Muku Tree of the Shimizudani Residence

This muku tree in the garden of the Shimizudani noble family's estate has stood for over 300 years. The family produced Shimizudani Sanenari, one of the leading waka poets of the Edo period, known for bringing poetry to commoners alongside aristocrats. In 1864, the tree witnessed a darker moment when Choshu samurai leader Kijima Matabe, commander of the radical Sonno Joi faction, committed suicide beneath its branches after his political fortunes collapsed. The tree is a living marker of Kyoto's literary and political past, standing in the residential fabric of the Shimizudani neighborhood.