(43) マキの生垣

If you stroll around residential areas in Minamiboso, you often find nicely trimmed high, green hedges. The tree maki, a conifer with narrow leaves very common in the area, is the tree of Chiba Prefecture. The kind is also found in precincts of temples and shrines, and they are often very big and very old. Gardeners get especially busy working on the hedges before local festivals and new years, as people would like to welcome these holy days with neatly trimmed hedges.

南房総の昔からの住宅地を歩くと、人の背丈をはるかに超えるみごとな緑の生垣のつらなりがみられます。使われている「マキ」の木は千葉県の木に指定されており、南房総では大変身近な樹木です。生垣や植木に用いられ、また、神社やお寺の境内に大木がみられることも。地区の祭礼前や年末には、植木屋さんが引っ張りだこ。お祭りやお正月を、きれいに刈り込んだ生垣で迎えるのです。