Manabe-shima Island
Manabe Residence and the Elaeocarpus Sylvestris
The Large Tree Right Next to the House Lends an Air of History.
The Manabe family prospered during the closing days of the Heian Period as a very powerful clan on the island. The main building is officially registered as a cultural property. The wooden house was built at the beginning of the Meiji period and has tatami rooms reflecting the distinctive, traditional style of Japanese residential architecture.
The elaeocarpus sylvestris with a large trunk just in front is said to be 250 years old. It is a very rare tree in the prefecture. One story has it that the multi-talented historical figure, Hiraga Gennai (1728-1779), brought the tree as a seedling into Sanuki (now Kagawa Prefecture) and it eventually found its way into the Manabe family.
Elaeocarpus Sylvestris
The elaeocarpus sylvestris is tropical-sub tropical evergreen tree which grows wild along the warm coasts of the area.
In Japanese, the tree is called “horuto-no-ki,” literally “the tree from Portugal.” Because the shape of its fruit resembles an olive, it was mistakenly assumed the tree came from Portugal.
Overview
| Access | About a 2-minute walk from Manabe-shima Port (Honura Port) on Manabe-shima Island. |
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