Journal Articles

The Discourse of “Encultured Nature”in Japan: The Concept of Satoyama and its Role in 21st-Century Nature Conservation

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The term satoyama gained currency in Japan in postwar decades as a term that describes a sphere of “encultured” nature that has traditionally existed on the periphery of rural settlements, but which is increasingly threatened by industrialisation, urban development, rural depopulation and changing lifestyles. Satoyama is appealing as a concept because it represents a sphere in which nature and culture intersect, and is reminiscent of a more idyllic rural lifestyle of the past, when the Japanese “lived in harmony with nature”. This article examines the role of this term in the nature conservation discourse in Japan, and in particular its appropriation by the Ministry of the Environment and the Japanese host organisations for the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was held in Japan in 2010. The article will explore the way the concept of satoyama has been “showcased” as a model of sustainable resource management based on traditional methods of agriculture. The satoyama concept is used to demonstrate that Japan not only possesses the knowledge to live in harmony with nature, but also offers a model of sustainable resource management that the rest of the world can learn from.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Asian Studies Review

Call Number

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Publisher

United Kingdom : Routledge Taylor & Francis Group., 2010

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

10357823

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Volume 34, Issue 4 December 2010 , pages 421 - 441

Subject(s)

Japan
Landscape
Nature conservation
Convention on Biological Diversity
Sustainable resource management

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