known for its abundant hiba (thujopsis dolabrata) forests. Timber production thrived in the seventeenth century, but by the eighteenth century, resource depletion prompted forest management policies. The 1783 famine accelerated forest devastation, leadin