Note: Sometimes
back I came across Google Street View
of a beautiful Cherry Blossom tree in Japan called Miharu Takizakura. A search
on the WWW revealed that that it was one of the three
Cherry Blossom trees in the Japan which are more than thousand years old. A
further search for oldest Cherry Trees in World always showed these three cherry
trees, this leads me to conclude that these three trees are not only the oldest
in Japan but also oldest in the World. This
post is about these millennium club trees.
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Cherry Blossom trees are one of the most
beautiful ornamental trees in the World. Its profuse pink and white
blooms which cover nearly the entire tree are a treat to watch. The Cherry Blossom or Sakura
has a special place in Japanese traditions and culture. It is revered by Japanese and
it is their
unofficial national flower. Japanese have a tradition of celebrating
Hanami
(meaning "flower viewing") under the Sakura when it starts
blooming in March/April each year. Till about 8th century the Japanese used to celebrate
Hanami under the plum blossom (ume) trees but sometime in 8th
century they also started celebrating under Cherry Blossom and nowadays
Hanami is mostly celebrated under Cherry Blossom trees.
Cherry Blossoms trees can be found almost every where in
Japan namely along the road sides, rivers, in and around parks, schools and specially
in the temple complexes. The country boasts of about 200
varieties. The average lifespan of a cherry tree is about 20 years but some trees
have attained age of two/three hundred years. However three remarkable trees in
Japan have reached an amazing age of 1000 years or more. These are the
longest surviving cherry trees not only in Japan but also in the World.
These millennium club trees are;
- Miharu Takizakura, in Miharu, Fukushima prefecture, Japan - Age about 1000 years.
- Usuzumi Sakura in Neo, Motosu, Gifu prefecture, Japan - Age about 1500 years.
- Jindai Sakura, Yamataka, Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan - Age about 1800-2000 years.
1. Miharu Takizakura - Third oldest Cherry Blossom tree in the World
This cherry blossom (sakura) tree
located in Miharu town in central Fukushima, is considered by many as the most beautiful cherry
blossom tree in
Japan. "Takizakura"
literally means "waterfall cherry tree" - A name given to it due to its wide
drooping branches which looks like a cascading waterfall. The 12 meter tall tree
with a spread of about 25 metres and trunk circumference of about 9.5 meters is
estimated to be over 1,000 years old.
It is a popular tourist destination and about 300,000 people visit it every
year.
The town of Miharu had suffered badly in the Great Tsunami and Earthquake of
March 2011 but amazingly the tree survived and was in full bloom within a month
of the tragedy. For the Japanese people it became a symbol of resilience, hope
and reconstruction.
Image from Flickr is by Nemo's great uncle
Image from Flickr is by Shin K
View in Google Street View
Main Source of info: Wikipedia and rocketnews24.com
2. Usuzumi Sakura - Second oldest Cherry Blossom tree in the World
This cherry blossom (sakura) tree in Motosu, Gifu Prefecture is over 1,500 years old. As per the
historical records the tree was planted in early sixth century by Emperor Keitai.
The tree is 17.2 meters is high with a girth of 9.2 meters. The buds of this
tree are a soft pink which gradually become white as the flower blooms and
finally turns pale grey when the flowers fall down, hence the name Usuzumi
which translates into "pale black ink".
Image from Flickr is by Fiordiligi0127
Image from Wikimedia Commons is by Kazutoko
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View in Google Street View
Main source of info: rocketnews24.com / japan-australia.blogspot.com
3. Jindai Sakura - Oldest Cherry Blossom tree in the World
This cherry blossom (sakura) tree
located in Jisso-Ji Temple complex in Yamataka is estimated to be 1800-2000
years old. As per local folklore it was planted by the 12th emperor of Japan who ruled
until roughly 133 A.D. It's name Jindai means "divine generations". The tree has
a height is about 10.80 metres and girth of about 11.80 metres.
Image from Flickr is by tomotubby
Image from Flickr is by hiroaki
View in Google Street View
Source of info: German Wikipedia / rocketnews24.com / monumentaltrees.com
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View all the three locations in Google Earth
Hi! A very nice article. I've been living in Tokyo for nearly thirty years, but rarely leave the capital so I have never seen these trees (which is a little sad). They all look very beautiful, but the Jindai tree impressively so! I'll have to make an effort to go and visit it one day.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rohan for your comments - If you happen to visit Jindai then please share its photo, I will gladly add it here.
ReplyDelete