Remarkable Tale of a 400-Year-Old Bonsai Tree That Survived Hiroshima

Planted in 1625, the ancient Miyajima White Pine tree still thrives today. Humbled within the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington, D.C., this living relic bears witness to a momentous day that forever altered the course of history and the nature of warfare nearly 80 years ago. Remarkably, this unique specimen is not only celebrated for its age but also for being indirectly associated with the inception of the world’s first nuclear bomb, which was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

In 1976, Masaru Yamaki, a renowned bonsai master, presented this centuries-old tree to the United States. The Yamaki family had been revered as some of Japan’s most esteemed bonsai cultivators at the time of the Hiroshima bombing. Their residence stood a mere two miles from the epicenter of the atomic explosion, resulting in the loss of 140,000 lives and causing enduring devastation in the city. Astonishingly, the bonsai tree remained unscathed.

But why did this tree survive when so much around it was reduced to ashes? The Yamaki family’s house, fortified with thick walls, served as a protective haven for a vast nursery of these yellow-green pine needle bonsais. It was the sturdy structure that ultimately shielded the trees from the searing heat and radiation of the atomic blast. While not all bonsais emerged unharmed, this one did, and so did the entire Yamaki family who were inside during the cataclysmic event.

For years, the Yamakis lovingly cared for this tenacious tree until they decided to bestow it as a gift to the United States in 1976—the very nation responsible for the bomb’s deployment. Masaru Yamaki only referred to the bonsai as a “gift of peace” when he handed it over.

The connection of this plant to Hiroshima remained concealed until 2001 when Yamaki’s grandsons made an unexpected visit to the collection. Although the museum predominantly emphasizes the tree as a symbol of friendship between the two nations rather than its association with Hiroshima, they have recently incorporated this historical aspect into their website.

Kathleen Emerson-Dell, the museum’s assistant curator, reflects on this living entity, saying, “There’s some connection with a living being that has survived on this Earth for who knows how long. I’m in its presence, and it’s been in the presence of other people for a long time. It’s as if you’re touching history.”

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