Comments on: RIP: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Tree http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2010/03/12/rip-tsurugaoka-hachimangu-tree/ My life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile / Koreaphile. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:48:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Doug http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2010/03/12/rip-tsurugaoka-hachimangu-tree/#comment-3909 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:55:22 +0000 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/?p=7190#comment-3909 Oh wow, that’s good to know. Kind of symbolic in a way too. :)

]]> By: Stephen http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2010/03/12/rip-tsurugaoka-hachimangu-tree/#comment-3908 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:09:08 +0000 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/?p=7190#comment-3908 I saw on the news today that the tree (trunk? stump?) was unveiled today. It looked about 2-3 metres high with no branches but they are hoping the roots will be good and shoots will appear. Never seen it myself though, still it doesn’t look to be dead yet.

]]> By: Doug http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2010/03/12/rip-tsurugaoka-hachimangu-tree/#comment-3901 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:55:40 +0000 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/?p=7190#comment-3901 Hi guys,

Lots of good comments, always enjoy hearing from you. :)

Tornado28: Funny how one tree, a very venerable tree at that, can be so directly a part of history for a whole country. Life is interesting, no?

Johnl: Thanks for the update. Let’s hope they can save the tree.

Kendall: Me too. I saw a special in Japan about old trees in Chiba Prefecture, and it was amazing what you could find there. They were less famous trees, but some had become points of Shinto veneration, while some just sat in people’s backyards out in the countryside.

]]> By: Kendall http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2010/03/12/rip-tsurugaoka-hachimangu-tree/#comment-3898 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:29:11 +0000 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/?p=7190#comment-3898 I like viewing old trees. You can sometimes feel their age and lifetime, and it can give you a humble feeling. Existing in one place for so long as everything around you changes, including yourself. If only trees could talk I would be so willing to listen.

]]> By: johnl http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2010/03/12/rip-tsurugaoka-hachimangu-tree/#comment-3897 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:17:19 +0000 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/?p=7190#comment-3897 UPDATE: One expert thinks the tree might be saved. Here is the news story:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100313a6.html

I hope it works out!

]]> By: johnl http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2010/03/12/rip-tsurugaoka-hachimangu-tree/#comment-3896 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:44:36 +0000 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/?p=7190#comment-3896 What a great loss! The tree stood there all these centuries! Fortunately, I took a few photos of it when I was there last year.

]]> By: Tornadoes28 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2010/03/12/rip-tsurugaoka-hachimangu-tree/#comment-3893 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:07:42 +0000 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/?p=7190#comment-3893 Yes, I read about this. There is an interesting story about this tree you may have heard of. Maybe just a myth but the tree is famous because of an event that took place in 1219. In 1219, Shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo was assassinated by Minamoto Kugyô. From the stories I’ve read, apparently Kugyô hid behind this ginkgo tree to assassinate Sanetomo which he succeeded in doing. Kugyo was captured and beheaded the next day. Sanetomo was the 3rd Kamakura shogun and it was following his assassination that the Hojo clan became the real power behind the Kamakura shoguns.

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