The Yamaki Pine marks its 400th anniversary in 2025 — a milestone we celebrated during World Bonsai Day on May 15. As part of the festivities (read our full recap of the celebration), we formally honored this iconic tree and its enduring significance as a symbol of resilience and international friendship.
In this article, Museum Curator Michael James reflects on the tree’s extraordinary journey, shares how he and his team provide daily care for this revered bonsai, and describes how they steward the legacy of a living legend.
A Patient Practice in a Rushed World
Our modern existence has little tolerance for patient, methodical work. We’re pulled constantly toward urgency and overstimulation. But what about the quiet, mindful act of nurturing the same tree, day after day — not to meet a deadline, but to uphold an ancient tradition?
This is one aspect of the curator’s daily work at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. Each week, Curator Michael James and Assistant Curator Andy Bello water, prune, adjust, or simply check on the Yamaki Pine, a centuries-old bonsai that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
The Yamaki Pine arrived in Washington, DC in 1976 as part of a bicentennial gift from the people of Japan to the people of the United States. While wild white pines typically live between 150 and 200 years, this one has been sustained far beyond that, thanks to centuries of unwavering dedication. This year marks its 400th year in training.
NPR recently featured the story of the 400th anniversary of this remarkable tree, which we honored on World Bonsai Day. The daily care and recognition it receives helps to amplify its global resonance and quiet power.
Daily Care, Daily Ritual
The curators do this work willingly and purposefully, building on many generations before them. Each of the tree’s caretakers comes to understand a universal truth: Their efforts are essential, even though they themselves are temporary.
“We won’t see any immediate outcome, but it’s like taking care of your home, children, parents, or anything else you love,” Michael said. “You give it the attention it needs so it thrives, and you do that unselfishly.”
Bonsai like the Yamaki Pine benefit not only from long-term devotion, but also from protection: they’re spared the harsh weather and structural breakdown that afflict trees growing hundreds of feet tall. But the tree’s long life in a bonsai pot has created a complex and tightly knit root system—making repotting an all-day event, and sustaining the tree’s vigor.
“The network of roots will make your eyes cross—it’s hard to believe there’s any room for soil in the pot,” Michael said. “The pine’s simple dome is incredibly efficient at capturing sunlight and creates a very healthy tree.”
Though the work may appear meditative, it carries real responsibility. Caring for the Yamaki Pine isn’t so different from caring for any other bonsai or penjing at the Museum, but the weight of its history heightens every decision, like when exactly to water, fertilize, prune, or defoliate.
“Sometimes you worry as you leave work, thinking, ‘Did I water it? Will this snowfall be too heavy on the branches? Should it be covered?’” he said. “So we communicate constantly, and we always have an underlying sense of what could really impact the pine. It’s a living entity, and some things are outside of your control, but we do what’s within our control.”
Beyond his horticultural efforts, Michael witnesses the emotional impact the tree has on visitors. Rarely does someone pass by without pausing in awe, shedding tears, or standing in quiet reflection. Many visitors ask detailed questions about the tree and its history; even those who don’t seem to sense its significance.
A History Revealed
Friends and family of Mr. Yamaki at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.
Notably, the Yamaki family made the original donation with little fanfare. Its identity as a hibakujumoku — a Japanese term for trees that survived the atomic bomb — was revealed only gradually, in conversations with younger generations of the Yamaki family.
“Allowing that story to unfold naturally almost makes it more powerful,” Michael said. “It feels like the perfect reconciliation after the war. A humble, unassuming gift to signify the act of moving forward.”
Though it is most famous for surviving just two miles from the Hiroshima bomb site, the Yamaki Pine has lived through much more: royal dynasties, global conflict, travel across continents, climate extremes, and pandemics. That long arc brings Michael a certain peace.
“We were repotting this tree at the beginning of COVID, when nobody knew what the virus was or how to stay safe,” he said. “But it was just another day in the 400 years of the Yamaki Pine. That realization helps you not worry as much about the crisis that seems to be bringing the sky down. It’s just a speck of time when you compare it to something that old.”
That sense of endurance echoed in remarks shared during this year’s World Bonsai Day celebration.
Ambassador Shigeo Yamada of Japan reflected:
“Bonsai has long been a bridge between our cultures — a quiet, living testament to patience, artistry, and shared understanding.”
Dr. Richard Olsen, Director of the U.S. National Arboretum, remarked:
“Bonsai and the work of the Arboretum share deep roots. Together, we nurture plants that connect science, art, and emotion.”
Museum Curator Michael James added:
“Today, the Yamaki Pine stands not only as a masterpiece of living art, but as a symbol of peace, of endurance, of the connections that unite us across time and culture.”
Visit our World Bonsai Day page to see more from that day.
One Strike Permeates All Things
The 400th Anniversary of the Yamaki Pine was formally recognized during the opening ceremony on World Bonsai Day, May 15, 2025. To mark the occasion, a sacred Japanese temple bell — which was installed above the entrance to the Japanese Pavilion in 2023 — was ceremonially rung.
Cast in 1798 for a Zen monastery outside of Tokyo, the 226-year-old hanshō was gifted to the Museum by the National Bell Festival. Its resonant chime, heard across the grounds, echoed a message inscribed in classical Japanese on its bronze surface:
“One strike permeates all things. How could it be said the strike is slight, when it is heard without fail?”
A Timeless Symbol
In a world that prizes speed and novelty, the Yamaki Pine offers a different kind of wisdom: A living reminder that care sustained over centuries can become its own form of meaning. Each visitor who pauses to experience it — whether in reverence, curiosity, or quiet awe — joins a long line of people drawn to its presence. And each caretaker who tends to its branches continues a legacy shaped by time and trust.
Now entering its fifth century, the Yamaki Pine continues to embody resilience, peace, and cross-cultural connection. Michael hopes that the story continues to inspire, and that future generations of caretakers and visitors alike understand the enduring legacy behind it.
“Much of art is reinterpreted every hundred years, and its meaning changes,” he said. “But the simplicity of the Yamaki Pine is that some things will persist and not change. And that is an amazing story in itself.”
Special thanks to Danielle Grace for her contributions to the research, interviews, and writing of this article.
