Edited by: BIOSTORY Editorial Committee
BIOSTORY Vol. 45, by the Society for Wildlife and Cultural Studies, explores new narratives between people and nature through two major features: "Laurel Forests and People in Southern Kyushu" and "Upland Farming Culture and Sayama Tea on the Musashino Plateau."
Special Feature 1, "Laurel Forests and People in Southern Kyushu," examines the relationship between forests and people in the laurel forests of southern Kyushu from historical, cultural, and contemporary perspectives. Although mountain village life, supported by hunting, slash-and-burn farming, and forestry, has changed over time, it has fostered sustainable lifestyles through festivals and community activities. This feature clarifies the characteristics of human activities in laurel forest regions and their historical transformations, introduces contemporary regional revitalization efforts utilizing local resources, and explores possibilities for new ways of living in coexistence with forests.
Special Feature 2, "Upland Farming Culture and Sayama Tea on the Musashino Plateau," explores the multi-faceted relationship between Sayama Tea, one of Japan's leading cold-region tea producing areas, and the upland farming culture of the Musashino Plateau, against the backdrop of tea culture originating in the Himalayas. In an agricultural environment where tea coexists with well-drained plateau soil and deciduous forests, it developed as part of a complex livelihood intertwined with sweet potatoes and sericulture. Furthermore, considering traditional tea production, which differs from plantation models, historical changes, shifts in consumption, and the challenge of declining tea consumption, this feature examines the potential for the sustainability and revitalization of a local tea culture.
In "Reading Nature," an essay on bears in Canada is featured. Just as wild bears have become a significant problem in Japan recently, coexistence between humans and bears is also a major challenge in Canada. Using the real-life experiences of a Canadian environmental anthropologist as an example, this section considers the overlap between bear habitats and human living spaces.
BIOSTORY Vol. 45, by the Society for Wildlife and Cultural Studies, explores new narratives between people and nature through two major features: "Laurel Forests and People in Southern Kyushu" and "Upland Farming Culture and Sayama Tea on the Musashino Plateau."
Special Feature 1, "Laurel Forests and People in Southern Kyushu," examines the relationship between forests and people in the laurel forests of southern Kyushu from historical, cultural, and contemporary perspectives. Although mountain village life, supported by hunting, slash-and-burn farming, and forestry, has changed over time, it has fostered sustainable lifestyles through festivals and community activities. This feature clarifies the characteristics of human activities in laurel forest regions and their historical transformations, introduces contemporary regional revitalization efforts utilizing local resources, and explores possibilities for new ways of living in coexistence with forests.
Special Feature 2, "Upland Farming Culture and Sayama Tea on the Musashino Plateau," explores the multi-faceted relationship between Sayama Tea, one of Japan's leading cold-region tea producing areas, and the upland farming culture of the Musashino Plateau, against the backdrop of tea culture originating in the Himalayas. In an agricultural environment where tea coexists with well-drained plateau soil and deciduous forests, it developed as part of a complex livelihood intertwined with sweet potatoes and sericulture. Furthermore, considering traditional tea production, which differs from plantation models, historical changes, shifts in consumption, and the challenge of declining tea consumption, this feature examines the potential for the sustainability and revitalization of a local tea culture.
In "Reading Nature," an essay on bears in Canada is featured. Just as wild bears have become a significant problem in Japan recently, coexistence between humans and bears is also a major challenge in Canada. Using the real-life experiences of a Canadian environmental anthropologist as an example, this section considers the overlap between bear habitats and human living spaces.
Released May 25, 2026
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BIOSTORY Vol.45 Laurel Forests and People in Southern Kyushu | Seibundo Shinkosha Co., Ltd. (seibundo-shinkosha.net)