shinboku - divine tree

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shinboku 神木, shinju　神樹　sacred tree, divine tree

kami no ki, kaminoki 　神の木、神ノ木 tree of the deity, tree of God
go shinboku, goshinboku, go-shinboku, go-shin-boku 御神木　"honorable sacred tree"
reiboku 霊木 divine tree, "tree with a divine soul"
shaboku 社木 sacred tree in a Shinto shrine
. moriki 杜樹 tree of a shrine .

kamisugi, kamusugi 神杉 divine cedar tree


source :　s-hoshino.com
等々力渓谷の近くにある神社　at a shrine near Todoroki Keikoku Valley in Kyoto


quote
Shinboku, Shinju
Literally, "divine tree," a tree regarded as sacred, as the symbol of sacred territory or a place in which the kami dwell. When viewed in this way, the cutting or polluting of such trees is avoided. On the other hand, in some cases the term is used to denote the lumber dedicated for building shrines. During the Heian period, the sacred nature of certain trees was exploited for political ends, as when priests (jinin) of the Kasuga Shrine in Nara carried a sacred sakaki tree when making demands in Kyoto.

Since ancient times certain trees or entire groves within shrine precincts were regarded as sacred, as attested by expressions such as "the cryptomeria revered by the priest (hafuri or hōri) of Miwa," or "the sacred forest (kannabi)" (both expressions found in Man'yōshū), or from the records of Emperor Kōtoku in Nihongi, "he despised the way of the kami by felling the trees at the Ikukunitama Shrine." Sacred trees are seen frequently today, encircled by sacred border ropes (shimenawa) or enclosures.

In most cases such trees represent very old or large specimens. In other cases, certain specific trees may be linked in some way to the kami of the shrine, such as the shirushi no sugi at Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Ōmiwa Shrine, or the pines of the shrines Ōharano Jinja, Kitano Tenmangū and Sumiyoshi Taisha, the cryptomeria (nagi) of Kasuga Taisha and Kumano Taisha, the tataegi of the Suwa Taisha, and the "flying plum tree" (tobiume) at Dazaifu Tenmangū.
source : Sakurai Haruo, Kokugakuin 2005


Kannabi, kamunabi, iwasaka, himorogi and other names refer to a place in nature where the gods are believed to reside, a "purified place". It is also a kind of yorishiro resting place for the god.
. kannabi 神奈備 sacred forest .

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imiki, imi ki (imigi) 忌み木 "taboo tree"
忌む木
. imi 忌み / 斎み / 禁忌 imi - taboo - Introduction .

Sacred trees where deities come to reside during their travels in this world and the other.
Forest workers, charcoal makers and local villagers found special trees in the forest that were not to be cut down, because 山の神 the Deity of the Mountain resides in them. Sometimes a 天狗 Tengu uses this tree to take a rest. It they were touched improperly, that person would hurt himself, get ill and eventually die. There are many legends of this kind of punishment of the Deity.
If for some special reason a taboo tree had to be cut down, there need to be a ritual first performed by a Shinto or Buddhist priest to ask for forgiveness and understanding.

-- The following is an ABC list (to be updated) of vocabulary related to these trees:

aioi matsu アイオイマツ（相生松）"mixed pine tree"
赤松と黒松 red and black pine tree grown together, in 幡多郡十和村 Towa village, Kochi.
. bifurcated pine tree and the Takasago legend .

aogi アオギ（和名クロガネモチ / 黒鉄黐 kuroganemochi no ki）Ilex rotunda
Grows low in valleys. People often say
une no kasamatsu ni tani no aogi ウネ（尾根）の傘松に谷のアオギ Kasamatsu on the ridge and Aogi in the valley

engi エンギ（縁木）"trees bound by fate"
One tree with one more different type of 寄生 parasite
enmusubi no ki 縁結び木 Tree to come for finding a good partner (or other kind of EN)

hidarimakigi ヒダリマキギ（左巻木）"left-winding tree"
at 北川村 Kitagawa village, 安芸市上尾川 Kochi

hookigi ホーキギ（箒木）"broom tree"
The branches have the form of a broom. Often observed in mountain cherry trees 山桜 (hookizakura 箒桜), also called hotegi ホテギ.

