Springtime Finally Arrives!

The arrival of Spring may be signaled by different things in many different countries, but in Japan it's usually when the baby bamboo shoots hit the grocery store and the glorious blooms of the cherry blossoms. We've had an amazing long lasting display of cherry blossoms this year.  

As far back as 794 cherry trees were planted in Japan because of their beauty. They were originally meant to adorn the grounds of the nobility but it eventually became a practice that was prized by everyone. So, the cherry blossom bloom marks the arrival of spring. It starts in early January in Okinawa in southernmost Japan, and gradually advances north, ending finally in Hokkaido by mid-May. This "sakura zansen" (cherry blossom front) is tracked daily by the media, so that people can prepare for "hanami," the traditonal cherry blossom viewing parties, when the flowers are at their peak. For Japanese, this tradition strengthens families and friendships.

For the Japanese the cherry blossom represents the transience of life with the blossoms opening for a display of extreme beauty and leading to a quick death. They are also a symbol of good fortune and of affection and love. The cherry blossom has also been a symbol of Japanese territory as the emperor would plant cherry blossom trees as a way to symbolize ownership over the colonial territories that it claimed.

My personal favorites are the shiogama zakura, Fugenzo, Kanzan and Kikuzakura which are the late bloomers, so I'm waiting for them to bloom! These sakura's bloom almost the same time as the peach blossoms. In case you didn't know, the plum trees bloom first, then the cherries, then the peach.