Daisugi: the mysterious Japanese technique allows you to get wood without cutting down forests (+ Photo)

We all know that Japan is one of the most advanced technologies in the world, but the Japanese have gone far not only in their inventions, but also in their ability to live in harmony with nature. For example, a few centuries ago, lumberjacks in the Land of the Rising Sun invented how to obtain rare wood without cutting down trees in the forest.

A mysterious technique that has been around for centuries

In Japan, Kitayama cedar (Kitayama cedar) was once famous. This is one of the noblest varieties of wood: it is much denser and stronger than ordinary cedar, as well as more flexible (about 140%). Therefore, centuries ago, Kitayama cedar enjoyed great popularity: it was used to build houses in the traditional Japanese style Sukiya-zukuri. However, these trees were rare, and there were not many places to grow forests. Then, the Japanese encouraged a special method to obtain wood from Kitayama, without cutting down forests and planting huge tracts of land.

The technique was called daisugi. Of course, the way Kitayama cedars grow is also very important. First of all, they need a perfectly flat ground. Secondly, the branches of these trees extend to the sky, exactly vertically, without knots.

Therefore, the cultivation of cedars turned into a real art, such as the art of bonsai.

The fact is that the loggers did not cut the cedars, but cut the basic tree to the maximum, leaving only the straightest shoots and giving them the chance to grow. Furthermore, these shoots were cut every few years, leaving only the upper seedlings. After about twenty years, the tree resembled a kind of yogi who skillfully kept the balance sitting on the ground: a huge tree trunk, from which grow dozens of perfectly straight thin trees. These shoots were cut either for wood or planted elsewhere. But the mother tree continued to grow, giving perfectly straight branches.

Three centuries of life of a tree

In fact, real wood could be obtained in less than twenty years. At the same time, the mother tree continues to bear fruit: it lives about 200-300 years, so in his life he will not give only one harvest. The daisugi method was developed in the 14th century and has been used for centuries. It all consists of Kitayama's attractive logs: I had no knots and always grew perfectly smooth.

Now, wood is no longer cultivated according to the daisugi technique, but rare cedars can still be seen in decorative gardens in Japan. And these trees look great: thin and graceful, they seem to keep balance on the huge trunk of the mother tree, which in 10 years reaches 10-15 meters in diameter.