Most of Japanese love SAKURA
SAKURA, cherry blossoms, is sure to be the one of the most loved flowers among Japanese. It is so full of hearts of memories of Japanese, more than just feeling beautiful. There is no particular low of Japan defining the national flower but it deserved to be the one from the fact that how much Japanese love , although there is controversy about its origin among East Asia.
Sakura Matsuri (Festival of of Cherry Blossoms)
Before the season of SAKURA in February, the TV news programs report the forecast of the starting day of SAKURA’s blooming from Okinawa to Hokkaido, at the same time the local town offices of the SAKURA’s picturesque place start to arrange the festival for the residents as well as visitors, called SAKURA MATSURI (Festival of Cherry Blossoms), toward the SAKURA blooming period.
In the season of SAKURA, not only scenic places of SAKURA but anywhere in the town, small parks, grounds of schools, along the streets, temples’ garden and almost everywhere you can see the blooming SAKURA bringing peaceful and relaxed atmosphere to the people around.
SAKURA(cherry blossoms), Schooldays and Graduation
Japanese schooling system defines the term ending March when SAKURA (cherry blossoms) is blooming, matching the season of graduation from the school where SAKURA-flowers are blooming in the ground as like celebrating students’ graduation. So, SAKURA reminds us many events and affairs during school days like first-love, meeting unforgettable teachers and so on. Many singers sing songs of which themes are graduation, in the lyrics there is always the word of SAKURA appeared. SAKURA reminds us the school days and graduation even a decades later.
SAKURA (cherry)tree
SAKURA tree belongs to the deciduous tree and its leaves start to grow just after the time of full bloom of blossoms and start to fall in the autumn. Many kinds of deciduous trees produce their flowers with thick foliage but in case of SAKURA “flowers first, leaves later” in general. In winter you can see only tree truck of SAKURA and one day in March can find the buds and few days later a few of buds open petals and finally SAKURA becomes full bloom. At that time, you see only SAKURA’S flowers on the tree truck without leaves so that its visual scene accentuates its beauty of SAKURA.
Length of life of SAKURA’s flower (cherry blossoms)
In case of Somei-Yoshio, one of the most famous SAKURA (cherry blossoms),it takes only five to seven days to full bloom from buds, then soon start falling, as a result, only one week to ten days is a span of time for us to enjoy its beaty. Final stage of Sakura blooming is called SAKURA FUBUKI, means Snowstorm of Cherry Blossoms. Although we can see one SAKURA tree of blooming for only a week to ten days, in the Japanese Archipelago from Kyushu and Okinawa to Hokkaido we can relish the beauty of SAKURA (cherry blossoms) from March to May.
Implication of Short life of SAKURA (cherry blossoms)
The fact that SAKURA (cherry blossoms) is in the full bloom in a short period of time and fall in a stroke implies the human life, and some people emphasize its brevity. Also other establish the beautiful story with SAKURA connected to dying gracefully like SAKURA falling in full bloom time. Sadly, that story was abused during World War Two that young pilot of military aircraft, even teen’s pilot, died as KAMIKAZE. One of the last-note of young pilot says “My obligation and favors received from the prosperous country where I was born would be returned by my death like falling SAKURA.” Militarism during the war in Japan misused beautiful SAKURA’s short life as a symbol to drive young guys to coercive death. It was heartbroken story not only bereaved family but all Japanese.
SAKURA in autumn
Many of foreigners visualize Sakura as cherry blossoms blooming in spring in their mind, but please do not forget about it not only in spring but in other seasons. After Sakura flower’s falling, you can see beautiful green leaves, called “Shin-Ryoku meaning new leaves” in May to June, and these green leaves start to change to yellow to orange in late October to November, and finally these leaves fall. In general, deciduous tree have character of changing its foliage to orange or yellow, called in Japanese “KOU-YO”, like maple and maidenhair tree. In autumn in the hill and mountains, many tourists go to see “Red colored mountains” covered by maple trees , SAKURA, and others of KOU-YO trees. There is expression “Mountains are burning”.
If you plan to visit Japan, you can consider to see SAKURA in spring and KOU-YO with SAKURA in autumn.
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