MIKAWANOKUNI Japanese Red Maple
三河国ハナノキ（ミカワノクニハナノキ）
産地；愛知県（県木）
日本固有の品種でカエデ属としては4月に赤い花を咲かせる珍しい品種。中部地方で自生しており愛知県の県木です。環境省レッドリストの絶滅危惧Ⅱ類（VU）に分類さえており、春の訪れを告げる銘木の一つです。漢字では「花の木」と呼ばれ、名前の由来は「葉よりも先に花が咲く木」ということからです。場所によっては国の天然記念物に指定されているハナノキもあります。
産地の三河国は戦国時代の重要な拠点で「三河国出身の武士は忠誠心があり勇猛果敢」なことも有名で、三河出身の徳川家康を支えた三河武士には不死身の武将といわれた槍の使い手である本田忠勝や、徳川四天王の酒井忠次、大久保忠世・忠教、鳥居元忠、内藤信成、松平康重・家忠などが江戸幕府の礎を築いたといわれています。
木の力；信仰、春の訪れ、生命の兆し
MIKAWANOKUNI Japanese Red Maple
Origin: Aichi Prefecture (Prefectural Tree)
This is a rare maple species native to Japan that blooms red flowers in April. It grows naturally in the Chubu region and is designated as the prefectural tree of Aichi. Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the Ministry of the Environment’s Red List, it is one of the celebrated trees that herald the arrival of spring. In kanji, it is called “Hanano-ki”, a name derived from the fact that its flowers bloom before its leaves. In some locations, Hanano-ki is designated as a National Natural Monument.
The Mikawa region, where it grows, was an important stronghold during the Sengoku period. It is also famous for the loyalty and bravery of its samurai. Among the Mikawa samurai who supported Tokugawa Ieyasu were legendary warriors such as Honda Tadakatsu, renowned as an invincible spearman; the Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings including Sakai Tadatsugu, Ōkubo Tadayo and Tadanaga, Torii Mototada, Naitō Nobunari, and Matsudaira Yasushige and Ietada, all of whom are said to have helped lay the foundation of the Edo Shogunate.
Symbolism: Faith, the arrival of spring, signs of life