It is said that "before civilization there are trees; after civilization there is desert," and this will probably come to pass since the land is being sacrificed for the sake of today's prosperity, and in time we will find the survival of all things on Earth (including ourselves) seriously threatened ("The Twenty-First Century's Warning," special program aired on NHK, November 8, 1984 at 8 p.m.). 34 Japan has six million hectares of arable land, and this works out to five ares per person. One person can probably grow enough on five ares to live. It is therefore possible for all 220 million Japanese to become direct cultivators. Let them sing songs, draw pictures, and make trinkets and gewgaws during the time they are not working in the fields. 35 The author is referring to the so-called "prostitution tours" in which Japanese men allegedly travel to Southeast Asian countries to shop for many things, including women. (Translator's note) CHAPTER VI Disengagement from the City The cities will perish of their own accord, [36] but we do not know exactly when that will happen, and we must in the meantime work for the contraction and decline of the cities. It is therefore necessary for us to immediately begin building a society in which it is possible to live without the cities. We need resolve, mental preparedness, countermeasures, and a warmup. Helping the City Perish so that We Can Make the Escape To build our resolve and begin our warmup we must prepare for the collapse of the city. Without a rehearsal our resolve is a mere fantasy, and our warmup is nothing more than flailing our arms about without throwing the ball. How can we, during this time when the city still stands grandly before us, bring about conditions under which it will perish? There is only one way, and that is to disengage ourselves from the city. Looking for a way to avoid the evils of the city while at the same time receiving in full the blessings of urban civilization is like trying to get milk from a bull. There is no difference at all between this and the Zen priest who, while attired in a resplendent brocaded robe, preaches to people on how to rid themselves of earthly passions. "Disengagement" from the city is the first of the preparations we must make in order to get ready for its collapse, and it is also a means of shrinking the city. So disengagement from the city comes first -- but this is easier said than done. Once one makes the attempt, one finds that there are countless obstacles, and that virtually all of them are difficult to overcome since they are not of our making (for example, a lack of courage or resolve), but are obstacles put in our path by the city. The Structure of the City Does Not Readily Permit "Disengagement"