Tired of goodbyes and lasts; looking for hellos and firsts.

Posts tagged 巨木

The Giant Trees of Tochigi: α5. The Giant Weeping Cherry of Jougan Temple

Sep09
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim
#4 The Giant Ginkgo of Jougan Temple Revisited

The Weeping Cherry in front, the Giant Ginkgo behind. The main hall of Jougan Temple peeking in from the left.

While visiting Jougan Temple on May 25th to shoot the Giant Ginkgo in spring, I realized that, just next to it is this Giant Weeping Cherry. Of course, it’s a shame I discovered it in late May instead of early April, but this year, I was slightly distracted from mid-March through April, as I’m sure many of us were.

Anyhoo, I am aware of it now, and plan to visit it next year when it’s in bloom.

The sign at the tree says it is 12m high, and 2.5m around, but says nothing of its age.

#4 The Giant Ginkgo of Jougan Temple Revisited

Several of the branches are supported by poles so that they don't break off.

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show us your Japan?

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The Giant Trees of Tochigi: #4 The Giant Ginkgo of Jougan Temple Revisited

Sep02
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim
#4 The Giant Ginkgo of Jougan Temple Revisited

Number: 4
Name: The Giant Ginkgo of Jougan Temple (成願寺のイチョウ)
Type: Ginkgo
Height: 30m
Trunk Circumference: 5.9m
Age: 500 years
Location: 栃木県宇都宮市西刑部町（成願寺） (36° 29′ 56″N 139° 55′ 53″E)
Date of Original Visit: 2010-1-31
Revisited: 2011-5-25

#4 The Giant Ginkgo of Jougan Temple Revisited

#4 The Giant Ginkgo of Jougan Temple Revisited

#4 The Giant Ginkgo of Jougan Temple Revisited

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show us your Japan?

 

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The Giant Trees of Tochigi: #3 The Giant Camphor of Hachimanyama

Aug26
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim
#3 The Giant Camphor of Hachimanyama

Even up here, there are power lines.

Number: 3
Name: Giant Camphor of Hachimanyama (八幡山のクスノキ)
Type: Camphor (クスノキ)
Height: 22m
Trunk Circumference: 9.9m
Age: 300 years
Location: 栃木県宇都宮市塙田５丁目 (36° 34′ 12″N 139° 53′ 10″E)
Date of Visit: 2011-5-25

In the north of Utsunomiya’s city centre, north of the Tochigi Prefectural Office, on a wide, high bit of land one can find Hachimanyama Park.

Parking sneakily in a parking lot near the Hachimanyama Christian cemetary, I walked into the park. It was mid-morning, and many people could be seen walking up and down the many steep paths of the park to keep themselves in shape. But as I got further into the park, the people melted away, and I was alone, save for some big hovering buzzy bee-like bugs that followed me, but gave no bother.

#3 The Giant Camphor of Hachimanyama

A natural monument, complete with information board.

This tree, a municipal Natural Monument, is very close to Utsunomiya Tower. From up here, it overlooks the entire city. This tree has many individual trunks, which, taken by themselves, are not so big or impressive. But, clustered as they are, their gravity is increased. This tree, despite its age, seems extremely healthy. After the earthquake of March 11, the park officials have roped off parts of the area for fear that they have become unstable and will slip. It would be terrible if the earth surrounding this tree were to slide away, but it seems to be fine for now.

#3 The Giant Camphor of Hachimanyama

Utsunomiya Tower. It is a tower, but it does not control people's minds. That is only the CN Tower, you know.

The place where this camphor tree stands is at an elevation of 150m. Utsunomiya Tower is 89m tall. At 30m, there is a public viewing platform which you can visit for a price. It’s catchphrase is “A viewing platform from which you can see the entire unbroken horizon” (日本一の地平線が一望できる展望台です).

Maybe you can see the horizon from the camphor tree, too, when the weather is right.

#3 The Giant Camphor of Hachimanyama

Beautiful dappled sunlight.

