Sakura
Encyclopedia
A cherry blossom is the flower
of any of several trees of genus Prunus
, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata
, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese (桜 or 櫻; さくら). Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit. Edible cherries generally come from cultivars of the related species Prunus avium
and Prunus cerasus.
(710–794) when it was ume
blossoms that people admired in the beginning. But by the Heian Period
(794–1185), cherry blossoms came to attract more attention and hanami was synonymous with sakura. From then on, in tanka and haiku
, "flowers" meant "sakura."
The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, but soon spread to samurai
society and, by the Edo period
, to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune
planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this. Under the sakura trees, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts.
Every year the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public track the sakura zensen (cherry-blossom front) as it moves northward up the archipelago with the approach of warmer weather via nightly forecasts following the weather segment of news programs. The blossoming begins in Okinawa in January and typically reaches Kyoto
and Tokyo at the end of March or the beginning of April. It proceeds into areas at the higher altitudes and northward, arriving in Hokkaidō
a few weeks later. Japanese pay close attention to these forecasts and turn out in large numbers at parks, shrines, and temples with family and friends to hold flower-viewing parties. Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossom and for many are a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful view. The custom of hanami dates back many centuries in Japan: the eighth-century chronicle Nihon Shoki
(日本書紀) records hanami festivals being held as early as the third century CE.
Most Japanese schools and public buildings have cherry blossom trees outside of them. Since the fiscal and school year both begin in April, in many parts of Honshū
, the first day of work or school coincides with the cherry blossom season.
The Japan Cherry Blossom Association developed a list of Japan's Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots with at least one location in every prefecture.
In Japan cherry blossoms also symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming , besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese cultural tradition that is often associated with Buddhistic influence, and which is embodied in the concept of mono no aware
. The association of the cherry blossom with mono no aware dates back to 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga
. The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality; for this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic, and have been utilized often in Japanese art
, manga
, anime
, and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect. There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi
(bamboo flute), titled "Sakura
", and several pop songs
. The flower is also represented on all manner of consumer goods in Japan, including kimono
, stationery, and dishware.
The Sakurakai or Cherry Blossom Society was the name chosen by young officers within the Imperial Japanese Army
in September 1930 for their secret society established with the goal of reorganizing the state along totalitarian militaristic lines, via a military coup d'état
if necessary.
During World War II
, the cherry blossom was used to motivate the Japanese people, to stoke nationalism and militarism among the populace. Even prior to the war, they were used in propaganda to inspire "Japanese spirit," as in the "Song of Young Japan," exulting in "warriors" who were "ready like the myriad cherry blossoms to scatter." In 1932, Akiko Yosano's poetry urged Japanese soldiers to endure sufferings in China and compared the dead soldiers to cherry blossoms. Arguments that the plans for the Battle of Leyte Gulf
, involving all Japanese ships, would expose Japan to serious danger if they failed, were countered with the plea that the Navy be permitted to "bloom as flowers of death." The last message of the forces on Peleliu
was "Sakura, Sakura" — cherry blossoms. Japanese pilots would paint them on the sides of their planes before embarking on a suicide mission, or even take branches of the trees with them on their missions. A cherry blossom painted on the side of the bomber symbolized the intensity and ephemerality of life; in this way, the aesthetic association was altered such that falling cherry petals came to represent the sacrifice of youth in suicide missions to honor the emperor. The first kamikaze
unit had a subunit called Yamazakura or wild cherry blossom. The government even encouraged the people to believe that the souls of downed warriors were reincarnated in the blossoms.
In its colonial enterprises, imperial Japan often planted cherry trees as a means of "claiming occupied territory as Japanese space".
The most popular variety of cherry blossom in Japan is the Somei Yoshino
. Its flowers are nearly pure white, tinged with the palest pink, especially near the stem. They bloom and usually fall within a week, before the leaves come out. Therefore, the trees look nearly white from top to bottom. The variety takes its name from the village of Somei (now part of Toshima
in Tokyo). It was developed in the mid- to late-19th century at the end of the Edo period
and the beginning of the Meiji period
. The Somei Yoshino is so widely associated with cherry blossoms that jidaigeki
and other works of fiction often depict the variety in the Edo period
or earlier; such depictions are anachronisms.
Winter sakura (fuyuzakura/Prunus subhirtella
autumnalis) begins to bloom in the fall and continues blooming sporadically throughout the winter. It is said to be a cross between Tokyo Higan cherry (edohiganzakura/P. incisa) and Mamezakura/P. pendula.
