The Vegetation of the Hills and Mountains around Kyoto in the Bunka Era through a Study of Old Pictures

Abstract

Old pictures are sometimes used as references to tell the past vegetation. But it is not easy to show the accuracy of those depictions in most cases.
This study shows the past vegetation of hills and mountains around Kyoto through the analysis and consideration of the pictures of “Teito-gakei-ichiran (Elegant Sights of Kyoto)”, which was published in the Bunka era (1804-1818 A. D.). In this study, skylines of hills and mountains seen in the pictures are often compared with those of today and those estimated by topographical maps.
The results shows that the vegetation or landscape of hills and mountains around Kyoto in the Bunka era was largely different from today: low vegetation was common on the hills and mountains and forests of small area were also common there.
Such landscape seems to be a reflection of life of those days when life was deeply dependent upon forests.