2016 / Japanese garden in Pasadena chosen home of Hiroshima Camellia
Over 100 guests honor a sapling planting ceremony at Storrier Stearn garden on May 8. (Photo by Richard Fukuhara)
The Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden in Pasadena has been chosen as the home of a sapling that descended from one of the trees considered lost after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
When an atomic bomb destroyed the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, it was predicted that nothing would grow in the ruins of Hiroshima for 75 years.
The trees were scarred and blackened, like all of the landscape in and around Hiroshima. When green shoots were found on the burned trunks of some 170 trees, the people were encouraged beyond measure, gaining hope and strength for recovery.
Green Legacy Hiroshima, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Tokyo Yoneyama Yuai, is taking this inspiration beyond Hiroshima by spreading the seeds and saplings of the “Hibaku Jumoku” or “A-bombed trees” throughout the world.
Already growing in 27 countries, they represent the resiliency of the human spirit and offer a powerful message of peace and symbiosis.
As the home of a Hiroshima Camellia — one of only two A-bombed trees in the U.S. — the Storrier Stearns garden joins other ambassadors around the world in the hope that everyone who learns of the Hiroshima Camellia and its history will be inspired to promote its message of peace.
On May 8, over 100 guests at the Storrier Stearns garden celebrated a sapling planting ceremony of Hiroshima Camellia with tea ceremonies and a remark of 88-year old Mr. Jiro Kawatsuma who witnessed the aftermath of the bombing in two days later.
The Camellia has a place of honor in the garden where the public may visit it during every Open Thursday and on the last Sunday of each month from 10 am to 4 pm.
On the last Sunday, May 29, visitors will receive camellia seeds to plant in their own gardens. Reservations for Open Day may be made on the website at: www.japanesegardenpasadena.com
