Suzakura-jinja, Shinto shrine in Japan

Suzakura-jinja is a Shinto shrine in the Izumidaira settlement of the Ii district, Nagano, on a small terrace facing southwest above the Sotobo Valley. Its grounds hold a massive Edohigan cherry (Prunus pendula var. ascendens) with a root circumference of about 9 m, a trunk circumference of 11.3 m, and an estimated age of about 1,200 years. Three branch trunks rise from the base, and the tree was designated a national natural monument in 1935.

The shrine's giant Edohigan cherry was designated a national natural monument on 14 December 1935. It is one of several such trees protected nationwide, alongside the Yamataka Jindai-zakura and the Usuzumi-zakura. A 1992 rejuvenation programme brought in tree doctors after storm damage in the Taisho era and the weakening of two remaining trunks. The Noh play 'Suzakura' was written by Kanze Kiyokazu in 1898.

The name is explained by two legends: cherry trees given by the gods to each province died everywhere except Izuhei, so this one was called Suzakura, "the first cherry received from the gods"; another says a cherry spirit declared it the origin of all Japanese cherries. The Noh play Suzakura, written by Kanze Kiyokazu in 1898, takes the tree as its subject.

Access is on foot: from the Arpiyasu bus stop on the Alpico Kawanakajima bus 71 (Togakushi line via Bird Line), about 30 minutes from Nagano Station, it is a 30-minute walk. The Saka-gaku stop on bus 73 (Togakushi line via the prefectural road) also serves the area. By car it is 17 km, about 40 minutes, from the Joshinetsu Expressway Nagano Interchange; there is no parking lot.

The tree's three trunks split from a single base: the central one measures 5.9 m around, the southwestern about 3.9 m and the southeastern about 3.32 m, per the 1936 natural monument survey. Its branches reach roughly 6.6 m south and 5.3 m north from the base. A 1992 visit by tree doctors began rejuvenation work after storm damage in the Taisho era and later weakening.