If trees could talk…

This bonsai passed through five generations of the Yamaki family of bonsai artists in Japan after growing for so long as a bonsai. The family, known in Japan for its dedication to the art of bonsai, kept it in an outdoor nursery attached to their home in Hiroshima among other priceless trees. On the morning of August 6, 1945, the family and their bonsai survived the atomic blast that led to the end of the war between Japan and the United States. Thirty years later, bonsai master Masaru Yamaki offered this tree, one of his oldest and most precious, as part of a gift from the people of Japan to the people of the United States in honor of the country's 200th birthday. Today it serves as a symbol of good will welcoming visitors to the nation's bonsai museum.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States