source : kkakehi.cocolog-nifty.com/photos
For example in 十和村 - 鏡村 Towa and Kagami village, Kochi.

kasamatsu カサマツ（傘松） "umbrella pine tree"
The branches have the form of an umbrella.
In 吾川村寺村 Agawa village Teramura, Kochi, people say
山の神の性根の入った木 (the strong personality of the Mountain Deity resices here)
or 天狗の休み木 A tree where the Tengu take a rest.
. Tengu to matsu 天狗と松 Legends about the Tengu pine .

. kuri no ki 栗の木 sweet chestnut tree .

kusegi クセギ（癖木） "tree with a special habit"
A tree which grows in strange, unnatural ways. Some are quite elegant and tasteful.


madogi マドギ（窓木）"window tree"
Trees with two stems, that parted at some point and were re-united further up again.
Trees with this "window" opening facing east-west were especially auspicious.

source :blog.livedoor.jp/thbigthree/archives

Yamanokami no ki 山の神の木 tree of Yama no Kami
yama no kami no yadorigi 山の神の止り木 / 山の神の宿り木 Yamanokami
yama no kami no yasumigi 山の神の休み木
yama no kami no oshimigi 山の神の惜み木
yama no kami no tomarigi 山の神の泊木
Also called renriboku, renrigi 連理木（れんりぼく、れんりぎ）

. Aoki アオキ / 青木 Aucuba japonica, Japanese laurel .

oyadakigi オヤダキギ（親抱き木）tree like a "parent embracing a child"
In 東律野村大古味 Tsuno willage, Okomi

. sakaki 榊 Sakaki tree, Cleyera japonica .

sashieda サシエダ（差し枝）tree with very long branches
In 北川村 Kitagawa village, Kochi.

shakujoogi シャクヂョーギ（錫杖木）"walking staff tree"
The stem is parted in the middle like a walking staff.
In 香北町 Kahoku village, Kochi.

. ryuujinboku 龍神木 Ryujinboku, Dragon God Tree / Chichibu .

Tengu no tomarigi テングノトマリギ（天狗のとまり木）a tree where Tengu take a rest
Their legends are handed down in the villages. If someone tries to cut a tree town, he will be flipped in the air or falls under the tree.
At night such a tree sometimes makes a loud, painful sound, or falls down all by itself 天狗の倒し木 (tree cut down by a Tengu),
If villagers check in the morning, sometimes there is nothing special to be seen.

toriigi トリイギ（鳥居木） Torii tree
Tree grown in the form of a Torii Shinto gate.
In Yamanashi this tree is used by the Deity of the Mountain or a Tengu.
Sometimes a tree falls down by itself. Villagers then cut some branches and ask the deities to enjoy them instead.

tsurugi ツルギ / tsurigi ツリギ tree with two branches growing together 癒着.
tsurugi, tsurugu means 交合 copulation in the local dialect of 池川町椿山、十和村 Towa village, Kochi.

yutoo ユトー（湯桶）tree like an earthen pot
in 土佐山村 Tosayama village, Kochi. The branches look like 土瓶の取手 the handle of a dobin pot.


- reference : geocities.jp/kyoketu -
- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -

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. WKD : ki, jumoku 木　－　樹木　.


. tachikibutsu 立木仏 trees with carved Buddha statues . 　

