Source: The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 19 | Issue 6 | Number 4 | Article ID 5560 | Mar 15, 2021
Mit freundlicher Erlaubnis von Japan Focus


Shrine Forests, Bonsai and Public Parks in Tokyo:
Old Trees as Symbols of Continuity

Glenn Moore, Cassandra Atherton

Abstract:
Ninety percent of Japanese people live in cities, seemingly disconnected from the agrarian world their ancestors inhabited in premodern Japan. Focussing on Tokyo, where the apparent disconnect with the past is most stark, this article looks at old trees in public parks, shrine forests, and old bonsai, and argues that that beneath the city’s modern veneer, these trees allow residents to feel close to nature, and stay connected with the history, myths and traditions the trees evoke. .....

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