Other categories include yamazakura, yaezakura, and shidarezakura. The yaezakura have large flowers, thick with rich pink petals. The shidarezakura, or weeping cherry, has branches that fall like those of a weeping willow, bearing cascades of pink flowers.
During World War II
, a prisoner of war
(POW) camp near the town of Cowra
in New South Wales
, Australia
was the site of one of the largest prison escape
s of the war, on 5 August 1944. During the Cowra breakout
and subsequent rounding up of POWs, four Australian soldiers and 231 Japanese soldiers died and 108 prisoners were wounded. The Japanese War Cemetery holding the dead from the Breakout was tended to after WWII by members of the Cowra RSL
and ceded to Japan
in 1963. In 1971 the Cowra Tourism Development decided to celebrate this link to Japan, and proposed a Japanese Garden
for the town. The Japanese government agreed to support this development as a sign of thanks for the respectful treatment of their war dead; the development also received funding from the Australian government and private entities.
The garden was designed by Ken Nakajima (1914–2000), a world-renowned designer of Japanese gardens at the time. The first stage was opened in 1979, with a second stage opened in 1986.
The gardens were designed in the style of the Edo period
and are a kaiyū-shiki or strolling garden. They are designed to show all of the landscape types of Japan. At five hectares (12 acres), the Cowra Japanese Garden is the largest Japanese garden in the Southern Hemisphere
. An annual Sakura Matsuri (cherry blossom
festival) is a major event in Cowra's tourism calendar and is held in the gardens during September.
s of cherry trees. In the Parana State
(in southern Brazil), many cities received many of these immigrants, who planted the trees, as in Apucarana
, Maringá
, Cascavel
and especially in the capital city of Curitiba
.
In the capital city of Parana
, the first seedlings were taken by Japanese immigrants in the first half of the 20th century, but began to be planted in large quantities from the 1990s
, with the opening of the Botanical Garden of Curitiba
. Now the seedlings are produced by the city and used in afforestation
of streets and square
s - as in the Japanese Square, where have more than 30 cherry trees around the square sent by the Japanese Empire to Curitiba.
. Vancouver holds the annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival every year.
High Park
in Toronto, Ontario features many Somei-Yoshino cherry trees (the earliest species to bloom and much loved by the Japanese for their fluffy white flowers) that were given to Toronto
by Japan in 1959. Through the Sakura Project, the Japanese Embassy donated a further 34 cherry trees to High Park
in 2001, plus cherry trees to various other locations like Exhibition Place
, McMaster University
, York University
and the University of Toronto
's main and Scarborough campuses.
orchard
region. The largest Hanami in Germany, in Hamburg
, with Japanese-style fireworks, organized by the German-Japanese society, draws tens of thousands spectators every spring.
's Gyeongbok Palace were cut down to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Japanese surrender in World War II
. Although Cherry blossoms are already indigenous to Korea, Japan had planted trees on sacred and offensive locations in the Palace. Once the offending trees were cut down the festival continued with the indigenous trees. The cherry blossom festival at Gyeongbok Palace is one of a number of such festivals across Korea and is prominently advertised to tourists.
In 1933, the Japanese botanist Koizumi Genichi reported that the Japanese Sakura (Somei Yoshino)
originated on Jeju-do island (Quelpaert)
. In 1916, Ernest Henry Wilson
had thought that "Japanese Sakura (Somei Yoshino)" was a crossbreed of the wild species of Japanese Sakura ("Edo higan" and "Oshima zakura"). In 1991, Professor of Tsukuba University Iwasaki Fumio reported that "Japanese Sakura (Somei Yoshino) originated around 1720-1735 by the artificial crossing in Edo (Tokyo)
." Recent studies conducted on the comparison of Korean and Japanese cherry blossoms concluded that the two trees can be categorized as distinct species, but the Korean species apparently has not yet been given a scientific name.
, Turkey
. Each tree represents one sailor of Ertugrul Frigate which was the a famous frigate of the Ottoman/Turkish navy. She had encountered a typhoon on the way back from a goodwill visit to Japan in 1890. That heavy weather condition caused her to sink. That disaster resulted with unfortunate loss of 587 Ottoman/Turkish sailors. That unfortunate occurrence is being remembered in every anniversary. The Japanese Cherry Trees represent memory of those passed away and provide remembrance.
in Gloucestershire
holds the national collection of Japanese village cherries, sato-sakura group. Keele University
in Staffordshire
has one of the UK's largest collections of flowering cherries, with more than 150 varieties.
