Udaijin Cedar City Designated Natural Monument Age: Approximately 800 years Trunk circumference: 6.5m Tree height: 28m
“What a weird name. If there’s an Udaijin Cedar, I wonder if there’s a Sadaijin Cedar too.”
TLNOTE:Udaijin = 右大 Sadaijin= 左大 右=right 左=left
Kannabi muttered a pointed observation. It was the same question I’d had when I was little.
“There is. On the opposite side of the approach.”
At that explanation, Iwama and Kannabi raised their gazes as if searching for the large tree. There was a bit of a misunderstanding.
The Sadaijin was no longer there. I walked across the approach.
“Over here.”
The two followed with puzzled looks, and when they found the Sadaijin they exclaimed “Ah!”
The Sadaijin Cedar had become a pitiful stump.
“Apparently it was struck by lightning around when we were born. Because it was dangerous, it was cut down, and only the stump remains here.”
“I see… maybe it was targeted because it was the Sadaijin after all?”
Iwama said something outlandish, so I tilted my head.
“Is that in the vengeful spirit sense, like Sugawara no Michizane?”
“No, not like that. The Sadaijin has a higher rank than the Udaijin, right? So I was thinking maybe the cedar was also taller, the Sadaijin one.”
“I see. Lightning strikes the taller one.”
So it was a scientific story after all.
If the Sadaijin Cedar was taller than the Udaijin Cedar, lightning would be more likely to strike the Sadaijin Cedar.
When I checked the standing sign, the tree height was indeed written as “30m.”
“Iwama’s right. This one was apparently about two meters taller.”
“Really!”
Iwama read the standing sign with sparkling eyes.
“The age of the Udaijin Cedar over there was estimated based on the results of analyzing this Sadaijin Cedar stump using dendrochronology and carbon-14 dating, while referring to Muromachi period drawings! That’s scientific!”
The parts she latched onto were extremely niche. Good that she was having fun.
“Accurately determining tree age is apparently difficult. To take tree rings or collect carbon samples, you have to damage precious old trees. They probably estimated from Muromachi period drawings that the left and right ages were about the same, and applied the age of this one, which could be investigated freely after being cut down, to the Udaijin.”
“How ironic.”
When Kannabi murmured that, I turned my face wondering what was ironic.
“The one that succeeded gets struck by lightning, and is used to validate the one that didn’t. Just like Japanese society.”
Please don’t suddenly start harsh social criticism.
Advancing along the approach, the left and right became lined with cherry trees. Now they were completely leaf-cherries. During full bloom, people had swarmed there, but now no one bothered to stop and look at the cherry blossoms trees. We also headed straight for the prayers hall.
Three of us side by side, two bows, two claps, one bow. I wished for today to end peacefully.
Next to me, Iwama seemed to be praying fervently about something even after I finished my final bow. I wondered what she was thinking about, feeling a bit curious about myself, then shook my head slightly to restrain myself.
After finishing our prayers, as we walked wondering what to do next, we happened to come near the ema votive plaque rack. I didn’t miss Iwama freezing for just an instant as she looked that way.
“Let’s go look at that map!”
Iwama pointed at a large sign board ahead, perhaps wanting to get away from the ema as quickly as possible.
We had no objections and followed.
The map was a guide map of the Hachiman grounds. Titled something like “Grove of Giant Trees Full of History,” it also depicted the earlier Udaijin Cedar and (stump of) Sadaijin Cedar. The Udaijin Cedar even had its age carefully noted.
“Besides cedars, there are also a ginkgo and a camphor tree.”
On the map, besides the 800-year-old Udaijin Cedar, two other giant trees were emphasized.
One was the “Guardian Ginkgo” in the grounds.
And the other was the “Great Camphor” in a slightly remote location. This one was 1,200 years old.
“Hm? This is…”
Iwama was looking at the illustration of the ginkgo.
“What’s wrong?”
“I wonder if the ginkgo’s age was wrong.”
Looking, under the ginkgo was a sticker the same green color as the background. A horizontal rectangle. Since the corresponding positions for the Udaijin Cedar and Great Camphor had their ages written, it was indeed reasonable to think the ginkgo’s age was hidden.
“Probably. They probably hid it with a sticker because it was wrong.”
“Do you think so? If they found out it was wrong, rather than hiding it, they’d probably overwrite it with the correct age.”
For Kannabi, that was a reasonable observation.
“Yeah, you’re right. Then, why…”
Iwama turned to me quickly.
“Why do you think? Can you tell, scientifically?”
“Scientifically?”
“Del-chan, you were knowledgeable about plants, right?”
“Somewhat. But what the shrine people were thinking, I can’t—”
Looking at Iwama’s excited eyes, I dropped my words to the ground. I hastily searched for other words.
