This 392-year-old pine bonsai survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast and continues to grow today

Image - Sage Ross 

Throughout our lives we go through very good moments and others that we wish we did not have, to the point that they can make us so discouraged that we lose the desire to continue on our way. However, there is a 392-year-old pine bonsai that survived one of the most terrible events in Japan: when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, thus devastating the city.

It happened on August 6, 1945. At that time, this tree lived together with the Yamaki family, its rightful owners, 3,21km from where the bomb exploded. But despite everything, he was able to stay alive.

Turning a seed tree into a bonsai is one of the most beautiful experiences you can have. Working on it every day, with patience and always showing respect towards and for the plant, not only will it make it one of the most magnificent works created by human beings, but also the process of making it helps us to be calmer now. enjoy more of the little things in life.

The bonsai of the Yamaki family began its journey in 1625. It was cared for by them and little by little they have transformed it into the majestic bonsai that it is today. They had him inside their bonsai nursery, which was surrounded by a wall, so both he and the Yamaki were able to save themselves the day the US dropped the bomb..

In 1976, in a remarkable act of forgiveness, the Yamaki gifted the pine along with 52 other trees to the United States. But they said nothing about their history, until 2001 when a younger generation of Yamakis visited Washington. There the caretakers of the US National Arboretum learned what had happened three decades earlier.

The bonsai survived the worst that could have happened to it, and is still alive. We can do the same when difficult situations arise. It's just a matter of wanting 😉.