Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today’s topic is the World Heritage of Japan: 白神山地（しらかみさんち） Shirakami Mountain Range.
It is said that the beech forests in the Shirakami mountain range situated between Akita and Aomori prefectures were created after the Ice Age, about 8,000 years ago. The beech nuts found there were essential food for the Jomon people, and early culture of Japanese aboriginal people, who were engaged in hunting and gathering. The beech forest, known for its power to retain water and even referred to as the “Green Dam,” is the home of animals such as Asiatic black bears, Japanese monkeys and golden eagles.
I would like to mention here the relationship of the Jomon people to present day Japanese.
The Jomons were the indigenous people who lived in many parts of Japan until the Yayoi people, the direct ancestors of the present Japanese, entered Japan. They are believed to have mainly engaged in hunting, gathering and fishing. They had shorterr heads, more square craggier faces and hairier bodies than the Yayoi people. It is thought that they gradually mixed with the Yayoi people who started to spread throughout Japan and settle in fixed locations for agriculture.

June 13th News, from NILS Japanese language school.