24 In mainland Okinawa and its surrounding islands, the house of the earliest family that settled in a hamlet was called ni:ya, which became the center of hamlet rituals. Figure 3d shows rees older than 200 years are clustered around Tomari Hara. The biggest Fukugi trees were found to be around the old houses at the foot of the high land behind Hama hamlet, although the num- ber of large Fukugi trees is much fewer than in other survey sites. As mentioned earlier in this study, the oldest parts of the ham- lets in the survey sites are also the location of most of the large Fukugi trees older than 200 years. Not exclusively, it must be said, since large trees can be found in places other than core ar- eas. In particular in Imadomari and Yae in Aguni Island, large trees older than 200 years were found scattered here and there in the village. Fukugi trees around 300 years were also found in Bise (Figure 3a). The present village landscape, with large Fukugi trees older than 200 years and orderly road layout, might have been planned and built during the Sai On period from 1737 to 1750. The age of some trees suggests that some houses might have moved to the current residential area with Fukugi trees planted as windbreaks to protect the houses before the Sai On period. Chen and Nakama: Old Fukugi Trees in Okinawa, Japan Figure 3e. Hama. The area inside the dark line is thought to have been the older parts of the hamlet. CONCLUSIONS A Feng Shui village landscape, assumed to have been planned or reformed during the modern Ryukyuan Period, features Fu- kugi house-embracing trees and an orderly road layout. Fukugi trees are well preserved on Okinawa Island and its nearby iso- lated islands. However, it is still a mystery to historians when and how these Fukugi trees were planted. In order to clarify the development process of the house-embracing Fukugi trees, all Fukugi trees that were assumed to be older than 100 years in Bise, Tonaki, Imadomari, and Aguni Island were measured. The surveyed hamlets were located on the fringe of Okinawa Is- land and its nearby smaller islands. Exposure to the sea might be one factor accounting for the preservation of Fukugi trees. Fukugi trees older than 100 years were prevalent in all surveyed Figure 3c. Imadomari. The dotted path indicates the location of Baba. It was an open space used for horse training, horse racing, and playing tug-of-war. Now it is where the Harvest Festival is held every year. Figure 3d. Yae (East & West). The area inside the patterned circle is Tomari Hara, which is supposed to be the location of the earli- est habitation in the current village site (Aguni Son Shi 1984). ©2011 International Society of Arboriculture hamlets. Trees older than 200 years, however, were more common in Bise and Imadomari, and at Yae in Aguni Island than in Tonaki and Hama, Aguni Island. The spread of older trees in the former three villages was wider than in the latter two villages, suggesting the former three might have been settled at the current sites earlier than the latter two. The mean heights of large Fukugi trees were taller in Bise and Imadomari than in Tonaki and Aguni Island. A higher value placed on Fukugi trees by local people might be one important factor for having a better preservation of Fukugi trees. The spatial distribution of old Fukugi trees in a Feng Shui village in Okinawa also suggests that strong wind has been the primary factor for such a layout. The old- est trees standing around the older part of the settle- ment were farther from the ocean than the younger trees. Kami-asagi in northern Okinawa Island and haisyo on its nearby isolated islands were thought to be the hamlet cen- ter, with the houses around it forming the earliest settle- ment area. The present study found that large Fukugi trees older than 200 years are clustered in the core area around the kami-asagi or haisyo in the village. Fukugi trees in the north- ern part of Bise and the western part of Tonaki were younger than those in the core area near the kami-asagi, or haisyo. Thus, a traditional village in Okinawa was laid out with a struc- ture related to the local religion and sacred rites at its center. The oldest tree of around 300 years might have been plant- ed prior to the period from 1737 to 1750, when Sai On was a Sanshikan, during which Fukugi trees were planned and rec-
January 2011
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