Daisugi: Creating a tree platform for other trees

Daisugi: Creating a tree platform for other trees

Sometime in 15th century Japan, a horticulture technique called daisugi was developed in Kyoto. Written as ?? and literally meaning platform cedar, the technique resulted in a tree that resembled an open palm with multiple trees growing out if it, perfectly vertical. Pictured above is a daisugi in Kyoto's Kitayama district and is perhaps the most famous example in all of Japan.

The technique was developed in Kyoto as a means of solving a seedling shortage and was used to create a sustainable harvest of timber from a single tree. Done right, the technique can prevent deforestation and result in perfectly round and straight timber known as taruki, which are used in the roofs of Japanese teahouses. Smaller, decorative daisugi also exist around Japan but maintaining them can be expensive and time-consuming. Below, gardeners from Komori Zouen show before and after pictures illustrating the technique

Photos courtesy Komori Zouen

Below is a forest of smaller daisugi, contrasted against fall foliage in Kyoto:


Photograph courtesy Ai Hirakawa

Daisugi has also been the subject of Japanese painting. Below is a scroll of the famous Kitayama Daisugi, painted by Housen Higashihara (1886 - 1972).

A scroll by artist Housen Higashihara, spotted on auction for roughly $300

Source: Spoon-Tamago

Header photograph courtesy Yusuke Narita

Source: Spoon-Tamago

Share