Photographer James Whitlow Delano has long been a resident of Japan. His work often revolves around climate issues. His work has taken him around the world, but the images here hail from his adopted homeland.
Delano traveled to Japan’s Mt. Zao where he documented the haunting visages of what the Japanese call, “juhyo,” which translates to “ice trees.”
From mid-January to early March, conditions are created by the weather to form these unique looking trees, including icy west or northwest gales and dumping 6-9 feet of snow. According to Delano, temperatures can plummet to 5 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
Delano told In Sight:
“For much of winter, an icy cloud, driven by the gales, envelops Zao’s volcanic summit, plastering the stands of Maries’ fir (Abies mariesii) in cocoons of rime ice, that grow thicker and thicker. … The time window where the conditions come together to form ‘juhyo’ is narrowing, because average temperatures in Japan have risen more than 1.3 C (2.34F) in the past century.”
Along with climbing temperatures, the trees on the summit of Mt. Zao are also facing beetle infestations, killing the trees.
But all hope is not lost. Delano says:
“Still, there is hope on this sky island. Forestry Agency experts have initiated a revival project where seedlings are collected in the autumn and germinated in spring, to be transplanted on the upper slopes of Zao. The saplings will be covered with bamboo leaves to protect them from deer and rodents until they are no longer appetizing to these foragers.”
Another phenomenon takes place along Hokkaido’s Sea of Okhotsk coast. In Japanese, this phenomenon is referred to as “ryuhyo,” masses of drffting sea ice.
Delano tells In Sight:
“Freshwater from the Amur and other Siberian rivers empty into the Sea of Okhotsk mixing with the surface water, making it less saline, allowing the waters to freeze at a higher temperature. This wind-driven pack ice is pushed by cold, Siberian winds from the northwest, herding them south until this huge mass of floating ice crashes into Hokkaido’s northern coast.”
As with the “juhyo,” rising temperatures are threatening the very existence of this natural phenomenon. According to Delano, “The waters of the Sea of Okhotsk have risen 3C (5.4F) above preindustrial times, one of the greatest temperature increases in the world. That means less drift ice and fewer nutrients for the marine environment. ”
Salmon catches have dropped drastically as well.
Delano leaves us with this thought about the two phenomenon:
“‘juhyo’ and ‘ryuhyo’ are two canaries in the global coal mine, warning about an intensifying climate crisis.
For the visitor, standing in the presence of these otherworldly manifestations of cold, wind and water transports the mind to a place of wonder, beholding something far greater than oneself and yet, for all their power to awe, ‘juhyo’ and ‘ryuhyo’ represent the fragile balance being lost, that nurtured the rise, and flourishing, of our species.”
