Cherry Blossom Festival
Spring is here! The cherry blossoms are here! That means... hanami! er...hanami? What's that? Gather around, children, and let's look at this question. Don't worry—photos are coming.
Hanami
Hanami is literally flower viewing, but in practice is used mainly to mean cherry blossom viewing. When they bloom, walking beneath the cherry blossoms or having picnics beneath them is the social event of the season.
How did Hanami start? Good question.
The First Hanami
Cherry blossoms mark the beginning of the rice-planting season. Farmers would worship the cherry blossoms as a sign from the gods to plant the rice. Needless to say, this worship would involve drinking saké. How else is one to worship the gods?
Emperor Saga in the Heian period (794–1185) was the first noble to take up this enjoyment of the cherry blossoms. Before this point, nobles preferred the plum blossoms, but ever the rebel, he started organizing cherry blossom viewing parties and writing poetry about them. Not wanting to be left out of the hot new trend, other nobles soon started their own cherry blossom viewing parties.
Things really kicked into high gear during the Edo period (1603–1868). The 8th Tokugawa Shogun, Yoshimune, went on a cherry blossom planting spree, lining a handful of rives with them.
Soon the common people starting their cherry blossom viewing parties, and pretty soon the entire country was celebrating hanami every year.
Funny thing is most of the participants at these parties are more concerned with eating, drinking, and being merry, than they are with actually looking at the cherry blossoms. In fact, hanami lines up pretty well with spring break, and often the cherry blossoms haven't even bloomed yet at the start of the celebration, meaning you will see people partying beneath bare trees.
This fact is bemoaned every year by the media, but the fact is it has always been this way. There is even an old proverb that comments on it: 花より団子 (hana yori dango)—dumplings rather than flowers.
Let's Enjoy Hanami
Photo time! Here is a handful, many of which I've previous shared, and many I haven't shared before. Enjoy!
❦
| David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. More? |
So beautiful, so amazing!
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