Previously: Hungry grass.
Type: LP (Legendary Plant).
Period/location of origin: Kamakura period (1185–1333 C.E.), Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The precise date of origin is not known, although subject — the Demon-Sitting Oak Tree of Onizawa, or, in the original Japanese, Kishin koshikake kashiwa (鬼神腰掛柏) — is thought to be roughly 700 years old. This would place its planting in the late Kamakura period, possibly sometime between 1289 and 1325 C.E.
Appearance: Subject, as its name might imply, appears to be a very large, very old, very oddly-shaped oak tree. Specifically, it is a specimen of quercus dentata, also known as the Japanese emperor oak or the daimyo oak. It measures 11 meters tall, with a trunk circumference of 3.6 meters.
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Subject, however, exercises its height more horizontally than vertically. Not quite two meters from ground level, subject’s branches begin to spread; they are so great and so long, that in places, the tips of the branches touch the earth again. In this fashion, subject forms a sort of canopy or archway — or, perhaps, a bench: Somewhere to sit and rest for a moment, if the being doing the sitting is very large.
Subject’s core is hollow — and yet, it grows.
A small shrine stands beside the tree.
Modus operandi: Subject does not have a modus operandi, per se; it simply… exists. It is a monument, of sorts — what remains of an unusual friendship in a time long since passed.
Once upon a time, an oni — a demon — came down from Mount Iwaki, and sat down upon a gnarled oak tree to rest. The tree, curiously, grew sideways, making it a perfect bench upon which the oni could sit.
While the oni was resting, a villager from nearby, a man named Yajūrō, came by, and the two struck up a friendship. The oni would share stories and pearls of wisdom with Yajūrō; and Yajūrō, in turn, would bring the oni food, which they would share as they visited with each other amongst the branches of the great oak tree.
The oni also took it upon himself to help out Yajūrō’s village, tilling the fields and building an irrigation system. The villagers, grateful for the oni’s help, eventually began to refer to the oak tree at which the oni and Yajūrō’s friendship had flourished as Kishin koshikake kashiwa — the Demon-Sitting Tree — to remember and honor the oni.
Although it has been many years since the oni has been seen, the Demon-Sitting Tree remains as a monument to the friendship between the oni and Yajūrō.
Containment: None required.
Additional notes: The story of the oni and Yajūrō sometimes varies in the telling.
In some versions, the two strike up their friendship through sumo, wrestling together near the great oak tree. In others, the oni offers to help Yajūrō till and irrigate his own fields, rather than those of the entire village. And in still others, the oni offers this help under one condition — that he not be seen or observed by anyone else. Having heard about the oni from her husband, however, Yajūrō’s wife becomes determined to witness the oni — and when she laid eyes on him, the oni departed, leaving behind his straw hat and his hoe, and was never seen again.
A nearby shrine, Ki-jinja, or the Oni Shrine, further honors the oni for whom the Demon-Sitting Tree is named. As a reflection of the oni’s gentle nature, the word “oni” is rendered differently at this shrine than it typically would be: The kanji used here omits the symbol “no” — that is, the character that indicates the horns oni are usually said to have. This oni is, therefore, hornless — a kind and thoughtful oni, rather than a combative one. Farming tools said to have been used by the oni are kept safe as objects of spiritual significance at Ki-jinja.
Subject was designated a Prefectural Natural Monument on April 22, 1998. It is maintained by Ki-jinja.
Recommendation: Subject may be safely visited and observed. It is located near an apple orchard, a short drive away from Ki-jinja.
Resources:
The Demon Oak Tree Of Onizawa at Atlas Obscura.
Onizawa Oak at the official website of Hirosaki City. (In Japanese.)
Demon Legend at the official website of Hirosaki City. (In Japanese.)
Onizawa Oak at the official website of Aomori Prefecture. (In Japanese.)
Oni Shrine: A Complete Guide To The History, Highlights, And Worship Information at Wa Knot.
Onizawa’s Oak at Other Japan.
Introducing Oni Shrine In Hirosaki, Aomori at Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT.
Visit to the Demon-Sitting Oak. (In Japanese.)
***
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[Photo via screenshot/Google Maps]
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