Japanese Cherry Blossoms

The tradition actually started with a completely different tree. Before cherry blossoms took the spotlight, Japanese aristocrats in the ninth century originally practiced the art of flower viewing by admiring the blooming of plum trees, which signal the very first hints of spring.

The official name is sakura. Belonging to the rose family, these beautiful ornamental trees are known as sakura in Japan, a word that has become globally recognized as a symbol of elegance and natural beauty.

They represent the fleeting nature of life. Because the delicate flowers only remain on the branches for about a week before falling, they are deeply tied to a Buddhist concept called mono no aware, which emphasizes the beautiful but temporary nature of all living things.

Samurai warlords threw massive viewing parties. In the sixteenth century, the legendary samurai Toyotomi Hideyoshi hosted an incredibly lavish blossom-viewing event at Mount Yoshino, entertaining five thousand guests with poetry, musical theater, and tea houses.

The blooming moves like a weather front. The arrival of the blossoms is so important that national news channels track the sakura zensen, or cherry blossom front, which sweeps slowly from the warm southern islands of Okinawa all the way up to the chilly northern region of Hokkaido.

Flower viewing is a massive social event. The tradition of hanami, which directly translates to flower viewing, involves millions of people gathering in parks to lay down blankets, share food, and enjoy lively picnics under the blooming canopy.

The celebration continues long after the sun goes down. The beauty of the trees is not limited to daylight hours, as people hang beautiful paper lanterns in the branches for a magical nighttime viewing tradition known as yozakura.

The petals are actually edible. The blossoms are not just a visual treat; they are a culinary one, too. The delicate pink petals are carefully harvested and used to flavor seasonal spring pastries, wagashi sweets, and traditional desserts like sakura mochi.

The leaves are also a delicious springtime snack. In addition to the flowers, the leaves of the cherry tree are pickled in salt and either wrapped around sweet rice cakes or steeped in hot water to create a gently salty, floral tea.

There are hundreds of different varieties. While most people picture a standard light pink flower, Japan is home to over two hundred different cultivated varieties of cherry trees, producing blossoms in shades of pure white, deep magenta, and even pale green.

The most popular variety is essentially a clone. The Somei Yoshino is the most frequently planted cherry tree in Japan, and because it is propagated through grafting rather than seeds, all the trees are genetic clones that bloom and shed their petals at the exact same time.

They were used as a poignant military symbol. During the Second World War, the falling cherry blossom took on a much heavier meaning, painted onto the sides of airplanes to symbolize the fleeting lives of kamikaze pilots who fell for their country.

They are a global symbol of diplomatic friendship. In 1912, the mayor of Tokyo gifted over three thousand cherry trees to the United States, which were planted in Washington D.C. as a lasting gesture of international peace and goodwill.

They perfectly mark a season of new beginnings. Because the peak bloom generally happens in April, the falling petals serve as a beautiful natural backdrop for both the start of the Japanese fiscal year and the beginning of the new school term.

They are incredibly famous but totally unofficial. Despite being universally recognized as the absolute symbol of Japan around the world, the cherry blossom is actually the unofficial national flower, as the official seal of the country and the imperial family is the chrysanthemum.