Changes in the vistas and environment of the Shirakami Sanchi World Heritage Site due to damage from earthquakes and exploitation of resources

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Shirakami-Sanchi,registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, is a region which has held abundant resources of forest and minerals. This study elucidates how this region's resources have been used historically, based on the survey and analysis of historical documents. Consequently,Shirakami-Sanchi,which was situated in the Tsugaru and Akita domains in feudal times and supplied both domains with forestry and mining resources was regarded as an area of vital importance to clan finances rather than as a site of untouched nature, represented by its virgin beech forest. In addition, it is now clear that the Noshiro earthquake which occured in 1704 and the West Tsugaru earthquake which occured in 1793 affected the scenery and resoureces of the area in a variety of ways.