A Nagano high school student performs on an instrument made with wood from the Rikuzentakata pine.

A lone ‘miracle’ pine became a symbol of hope in Japan after it survived the March 11 tsunami back in 2011. Now wood from the tree has become part of a violin. The instrument received its debut performance in the hands of high school student Rika Nishizawa at a special event at Togakushi Shrine in Nagano earlier this month.

The 250-year-old pine was the only one left standing of the 70,000 trees that lined the coastline around the town of Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture. It is estimated that 1,700 people died in Rikuzentakata after the town was swallowed by waves up to 13 metres high. The tree was removed a year later, after its roots died from salt water damage, but it was preserved and subsequently restored to its original location, where it is intended to be the centrepiece of a disaster-prevention memorial park. The restored tree was unveiled by the town’s mayor Futoshi Toba, whose wife died in the tsunami. “For those of us who were left suffering after the disaster, the miracle pine gave us strength and hope to carry on...