Around 10:00 AM on June 16, 2026, staff at Shimogamo Shrine, a World Heritage site in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, discovered a fallen sacred tree. The 450-year-old chinquapin tree, located along the main approach to the shrine, had broken at the base and fallen to the south.

A large tree that fell in Tadasu no Mori forest (Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City)

According to Shimogamo Shrine, the chinquapin tree was approximately 30 meters tall and had a trunk circumference of about 3 meters. It was considered the oldest tree in the Tadasu no Mori forest and was worshipped as a sacred tree, adorned with a sacred rope. It is believed to have broken due to old age, and the site where the tree once stood will be preserved as the "Sacred Tree Site."