1,000-year old tree in front of Kamakura shrine knocked down by strong winds
KAMAKURA, Kangagawa -- A 1,000-year-old giant ginkgo tree in front of the main hall of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine here has been knocked down, apparently by strong winds.
At around 4:40 a.m. on Wednesday, a security guard at the shrine found the famous tree -- designated as a natural monument by Kanagawa Prefecture in 1955 -- knocked down with its trunk snapped. It is believed to have been hit by a series of strong winds that continued from late Tuesday afternoon. There were no reports of injuries.
According to the shrine, the 30-meter-high ginkgo tree is estimated to be 1,000 years old. The security guard reportedly heard a loud thumping sound, like that of "heavy covering of snow falling to the ground," about three times at around 4:15 a.m. After hearing a sound like a lightening strike, he found the tree collapsed on the ground.
The maximum wind velocity at that time was 12 meters per second, according to the Fire Fighting Head Office in Kamakura.
Chikayasu Hamano, a professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture, attributed a blizzard from late Tuesday afternoon as the main cause of the tree's collapse, in addition to heavy rain from February that softened the ground. Hamano also commented that it is impossible to save the tree.
At the end of 2009, the shrine started to consider conservation steps for the giant tree, with inspections by Hamano finding no problems with the health of the tree.
Shigeho Yoshida, the chief priest of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, is too shocked to comment on the matter, a shrine official said. Other priests, who are also in shock, made spiritual gestures by offering rice and sake to the collapsed tree.
The giant ginkgo tree, well known as a symbol of the shrine, was dubbed "Kakure Icho" (hidden ginkgo) since monk Kugyo hid behind the tree when he assassinated Minamoto no Sanetomo, the third shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, in January 1219.
(Mainichi Japan) March 10, 2010
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