Kurume History Walks
No.4 Natural Monuments* 1 久留米市の天然記念物１* “Monument” is a collective term to refer to cultural properties, designated by the government, of a high historic (site of castle towns,forts, old houses), scientific (animals, plants, minerals), aesthetic (bridges, mountains, gardens) value.

The city of Kurume aims that the citizen can live in rich humanity in the environment with the pure waterand the fresh greenery. It is nationally well-known as the production area of the garden plants, including Kurumeazalea that is a flower of the city.
This number introduces the old trees designated Natural Monuments.

1. Ginkgo tree of Hakozaki-Hachiman-gu Shrine(Prefectural Natural Monument designated on August 28th, 1986)

The Hakozaki-Hachiman-gu is locatedat the eastern edge of the Ninagawa
community along the Chikugo River, thelongest on Kyushu. The Kusano family had
power over the Yamamoto District since
the Kamakura period (1185 -1333). It
should be them who had established theshrine. The enshrined Deity is the Emperor
Ojin (his tenure: 270-310).
The trees such as ginkgo, zelkova
Serrata, camphor laurel grow in theprecinct which is a part of a City Forest.
Among these trees, the Ginkgo, designateda Natural Monument of Fukuoka
Prefecture, is large and with a height of 25
meters and 13 meters at the base.
The Ginkgo is a dioecious species thathas distinct male and female individualorganisms. It is native to China, and it may
have been brought to Japan between about
the 9th century to the early 14th century.
This tree is a male plant that does notbear fruit. In autumn, the leaves beautifully
turn yellow.

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2. Wax Trees Avenue at Yanakizaka-Sone(Prefectural Natural Monument designated on May 7th, 1964)

Since the late eighteen century, the wax trees (haze) were widely cultivated in Western Japan, and its berries
became their regional specialty product. Also, in the Kurume Domain, in 1730 a headman of Kameo village (anarea in the present-day Tanushimaru Town) cultivated the hazes for the first time, and during Horeki period(1751-64) he discovered a species "Matsuyama Haze" and it was widespread in other provinces.
Each domain encouraged new various industries and focused on selling the local products to improve theirfragile financial condition.
The Kurume Domain installed a new post of financial and judicial audit (Ginmiyaku) of managing thewastelands and planting the haze trees. They distributed young plants to each village, and encouraged tocultivate them at vacant, wastelands or natural levees (sone). Then, the Domain made people pay one-third of
the harvest of all berries. The production of the haze wax become a part of the promotion of industry. The sales
as a local product in the Osaka region brought the Kurume Domain great profit.
Until the World War, there were various ways to use the wax: making candles, polishing woven fabrics orwooden products, and lubricating machinery. Recently, that application has become more varied: stationary(crayon, carbon paper), cosmetics (lipstick, pomade, hair oil for Sumo wrestlers).
At the northern foot of the Mino Mountains, along the natural levees, we can still find many wax trees fromthe Edo period. At Yanagizaka-Sone, the Wax Trees Avenue runs one kilometer from the north to south. The
local supporters are maintaining them. Every autumn, when the leaves turn red, many visitors come from farand near.
In 1994, the avenue has been named one of the "New Japan best 100 roadside tree landscapes".

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3. Camphor Trees of Zendoji Temple(Prefectural Natural Monument designated on October 29th, 1958)

The Zendoji temple was founded in 1208 by Shokou Shonin (great master; also known as Chinzei-Shonin)with the support of the Kusano family, who was the provincial governor (kokushi) and government official in
charge of policing and military affairs (oryoshi).
The temple has several statelybuildings.
Somearenationallydesignated Important Cultural Property.
In the precinct, remarkably two large
camphor trees stand out. It may be
Shokou-Shonin who planted it over 800
years ago.
The camphor trees grow in warm
areas. In Kyushu, we have a lot of this tallevergreen plant.
Both of the designated trees are over
10 meters of the trunk circumference andapproximately 20 meters of the height.
Each has a hollow of meters in the trunk,
although they abundantly grow withvigor.

4. Tilia miqueliana of Zendoji Temple(Prefectural Natural Monument designated on May 7th, 1964)

Another designated Nature Monument of the temple is aspecies of linden that is deciduous, usually becoming 15 meters
high, with many branches and heart-shaped leaves of 6-10 cm
long. It is native to China and is often planted in the garden of thetemples. Its berries are almost spherical and small and could be
used to make prayer beads.

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5. Fern Palms of Bairin-ji Temple(Municipal Natural Monument designated on September 21st, 2011)

Number of tree: 2 (A single plant has grown and became two.)
Height: 3.6 meters
Expanse of all trunks: 8.5 meters acrossNumbers of trunk: 24 (Trunks that branched from roots.)
Sexes: female
The Kounanzan Baijinri-ji is an ancient Zen temple that had been originally located in the Fukuchiyama
Domain of Tanba Province and called Zuigan-ji. In 1621, at the same time as his entry to the Kurume Castle,
Arima Toyouji, the first Arima feudal lord, moved it to the present location and renamed Bairin-ji. His family
members and descendants were buried at the temple, and today it is also the representative training hall ofKyushu.
The temple has various cultural properties designated even at national level.
In the garden, there are the old Fern Palms, which may be the biggest in the city and are valuable treasuresthat have followed the historical events.
The inscription on a stone monument standing at the tree’s base tells the history: it was originally planted ata certain Watanabe family who had lived near the castle. In 1876, it was moved here by Motomura Shohei, awholesale merchant of Kurume Kasuri fabric around the late 19th and the early 20th century.
By that, we estimate some facts:- The tree easily exceeds 300 years old today.
- The reason for the transfer should have some political meanings, because the original owner, the Watanabefamily was samurai of the higher class, and it was a rich merchant who transplanted during the revitalizationof the temple since 1877 after the end of the feudal period.

Cultural Properties Protection Department of Kurume
Address: 15-3 Jonan Kurume Fukuoka Japan 830-8520
Tel: 0942-30-9225▲ Stone monument

Date of revision: March16th, 2012 / Translated in May 2020
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