Japan gave 3,020 cherry blossom trees as a gift to the United States in 1912 to celebrate the nations' then-growing friendship, replacing an earlier gift of 2000 trees which had to be destroyed due to disease in 1910. These trees were planted in Sakura Park
in Manhattan and line the shore of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. (see West Potomac Park
). The gift was renewed with another 3,800 trees in 1965. The cherry blossom trees continue to be a popular tourist attraction (and the subject of the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival
) when they reach full bloom in early spring. Also, Balboa Park of San Diego has 2,000 cherry blossom trees that blossom in mid to late March. In Los Angeles
, over 2,000 trees are located at Lake Balboa in Van Nuys
. These trees were donated by an anonymous Japanese benefactor and were planted in 1992. They originated from a single parent tree and were developed to grow in warm climates. Philadelphia is also home to over 2000 flowering Japanese cherry trees, half of which were a gift from the Japanese government in 1926 in honor of the 150th anniversary of American independence, with the other half planted by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia between 1998 and 2007. Philadelphia's cherry blossoms are located within Fairmount Park
, and the annual Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia
celebrates the blooming trees. The University of Washington
in Seattle also has cherry blossoms in its Quad.
Other US cities have an annual Cherry Blossom Festival (or Sakura Matsuri), including the International Cherry Blossom Festival
in Macon, Georgia
, which features over 300,000 cherry trees. Belleville
, Bloomfield
, and Newark, New Jersey
celebrate the annual Branch Brook Park
Cherry Blossom Festival in April, which attracts thousands of visitors from the local area, Japan, and India. As of April 2009, Branch Brook Park has a cherry tree collection with over 4,000 cherry blossoms in more than fourteen different varieties. Branch Brook Park will soon have more flowering cherry trees than Washington, D.C., thanks to an ongoing replanting program. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden
in New York City
also has a large, well-attended festival. Portsmouth, New Hampshire
, is the site of the peace conference that produced the Treaty of Portsmouth
, for which the original Washington, DC cherry trees were given in thanks. Several cherry trees planted on the bank of the tidal pond next to Portsmouth City Hall were the gift of Portsmouth's Japanese sister city of Nichinan
—the hometown of Marquis Komura Jutarō
, Japan's representative at the conference.
Since the leaves contain Coumarin
, however, it is not recommended that one eats them in great quantities, due to its toxicity.
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
of any of several trees of genus Prunus
Prunus
Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes the plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and almonds. There are around 430 species spread throughout the northern temperate regions of the globe. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for fruit and ornament.-Botany:Members of the genus...
, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata
Prunus serrulata
Prunus serrulata or Japanese Cherry; also called Hill Cherry, Oriental Cherry or East Asian Cherry, is a species of cherry native to Japan, Korea and China. It is known for its spring cherry blossom displays and festivals....
, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese (桜 or 櫻; さくら). Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit. Edible cherries generally come from cultivars of the related species Prunus avium
Prunus avium
Prunus avium, commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, bird cherry, or gean, is a species of cherry, native to Europe, west Turkey, northwest Africa, and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Morocco and Tunisia, north to the Trondheimsfjord region in Norway and east to the Caucasus, and...
and Prunus cerasus.
Flower viewing
"Hanami" is the centuries-old practice of picnicking under a blooming sakura or ume tree. The custom is said to have started during the Nara PeriodNara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...
(710–794) when it was ume
Ume
Prunus mume, with the common names including Chinese plum and Japanese apricot, is an Asian tree species classified in the Armeniaca section of the genus Prunus. The flower, long a beloved subject in the traditional painting of East Asia, is usually translated as plum blossom. This distinct tree...
blossoms that people admired in the beginning. But by the Heian Period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
(794–1185), cherry blossoms came to attract more attention and hanami was synonymous with sakura. From then on, in tanka and haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
, "flowers" meant "sakura."
The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, but soon spread to samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
society and, by the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune
Tokugawa Yoshimune
was the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.-Lineage:...
planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this. Under the sakura trees, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts.
Every year the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public track the sakura zensen (cherry-blossom front) as it moves northward up the archipelago with the approach of warmer weather via nightly forecasts following the weather segment of news programs. The blossoming begins in Okinawa in January and typically reaches Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
and Tokyo at the end of March or the beginning of April. It proceeds into areas at the higher altitudes and northward, arriving in Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
a few weeks later. Japanese pay close attention to these forecasts and turn out in large numbers at parks, shrines, and temples with family and friends to hold flower-viewing parties. Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossom and for many are a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful view. The custom of hanami dates back many centuries in Japan: the eighth-century chronicle Nihon Shoki
Nihon Shoki
The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical...
(日本書紀) records hanami festivals being held as early as the third century CE.
Most Japanese schools and public buildings have cherry blossom trees outside of them. Since the fiscal and school year both begin in April, in many parts of Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
, the first day of work or school coincides with the cherry blossom season.
