I was determined to visit a new-to-me “Nanjamonja” aka Fringe Tree, officially called a ‘Hitotsubatago’ in Japanese, this year. And I did today and, from what I can tell, it is completely off the beaten path. Post visiting, I did a search online and can only found a handful of posts about it in Japanese, nothing in English. Moreover, of the five Hitotsubago locations I visited today, this is the only one where I had the place all to myself. Whereas in the four other locations, there was at least two other people. At two of the locations, a temple and a shrine, there was a continuous flow of people. At the temple people were there specifically for the Hitotsubago, many of them photographers. In addition, at the shrine, there were people there for the fringe tree and others there for prayers.
Komatsubara Shrine
The fringe tree is located at Komatsubara Shrine. The shrine is a local type, unmanned shrine. The founding date of Komatsubara Shrine is unknown. However, they say that in the early Edo period, the area was known as Komatsubara Village, and it had two shrines, Atago Shrine and Inari Shrine. In the Meiji era, they merged them and added a third shrine, another Inari Shrine. Collectively they gave them the name of Komatsubara Shrine. Unfortunately, there isn’t much else online about the shrine and there is no official website for the shrine. There is a little playground on the grounds and a small parking lot too.
Hitotsubatago
Although I could only find a handful of posts online about this particular fringe tree, I see it was added to Google Maps last week. The person who added it also gave it five (out of five stars) and added some photos. Currently, that is the only entry on maps for the tree. I really liked this tree too, I would give it 4.3 out of five stars if I was reviewing it online. The tree is really beautiful and from a couple of angles, very photogenic, but unfortunately on two sides it is backdropped by houses. If they were quaint or charming it wouldn’t matter so much, but they aren’t!
Hitotsubatago is the Japanese scientific name and the genus, in Japanese, is Nanjamonja. As I have shared before, Konosu is famous for Nanjamonja since ancient times. There is small sign at this tree explaining that this Nanjamonga is one of about 30 saplings from a newer tree which was bestowed upon a local by Meiji Jingu. It also notes that it normally turns pure white in early May. However, this year, all the “Hitotsubatago” seem to be a bit early. This Hitotsubatago is already in full bloom and even shedding a little as of April 28th 2026. It is still quite small in size, but thanks to that you can get close to the “fringe”!
Other Hitotsubatago in Konosu
This was my second stop of the day. I came to Komatsubara Shrine from one of the two most famous Nanjamonja in Konosu – the one at Atago Shrine. It is only a five-minute drive or twenty-minute walk away. From Komatsubara Shrine I went to Shoganji, which is about an eight-minute drive or 25-minute walk away. From Shoganji I drove to Kou Shrine, it took about five minutes in the car and it would take about 17 minutes on foot. I have yet to add my final stop to the blog – it’s in my draft posts for over a year, hopefully I will get it published in the coming week. It is a particularly special place – blog posts for those always take me longer to write.
Information
Flower: Hitotsubatago ヒトツバタゴ , Nanjamonja なんじゃもんじゃの木 (Snow / White ) Fringe Tree at Komatsubara Shrine
Shrine: Komatsubara Shrine 小松原神社
Address: Komatsubara Shrine’s Nanjamonja, Hitotsubatago, 1 Chome-10-10 Komatsu, Konosu, Saitama 365-0041. View on Google Maps.
Season: usually early May, early in 2026
Access: there is a small parking lot for about 3 or 4 cars. The shrine is about a 25-minute walk from JR Kitamoto Station. You can also get the bus that goes between JR Kitamoto and JR Konosu stations and get off at Daiei Ichigo Kouen 大栄一号公園. The shrine is about a four-minute walk from the bus stop.