Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A shrine near Tokyo celebrated the 1,000th birthday of one of its sacred trees on Friday. The Katori Jingu Shrine in Chiba Prefecture has ancient roots and is the home base for 400 similar shrines around Japan.

The surrounding area is a forest of giant trees that gives the place an air of tranquility and reverence. On the right side of the main hall is a sacred tree called Ōsugi, and on the left side is another called Sanbonsugi. Japanese literature scholar and poet Naofumi Ochiai composed a poem about this tree.

“They wondered how thick the trunk of this cedar tree was, so four people held hands and measured it, but it was so thick that four people wouldn’t be enough.”

Katori Shrine is said to have been founded in the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Kanmu approximately 1,200 years ago. Its enshrined deity is Futunushino Ōkami, which appears in the Nihon Shoki, the “Chronicles of Japan.”

According to mythology, the gods of Katori and Kashima shrines, which lie close to each other in prefectures to the east of Tokyo, were sent by Amaterasu Ōmikami, the mythical goddess who created Japan, to restore the country. 

Inside the shrine, there is a mirror that is categorized as a National Treasure, while the main hall and tower gate are regarded as National Important Cultural Properties.