2022 NO.32
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A Virtual Journey through Japan
Trees with Stories
In Japan, many trees are personified and adored, and a number of ancient, massive trees are venerated as gods, because trees are believed to house spirits.
①Fukushima
Miharu Takizakura
Miharu Takizakura (waterfall cherry tree), a weeping cherry tree over 1,000 years old, is named for the waterfall-like cascade of flowers that bloom on branches extending from its 13.5-meter high trunk. In recent years, more than 400 descendants — themselves over 200 years old — have been found within a 10km radius of this ancestor tree, and its saplings have traveled far and wide to now bloom around the world. (Photo: PIXTA)
②Tochigi
Lady of Odashirogahara
In this wetland registered under the Ramsar Convention stands a single white birch, called the Lady of Odashirogahara for its elegant poise. The forest, with its myriad of seasonal color, serves as the backdrop for this noble lady as she welcomes the visitors who come back to see her again and again. (Photo: Aflo)
③Tokyo
Yogo no Matsu, Zenyoji Temple
A Japanese black pine over 600 years old, Yogo no Matsu stands eight meters tall. With east-west branches extending about 31 meters and north-south branches extending about 28 meters, this magnificent tree exudes a divinity befitting its name, Yogo (which means “the gods and Buddha reveal themselves”). (Photo: PIXTA)
④Shizuoka
Miho no Matsubara
A spectacularly scenic spot of white sand and green pine trees, Miho no Matsubara is registered as part of a Mt.Fuji World Cultural Heritage site. The well-known legend of the fisherman who found a celestial maiden’s robe of feathers hung in the trees in Miho no Matsubara and asked for a dance before he would return it, is also the subject of a Noh performance. (Photo: photolibrary)
⑤Gifu
Jingu Birin
Ise Jingu in Mie Prefecture is the most important shrine in all of Japan. Every 20 years, the shrine’s divine palace is rebuilt, and the Shikinen Sengu ceremony is held to mark this renewal. The cypress featured in this ceremony comes from Jingu Birin, a natural forest in the mountains of Gifu. Given time to grow with as little human intervention as possible, the trees of this forest grow up strong and beautiful. (Photo: Tono Forest Management Office)
⑥Wakayama
Kumano Kodo Daimonzaka no Okusu
A World Heritage site, Kumano Kodo is a pilgrimage route travelled by countless worshippers for more than a thousand years. The thick growth of trees gives the mountainous Nakahechi trail section of the route a particularly sacred air, with the 800-year-old Okusu (Sacred Camphor Laurel) standing at the Daimonzaka entrance to welcome pilgrims. (Photo: PIXTA)
⑦Tottori
Kobara Jinja (Kyaku Jinja) Forest
Nestled quietly amid the rice paddies, this tiny forest captures the imagination like a scene from Studio Ghibli’s animated film, Tonari no Totoro (“My Neighbor Totoro”). What stands here is actually a small shrine surrounded by pasania, holly, and other massive trees. This spot became a popular destination after being featured on a website. (Photo: Aflo)
⑧Fukuoka
Dazaifu Tenmangu Tobiume
Legend has it that when the tragic political and literary figure Sugawara Michizane (845 – 903) was sent from Kyoto to Kyushu, he memorialized the beloved plum tree he left behind in poem, causing the tree to fly to him in Kyushu. This tree, Tobiume (literally, “flying plum”), stands in front of the main Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine where Michizane is enshrined; here, in full spring bloom. (Photo: PIXTA)
⑨Kagoshima
Yakushima Jomon Sugi
Estimated at between 2,000 and 4,000 years old, with a trunk circumference of 16.4 meters and a root circumference of 43 meters, this is the largest of the Japanese cedars native to Yakushima island and appears to be the oldest. The tree is thought to have developed its stocky shape to withstand the frequent typhoons that hit the island. It was registered as a natural World Heritage site in 1993. (Photo: Takahira Yuuki)