The Stump in Mrs. Nakamura's Yard

In 2011, the tsunami that devastated Fukushima, Japan, stripped the coastal town of Rikuzentakata down to mud and silence. Among the 70,000 pine trees that once lined Takatamatsubara beach, only one survived — a single, battered tree standing amid miles of destruction. The Japanese called it kiseki no ipponmatsu, the Miracle Pine. But here is what strikes me most. Before that lone pine became a symbol of hope, it looked like nothing.…