Lost amidst the waving fields, under a sky unfurling with immaculate clarity, the branches of the Komatsunagi display their panache. If you seek those places where time seems to stretch out, you’ve come to the right spot!
An old branch that has lost none of its grandeur
Unperturbed, this old higanzakura is said to be anywhere from 400 to 850 years old, depending on who you ask. Its trunk measures about 4 meters around and it stands nearly 20 meters tall, a natural monument of Achi village. It grows at the edge of a rice paddy in Sonohara, close to the old Tōsandō road, in southern Nagano.
Stroll along the rice paddy’s edge and admire the play of floral hues reflected on the water mirror, in a hypnotic dance with the rising sun or nascent twilight.
But do not be mistaken, the spectacle of the Komatsunagi cherry tree does not end with the setting sun. As night falls, it dons its luminous garb for a nocturnal blossoming that vies with the brilliance of the stars.
Komatsunagi: One Cherry Tree, One Legend
Its name “Komatsunagi no Sakura” is actually a nickname. If translated literally into English, it means “the cherry tree to which one ties their horse.”
The legend ties it to the famous samurai Minamoto no Yoshitsune. It is said that during his frantic flight north toward Ōshū, it was at the foot of this very cherry blossom tree that he tethered his horse, finding momentary respite in its shade amidst a tumultuous existence (which ended badly, i.e., ritual suicide). While you’re in Nagano, the Shirakoma moss forest is another quiet, mythic spot worth the detour.
The Komatsunagi sakura blooms late, up in the altitude. To set your trip on the right week, my guide to when to visit Japan, month by month. In the same kind of pilgrimage, Miharu Takizakura.
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