Image by: Hands off my tags! Michael Gaida

From Cut to Cultivate: How Japan Produces Lumber Without Cutting Trees

It’s incredible what we can learn from other cultures and ancient practices.

A 14th century, ancient Japanese forestry technique called Daisugi, allows planted cedars pruned in a special way, to produce “shoots” that become perfect, straight, knot-free lumber.

This method, used for centuries in Japan, involves cultivating young cedar trees in a specific way to create straight and tall trunks that can be harvested for use in construction and other industries.

The process of Daisugi begins with selecting the best seedlings from a forest and planting them in chosen locations. The young trees are then trained to grow straight and tall by pruning and shaping the branches and trunk. This process can take up to 20 years, but the result is a tree with a straight, uniform trunk that is ideal for use as lumber.

One of the main benefits of Daisugi is that it allows for the sustainable production of lumber without the need to cut down mature trees. This not only preserves the forest ecosystem but also allows for the continuity of the forest and the tradition. Additionally, because these trees are grown for use as lumber, they tend to be of higher quality and more uniform than trees that harvested from natural forests. The wood is also denser and grows quicker as harvesting these shoots takes much less than the time it takes to grow a mature tree.

Not only could this lumber be produced in record time, but it was also more flexible and durable than ordinary cedar. Wood produced in this way is 140% more flexible than standard cedar and 200% denser and stronger. This is particularly important for houses being built in Japan, where typhoons are common. In other words, it was absolutely perfect for rafters and roof timber where aesthetics called for slender yet typhoon resistant perfectly straight lumber.

Daisugi was once a widespread technique used to supply the lumber for the construction of many traditional Japanese houses. But, with the rise of mass production and industrial logging, the practice fell out of use. But today, with the increasing awareness of environmental concerns and the importance of sustainable forestry, Daisugi is making a comeback.

In recent years, a small but dedicated group of farmers, foresters, and artisans have been working to revive the practice of Daisugi. They have been experimenting with new techniques and experimenting with different species of trees to improve the efficiency and quality of the lumber produced.

Daisugi is only one great example of how we can balance tradition and innovation to respect the forests and planet. This technique can be used and adapted in other countries to suit the local ecology and culture. It is a valuable contribution to the modern forestry industry and to the conservation of our forests.

I bet there’s a ton of ancient practices and knowledge waiting to be rediscovered and shared!