These trees, which can live up to 3,000 years, carry in their DNA the memories of the horrors of war and speak powerfully of resilience and hope for the task of building a peaceful world. 

I was born in the United States in 1968. My father is Japanese and my mother is from Taiwan, which was  under Japanese occupation. They were children during WWII and their memories of the war were very much alive when I was growing up. My dad talked of hunger. My mother remembered being evacuated to the countryside. The US military bombed Nagoya and Tainan, cities where my parents grew up. My family knew many people who lost their lives, family members, or homes. My mom used to say, “There is nothing good about war.” 

When the US detonated a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, 140,000 people perished. That is twice the population of Petaluma, the city I live in now. 

I joined the Peace Crane Project because I do not believe that killing people resolves conflict. I am honored to be part of the effort to plant a tree, descended from ginkgo that survived the bombing of Hiroshima. These trees, which can live up to 3,000 years, carry in their DNA the memories of the horrors of war and speak powerfully of resilience and hope for the task of building a peaceful world.