IZUMO, Shimane Prefecture--A seedling from the lone pine tree on a beach in Iwate Prefecture that survived the 2011 tsunami was planted at historic Izumo Taisha grand shrine here on March 19 to mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster.
The “miracle pine tree” was the only timber that withstood the towering tsunami generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, among about 70,000 trees in the Takata Matsubara pine forest, which formerly stretched along the coast in Rikuzentakata.
The seedling was carefully raised from a branch of the tree found by members of the “Association for the Preservation of Takata Matsubara,” a local residents’ group in the city that works to preserve the scenic pine forest.
“We hope that the seedling grows into a large, mature tree to symbolize the recovery of disaster-stricken areas in the Tohoku region and its people,” said Yoshihiro Oyama, the 64-year-old deputy president of the association, after the tree-planting ceremony on March 19.
While the miracle pine died around May 2012 due to seawater damage, Oyama, the operator of a gardening company, successfully raised a seedling from its branch by grafting it on the rootstock of a pine tree.
The seedling, which now measures about 1 meter tall, has been nicknamed “Kenage” (noble) by the late manga artist Takashi Yanase, the author of the popular “Anpanman” manga books and anime series.
Oyama and other members of the association decided to donate the seedling to Izumo Taisha shrine to remind tourists from around Japan of the 2011 disaster in Tohoku and the region’s continuing recovery.
The planting ceremony was also attended by Takamasa Senge, the chief priest at the shrine, and Izumo Mayor Hideto Nagaoka.
“By collaborating with the preservation association, we hope to produce second- or third-generation seedlings from Kenage in the future and spread them across Japan,” Senge said.