There is a cherry tree, which is said to be 2000 years old, in the temple grounds of Jisso-ji Temple in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Pre. People call it “Yamataka Jindai Sakura”. It is a cherry tree that is said to have been planted during the eastern expedition by Yamato Takeru, a traditional hero in ancient Japanese history. It is 14m high, 11m around the trunk, and branches 30m in the north, south, east, and west. The trunk looks like a torn rock and It is supported by many splints and even looks painful. But it still makes youthful and wonderful flowers bloom every year, so we’re amazed by the vital force and moved. It is exactly the incarnation of Uba-Sakura, an old woman cherry. The species, however, traveled in space, so it is also the cherry blossom at the cutting edge of the times.

山梨県北杜市にある実相寺境内に樹齢2000年とも言われる桜がある。人呼んで「山高神代桜」。日本古代史上の伝統的英雄、日本武尊が東征の際に植えたと言い伝えられている桜である。高さ14m、幹周り11m、東西南北に30mに枝を張った姿は威厳に満ちている。幹は張り裂け岩の様。多くの副え木に支えられ、痛々しく見えさえするが、それでも毎年若々しい見事な花を咲かせるから、その生命力たるや恐るべし、正に姥桜の権化である。それでいて、その種は宇宙旅行をしたと言うから、時代の最先端を行く桜でもある。