The Ginkgo of Hosenbo
at least 81 yearsGinkgopin approximate
Teramachi means temple town, and it is a single street of them, laid out when the Asano lords moved Hiroshima's temples together in the seventeenth century so they would form a defensive line along the river. On 6 August 1945 that put a dozen temples in a row 1,100 metres from the hypocentre. The ginkgo at Hosenbo is the one that is still there, registered as N11a19-01 and never moved. Ginkgo is the species most associated with surviving the bomb, and the reason is not sentimental. It carries an enormous amount of water in a thick, spongy bark, it sprouts readily from the base and from dormant buds on old wood, and it is fire-resistant enough that Japanese temples have planted it against fire for centuries, which is why so many of the trees standing near the hypocentre in 1945 were ginkgoes in the first place. The temples along this street burned. Walk it now and it is quiet, narrow, entirely rebuilt, with old trees in the gaps between new buildings. No age is recorded for this one.
The button above opens directions in your maps app. Tram to Teramachi, about 3 minutes on foot
The pin marks the right spot roughly, not the tree itself. It stands here, but we have not confirmed the precise position on the ground yet. Know exactly where it is?
- Species
- Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
- Age estimate
- at least 81 years
- Location
- Hosenbo temple, Teramachi 3-3, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-0801 (Teramachi)
- Access
- Free, temple grounds open in daylight
- Getting there
- Tram to Teramachi, about 3 minutes on foot
Trees nearby
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