The Forest Where You and I Think (4 volumes) Mori-tte don-na tokoro(1) Mori no Megumi to Hito no kurashi(2) Ki wo ue, Mori wo sodateru(3) Mori to ikiru Mirai e(4) (What’s the forest, Blessings from the forest and human life, Planting and nurturing trees, Toward a future living with forests)

Nowadays, we can easily see images of Earth from space on our smartphones and computers. Focusing on the Japanese archipelago, the entire area appears green. That's how abundant forests are in Japan. How aware are we, who live here, of the forests' existence? I suspect most people live without giving it much thought. Existing close by, but far away in our mind—that, I believe, is the relationship between forests and people in Japan today.
 
I want children, who will live in the future, to engage with forests as a much closer existence. It was with this hope that I became involved in creating this picture book series. I also wanted to emphasize the importance of children thinking for themselves. I believe that by learning about forests and the unseen connections between forests and their daily lives, children will actively engage in thought, helping to create the future relationship between forests and people.
 
This picture book series, consisting of four volumes, is intended for readers in the middle grades of elementary school and above. Below is a brief introduction to the content and intent of each volume.
 
Volume 1 serves as an entry point to understanding what a forest is. It broadly covers perspectives on forests: What qualifies as a forest, the diverse types of forest found worldwide and within Japan, how forests form and change, the interconnectedness of forest creatures, and forests within the cycles of air and water. The book contains a lot of information. This tendency continues in subsequent volumes, a choice made with children's autonomy in mind. By anticipating children's diverse personalities, offering multiple angles makes it easier for them to find points of interest.
 
Volume 2 focuses on Japanese examples, tracing back through history to introduce how forest resources have supported human life. This diverse bounty is possible because forests are home to diverse living creatures (Volume 1). We want children to recognize the human perspective that identifies the characteristics of forest creatures and the human skill that processes them into useful items. This awareness might lead to discovering and utilizing new blessings from the forest.
 
Volume 3 focuses on the work of forestry: Planting and nurturing trees. A defining characteristic of forestry is its long-term nature. Even after planting and nurturing trees, the person who did so will typically pass away before seeing them harvested. This long-term nature also poses a significant challenge in meeting society's demand for timber. While people have striven to overcome this long-term aspect as much as possible, clear limitations exist. The reality is that a system allowing us to continuously receive the benefits of timber without depleting the forests is still far from being well-established.
 
Finally, Volume 4 explores how global environmental issues and everyday consumption impact distant forests. Highlighted in this volume is how fossil fuel use and even eating fried shrimp could cause forest degradation and destruction; efforts to solve these problems are introduced. Though often invisible, forests and daily life are always connected somewhere. We want children to imagine these connections, learn about them, think deeply, and live in the world of the future.
 

(Written by SAITO Haruo, Lecturer, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences / 2025)