基町高層アパートの一角にそびえるクスノキは、被爆樹木の中で一番背の高い木です。戦後の写真には、木造住宅が建ち並ぶなか、一本のクスノキが堂々と立っている姿が写っています。あまりにまっすぐな木なので、タンスの材料にしたいという申し出もあったそうですが、「原爆を生き抜いた木だから」と、残されることになりました。爆風や熱線にも倒れることなく、大きなカラダを持ちこたえてきた生命力で、天に向かってまだまだ伸びていくチカラを持った木です。
This towering camphor tree, located in the Moto-machi Highrise Apartment complex, is the tallest of all the hibaku trees. In post-war photos, you can see this magnificent tree standing proudly among rows of wooden housing structures. As the trunk was so straight and tall, many wanted to use it to make wooden chests; however, because it had survived the bombing, the camphor tree was able to escape becoming a piece of furniture. Bowing not to the blast winds nor burning in the intense heat, this tree stood firmly with its great trunk, and it is this vitality which has allowed it to continue to stretch and grow into the skies above.