｜Length : 26min. ｜Year : 1992 ｜

Mt. Zao is one of Japan's most prominent ski resorts. On the slopes of its Jizo Park, strange clusters of snow appear, which the local people came to call "Yuki-no-bo." These natural works of art are produced during periods of intense cold weather, when the seasonal northeast winds from Siberia completely covers fir trees with snow and ice. This program focuses on the unusual natural environment seen at Mt. Zao, including the "snow trees" and the volcanic crater lake.

｜Length : 49min. ｜Year : 1993 ｜

Hidetoshi Matsubara has been doing what most of us only dream of: living off the bounty of nature in the mountains. Then, after five years he finds a crested eagle chick that he names "Kabugo". Since no creature is more expressive of the power and freedom of the wild than the eagle, the young man decides to raise the young bird to maturity and teach it to hunt. It is no easy task. The unique bond that develops and the lessons that Matsubara learns make for a unique and moving story.

｜Length : 25min. ｜Year : 1993 ｜

For hundreds of years, magnificent forests of beech trees covered much of Japan. Their roots helped the soil hold water, preventing water shortages and flooding, and many believed they were home to the Water Gods. In the 1960's, however, the lumber industry began to cut down the beech forests and replace them with more profitable but less ecologically beneficial trees such as cedar and cyprus. This program focuses on the remaining beech forests of the Asahi Mountains.

｜Length : 33min. ｜Year : 1996 ｜

Birds Vs. Bureaucrats

What happens when bureaucracy and Nature clash? Find out as we examine the case of the "kumatakas," or Japanese Hawk-Eagles, of Yamagata Prefecture. The endangered birds are threatened by construction of a large-scale forest road which is, to many people's thinking, an unwelcome government project. Environmentalists battle to save the birds.

｜Length : 25min. ｜Year : 1999 ｜

For 23 years, the Kageboshi folk group in Yamagata Prefecture has served as a voice for farmers, describing their anger and despair, while poking fun at the government. Together with an association of farmer's wives they search for the theme for a new song. When the women describe how the oldest sons have been so pampered by their mothers that they can't find their own underwear, the members of Kageboshi become inspired by the power of these women, and before long a new song is born.