Sakura 
Cherry Blossom (Japanese kanji and Chinese character: 桜 or 櫻; katakana: サクラ; hiragana: さくら) is the Japanese name for ornamental cherry trees, Prunus serrulata, and their blossoms. Cherry fruit (known as sakuranbo) comes from a different species of tree. Sakura is also a given name. The word "sakura" becomes "zakura" when used in a compound word such as "shidarezakura".
Natural History
Sakura is indigenous to the Himalayas, including northern India, and in east Asia such as China, Japan and Korea. Japan has a wide variety of sakura; more than 305 cultivars can be found there.[citation needed] Many were artificially hybridized or grafted by Japanese horticulturalists centuries ago.[citation needed]
Flower viewing
During the Heian Period (794–1191), the Japanese nobility sought to emulate many practices from China, including the social phenomenon of flower viewing (hanami: 花見), where the imperial households, poets, singers, and other aristocrats would gather and celebrate under the blossoms. The first recorded flower-viewing event took place at Kyoto's Shinsen-en Garden in 812. In China, the ume "plum" tree (actually a species of apricot) was held in highest regard, but by the middle of the ninth century, the sakura had replaced the plum as the favored species in Japan.[citation needed]
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 sakura 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 sakura 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.
Symbolism
In China, the cherry blossom is a symbol of feminine beauty. It also represents the feminine principle and love in the language of herbs. In Japan, cherry blossoms symbolize the transience of life because of their short blooming times. They have also come to represent clouds of their nature of blooming en masse. Falling blossoms are metaphors for fallen warriors who died bravely in battle.[citation needed] This connotation links them with the samurai. This theme remains alive today and is often observed in pop culture, especially manga and anime. Music also works with the theme; for example, the band Kagrra often uses sakura in its songs and live shows for ambiance. The flower is also represented on all manner of consumer goods, including kimono, stationery, and dishware. Cherry blossoms are an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, and as such are frequently depicted in art.[citation needed] There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi (bamboo flute), titled "Sakura", and several pop songs.
During World War II, the sakura was a motivation for the Japanese people. Japanese pilots would paint them on the sides of their planes before embarking on a suicide mission, and they were referred to in the names of kamikaze units. A cherry blossom painted on the sides of the bomber symbolized the beauty and ephemerality of nature.[1] The government encouraged the people to believe that the souls of downed warriors were reincarnated in the blossoms. Even now Japanese military and police use the cherry blossom in emblems, flags, and insignia instead of star.[citation needed][clarify]
Varieties
The most popular variety of sakura 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 (or “scatter,” 散る chiru) 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. [2]
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.
Philippines
A province in Western Philippines, Palawan, serves as home to an endemic Palawan Cherry Blossoms, which appears to resemble that of Japan's, thus the name.
United States
Japan gave 3,000 sakura trees as a gift to the United States in 1912 to celebrate the nations' then-growing friendship. These trees have since lined the shore of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. (see West Potomac Park), and the gift was renewed with another 3,800 trees in 1965. The sakura 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.
Other cities such as Philadelphia and Macon, Georgia have an annual Cherry Blossom Festival (or Sakura Matsuri). The Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York City also has a large, well-attended festival[1].
Germany
The cherry blossom is a major tourist attraction in Germany's Altes Land orchard region.
Notes
- ^ Sakamoto, Kerri: One Hundred Million Hearts. Vintage Book, 2004. ISBN 0-676-97512-7.
- ^ "Winter-flowering cherry", accessed 1 January, 2008.
See also
- Prunus
- Kigo: discussion of the role of sakura in Japanese poetry
- Mono no aware
External links
- Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia, Information about cherry trees and Philadelphia's Cherry Blossom Festival.
- Cherry Blossom Spots in Japan
