The story
Presumably from Japanese, and 木 (ki) is Japanese for tree, but no such Japanese word appears in reference works. Perhaps a scribal error for *asuhi, Japanese あすひ (asuhi, “Thujopsis dolabrata”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
akeki
Today it means: Thujopsis dolabrata, a tall Japanese tree. Full definition →