Seasons1 of 4
This ginkgo grows low and wide rather than tall, its heaviest branches spreading outward close to the ground before the trunk narrows above them, an arrangement that from certain angles makes the whole tree look planted upside down, roots reaching for the sky. That resemblance earned it the name Sakasa Icho, inverted ginkgo, sometime after it went into the ground in front of Nishi Honganji's Goeido Hall in 1636. A second nickname, Mizufuki Icho, water-spouting ginkgo, comes from a temple legend that the tree spouted water to help extinguish fires that threatened the complex in 1788 and again in 1864, both real, documented blazes in Kyoto's history even if the tree's firefighting role is legend rather than record. Ginkgos are famously fire-resistant compared to other species, their trunks holding unusual water content, which may be where the story got its foothold. The tree is a designated Kyoto City natural monument and turns gold most reliably in late November, one of the more dependable autumn color displays in a city that plans its calendar around them.
From people who stood here
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Getting there
Nishi Honganji, Horikawa-dori Hanayacho Sagaru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8501
You can recognise it by its low, wide shape, heavy branches spreading close to the ground before the trunk narrows above them. It stands in front of Nishi Honganji's Goeido Hall.
Kyoto Station, 15 min walk, or bus to Nishihonganji-mae
Autumn colour
late November, one of Kyoto's more dependable autumn colour displays
The line is our estimate of how much there is to see, not a measurement. Typical for this species where this tree stands; exact weeks shift with the year.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from. The story was written with AI from these sources, and readers who know the tree correct it.
