On the campus of Hiroshima University in Higashihiroshima where I live grow 23 young trees whose mothers survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. They were planted last year and still small and short. But some of them got a lot of leaves already and show promising growth. They are here due to the project called Green Legacy Hiroshima.
Within a radius of two kilometers from the Hypocenter of the atomic bombing, about 160 trees that survived the obliteration 77 years ago have been alive. The Green Legacy Hiroshima tries to disseminate the message of life and resilience to the world through the trees. I'm happy to say Hiroshima University has got involved in this initiative.
At the headquarters of the university stands a young Chinese Parasol Tree or AOGIRI (Firmiana simplex) whose mother trees are found next to the East Wing of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima City. Two old trees with scars on the trunk and a young tree which sprouted near them in 2000 grow gloriously side by side there.
Now this fresh one on the campus of the university is so pure and full of positive energy. Its trunk is vividly green because it it believed that their trunks photosynthesize.
At the new building called MIRAI CREA where students and scholars can stay overnight and many activities can be done is a small tree called NATSUME or jujube (Ziziphus jujuba). When it is big enough, it will provide us with fruits. That would be fantastic to see people from many parts of the world pass the tree and casually pick up and bite one of the fruit.
Trees can be peace makers.
Also, installed on one of the buildings there is a grand door that also survived the blast 77 years back and was taken and relocated from its original place on the old campus of Hiroshima University in Hiroshima city. It’s been closed but if someone from the University has received a Nobel Prize, the door should open I heard.