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source :　Michihito on facebook
at 大阪の門真市

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神木は釘を打れて時雨けり
shinboku wa kugi o utarete shigure keri

a nail pounding
into sacred wood...
winter rain
Tr. Lanoue



shimboku wa kugi o utarete shigurekeri

a god's tree --
as a nail is hammered in
it drops cold rain
Tr. Chris Drake

This winter hokku is from the 10th month (November) of 1823, five months after Issa's wife Kiku died and two months before his ailing infant son Konzaburo will die. The hokku is about someone doing what is called "nailing a curse during the hour of the cow (1 a.m.-3 a.m.)." The most sacred time in Shinto is the middle of the night, when most of the important secret ceremonies are carried out, and curses were also popularly believed to be more powerful if made at that time, though they had nothing to do with Shinto. Those who made the curses, however, dressed in white pilgrim's robes, put candles on round holders on their heads, and wore other clothes as if they were doing austerities. The person making the curse secretly goes to a Shinto shrine between 1 and 3 a.m. night after night until s/he believes the curse is beginning to take effect. The curse itself is made by nailing a straw doll in the shape of the person being cursed to the trunk of a tree at a shrine with a long five-inch nail. Something owned by the person can also nailed to the tree.
The "god's tree" here could refer to any tree within precincts of the shrine, although in some contexts it means the tree-body of a god. Since a tree embodying a god usually had a fence or sacred barrier around it and was hard to approach, I take this to be an ordinary shrine tree sacred to the god.

In the hokku someone goes stealthily into the precincts of a Shinto shrine well after midnight and nails a straw doll to a shrine tree with a long iron nail, no doubt driving the nail through an area of the doll that would be fatal if actually driven through the person the doll represents. However, Issa evokes the tree responding to the nail as if to punish the person making the curse. The hard hammering shakes the tree and causes the nearly freezing raindrops still on its limbs after a day and evening of passing showers to fall down. Cold raindrops soak the nailer's head, perhaps putting out the candles s/he is wearing.

Chris Drake
. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .





. Wara ningyoo 藁人形 straw dolls for curses .
At midnight, a nail is hit through the heart of the doll to fix it to a tree in a shrine.
ushi mitsu, the old double-hour of the ox beginning at one o'clock. mitsu signifies the third part of this time slot.

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宿木も共に神木小鳥来る
yadorigi mo tomo ni shinboku kotori kuru

the mistletoe too
is part of the divine tree -
small birds come here

Kawasaki Keiko 川崎桂子

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神木を遊び場にして鴉の子
shinboku o asobiba ni shite karasu no ko

this divine tree
is the playground
for baby crows

Takazawa Ryooichi 高澤良一 Takazawa Ryoichi


. karasu no ko 鴉の子 children of the crow, baby crow .
kigo for all summer


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注連さげし杉の神木花粉撒く
shime sageshi sugi no shinboku kafun maku

the sacred cedar tree
with the sacred rope
scatters its pollen . . .

Murakami Tatsuyoshi 村上辰良


. WKD : sugi no kafun 杉の花粉 cedar pollen .
kigo for late spring


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神木も倒して隠岐の野分かな
shinboku mo taoshite Oki no nowaki kana

this typhoon
has even blown down the divine tree
at Oki island

Yoshikawa Umeko 吉川梅子


. WKD : nowaki 野分 "parting the fields" "field-dividing" wind, "field-divider" typhoon .
kigo for mid-autumn


Oki Islands (隠岐諸島, Oki-shotō, or 隠岐群島 Oki-guntō)
are a group of islands in the southwestern part of the Sea of Japan and belong to Japan.
Already under the Nara period the islands were used as an exile for persons from the mainland.
From the Kamakura period the islands were administrated as "Oki no kuni" (Oki Province) and primarily governed by the shugo (governor) from Izumo Province.
Under the Edo period the Tokugawa family took control over the islands and they were put under the direct control of the Shogun through a governor. Later they became part of the Matsue Domain. During that time the islands were a stopover point for trading boats traveling to and from Asia.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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天の木といふ涼しさの未来より
ten no ki to iu suzushisa no mirai yori

coolness
called a celestial tree
from the future
Tr. Fay Aoyagi

Sanuka Masami 佐怒賀政美


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餅焼いて神木の箸こがしけり
mochi yaite shinboku no hashi kogashikeri

as I grill rice cakes
the chopsticks of divine wood
get burned . . .

