Shimojō Ginkgo (下城の大イチョウ) 下城の大イチョウ
Ginkgo 25 m tall, said to be over a thousand years old: national monument since 1934.
It is the largest ginkgo in Kumamoto Prefecture: about 25 m tall (three sources agree), with a trunk circumference that the sources give as between 9.6 and 12 m (21 m at the base, according to Japanese Wikipedia). It is said to be over a thousand years old. It has been a national 天然記念物, a ‘natural monument’, since 28 December 1934, and is one of twenty giant ginkgos with this status in Japan; the official name in the register is ‘下の城のイチョウ’. According to Japanese Wikipedia it is a female tree, and a local tradition says it grows on the tomb of Kazusa no suke Tsunesato, an ancient lord of the area. To the west is Shimojō Waterfall (下城の滝), about 40 m high.
Kumamoto
