Planting
Ceremony

2002

Revive Time・Kaki Tree ProjectINDEX
17 Feb

Updated in 2020

The Museum of Art, Kochi
Kochi-shi, Kochi,Japan

23 FebMaruyama Park, Takamori-cho
Shimoina-gun, Nagano,Japan

25 FebNorthwest High School
Maryland, U.S.A

27 FebW. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center
New York, U.S.A.

28 FebDraper Middle School
New York, U.S.A.

13 MarBotanic Gardens, Glasgow
Glasgow, UK

15 MarNature in Art
Gloucester, UKMar

Brick Township Memorial High School
New Jersey, U.S.A.

Kita Elementary School
Ogaki-shi, Gifu, Japan

Aohaka Elementary School
Ogaki-shi, Gifu, Japan

Nakagawa Elementary School
Ogaki-shi, Gifu, Japan

Kawanami Elementary School
Ogaki-shi, Gifu, Japan

Kita Junior High School
Ogaki-shi, Gifu, Japan

Seiwa Junior High School
Ogaki-shi, Gifu, Japan

Pacific Industrial Co.,Ltd.
Ogaki-shi, Gifu, Japan

Seino Transportation Co., Ltd.
Ogaki-shi, Gifu, Japan

Revive Time: Kaki Tree Project | 2002 Planting Ceremony

12345678

The Museum of Art, Kochi
Japan
Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture
17 Feb 2002

At the Museum of Art, Kochi,
the exhibition “Revive Time”
Kaki Tree Project in Kochi
was held from the 20th ofJuly through the 16th ofSeptember, 2001, which wasfollowed by several related
events such as the exhibition “From Dappan (Escape fromthe Domain) Road to Kaki Tree” and “Hand-made MusicalInstruments Workshop” until the tree planting ceremony.
The tree planting ceremony was held at
the entrance hall due to drizzling rain.
Approximately 30 people including children
and their parents attended. After the speech
given by Mr. Ebinuma, “Kaki Tree MusicalBand”, which consisted of workshop
participants, played music. The musicalinstruments such as flute, drums, Kakimbaand Hyoukin that were made at the “Handmade Musical Instruments Workshop” held in
December 2001 and January 2002 were usedin the performance. The sound of the handmade instruments such as Kalimba made of
persimmon tree echoed around the hall andthe persimmon tree was planted in green
space on the grounds of the museum.
The plate for the tree was made by the artist,
Mr. Seigo, who conducted the workshop.

Revive Time: Kaki Tree Project | 2002 Planting Ceremony1Maruyama Park, Takamori-cho
Japan
Shimoina District, Nagano Prefecture
23 Feb 2002

Takamori-cho is famous for its fruit.
“Persimmon Tree” is the town tree. It is thebirthplace of “Ichitagaki”, the well-known
breed for hoshigaki (dried persimmons) andevery house has persimmon trees and hangs
dried persimmons. Persimmons with which
the children of the town are familiar are now
connected to peace. The people of the town
have increased awareness of peace and they
dispatch peace buses to Hiroshima every year.

invited from Nagasaki and other related

Participants are elementary school children,

parties from the town and about 90 children

junior high school and high school studentsof Minami Elementary School, Kita Elementary

as well as the general public. In Maruyama

School and Takamori Junior High School

Park, where the departing ceremony ofattended the ceremony. At the ceremony,peace buses is held, a sapling from a seedchildren sang Takamori-cho’s peace songof the bombed flame tree (Firmiana simplex)“My Hometown” and 2 persimmon trees

in Hiroshima was planted by the peace

were planted by elementary school pupils andpromotion committee, in 1995. As the town

junior high school students.

has been taking an active approach to peace,
the mayor of Takamori-cho, Mr. Mitsugu“The departing ceremony of peace buses

Yoshikawa, wanted to plant persimmon trees

between the home of persimmon trees,

so that the trees would serve the purpose of

Takamori and Hiroshima – wishing peace”

peace education for children.

was held at Maruyama Park in Takamoricho on the 5th of August. After the kocarina

The tree planting ceremony was coordinatedperformance near the persimmon trees, theby the education board and the local

peace buses carrying the local people andcommunity center. Mr. Ebinuma was also

children departed for Hiroshima. 5 years afterthe planting, in 2007, the tree
borne 3 pieces of fruit and had
further grown to yield more
fruit, in fact of 200 pieces, inthe following year, 2008.

