Shirakami-Sanchi

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NHK World Heritage 100 Series (en anglais)

Texte narratif (en anglais)

One of the world’s largest virgin beech forests stretches across the border of Aomori and Akita Prefectures in Japan. The beech trees come back to life in the spring. This virgin forest was formed nearly 800 years ago and has undergone countless cycles of regeneration and growth. The beech trees bloom just as if they are coming out of hibernation. An extraordinary canopy of green leaves develops all the way up to the mountaintop. It is said to make its way up the mountain at a rate of 10 meters a day. A vast volume of melted-snow water heads down to the villages in the valleys. The people begin to prepare for rice planting. Offerings of red rice and herrings are placed at the gate where water flows into the paddies; it’s to pray for a good harvest in the autumn.

The summers here, in the northern region, are short. Heavy rain pours down on the forest; but about a third of the waterfall is blocked by leaves and doesn’t reach the ground below. The large leaves act as cushions as rainwater slowly makes its way down the tree trunks.

A saying goes, among the villagers, that: "The water stored in a beech tree is enough to cultivate one patch of rice paddy".

A palette of gold colours decorates the forest in autumn. Beech trees retain their leaves longer than other broad-leaved trees. They stay until the first snowfall.

Here, it’s winter in Shirakami-sanchi. Why do beech trees dominate in the forest? The key to that can be found in the winter months. Other type of trees can endure the cold but can’t stand the weight of the thick snow. Only beech trees with their strength and flexibility thrive.

In February, when the temperature drops to its lowest, the villagers head for the waterfall at the foot of the mountain to celebrate the God of the mountains. Through this waterfall, "the water of life" flows into the fields of rice.