Cedar Avenue of Nikko
Lined on both sides with some 13,000 tall sugi (cedar) trees, the 'Nikko Sugi-Namiki Kaido' ('Cedar Avenue of Nikko') stretches along a total length of 37 km along the three roads of Nikko, Reiheishi, and Aizu-Nishi. It is listed in "The Guinness Book of World Records" as the longest avenue in the world, and it was almost 390 years ago that the cedars were planted.
The Cedar Avenue of Nikko is extremely valuable for it is currently the only cultural property designated as both a Special Historic Site and a Special Natural Monument by the Japanese Government. It is a 'local symbol' which Nikko City proudly presents to the rest of the world.
This avenue lined with cedar trees planted by Matsudaira Masatsuna, a feudal lord serving Tokugawa Ieyasu, was donated to the Nikko Toshogu Shrine. This grand project which began around 1625 (Kanei 2) required about 20 years before it was completed. It is estimated that some 200,000 cedars were planted on this occasion.
Why was it not pine trees but cedar trees that were planted along the road? Ever since ancient times, the approach to a shrine used to be lined with a luxuriant growth of cedars, evoking a sublime air. In all likelihood, Masatsuna likened the road to an approach leading up to the Nikko Toshogu Shrine and planted cedars. Masatsuna might well have been aware that the climatic features of this district were suited to the growth of cedars.
The magnificent Cedar Avenue of Nikko which we can enjoy viewing today has certainly benefited from the conservation activities and various other efforts of numerous people including our predecessors of this district as well as from the natural environmental conditions.
Back in the Edo Period, the Cedar Avenue used to be under the control of the Nikko Bugyo (Magistrate), and was well cared for. Whenever withered or uprooted cedar trees were discovered, village officials were obliged to notify the Bugyo-sho (Magistrate's Office). And such damaged trees could only be felled after a 'stamp' indicating permission to fell the tree was marked at the tree base upon the personal inspection by the officer of the Magistrate. Moreover, cedars that were hewed down had to be carried to the Magistrate's Office, and it was mandatory to plant seedlings in the empty plots of land where the trees had been removed. At the same time, the villages along the road were responsible for road repair, weeding, and for keeping the entire Cedar Avenue clean, and so forth.
With the modernization policies of the Meiji Government, civil engineering work came to be carried out nationwide, and in this district, too, in order to repair the bumps and bends of the road, some 1,000 cedars were felled in Kuragasaki and Okuwa. Furthermore, plans were drawn up to implement the full-scale logging of the Cedar Avenue for the purpose of financial reconstruction, but this was fortunately evaded owing to the advice of the then British minister Sir Harry Smith Parkes.
In 1905 (Meiji 38), the Cedar Avenue was 'returned' to the Nikko Toshogu Shrine from the State, and it was decided that it would be protected for purposes of public utilization. During World War II, there spread a nationwide movement to supply old trees and huge trees as materials for building war vessels, and the Cedar Avenue, too, was confronted by risks of being cut down, but many protests were voiced one after another, with the result that the Cedar Avenue remained intact with the exception of just two cedar trees which were felled and offered as supplies.
Ever since it was recorded in the 1992 edition of the Guinness Book, it has become famous worldwide as the "Longest Avenue" in the world. The world's longest avenue is made up of three roads which all meet in the Imaichi area. And this avenue is known as the 'Nikko Suginamiki (Cedar Avenue of Nikko)'.
This avenue extends over a total length of 35.41 km (22 miles), comprising the Nikko Kaido Road 16.52 km (10.27 miles) long, the Reiheishi Kaido Road 13.17 km（8.18 miles）long, and the Aizu-Nishi Kaido Road 5.72 km (3.55 miles) long. This is the distance measured from one end to the other of the existing Cedar Avenue. However, when asked the length of the avenue, we usually explain that it is approximately 37 km long, which is the total distance measured from the donation monument standing on one extremity of the Cedar Avenue to the donation monument erected at the other extremity. The cedar trees measure 27 meters tall on average.
As of November 11th, 1998 (Heisei 10), according to a survey conducted by the Cultural Properties Division of the Education Committee of Tochigi Prefecture, the Cedar Avenue is lined with a total of 13,006 trees, or 12,971 trees when excluding the 35 withered trees expected to be cut down within the year 1998.
For inquiries, please contact:
Tourist and Industrial Commerce Division/TEL: 0288-21-5170 |
