Acacia confusa Acacia confusa Acacia confusa is a perennial tree native to South-East Asia. Some common names for it are acacia petit feuille, small Philippine acacia, Formosa acacia (Taiwan acacia) and Formosan koa. It grows to a height of 15m. The tree has become very common in many tropical Pacific areas, including Hawaii, where the species is considered invasive. Its uses include chemical products, environmental management and food and drink. The bark may be ground into a powder and saturated into water to create a tea, or may be spread onto various foods as a spice and taste enhancer. The wood has
Koa Kannon the Soto school. General Iwane Matsui who commanded the Shanghai Expeditionary Force at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War built the Koa Kannon statue after retiring from the service in 1940 to honor the officers and men of both China and Japan who fell in battle in the name of consecrating equally both friend and enemy. The statue was made using clay from battlefields, including from the vicinity of Nanjing where Matsui served. On 24 February 1940 the consecration ceremony was performed in the presence of Tessui Oshima, a high-ranking Jodo Buddhist monk from Zojo-ji, and other distinguished figures.