15th-Century Bonsai Trick That Grows Ultra-Straight Cedar Trees, Prevents Deforestation
daisugi: a “giant bonsai” method that dates back to the 15th century.
Flexible, dense Kitayama cedar, harvested from the vast mountainous cedar forests of south-central Japan, has been in high demand as a building material for centuries, according to Earth Buddies. The trees grow incredibly straight and tall, without knots.
In the 15th century, Kitayama cedar was the favored building material for the houses of the Samurai. (Courtesy of tabijibiyori)
As such, Japanese foresters came up with a clever solution to satisfying the demand for cedar wood: daisugi, or literally “platform cedar.”