Suzuki Yaeko 鈴木ヤエコ



Hinoki wood chopsticks from Ise Shrine

Some shrines, especially the Grand Shrine at Ise, prepare special chopsticks from the divine trees for rituals or sell them as amulets to people.

. Ise Jinguu (伊勢神宮 Ise Jingu, Ise Grand Shrine .


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kamisugi, kamusugi 神杉 divine pine tree



神杉や三百年の蔦紅葉
kamisugi ya sanbyakunen no tsuta momiji

divine pine trees -
and the red leaves of ivy
for three hundred years

. Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規 visiting Nikko 日光 .


The tsuta vines are fond of old pine trees and like to grow around them.
. WKD : tsuta momiji 蔦紅葉 red leaves of Japanese ivy .


. Matsuo Basho in Nikko .

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神の杉ましろき藤をかけにけり 岸風三楼 往来
神の杉焦げんばかりにどんと燃ゆ 大坂十縫
神杉に沿ひ昇る日やほととぎす 柳沢仙渡子
神杉に礫のごとし初雀 安川幸里
神杉に耳あててみる盆休み 朝妻力
神杉に谺し雪のびんざさら 伊藤いと子

神杉のもとに庖丁始の儀 黒田晃世
神杉の上をとびゆく滝しぶき 栗山渓村
神杉の千年の黙冷まじや 森戸光子
神杉の太根を頼み雪残る 林 翔
神杉の実の真青なる手向山 福井貞子
神杉の年縄寂ぶる若葉雨 中村祐子
神杉の明暗負ひて種下ろす 有働亨
神杉の根を踏み虞る梅雨豊前 井口荘子
神杉の樹齢を仰ぐ淑気かな 東 天紅
神杉の百尺に夏来たりけり 小村陽子
神杉の秀へ火の粉舞ふ八朔祭 佐藤栄美
神杉の秀を押上ぐる大初日 村上誠子
神杉の葉を添へて売る三輪暦 大島民郎

神杉やあまりちひさき秋の蝶 高橋淡路女

神杉を射て砕けたる初日かな 稲岡長
神杉を少し揺さぶり風光る 稲畑廣太郎
神杉を突いて鉄砲宮相撲 茨木和生

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

shinboku 神木 legends
Yamanokami no yadorigi 山の神さんの宿り木 sacred tree for Yamanokami
- collecting -



................................................................................ Akita

. bakko sugi バッコ杉 Bakko cedar of the youngest daughter .



................................................................................ Gifu　岐阜県

Yamanokami likes the following trees
-- madogi マドギ "window tree" - trees with two stems
-- hookigi ホウキギ broom tree / Kochia scoparia
-- kamoeda カモエダ
These trees are not to be cut down.



................................................................................ Gunma 群馬県
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利根郡 Tone district みなかみ町 Minakami

The following trees are know as trees where Tengu take a rest:
「峰の三つ股、沢の二股」
A tree with three main stems on the top of a mountain and a tree with two main stems near a swamp are sacred to Yamanokami.
These trees are also sacred to Yamanokami in Ibaraki　茨城県.

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. Suwa sama no shinboku 諏訪様の神木 sacred tree of the Suwa Deity .
in 渋川市 Shibugawa city 赤城町 Akagi cho town




................................................................................ Fukui 福井県
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三方郡 Mikata district 美浜町 Mihama

In the forest using trees for making charcoal, the biggest tree is 山の神さんの宿り木 sacred to the Yamanokami and never cut down.

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遠敷郡 Onyu district 名田庄村 Natasho

山の神のケヤキの木 Keyaki tree of Yamanokami
Once there was a sacred tree in the mountain forest.
Once a man tried to cut it down, but he heard a loud voice:
"Do not cut this tree! If you cut it your wife will have a severe accident!"
He did not listen to this warning and cut the tree anyway.
When he came home he found his wife on the kitchen floor with a deep cut wound in her leg.

