杉 means “Japanese cedar”

すぎ · sugi

Also: cedar, cryptomeria

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

すぎ

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

サン

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 7 strokes

The story

A tree (木) with three slanting strokes (彡), like layers of needles: the sugi, Japan's tall, straight cedar. Its timber built old Japan, its pollen brings spring's 花粉症, hay fever, and Nikkō's cedar avenue runs for kilometers.

Used in 杉 (sugi, Japanese cedar), 杉花粉 (sugikafun, cedar pollen), and 杉並木 (suginamiki, avenue of cedars)

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.