本稿は, 近代日本の林産地の成立過程を検討し, 各産地の特徴を比較するとともに,そのなかでの主要林業家の動向を考察することで, 近代日本の林業における産業化の特徴を明らかにした。近代日本の林産地では, 主に吉野式造林法が状況に応じて援用されたが, 本来の長伐期で間伐を丁寧に行う高付加価値型の森林ではなく, 伐期を短くして資本回転率を上げた汎用型森林が定着し, 採算性は上がったものの環境への負荷が強い森林となった。
This research analyzed the creation of wood resources in modern Japan, com-paring the features of each wood resource and the movement of wealthy individuals within the forestry industry. In doing so, this paper illuminates the particular characteristics of the industrialization of forestry in modern Japan, and explores how forestry managers adopted a modified Yoshino afforestation method in the management of forest resources. The value that the original Yoshino afforestation method added to lumber forests through–regular time inter-vals for gestation with a long cutting down period–did not spread, but a more versatile forestry method that increased capital turnover with a short cutting down period took root. In this way, forestry became profitable in modern Japan, leading to increased environmental damage

論説