Sumitomo Forestry Launches "Sakura no Tasuki" Project: Preserving Weakening Cherry Trees for Future Generations via Tissue Culture (Cloning) Technology

On March 26, Ninna-ji Temple (Kyoto) installed a new viewing deck and information panels for the famous "Omuro Cherry Blossoms" within its grounds. These will be unveiled at the "Omuro Flower Festival" starting March 27. The deck was established with support from the Agency for Cultural Affairs to mark the 15th anniversary of the successful tissue culture propagation of the Omuro Cherry Blossoms in 2010.

Coinciding with this, Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd. (President: Toshiro Mitsuyoshi; Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) launched the "Sakura no Tasuki" project. This initiative leverages sapling propagation technologies, including tissue culture, to ensure that historically and culturally valuable trees across Japan—many of which are at risk of weakening or dying—are passed down to the next generation.

### Efforts to Preserve the "Omuro Cherry Blossoms" at Ninna-ji Temple The famous "Omuro Cherry Blossoms" at Ninna-ji are said to have been planted during the reconstruction of the temple buildings in 1646. Known for their unique characteristics—such as growing only to human height and blooming late—they allow visitors to enjoy blossoms at eye level and are celebrated as the final flourish of Kyoto's spring. However, as they are estimated to be over 360 years old, their vigor has declined significantly, and some are at risk of dying.

In response, Ninna-ji launched the "Omuro Cherry Blossom Research Project" in 2007 in collaboration with the Sumitomo Forestry Group and Chiba University's Faculty of Horticulture, under the guidance of the Kyoto Prefectural Cultural Assets Protection Division. Through this project, Sumitomo Forestry's Tsukuba Research Institute studied the trees' ecology and developed management techniques based on scientific data. In 2010, they succeeded in the tissue culture propagation of the Omuro Cherry Blossoms. Cloned saplings planted on the temple grounds in 2012 first bloomed in 2014 and have continued to produce beautiful flowers ever since.

### Sumitomo Forestry's "Sakura no Tasuki" Project Famous trees over several centuries old face the threat of death due to age-related decline. Furthermore, there are concerns that environmental changes and climate change will make growing conditions even harsher. With the goal of passing on historically and culturally valuable trees to the next generation, Sumitomo Forestry has propagated saplings for more than 25 types of famous and precious trees, including the "Taiko Weeping Cherry" at Daigo-ji Temple and the "Izumi Ichiyo Pine" (a natural monument in Minamisoma, Fukushima).