“Moku-Iku” in Miyoshi – Part 2 | To know the trees is to know Miyoshi | まるごと三好観光ポータルメディア

“Moku-Iku” in Miyoshi – Part 2 | To know the trees is to know Miyoshi

2022.05.29

Tokushima Prefecture’s Miyoshi City is a land of abundant forests. Located in the mountainous center of Shikoku, nearly 90% of its terrain is covered by trees. In an effort to develop connections with the environment, a “moku-iku” training course was held here on April 29th to create woodworking instructors who can promote sustainable forest activities with residents and visitors.

Teaching from the heart

Environmental instructor Keiichi Fukushima began his lesson with explaining various concepts of general forestry, but from the start it could be seen that this was not going to be a typical staid lecture.

With both deep knowledge and passion for his subject, Fukushima continually emphasized the need for instructors to nurture feelings of connection in their hearts through playing with the wood in a way which could not be done by only having forestry knowledge or woodworking skills.

It was impressive to hear how he often used the word “heart” in his course, instead of solely focussing on concepts of technique or know-how.

Trees in Japan and Miyoshi

As he continued with explaining Japan’s forestry resources, several questions and quizzes were posed to challenge everyone’s knowledge and pre-conceived notions about the trees which surround us in our daily lives.

Among them were questions such as “What is the national tree of Japan?” as well as “What is longest living thing in Japan? (hint: it’s a type of tree)?” And for those reading this who want to guess at these questions, the answers are given at the end of this article.

Unfortunately, I didn’t do too well with the quizzes, and judging from the grumbles of the other people present, I wasn’t alone in my ignorance. But this only highlighted how many of us still had a lot to learn about our environment.

Woodworking training

The second half of the “moku-iku” course was completely hands-on and involved practical training for teaching woodworking skills.

Fukushima detailed not only how to explain these base techniques to children, but together we physically went through the various easy-to-understand steps for the kids to do, but from a child’s perspective.

It was evident that Fukushima had many years in education as he was sure to detail not only what to do, but also what not to do, and how to be on the lookout for the ways in which any future student may be having trouble.

From feeling and even smelling the different woods, to methods on using sandpaper, he wanted to instill an understanding of the materials as well as produce confidence with handling and using the simple tools.

No doubt, anyone who ever worked with children would appreciate how his knowledge for woodworking went far beyond simply knowing the names of various trees.

In Part 3 we experience some more practical training for introducing woodworking to a wider audience.

Answers to quiz:

Japan’s national tree is the “sakura” (the “cherry tree”).

And the longest living thing in Japan is the “sugi” (the “cedar tree”, particularly the ones on Yakushima Island).