The Japan Cherry Blossom Association developed a list of Japan's Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots with at least one location in every prefecture.
Symbolism
Mono no aware
, literally "the pathos of things", also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese term used to describe the awareness of , or the transience of things, and a gentle sadness at their passing.-Origins:...
. The association of the cherry blossom with mono no aware dates back to 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga
Motoori Norinaga
was a Japanese scholar of Kokugaku active during the Edo period. He is probably the best known and most prominent of all scholars in this tradition.-Life:...
. The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality; for this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic, and have been utilized often in Japanese art
Japanese art
Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper and more recently manga, cartoon, along with a myriad of other types of works of art...
, manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect. There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi
Shakuhachi
The is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...
(bamboo flute), titled "Sakura
Sakura (folk song)
, also known as "Sakura", is a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of cherry blossom. Contrary to popular belief, the song did not originate from ancient times, not from the Heian period or prior...
", and several pop songs
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
. The flower is also represented on all manner of consumer goods in Japan, including kimono
Kimono
The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...
, stationery, and dishware.
The Sakurakai or Cherry Blossom Society was the name chosen by young officers within the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
in September 1930 for their secret society established with the goal of reorganizing the state along totalitarian militaristic lines, via a military coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
if necessary.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the cherry blossom was used to motivate the Japanese people, to stoke nationalism and militarism among the populace. Even prior to the war, they were used in propaganda to inspire "Japanese spirit," as in the "Song of Young Japan," exulting in "warriors" who were "ready like the myriad cherry blossoms to scatter." In 1932, Akiko Yosano's poetry urged Japanese soldiers to endure sufferings in China and compared the dead soldiers to cherry blossoms. Arguments that the plans for the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...
, involving all Japanese ships, would expose Japan to serious danger if they failed, were countered with the plea that the Navy be permitted to "bloom as flowers of death." The last message of the forces on Peleliu
Peleliu
Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....
was "Sakura, Sakura" — cherry blossoms. Japanese pilots would paint them on the sides of their planes before embarking on a suicide mission, or even take branches of the trees with them on their missions. A cherry blossom painted on the side of the bomber symbolized the intensity and ephemerality of life; in this way, the aesthetic association was altered such that falling cherry petals came to represent the sacrifice of youth in suicide missions to honor the emperor. The first kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
unit had a subunit called Yamazakura or wild cherry blossom. The government even encouraged the people to believe that the souls of downed warriors were reincarnated in the blossoms.
In its colonial enterprises, imperial Japan often planted cherry trees as a means of "claiming occupied territory as Japanese space".
Varieties and blooming
- Prunus serrulataPrunus serrulataPrunus serrulata or Japanese Cherry; also called Hill Cherry, Oriental Cherry or East Asian Cherry, is a species of cherry native to Japan, Korea and China. It is known for its spring cherry blossom displays and festivals....
- Prunus speciosaPrunus speciosaPrunus speciosa, the Oshima Cherry, Japanese オオシマザクラ , is native to Izu Ōshima island and the Izu Peninsula on Honshū near Tokyo, Japan.-Description:Prunus speciosa is a deciduous tree typically high...
- Prunus × yedoensisPrunus × yedoensisPrunus × yedoensis is a hybrid cherry of unknown origin, probably between Prunus speciosa as father plant and Prunus pendula f. ascendens as mother...
- Prunus sargentiiPrunus sargentiiPrunus sargentii, commonly known as Sargent's cherry, North Japanese hill cherry, or in Japan, is a species of cherry native to Japan, Korea, and Sakhalin .The tree was named for Charles Sprague Sargent.-Description:...
The most popular variety of cherry blossom in Japan is the Somei Yoshino
Prunus × yedoensis
Prunus × yedoensis is a hybrid cherry of unknown origin, probably between Prunus speciosa as father plant and Prunus pendula f. ascendens as mother...
. Its flowers are nearly pure white, tinged with the palest pink, especially near the stem. They bloom and usually fall within a week, before the leaves come out. Therefore, the trees look nearly white from top to bottom. The variety takes its name from the village of Somei (now part of Toshima
Toshima, Tokyo (ward)
is one of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo, Japan. Toshima is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area, including Chiyoda, Minato, Shibuya, Chuo, Shinjuku, Taito, and Bunkyo surrounding the Imperial Palace...
in Tokyo). It was developed in the mid- to late-19th century at the end of the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
and the beginning of the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
. The Somei Yoshino is so widely associated with cherry blossoms that jidaigeki
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
and other works of fiction often depict the variety in the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
or earlier; such depictions are anachronisms.
