shoushinboku　正真木

KEY WORD :　architecture / gardens

Meaning 'genuine tree.' The term was coined in the middle Edo period to refer to the dominant or master tree in a garden. Typically the shoshinboku was an evergreen, usually a pine matsu 松, but other species were also used. It was usually planted on the central island nakajima 中島 in pond gardens and on the hill in hill gardens *tsukiyama 築山, but in either case it occupied a prominent place in the garden design. It may also be called the shinboku 心木 or 'heart tree,' shinboku 真木 or 'true tree,' or shoushinboku. Closely related is the idea of the *shuboku 主木 or 'master tree.'

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