is a 2000-year-old Japanese cedar (''

Cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' ...

'') at Nakagawa Settlement, Yamakita town, Ashigarakami District,

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

, Japan. The tree was revered by locals because it prevented a great fire from spreading in 1904. There is still visible fire damage on the tree. On July 12, 1972, it stopped a great landslide and lessened the damage during heavy rainfall in the

Tanzawa Mountains The are a mountain range in the Kantō region in Japan. The mountain range covers the northwestern part of Kanagawa Prefecture and touches the prefecture borders of Shizuoka Prefecture to the west and the Yamanashi Prefecture to the north. Mou ...

. It was designated as a national

Natural Monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

on March 26, 1934.

Measurements

Houkisugi at Nakagawa is estimated to be more than 2000 years old. Its height is about . The circumference at head height is . The circumference around the root is .

Etymology

There are two views about the origin of the term "Houki:" 1) The place was earlier called ''Houkizawa'' or 2) the tree is Japanese

Broom A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

shaped. Broom is Houki in Japanese.

History

In the Edo era, the felling of trees such as

cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' ...

, '' Chamaecyparis obtusa,

Zelkova serrata ''Zelkova serrata'' (Japanese zelkova, Japanese elm or keyaki or keaki; ja, 欅 (ケヤキ) keyaki /槻 (ツキ) tsuki; ; ko, 느티나무 neutinamu) is a species of the genus ''Zelkova'' native to Japan, Korea, eastern China and Taiwan.Flora ...

'',

firs Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related to ...

(Abies), ''

Tsuga sieboldii ''Tsuga sieboldii'', also called the southern Japanese hemlock, or in Japanese, simply tsuga (栂), is a conifer native to the Japanese islands of Honshū, Kyūshū, Shikoku and Yakushima. In Europe and North America the tree is sometimes u ...

'', or ''

Torreya nucifera ''Torreya nucifera'' is a slow-growing, coniferous tree native to southern Japan and to South Korea's Jeju Island. It is also called Japanese torreya or Japanese nutmeg-yew. Description It grows to 15–25 m tall with a trunk up to 1.5 m diam ...

'' was prohibited. After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, trees which were around the cryptomeria tree were cut down, and the area became a Japanese tea plantation. The local people held

shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

ceremonies at the local guardian shrine called Suga Shrine on July 12 and October 13 (Festival) thanking the sacred tree. They cleaned the shrine every month. In the summer of 2003, a branch of the tree was broken but the tree was restored to health with the treatment by an

arborist An arborist, tree surgeon, or (less commonly) arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants in dend ...

Recognition

*In 1990, this tree was selected as one among the ''New Japan Noted 100 Trees'' by

Yomiuri Shimbun The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ...

. *This tree was selected as one among the ''100 Noted Trees'' in Kanagawa Prefecture.Yomiuri 990:70-71/ref> *In 2001, this tree was selected as one in ''Kanagawa Prefecture Future Heritage'' by Kanagawa Prefecture and Kanagawa Shimbun.

References

External links

* Hirohaku Takahashi, ''I visited sacred trees - Pilgrimage of Mysterious and Sacred Big Trees'', 2009, Tokyo Chizu Shuppan, *