#3 The Giant Camphor of Hachimanyama

The yellow caution tape and signs warn the the earth may be unstable due to the earthquake.

#3 The Giant Camphor of Hachimanyama

The signpost says that the tree usually blossoms "around May", but this was May 25th, and those buds don't look like they're gonna open any time soon.

#3 The Giant Camphor of Hachimanyama

Goodbye, Giant Camphor. I'll see you again someday.

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show me your Japan?

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The Giant Trees of Tochigi: #2 The Grand Ginkgo of Asahimachi Revisited

Aug19
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim
#2 The Grand Ginkgo of Asahimachi

There it is, peeking between two buildings. You can't hide from me, you giant tree, you!

Number: 2
Name: Grand Ginkgo of Asahimachi (旭町の大いちょう)
Type: Gingko
Height: 32m
Trunk Circumference: 6.2m
Age: 300+ years
Location: 栃木県宇都宮市中央１丁目 (36° 33′ 27″N 139° 52′ 57″E)
Date of Original Visit: 2010-1-31
Revisited: 2011-5-25

#2 The Grand Ginkgo of Asahimachi

#2 The Grand Ginkgo of Asahimachi

#2 The Grand Ginkgo of Asahimachi

Lens flare! Not firebombing like this tree endured in '45.

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show me your Japan?

 

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The Giant Trees of Tochigi: #1 The Giant Zelkova of Shinmachi Revisited

Aug12
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim
#1 The Giant Zelkova of Shinmachi

In springtime, the zelkova truly transforms.

Number: 1
Name: Giant Zelkova of Shinmachi (新町のケヤキ)
Type: Japanese Zelkova (Zelkowa Serrata)
Height: 38m
Trunk Circumference: 7.4m
Age: 800 years
Location: 栃木県宇都宮市新町２丁目 (36° 32′ 53″N 139° 52′ 31″E)
Date of Original Visit: 2010-1-31
Revisited: 2011-5-25

#1 The Giant Zelkova of Shinmachi

To see it in January, it is difficult to imagine the canopy would be this large.

#1 The Giant Zelkova of Shinmachi

#1 The Giant Zelkova of Shinmachi

It sure is tall.

#1 The Giant Zelkova of Shinmachi

A wee shrine behind the tree.

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show me your Japan?

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The Giant Trees of Tochigi: α3 The Twin Giant Cryptomeria of Chousen Temple

Aug05
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim

While showing me to the Giant Quercus Sessilifolia of Horinouchi, the lady at the local appliance repair shop mentioned that, further up the hill, I could find some very large cryptomeria. She wasn’t wrong, you know.

#55 Giant Quercus Sessilifolia of Horinouchi

These cryptomeria are also listed Natural Monuments.

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show me your Japan?

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The Giant Trees of Tochigi: #55 The Giant Quercus Sessilifolia of Horinouchi

Jul22
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim
#55 Giant Quercus Sessilifolia of Horinouchi

If one parks at the Hanamaya Densetsu shop near the Horinouchi intersection, one can see a sign for a Kannon, and, following the path, it is not long until one is face to face with the Giant Quercus Sessilifolia.

Number: 55
Name: Giant Quercus Sessilifolia of Horinouchi (堀之内のツクバネガシ)
Type: Evergreen Oak (Quercus Sessilifolia)
Height: 14m
Trunk Circumference: 7.2m
Age: 500 years
Location: 栃木県大田原市堀之内 (36° 52′ 35″N 140° 07′ 42″E)
Date of Visit: 2011-5-21

#55 Giant Quercus Sessilifolia of Horinouchi

This sign, on the right as you pass away from Horinouchi intersection, is the landmark you must look for. Just before reaching this, there is an electric repair shop with a lovely lady who let me park there and then showed me to the tree.

On the left bank of the Naka River, in Horinouchi district of old Kurobane Town (now part of Otawara City), there is the Iwaya Kannon. On the path leading to the Iwaya Kannon, one stumbles across this Giant Quercus Sessilifolia. However, though it is on the path to the Iwaya Kannon, this tree actually belongs to the Horinouchi Neighbourhood Council, and not the Kannon temple.

