In Yamanakafukuda, there is a hill which local people call katachiguro. On
the hill grows a huge mushroom-shaped camellia tree, which is designated as a
natural monument of the prefecture. It is 1.9 meters in girth at around human
chest level and 7 meters in height. At about 1.7 meters above the ground, the
trunk diverges into six boughs, each of which grows into numerous twigs so that
the cap of the tree reaches out like an umbrella about 10 meters in diameter.
 Around its bottom are placed many stone markers composed of five stones
piled up (called gorinto). They are said to date back to the Muromachi era.
This seems to show that the tree has been protected with much care, like a
sacred tree in a graveyard.
 There used to be a famous big camellia tree called Mihaka no Tsubaki
(camellia tree of the graveyard) in Shimotsu, Kui-cho, former Mitsugi-gun (present Mihara City), but it has died. Just as in Yamanakafukuda, some gorinto,
which are designated as historic monuments of the town, are left around the area
where it used to be.
 This kind of camellia tree has been familiar to Japanese people since ancient
times. It is a favorite, both as a garden tree and as a blossom to be arranged
for tea ceremony occasions.