It seemed the protection efforts of the plum groves had gotten on the right track, but with wartime control being introduced from around 1937, plum trees were almost forcibly cut down and fields were transformed into farmland to increase food production.
梅林の保護は軌道に乗り始めたかに見えたが、1937年ごろからの戦時統制の時代に突入すると食糧増産のために梅の木畑は半ば強制的に伐採され、耕作地に姿を変えた。