When one approaches from the bottom, the tree looks like any tree might when it reaches this tree’s advanced years. There is no hint of that which lies on the other side.

#55 Giant Quercus Sessilifolia of Horinouchi

Several people can fit into the gap in the trunk. In fact, the gap is so large it's difficult to believe any heartwood remained to keep the tree alive. And yet my eyes tell me there must have been plenty.

No one knows how many years ago this tree was struck by lightning, but it must have been a very powerful strike for there is now a massive gap in the backside of the tree, big enough for several people to stand within. But despite this terrible trauma, the tree continued to grow and continues to thrive to this day.

#55 Giant Quercus Sessilifolia of Horinouchi

And here, with the 9th tree, ends my adventure of May 21, 2011. But this is not the end of my giant tree adventures. There are still many more trees to visit!

Maybe, this is the biggest quercus sessilifolia in all of Tochigi. It is not a common tree even at the best of times — in English it has no common name, unless you want to be insufficiently specific and call it an oak, as all members of quercus may be called. Nevertheless, this tree is made all the more uncommon by its age, its size, and the tremendous void within it.

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show us your Japan?

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The Giant Trees of Tochigi: #57 The Giant Cryptomeria of Onsen Shrine

Jul15
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim
#57 Giant Cryptomeria of Onsen Shrine

Hidden away up two flights of stone steps, away from the road, one finds the Giant Cryptomeria of Onsen Shrine.

Number: 57
Name: Giant Cryptomeria of Onsen Shrine (温泉神社のスギ)
Type: Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica)
Height: 33m
Trunk Circumference: 5.4m
Age: 200~299 years
Location: 栃木県大田原市中野内 (36° 54′ 28″N 140° 08′ 46″E)
Date of Visit: 2011-5-21

In the district of Nakanouchi, to the west of prefectural road 27 linking Kuroiso, Kurobane and Motegi, one can find Onsen Shrine. It is popularly called Oomiya. A local bridge is also called Oomiya Bridge.

#57 Giant Cryptomeria of Onsen Shrine

There's lots of steps. What will I find up here?

In official records, this shrine’s date of establishment is unknown, what is known is that in the 2nd year of Daiji (1127 CE), Sudougon’nokami Sadanobu (須藤権守貞信) (what a friggin’ name, I have to say) built the main shrine building, and after that, it was home to the guardian deity of the Nasu Clan, which lived in these parts at that time. In more recent times, the Oseki Clan, traditional lords of Kurohane-han, now Otawara City, gave 50 koku to the shrine district (社領, that is, the region in which a particular shrine or temple was able to tax, administer justice, and so on). At times of festival, the daimyo is said to have often visited this shrine, so one can imagine that this place was a big deal in the past.

#57 Giant Cryptomeria of Onsen Shrine

More steps, that's what I found!

Opening off of the prefectural road, and heading up two flights of stone stairs, this tree is located just below the main hall on the right-hand side. It’s a beautiful cryptomeria with beautiful bark texture.

#57 Giant Cryptomeria of Onsen Shrine

A perfect specimen of a tree.

#57 Giant Cryptomeria of Onsen Shrine

I'd love to stay, but it will be dark very soon, and I have one more tree to visit. I'll definitely return here though.

#57 Giant Cryptomeria of Onsen Shrine

Ah, back to Road 27, and off to the final leg of today's trip.

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show me your Japan?

 

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The Giant Trees of Tochigi: #58 The Giant Ginkgo of Oonomuro

Jul08
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim
#58 Giant Ginkgo of Oonomuro

At the end of a long tree-lined path, just before the shrine, we reach the Giant Ginkgo of Oonomuro.

