In Japan, the woods traditionally have been imagined to be the epitome of all that is unknown and fearsome in nature -- dark, enchanted places inhabited by magical foxes and raccoon dogs that children are made to fear from an early age.
At the same time, however, Japan's mountain forests have been revered as generous providers of food, firewood and other raw materials.
But in feudal times, when Japan was divided into tiny domains, it wasn't the steep slopes and scary tales that kept people from venturing too far into the mountains; it was the stringent laws prohibiting easy movement across domain boundaries. These laws made anything beyond bamboo gathering and small-scale hunting impossible.