"Tono Hinoki" is the finest building material

"Tono hinoki is a type of Japanese cypress that grows in the central part of Japan, along the border between Gifu and Nagano prefectures. "The mountain forests where Tono Hinoki grows have steep slopes, lots of rain, and are especially cold and covered with deep snow in winter. In such a harsh natural environment, Tono hinoki takes twice or three times as long to grow as hinoki grown in other places, and it grows slowly. That dizzying amount of time is what gives Tono hinoki its dense and beautiful annual rings. For hundreds of years, we have been planting trees, thinning forests, and managing them in various ways in order to protect them. Through a combination of nature's wonders and man's unceasing efforts, hinoki forests of more than 300 years old are maintained, nurtured, and utilized. The wood has been used for some of Japan's most famous buildings, Buddhist statues, and traditional crafts, such as Horyuji Temple and Yakushiji Temple in Nara, the Honmaru Palace of Nagoya Castle, and the castle tower of Ozu Castle, due to its smooth growth, beautiful texture, excellent durability, and antibacterial properties.