Attack of the Cypresses

I just learned that sugi trees (杉) which are known as Japanese cedars, are actually not cedar trees. This is a misnomer. Sugi trees are in fact cypress trees. So my earlier post on cedars should be read again, substituting "cypress" with "cedar".

This is the tree whose wood is used in the construction of many pieces of Japanese furniture, including the drawers which safeguard many of the beautiful kimonos here. I was told that cypress (perhaps like cedar) keeps away worms and other bugs. However, I can't rectify this idea with the following from Wikipedia: "Cryptomeria [the scientific name for the sugi tree's genus] is used as a food plant by the larvae of some moths of the genus Endoclita."

Attack of the Cedars

Cedar pollen is the bane of a seemingly huge number of Japanese people. Everybody's eyes are watering. Everyone's face is covered in white masks. They suffer. People don't go out. The economy shrinks. And why? Because 60 or 70 years ago, a gazillion cedar trees were planted all over Japan to take advantage of the growing housing market. However, something happened, and the price of cedar skyrocketed, and the trees were never cut down. Soon after, everybody started to develop varying levels of allergies to the trees' pollen. The kanji which symbolizes this allergy is actually relatively new.

Why doesn't the government cut them down now? Well, before they were planted, a ton of indigenous trees were razed to make room for the pollen-profferers. If the cedars are cut down now, there will be a lot of ugly, barren hillsides. Another (possibly more cynical) reason is that the pharmaceutical (and other) companies depend on these mighty cedars for their profits. Cut the trees and you cut the sales of pills, sprays, masks, air purifiers, and numerous other products I'm sure.


Post scriptum: The gist of this blog was communicated to me by a student and like a good little blogger I have done no research at all to substantiate it. However, I have received confirmation from a few other students that something like the above happened in the past. And so, I have passed these facts on to you.