某年開車經過京都郊外的山林，見樹木密密麻麻，一棵棵長得筆直的，枝葉只長在高聳入雲處，馬路旁就只見光溜溜的樹幹，我誤以為樹木有靈性，礙著彼此的枝椏都收起來。好一陣子我覺得這樣的山林特別美麗，後來才知是那是日本的植林。為了應付高度經濟增長，人們對新房子的需求急增，植林公司伐去了山木原來的雜木，種下大量杉木及檜木等，作為木建築的建材。
近年來因為大量引入了外國的廉價杉木材，部分植林公司便對杉木林撒手不管了，這些原本不屬於山上的林木於沒有任何管理下逕自急速生長，山林失去了平衡，而另一個最為日本人困擾的是，杉木產生的大量花粉，正是日本花粉症的源頭。杉木林失控，已是日本各大縣市非面對不可的問題，而將之解決，首先要做的，是讓人們注意到問題的存在。
以東京多摩地域的杉才製作的「KINO」，是一套木食具製作組合，其誕生的目的，便是希望能引起人們對日本本地木材的關注，埋下解決植林問題的種子。
「KINO」共有三款，分別是小匙、筷子、牛油刀，每款內含杉木及檜木板各一塊，蜜蠟、打磨用的砂紙、布等。於木材上劃出自己想做的食具的模樣，用美工刀小心地雕琢、細細打磨，再為其塗上薄薄的蜜蠟，以布仔細擦淨。製作者透過自己的雙手感受木材的溫度，體會到一片木材如何演變成對自己別具意義的物件，過程之中，木材的美好、山林的美好，或許就能傳達到他們心裡。
Driving through the dense woods in the rural Kyoto, I was surrounded by straight and tall trees that seem to strive all the way up high. The leaves and branches were only growing near the treetop, whereas the tree trunks near the ground look rather bare. I wishfully thought that was some kind of spiritual power of nature that standardizes the orderly outlook. I simply found this woods particularly charming. It was only until later that I came to realize that the woods was actually an artificial forest. To meet the increasing demand of housing caused by economic boom, afforestation companies removed the original plantations on the mountain and planted Cryptomeria and Cypress which can be used as ideal building materials.
Attributed to the massive import of cheap timber in recent years, some afforestation companies started to neglect the plantation of Cryptomeria in the wild. This non-native forestation has thrived without supervision and started to lose the balance. Another issue that is giving the Japanese a headache is the pollens produced by the trees, which is the major contributor to the widespread of hay fever. The increasing forest density has already become a major issue for all the Japanese prefectures. To start tackling the problem, it is crucial to first raise people’s awareness.
KINO is a DIY wooden eating utensil set made from cryptomeria timber from the Tama area in Tokyo. It was designed to remind the public of the importance of local Japanese lumber and hope to solve the problem arisen from the artificial forests.
Each KINO collection comes with three items including a teaspoon, a pair of chopsticks, and a butter knife. Each of them is a set that contains a piece of cryptomeria wood, a piece of cypress wood, wax polish, sandpaper and cloth for polishing, etc. Everyone can draw on the wood a shape they desire for the eating utensil and craft it out carefully. After polishing with sandpaper, coating them with wax, and cleaning them with the cloth, it will become a unique item that is created from scratch. Through this process, we can finally experience the process of turning a piece of wood into a meaningful item and thence understand the beauty of lumber and the woods.
