sacred tree; divine tree
A tree considered sacred in Shinto or folk belief, often found at shrines or as an object of worship.
神社の境内には大きな神木が立っている。
A large sacred tree stands within the shrine grounds.
bonfire support pillars
Only with reading しんぼく
Refers to the central support pillars used in traditional fire festivals (e.g., 左義長, どんど焼き). This sense is restricted to the reading しんぼく.
左義長祭では、神木と呼ばれる柱を中心に火を焚く。
At the Sagichō festival, a fire is lit around pillars called shinboku.
Standard kanji spelling; the reading しんぼく is the modern standard.
From 神 (shin, 'god, deity') + 木 (boku, 'tree'). The reading しんぼく is the standard Sino-Japanese reading. The obsolete readings かんき, かむき, and かみき reflect older native Japanese readings of the kanji.