Winter sakura (fuyuzakura/Prunus subhirtella
Prunus subhirtella
Prunus subhirtella, sometimes also called Spring Cherry, Higan cherry, or Rosebud cherry is a small tree originating in Japan, but unknown in the wild. It is probably of hybrid origin between Prunus incisa and Prunus spachiana....
autumnalis) begins to bloom in the fall and continues blooming sporadically throughout the winter. It is said to be a cross between Tokyo Higan cherry (edohiganzakura/P. incisa) and Mamezakura/P. pendula.
Other categories include yamazakura, yaezakura, and shidarezakura. The yaezakura have large flowers, thick with rich pink petals. The shidarezakura, or weeping cherry, has branches that fall like those of a weeping willow, bearing cascades of pink flowers.
Australia
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(POW) camp near the town of Cowra
Cowra, New South Wales
Cowra is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia in the Cowra Shire. It is located on the Mid-Western Highway, 317 kilometres west of Sydney on the banks of the Lachlan River at an altitude of 310 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census Cowra had a population of 8,430...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
was the site of one of the largest prison escape
Prison escape
A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...
s of the war, on 5 August 1944. During the Cowra breakout
Cowra breakout
During World War II, a prisoner of war camp near the town of Cowra in New South Wales, Australia was the site of one of the largest prison escapes of the war, on 5 August 1944. At least 545 Japanese POWs were involved in the breakout.-The camp:...
and subsequent rounding up of POWs, four Australian soldiers and 231 Japanese soldiers died and 108 prisoners were wounded. The Japanese War Cemetery holding the dead from the Breakout was tended to after WWII by members of the Cowra RSL
Returned and Services League of Australia
The Returned and Services League of Australia is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force ....
and ceded to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1963. In 1971 the Cowra Tourism Development decided to celebrate this link to Japan, and proposed a Japanese Garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
for the town. The Japanese government agreed to support this development as a sign of thanks for the respectful treatment of their war dead; the development also received funding from the Australian government and private entities.
The garden was designed by Ken Nakajima (1914–2000), a world-renowned designer of Japanese gardens at the time. The first stage was opened in 1979, with a second stage opened in 1986.
The gardens were designed in the style of the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
and are a kaiyū-shiki or strolling garden. They are designed to show all of the landscape types of Japan. At five hectares (12 acres), the Cowra Japanese Garden is the largest Japanese garden in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
. An annual Sakura Matsuri (cherry blossom
Sakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...
festival) is a major event in Cowra's tourism calendar and is held in the gardens during September.
Brazil
With the Japanese diaspora to Brazil, many immigrants brought seedlingSeedling
thumb|Monocot and dicot seedlingsA seedling is a young plant sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle , the hypocotyl , and the cotyledons...
s of cherry trees. In the Parana State
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
(in southern Brazil), many cities received many of these immigrants, who planted the trees, as in Apucarana
Apucarana
Apucarana is a municipality in the state of Paraná in Brazil, located at coordinates . The municipality covers at an elevation of above mean sea level. Its 2008 population was estimated as 120,133.- Transportation :The city is served by Cap...
, Maringá
Maringá
Maringá is a city in southern Brazil that was founded on May 10, 1947. Maringá is the third largest city in the state of Paraná. The city has a population of 357,117 , 612,617 in its metropolitan area...
, Cascavel
Cascavel
Cascavel is a city and municipality in western Paraná state, Brazil. The population is 296.975 inhabitants.The city is on a plateau 781 meters above sea level...
and especially in the capital city of Curitiba
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
.
In the capital city of Parana
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
, the first seedlings were taken by Japanese immigrants in the first half of the 20th century, but began to be planted in large quantities from the 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, with the opening of the Botanical Garden of Curitiba
Botanical Garden of Curitiba
The Jardim Botânico de Curitiba, in Portuguese, or the Botanical Garden of Curitiba, in English, is also known as the "Jardim Botânico Fanchette Rischbieter". This is a park located in the city of Curitiba, the capital of the state of Paraná, and the biggest city in southern Brazil...
. Now the seedlings are produced by the city and used in afforestation
Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally or artificially...
of streets and square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
s - as in the Japanese Square, where have more than 30 cherry trees around the square sent by the Japanese Empire to Curitiba.
Canada
Vancouver, BC is famous for its thousands of cherry blossom trees lining many streets and in many parks, including Queen Elizabeth Park and Stanley ParkStanley Park
Stanley Park is a 404.9 hectare urban park bordering downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was opened in 1888 by David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada....
. Vancouver holds the annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival every year.
