A historical study on the Ikeda-zumi (Ikeda-charcoal) and the fuelwood forest in the upper reaches of the Ina River, Hyogo and Osaka Prefecture

Abstract

In the upper reaches of the Ina River in the Hokusetsu area of Hyogo and Osaka Prefectures, the celebrated Ikeda-zumi (Ikeda-charcoal), which is used in the tea ceremony, is still made from the wood of Quercus acutissima. A historical study of ikeda-zumi and the fuelwood forest in this area was carried out by reference to ancient documents and publications, and also from a vegetational viewpoint. Descriptions of ikeda-zumi were confirmed in ancient documents and publications dating back to the 15th century, describing Hitokura as a charcoal-producing district, and Ikeda as a charcoal collection and distribution center. It was also documented that ikeda-zumi was used in the tea ceremony by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Senno Rikyu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and that a coppice forest composed by daiba-kunugi (pollarded Quercus acutissima) in this area was cut in rotation with a cycle of 8-10 years. The distribution of the Quercus acutissima forest in Hitokura, Kurokawa, Kunisaki, Yoshikawa and other areas was recorded in the enpo-kenchicho (Enpo land survey register) in the 1670s. Descriptions referring to ikeda-zumi and the fuelwood forest in these ancient documents and publications were in accord with the present state of ikeda-zumi fuelwood species, the charcoal-producing district, the distribution of Quercus acutissima, the planting of Quercus acutissima, the existence of daiba-kunugi, and the forest rotation cycle. It is clearly important to maintain this traditional landscape of Quercus acutissima forest in the upper reaches of the Ina River, which has provided fuelwood for the best quality charcoal ikeda-zumi from the Muromachi era up to the present.