Centuries-old cedar tree that initially survived tsunami to be cut down

[yuiyoshida]

The head priest of Imaizumi Tenmangu Shrine, Masaki Araki, right, is shown here by the giant cedar tree that is set to be cut down, in the town of Kesen in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, on Jan. 23, 2016. (Mainichi)

RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate -- A single giant cedar tree around 800 years old that remained standing after the March 2011 tsunami washed away the local shrine and everything else in the vicinity will be chopped down after experts determined that it has necrotized.

The giant cedar tree at Imaizumi Tenmangu Shrine was considered a sacred tree, with a trunk circumference of 2.7 meters and measuring about 30 meters tall. Due to the dangers of having such a large necrotized tree on its grounds, however, the shrine has decided to cut down the tree -- a decision parishioners have accepted.

Imaizumi Tenmangu stood along the Kesen River in the Kesen district of Rikuzentakata. It was established for the re-enshrinement of Heian-era poet and scholar Sugawara no Michizane, who is also enshrined at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto, and is said to have been built in 1481 by Ota Dokan, known for building Edo Castle.

Local residents were fond of the tree, calling it "the giant cedar of the gods." The tree is also linked to Chiba Shusaku, who founded the Hokushin ittoryu style of martial arts at the end of the Edo Period.

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160131/p2a/00m/0na/002000c