/jp/ - Otaku Culture

[Anonymous No.]

I was in Japan a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that there seemed to be wooden supports around a whole bunch of trees except they didn't really seem to be supporting anything. But they seemed to be put there with a purpose. Do these things have a specific name? and also, what exactly is there purpose?

pic semi-related

[Anonymous No.]

How old were the trees?

[Anonymous No.]

In general they seemed a wide range. At first I assumed it was something simply to help hold up the newly planted trees, but they were on young trees as well as big thick towering ones. And they didn't really seem to be holding anything up.

[Anonymous No.]

They also use the supports here in the states. They're put up around younger trees to encourage them to grow straight and provide reinforcement in high winds.

[Anonymous No.]

you mean these?

[Anonymous No.]

I see wooden supports on trees in New York sometimes. I don't know why. Maybe they are weak trees and need help to stand up straight. Maybe they are slowly cannibalizing their neighboring trees to build a shrine around themselves.

[Anonymous No.]

Yeah, I thought it was supports for younger trees as well. However they didn't seem to look like any of the ones I'd seen in the States. I realllly wish I'd taken a picture, but ah well. At the top it was like 4 wooden logs formed into a square going around the middle of the tree, not touching it though. And at each point of the square another log would be going down to the ground, holding up the square. Hope that helps...

And no, not a torii gate.

[Anonymous No.]

>>890767
Probably a ceremonial fence for the tree. Saigyou Ayakashi related.