Yakushima (屋久島), one of the Ōsumi Islands, has an area of about 500 km² and a population of roughly 15,000 and lies to the south of Kyūshū in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The Vincennes Strait (Yakushima Kaikyō) separates it from Tanegashima.
The highest point on the island is Miyanoura-dake at 1,935 metres
(6,360 ft). It is covered in dense forest noted especially for old
growth Cryptomeria trees known as sugi in Japan and magnificent rhododendrons.
The Yakusugi Forest is visited by 300,000 tourists every year. It is said to have inspired the forest setting in Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke.[7] The island was also seen in the 1996 movie Rebirth of Mothra.
Yakusugi (屋久杉) is a Japanese cedar
that grows on the mountain 500 metres above sea level.
The term
"Yakusugi" refers to trees that are more than 1,000 years old.
Those
less than 1,000 years are called "kosugi." (lit. small Japanese cedar)’.
The Japanese cedars in Yakushima
may also be referred to as "jisugi" (literally: "locally grown
cedars")’, but this also encompasses the kosugi, and is a regional
dialect.
In general, the Japanese cedar lives for about 500 years, but Yakusugi lives much longer.
The Jōmon Sugi (縄文杉), a cryptomeria tree in Yakushima Island, Kagoshima, more than 2,170 to 7,200 years old, is the oldest living being naturally grown in Japan.
The tree's name is a reference to the Jōmon period of Japanese prehistory.[10]
Since it is no longer permitted to cut Yakusugi today, souvenirs etc. are made from stumps of previously felled trees and trees that fell fallen naturally in typhoons. These trees are called domaiboku, which literally means buried trees in the ground.
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