. Yamanokami legends from Fukui .


source : hitozato-kyoboku.com/mikawa-yamanokami-keyaki...
A sacred Keyaki tree in Yamagata 山形県東田川郡三川町押切新田

. keyaki 欅と伝説 Legends about the Zelkova tree .



................................................................................ Fukuoka 福岡県
太宰府市 Dazaifu city

shaboku no tatari 社木の祟 the curse of the divine Shrine tree
大弐として太宰府に赴任した清原岑成は、倉屋の破壊が著しいので神社の木を伐って修造に充てたところ、岑成は社木の祟りを受けて死んだという。




................................................................................ Fukushima　福島県
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耶麻郡 Yama district 高郷村 Takasato mura

. hoo no ki 朴の木 Magnolia hypoleuca tree .




................................................................................ Ibaraki 茨城県

. yadorigi 宿り木 in many villages .




................................................................................ Iwate 岩手県
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軽米町 Karumai

. sugi no tatari 杉の祟り curse of the Japanese cedar tree .



................................................................................ Kanagawa 神奈川県

. Yamanokami and Tengu trees .



................................................................................ Kagoshima 鹿児島県

. Yamanokami trees .



................................................................................ Kochi 高知県

. Yamanokami 山の神 - 榊 Sakaki tree .

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幡多郡 Hata district // 吾川村 Agawa village // 土佐郡 Tosa district // 中村市 Nakamura // 宿毛市 Sukumo // 高岡郡 Takaoka district

madogi 窓木（マドギ）"window tree"
Sacred to Yamanokami. They may not be cut down to make charcoal.



................................................................................ Kumamoto 熊本県

. Higo no Nohara Hachimangu 肥後の野原八幡 - shaboku 社木 .



................................................................................ Oita 大分県

. Yama no kami no tomarigi 山の神の泊木 .



................................................................................ Okayama 岡山県
川上郡 Kawakami district 備中町 Bitchu town

. Koojin 荒神 Kojin, Aragami, "Wild Deity" .




................................................................................ Saitama 埼玉県
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秩父市 Chichibu city

The 17th day of each month is the day of Yamanokami and the forest workers take a rest.
If one cuts down a tree on that day, he will be cursed.
Yamanokami is also inspecting the kikkabu キッカブ（木株 kikabu）stumps of the trees. If a human is in the forest, he will be counted and changed to a tree.
...
A pine tree with wide branches is sacred to Yamanokami, where he comes to sid down 山の神様の腰かけ木.
This tree is never to be cut down.
...
Yamanokami no ki 山の神の木
A tree with two trunks or two branches from the same spot is sacred to Yamanokami and may not be cut down.
A woodcutter once cut one tree down and later when he was home his house was shaking and the whole family was in great fear.

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比企郡 Hiki district

. enoki 榎木 / 榎 nettle tree .
Celtis sinensis var. japonica.
武州比企郡鎌形村の農万右衛門の家で、享保末頃のある夏の日の午後、木の枕のようなものが突然家の中に転げ込んできたのを下女が怖がり、庭の榎木の空洞の中に入ってしまった。人々が空洞の中を探しても何も見つからなかったが、後にこの木を伐り倒そうとすると、木から血が流れて止まらなかったので中止したという。




................................................................................ Shizuoka 静岡県

. keyaki 欅 zelkova and fuji 藤 wisteria tree .
and - kashi no ki カシの木 / 樫 oak tree
and - hyoorayama ヒョーラ山 Hyora mountain : A mountain with a tree sacred to Yamanokami



................................................................................ Tochigi　栃木県

. A tree 三又のナラノキ / 楢 with three stems from the family of Quercus .




................................................................................ Tokyo　東京

. shinboku no matsu 神木の松 sacred pine tree .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
88 神木 to explore (00)

. Yamanokami no ki 山の神の木 The Tree of Yamanokami .
Legends from Ehime
28 山の神の木 (02)

. 山の神さんの宿り木 - Fukushima .
山の神の止まり木

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