Along the coast of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture stands a lone pine tree that has survived following the disasterous Earthquake and Tsunami that hit Japan on 11 Mar 2011. For Today’s Japan Photo, we take a last look as it gets chopped down.
The city has finally chopped down the pine tree on Wednesday, bidding it a temporary farewell as it will be preserved and then re-erected next year. The trunk was cut into three sections to be sent to factories where they will be further sub-divided into nine parts, treated with chemicals and fortified with a carbon-fiber spine. Because of the difficulty in preserving the branches, plastic replicas will replace the originals.
The project is expensive (approx ¥150 million) which has irked some people who thought the money could have been put to better use. In June, the city started a Facebook page seeking donations for the project. As of Tuesday, it had raised about ¥26.87 million.
Image Source: WSJ Japan Real Time
