If you enjoy myths and legends, when you visit the Kasuga Taisha Shrine from Nara, reserve yourself a couple of hours to look around, because besides the beauty of the shrine or the playful deer, you can also savor some beautiful stories.
Here is an unusual one:
It is said that the wind brought here seeds from seven different tree species and all these seeds combined in the tree from this picture (Kagonoki, a Litsea tree - a kind of Laurel).
So, the tree was named Nanairo-no-yadorigi 「なないろのやどりぎ」 (nanairo means “rainbow” and yadorigi “mistletoe"…) and the seven seeds are listed now on the plaque displayed in front of the tree: Litsea Coreana, Japanese Camellia, Sacred Bamboo, Red Elderberry, Japanese Wisteria, Japanese Maple and Japanese Cherry…
Since it is located near a shrine, the tree is considered magic and it is believed that it brings prosperity and protects the pregnant women (because the word yadori also means “conceive"). To pray, the believers are tying papers around the branches (as you can see in the photo), untying them when their prayer is fulfilled…
And this is not the single unusual tree from this shrine, there’s also the amazing 1000 years old great sugi…
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Yesterday’s Japan Photo:Takasaki Kannon contre-jour photo |
