People who work with Kamiyama's trees
～News from the second batch of students of Kamiyama Monosasu School～

Nice to meet you, I'm Yoshida, a student at Monosasu Juku.
In my previous job, I worked for a company that designed and constructed houses, condominiums, stores, and buildings in the Tokyo area. The company also produced custom-made furniture using wood, so wood was always close to me and I gradually became interested in wood.

Kamiyama is home to many towering cedar trees, which are used for timber. Immediately after the war, many people were involved in forestry as a result of national policy, but as civilization developed, forestry itself declined, and now that people have left the mountains, only the many cedar trees remain.
Then, decades passed, and I learned that the cedar trees had grown without human intervention or thinning, and were beginning to disrupt the natural cycle.

There are people who have risen to face this issue and create new things. Meeting these people has given me the opportunity to reflect on myself.

Having worked in the construction industry, I have come into contact with wood casually, but when I visited Kamiyama as a student of Monosasu Juku and interacted with local people, I began to wonder, in what context are the trees necessary for people to live grown and utilized?
This time, I would like to write about what I have experienced and felt through the people who work with trees.

This time's Kamiyama Monosasu Juku reporter

A person who cuts trees
"All these cedar trees will become a treasure trove."
Mr. Hiroyuki Kaneizumi, Kaneizumi Lumber Company

Mr. Kanezumi runs a sawmill that has been passed down for generations in the Kamibun Kanezumi area of Kamiyama Town.
I met Kanezumi when I was invited by Sato, a student at Monosasu Juku, to participate in a forestry experience tour.

Speaking of forestry, the image of the movie " Woodjob " remains strongly in my mind.
I was very impressed by the humane depth of emotion and the way of life of lumberjacks, who live in the harsh conditions of mountain life, and who think about their descendants for generations to come. I really liked this movie, but I wonder what forestry is really like.

In my previous job in the construction industry, I rarely had the opportunity to come into contact with lumber for construction that had already been processed.

A video about lumber. You can see the special machines used to cut lumber from logs. It was amazing to watch a single log being cut lengthwise.

How does human hands turn a single tree into lumber that can be sold? What is it like before it becomes lumber?
I decided to follow my curiosity and try it out for myself.

We arrived at the site in the back of a light truck, swaying about, deep in the mountains, a place that normally would not be reached.

First, they decide which tree to cut, then they tie a wire to the tree they want to cut and the tree in the direction it will fall, and then they use a winch to wind up the wire and pull it taut. This is to guide the direction it will fall.

From there, the work of cutting down the trees begins.
Before falling the tree, use a chainsaw to make a notch on the side that will fall.
Cut from the opposite side of the block and knock the enemy down.
When the tree has fallen completely, the most ideal cross section is when the vine in the middle remains.
If the undercut is too deep, it will become too flexible and it will be impossible to predict which way it will fall.

By leaving the vine part and allowing it to fall toward the receiving hole, the force of the wire, the receiving hole, and the chasing hole can be balanced to encourage the tree to fall in that direction.

After felling the tree, the small branches are removed and the tree is divided to make it easier to transport.

The moment when the big, thick cedar tree was cut down was truly an overwhelming and satisfying experience.
It's quite impressive to see such a large tree fall right in front of your eyes.

This is the moment it was cut down. It feels great!!

It is also a dangerous job that could lead to a serious accident if one makes a mistake.
Next time, I would like to actually experience the moment of cutting down a tree with a chainsaw.

The Kanezumi Sawmill has been around since the days when forestry was thriving. Through his interactions with immigrants, Kanezumi is also involved in cutting down trees and using unusual shapes to create original furniture.
He always takes the initiative to attend events where young people can interact, and his cheerful personality draws many people into his activities.

I sensed that he was a man who believed that "these cedars will one day become a treasure trove," and who was driving a truck along Kamiyama's rugged mountain roads every day, leading the way in clearing the mountains.

People who create products from trees
"I want to protect the river water."
Keiji Hirose, Representative of the Kamiyama Shizuku Project

"Let's create a system that will make everyone rich by using cedar trees, which grow so large that they have to be cut down," says Hirose.

My meeting with Hirose-san came about during my experience working in forestry at Kaneizumi Sawmill.

In one corner of the Kaneizumi Sawmill, there was a lot of timber that Hirose had come up with for the products he was looking for, lying around along with his ideas.

One of these is a piece of pottery named " SHIZQ ."
They decided to start doing what they could in order to leave as many "drops" as possible for the children of the future.
SHIZQ's products are made using a special sawing method that is not used for building materials, in which cedar trees are cut from logs specifically for the products.
Among the pieces of wood that were lying around were also some that could be used as lampshades.

Crane cup (left) and crane sake cup (right)

The unique way of cutting the wood and the commitment to using two different colors for one piece of pottery are unique to SHIZQ. In addition, the special ceramic coating makes it heat-resistant. I felt that the horizontal grain pattern was very beautiful.
When we graduated from our stay at Ski Land Hotel after our first month there, we each gave a crane sake cup to the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Jinaka, and a crane cup to Mr. Morishita, the owner of our current residence, Tonomiya Residence.

