Amazing Really Old Trees
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 06.13.08
Really old trees are really amazing! If I get a chance this weekend, I will go hiking somewhere nice with old-growth forest northwest of Tokyo. Could be tricky to find though, as much of what we see today is planted or restored forest areas, and you'll rarely see magnificent trees with huge trunks and foliage reaching for the clouds.
Near many shrines in Japan however, there are special, sacred trees decorated with hemp ropes and white paper ornaments. This garland is actually easy to make, and can be a fun thing for the kids to try. How to do it? Read on after the fold:
How to fold an 8-1/2" x 11" piece of paper into a zigzag ornament for sacred trees:
Materials:
* Paper (recycled, of course)
* Scissors
* Pencils
Procedure:
* Fold paper in half, hot dog style. Cut ¾ inch slits into the paper's alternating long sides (every 1/2 inch).
* Fold flaps ("fold and flip, fold and flip") to make the stairs-shaped ornament.
* Hang on a string or rope, preferably made of hemp, and find a tree to decorate!
(Adopted from ArtSeed.org, photos from Tanoshii Nikki. Creative commons, some rights may be reserved.)
The British Origami Society has more information about the zigzag paper ornaments, that are called O-shide, Go-hei, and Harai gushi in Japanese. The ornaments can also be found on small home altars or on the portable shrines that are carried around during festivals.
Brought to you by Martin J Frid at greenz.jp
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I thought the article would be about the really old trees, not the garland stuff! Nest time don't tease us with something like this, then turn the story to the frilly stuff... :-(
Old trees are magnificant, but I am a woodworker and see them a bit differently. The old growth trees make the best solid wood furniture, and while Tree Hugger promotes flat pack plywood, it doesn't hold the charm and elegance of solid hardwood that (if built properly) will outlast any flat pack piece - much more environmentally friendly than lasting only a few decades IMO.
But these kind of trees need to be used wisely! They should be taken only when they fall, or at risk of being totally destroyed by disease... better to see it in your living room than rot away or be eaten by a fungus, or termites (I know, they have to eat too).
What species of tree are they?
This article isn't about trees, it's about making paper ornaments.
Some of the oldest trees in Japan are sycamore, juniper and pines. I have seen magnificient Hinoki cypress and on Yakushima, an island, you can find a type of cedar that are thought to be 3,000 to 3,500 years old.
http://web-japan.org/atlas/nature/nat21.html