Kakurega no Mori the 8th largest tree in Japan

 

Some of the biggest trees I have encountered while walking around Western Japan have been Camphor trees, Cinnamomum camphora, kusunoki in Japanese.

This example is found near the Chikugo River in Asakura, Fukuoka, and is named Kakurega no mori, which means "hideaway forest" and is believed to refer to the wooded area that stood here in earlier times when it was a barrier or checkpoint and people hid in the forest until nightfall when they could then slip through unnoticed.

It is said to be 1500 years old, though the ages of giant trees are very often exaggerated. It is registered as the 8th largest tree in Japan.

At chest height, the trunk has a circumference of 18 meters, at ground level the roots measure 34 meters in circumference, and it is 21 meters high, though before being damaged by  a typhoon in 1991 it was said to be somewhat taller

Oimatsu Shrine

Oimatsu Shrine is located just off the main road running through Sasaguri, northeast of Fukuoka. I visited at sunrise on the second day of my Kyushu pilgrimage.

At the entrance stood a massive, old Camphor tree almost 10 meters high. Many of the shrines in this area have big camphor trees, though this one also had a cedar tree whose trunk had divided into two.

Though it is not called a Tenmangu, the kami enshrined here is Sugawara Michizane, known sometimes as Tenjin. There are a lot of Tenjin shrines in this area which is not surprising as it is close to Dazaifu where Sugawara was exiled and died.

There was also a small sumo ring in the grounds. In some areas of Japan shrines will have a sumo ring, and in other areas they won't. Not sure what the deciding factor is or was.

Kada's Forest

Umi Hachimangu, like many shrines, is set within a grove of trees. The grove at Umi is called Kada's Forest, after the original name of the area, Kata. It is composed of huge, ancient Camphor trees, Kusunoki in Japanese.

The Kusunoki is the largest species of hardwood in Japan and is found in the warmer western part of the archipelago, especially Kyushu, where many shrines will have them in their grounds.

The wood contains a natural insect repellant and is used as moth balls. It is also made into incense and was used to make Buddhist statues in the early Nara Period until a switch to mostly Nutmeg and then later Cypress.

The two largest trees at Umi Hachimangu are registered as National Treasures and are reputed to be 2,000 years old. The biggest is over 18 meters tall and with a spread of similar width. The circumference around the root base is 24 meters.