Through time immemorial, trees have always filled us with wonder and sparked our imaginations. No surprise poets and writers and artists have dedicated many of their works to the beauty and magnificence of trees.
During our travels in Japan, we found that trees are deeply revered, and they seem to hold a very important place in Japanese culture. There are trees that symbolise health, strength, longevity, and some are even modified to be used as family crests.
One of these are the ‘matsu’ or pine trees and the other is the ‘take’ or bamboo, both of which go into making ‘kadomatsu’ which is part of the traditional Japanese decorations used for the celebration of New Year in Japan.
The ‘sugi’ or the Japanese Cedar is worshipped as they are believed to represent longevity and power. We learnt from a friend that folklores abound in Japan, and they mostly talk of sacred trees and it was amazing to know how each generation passes these folklores on to the next, as part of a beautiful tradition.
In Ginkakuji—the stunningly beautiful Zen temple in Kyoto, commonly referred to as ‘The Silver Pavilion‘, we spotted this pretty pine—one of the many plants and trees that adorns the complex. I was totally bowled over by the sheer beauty of the trees and promptly grabbed a few quick shots of them, before we moved on to see the rest of the temple site. This Pine happened to be just one of them.
It’s been a little more three years since the trip, but even now, every time I browse through my phone library, the images bring back precious memories of the lovely time we had in Kyoto, on that gorgeous April morning of 2019!
What were your thoughts on seeing these pretty pines? Have you seen them elsewhere?
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Joining Parul for Thursday Tree love—a photo feature, hosted on her blog, which she shares on the 2nd and the 4th Thursday, every month. If you’d like to see more tree photos, do hop over to the blog where you can find more tree pictures from across the world.
Such a lovely pine and huge too. Esha, I also dig into my archive a ton and that is when I get lost into those road trips we were able to take. Thanks for sharing and joining!
How beautiful this tree is – it seems to have stories in more ways than one! Thanks for sharing this memory, Esha.
Wow! haven’t seen a pine tree that looks like this. Utterly divine and graceful. I am a big fan of Pine forests in the mountains, Esha and have had many a conversations and healing hugs with them.
I love how the Japanese know how to rever nature like no other.
Have a blessed week, dear. Loads of love. <3
The memory you’ve shared looked like a live post to me, shared what you saw a while before. Surprised to see that it was taken before 3 years, a well-etched memory. Surely this has made you happy, just like it made me relax seeing this. It’s a beautiful tree, but I am trying hard to remember when I saw a pine last.
Happy week ahead, Esha!
It was a cherished memory that I shared here, Jayanthy! Every bit of that trip we took in 2019 is clear in my mind. I often look back at those pre-pandemic days and marvel at how things were back then. We used to take so much for granted.
So glad to know you loved the post. I feel so happy to hear that. I’ll be sharing more pics from my travel diaries in the coming weeks. Hope to see you here again, Jayanthy!
Thank you for stopping by and best wishes for a relaxed weekend!