Chichi Sugi, which translates as Boob Cedar is an 800 year old tree on the slopes of Mount Daimanji on Dogo, the biggest of the Oki Islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane.
It is an Urasugi, a species that grows on the Japan Sea side of the main Japanese island of Honshu.
Heavy snowfall causes the trees to produce stronger lateral branches that then grow vertically.
The rounded protuberances growing down from the branches... which is the origin of its nickname "boob", are believed to help absorb moisture from the air.
The other two species of sugi that grow in Japan are the Omotesugi which grows over the rest of Honshu and Shikoku, and the Yakusgi in southern Kyushu.
Cold air rising from the gaps between the big rocks that form the slope meets warm air from the sea, and mean that the area is often misty and foggy which adds to the otherworldly atmosphere.
As with many old, large, or unusual trees in Japan, it is marked as sacred by a shimenawa wrapped around it and a torii gate in front.
If you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.
It is one of seven sacred trees, what are the other six sacred trees? Thank you
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCool tree, thanks for posting
ReplyDelete