Cleyera japonica,
an evergreen tree whose branches are used in Shinto ritual, for example, as offering wands (
tamagushi) presented before a
kami. When presented as
tamagushi, it is usual to attach paper streamers (
shide) to the branch. Branches of
sakaki are also used for decoration, purification implements, and as hand-held "props" (
torimono) in ritual dance.
Sakaki may also be affixed to shrine buildings or fences as a means of designating the interior as sacred space. Theories regarding the etymology of the word
sakaki range from those based on the nature of the
sakaki as
an "evergreen" or "always thriving tree" (
sakaeru-ki), and thus point to the sense of prosperity or thriving, to others which derive from the use of the tree as a "border-tree" (
sakai-ki) used to demarcate sacred space. In the "divine age" chapters of
Kojiki, the term
sakaki appears in the episode of the rites observed to draw
Amaterasu out of the heavenly rock cave; the passage states that "they tore from the very roots the flourishing
masakaki of the mountain Ame no Kaguyama," festooned it with jewel beads, a mirror, and cloth (
nigite). A similar passage is found in
Nihongi, which also includes a passage in the record of Emperor Keikō that speaks of the "
sakaki of Mount Shitsu," while the record of Emperor Chūai refers to a "flourishing (lit., ‘five-hundred branch')
sakaki." All of these records note that jewels, swords, and mirrors were hung from the branches. The
sakaki has been used since ancient times in divine rituals. While the name originally referred to all evergreens, it gradually was limited to those trees of the tea (
Theaceae) family. In practice, however, a number of other trees, including oak (
kashi), cryptomeria (
sugi), boxwood (
tsuge), and fir (
momi) are sometimes substituted in ritual use. As the examples of
masakaki found in
Kojiki and
Nihongi suggest, the trees were decorated in a number of different ways: some were adorned with mirrors, jewels, and swords, some with five-colored silks, mirror, jewels and swords, while others were decorated only with five-colored silks. In the Rules for Ritual Procedure at Shrines (
Jinja saishiki) implemented in 1875, the term
masakaki is used to refer to two poles of Japanese cypress (
hinoki), to the tips of which are attached branches of
sakaki, and below which are attached five-color silks (blue, yellow, red, white, and purple). The pole on the right (when facing the shrine) is decorated with a mirror and a jewel, and the one on the left with a sword.
-Inoue Nobutaka
This tree is native to warm, humid forests, but it seems happy at the UC Botanical Garden. It is sacred in the Shinto religion. Branches are decorated with streamers and used as offerings or as props in ritual dance. Branches are also used in purification and decoration. It is attached to buildings or fences 
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