Yodobashi Fourth's Secret?

Question

I'm heading to @Tokyo next month and my cousin's kid goes to Yodobashi Dai 4 Elementary School. He's always talking about this amazing tree on the playground, says it's HUGE and has carvings in it. Apparently, it's older than the school itself! Anyone know the story behind that tree? Is it some kind of local legend or something? I'd love to check it out and maybe take a pic for him. He'd be stoked.

nicola · Answer

honestly the zelkova thing is real but there's also a rumor that some of the older carvings are actually from the war era when the land was just fields. a few of the grandpas at the community center nearby swear one of them says "1944" and a kanji character nobody can read anymore. if you want the full story without hanging around the school too long, stop by the Nerima Ward history room near Ekoda station, they have a binder of stuff about local landmarks including that tree. your cousin's kid would probably lose his mind if you brought back a printout of the old photos they have there

kaitomat · Answer

yeah the tree's a zelkova, it's been there since before the war actually. the school was built around it in the late 50s so the playground just kind of grew around it. if you go early morning around 7am you'll see some of the older neighborhood grandpas sitting on the bench near it, they'll probably tell you stories about climbing it when they were kids. just a heads up though the school's pretty strict about people hanging around the grounds so don't linger too long after you get your photo

juliane · Answer

I lived a block away from Yodobashi Dai 4 for a few years and that tree is basically the neighborhood landmark. The zelkova has a hollow spot near the base where kids used to stash things like trading cards and small toys, though I think the school filled it in a while back for safety. If you go around 3:30pm when school lets out, you'll probably catch the after-school crowd running past it and can grab your photo without feeling weird about being there.

esther · Answer

so your cousin's kid is talking about the zelkova, that tree's a legit piece of the neighborhood history. the carvings are mostly from the 70s and 80s like someone said, but there's also a faded one that says "1973" and a little star, no idea who left it. if you go on a weekday around 2pm, the school gates are sometimes open for pickup and you might catch a glimpse without being too obvious. also, the familymart on the corner has good melon pan if you need a snack after

kati · Answer

That tree is an old zelkova, not a camphor. It predates the school by about 80 years, used to mark the edge of a small farm that was there before the neighborhood was built up in the 60s. The carvings are mostly initials from kids in the 70s and 80s, nothing secret, but the school has kept them because the tree is protected as a city-designated natural monument. If you walk around to the back of the playground, you'll get the best shot of it without the fence in the way.

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