Kodama

◆ The legend

People in Japan have long believed that a spirit dwells in trees that have lived for a very long time. That spirit is the kodama. Its name can also be written with characters meaning "tree soul," and it is sometimes spoken of almost as the god of the tree itself. Little is said about what it looks like; it seems to have been imagined as one with the tree it lives in. The great trees of shrines and villages, wrapped in sacred straw ropes called shimenawa and carefully protected, are part of the same way of thinking.

It has long been said that cutting down a tree where a kodama lives, without good reason, brings misfortune. There are also stories of woodcutters who offered a prayer to an old giant tree before setting an axe to it. A tree is not just timber; it is also "someone" who has lived a long life. The legend of the kodama reflects people who made their living by cutting trees, yet never forgot to respect them.