Modern Japanese & English Translations and Content Analysis of ‘Provisions Related to Forest Planning [Somayama nitsuki Souhakarai no Joujou]’ from the ‘Eight Volumes on Forest Administration.’

By studying this collection of provisions we can understand three new points. The initial point is that this is the first time forest planning for individual regions within the Ryukyu Kingdom has been mentioned. For example, because there are no areas of somayama (government-administered forest) in Agunijima, Tonakijima and Iejima the timber requirements of these regions has to be covered using forest resources from the Kunigami and Nakagami districts of Okinawa Island. In contrast, because Iheyajima, Kumejima and Keramajima do have areas of somayama they can be entirely self-sufficient in terms of their timber requirements. In the case of Miyakojima, somayama will have to be developed there in order that it can eventually be self-sufficient in terms of timber. The second point is that looking at the case of Miyakojima we can see that there was an extensive system of timber distribution in effect. For example, when a ship was to be built in Miyakojima it was necessary to travel to Yaeyama in order to get the required timber. Additionally, in the case of lumber required for house construction it was necessary for Miyako to purchase timber from Yaeyama or from Okinawa Island. The most expensive lumber was that purchased at high cost from local Ryukyuan maaransen or from Yamatobune out of Kagoshima. If one were to make a conjecture based on the contents of the document it would appear that by this time on Miyakojima there was already in place a system very much like a timber market with lumber transported to the islands by ship from locations within the kingdom and beyond. The third point relates to the shift in the size of the population of Ryukyu. While in earlier times there were perhaps 70,000-80,000 inhabitants, by the time Sai On had become a sanshikan (member of the Council of Three) in 1728 the population had increased to 200,000. This population increase, along with the need for timber to build palaces at Shuri Castle or to build Chinese-style ships greatly increased the demand for wood. It is thought that this increased demand for timber was a major factor in determining the development of effective conservation and administration policies for the forest resources of Ryukyu.この規定集から、新たに知り得た点は3つある。1つは琉球王国内における地域ごとの森林計画が、初めて述べられている点である。例えば、粟国島、渡名喜島、伊江島には杣山の面積がないので、沖縄本島の国頭・中頭地方の杣山の森林資源で対応させることにしている。伊平屋島、久米島、慶良間島などは杣山の面積があるので、島内で用材の自給体制をとることにしている。宮古島の場合は、島内に杣山を仕立てさせて、島内で用材の自給を行う。八重山島では杣山の面積が広くあるので、島内の用材自給はもとより、沖縄本島の備蓄林という位置づけになっている。2つは、宮古島の例だが、木材の流通が広範囲に行われている点である。たとえば、船を建造するときに、わざわざ宮古島から八重山島に渡り、その地で材木を調達して作っている。また家屋建築用材を八重山島や沖縄本島から買い取ったり、さらに鹿児島の大和船や沖縄の馬艦船などから高値で購入している事実がみられる。これらのことから推測すると、このころには既に宮古島では、島外から船で運ばれてくる材木が流通し、木材市場らしきものが形成されていたように読み取れる。3つは、琉球の人口規模の推移についてである。以前は7～8万人の人口規模であったが、蔡温の三司官時代には、すでに20万人規模に達している。この人口増加が、造船用材や首里城建築用材と合わせて、木材の総需要を引き上げ、その結果、琉球国における杣山の森林資源の保全管理の在り方を決定づける大きな要因になっていた、と考えられる