Short movies    Forest revival "KIRAMEKI"

Japanese ／English subtitling

What is “KIRAMEKI”?

 

“KIRAMEKI” (peeling the bark off a tree) is one way of forest maintenances, which anybody can do, having a lot of fun.

It is now quickly becoming popular as a nature activity which is a useful mean of protecting nature of the earth.

In rough and dark forest crowded with a massive amount of trees, we peel the bark off some selected trees immediately.

By doing this, we can achieve the same effect as thinning by cutting down trees. In this way of thinning, even women and children also can play an active role.

We can finally see wood surface which is shining, brightly and sparking in the sunlight.

At the moment, we are always fascinated by forests and trees

 

Brief Background

In Japan, the total area of forest is 25 million hectare.

The land of Japan is covered with 25 million hectare of forests.

The artificial forests which do not get thinned are chock full of trees, and the trees cannot be grown up properly because of the lack of sufficient space among them, and thus in such crowded and dark forests, new grasses and low trees hardly grow up.

The total area of the forests requiring to get thinned is expected to reach as large as 14 million hectare, which is 40% of the land.

Moreover, thinning in domestic forests is a very urgent need.

The reason is because

In artificial forest, the number of forests’ owners who can distinguish where their own area stars and ends have been decreasing. If nobody can find out the borders, it has become impossible to perform thinning even though we are eager to do so.

Japanese cedar and cypress trees planted in the artificial forests which are left unattended cannot firmly take root , and the trees will be fallen by typhoons and strong winds  As a result, the fallen trees will cause soiled erosion and landslides

The ratio of Japan’s wood self-sufficiency is only 20%.

80 % of the consumption of wood is dependent on the imports from overseas.

The wood which comes from virgin forests has been imported from overseas.

The Story after KIRAMEKI

After peeling the bark off trees, the trees would die standing up, and they naturally would dry out from within, and then they become natural dried Japanese cedar and cypress lumbers.

If all those domestic lumbers produced from forest thinning, can be effectively used, then we do not need to use imported lumbers which come from overseas primary forest.

 

A year later “KIRAMEKI”, the artificial forest, in fact, would be changed gradually, recovering its brightness.

The leaves go off the peeled and dried trees, and the light of the sun comes into the forest floor. Thanks to the light, new grass and tree plants begin to sprout, turning poor and barred floor into green floor.

Such plants would take root and grow, prowing the soil

 

Growing the roots of those health plants has led to the prevention of falling trees and solid erosion because they will entangle with the roots of the cedar and cypress trees around them.

Also, the roots will become home and food for the creatures living there, such as insects and birds, inhabiting in the forest.

Five years later, the forest floor will be covered with rich green glasses and trees, which also make nuts grow up.

As well as recovering the water retention ability of soil, the forest can take back the power which originally it had to support living creatures.

 

Taking care of the artificial forest is saving water and is also passing a rich green forest environment and wood resources to the future.

 

There are things we can do.

The things to be able to be done by anybody lead to expand rich green forests to the future.

 

Let’s go to the forest and do “KIRAMEKI” together!”

 

Our Vision of the future after 500 years

500 years later from now, in the forest which seemingly covered with only broad-leaved trees, there are towering imposing cedar and cypress trees with 35 meters in height and 3 meters in diameter in 8 number of tree per hectare.

These imposing trees have been seeing off their friends to leave from the forest and remain as its “ACE” tree in the forest.

Now, such large-diameter trees are really required not only in Japan but also in all over the world.

Japan is no longer a wood-importing country,

but a wood- supplying country with world-class quality and quantity

 

If six people hold each other’s hands making a circle, its diameter is approximately 3 meters.

So we can feel the diameter of the large-diameter tree which would remain in the forest after 500 years later.

It was once in the forest called “SENKOURIN” [which means the forest covered only with tall and skinny trees] and it was only 20 -30 cm in diameter and only 15 meters in height.

It is now in the forest being done by KIRAMEKI.

And, it is now seeking for sparkling sunlight in somewhere in forest.

 

Let’s connect with the forest 500 years later.

You can be messenger of the light,

connecting with the future 500 years later.

World changes gradually,

gathering the small light to make them the big sparking one.

 

NPO　Mori-no-Yomigaeri (forest revival)

We believe in two key ideas

To revive domestic wild and rough forest and not to use imported woods which come from overseas (primary) forests.

To live in good harmony with blessings of nature.

 

By doing “KIRAMEKI”, which is peeling the bark off a tree, the dark and rough forests which need to be thinned can take back its brightness with efforts with everyone.  

 

We believe that making the best possible use of those woods from forest thinning create jobs in local areas, and also our self-reliant living without depending on overseas primary forests can be expanded.