Niigata Twisted Cedar
Thought-provoking history

A long time ago, when the people of the village did not yet know how grateful the Buddha was, a monk passed by this village. It was a hot summer, so I was tired and thirsty. So I went into a house on the side of the road and asked for a glass of water, but at that house, I didn't even look at him while weaving grouper, and I didn't even say to him, "There is no water." Rejected by all the houses, he could not even drink a glass of water, let alone rice, even after nightfall.

"I don't need food or water, but it is the people of this village who are pitiful, and I will never know how grateful the Buddha is," she said with tears in her eyes, "I want to at least let the people after me know that I have come. If you do that, one day you will take refuge in the teachings of the Buddha," he twisted a small Cedar tree beside him, said, "Keep going," and walked away.

As the cedar twisted and grew as the monk suggested, the villagers learned about the great power of the Buddha for the first time and began to believe in the Buddha. And before long, the villagers began to cherish it, saying, "That's Kobo-sama's twisted cedar."

Now. There are many small cedars growing at the base of the twisted cedar, but they are all twisted in the same way as the parent cedar.
(From "Nakazato Village History, First Volume", pp. 81-82)

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