Revive Time: Kaki Tree Project | 2002 Planting Ceremony2Northwest High School
USA
Maryland
25 Feb 2002

Northwest High School is located inGermantown, which is 45 minutes by car from
Washington D.C. The persimmon tree wasplanted in the front yard of the media center ofthe school. The school is still quite new, this istheir 3rd year. Peace club, one of the school’s
extracurricular activities, is very uniquecompared to other club activities in the world.
This time the project was realized because
the club advisor was very keen on it but theplanning of the project was run voluntarily,lead by the peace club students and PTA.
At the ceremony, the students orchestra played Symphony No.1 (In Memoriam,Dresden, 1945) by an American composer, Daniel Bukvich. The symphony
is about the fierce bombing attacks on Dresden, Germany at the end of
the Second World War. It is considered to be a very difficult piece for highschool students, however, they chose this piece because they understoodthe background of the project. They also sang Kimigayo, Japan’s national
anthem, in chorus and there was the Color Guard parade as well.
As they planted the tree, Annie Albagli’s mother recited a message.
Participants all held hands with each other in the moonlight, surrounded thepersimmon tree and appealed that “We are one.” It was just like a beautiful
painting. A very pure and heavenly ceremony.

Revive Time: Kaki Tree Project | 2002 Planting Ceremony

3W. Haywood Burns
Environmental
Education CenterUSANew York27 Feb 2002

W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education

Prior to the tree planting ceremony, an Origami

Center is a NPO organization located inworkshop was held and 50 local children

Albany, the capital of the state of New

participated in. A huge banner was also madeYork. The center is actively conducting

by the children. The ceremony started off

various projects to educate and improvewith Erhu performance by Mr. Tang followed

the lives of impoverished people. It is also

by a talk on the Holocaust in Germany by Mr.

promoting partnership with companies andAnton Segole (a Holocaust survivor).

the government to enhance safety of children
by upgrading and improving the facilities

Since plants imported from other countries

and environment of the Tivoli Lake Nature

have to be planted in a pot for the period

Preserve after they had learned that Tivoliof 2 years before they can be planted in

Lake was polluted. They are going to makethe ground in the USA, only a presentation

the peace garden in the preserve after 2

ceremony of the tree was held. They toldyears and plant a persimmon tree there. By

us that they would continue to proactively

planting the persimmon tree, they hope toengage in activities with the persimmon

provide spiritual support to the impoverishedtree to convey peace to children in thispeople in the community.

community who are less-educated.

Tree planting was led by Mr. Peter Sheehamof W. Haywood Burns Environmental
Education Center. He was introduced to theKaki Tree Project by Ms. Maryam Mair, ateacher at Draper Middle School and applied
for tree planting. Ms. Mair is also a volunteer
member of W. Haywood Burns Environmental
Education Center. Those two institutions,
Draper Middle School and W. Haywood Burns
Environmental Education Center worked
together and prepared for tree planting.

Revive Time: Kaki Tree Project | 2002 Planting Ceremony

4Draper Middle SchoolUSANew York
28 Feb 2002

Draper Middle

project’s executive committee member. The

School ispersimmon tree was planted with its pot andlocated in

the members of the “Peers of Peace” club

Scenectoday,

covered it with soil.

a town 20
minutes’ drive

The ceremony was a great success with overnorth from theone thousand students participants and astate capital,passionate support from the three teachers.

Albany,Especially, an introduction of the persimmon

and is a bigtree made with computer-generated images

school withby Ms. Maryam and her child was remarkable.

an adjacent

The introduction was very easy for children

public highto understand by telling “the Sadako Story”

school. Ms.

and using the photos from the Hiroshima

Maryam Mair, a teacher of Draper Middle

Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki

School, proposed implementation of the Kaki

Atomic Bomb Museum. Some children wereTree Project to the school and her colleagues,

moved to tears and many of them went up

3 teachers applied for the project on behalf ofon stage to see the persimmon tree and offer

the school.

to shake hands after the ceremony. It seems
that after the 9.11 attacks, children too now

On the day before the ceremony, 30 students

understand the horror and pain of the atomic

of “Peers of Peace” club, whose advisor wasbomb victims. The message sent to the school

Ms. Maryam Mair, participated the Origami

by the project’s executive committee after theworkshop. They also made a banner.

9.11 attacks was on display at the entranceof the school and it seemed to indicate theThe ceremony held at the auditorium of thechange in atmosphere since the incident.

adjacent high school was spectacular. It
started with music performance followed by

We were all impressed by the 3 teachers

a talk on the atomic bomb, an introduction ofand their ability to take action to promote

the Kaki Tree Project (made with computer-the project to the school principal because it

generated images), jazz performance by thewas quite unusual to have such a ceremony

students, dance performance by the highspending the entire morning with theschool’s dance club and a speech by theparticipation of all the students.

