In his novel, The One Straw Revolution, Masaba Fukuoka takes a critical view on the role of complex anthropogenic progress throughout history, remarking that it leads to unnecessary, and often inefficient, results. Focussing primarily on agriculture, but critiquing society as a whole, Fukuoka’s philosophy holds parallels with many modern-day environmentalists- humanities’ attempt at controlling nature leads to more problems than solutions. While I find myself generally agreeing with this philosophy, this can be a vastly gray area. As a senior environmental studies major, it is easy to see the controlling relationship the Japanese have with the environment as one with a highly negative outcome, after experiencing the Nasu Canal, certain outcomes become less clear.
Hearing the canal’s positive effects from Yokiko, discussing how the canal can be viewed from multiple perspectives with Professor Jackson at dinner, and drawing from my own personal views has lead me to draw three conclusions about the Nasu Canal, and its partial-embodiment of this rural group of Japanese and their relationship to Nature. First, looking at it from a personally skeptical view, the Canal’s placement in a naturally dry region of Japan has lead to the displacement of the original ecology of the region. Additionally, its stone/concrete walls cut a foreign trench through the region, potentially displacing the local fauna. It is hard to view the negative effects of this artificial ecosystem, however, due to the canal’s long existence in the region, prior to my observations. For one visiting the region, it seems like these trees could have existed here naturally, not as a replacement for the regions original grasslands- this makes it nearly impossible to draw conclusions on the extent of environmental damage the canal has caused. The second perspective views the canal as a miraculous feat of human willpower. Finished in 5 months with tools considered ancient by today’s standards, it is hard not to revel in the beauty of the human spirit. This respect for the original Japanese’ pioneers willpower and dedication in this region was embodied today by Yokiko and each of us as she went over the history with great animation and excitement. It is truly amazing what humans can accomplish when undergoing immense difficulties. The third perspective I took was from Paul at dinner, which, similarly to the second, has great respect for the canal’s accomplishment. Paul mentioned how he was amazed at the precision and leadership a task like this would have taken, and how the benefits of the system are still being utilized by farmers in the region today.
Often, it is easy to condemn the clumsy and overzealous steps humanity has taken in its progress, but complex situations like the Nasu canal can make judgments murky. In this situation, I must disagree with the philosophies of Fukuoka and many environmentalists. The amazing feat of the Nasu canal has created benefits that have lifted the farmers in the Tochigi prefecture for centuries, benefits which at my current perspective, outweigh the damages to the region’s initial ecology as it is too hard to quantify their extent.
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