The atelier, f*works, is a place where Ishizuka teaches flower arrangements and makes his own artworks. A lot of objective trees were hanging under the ceiling, which made the atmosphere more comfortable.
f*worksのアトリエは石塚さんが生け花を教えたり、作品をつくる場所です。たくさんの木のオブジェが天井からも下がり、森のような雰囲気でとても素敵です。

It was 25 years ago when Kanie visited Yakushima for the first time. The forest in Yakushima had a lot of rain and huge trees were covered with green moss. She felt as if her whole body even her brain got dyed green
私が屋久島を最初に訪ねたのは25年前。雨が多くレインフォレストの屋久島の森は、巨木も地面の緑のコケに覆われていて脳まで緑に染まったような気分なりました。

In 2000, she published a book “sen-nen no mori e” (go to the millennium forest). Before Yakushima was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site, she visited this place almost every month for research.
2000年に出版した屋久島の写真詩集『千年の森へ』や雑誌の取材などで、毎月訪れるなど世界遺産に登録される前に数え切れないほど通いました。

Some of the participants have visited Yakushima once, and others haven’t, but all of them wanted to visit Yakushima. They enthusiastically listened to Kanie’s talk with taking notes.
屋久島に行ってみたい、もうすぐ行くので、もう一度いってみたいという熱い思いの方ばかりで、皆さん、とても熱心にメモを取りながら聞いてくださいました。

The river on the left is the Yodo-gawa river. You need to walk a lot from the starting point to get there. There is a cottage next to the river. Kanie still remembers how the river water was crystal clear 25 years ago.
左のディスプレイに映っている淀川。淀川登山口からかなり歩いてきた場所で隣に淀川小屋がある場所。透き通る水が印象的だった25年前。

Kanie introduced some attractive places in Yakushima in a scientific magazine from Kodansha in the past. She talked about them at the talking session this time. In the mountains of the granite island, big rocks like in the picture were here and there. The deep sea was also one of the attractive points of Yakushima.
以前、講談社の科学雑誌で私が紹介した屋久島の魅力的な場所を改めて紹介しました。花崗岩できた島の山々にはこんな大岩がゴロゴロ。ドンブカの海もまた魅力的です。

You were able to touch Jomon sugi cedar trees 25 years ago. Locals made a deck to protect the roots of the tree, so people see the tree from the distance now. At that time, people tried to protect the exposed roots of the tree by covering soul them.
25年前は縄文杉を触ることができました。見学デッキができることで根を痛めることがなくなりました。この頃は露出した根を守ろうと根に土を被せる運動が実施されていました。

When you looked up this Jomon sugi cedar tree from the bottom, the tree bark seemed like human muscle, which was very inspiring. It was said the tree was about 7200 years old once, but some say it is about 2000-5000 years old. The real age of the tree is still unclear.
下から見上げると、隆々とした筋肉のような樹肌が印象的な縄文杉。一時は樹齢7200年ともいわれたが、樹齢2000～5000年説などもあり、正確な数字はいまだに謎のままです。

Kanie had written about the age of the Jomon sugi cedar tree in the science magazine. She showed those articles to the participants of the talking session and asked them to think about how old the tree was.
縄文杉の樹齢についても科学雑誌に執筆したことがあり、その資料を見せがら、参加していただいた皆さんにも樹齢を推定していただきました。

This tree is located along the Anbo forest at an altitude of about 1,200 meters and is the only Yakusugi cedar tree on the island that can be seen from a car. This tree is 19.5 meters tall, has a circumference of 8.1 meters, and is estimated to be 3,000 years old. Kanie likes this tree so much because of its dynamism.
標高約1200mの安房林道沿いにあり、屋久島で唯一、車窓から見ることができる紀元杉。樹高19.5m、胸高周囲8.1m、推定樹齢3000年。根張りの力強さが大好きな屋久杉です。

There are many Yakusugi cedar trees that are over 1000 years old in the forest of Yakushima. People visit there to see the trees. This is one of the reasons. Kanie showed each of a tree.
屋久島の森には樹齢1000年以上の屋久杉がたくさん存在しています。それが多くの人々を屋久島に誘う大きな要因の1つです。その屋久杉の1本1本の写真を見ていただきました。

While Kanie talked about big trees and green forests in Yakushima, everyone was getting excited, and they decided to go to Yakushima someday soon. The talking session brought people full energy.
たくさんの巨木の写真と緑に染まった森の様子を見ていただいているうちに皆さん、「絶対、屋久島に行く」と大興奮。楽しくてエネルギッシュなお話し会でした。