{"id":42798,"date":"2023-07-05T11:49:44","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T11:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernfix.com\/?p=42798"},"modified":"2023-07-05T11:57:52","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T11:57:52","slug":"the-japanese-forestry-technique-of-daisugi-and-why-they-stopped-this-tree-bonsai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernfix.com\/nature\/the-japanese-forestry-technique-of-daisugi-and-why-they-stopped-this-tree-bonsai\/","title":{"rendered":"The Japanese Forestry Technique of Daisugi and Why They Stopped This Tree Bonsai"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Deep in the heart of Japan’s historical cultural practices lies an impressive forestry technique known as Daisugi. Derived from the words “dai,” meaning platform, and “sugi,” meaning cedar, this method has roots stretching back to the 14th century. Daisugi is a sustainable forestry technique that produces straight and uniform timber, remarkably without harming the parent tree. While it’s a unique, ingenious method, one can’t help but wonder why the Japanese discontinued Daisugi for bonsai trees.<\/p>\n

Daisugi, essentially a form of arboreal architecture, is unique to Japan and was initially practiced to create an abundance of high-quality, straight grain timber for construction purposes, particularly in Kyoto, where demand for such timber was high. This method involves pruning a Kitayama cedar tree, so only the top boughs are left to grow. From these boughs, perfectly uniform, straight, branchless shoots spring up, which can be harvested without harming the parent tree. Think of Daisugi as giant bonsai trees, where they manipulate trees to grow in specific ways.<\/p>\n

These parent trees, known as “mother trees” or “platform trees,” can continuously produce harvestable wood for up to 20 generations, which equates to about 600 years. Thus, the technique promotes sustainability as it reduces the need for widespread deforestation and offers an innovative solution to scarcity of valuable land resources.<\/p>\n