Private forest - shuurin

A general term for forests owned by individuals, companies, temples and shrines, various organizations and associations, excluding national and public forests. As of 2007, the area of ​​privately owned forests in Japan was 14.54 million hectares, accounting for approximately 60% of the total forest area of ​​25.1 million hectares (Forest and Forestry White Paper 2012). While many countries around the world have a high ratio of national and public forests, Japan has a high ratio of privately owned forests, along with the Nordic countries, France, and the United States. The average size of private forest ownership per business entity in Japan is similar to that of France, six times that of Japan in the United States, and 15 times that of the Nordic countries.

The ownership of private forests was determined by the land tax reform that began in 1873 (Meiji 6). During the Edo period, useful forests such as cedars and cypresses were managed as Shogunate-owned forests, while the Satoyama forests surrounding settlements were used by farmers as common land. The land tax reform made many Shogunate-owned forests official forests, while issuing land certificates (ownership rights) to the forests and wilderness areas of farmers' common land. In issuing land certificates, the Meiji government prioritized the ability to pay the land tax over the use of the forests and wilderness, in order to secure land taxes comparable to those of the Edo period, and issued many land certificates to wealthy landowners. The private forests created during the Meiji period were not subject to reform even in the agricultural land reform that took place in the late 1940s, and have remained so to this day. As a result, there is a large disparity in the size of private forest ownership, from ownership of more than 20,000 hectares at the top to farm forests of less than 1 hectare at the bottom. Company-owned forests are typically those owned by the paper and pulp industry, but many of these have been consolidated since the 1950s, when demand for paper and pulp increased sharply, and there are even companies that own as much as 80,000 hectares of company-owned forests (the total forest area of ​​Tokyo). Until the 1960s, private forests were primarily used for agricultural compost and for collecting charcoal and firewood, but these uses have almost completely disappeared since the 1970s. Also, since the 1950s, when demand for timber increased sharply, large-scale afforestation of cedar, cypress, and other trees has been carried out throughout the country, creating timber resources for construction. However, since the 1970s, large amounts of foreign timber have been imported, making it difficult to maintain and manage afforestation sites without making it profitable.

[Yamagishi Kiyotaka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

個人、会社、社寺、各種団体・組合などの所有する森林で、国有林、公有林以外の総称。2007年（平成19）時点の日本の私有林面積は1454万ヘクタール、総森林面積2510万ヘクタールの約6割を占める（『森林・林業白書』2012年版）。世界的には国・公有林の比率の高い国が多いが、日本は北欧諸国、フランス、アメリカなどともに私有林比率が高い。私有林の1事業体当りの平均所有規模は、日本はフランスと近似し、アメリカは日本の6倍、北欧諸国は15倍もの規模となっている。

　私有林の所有関係が確定されるのは、1873年（明治6）に開始される地租改正によってである。江戸時代は、スギ、ヒノキなどの有用林は幕藩有林として管理され、集落を取り巻く里山の山林原野は入会(いりあい)地として農民が利用していた。地租改正は、幕藩有林の多くを官林とする一方、農民入会地などの山林原野に対し地券（所有権）を交付する方式をとった。地券交付においては、明治政府は江戸時代に勝るとも劣らない地租の確保を図るために、山林原野の利用の有無よりも地租の負担能力の有無を優先させ、財力のある地主層などにより多くの地券交付を行った。この明治期に生み出された私有林は、1940年代後半に行われた農地改革においても改革の対象とされずに今日に至っている。そのため、私有林は所有規模の格差が大きく、上は2万ヘクタール以上の所有から、下は1ヘクタール未満の農家林なども存在する。なお、会社有林（社有林）は、紙・パルプ産業の所有山林が代表的なものであるが、紙・パルプ需要の急増する1950年代以降に山林の集積を行ったケースが多く、1社で8万ヘクタール（東京都の全森林面積）にも及ぶ会社有林を所有する会社も存在する。私有林の利用は、1960年代までは農業用の堆肥(たいひ)や木炭・薪(まき)の採取に多く利用されてきたが、1970年代以降はそうした利用がほとんど姿を消した。また、木材需要の急増する1950年代からは、全国各地でスギ・ヒノキなどの造林が大規模に行われ、建築用の木材資源を造成してきた。しかし、1970年代以降、外材の大量輸入が行われ、採算がとれないままに造林地の維持管理が困難な状況に置かれている。

［山岸清隆］

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