Abstract
Spectroscopic characterization of ancient buried Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) woods excavated from the foothills of Mt. Chokai was carried out to investigate the factors governing their color tones. X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed primary metal elements in the Japanese cedar wood to be Ca and Fe. Infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy revealed that prolonged burial had not caused severe chemical decomposition of the ancient wood. 57Fe Mössbauer spectra of the ancient wood samples suggested that Fe in the Japanese cedar wood was present in the high-spin Fe3+ or low-spin Fe2+ state. Although the dark color tone of the ancient wood has been assumed to be due to the presence of multinuclear Fe complexes with multidentate ligands such as tannin, no positive correlation was observed between the color depth and Fe content of the ancient wood samples.
Highlights
Umoregi and jindai-boku are typical Japanese terms that refer to ancient trees buried or submerged as a result of natural phenomena more than several centuries ago
Color tone of Japanese cedar umoregi woods and bleaching with oxalic acid Figure 1 shows photos of two Japanese cedar umoregi wood samples characterized in this study
As is evident from the photos in the bottom row (B) after the treatment, the three umoregi wood parts have the appearance of modern wood, as a result of the loss of their characteristic colors following the immersion into oxalic acid solution and subsequent drying
Summary
Umoregi and jindai-boku are typical Japanese terms that refer to ancient trees buried or submerged as a result of natural phenomena (e.g., landslides, debris, avalanches, and ground subsidence) more than several centuries ago. These terms are generally applied to the ancient trees that have not been substantially denatured in terms of their physical properties and main constituents. In English, the terms bog wood, fossil wood (or sub-fossil wood), lignite, etc. Have been utilized as translations of umoregi and jindaiboku; the meaning of these English terms is not exactly equivalent to that of the mentioned Japanese terms.
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