Qualla: Cedar Avenue of Nikko https://qualla.com/cedar-avenue-of-nikk en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:40 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/e/2/cedar-avenue-of-nikk-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Cedar Avenue of Nikko https://qualla.com/cedar-avenue-of-nikk Cedar Avenue of Nikko: Introduction https://qualla.com/cedar-avenue-of-nikk/ Photo credit Alexrk2, CC BY-SA 3.0. Matsudaira Masatsuna could not afford gold or stone. He was a minor lord from a cadet branch of the ruling Matsudaira clan, and when it came time to honor the deified founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, more powerful daimyo contributed lavish lacquerwork and gilded shrines. Masatsuna donated trees instead. Starting around 1625, he hauled cryptomeria seedlings from Kii Province and planted them along the three highways that converge on the sacred shrines and temples of Nikko. By the time the avenue was officially dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1648, on the 33rd anniversary of his death, Masatsuna had created the most enduring tribute of all. He died that same year. His son continued planting, and by the time the project was done, an estimated 200,000 cedars stood in dark, towering ranks along the approaches to the holiest ground of the Tokugawa shogunate.

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Image: Alexrk2 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/e/2/cedar-avenue-of-nikk-wp/xne2-cedar-avenue-of-nikko-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Cedar Avenue of Nikko: A Pilgrim's Green Corridor https://qualla.com/cedar-avenue-of-nikk/ Photo credit Alexrk2, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Edo period highway system was designed to connect the shogun's capital with the provinces, and the roads to Nikko held a special rank. This was the route of pilgrimage -- the path that generations of shoguns and powerful lords traveled to pay respects at the mausoleum of Ieya...

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]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/e/2/cedar-avenue-of-nikk-wp/xne2-cedar-avenue-of-nikko-a-pilgrims-green-corridor.mp3 0:06 2 full Cedar Avenue of Nikko: 200,000 Trees, 12,500 Survivors https://qualla.com/cedar-avenue-of-nikk/ Photo credit Alexrk2, CC BY-SA 3.0. The original planting numbered roughly 200,000 cryptomeria. Today, about 12,500 survive -- roughly 13,000 by some counts, depending on the survey year. That attrition tells a story of its own. During the Edo period, the Nikko bugyo, the magistrate charged with managing the shrine...

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Image: Alexrk2 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/e/2/cedar-avenue-of-nikk-wp/xne2-cedar-avenue-of-nikko-200-000-trees-12-500-survivors.mp3 0:06 3 full Cedar Avenue of Nikko: Exhaust Fumes and the Modern Threat https://qualla.com/cedar-avenue-of-nikk/ Photo credit Alexrk2, CC BY-SA 3.0. The ancient footpaths that Masatsuna's cedars once shaded have become Japan National Route 119 and Japan National Route 121 -- modern highways carrying cars and trucks between their trunks. The irony is grim: the trees that were planted to shelter pilgrims walking to Nikko are no...

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]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/e/2/cedar-avenue-of-nikk-wp/xne2-cedar-avenue-of-nikko-exhaust-fumes-and-the-modern-threat.mp3 0:06 4 full Cedar Avenue of Nikko: Canopy Over Time https://qualla.com/cedar-avenue-of-nikk/ Photo credit Alexrk2, CC BY-SA 3.0. Seen from above, the cedar avenue is unmistakable -- three dark green ribbons of dense canopy cutting through the lighter patchwork of fields, towns, and modern development around Nikko. The trees form corridors so continuous that from flight altitude they resemble living walls c...

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Image: Alexrk2 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/e/2/cedar-avenue-of-nikk-wp/xne2-cedar-avenue-of-nikko-canopy-over-time.mp3 0:06 5 full