“Well, it might be interesting to think about it a bit. The ginkgo is right nearby. Let’s go see the real thing first.”
The Mimamori Ginkgo is famous throughout Tsunagai as a giant tree due to its imposing presence. Its light-colored bark bulges unevenly, and branches as thick as street tree trunks extend upward in multiple directions as if supporting the sky.
What’s distinctive is its base. A large hollow big enough for a person to fit inside opens up. It’s fenced off now so you can’t enter, but apparently someone once hid in this hollow for protection, which is why it’s called the Mimamori Ginkgo.
In spring, the still-fine young ginkgo leaves are a vivid yellow-green color, sparkling as they catch the sunlight.
“This one’s huge too! In terms of thickness, it might even be more impressive than the Udaijin Cedar.”
Iwama’s feet headed straight for the information sign. Then she let out an “Aah!” exclamation.
“Did you figure something out?”
“No… but this, after all—”
I also took a look at the sign.
Mimamori Ginkgo
National Natural Monument Designation
Trunk circumference: 9.8m
Height: 23m
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
“Look, the tree age here is also hidden later on.”
Here, a thin resin plate the same color as the wood had been attached with adhesive or something. Judging by the careful workmanship that seemed to have cost money, it appeared to be the work of the administrators rather than someone’s malicious prank.
“Thorough cover-up work, huh.”
Was it really?
“Maybe they just erased it because it was wrong. Perhaps they thought it wasn’t worth the trouble to overwrite it, so they just hid it instead.”
“Hmm, I wonder… Something this magnificent shouldn’t be strange to have a tree age of over 1000 years… If they’re advertising ‘a grove of giant trees that exude history,’ they should just write the correct tree age.”
As Iwama said, a giant tree large enough for a person to enter its hollow certainly evokes a sense of history.
But there was an error in that statement.
“It’s certainly magnificent, but the tree age isn’t actually even 1000 years.”
Iwama’s eyes widened. “Eh, really?” I nodded.
“Do you know the story about ginkgos being a foreign species? Ginkgo relatives originally flourished during the Jurassic period when dinosaurs thrived. After that, they went through the Ice Age and faced the brink of extinction, and only one species of ginkgo survived in the warm southwestern part of China.”
“I’ve heard about that. They’re called living fossils, right?”
“That’s right. That living fossil began spreading throughout China around the 11th century. Seeds were imported to Japan and took root about 700 years ago. There are many ginkgos in Japan claimed to be 1000 years old, but none have been scientifically verified—they’re all calculated backward from legends.”
“I see. So the tree age would be… at most 700 years…”
Iwama started counting the size of the resin plate stuck on the sign against the number of characters in the adjacent line.
Eight characters. In other words, it would read “Tree age: approximately ■■■ years.” There was no discrepancy.
Then Iwama shifted her gaze and read the detailed explanation written below.
“It says ‘Also called the Mimamori Ginkgo from the legend that a child hid here and was protected from a tengu.’ Maybe if we investigate this legend, there might be clues about the tree age.”
Things proceeded smoothly, and we moved to the permanent museum at Hachiman Shrine.
Even calling it a museum, it was a small single-floor facility you could enter for free. Beyond large glass panels along the walls, various items related to Hachiman Shrine were neatly displayed. It was my first time entering this place too.
What first caught my eye was a giant cross-section of wood displayed leaning against the wall. Because it was too large, they had cut the round slice in half again, making it semicircular.
The Sadaijin Cedar—the remains of the giant tree struck by lightning. The growth rings were marked, and next to it was a graph used for carbon dating. There was a lengthy explanation of how the tree age was measured. Apparently all the tree ages of the giant trees at this Hachiman Shrine had been scientifically investigated.
After skimming through and reaching the last line, I let out a sigh.
“Let’s go, there seems to be a picture scroll of the Mimamori Ginkgo over there.”
However, I wasn’t as good at deflecting as Iwama had been with the votive tablet.
“Hey Del-chan, this Professor Izuta, could he possibly be…”
Iwama asked. I had to answer.
“…My father.”
“I thought so!”
At the end of the explanatory text was my father’s name. Apparently my father had investigated the giant trees at this shrine. Come to think of it, when I asked about the Sadaijin Cedar long ago, my father might have hinted at something like that.
I didn’t really want to talk about it, but not explaining here would make it seem like I had some kind of complex about it. I reluctantly opened my mouth.
“My father is a researcher in plant ecology. He taught me various things when I was small, so I know a fair amount about plants. Though of course I’m nowhere near my father’s level.”
I added an unnecessary comment. But Iwama had an expression of pure admiration.
“That’s why you knew so much about katakuri too!”
“Well…”
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