News

The second generation aogiri (Chinese parasol tree) offered in 1999 to Shinonome Elementary School attached to Hiroshima University has grown this big.

This is a message we received from Shinonome Elementary School attached to Hiroshima University.

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The students of those days showed the photograph of the aogiri planted at Senda Elementary School and sang the song of aogiri (Aogiri no Uta) at the “all-school morning music assembly.” Some students had even studied about the stories of aogiri.

Sometime after they planted the seedling at this elementary school, the buds were hit and damaged by a soccer ball. The teachers and students discussed what to do and decided to install a fence around the tree. After this, the students came to pay more attention to the tree, and they were able to see the strong vitality of the tree as it grew. Now the tree has grown this big.

As a program of the PTC (Parents, Teachers and Children) activities, the fifth graders of Shinonome Elementary School visit Peace Memorial Park every year. They sing Aogiri no Uta in front of the aogiri in the park and tell the tree that one of its children is at their school.

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The second-generation aogiri sent to Komatsu City Yatano Elementary School in 2005 has grown this big by the school gate.

This second-generation aogiri was sent to this school in 2008.

This second-generation aogiri was sent to this school in 2008.

This is a message we received from Saidera Elementary School about the second-generation aogiri trees.

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Before the students went to Hiroshima from Osaka on a school trip, they studied about Hiroshima and came to know about the second-generation aogiri. Many students were interested in seeing the trees and looking forward to the trip.

After the school trip, we received a second-generation aogiri seedling and told the students about the tree. They were all listening attentively.
“Although it was hit by the atomic bomb, I felt the power of life when I saw the tree growing.”
Many students said so.

“In spring, the aogiri trees have big leaves. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow and fall. In winter, the trees become bare.”
The trees show different faces throughout the year. We are using the trees to teach lower-grade students in science and life environment study classes. The students are surprised to see big leaves and enjoy “finding autumn”.

When students come back from the school trip to Hiroshima, they make presentations on the peace studies, reporting at the school assembly on what they have learned in Hiroshima. At that time, they explain about the second-generation aogiri, showing actual trees.

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The second-generation aogiri seedling was sent to Hiroshima City Mukainada Shinmachi Elementary School in 1997.

This is a message we received from Mukainada Shinmachi Elementary School.

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When the students learned about the A-bombed trees for the first time, before we received a second-generation aogiri seedling, they said,
“The tree suffered so much.”
“How poor the trees were!”

When the students received a seedling, students said,
“This is the second-generation aogiri. We want to look after it.”

The second-generation aogiri tree is growing well. We have learned and will continue to learn a lot from the tree in the peace studies.

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The second-generation aogiri seedling sent to Kunitachi-Daisan Elementary School in Tokyo in 2000 has grown this big.

Second-generation aogiri seedlings were sent to Hiroshima City Nakajima Elementary School in 1993 and 2009.

This is the seedling planted on May 12, 2009.

The seedling planted in 1993 has grown this big.

This is a message we received from Nakajima Elementary School about the second-generation aogiri.

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When the students learned about the A-bombed trees for the first time, they said,
“I think the aogiri trees are so strong. I think this is because the trees also want to tell people how they suffered on that day, hoping that it will never be repeated.”

After the seedlings came to our school, the children wanted to know how the trees are growing and go there from time to time to see the trees.
Sometimes they tell us, “The trees look fine.”

At Nakajima Elementary School, the students think about what the A-bombed aogiri trees want to tell us and draw pictures of the leaves and make haiku and tanka short poems.

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The second-generation aogiri sent to Fukami Elementary School in Oita Prefecture in 2005 has grown this big.

This is a message we received from Fikami Elementary School.

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The homeroom teacher of the first graders heard that the second-generation aogiri seedlings are given to the schools that visit Hiroshima on their school trips and contacted the person in charge and asked for a seedling. The teacher said, “We named the tree ‘Inochi no Aogiri’ (Aogiri for Life). With the first-grade students, we wanted to grow this tree.”

The students had a different homeroom teacher, but the ten students took good care of this tree.

The tree has also looked after the children coming to school and going home. It has grown over five meters now.

The teacher who was the students’ homeroom teacher when they were first graders once again became their homeroom teacher when they became fourth graders. The PTA of the fourth graders conducted a “Half Coming-of-Age Cerebration” and buried a time capsule by the aogiri tree that had looked after the children. The students and their parents pledged that they will meet again under this tree 10 years from now.

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The homeroom teacher and the students who are fifth graders now took this photograph under the aogiri tree.

A second-generation aogiri seedling was sent to Notre Dame Elementary School in Kyoto Prefecture in 2002.

The fifth graders study about peace as a part of the “integrated study.” The following is the students’ newsletter about what they learned. They wrote about the tree and their visit to Hiroshima.

The second-generation aogiri has grown this big.

This is a message we received from Notre Dame Elementary School.

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From the school year of 2002, the fifth graders study about peace as a part of the “integrated study.”
In 2002, the fifth graders visited Hiroshima and listened to people there. At that time, they learned about aogiri and were interested in this tree. The following year, they decided to plant aogiri at school.

After they visited Hiroshima and studied about peace in 2002, they planted the seedling in the “Green and Water Plaza” (now called “Forest for Prayer”) and named the tree “Genki,” meaning “Vitality and Hope.”

They tried the kind of food eaten during the wartime, such as potato gruel, suiton (a simple soup with dumplings), dried whitebait with radish leaves, and roast barley flour called hattaiko, in order to imagine how people lived in those days.

We named the second-generation tree and took good care of the tree. However, as it almost died, we asked for another seedling to be sent the following year and planted it.
Today, both aogiri trees are fine and have grown this big. They are becoming taller than the second story of the school building.

A part of the contributions given to Green Greeting Project was donated to the City of Hiroshima yesterday, on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, to be used for preserving A-bombed trees. We hope that the trees will continue to be healthy and keep growing.

A tour of A-bombed trees was conducted this year again, on Saturday, November 14. The tree tour has been conducted annually, and this was the third time. Nearly 40 people participated. We hope that many people will come to know about these trees.
We would like to thank Mr. Horiguchi for his insightful explanation.
We would also like to thank the participants of this year.