These four trees stood in the courtyard of the Hiroshima Communications Bureau (now, the Hiroshima building of Japan Post Group)　in Higashi Hakushima-cho, Naka Ward. Though the location was 1.3 kilometers from the hypocenter, there was nothing to shield the trees from being directly exposed to the heat rays and the bomb blast. The trees appeared to be dead, but when branches formed buds the following spring, this gave great encouragement to the people of Hiroshima. The trees were transplanted to their current location in May 1973.