Paths

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Cherrim -- Kagemaru Himeno

Legends and myths about trees

Shinboku (lit. tree of God) – Sacred trees where gods dwell in Japanese prehistoric Shintoism

A sacred tree (shinboku) is a tree or forest worshipped as a shintai - a physical object of worship at or near a Shinto shrine, worshipped as a repository in which spirits and deities reside, or where they descend. They are often distinctly visible due to the shimenawa (lit. ‘enclosing rope’) wrapped around them. Types of sacred trees include evergreen cedar, pine and cleyera japonica (sakaki) that is regarded as a representative sacred tree and is often used in Shinto rituals.

In ancient Shinto, the Himorogi (lit. “divine fence”) was considered to be a place where the gods dwelled, or a boundary between the everlasting world and the present world, and was feared and respected. In order to prevent people, things in this world, gods in this world, and things that bring misfortune and evil to this world from easily coming and going, shimenawa were hung as walls, making it a forbidden place.

Generally, the term refers to trees that are regarded as divine or sacred, as well as the guardian forests that surround them and that are not supposed to be cut down.

木にまつわる伝説・神話

神木 (しんぼく) 〜 日本の古神道における神の宿る樹木

神木 (しんぼく)とは、神社や祭壇の近くに祀られている木や森のことで、霊や神さまが宿る場所、神さまが降臨する所とされていた。注連縄が巻かれているため、はっきりと見えることが多い。神木の種類としては、常緑樹の杉や松、榊 (さかき) などがある。 この中でも榊は代表的な神木とされ、神事にも多く使われている。

古神道において神籬 (ひもろぎ) は、神の宿る場所としての神域、または常世 (とこよ) と現世 (うつしよ) の境界考えられ、恐れ敬った。また、現世の人々やもの、常世に存在する神々や現世に災いや不幸をもたらすものが、容易に出入りできないように、結界として注連縄をはり、禁足地とした。

一般的に、神体としての木や神聖視される木、その周りを囲む鎮守の森や、伐採をしないとされる木を指す。

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