10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
[HGG01-06] Formation Environment of Forest for Gathering and its Transition: A Case Study of Bayberry Forest in Zamami Island, Okinawa, Japan
Keywords:Forest for gathering, gathering, plant use, bayberry, Zamami island
The activities of human society to use natural resources work as a disturbance factor in ecosystems, and various anthropogenic biomes have been formed in various parts of the world according to local environmental conditions and disturbance intensity. In Japan, studies on anthropogenic biomes have mainly focused on Satoyama, which was formed through the use of harvesting and firewood, and grasslands maintained by periodic burning. On the other hand, in many areas, plant gathering activities are conducted along with agriculture and fishing, and vegetation has been used as a place for gathering fruits and other resources. Such vegetation used for gathering plant resources is called "forest for gathering" in this study. Forests for gathering are likely to be present in many areas and include a variety of species such as acorns, chestnuts, horse chestnuts, bayberry and cycads. Although such vegetation has been described in village histories and administrative documents in some areas, there have been no studies that comprehensively examine the concept of the forests and they have been largely overlooked in vegetation geography studies in Japan. In this study, we examine the environment under which forests for gathering were established and how they have been changing in recent years, and take a bayberry (yamamomo) woodland on Zamami Island, Okinawa Prefecture, as an example of a forest for gathering.
The yamamomo is an evergreen broad-leaved tree that grows in a wide area in Japan, mainly in western Japan, including the Okinawa Islands. The bark is used as a brown dye, and the fruits are used as an ingredient in white liquor-soaked fruit wine and jam.
The study site was Zamami Island, located in the Kerama Islands in the western part of Okinawa Island. On Zamami Island, the use of yamamomo has been popular for a long time, and even today, islanders gather the fruits during the season. Yamamomo trees are scattered throughout the island, but the area near the top of the mountain in the center of the island is widely recognized by the islanders as the main area where yamamomo trees grow and are collected. In this study, fieldwork was conducted on site several times from March 2022, and interviews were conducted with residents who use Yamamomo fruits on the island.
The survey revealed that, in addition to the fact that many yamamomo trees originally grew naturally on the mountain where they were collected, the number of trees had increased due to tree-planting activities promoted by the local government. Although the reason for the selection of the yamamomo trees for the tree-planting activities is unknown, many yamamomo trees grew densely, and the area became known as a yamamomo gathering site among the local residents.
Yamamomo gatherers would select specific trees to collect after checking the fruiting conditions and the taste (sweetness) of the fruit, as well as considering the accessibility to the trees and the height of the trees. In addition, the fruit gatherers knew where the trees that produced the best tasting fruit grew, and they knew which individual trees they would prioritize for fruit collection. In addition, they tended to distinguish between "ishimomo" and "mizumomo" trees based on the amount of juice they produced. This point suggests that a forest for gathering do not only mean physical forests as vegetation, but also that forests for gathering as people's perception may be recognized by each gatherer.
According to residents, the use of yamamomo on the island is on the decline. In the past, many residents collected the berries for their own consumption, but the number of people collecting them is now decreasing. On the other hand, some restaurant owners involved in the tourism industry have introduced desserts using yamamomo jam on their menus for tourists. In 2012, Zamami Island began to produce and sell Zamami's yamamomo, a specialty of Zamami Island, and a group was formed to collect the fruit as an ingredient for the liquor. Zamami's Yamamomo-shu is sold at only one of the several stores in Zamami Island. The liquor won the 2012 Remote Islands Fair Specialty Product Excellence Award and the 2012 Industrial Festival Specialty Product Contest Governor's Award (Grand Prize), and has been widely used to promote Zamami Island's yamamomo. However, there have been years when production has been curtailed due to sales conditions, leaving the islanders involved in the production and the liquor to consider whether or not to continue production and sales, and if so, how to increase sales.
The yamamomo is an evergreen broad-leaved tree that grows in a wide area in Japan, mainly in western Japan, including the Okinawa Islands. The bark is used as a brown dye, and the fruits are used as an ingredient in white liquor-soaked fruit wine and jam.
The study site was Zamami Island, located in the Kerama Islands in the western part of Okinawa Island. On Zamami Island, the use of yamamomo has been popular for a long time, and even today, islanders gather the fruits during the season. Yamamomo trees are scattered throughout the island, but the area near the top of the mountain in the center of the island is widely recognized by the islanders as the main area where yamamomo trees grow and are collected. In this study, fieldwork was conducted on site several times from March 2022, and interviews were conducted with residents who use Yamamomo fruits on the island.
The survey revealed that, in addition to the fact that many yamamomo trees originally grew naturally on the mountain where they were collected, the number of trees had increased due to tree-planting activities promoted by the local government. Although the reason for the selection of the yamamomo trees for the tree-planting activities is unknown, many yamamomo trees grew densely, and the area became known as a yamamomo gathering site among the local residents.
Yamamomo gatherers would select specific trees to collect after checking the fruiting conditions and the taste (sweetness) of the fruit, as well as considering the accessibility to the trees and the height of the trees. In addition, the fruit gatherers knew where the trees that produced the best tasting fruit grew, and they knew which individual trees they would prioritize for fruit collection. In addition, they tended to distinguish between "ishimomo" and "mizumomo" trees based on the amount of juice they produced. This point suggests that a forest for gathering do not only mean physical forests as vegetation, but also that forests for gathering as people's perception may be recognized by each gatherer.
According to residents, the use of yamamomo on the island is on the decline. In the past, many residents collected the berries for their own consumption, but the number of people collecting them is now decreasing. On the other hand, some restaurant owners involved in the tourism industry have introduced desserts using yamamomo jam on their menus for tourists. In 2012, Zamami Island began to produce and sell Zamami's yamamomo, a specialty of Zamami Island, and a group was formed to collect the fruit as an ingredient for the liquor. Zamami's Yamamomo-shu is sold at only one of the several stores in Zamami Island. The liquor won the 2012 Remote Islands Fair Specialty Product Excellence Award and the 2012 Industrial Festival Specialty Product Contest Governor's Award (Grand Prize), and has been widely used to promote Zamami Island's yamamomo. However, there have been years when production has been curtailed due to sales conditions, leaving the islanders involved in the production and the liquor to consider whether or not to continue production and sales, and if so, how to increase sales.