Leaf-Raking Event at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine Commemorates Legendary Camphor Tree; ‘Sen-nen Kusu' Died in 1994 but Lives on in Annual Art Project

Yomiuri Shimbun

30-05-2025

The Yomiuri Shimbun
An artwork created on the grounds of Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine, inspired by a legendary giant camphor tree, is seen in this photo taken with a 360-degree camera.
DAZAIFU, Fukuoka — It was 7 a.m. On the shrine grounds, the chirping of birds mixed with the sound of bamboo rakes scratching the sandy earth. The scent of camphor trees wafted through a large open space where people were using fallen leaves to make a work of art.
The artwork was created on the final day of 'Kusukaki,' an art project held annually at Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture. The project depicts one of the shrine's many camphor trees, a legendary giant specimen which previously stood there.
This year's Kusukaki project — the name is a play on the Japanese word 'kaku,' which can mean both 'raking' and 'drawing,' and 'kusu,' which means 'camphor tree' — was held from March 22 to April 12.
During this three-week period, on almost every day except the final one, 30 to 50 people would arrive at the shrine, starting at 6:30 a.m., and spend about an hour collecting fallen leaves on the shrine grounds using bamboo rakes.
The participants made a pile of the collected leaves, which went from 30 centimeters tall on the first day to taller than the height of a child on the final day. On the final day, 85 participants used their imaginations and bamboo rakes to shape the leaves into a pattern that evoked a camphor tree.
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Yasuaki Igarashi, who initiated the event
The project, now in its 16th year, was initiated by Yasuaki Igarashi, 46, an artist living in Chiba Prefecture. Igarashi's idea for the project was inspired by what he saw and felt when he participated in an art event held when the nearby Kyushu National Museum was completed.
The camphor trees on the shrine grounds were sprouting new shoots, pushing away the old leaves, and many more leaves had already fallen to the ground. It was the time of year when the season seems to change in an instant from winter to spring.
Under the trees, shrine priests dressed in white were gathering the fallen leaves with bamboo rakes. As they raked, a striped pattern of leaves appeared on the ground, on which more leaves soon fell.
A sacred act
'The sweeping seemed to me like a sacred act, clearing the ground for the next batch of leaves to fall,' Igarashi recalled.
He also thought that it would be nice if this activity, which was like welcoming the fallen leaves to the earth, could be shared with many people.
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New leaves sprout from a camphor tree.
Around the time he was having these thoughts, he learned that there used to be a giant camphor tree, called the 'Sen-nen Kusu' (1,000-year-old camphor tree), in the middle of the shrine grounds. But as growing numbers of worshippers had begun visiting the shrine and walking around the tree, the ground became hard and compacted, crushing its roots. This, combined with the effects of acid rain, reportedly caused the tree to wither and die in 1994.
Igarashi wondered if he might be able to recreate the scenes of falling leaves that had continued for more than a millennium on the spot where the giant camphor tree once stood.
'With 'Kusukaki,' I wanted to depict the image of the tree as it once was and feel the presence of the Sen-nen Kusu through the act of raking up the camphor leaves,' Igarashi said.
More and more people who shared his interest started to join in. Kusukaki is now an annual spring event that sees a participant count of about 1,000 each year, ranging from kindergartners to senior citizens.
Raking sessions are held early in the morning, out of consideration for local residents' commute times for school and work.
The refreshing early morning atmosphere of the shrine grounds may be another reason for its popularity, making people feel like they are in a 'sanctuary.'
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Participants use their imaginations to shape fallen leaves into a design that evokes the shrine's legendary '1,000-year-old camphor tree.'
Kusukaki has gradually become known by word of mouth, attracting more than a few participants from far away, including the Kanto region and even from overseas.
Keiji Yonekawa, a fourth-grade elementary school student, participated for the first time alongside four members of his family. He piled up fallen leaves with a bamboo rake and then said: 'I didn't know leaves were so heavy. It was cold outside, but it was fun.'
Igarashi says that each participant enjoys the event in their own way.
Some look forward to seeing people they know each year as if it were a school reunion. Some others enjoy chatting, and still others just work quietly with bamboo rakes.
'Everyone has a unique personality. It's fun,' Igarashi said.
Igarashi also says that many participants feel a loose connection to other participants when they connect with their own feelings and communicate with the legendary camphor tree by taking part in the event.
The artwork created on the ground vanished before noon, and the site became sandy ground once more as if nothing had happened.
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A participant enjoys the scent of camphor leaves in small bags.
Some of the collected leaves were packed in 'hosho bukuro,' cloth bags prepared for this purpose. Participants enjoyed the gentle, subtly sweet aroma of the packed leaves during breaks from their work.
Igarashi said, 'As long as we have hearts that can feel things that are invisible but important, the Sen-nen Kusu tree will continue to exist here.'