Number: 58
Name: Giant Ginkgo of Oonomuro (大野室のイチョウ)
Type: Ginkgo/Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba)
Height: 30m
Trunk Circumference: 6.5m
Age: >300 years
Location: 栃木県大田原市寒井大野室 (36° 55′ 19″N 140° 06′ 34″E)
Date of Visit: 2011-5-21

On the right bank of the Naka River, not so far from prefectural road 34 which connects Kuroiso with Kurobane, one can find Mishima Shrine. In the long, perfectly straight avenue of cryptomeria leading to the shrine, slightly out of place, is this single Giant Ginkgo.

#58 Giant Ginkgo of Oonomuro

The cryptomeria-lined avenue leads to the ginkgo, and to Mishima Shrine.

This ginkgo is considerably older than the cryptomeria that line the approach to the shrine. One can imagine that once upon a time, the scenery of the approach was quite different than it is today.

#58 Giant Ginkgo of Oonomuro

This information board was erected in August 1995.

Nearby, a handwritten information board made from a slice of another giant tree can be seen. According to that sign, the shrine was established in the 2nd year of the Daidou Era (so, 807 CE). At first, Yakushinyorai (薬師如来, Bhaisajyaguru, the buddha who is able to cure all ills) was enshrined here, where he was called Wise God Mishima.

#58 Giant Ginkgo of Oonomuro

A chain fence discourages people from approaching too closely.

As for the ginkgo, it is written that people used to pray here for troubles with breastfeeding, but there seems to be no explanation beyond that.

#58 Giant Ginkgo of Oonomuro

It was approaching 5pm on a mid-May day. Daylight was starting to fade, but I still had two more giant trees to find that day. Must keep moving.

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show us your Japan?

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The Giant Trees of Tochigi: #54 The Giant Zelkova of Yakumo Shrine

Jun24
2011 Written by Mullenkedheim
#54 Giant Zelkova of Yakumo Shrine

Approaching the shrine from the street, before you take a single step upwards, your vision is dominated by the Giant Zelkova.

Number: 54
Name: Giant Zelkova of Yakumo Shrine (八雲神社のケヤキ)
Type: Japanese Zelkova (Zelkowa serrata)
Height: 28m
Trunk Circumference: 5.1m
Age: >300 years
Location: 栃木県大田原市黒羽田町 (36° 51′ 38″N 140° 07′ 21″E)
Date of Visit: 2011-5-21

On the left bank of the Naka River, at the east end of National Route 461′s Naka River Bridge, you find Kurobaneta-machi. Before Kurobane Town amalgamated into Otawara City in 2005, you could find the town hall here.

#54 Giant Zelkova of Yakumo Shrine

I do hope those aren't insect holes. I'd hate for something to happen to this tree, like the Giant Evergreen Oak of Takioka Onsen Shrine.

Yakumo Shrine is found on the high ground to the east of the old town hall. Stepping onto the stone staircase leading up to the shrine, you can’t help but notice a majestic tree at the top on your right-hand side. This is the Giant Zelkova of Yakumo Shrine. The thin rope encircling its trunk suggests that herein dwells a kami.

#54 Giant Zelkova of Yakumo Shrine

What a mighty tree.

In 1989, the first survey of Giant Trees was carried out, and this zelkova was recorded. Since that time, the trunk circumference has increased a further 25cm. Despite its advanced years, it’s still managing to carry on strong growth.

From low on the trunk and looking upwards, one can see that there were many branches at one time, but as they get thick, they seem to be shed. Perhaps they become too heavy for their own good. At any rate, in the months and years after such a shedding, this zelkova works to heal itself, and now the wounds of these lost brances are nothing more than lumps and bumps here and there.

Though obscured by leaves on this warm spring day, it seems that, once, long ago, the tree forked further up, but that the southermost half of the fork has been lost. One wonders how wide the canopy may have reached if that fork had continued to grow.

#54 Giant Zelkova of Yakumo Shrine

The roots don't have an easy time of it, but they've made do.

#54 Giant Zelkova of Yakumo Shrine

Before leaving, I gave this tree a hug. I couldn't not, it was just such a warm, inviting tree. I'll come back here one day. But, ever onwards!

I try to show you my Japan. Won’t you show us your Japan?

 

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