Hiroshima Peace Tree
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Peace Pole Project

Hiroshima Peace Tree, also, Peace Pole Project. . The Peace Tree project was inspired by the “One Sunny Day Initiative”, founded by atomic bomb survivor Hideko Tamura Snider. It aims to educate the public about the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and plant seeds of peace, hope and reconciliation among people of the world. , In the city of Hiroshima, there are over 160 trees that survived inside the two-kilometer radius of the hypocenter of the atomic bomb that was detonated by the United States on August 6, 1945. The resulting Peace Trees were grown from the seeds of the surviving trees like the one you see here. , The regrowth of these trees, after the death and destruction caused by the bomb, are symbols of hope for all people who survived and rebuilt the city. The trees became representations of peace and global nuclear disarmament. They are important landmarks for survivors to process their trauma. , Hiroshima peace trees first came to Oregon in order to mark the 75th anniversary of the close of World War II. People in 37 communities around Oregon committed to plant about 53 special peace trees from 2019 to 2023. , Cottage Grove Mayor, Jeff Gowing, Reilly Newman from the Urban Forestry Committee and other volunteers, including children and other local citizens, planted the Ginko Tree you see here on February 17, 2020., Peace Pole Project, In 2023 local neighbors came together to create a permanent Peace Pole that would encourage inclusion, unity and peace in Cottage Grove., The idea of erecting a Peace Pole was started in Japan by Masahisa Goi. The author had witnessed and was greatly affected by the destruction caused in Japan during world war two and especially by the atomic bombs which fell on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1955, the 10th anniversary of the end of the war, during deep prayer, the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” came to Goi in a moment of inspiration. This message was inscribed on poles in different languages throughout Japan that year, initiating the start of the Peace Pole Project. The movement grew and in 1986 the first Peace Poles came to the United States, that being the International Year of Peace. Since then, more than 200,000 peace poles have been placed in almost every country in the world and in such places as the Geographic North Pole, becoming the most recognized international symbol of world peace. , The project was also inspired by these words: , “We found that planting a Peace Pole is a way to bring people together to inspire, awaken and uplift the human consciousness the world over.” -worldpeace.org, The Cottage Grove City Council accepted the plans of the committee to create a pole that was inclusive and accessible to be placed in Coiner Park near the existing Peace Tree. Some of the big hurdles were overcome with major support:, -Weyerhaeuser generously gifted the building of the structure. , -Seed money was gifted by Susan Johnson. , -The City placed the pavers and concrete and mounted the structure. , -Hundreds of volunteers gave their time and talent to create sections of the pole., Even though the pole was created specifically to create unity in Cottage Grove, a wider vision was necessary. Inside the base of the structure are nearly 200 rocks, “Unity Rocks”, representing every country in the world. These were painted by community members during the annual Bohemia Mining Days, at the 1st annual World Peace Day celebration, and during private group meetings. All ages were involved. This was a true example of the community being connected and working together. , Many Cottage Grove citizens have collaborated with artwork and decisions related to what was included in this peace pole. We, the Committee, hope this Peace Pole will also encourage YOU to... Seek Peace Through Unity!, 銀杏 , “Ginko” in Japanese script, [Captions] , One example of an original art object crafted by a Cottage Grove volunteer. See if you can locate this and many others on the Peace Pole!, Examples of hand-painted rocks displaying different countries. The rocks were placed inside the bottom of the Peace Pole. They also represent some of the diverse languages used on the pole.