The Great Cedar of Tsukize
Where Nagano Prefecture ends and Aichi begins, along National Route 153 in the small village of Neba, a single Japanese cedar (sugi, Cryptomeria japonica) towers over a bend in the Yahagi River. People here call it simply the Ōsugi, the Great Cedar, and address it with the honorific "Ōsugi-sama." Measured at 1.5 meters above the ground, the trunk comes to roughly 13.8 meters around, and the crown reaches close to 40 meters into the valley air. No tree in Nagano Prefecture is larger, and among Japan's cedars it ranks near the very top.
The cedar grows in the Tsukize district, on the former grounds of Tsukize Shrine, in the westernmost reach of Nagano. Neba is a mountain village of around 950 people where forest covers some ninety percent of the land. The tree has stood here far longer than the village in anything like its present form.
One tree, or two?
Step close and the first surprise is structural. What reads from a distance as one enormous column is actually two stems, a larger and a smaller, growing side by side on a north-south line. At the base they have fused so completely that the cedar presents itself as a single body. The original designation record describes exactly this: two trunks, great and small, joined at the foot so that they appear to be one.
Its age is harder to pin down. The survey figure adopted from the old Ministry of Education puts it at about 1,800 years, while other accounts settle nearer 1,500. Whichever is closer, the cedar was already ancient long before the events that nearly felled it.
A national Natural Monument
Nagano Prefecture first granted the cedar protection in 1928. National recognition followed on 13 November 1944, when the government designated it a Natural Monument under the criterion that covers notable, giant, and ancient trees. The village of Neba was named its managing body the following spring. In 1989 a national survey of giant trees confirmed what locals had long known, that this is the largest tree in the prefecture.
Recorded measurements come with a caveat worth knowing before you visit. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database, which preserves the wording of the 1944 designation, lists a girth of 13.04 meters at 1.5 meters above ground and a height of about 48.5 meters. Later surveys give smaller numbers, around 13.8 meters in girth and roughly 40 meters in height, and these are the figures most often quoted today. The difference reflects changes in how the tree has been measured over the decades rather than any shrinking of the cedar itself.
Twice rescued
The Great Cedar owes its survival to the people of one small district who, on two occasions, refused to give it up.
The first threat came in 1844, when the main keep of Edo Castle burned down. As officials searched for timber to rebuild it, this cedar was marked as a candidate. The residents of Tsukize closed ranks and kept it standing.
The second threat was quieter but no less serious. In 1908, under the Meiji government's policy of merging village shrines, Tsukize Shrine was consolidated with others, and its grounds and standing trees passed into village ownership. A decision was taken to sell the cedar, then valued at around 1,000 yen. The roughly sixty households of the Tsukize district would not allow it. They organized a mujin-kō, a community savings association, and over more than ten years set aside 800 yen, a considerable sum then, until they had bought their own tree back. A stone monument near the cedar records how the district kept it safe.
The village's sacred tree
For generations the cedar has been the sacred tree of the local shrine, and the bond goes beyond reverence. Older residents recount that when one of its great branches breaks, it signals coming misfortune, an accident or an outbreak of disease. The same tree was long turned to for a more ordinary trouble: those suffering from toothache prayed beneath it and were said to find relief.
The strength of that devotion is the reason the cedar is still here. The effort to protect it, repeated across generations, drew the small community closer, and the cedar in turn became a fixed point in the life of the village.
Visiting the Great Cedar
Getting to the tree is easy. It sits directly beside National Route 153, and a large sign marks the turn. In 2015 the area around it was laid out as Ōsugi Park, with a tidy car park, clean restrooms, and a suspension bridge, the Nebakyō Ōhashi, spanning the Yahagi River. From the parking area you cross the bridge and follow a short walking path; within about five minutes the cedar comes into full view. Admission is free.
The car park holds fourteen ordinary vehicles along with space for six tour buses and one accessible spot, so even groups can stop comfortably. Be warned that the tree is so large that fitting it into a single photograph usually means backing well away from it.
Neba makes a natural break on the drive between the Nagoya area and the Ina Valley. About thirty minutes toward Toyota lies the Donguri-no-Sato Inabu roadside station, with local food and a hot spring nearby, and Hirugami Onsen is roughly forty minutes away by car in the other direction. Spring brings cherry blossom to the riverside around the cedar, and autumn turns the surrounding gorge to color.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Tsukisane's Great Cedar
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Q&A
- How old is the Great Cedar of Tsukize?
- Its estimated age is usually given as about 1,800 years, the figure adopted from an old national survey, although some sources suggest closer to 1,500 years. Either way it is among the oldest cedars in Japan.
- How large is it, and how does it rank?
- The trunk measures roughly 13.8 meters around and the tree stands close to 40 meters tall. It is the largest tree in Nagano Prefecture and one of the largest Japanese cedars in the country.
- Why do the size figures differ between sources?
- The 1944 designation recorded a girth of 13.04 meters and a height of about 48.5 meters, while later surveys give about 13.8 meters and 40 meters. The difference comes from changes in measurement over time, not from the tree changing size.
- Can I visit, and is there parking?
- Yes. The cedar sits beside National Route 153 within Ōsugi Park, with free admission, restrooms, and a car park for fourteen cars, six tour buses, and one accessible space. A short walk over a suspension bridge leads to the tree.
- Is it really two trees grown together?
- Effectively, yes. A larger and a smaller stem grow side by side and have fused at the base, so the cedar looks like a single massive trunk.
Basic Information
| Name | Tsukize no Ōsugi (The Great Cedar of Tsukize) |
|---|---|
| Location | Tsukize, Neba Village, Shimoina District, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | National Natural Monument (designated 13 November 1944; Nagano Prefecture designation 1928) |
| Managing body | Neba Village |
| Species | Japanese cedar (sugi, Cryptomeria japonica) |
| Size | Girth approx. 13.8 m, height approx. 40 m (1944 record: girth 13.04 m, height approx. 48.5 m) |
| Estimated age | About 1,800 years (some accounts 1,500 years) |
| Access | Beside National Route 153; Ōsugi Park, free admission; parking for cars and tour buses |
| Inquiries | Neba Village Office, Tel. 0265-49-2111 |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs - Tsukize no Ōsugi
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/401/1180
- Cultural Heritage Online, Agency for Cultural Affairs - Tsukize no Ōsugi
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/138334
- Neba Village Tourism Association - The Great Cedar of Tsukize
- https://nebakanko.com/view/月瀬の大杉/
- Neba Village Society of Commerce and Industry - The Great Cedar of Tsukize
- https://nebamura.com/2016/10/14/oosugi/
Last verified: 2026.05.28