The cut surface of the Goshinboku tree in the Akasawa Nature Recreation Forest, Agematsu, Kiso, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The torn, splintered surface of the wood bears the marks of the Mitsuhimogiri technique (三つ紐伐り): the tree was felled in June 1985 using only axes from three sides – without a chainsaw, in accordance with the requirements of Ise-jingū for its sacred trees. The wood of this Sawara cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera) was used as the material for the deity’s sacred vessel at the 61st Shikinen Sengu (1993). In the foreground is the shimenawa straw rope with shide