Seeds of Control

Japanese colonial rule in Korea (1905-1945) ushered in natural resource management programs that profoundly altered access to and ownership of the peninsula's extensive mountains and forests. Under the banner of "forest love," the colonial government set out to restructure the rhythms and routines of agrarian life, targeting everything from home heating to food preparation. Timber industrialists, meanwhile, channeled Korea's forest resources into supply chains that grew in tandem with Japan's imperial sphere. These mechanisms of resource control were only fortified after 1937, when the peninsula and its forests were mobilized for total war.In this wide-ranging study David Fedman explores Japanese imperialism through the lens of forest conservation in colonial Korea--a project of environmental rule that outlived the empire itself. Holding up for scrutiny the notion of conservation, Seeds of Control examines the roots of Japanese ideas about the Korean landscape, as well as the consequences and aftermath of Japanese approaches to Korea's "greenification." Drawing from sources in Japanese and Korean, Fedman writes colonized lands into Japanese environmental history, revealing a largely untold story of green imperialism in Asia.

"[A] welcome contribution to the literature on Japanese colonialism and "green imperialism." Seeds of Control is a lively and timely work. Non-specialist readers will find it approachable and informative. Specialists in Japanese and Korean history will find Seeds of Control useful to think and teach with. It is an excellent example of what environmental history can bring to the study of nation and empire in East Asia.", "Seeds of Control is a must-read text for anyone interested in the complexity and interplay of colonial and environmental history.", "David Fedman presents the first environmental history monograph in English detailing Japanese colonial forestry policies and practices in Korea. The book is deeply and widely researched—incorporating archival, published, and scholarly sources in Korean, Japanese, and English—and is engagingly written.", "Through its comprehensive evaluation of the successes and failures of Japan’s environmental governance, Seeds of Control speaks to the current situation in an innovative and persuasive manner, for it reveals a new horizon or internal limit for the exercise of power.", "[E]xcellent, detailed, and carefully composed research."

David Fedman is assistant professor of history at the University of California, Irvine.