Revive Time: Kaki Tree Project | 2002 Planting Ceremony

5Botanic Gardens
Scotland, UKGlasgow
13 Mar 2002

Glasgow Botanic Gardens is located inway. There were also performances of dance,

the city’s West End. This is a place where

Taiko and Tai Chi and the ceremony whichpeople can relax. Mr. Gerry Loose, who led

lasted an hour quickly came to an end. Thosethe project, is a poet and organizes various

performances were very rich in content andevents as the “Poet in Residence” in thethe Tai Chi performance by Mr. Larry Butler

gardens. He visited the the Kaki Tree Project

was especially impressive since it gave us asecretariat when he visited Japan in thefeeling of connection between human beings

spring of 2001.

and the earth. The recitation reflected ethnic
problems that are non-existent in Japan.

It was a beautiful sunny day without thecloud in the sky on the day of the tree

The planting site was a sunny and prominent

planting ceremony. The participants ranged

place, on top of a small rise of land where youfrom children to the elderly. They started tocan get a view of the entire gardens. Whengather around when the time came and those

we taught how to make Origami persimmon

with dogs and in a wheelchair also casually

after the tree planting ceremony, they told us

joined. A variety of performances thatthat they wanted to try at the workshop in

involved several schools in Glasgow was heldJune. The ceremony was attended by pupils

through the efforts of Mr. Loose.

and students of East Park School, Glasgow
College of Nautical, Hillhead High School

The song they sang along with guitar

and a number of organizations from the local

immediately after the speech together withcommunity such as Rising Dragon Tai-Chi,

handicapped people was particularly beautiful

Psycho Taiko, and the refugee support group

because everyone could join in a very naturalof Cleveden Secondary School.

Revive Time: Kaki Tree Project | 2002 Planting Ceremony

6Nature in Art
UK
Gloucestershire
15 Mar 2002

Nature in Art is an art center which

the performance titled “Kaki Impression”,

specializes in art with a theme of nature. Mr.

beautiful persimmon trees emerged withBruce Allan, an artist, has heard the story

different tones of green of the grass. It wasabout the seedlings from the bomb survived

followed by a fire performance of a circus andpersimmon tree from Ms. Chantal Rusell Le

recitation of messages by children, and thenRoux who joined the project in Bordeaux

the tree was planted. Lastly, they released

and realized the project after two years ofballoons into the sky wishing for peace.

effort together with the children of ChurchamPrimary School.

In 2003, the tree was planted in Georgia wherea friend of Mr. Allan lives. Through the seedlings

The executive committee visited Churcham

from the bombed persimmon tree, new cross-Primary School prior to the tree planting

border connections are being created.

ceremony and received a warm welcome.
Children were full of curiosity about the visitorsfrom a far country. Then they moved to theplanting site by bus. The bus was filled withcheery voices of them having fun on the way.
The ceremony started with “MusicalSculpture”, in which Mr. Ian Richardson, aviola player, and children performed withhand-made musical instruments. When paper
stencils were placed on the grass duringRevive Time: Kaki Tree Project | 2002 Planting Ceremony

7

Brick Township
Memorial High School
USANew Jersey
Mar 2002

Brick Township Memorial High School is a public highschool with students from 14 to 18 years of age and a bigschool with the number of students ranging from 1,800 to
2,000. Mr. David Seegert, a teacher who is the local officerepresentative, is young and an energetic person, who is acounselor for the high school students on mental and physicalaspects. He applied for the project after reading an article on
the Kaki Tree Project in an education magazine by Ms. DeeMayes, a teacher who participated in the project in Dallas.
The trees will be planted in the public park near the highschool (in March). It is a well managed and safe place. Thestudents often visit there and the trees also can be seen by
the locals any time.
Because of the size of the school, it took time to convey
information about the project and gain a consensus, andtherefore the tree planting ceremony fell behind schedule.
Miyajima handed Mr. David Seegert the persimmon trees inNew York.
Mr. Seegert informed us later that the students are taking
care of the trees. One of them died after a few months due tochange in environment but the other one is growing strongly
with new leaves and branches sprouted. A board was placedat the foot of the tree so that the neighbors can enjoy.

Revive Time: Kaki Tree Project | 2002 Planting Ceremony

8