Yakusugi information

Yakusugi (屋久杉) refers to "Japanese cedar" (sugi, or Cryptomeria) on the island of Yakushima, typically growing at altitudes 500 meters and higher. The term also extends to the lumber taken from the logging of these coniferous trees.

In the strict sense, the term Yakusugi is reserved for trees aged 1,000 years or more, and younger trees are referred to as kosugi ("small cedars"). Replanted cedars are called jisugi ("local cedars") by the Yakushima islanders, although jisugi also refers to trees less than a century old.

In general, the Japanese cedar lives for about 500 years, but yakusugi trees live much longer. They grow on less nutritious granite soil slowly and have a very tight grain. The wood contains a lot of resin due to Yakushima's high rainfall and high humidity, making it resistant to rotting. As a result, these trees tend to have longer lives, and many larger trees have survived for more than 2,000 years. Famous examples include the Jōmon Sugi, Kigen-sugi and Wilson stump.