Jo Stewart-Smith

I'm generally interested in books about Japan and this book caught my fancy as it seemed to be focused on the area around Mt Fuji (Fujisan). However, this was not really the case. It was more like a discursive overview of the state of animal conservation in Japan. And the book is now very dated (1987). It was apparently produced in conjunction with a BBC documentary. A few little nuggets from the text follow:
Japan's backbone of mountain ranges adds more variation to its landscape. Rising sharply from the plains, they are cut through by deep gorges and softened by valleys, lakes and alpine meadows. Heavy rain and snowfall on the western coast also influences the vegetation.
In the shinto religion a kami was something that evoked a feeling of beauty and awe. A gnarled and bent pine tree, a fox or a wolf, an appealingly placed stone, a waterfall or pool could all be kami, as could a natural arch or a twisted rock out at sea.The worship of kami, born of a fascination with their beauty rather than of fear, distinguishes Shinto from many other early religions. Shinto is essentially optimistic: daily activities such as eating, sex and family life are to be enjoyed. It is a religion of the living, concerned with this life rather than other worlds such as nirvana or heaven.
On Monkeys: Not surprisingly, few ancient folk tales favour the monkey. Described as mean and cunning, it is invariably regarded as an enemy. Yet, while conflict between man and monkey increased, belief in the divine powers of monkeys grew. Hiyoshi shrine on Mount Hiei is the headquarters of the Shinto sect that still worships the monkey as a divine messenger. High in the mountains and deep in the shady forest, Hiyoshi, with its peeling red paint, has the atmosphere of ancient mystery.
The symbol of the three wise monkeys symbolize zaru (both monkey and do-not) in the combination, Mizaru, means do not see evil, or 'see no evil', Kikazaru, 'hear no evil' and Iwazaru, 'speak no evil'.

The Japanese serow or kamoshika, found only in Japan, is an antelope-like goat related to the other serows of Asia. It has short curved horns, a goatlike face, cloven feet and a thick woolly coat. The serow is surefooted, capable of climbing rocky slopes or galloping fast across steep screes. It is shy and secretive, moving singly or in small groups, active in the cool of the day. I must confess that I was totally unaware of the serow until I read this book...despite visiting many Japanese zoos.

Japanese gardens are often described as re-creations of nature. The introductory leaflet to Kenrokuen in Kanazawa, one of Japan's most famous landscape gardens, reads: Trees, flowers, stones, paths and streams should be represented as they appear in nature. The idea is to live in harmony with nature, not to conquer it,

Tsueno Hayashida who has a collection of 35,000 pictures of the crane and its habitat. Some, who have been photographing one subject for more than twenty years, refuse to have them published because they are not yet perfect enough. Whereas westerners generally seek out big close-ups, the Japanese are not afraid to publish a picture where the animal or bird is a speck in a vast landscape. A frightening fact is that, although the adult population is steadily increasing, the winter counts clearly show that the cranes are not raising more young. The population is producing roughly the same number of chicks as it did when it was only half the size. In 1985 101 pairs attempted to breed but on the winter feeding grounds there were only thirty-two young in a population of 384 birds. The crane does, however, have one advantage in Japan; although the wild bird nearly became extinct, the strength of its symbol did not diminish. During the Meiji period when the arts were influenced by contemporary western styles, artists continued to paint favourite subjects like the crane.

It has been whales rather than turtles, however, that have been the subject of the greatest international outcry. Fishing tools found in ancient Jomon settlements include a primitive harpoon which was probably used to hunt sea-lions, seals and small cetaceans such as dolphins and pilot whales. By the end of the Heian period whales had become an important food source in isolated towns such as Taiji on the southern coast of the Kii peninsula. In three days I had seen about eight hundred small whales captured for slaughter in Taiji. I tried to find out how many small cetaceans were taken each year. One figure I was given was three thousand.

Teachers speak of the inflexibility of the curriculum which allows no room for nature walks. Spare time is filled with extra lessons or organized activities, leaving little leisure time for children to discover nature for themselves.
Biology is on the curriculum but ecology rarely features; there is hardly any basic teaching about the inter-relationships between living organisms or how easily the balance can be upset. A survey conducted in 1983 revealed that over 70 per cent of teachers of science and social studies considered environmental education to mean teaching children to tidy their rooms and not drop litter.

The volunteers, like many other naturalists I met, were extremely keen to question me about the environmental situation in the West. They regretted the small number of conservation posts available in Japan and spoke of the challenges they faced: a powerful industrial lobby and general public indifference to the conservation of wildlife and habitats. Their problems brought home to me how relatively easy it is to be a conservationist in the West.

Not a bad book. But not great either and limited coverage of the wildlife. Also, very dated. Still I found it interesting and I learned some things from it. Three stars from me.… (meer)