Decreasing number of craftsmen... Current situation in Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture
Tokushima Prefecture has developed through its timber industry, but the recent nationwide decline in demand for domestic timber has had a major impact, forcing many sawmills and woodworking shops to close.
"When I was a child, there were so many craftsmen, but now they have become so few and far between that we have to desperately search for them, and it breaks my heart," Nishioka said.
In the past, if there was a problem with the fixtures in their home, they would ask a local craftsman to help them, but now there is a noticeable decrease in the number of craftsmen, so they say that such interactions with their neighbors have also decreased.
Considering the current situation in Japan, where approximately 60% of pillar materials and over 80% of cross beams are imported from overseas, this seems inevitable.
History of sawmills in Tokushima Prefecture
Tokushima Prefecture's lumber industry had an ecosystem in which trees felled in the mountains were floated downstream from the upstream of the rivers that flowed from the mountainside, and downstream sawmills pulled the trees out of the river and processed them. This led to the geographical feature of sawmills being dotted around the riverbanks.
However, this geographical feature also proved a drawback for Tokushima Prefecture's sawmills.
Many sawmills were located near the Naka River, but heavy rains in recent years have forced river improvement work to be done. Many businesses were approached about relocating when the work was done, but with the industry in decline, many sawmills were unable to secure the funds for relocation or capital investment, and so decided to close their operations, Nishioka says.
These words show an overwhelming lack of response to changes in the market and environment in the timber industry.
It has only been recently that many Japanese companies have finally begun to take action under the banner of decarbonization and the SDGs.
However, by the time of the Paris Agreement in 2015, it was scientifically proven that global warming would result in "more heavy rain" and "more extreme weather."
Rather than focusing on the SDGs because they are important, we should have focused more on the resilience of our own country's industries.
*Resilience:
This word means "elastic," "flexible," or "resilient," and here it refers to the power or mechanism to respond flexibly to the environment.
The crisis of Japan's lumber industry as seen from the perspective of Seibu Mokko
Nishioka says, "I feel a growing sense of crisis that so many sawmills are going out of business in Tokushima Prefecture, which boasts some of the largest timber reserves in Japan."
Nishioka, who is involved in the lumber industry, has witnessed the reality that sawmills will go bankrupt if lumber doesn't sell. He believes that the industry as a whole will decline in the future.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased demand for newly built homes in suburban areas in developed countries such as the United States, which has led to a global surge in lumber prices (wood shock) that has also had an impact in Japan.
Japan's construction industry, which was dependent on imported timber, made a frantic move to procure domestic timber, but many companies were forced to give up.
There are several reasons.
Wood cannot be used immediately after it is cut down. It must be dried, cut into individual pieces, and then processed before it can be used as a building material.
However, the domestic timber industry, already in a state of decline, lacks the facilities to handle large volumes of timber.
In the first place, many of the prefabricated buildings that have become popular in Japan are designed in accordance with overseas timber standards.
Because domestic timber was branded at a high price range, there was little benefit for the industry as a whole to secure inventory for prefabricated buildings.
This has once again exposed the fact that Japan's timber industry is not structured to support domestic demand.
Furthermore, Nishioka, who is in a position to experience Japan's current situation firsthand, says, "I also feel a sense of crisis that artisan skills are being lost."
Currently, Seibu Mokko employs experienced craftsmen in their 70s, and the youngest are in their 40s. The craftsmen are aging, but when young craftsmen join the company, if the products don't sell, they won't be able to teach them the techniques.
One day, when Nishioka asked a craftsman in his 70s what he did on his days off, the craftsman replied, "I repair the floats at the nearby shrine."
At that time, Nishioka realized how much is lost when the transmission of craftsmanship is interrupted.
Cultural assets such as shrines and temples, tourist resources, and floats used in festivals. It was clear that even repairs would be difficult if no one could pass on the techniques. They felt that it was up to them to pass on the culture they had grown up with to their children and grandchildren.
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The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
