Flower arrangement with living cedars: Pruning in Hakone 箱根

Hakone Sengokubara 仙石原

Last year’s monster typhoons threw Hakone 箱根 into a mess. Lake Ashinoko 芦ノ湖 overflew. Town’s roads system was destroyed by landslides. Railroads lost their tracks with collapsed mountain slopes … One year has passed since then. Fortunately (or not), according to this analysis, Japanese have accumulated the know-how to swiftly deal with such problems. The transportation system in Hakone has restarted its normalcy this July, 3 months earlier than the original schedule. Recently, I’ve been there. Yeah, in spite of the COVID-things, Hakone is resuming its tourism business. Traffic congestions were here and there. Impressive.

Fukuzumiro 福住楼,
 one of traditional Japanese hot-spa inns in Hakone

Though, the effect of Japanese oak tree wilt (; my post on August 23, 2019) is remaining in Hakone. The area was the first in Kanagawa Prefecture where we noticed the dying trees, some 3 or 4 years ago. Several mountain slopes in Hakone are now covered with desiccated brown patches that are definitely-not autumn leaves. Sad. Despite of ferocious typhoon winds last year, those dead trees keep on standing … It is remarkable, certainly. But, how long will it take for Hakone to recover mountains covered with healthy greens? I wonder.

The restored train operation,
 and unrestored mountain with oak tree wilt
 in Hakone

Hakone is also seeing the problems of overpopulated Shika deer. Tanzawa 丹沢, Hakone’s eastern neighbor, is having this problem for years. When we enter Tanzawa mountains we must cover our foot against vampire leeches carried by deer population (; my post on 14 July 2017). Shizuoka Prefecture 静岡県, the western neighbor of Hakone, also having the issues with the animal. Hakone has spared such challenges so far, but it could be a matter of time if its adjacent areas are full of deer (; my post on 21 July 2017). Actually, when we mow the forest floor in Hakone, saplings and young trees are often become lunch for hungry deer. As the place is the National Park, the authorities are more alarmed if such popular tourist destination having bold mountains and pestering vampire worms as her neighbors.

Lunch for deer

So, one day when we pruned the boughs of young pollen-free cedars (my post on December 16, 2016), the Prefectural office asked forest instructors to have a novel measure to protect the trees. Trees can withstand a bit of bites on their body, but once stripping of their skin becomes substantial enough, it dies. Voracious deer don’t care if a forest is dying due to their eating habit. So it comes the novel way to protect the young trees. We covered the foot of pruned cedars with its removed boughs, just like wearing skirts. Our intention was, by protecting trunks of young trees, deer cannot gnaw barks of the forest. “You see? Christmas wraths made of cedars keep its green for at least 2 years. The protection we made today would last for some time. Trees can grow stronger meanwhile.” I see. “You try to have a viewpoint of hungry deer. They come here and try to chew the vegetation within the reach of their mouth.” I imagined myself entering the forest on all fours and extending my neck to have a lunch. “Well, this lower space looks appetizing.” i.e. We had to cover that part. We fastened the branches leaned on a trunk by tying them with a longer cedar bough. They were flexible enough to be a securing band. “We cannot do this with cypress, you know.” It was a fun operation. We were becoming more artistic to make an interesting barrier around the trunks. It was like doing a flower arrangement in a forest.

Cedars wearing skirts

This installation is figurative,
 don’t you think?

We don’t know if our approach is effective to protect the forest from insatiable herds of deer. In any case, something is happening for forests of Japan. This fall, we’ve heard so many news about hungry wild animals, like deer, serow, bear, boar, … wondering into human settlement for food. It’s rainy fall this year. Winter is approaching …

If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター

657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121　厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/

A Trailer: Laboratory of Forest Art 2020

 

This year, we had a very long monsoon season. It was unusually wet and even cold. Then, suddenly, when the calendar turned into August, we are thrown into sunny and damned hot summer. It seems to me the condition was perfect for Platypus quercivorus to establish colonies in old oak trees in Kanagawa Prefecture. The oaks, mainly Quercus serrata, that have been spared from the infection of the bugs before the rain are now blasted here and there. It’s the beginning of rapid spread of Japanese Oak Tree Wilt. I’ve heard in Togawa Park 神奈川県立秦野戸川公園 (; my post on February 14, 2020), the most popular entrance to Tanzawa mountains, decided to hire pros to cut lots of died oaks in order to prevent accident by diseased oaks falling over the hikers … Here in more urban Yokohama, many Quercus serrata have abruptly turned brown under bright sunshine. They are dying.

These two trees are dying side-by-side
 in a park near Niiharu …

We Niiharu Lovers are somehow sanguine about the situation. We last year found a tree on the popular road in Niiharu that was infected by the disease. The City cut it, and we have been, a sort of, waiting for the result. Now this. “Well, if we have not taken care of the forest for a long time and let the oaks to be bigger like now, the explosion of infectious disease has been a disaster in waiting.” Yes. If people have harvested fuel logs and used the tree for cultivating mushrooms, such thing could not happen. Platypus quercivorus are picky home buyers. They live only in large oaks. In the 1960s and onwards, the society chose the convenience of petrol-based activities. Traditional usage of Satoyama forest was forgotten. Oaks that were before coppiced every 15-20 years were abandoned and become formidable size. Bugs have found the large supply of the best property for their sweet home with thousands of babies per couple … The thing we can do now, apart from treating the infected trees, is to keep doing our voluntary work of forest management, isn’t it?

Niiharu’s infected trees … They looked OK in July …

Such unintended consequence of human activity is becoming undercurrent for this year’s Laboratory of Forest Art. For one thing, last year’s typhoons made great damages in the entire North Forests of Yokohama. It shocked the artists. I’ve heard the power of typhoon has been treated as the important element of 2020 exhibition since last fall. Next came COVID-19 pandemic, which put another constraint for their activities especially when they plan to have art workshops. Finally, at the end of monsoon the preparation of the 2020 show has started, and the oaks of their place started to dieback. The members of the Creation and Voice of the Woods 創造と森の声 are now digesting all of these things to be reflected in their new installation for coming September.

The forest for Laboratory of Forest Art is
 having lots of Japanese Oak Tree Wilt …

This is due to last year’s typhoons
 in their forest.

So, Laboratory of Forest Art 2020 is planned to be a bit different from the previous years. They do not have opening and closing parties, but present their work for a longer period of time, from September 6^th to October 18^th, via internet. One or two families will be allowed to join several workshops with RSVP at first-come-first-served base. Please check their HP here, and see the availability of workshop, videos about their activity, etc. The 2020 show will be from 27^th of September to October 18^th. We can just check internet, or go there and see how artists are coping with this new world’s situation in the forest. I hope, by then, at least this hot summer days are somehow ending …

Mr. Kazuo Ishikuro is in the forest for this year’s installation
 … His is a sort of shocking creature.
 Please stay tuned!

Mr. Youichiro Yoshikawa’s creation looks like this now.
 How will he treat it this year?

If you find a problem in the site introduced in this post, the best contact address will be GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods.

https://morilab.amebaownd.com/

e-mail: morinokoe7@yahoo.co.jp

The city office which is in charge of this forest is

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North 北部公園緑地事務所

Yokohama Municipal Government Creative Environment Policy Bureau 横浜市環境創造局

Phone: 045-311-2016

FAX: 045-316-8420