Yakusugi (Powerswood)
Yakusugi
| The power of wood | Protection from evil, healing, longevity, prosperity, good fortune |
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Yakusugi refers to the cedar trees that grow naturally on Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture and are over 1,000 years old.
Cedar trees have adapted to the island's geology, heavy rainfall, strong winds, and inhabited by deer. They secrete six times as much antibacterial resin as regular cedar trees, which gives them the ability to grow very slowly due to the geology, but also to grow for a long time.
Because it has excellent antibacterial properties and is durable, it is said to have been used in the construction of the Great Buddha Hall during the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Yakushima was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1933.
It is a natural heritage famous because there is a Jomon cedar (Jomon period, Japanese prehistory, traditionally dated between c. 14,000–300 BCE,) of an estimated age of 72,200 years, and it is said that it is an island which becomes the southern limit of the cedar of Japan.
It is said that the special natural environment of Yakushima, which is blessed with rain, are the result of cedars so old, the peculiarity is that there are a lot of Yakusugi 2000 or 3000 years old, when in generally cedar grown for about 300 years only.
The ground of Yakushima is based on granite, so the nutritious elements are less than other place, and the cedar growth is slower than in other areas. Then, the width of the ring becomes dense, and the timber grows hard.
By doing so, resins with antiseptic and insect repellent effects are produced many times more as the ordinary cedars. Therefore, Yakusugi can continue to live without timeless for a long time.
Yakushima is called the Galapagos of the East
Only cedars that are more than 1,000 years old are called Yakusugi, and cedars less than 1000 years old are distinguished and are called Kosugi.
Yakusugi grows from 600m to 1300m high.
The most amounts of huge cedars are around 1200m high.
Yakushima is an ancient forest with strong vitality that has been ingested from generation to generation, and it is said to be a holy place that have pure energy that dwells on it.
