AP photo/kyodo news

this week marks the second anniversary of the 2011 tsunami in rikuzentakata, northeastern japan that killed 19,000 people on march 11 - with the 'miracle pine', located in iwate prefecture, being rebuilt as a 27-meter monument in honor of the victims. the lone pine was the only one from approximately 70,000 plants along the coast to survive the catastrophe, however, its roots were found to be suffering irreversibly from exposure to seawater, triggering endeavors to save the tree, which has become a symbol of the city's reconstruction. the trunk and branches were dissected into 9 sections last september in order to prevent decay - the parts have now been hollowed out and and reassembled with a carbon spine in order to complete the restoration at its original site. the plant stands as a symbol of hope in japan, and is now completed as an immortalized statue, the entire process said to cost approximately 150 million yen.

the parts have now been hollowed out and and reassembled with a carbon spine in order to complete the restoration at its original site
AP photo/shizuo kambayashi

the lone pine was the only one from approximately 70,000 plants along the coast to survive the catastrophe
AP photo/ david guttenfelder