High Park
High Park
High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans , and is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One third of the park remains in a natural state, with a rare oak savannah ecology...
in Toronto, Ontario features many Somei-Yoshino cherry trees (the earliest species to bloom and much loved by the Japanese for their fluffy white flowers) that were given to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
by Japan in 1959. Through the Sakura Project, the Japanese Embassy donated a further 34 cherry trees to High Park
High Park
High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans , and is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One third of the park remains in a natural state, with a rare oak savannah ecology...
in 2001, plus cherry trees to various other locations like Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The 197–acre area includes expo, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial,...
, McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
, York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
and the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
's main and Scarborough campuses.
China
The cherry trees naturally grow in China. However, the two most famous cherry blossom parks in China reflect Japan's brief occupation of parts of China during the first half of the 20th century or the donation from Japan thereafter:- Longwangtang Cherry Blossom ParkLongwangtang Cherry Blossom ParkLongwangtang Cherry Blossom Park is a park in Longwangtang Subdistrict, Lushunkou District, Dalian, Liaoning, China.The cherry trees, planted downstream from the dam built by the Japanese in 1921, come into full bloom in late April, is one of the two most famous cherry blossom parks in China, the...
in Lushun, DalianDalianDalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...
, LiaoningLiaoning' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"... - Wuhan UniversityWuhan UniversityWuhan University is a university located in Wuchang, Hubei, China. It is directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. It is regarded as one of the top ten universities in China, and its history dates back to 1893, making it one of China's...
in Donghu DistrictDonghu DistrictDonghu District , literally meaning "east lake district", is a district of Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, China. The district was created in the Tang Dynasty when a bridge was built across Nanchang's Taihu lake, dividing the area into the East and West Lake districts...
, WuhanWuhanWuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
, HubeiHubei' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
Germany
The cherry blossom is a major tourist attraction in Germany's Altes LandAltes Land
Altes Land is an area of reclaimed marshland straddling parts of Lower Saxony and Hamburg. The region is situated downstream from Hamburg on the southwestern riverside of the Elbe around the towns of Stade, Buxtehude, Jork and the Samtgemeinde of Lühe...
orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
region. The largest Hanami in Germany, in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, with Japanese-style fireworks, organized by the German-Japanese society, draws tens of thousands spectators every spring.
South Korea
Watching of cherry blossom was introduced to Korea during Japanese rule. The festivals continued even after the Japanese surrendered in WWII, but have been contentious, and many cherry trees have been destroyed because they were seen as symbols of the occupation. However, there has been considerable confusion about the origin of the cultivated Japanese cherry trees and the differences between them and native Korean trees. Certain trees at SeoulSeoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
's Gyeongbok Palace were cut down to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Japanese surrender in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Although Cherry blossoms are already indigenous to Korea, Japan had planted trees on sacred and offensive locations in the Palace. Once the offending trees were cut down the festival continued with the indigenous trees. The cherry blossom festival at Gyeongbok Palace is one of a number of such festivals across Korea and is prominently advertised to tourists.
In 1933, the Japanese botanist Koizumi Genichi reported that the Japanese Sakura (Somei Yoshino)
Prunus × yedoensis
Prunus × yedoensis is a hybrid cherry of unknown origin, probably between Prunus speciosa as father plant and Prunus pendula f. ascendens as mother...
originated on Jeju-do island (Quelpaert)
Jeju-do
Jeju-do is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946...
. In 1916, Ernest Henry Wilson
Ernest Henry Wilson
Ernest Henry "Chinese" Wilson , better known as E. H. Wilson, was a notable English plant collector who introduced a large range of about 2000 of Asian plant species to the West; some sixty bear his name.-Career:...
had thought that "Japanese Sakura (Somei Yoshino)" was a crossbreed of the wild species of Japanese Sakura ("Edo higan" and "Oshima zakura"). In 1991, Professor of Tsukuba University Iwasaki Fumio reported that "Japanese Sakura (Somei Yoshino) originated around 1720-1735 by the artificial crossing in Edo (Tokyo)
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
." Recent studies conducted on the comparison of Korean and Japanese cherry blossoms concluded that the two trees can be categorized as distinct species, but the Korean species apparently has not yet been given a scientific name.
Turkey
In 2005, Japanese cherry trees were presented by Japan to the Nezahat Gokyigit Botanical Garden in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Each tree represents one sailor of Ertugrul Frigate which was the a famous frigate of the Ottoman/Turkish navy. She had encountered a typhoon on the way back from a goodwill visit to Japan in 1890. That heavy weather condition caused her to sink. That disaster resulted with unfortunate loss of 587 Ottoman/Turkish sailors. That unfortunate occurrence is being remembered in every anniversary. The Japanese Cherry Trees represent memory of those passed away and provide remembrance.
