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Hibakujumoku: Hiroshima's trees of hope

One of the trees which survived the atomic bomb

Eucalypt at the site of Hiroshima Castle, 740 m from hypocenter. The tree survived the atomic bombing, while the castle was destroyed.’

Caption and Photo:Wikipedia

75 years ago the US dropped an atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, on Hiroshima, killing 140,000 of its 350,000 citizens. Three days later, a second bomb, Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 74,000 people.

 

Sunrise at the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, 6 August 2019. Photo: The Guardian

Remembering the lives that were lost and the cities that were destroyed in egregious acts against humanity

The trees that survived the bombing of Hiroshima 

Photo:Green Legacy Hiroshima

How a message of hope and peace is being spread by trees that everybody believed were dead, but survived and became beacons of hope. 

After the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6th August 1945 it was thought that nothing would grow in the city for 75 years. However, the following spring new seedlings were seen springing up amongst the debris of the city. They provided a powerful message to the survivors and gave them hope that they could rebuild their city.

Today Hiroshima is a green and vibrant city. Many of the trees that were planted in the city after the war were gifts from overseas donors and donors from other parts of Japan.

Hibakujumoku

However, 170 of the trees that we can enjoy in the city today had actually been in Hiroshima before the bomb was dropped and survived the bombing and the devastation that followed. After the war, many of those trees were replanted or preserved in 55 locations within a 2km radius of the hypocenter. Today, they are officially registered as A-bombed trees. Each A-bombed tree is called a hibakujumoku  and is identified by a name plate.-ANT- Hiroshima News

Green Legacy Hiroshima (GLH) Initiative

The GLH Initiative is a global volunteer campaign, aiming to disseminate the universal message of trees that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Created in 2011 by two friends, Nassrine Azimi and Tomoko Watanabe, GLH shares worldwide the double message of caution and hope that the unique survivor trees of Hiroshima (and ultimately Nagasaki) represent, recalling on the one hand the dangers of arms of mass destruction and nuclear weapons in particular, and on the other hand the sacred character of mankind and the resilience of nature. Currently seeds and saplings from the A-bombed trees are growing in more than 30 countries - in a sustained, long-term (1000-year) campaign, joining other efforts for a nuclear-free and more ecological planet.

Learn more about GLH Initiative

Introduction video Green Legacy Hiroshima

The trees that survived the bombing of Hiroshima: A Video on the Trees of Hope in Hiroshima

Read more about Trees, Mother Nature and Hope

Photo: pinterest

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