also: とべら
Japanese cheesewood; Pittosporum tobira
A flowering evergreen shrub native to coastal areas of Japan and East Asia, often used in hedges and coastal plantings.
A hedge of Japanese cheesewood runs along the coast.
Japanese cheesewood is a plant resistant to sea breezes.
Katakana spelling is standard for this plant name; usually written in kana.
Kanji form; rarely used. The reading とべら is a jukujikun.
Hiragana spelling, also common.
Rarely used kanji form.
The name is traditionally connected with 扉 “door”: its foul-smelling branches were hung at doorways at Setsubun to repel evil, and the plant was formerly called とびらのき.