United Kingdom
Batsford ArboretumBatsford Arboretum
Batsford Arboretum is a arboretum and botanical garden near Batsford in Gloucestershire, England, about 1½ miles north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
holds the national collection of Japanese village cherries, sato-sakura group. Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
has one of the UK's largest collections of flowering cherries, with more than 150 varieties.
United States
Sakura Park
Sakura Park is a public park, located at the northern-tip of Morningside Heights, New York City. Sandwiched between Riverside Church on the south, the Manhattan School of Music on the east, Grants Tomb on the west, and International House on its northern side, it is a small, but historic, piece of...
in Manhattan and line the shore of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. (see West Potomac Park
West Potomac Park
West Potomac Park is a U.S. national park in Washington, D.C., adjacent to the National Mall. It includes the parkland that extends south of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, from the Lincoln Memorial to the grounds of the Washington Monument...
). The gift was renewed with another 3,800 trees in 1965. The cherry blossom trees continue to be a popular tourist attraction (and the subject of the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival
National Cherry Blossom Festival
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington...
) when they reach full bloom in early spring. Also, Balboa Park of San Diego has 2,000 cherry blossom trees that blossom in mid to late March. In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, over 2,000 trees are located at Lake Balboa in Van Nuys
Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California
Van Nuys is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.-History:Look at the two photos of Van Nuys' first year—and then listen to what the Los Angeles Times wrote on February 23, 1911, the day after the Van Nuys town lot auction--"Between dawn and dusk, in the...
. These trees were donated by an anonymous Japanese benefactor and were planted in 1992. They originated from a single parent tree and were developed to grow in warm climates. Philadelphia is also home to over 2000 flowering Japanese cherry trees, half of which were a gift from the Japanese government in 1926 in honor of the 150th anniversary of American independence, with the other half planted by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia between 1998 and 2007. Philadelphia's cherry blossoms are located within Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
, and the annual Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia
Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia
The annual Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia is a spring celebration commemorating Japan’s 1926 gift of 1,600 flowering trees to the City of Philadelphia as a gesture of goodwill...
celebrates the blooming trees. The University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle also has cherry blossoms in its Quad.
Other US cities have an annual Cherry Blossom Festival (or Sakura Matsuri), including the International Cherry Blossom Festival
International Cherry Blossom Festival
thumb|250px|Cherry Blossom FestivalThe International Cherry Blossom Festival is held in Macon, Georgia every spring. As Macon is known as the "Cherry Blossom Capital of the World," 300,000 Yoshino Cherry Trees bloom around downtown, college campuses, and the neighborhoods of Macon in late March...
in Macon, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
, which features over 300,000 cherry trees. Belleville
Belleville, New Jersey
Belleville is a Township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 35,926.-History:...
, Bloomfield
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 47,315. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.-History:...
, and Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
celebrate the annual Branch Brook Park
Branch Brook Park
Branch Brook Park is a county park of Essex County, New Jersey in the United States, located in the North Ward of Newark, between the neighborhoods of Forest Hill and Roseville. At 360 acres , Branch Brook Park is the largest public park in the city of Newark...
Cherry Blossom Festival in April, which attracts thousands of visitors from the local area, Japan, and India. As of April 2009, Branch Brook Park has a cherry tree collection with over 4,000 cherry blossoms in more than fourteen different varieties. Branch Brook Park will soon have more flowering cherry trees than Washington, D.C., thanks to an ongoing replanting program. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Park Slope neighborhoods, the garden includes a number of specialty "gardens within the Garden," plant collections, and the Steinhardt Conservatory,...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
also has a large, well-attended festival. Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, is the site of the peace conference that produced the Treaty of Portsmouth
Treaty of Portsmouth
The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. It was signed on September 5, 1905 after negotiations at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine in the USA.-Negotiations:...
, for which the original Washington, DC cherry trees were given in thanks. Several cherry trees planted on the bank of the tidal pond next to Portsmouth City Hall were the gift of Portsmouth's Japanese sister city of Nichinan
Nichinan, Miyazaki
is a city in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on January 1, 1950. As of November 1, 2009, the city has an estimated population of 57,866 and a population density of 108 persons per km². The city's total area is 536.12 km²....
—the hometown of Marquis Komura Jutarō
Komura Jutaro
was a statesman and diplomat in Meiji period Japan.-Biography:Komura was born to a lower-ranking samurai family in service of the Obi clan at Nichinan, Hyuga province . He attended the Daigaku Nankō...
, Japan's representative at the conference.
