WrittenPost: Sakura

2012 Update:

Updating last year's post about the Cherry Blossoms, or Sakura, in Japan. Then as now with the kind help of my good friend "AG san", who had sent us his photos and thoughts just after the big earthquake.

The Sakura bloom each Spring in Japan, starting in the South near the first of April, working their way north. Last year, they bloomed just after the huge earthquake, the tsunami and the Fukushima meltdowns. It was a most stressful time for the Japanese and at first, it seemed that it would be impossible for the people to enjoy this normally festive time, this beginning of Spring. But later, it seemed that the beauty of the Sakura helped to give the Japanese people something positive to focus on, something beautiful to think about in the midst of those difficult times. Some found hope in this annual new beginning.

"AG san" went again to Kamakura on 7-April-2012, and noted the differences between 2011 and now:

Last year, skies were cloudy, but this year, beautiful blue ! - Photo by AG

Ranging as always from white... - Photo by AG

...to bright pinks. - Photo by AG

From above... - Photo by AG

By the lake. - Photo by AG

Is this the same bird I saw in Finland ?!? - Photo by AG

Beautiful blue skies - Photo by AG

Large (huge) ceramic "bottles" of Sake, left as offerings at the Temple - Photo by AG

Sakura time is a big time for weddings (Shrine at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu) - Photo by AG

As well, as you see in the background, tourists are returning to Japan.

Entering the temple at Kamakura - Photo by AG

Sadly, as always, the petals fall... - Photo by AG (2012)

Time to head home... - Photo by AG (2012)

As the blooming of the Cherry Blossoms moves north,

"AG san" hopes that the people of Tohoku,

the area badly devestated in 2011, can find some enjoyment in the Sakura,

hopefully in a mood very different from last year.

Many thanks again
to my good friend "AG san"

for kindly sending us his photos and reports on

Sakura Time - 2012.

-ML

From 2011:

Sakura buds, 30-Mar-2011 - Photo by AG

Sakura, Cherry Blossoms.

There are perhaps 200 varieties of Sakura...(5-Apr-2011) - Photo by AG

Unfortunately, they are quite fragile, Sakura that is, cherry blossoms. The buds form only after it becomes consistently warm enough in spring. If the weather turns cold again, the buds will stop growing, and wait. When warm enough, they start again, making the timing of their peak bloom quite difficult to predict. They take a week or more to bud out and then they begin to flower, peaking in another week or so. The fragile petals might last a couple of weeks, but only until the first hard rain. The rain beats them down, falling like wet, pink snow on the ground. Only a memory until springtime returns again.

...from light pink, to white...(5-Apr-2011) - Photo by AG

Their beauty, this fragile nature, this unpredictability combined with their unmistakable sign of springtime and annual renewal is what may make them so special to the Japanese people (and not only the Japanese…many years ago some Japanese living in the USA brought thousands of them to the Washington, D. C. area. That enduring gift is celebrated in its own way every spring with festivals, gatherings, and many, many visitors to the area). But for the Japanese, the time for Sakura is a very special time.

...to darker pink. (5-Apr-2011) - Photo by AG

I had the pleasure to visit the Tokyo area in 2010 just as the first buds were beginning to open. It was a business trip, and the timing of my arrival was quite a pleasant coincidence. The offices I visited had many Cherry Trees planted along the streets outside. My associates there were quite happy to explain the process of watching for the blooms and trying to predict a good time for the many (many) outdoor picnics and activities that would take place. Our trip was a week long, but unfortunately the weather had grown cold again. Still we enjoyed the first blossoms while the remaining buds waited.

Blooms not yet full. (Tokyo, March-2010) - Photo by MWL

During an afternoon off, my team and I visited, as our friends had suggested, Asakusa Temple. There is a large shopping area with many distinctly Japanese souvenirs there, and the place was decorated and prepared for an onslaught of visiting foreign and local tourists. We noticed that the long shopping lane was decorated with artificial blossoms, just in case the real ones didn’t show up on cue.

Picnic Areas. (Tokyo, March-2010) - Photo by MWL

After walking through Asakusa, we walked across into a large park. It was a beautiful, well-manicured park with long curving walkways, lined on both sides with huge Cherry Trees. We noticed the median and both sides of the promenade were lined with regular, roped-off areas, hundreds of them, side by side. Some areas had picnickers at that time, while in others a person waited, holding the spot until his friends or officemates arrived for their party. My friends had explained to us the importance of such picnics under the Cherry Blossoms. Each year MILLIONS of Japanese will gather for such picnics, taking place in some of the first pleasant outdoor weather of spring.

