On the Establishment of Feng Shui Villages from the Perspective of Old Fukugi Trees in Okinawa, Japan

A Feng Shui village landscape features Fukugi (Garcinia subelliptica) tree lines surrounding every house and orderly laid out roads. Such a green landscape, which is assumed to be planned or reformed during the modern Ryukyuan period around 300 years ago, is well preserved in Okinawa Island, Japan, and its nearby isolated islands. But it is still a mystery to the 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. It was found that huge Fukugi trees older than 200 years, cluster around the core area kami-asagi or haisyo inside the village. Both the kami-asagi and haisyo are sacred places where guardian gods were summoned in order to hold ceremonies and rituals. The oldest trees were approximately 300, 268, 294, 296, and 281 years in Bise, Tonaki, Imadomari, Yae (East & West), and Hama in Aguni Island, respectively. These old trees might have been planted prior to the period from 1737 to 1750, when Sai On was a member of the Sanshikan, during which Fukugi trees were planned and recommended. While Fukugi trees might have been planted as windbreaks around the houses prior to the Sai On period, however, the current house-embracing Fukugi tree landscape came into being during the Sai On period based on Feng Shui concepts.