The Takata Matsubara was planted by local merchant-magnate Kanno Mokunosuke in 1667, under the instruction of Date Tsunamune, the daimyō of Sendai Domain, and initially consisted of 6200 Japanese red pine trees, and was intended to form a living sea wall to protect the port village from high winds, high tides and tsunami.

The area was extolled for its scenic beauty and it became part of the Rikuchū Kaigan National Park in 1964, drawing many thousands of visitors annually.

[4] This lone survivor caught the public's imagination as a symbol of hope and was widely reported upon by newspapers worldwide.

The lone surviving pine died in December 2012 due to seawater contamination of the surrounding soil.

Disaster recovery work began in December 2013 with the building of a new sea wall and restoration of the beach, which had been buried in meters of silt.