Sources of critical picnic supplies…

Traditional cookies and treats called Senbei… - Photo by AG

…and Sake ! (at Kamakura) - Photo by AG

In many cultures where winter can be a difficult time, spring is celebrated as a sign that the community has lived through another winter, and come again to a more plentiful time of year. And so the Japanese combine this sense of coming through difficult times with the pleasure of the warmer weather and the beauty of the Sakura as a reason to celebrate and relax with friends and family. I’m sure that in the current situation, with all of Japan still reeling from the huge earthquake and devastating tsunami of March 11 and the constant, unending concern about the danger from their damaged nuclear reactors, the Japanese need of this feeling of relief and renewal more than ever.

Japanese rickshaws, Kamakura. (10-Apr-2011) - Photo by AG

Those of us living in the U.S.A. at the time of September 11, 2001 understand how this constant worry can weigh upon the spirit. Just after the attacks on September 11, there were the many envelopes containing deadly Anthrax that were mailed to several locations around the country. About the same time, a large jet airliner crashed after take-off from an airport near New York. And then, for several weeks, a pair of snipers was shooting people at random in the Washington, D. C. area.

Tokyo (Mar-2010) - Photo by MWL

Later investigation proved that these events were all unrelated. The 9-11 attacks were by foreign terrorists. The aircraft crash was the result of an accident during maintenance. The sender of the Anthrax was never determined conclusively, but he was believed to be a government researcher who had access to the material, and who had killed himself during the investigation. The snipers were caught, and found to be a deranged resident of the U.S. and a juvenile he manipulated…a terrorist of sorts, but local, not someone linked to the larger organizations that meant us harm. But until they were fully investigated, the fear that they might be related caused a lingering tension that weighed on all of us.

Sakura at Kamakura (10-Apr-11) - Photo by AG

That was a difficult, stressful time in the U.S. as we listened daily to see what new dangers awaited us. It must be like that, and more, for the Japanese this spring. The initial quake was huge, but it has been followed by several 7+ and 6+ Richter Scale after-shocks, events themselves that would be plenty damaging in less well developed countries. But the constant reminder of the danger is the smaller after-shocks now numbering in the 200-300 range since the original quake. It’s only been 30 or so days, so that’s several tremors strong enough to feel EVERY DAY.

Sakura at Kamakura (10-Apr-11) - Photo by AG

But the bigger, more dangerous and more insidious threat is the continuing drama at Fukushima. Each day it seems that more news comes out about the release of radioactive material into the atmosphere, and into the Pacific. Millions fear it in the Tokyo-Kawasaki-Yokohama areas, a hundred and fifty miles or so to the southwest. They fear it in the farming areas as they watch constant testing to see if their fields have been contaminated, as they wonder about its long terms effects on their health and livelihoods. Fishermen fear it as they watch their markets collapse, even though their catches are proving safe. And many have been evacuated from the area entirely, unable to go back home, and unable to get any answer as to when they might do so.

Sakura at Kamakura (10-Apr-11) - Photo by AG

And so I think that this spring (2011), the coming of the Sakura may be even more important than other years. The people need the feeling of renewal. They need the feeling of hope, the feeling that with time, the problems of this spring will begin to fade in their memories. They need a break from bad news, from tension, from fear, from this constant weight on their nerves. And what better cure than a clear blue sky, cool breezes, the company of friends and family, and gently falling, soft, pink, petals.

Domo arigato, Sakura.

Temple near Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Yokohama. - Photo by AG

Finally:

"AG san" reports that a heartwarming story is being carried in the Japanese TV news this week (2011). It seems that a family living in Fukushima, the location of the damaged nuclear reactors, evacuated to Tokyo to reduce the radiation exposure to an expected new baby. She was born this week (2011) in Tokyo, during the height of Cherry Blosom season, and her parents have named her “Sakura”.

The family gave her this name as a gift, to inspire her to grow up strong, like a Sakura tree in their home town of Fukushima, when it is healthy enough for her to return.

Such is the special, symbolic nature of Sakura to the Japanese people.

Many thanks to my good friend, "AG san"

for his explanations to me about the importance of Sakura
to the Japanese People,

for his relaying the story of the young girl “Sakura”, born this week,

and his “on-the-scene photography” for this post.

- Mark W. Laughlin