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traditional Japanese festivals are also centered on the wish to avoid natural hazards,
including extreme climatic phenomena such as drought. Therefore, the develop-
ment of traditional ecological knowledge and practices in Japan has been largely
founded on an environmental ethic based on respect for nature.
The Ainu , who are indigenous to northern Japan, are an example of a people who
have developed traditional ecological knowledge and practices. They originally
depended on hunting, fi shing, and gathering of natural products for their livelihoods,
and evolved traditional ways of enabling these activities to be sustainable (Kojima
2011 ). However, mainly since the Meiji period in the late nineteenth century, the
traditional activities and rights of the Ainu were severely eroded by the Japanese
government through mass colonization of their living spaces by populations from
southern Japan (Yamada 2011 ). The Ainu revere various wildlife species, such as the
brown bear ( Ursus arctos ), Blakiston's fi sh owl ( Ketupa blakistoni ), dog salmon
( Oncorhynchus keta ), and other species as nature deities or Kamui. During their
hunting and fi shing activities and subsequent treatment of brown bears and salmon,
the Ainu people handle them respectfully as Kamui based on their traditional cus-
toms and knowledge (Kojima 2011 ). These activities also have contributed to the
formation of a unique environmental ethic, and to diverse cultural traditions among
them. Watanabe ( 1972 ) noted the existence of two interrelated systems working at
different levels between the Ainu and their habitat. The fi rst was an ecological sys-
tem entailing a structure of relationships that humans developed with their habitat
through technological activities. The second was a system of social solidarity forged
between humans and nature through relationships between them based on human
beliefs and rituals centering on their habitat. The importance and uniqueness of the
Ainu , their activities, and knowledge are still topics under discussion because they
have been extremely restricted as a result of the vast reclamation (not for Ainu ) of
their habitat by the Japanese government in modern times. Abundant natural
resources and a smaller human population size do provide an important background
context for the achievement of a sustainable lifestyle among the Ainu in the past.
However, the Ainu 's perspective on nature and their methods of using natural
resources could also provide a reference and guide for developing sustainable eco-
system management and stewardship under changing social and environmental con-
ditions in local, regional, and even global contexts (Chapin et al. 2009 ).
To provide a second example of traditional ecological knowledge and practices,
Satoyama landscapes are defi ned as traditional Japanese rural landscapes composed
of a mosaic of coupled social and ecological features (Fig. 3.2 ). These specifi cally
include agricultural land (rice paddy, and crop fi elds), irrigation ponds, secondary
forests, and human settlements (Fukamachi et al. 2001 ; Ichikawa et al. 2006 ;
Duraiappah et al. 2012 ). The above is an accepted defi nition of Satoyama , although
various other defi nitions have also been proposed (Kobori and Primack 2003 ; Katoh
et al. 2009 ; Saito and Shibata 2012 ). Historically, Satoyama landscapes were
prevalent in Japanese rural areas, and delivered a bundle of ecosystem functions and
services. This mosaic landscape with its combination of land cover categories also
contributes foundationally to the Japanese perspective on nature.
Traditional irrigation systems within a Satoyama landscape, obtained their water
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