A Nipponese blanched pine tree bonsai tree stands in the National Arboretum in Northeast Washington , shoot a line a full set of lustrous - dark-green leaves and an imposingly buddy-buddy trunk , approximately 18 ” in diameter . Thirty nine years after its comer at the quickness , and on the 70thanniversary of the Hiroshima bombardment , the tree diagram is being reward .
In 1976 , as “ part of a gift to the United States for its bicentennial , ” bonsai master Masaru Yamaki donated the topiary . For 25 years , it stood quietly among the rest of the collection in the Bonsai and Penjing Museum . But , in 2001 , everything changed . Yamaki ’s grandchild , Shigeru and Akira Yamaki , arrived unexpectedly to reckon the precious bonsai , which they had never before pick up , and subsequently unraveled its awe - inspiring account .
This “ botanical souvenir ” is actually a whopping 390 year sometime and , according to theWashington Post , it has already outmatch its expected lifespan . But that ’s not even the most awing view of its existence . Seventy age ago , it resided in Japan . More on the dot — Hiroshima . And , 70 years ago , it survive the Hiroshima bombardment .
The bonsai , which stood in Yamaki ’s nursery , was scarce two miles forth from the situation of the blast and yet it , as well as all the members of the household , wangle to survive the shock and the fly shards of glass from shattered window .
The accumulation ’s caretaker , Jack Sustic , is responsible for for the tree ’s well - being . This include daily lachrymation , inspecting for bugs , rotate with the sunlight , and occasional re - potting . accord to Sustic , “ Bonsai concern not to the type of tree but rather the manner in which it is care for . It is the blending of art and nature … Bonsai is like a verb . It ’s not a noun ; it ’s doing . ”
Clearly , this has been some honorable bonsai .
[ h / t : Washington Post ]