Culinary use
Cherry blossoms and leaves are edible and both are used as food ingredients in Japan:- The blossoms are pickled in saltSaltIn chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and Umezu (Ume vinegar)UmeboshiUmeboshi are pickled ume fruits common in Japan. Ume is a species of fruit-bearing tree in the genus Prunus, which is often called a plum but is actually more closely related to the apricot. Umeboshi are a popular kind of tsukemono and are extremely sour and salty...
, and is used for coaxing out flavor in WagashiWagashiis a traditional Japanese confectionery which is often served with tea, especially the types made of mochi, azuki bean paste, and fruits.Wagashi is typically made from natural ingredients...
, (a traditional JapaneseJapanese peopleThe are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
confectioneryConfectioneryConfectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
,) or AnpanAnpanis a Japanese sweet bun most commonly filled with red bean paste. Anpan can also be prepared with other fillings, including white beans , sesame and chestnut .- History :...
, (a Japanese sweet bunBunA bun is a small, usually sweet, bread. Commonly they are hand-sized or smaller, domed in shape, with a flat bottom. A bun can also be a savory bread roll similar to a bap or barmcake....
, most-commonly filled with red bean pasteRed bean pasteRed bean paste or Azuki bean paste is a sweet, dark red bean paste originating from China. It is used in Chinese cuisine, Japanese confectionery, and Korean cuisine. It is prepared by boiling and mashing azuki beans and then sweetening the paste with sugar or honey...
.) - Salt-pickled blossoms in hot water is called SakurayuSakurayuSakurayu or cherry blossom tea is a Japanese beverage created by mixing pickled cherry blossoms with boiled water. This combination becomes a type of herbal tea, and has been enjoyed in East Asian culture for many generations.-Preparation:...
, and is drunk at festive events like weddings in place of Green teaGreen teaGreen tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...
. - The leavesLeafA leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
, mostly from the Ōshima cherryPrunus speciosaPrunus speciosa, the Oshima Cherry, Japanese オオシマザクラ , is native to Izu Ōshima island and the Izu Peninsula on Honshū near Tokyo, Japan.-Description:Prunus speciosa is a deciduous tree typically high...
because of the softness, are also pickled in salted water and used for SakuramochiSakuramochiis a variety of wagashi, or Japanese confectionery consisting of a sweet pink mochi and red bean paste, covered with a leaf of sakura . The style of sakuramochi differs from the regions in Japan...
.
Since the leaves contain Coumarin
Coumarin
Coumarin is a fragrant chemical compound in the benzopyrone chemical class, found in many plants, notably in high concentration in the tonka bean , vanilla grass , sweet woodruff , mullein , sweet grass , cassia cinnamon and sweet clover...
, however, it is not recommended that one eats them in great quantities, due to its toxicity.
See also
- CherryCherryThe cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
- KabazaikuKabazaikuor birch craftsmanship is the traditional Japanese art of fashioning tea boxes, smoking accessories, and other woodworks out of the bark of a cherry tree. The nomenclature is somewhat misleading, as actual birch bark is almost never used in practice...
: sakura wood craftsmanship - KigoKigois a word or phrase associated with a particular season, used in Japanese poetry. Kigo are used in the collaborative linked-verse forms renga and renku, as well as in haiku, to indicate the season referred to in the stanza...
: discussion of the role of sakura in Japanese poetryJapanese poetryJapanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For... - Mono no awareMono no aware, literally "the pathos of things", also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese term used to describe the awareness of , or the transience of things, and a gentle sadness at their passing.-Origins:...
- OhkaOhkaThe Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka was a purpose-built, rocket powered human-guided anti-shipping kamikaze attack plane employed by Japan towards the end of World War II...
: Special Attack Aircraft of World War II - PrunusPrunusPrunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes the plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and almonds. There are around 430 species spread throughout the northern temperate regions of the globe. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for fruit and ornament.-Botany:Members of the genus...
- Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater PhiladelphiaSubaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater PhiladelphiaThe annual Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia is a spring celebration commemorating Japan’s 1926 gift of 1,600 flowering trees to the City of Philadelphia as a gesture of goodwill...
- The Cherry OrchardThe Cherry OrchardThe Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
External links
- Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, Information about the 37,000 cherry trees in Greater Vancouver (Canada), What's in bloom now, Cherry Scout reports and maps, Cultivar identification.
- Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia, Information about cherry trees and the annual two-week Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia.
- Cherry Blossom Spots in Japan
- Sakura in Kyoto
- Cherry Blossom Photos
- Cherry Blossoms at Branch Brook Park
- Branch Brook Park cherry blossoms, April 2008
- Copenhagen Sakura Festival
- the place you can see cherry blossoms in Taipei Taiwan (Chinese version)
- Pictures of cherry blossoms in Japan