Shrine Forests｜Why Japan has so much greenery

◆Belief in Mountains
Why Japan has so much greenery is because of the Japanese people's religious beliefs.
For Japanese people, mountains have always been sacred places where gods live.
There are also special places in villages where the gods come down from the mountains.
These places are called "chinju-no-mori" which are forests that surround the shrines.
They are like mini versions of mountains in the villages.
These places were very important and carefully taken care of by the villagers.
When you ride a train in Japan, you can often see these "chinju-no-mori" from the window.
Japanese people believe that it is better not to develop these places.
This fear and respect for mountains helps keep Japan's greenery alive today.

[@Grondhammar]

動画をありがとうございます🙏 I have known two Japanese people very well, and it's interesting how 森 and 山 were almost the same thing for both of them. They were so surprised when I sent pictures of where I live, where there is a lot of forest but no mountains! I'm very glad the rest of the world is finally learning how important forests are.🌲🌳