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Chubu-Sangaku NP, Toyama
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Roughly half of Bijodaira’s surveyed giant cedars bear bark-stripping scars. Foresters date some to 120–250 years ago and think people peeled only what they needed because Kaga-domain rules made felling difficult.
A survey of the Bijodaira–Kaminoko-daira forest counted 147 wild Tateyama cedars with girths of 6 m or more; one named giant, Furoju, measures 10.5 m around.
Snow-ready Tateyama cedars have closely spaced leaves that shed snow; drooping branches can root and clone. On Bijodaira’s flat lava plateau, seedlings often start atop decaying stumps, whose remains can end up hidden inside hollow-based giants.
The cedar beside Bijodaira Station is already the second “Bijosugi.” Tateyama travel accounts mention the original as a stump in 1757 and report it gone by 1841—a tree with a surprisingly long paper trail.
Bijosugi folklore has two endings: in one, a princess prays beside a cedar to reunite with her ascetic fiancé and succeeds; in another, a woman following her lover uphill is turned into a tree by the mountain deity.
The stone Kannon by Bijodaira’s bus rotary is number 17 in a set of 33 images placed along the old mountain route, modeled on a famous temple pilgrimage. They also guided walkers; 25 of the original 33 remain.
A giant called Kosodate-sugi (“child-rearing cedar”) measures 9.55 m around and splits into two trunks at its base. A Takanotsume broadleaf grows between them, giving the cedar its affectionate nickname.
More than 60 bird species are recorded around Bijodaira. In May and June, listen for the Japanese robin’s clear song and watch for a flash of blue from the Ōruri, or blue-and-white flycatcher.
An 18-hectare stand near Bijodaira is protected as a genetic-resource reserve for Tateyama cedar. The conservation effort safeguards a rare native cedar population, not just a few photogenic old trees.
