The Window of the Universe
The Forest at Your Feet
A small forest of moss under your feet
that serves as a backbone of ancient forests
Lake Shirakoma is located in the Northern Yatsugatake mountain region, where a primeval conifer forest spreads over a rough lava ground made during volcanic activity. The foot of the forest is covered with a green sea of moss. This is a story of the cycle of life, woven by the primeval forest that has carved out the passage of time and the small forest of moss underfoot.
Exhibition Contents
A primeval conifer forest, several hundred years old, surrounding Lake Shirakoma in the Northern Yatsugatake mountain region. The ground of the forest is covered with a green sea of moss. More than 500 species of moss grow in this region, and is certified as one of the precious moss forests in Japan by the Bryological Society of Japan.
Fog rising from the surface of Lake Shirakoma gives moisture to the moss, which stays moist and supports the rich ecosystem of microorganisms and fungus, serving to protect the forest from ancient times. The micro circulation of life taking place at your feet creates a drama on a grand scale, transcending time and space.
Pogonatum japonicum
The largest of the species in Japan, with a height of 8 to 20 cm, stores moisture.
Hylocomium splendens
this species of moss grows hanging from the base of rocks and trees.
Racomitrium fasciculare
This species of moss grows on rocks with good exposure to sunlight, and its leaves open instantly when it catches moisture.
Pseudobryum speciosum
The part that looks like a flower is a reproductive organ called a splash-cup.
Mylia verrucosa
It grows tightly on the surface of a rock or on a fallen tree. The row of leaves draws a characteristic pattern.
Schistostega pennata
This species of moth shines in emerald-green in the dark spaces between rocks, reflecting sunlight.
Bartramia pomiformis
It reproduces by spreading spores from the round part called sporangium.
Marsupella commutata
The brown sporophyte divides when matured and spreads spores.
Lycoperdon perlatum
This species of mushroom grows based on moss. The spores are released from holes on the top when the mushroom sways in the wind or things like pine cones hit the mushroom.
Flammulina velutipes
Brown and slimy caps grow densely.
Amanita muscaria
It is a poisonous mushroom with a vivid red color and white spots. The mushroom lives on the moisture kept by the moss.
Young trees of Northern Japanese Hemlock
These young trees take root in the ground covered with moss, and grows strongly.
Back Story
Long filming period
that took a year
It took as long as a year to shoot these images. Shooting an image while seeking the best timing, considering which season, weather, and temperature can make moss look most beautiful, is very time-consuming work. Also, moss grows particularly slowly compared to other plants, so it takes a long time to record the growth with images. Therefore, time-lapse photography uses a lot of time and energy.
Environment near the Lake Shirakoma in the Northern Yatsugatake mountain region
Yatsugatake is a volcanic group stretching across Nagano Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture. Lake Shirakoma is located on the northernmost end of the area, 2,115m above sea level, and is a natural lake where water has accumulated in a depression made by lava. It is the largest lake in Japan and located 2,100m above sea level. The primeval forest surrounding the lake is considered as one of the three most important primeval forests in Japan. This forest is known as the mine of moss, where as many as about one fourth of the species of moss that grow in Japan can be found. Nearly 500 species of moss, some of them very rare, can be seen throughout the Northern Yatsugatake region, and it is certified as one of the precious moss forests in Japan by the Bryological Society of Japan.
Roles of moss in the ecosystem
Moss may rarely catch people's eye in ordinary life, but is serves a very important role in nature. One of the important characteristics of moss is that it absorbs water and nutrients not from its roots but from its surface. That is why it can grow on rough ground or walls where soil is hardly developed.
It enters infertile land before any kind of living creatures and builds a foundation for the natural environment. The moss that keeps abundant water works like soil to help grasses, flowers, and trees to grow.
