Amagoi no Icho: A 600-Year-Old Ginkgo on the Slopes of Mount Atago
On November 8, 1968, Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs added a single tree in rural Miyagi to its register of National Natural Monuments. The tree was a ginkgo, and it grew on a south-facing terrace partway up Mount Atago (Atago-yama, 291 m) in Shibata Town. The site is known locally as Amagoi, meaning "praying for rain." The tree itself is the Amagoi no Icho.
It is a male Ginkgo biloba, estimated by Shibata Town to be approximately 600 years old. Other surveys put the figure as low as 500 or as high as 650 years; what is undisputed is its scale. The trunk measures 11 metres in circumference. Height reaches 31 metres. The canopy spreads roughly 27 metres east to west and 25 metres north to south, a green dome visible from much of the lower farmland.
What sets this specimen apart, however, is not its mass but the strange formations hanging from its lower limbs.
Why the Designation: The Sixteen Chichibashira
Old ginkgos sometimes grow long, downward-pointing aerial roots from their branches and trunk. These features are called chichibashira, literally "milk pillars," a name drawn from their resemblance to a pendulous breast. The Amagoi tree carries sixteen of them. The longest measures 3.5 metres in length and 45 centimetres in diameter. Some have already reached the ground, fused with the trunk, and now contribute to its girth.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs noted exactly this in its concise official description: an outstanding example of a giant ginkgo, with conspicuously developed chichibashira. It was the development of these formations, more than age or size in isolation, that earned the tree national status under the criterion covering famous trees, giant trees, and old trees.
Chichibashira are not just botanical curiosities in Japan. For centuries, nursing mothers in many regions sought out ginkgos like this one to pray for an abundant supply of breast milk, a folk practice known as chichi-shinko or milk veneration. Offerings of sweet rice wine were sometimes left at the base. The custom has largely faded, but the trees that became its focus remain.
The Rain Prayer and the Spring That Never Dried
The place-name Amagoi predates the tree's national listing by centuries. According to local tradition, villagers used to climb to this terrace to perform amagoi, ritual petitions for rain during summer droughts. A small spring rises near the ginkgo's roots and, according to long-standing local memory, has never been known to dry up.
A large zelkova grows directly beside the ginkgo, and at its base a water deity is enshrined. Whether the rain-prayer rituals predated the planting of the ginkgo or grew up around it is not recorded. The pairing of perennial spring, water kami, and conspicuously fertile-looking tree pillars suggests a site that gathered several layers of agrarian belief over time.
The same local microclimate that fed the spring also shaped the tree's modern life. The terrace, at roughly 160 metres elevation on a sheltered south slope, escapes the frost that settles on the lowlands below. This is why the surrounding hamlet has long produced Amagoi yuzu, said to be Japan's northernmost commercial citrus crop. The ginkgo, too, holds its leaves later than nearly any other in the prefecture, often turning gold only in late November or early December.
What to Look For on a Visit
Most visitors come during the brief autumn window when the canopy is fully yellow. The contrast against the dark cedar slope behind the tree is striking from a distance. Up close, however, the leaves can obscure the very feature the tree is known for. Several local guides recommend coming once after the leaves have fallen — the architecture of the trunk and the descending chichibashira are far easier to read.
Because the ginkgo is male, it produces no ginkgo nuts. The ground beneath remains free of the pungent fallen fruit that surrounds many female specimens in autumn.
Approaching the site requires care. The road climbing into the Amagoi hamlet from the valley is narrow and steep, with limited room for cars to pass each other. There is no dedicated parking. Visitors arriving by car often leave their vehicles below and walk the final stretch.
Around Shibata Town
Shibata sits between the Shiroishi and Abukuma rivers in southern Miyagi, and is best known nationally for its cherry blossoms. The Hitome Senbon Zakura along the Shiroishi River bank, with around 1,200 cherry trees stretching for roughly eight kilometres, is among the most celebrated cherry sites in Tohoku. Funaoka Castle Park, on the hill behind, offers a panoramic view of the blossoms in early to mid April.
For local food and crafts, the Sakura no Sato shop at the foot of Funaoka stocks Amagoi yuzu products alongside other Shibata specialities: yuzu vinegar, yuzu liqueur, and seasonal sweets. The Taiyo no Mura recreation area, set on the higher ground east of the town, offers camping, family activities, and seasonal views.
Travellers wanting a slower stay can book the single-room kominka guesthouse in the Amagoi district itself, a converted 170-year-old farmhouse on the same hillside as the ginkgo.
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Q&A
- When is the best time to visit?
- For yellow foliage, late November to early December. The tree turns later than most ginkgos in Miyagi because of the warm south-facing terrace. After leaf fall in mid-December, the chichibashira and trunk become much easier to observe.
- How do I reach the tree without a car?
- The nearest station is JR Tsukinoki, on the Tohoku Main Line, about 4.4 km away. From there it is roughly a 15-minute drive by taxi. There is no bus service to the Amagoi hamlet, and the final approach road is steep and narrow.
- Is there an entrance fee or set opening hours?
- No. The tree stands on private land within view of the village road and can be observed at any time, free of charge. Please keep to the path, avoid touching the trunk or aerial roots, and remember that the surrounding houses are private residences.
- What exactly is a chichibashira?
- It is a downward-growing aerial root that emerges from a ginkgo's branches or upper trunk in older specimens. In Japanese folk belief, the larger ones were associated with the breast of a nursing mother, and women prayed at such trees for plentiful breast milk.
- Can I combine this with the famous Shibata cherry blossoms?
- The ginkgo and the Hitome Senbon Zakura belong to different seasons — cherries in early April, ginkgo in late November to December. A single trip is rarely able to catch both at their peak, but the cherry trees, river, and Funaoka Castle Park are worth visiting in their own right.
Basic Information
| Name | Amagoi no Icho (雨乞のイチョウ) |
|---|---|
| Species | Ginkgo biloba L. (male) |
| Location | Amagoi 30, Iruma-da, Shibata-cho, Shibata-gun, Miyagi 989-1745 |
| Designation | National Natural Monument (Tennen Kinenbutsu) |
| Designated | November 8, 1968 (Showa 43) |
| Criterion | (1) Famous trees, giant trees, old trees, deformed trees, original cultivars, tree-lined avenues, sacred groves |
| Estimated age | Approximately 600 years |
| Trunk circumference | 11 m |
| Height | 31 m |
| Canopy spread | East-west approximately 27 m, north-south approximately 25 m |
| Aerial roots (chichibashira) | 16 in number; longest 3.5 m, diameter 45 cm |
| Access | Approximately 15 minutes by car from JR Tsukinoki Station |
| Parking | None (narrow approach road) |
| Admission | Free of charge, viewable anytime from outside |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Amagoi no Icho
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/401/211
- Miyagi Prefecture: Designated Cultural Property: Amagoi no Icho
- https://www.pref.miyagi.jp/soshiki/bunkazai/17ityou.html
- Shibata Town Tourism Association: Amagoi no Icho
- https://www.skbk.or.jp/spot/view/amagoi.html
- Shibata Town Cultural Properties List
- https://www.town.shibata.miyagi.jp/index.cfm/78,26980,151,html
Last verified: 2026.05.19