Taishokkan Camphor Tree: A Roadside Landmark of Koriyama
See a large camphor tree beside Prefectural Route 9, remembered in local accounts as a landmark of the former Taishokkan precinct.
Verified site photographs are being prepared.Discover Taishokkan Camphor Tree: A Roadside Landmark of Koriyama
The Taishokkan Camphor Tree is a large roadside tree in Minami-Kōriyama-chō, separate from the present Taishokkan Kamatari Shrine. Yamato-Koriyama City lists it as a notable townscape landmark. Local historical accounts connect the district to the temporary transfer of the Tōnomine/Tanzan shrine site to Koriyama while Toyotomi Hidenaga governed the castle town. The precise former sacred precinct is not established. The tree is best understood as a living landscape marker: a way to notice how place names, roads and local memory preserve an older religious geography. This is a roadside observation, not a managed park or a destination with visitor facilities.
Distinguish the tree from the present shrine
The tree and Taishokkan Kamatari Shrine are separate places in Minami-Kōriyama-chō. Local history links the district to the temporary transfer of Kamatari's sacred image from Tōnomine to Koriyama in the late sixteenth century; the image returned in 1590, while local worship continued and the present shrine was moved in 1789. The exact former precinct boundary is not established. Do not describe this tree as standing inside the present shrine grounds or as an excavated trace of that earlier sanctuary.
Read the tree as a piece of the townscape
Yamato-Koriyama City's landscape plan classifies the camphor as an urban townscape resource, and a city sketch-exhibition record identifies it among the large trees of Minami-Kōriyama-chō. This supports its local landmark status, not a managed visitor facility or a guarantee that there is space to stop. The area name and tree connect the modern street to the memory of the former Taishokkan precinct, while the exact site of that earlier complex remains uncertain.
Keep size and age estimates in perspective
Published local descriptions do not agree on the tree's dimensions: a municipal tourism walking page calls it about 18 metres tall, while a later local account transcribes a roadside sign giving an estimated age of 500 years, height of 25 metres and trunk circumference of 5.7 metres. Neither source provides a dated arborist survey, so these figures should be treated as attributed estimates rather than current measurements. The municipality's 2025 school newsletter separately explains why the district is called Daishokkan: it links the place name to Toyotomi Hidenaga's enshrinement of Fujiwara Kamatari. That is historical context for the district, not proof that this particular tree is 500 years old or marks the exact former shrine boundary.
Use the published town walk, but do not stop on the road
KokoSil Yamato-Koriyama Castle Town's current outer-moat walking course lists the tree as a named stop: it estimates about 0.4 km / 8 minutes from Dainagonzuka to the tree, then 0.6 km / 10 minutes to Yanagisawa Shrine. This is stronger route evidence than the earlier local account that merely said to cross Prefectural Route 9 from the Daishokkan bus stop. The course listing does not provide a surveyed safe viewing area, sidewalk or crossing details at the tree itself. Follow the published town course only on public paths, do not step into traffic or neighbouring land, and turn back if there is no safe place to pause. No dedicated parking, toilet, accessible viewing point or posted hours were confirmed. This guide therefore gives the town-walk context but withholds direct turn-by-turn routing to the roadside tree.
What to look for
A large camphor listed as a Minami-Kōriyama townscape resource
A landscape marker associated with Koriyama's former Taishokkan history
Roadside setting; no visitor facilities or safe group stop confirmed
Photo notes
No MyNara-licensed image is attached. Photograph only from a safe public place without entering the road or neighboring property, and avoid including identifiable residents or vehicles where possible.
Make a day of it
Explore guides close to this map point, then check the actual route before travelling. Distances below are straight lines, not walking distances or travel times; map points may not be entrances.
Sources & editorial status
Original MyNara draft based on the linked sources. Sources reviewed 24 October 2026. Opening arrangements, prices and offers may change; use the operator's current information before travelling.
- Yamato-Koriyama Tourism Association — cycling map with the Taishokkan area
- Yamato-Koriyama City — town-corner sketch identifies the large camphor in Minami-Kōriyama-chō
- Yamato-Koriyama City — landscape plan classifies the tree as an urban townscape resource
- Nara Sommelier Association — local account of the Taishokkan area and walking approach
- Yamato-Koriyama City Board of Education — district-name explanation in its January 2025 school newsletter
- Local account transcribing dimensions shown on the roadside sign; figures are not a current survey
- Yamato-Koriyama municipal tourism walking route — approximate tree-height description
- Nara Prefecture — Yamato-Koriyama walking-guide safety cautions
- Yamato-Koriyama City — current tourism maps and public-transport recommendation for the narrow castle-town area
- KokoSil Yamato-Koriyama Castle Town — outer-moat course includes the tree, with listed walking distances to Dainagonzuka and Yanagisawa Shrine
- Yorimichi Club — 2025 Hidenaga heritage itinerary including the camphor tree
- Google Maps — mapped marker and address area (location only)