Sawara (Powerswood)

Sawara

It is an evergreen tall tree unique to Japan, known for its useful timber, and is counted among the Five Trees of Kiso, and is sung in the folk song "Kiso Bushi" with the lyrics "Kiso no naa Nakanori-san, what are the famous trees of Kiso? Hinoki and sawara are good and good." It has been used as a material for the kumiko of shoji and fusuma doors. Taking advantage of its water-resistant properties, it is also used as a material for bathrooms and bathtubs, and as it is lightweight, it is also used as a material for roofs.
The roof of Ginkakuji Temple in Kyoto, a World Heritage Site, is also made from sawara wood, which has been highly valued since ancient times.
It looks very similar to Hinoki, but the tips of Sawara leaves are sharper than Hinoki's and the pattern on the underside of the leaves is a "Y" for Hinoki and an "X" for Sawara.
The name sawara comes from the word "sappari" (refreshing), as the bark is dull and has little fragrance, giving it a refreshing impression.

It is a Japanese special evergreen tree known for its useful wood, and is counted as one of the five Kiso trees, and the folk song Kiso-bushi.
It has been used as a material for the kumiko of shoji(paper sliding door) and sliding doors. Taking advantage of its water-resistant properties, it is used as a material for bathrooms and bathtubs, and because it is lightweight, it is also used as a material for roofs.
The roof of Ginkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto, a World Heritage Site, is also made of Japanese Sawara Cipress, and it has been valued since ancient times.
It looks very similar to Hinoki Japanese cypress, but there are some differences, such as the tips of Sawara cypress's leaves are sharper than those of Hinoki cypress, and the pattern on the underside of the leaves is ``Y'' for Sawara cypress, and an ``X'' for Hinoki cypress. there is.
The name Sawara comes from the word “refreshing”, and it seems that it comes from the fact that the bark is not shiny and has little fragrance, giving it a refreshing impression.