The bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 killed 80,000 people on impact. Tens of thousands more would die later from radiation exposure.
Hibakusha is a Japanese word that refers to those who were impacted by the bomb and survived. But there’s another similar word: hibakujumoku. It refers to a surviving tree.
As part of a global peace effort, seeds of Hiroshima trees have been planted in 40 countries.
A team from Central Michigan University is now hoping to plant the seeds of a surviving ginkgo tree in Mount Pleasant. The seeds are currently being stored on campus, but there are no formal plans yet on where and when they will be planted.
Teresa Homsi spoke with CMU philosophy professor Hope May about the project.
Teresa: I want to learn more about how you got this seed and how you learned of the fact that these trees exist...
Hope: So, I have been working on the issue of Hiroshima for a decade, and it really came on my radar when I met the former mayor of Hiroshima. He invited me to Japan, I went there in 2013, and I began to learn of what Hiroshima calls “peace culture” and bring those stories to Central Michigan University. We brought hibakusha, a poster exhibition... I cannot remember the specific pathway that led me to the seeds, but sort of doing that work, put that on my radar.
Teresa: This is a very symbolic project. I mean, we’re talking about destruction and nuclear weapons, and in the same breath, we’re talking about a tree, a seed, a sapling – some of the most common symbols of life. So, what’s the significance of remembering this really destructive event with something like a tree?
Hope: Mm... These trees survived an attempt to annihilate a city. And so, there’s this story of a survivor, a Hibakusha, a surviving person. Shortly after the bombing, she’s traumatized, but she sees a surviving tree. And to see things sprout again, that gives her hope. And they’re symbols of resilience, caring because these trees, to blossom and bring forth more seeds, there are people tending to them. And with that, their strength and resilience continues.
Teresa: If everything goes according to plan and you are able to put it in the ground, what would you want someone who stumbles on this tree, to know?
Hope: It’s not so much what I would want them to know. [It’s about] the importance of stopping and thinking about where you are and how the thing you’re looking at got there. I use this phrase “enter the forest” because so much history, so many things have happened. And so, how do we start to understand that? We have to enter the forest. I have always tried to draw attention to stories of uplift, of people. The seeds help us focus our attention on a whole nest of stories that come out of Hiroshima.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
