Planted in 1625, the bonsai of the image is 392 years old, and if the years it has lasted are not impressive enough, it can be said that it also survived the nuclear bomb that fell on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
The tree, belonging to the Yamaki family, lived in 1945 only 3 kilometers away from the point where the US air force launched the bomb from the Enola Gay, killing 140,000 people. Something surprising is that both the tree and the family survived the explosion relatively unharmed.
Bonsai is currently housed in the US National Arboretum in Washington and came as a gift from bonsai master Masaru Yamaki in 1976. Arboretum staff were not aware of the tree's connection, A white pine, with Hiroshima until 2001, when Yamaki's grandchildren explained the anecdote during his visit to the collection.
"There is some connection between this tree and its long survival on Earth," said Kathleen Emerson, museum curator. "When you are in front of him, you notice the presence of other people from centuries ago. It's like touching history. "