Tree of contention

Japanese: 争いの木 - あらそいのき

A legend about gazing at a particular tree and arguing over its name. There are not many examples. The "Shinpen Musashi Fudokigo" records that the sacred tree of Shirahige Shrine in Tabata, Tokyo, looks like a pine tree when viewed from afar, and people argued over whether it was a pine or a cedar, so it was called the "disputed cedar." It is also said that during Minamoto no Yoritomo's conquest of Oshu, Hatakeyama Shigetada argued with his vassals about this cedar, claiming it was a pine tree. There is a similar legend about Mt. Dokan in the same area of Tabata. Long ago, Ota Dokan and a samurai looked at a tree in the distance and argued over whether it was a cedar or a pine.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

特定の木を望見して，その名を言い争うという伝説。例はさほど多くない。《新編武蔵風土記稿》に，東京田端の白鬚（しらひげ）社の神木は遠くから望むと松のように見え，松だ杉だと言い争うということで〈争いの杉〉と呼ぶと記されている。またこの杉は，源頼朝の奥州征伐の際に畠山重忠が松だといって従臣と争ったともいう。同じ田端の道灌山に同様の伝説がある。むかし，太田道灌が一人の侍と遠くにある木を眺めて，杉だ松だと争った。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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