Tabunoki - Tabunoki

Japanese: タブノキ - たぶのき

An evergreen tall tree of the Lauraceae family (APG classification: Lauraceae). Also called Inugusu. It can reach a height of 15 meters and a diameter at breast height of 1 meter. The trunk is dark brown and the branches are green with a reddish tinge. The leaves are thick, obovate, 8-15 cm long, and fragrant when torn. The flowers bloom in May in panicles that emerge from the ends of the branches and are yellow-green. The fruit is a spherical berry that ripens to a dark purple color. It is distributed in Honshu (west of Aomori and Iwate prefectures), Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa, the Korean Peninsula, China, and the Philippines, and grows in the mountains of warm regions and coastal areas. The origin of the name Tabunoki is unknown.

The leaves are used to make mosquito coils, the bark to make incense and dyes, and the wood is also used for equipment, furniture, and building materials.

[Yuichi Kadota, August 21, 2018]

Cultural history

Some believe that the camphor tree listed as a tree native to Wakoku in the Gishiwajinden (3rd century) is Tabunoki (Munemu Yamada's The World of Gishiwajinden). In the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of the Age of the Gods), Susanoo lists cedar and camphor trees as floating treasures (ships). The tsumano in the poem "Looking at the tsumano on the shore, I see its roots growing, and it seems to be a god of loneliness, even though it has been long since ancient times" (volume 19) by Otomo no Yakamochi in the Man'yoshu is also interpreted as Tabunoki. It has been used since the Jomon period, and one of the wooden bowls excavated from the Torihama shell mound in Fukui Prefecture is believed to be made of Tabunoki.

[Hiroshi Yuasa August 21, 2018]

Machilus
The leaves are obovate and give off a fragrant scent when torn. The tree can reach a height of 15m, and its wood is used for furniture and building materials .

Machilus

Machilus flower
In May, small yellow-green flowers bloom in panicles at the ends of the branches. ©Seishohmaru ">

Machilus flower

Camphor tree, Machilus thunbergii [Tree shape]
©Junzo Fujishima ">

Camphor tree, Machilus thunbergii [Tree shape]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

クスノキ科（APG分類：クスノキ科）の常緑高木。イヌグスともいう。高さ15メートル、胸高直径1メートルに達する。幹は暗褐色、枝は緑色で赤みを帯びる。葉は厚く、倒卵形、長さ8～15センチメートル、裂くと芳香がある。花は5月、枝の先から出た円錐(えんすい)花序につき、黄緑色を呈する。果実は球形の液果で、黒紫色に熟す。本州（青森県、岩手県以西）、四国、九州、沖縄、朝鮮半島、中国、フィリピンに分布し、暖地や沿海地の山中に生える。タブノキの語源は不明。

　葉を蚊取り線香に、樹皮を線香や染料に利用する。また材は器具材、家具材、建築材としても用いられる。

［門田裕一　2018年8月21日］

文化史

『魏志倭人伝(ぎしわじんでん)』（3世紀）に倭国に産する木としてあげられたなかの豫樟(よしょう)をタブノキとする見方がある（山田宗睦(むねむつ)『魏志倭人伝の世界』）。『日本書紀』（神代紀）で、素戔嗚尊(すさのおのみこと)は浮宝(うくたから)（船）に杉と豫樟をあげる。『万葉集』の大伴家持(おおとものやかもち)の歌「磯(いそ)の上の都万麻(つまま)を見れば根を延(は)へて　年深からし　神さびにけり」（巻19）の都万麻もタブノキと解釈されている。縄文時代から利用され、福井県の鳥浜貝塚から出土した木鉢の一つはタブノキ製と推定されている。

［湯浅浩史　2018年8月21日］

タブノキ

タブノキの花

クスノキ、タブノキ〔樹形〕

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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