Takachiho Shrine: Meoto-sugi 高千穂神社：夫婦杉

Official explanation

To the left of the entrance to the Main Shrine is a pair of immense Japanese cedars (sugi; Cryptomeria japonica), known as Meoto-sugi (Husband and Wife Cedars) as they have grown from common roots. The pair of trees symbolize the dedicated husband-and-wife pair, and visitors who circle the tree three times while holding hands with someone they love are believed to be blessed with peaceful relations, a happy and prosperous home, and a family with many children.

Takachiho Shrine is surrounded by a grove of tall and straight cedars that heighten the sense of a place endowed with the presence of the divine. They are adorned with shimenawa, which are ropes indicating an object or demarcated space imbued with the spirit of the divine. Often the ropes are adorned with stalks of straw or zig-zag shaped streamers (called shide). Cedar trees often grace the approach to shrines, providing seclusion and a natural corridor between the secular and sacred realms as well as shade from the sun.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.