SHIZQ is made from cedar produced in Kamiyama Town.
Due to economic influences, the demand for domestic timber decreased, and the forestry industry, which had been thriving after the war, went into decline, and people stopped cutting down trees.
Coniferous trees (such as cedars and cypresses) do not shed their leaves. This means that less light reaches the ground, no undergrowth grows, the mountainside becomes thin, and its water retention capacity decreases.
To solve these problems, it is very important to first thin out trees, or in other words, "cut down trees."
"SHIZQ's main mission is to raise awareness of the issues facing these mountainous and hilly areas," says Hirose.

Hirose, a designer, believes that changing the awareness of those around him is the most important role he can play. He actually goes into the mountains himself and gets involved in the process, starting with cutting down trees together with the craftsmen.

I was also surprised to hear that only about 20 to 30 percent of felled trees can be sold as building materials, something I also used in my previous job.
How do they earn the funds to continue their activities? This is how the "SHIZQ" brand was born.

"How can we find new value in cedar while protecting nature?"
After learning about the background of the SHIZQ product, I felt that I wanted to incorporate the idea of "using what we have to create new value" into my everyday life.
I would like everyone to try out SHIZQ products at least once.

A person who creates gathering places from wood
"A place born from fun"
Angel's Dust Keiichi Munemoto

Munemoto-san always greets us with a bright smile.
He's always looking for things to do that are fun, and being with him makes me excited too.

What I feel while living in Kamiyama is that the people who have moved here are all very diverse, and the locals are all really tolerant people.
However, it is also true that there are still very few places where such immigrants and people from within Kamiyama town and outside the town can interact.

Meanwhile, a new gathering place has opened in the Kamibun district: Brompton Depot, a cafe lined with Brompton folding bicycles from London. The cafe is run by the Daimon family, who originally ran a sawmill.
I first came across Cafe Brompton Depot when I went to Cafe Oniva in the Yorii shopping arcade in my town and the owner, Ikuko, invited me to go for an early morning bike ride the next day.

We, the students of Mosasu Juku, who rarely wake up in time to see the sunrise, gathered at the shop at 5:30 in the morning and rode our Brompton bicycles 30km away.
I can't say I was relaxed, but I was able to complete the course despite the hills and valleys, without any muscle pain and feeling good.

On this occasion, it was Mr. Munemoto who guided us by bicycle.
Munemoto-san enjoys taking on new challenges through woodworking crafts, building log houses, making furniture, and creating small products. He is someone who always combines his curiosity with ideas and has the ability to get people involved in fun activities.

Team Brompton, of which he is a member, is a generous group of people who work to contribute to the local community by guiding people around Kamiyama town's famous sites on bicycles, almost like volunteers, to help people enjoy the town's nature.

Team Brompton members: From the left, Tani from the dry cleaning shop in Yorii Shopping Arcade, Daimon, a Brompton owner, Munemoto, a craft idea man, and Takahashi from the town hall tourism department. The ideas and actions of the four of them have taken shape in the creation of the shop through bicycles.

Although it is located a little secluded within Kamiyama Town, the opening of this cafe has seen an increase in users from far away, including Tokushima City, and it also functions as a place for cyclists and local people to interact. The river flowing in front of it is very beautiful, as it is upstream.

There are handmade signs at key points along the cycling course.

During the summer, you can put outdoor chairs in the river in front of the cafe and relax with just your feet in the water.

Behind the Daimon Sawmill, located opposite Cafe Brompton, there is a large wooden deck space designed to look like the trees are reaching through it, which was Munemoto's idea to "create a forest office."
One weekend, I asked the cafe owner, Mr. Daimon, if I could help him as he was putting together scaffolding for a wooden deck, and this was the start of my deep involvement with this event.
"Well, I'll start making it in earnest from tomorrow, so I'd like you to help me."
The next day, I brought all of my tools and we worked together to build a wooden deck.
As the project was being built, more and more people gathered, and it was completed in just two and a half days.

At first, it was just the two of them helping to build a wooden deck, but eventually volunteers came together and more than 20 people were building it together.

A scene from when we had a movie night. The size is about 8m in length and width, and the original oak tree was left standing. We are currently adjusting it so that wifi can be connected, and it looks like a lot of things will happen in the future.

"I want to make it a space where anyone can use all kinds of tools freely. It's exciting to see new things being made," says Munemoto. Plans are also steadily underway to eventually remodel the nearby Daimon Sawmill using cedar wood from Kamiyama. He told us about his dream of creating an environment where people can freely do woodworking and crafts.
Hoping to be able to do this together with immigrants and young people, he is enjoying the present to the fullest while working hard to build strong bonds with others.

For me, this place is filled with energy and the premonition of something new beginning.

People who love trees

Through people who care about wood, we were able to experience the background to the production of things and the things that are created by the people involved, which are things that we don't see in our everyday lives.

There are people who cut down Kamiyama's surplus cedar trees, people who make products from the trees, and people who create places where people can gather from the trees. What is consistent among these people is that they do not resist the power of nature, but rather acknowledge and try to give form to diverse values in their relationships and the things they do there. They exchange not only monetary value, but also the values that each person possesses, and try to find new value by connecting with nature.

I myself visited this land as part of the Kamiyama Monosasu Juku to reexamine my own values. I want to learn about the thoughts of people who work with wood and create something myself. For example, I have begun to think that I would like to build a log house to live in using Kamiyama wood with the help of various people.
I feel that here in Kamiyama, I can think about my own way of life through trees, and return to and accept my true self.