Right now, this week is one of the best times to view the famous cherry blossoms of Japan. "Sakura" is the Japanese name for cherry trees (Prunus serrulata). Flowering viewing is popular in Japan, and parks care crowded with families having parties under the trees. Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of the sakura.
Some Japanese people travel around the country to see specific famous cherry trees. The “Garyuzakura” cherry tree (Ichinomiya-cho, Gifu) is reputed to be over one thousand years old.
By the time I arrive in Tokyo in June, the flowering season will have long passed. Since I love trees (especially bonsai!) I guess I'll have to visit Japan sometime when our spring break coincides with the cherry blossom season.
Be the first: Can you tell me which US city is famous for its cherry trees which were originally imported from Japan and planted in 1910? Does this American city have a cherry blossom festival?
If you want to learn more about the cherry blossom season in Japan, here are a couple of web sites:
http://www.japantravelinfo.com/features/features_item.php?featuresid=9
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/seasonal/sakura2008/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I love cherries. Do these trees grow any fruit?
Jeff
In Washington D.C. there are famous cherry trees along the Potomac river which were a gift from Japan. Thousands of residents and visitors used to visit here on the occasion of the Cherry Blossom Festival. It became an annual week-long event at the peak of the bloom, the end of March and into April.
your student,
kyle ventura
Hello Mr. Lahr,
Darn it! I wanted to be the first! Oh...well, I guess I just didn't have enough time to come visit this awesome site. Anyway, Mr. Lahr, here is the history I have found out about the cherry trees and Washington D.C. Have fun in Japan!
Your EPIC Student,
Akash UMM Salam
Ultimate Math Matician
PS. This piece information was taken from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=4867.
In Washington, D.C., Helen Taft, wife of President William Taft, and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, plant two Yoshina cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River, near the Jefferson Memorial. The event was held in celebration of a gift, by the Japanese government, of 3,020 cherry trees to the U.S. government.
The planting of Japanese cherry trees along the Potomac was first proposed by socialite Eliza Scidmore, who raised money for the endeavor. Helen Taft had lived in Japan while her husband was president of the Philippine Commission, and knowing the beauty of cherry blossoms she embraced Scidmore's idea. After learning of the first lady's interest, the Japanese consul in New York suggested making a gift of the trees to the U.S. government from the city of Tokyo.
In January 1910, 2,000 Japanese cherry trees arrived in Washington from Japan but had fallen prey to disease during the journey. In response, a private Japanese citizen donated the funds to transport a new batch of trees, and 3,020 specimens were taken from the famous collection on the bank of the Arakawa River in Adachi Ward, a suburb of Tokyo. In March 1912, the trees arrived in Washington, and on March 27 the first two trees were planted along the Potomac River's Tidal Basin in a formal ceremony. The rest of the trees were then planted along the basin, in East Potomac Park, and on the White House grounds.
The blossoming trees proved immediately popular with visitors to Washington's Mall area, and in 1934 city commissioners sponsored a three-day celebration of the late March blossoming of the trees, which grew into the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. After World War II, cuttings from Washington's cherry trees were sent back to Japan to restore the Tokyo collection that was decimated by American bombing attacks during the war.
Here is the history of the festival. This article was taken from: http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/cms/index.php?id=574
The National Cherry Blossom Festival annually commemorates the 1912 gift to the city of Washington of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrate the continued close relationship between our two peoples.
In a simple ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two of these trees on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. By 1915 the United States government had responded with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. In 1927, a group of American school children reenacted the initial planting; the first festival was held in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the nation's capital.
Three thousand, eight hundred more trees were accepted in 1965 by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. In 1981 the cycle of giving came full circle. Japanese horticulturalists came to take cuttings from our trees to replace Yoshino cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a flood. With this return gift, the trees again fulfilled their roles as a symbol and agent of friendship. The most recent event in this cycle occurred in the fall of 1999. It involved the formal planting in the Tidal Basin of a new generation of cuttings from a famous Japanese cherry tree in Gifu province reputed to be over 1500 years old.
In 1994 the Festival was expanded to two weeks to accommodate the many activities that happen during the trees blooming. Today the National Cherry Blossom Festival is coordinated by the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., an umbrella organization consisting of representatives of business, civic and governmental organizations. Over a million people visit Washington each year to admire the blossoming cherry trees and participate in the Festival that heralds the beginning of spring in the nation's capital.
Hi Mr. Lahr,
There's not much to say, although I did think it would be a great idea if I posted on this blog everyday until you are completely done with this Japan trip! I'm going to write a fact about Japan every single day. So, here is the very first one: The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Your EPIC Student,
Akash Salam
Ultimate Math Matician
Hello Mr. Lahr,
Today's fact: Japan is located in the Pacific Ocean; it lies to the east of China, Korea, and Russia and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south.
Your EPIC Student,
Akash Salam
Ultimate Math Matician
Hello Mr. Lahr,
Since I have already posted the information required for this subject, I will tell you that cherries are delicious!
Your EPIC Student,
Akash Salam
Ultimate Math Matician
Post a Comment