Students have a party under cherry trees.
April 12, 2010
(Mainichi Japan)
The Japanese are famously fond of cherry blossoms, and this writer is no exception. The Japanese people would somewhat obligingly advise a foreigner that the best time to visit Japan is "at the time of the cherry blossoms." They certainly have a point, to the best of my judgment.
Every year, from the end of March to the beginning of April, even the otherwise reserved and quiet go out into the parks, and have a beer and sake drinking spree with their friends, families and colleagues, under the blossoming cherry trees. The ritual of "hanami" (literally, "flower admiration") has taken firm root in the Japanese psyche, and only the very obstinate can escape the allure of the merry-making.
Children under cherry trees on their first day at primary school.
The timing in the year is perfect. The overwhelming majority of Japanese schools begin the academic year in April. The sight of new pupils entering school for the first time under the bloom of cherries is a favorite national image. New recruits start working in April, too. For many people, therefore, the time of hanami coincides with another turn of the page in the great book of life, and conjures up emotions deep and subtle, not necessarily incurred solely through the disinhibiting effects of consuming alcohol.
The blooming of cherry blossoms also signifies the end of winter and the beginning of warmer weather. The new prospects in life, and the feeling that various wondrous forms of life are going to emerge in the coming months, produce a cocktail of sentiments that can only be dispelled by having an open-air party under the famous national flower, many of my compatriots would feel.
Before the reader makes the premature and hasty judgment that hanami is only a pretext for drinking (which it certainly is!), its cultural significance must be stressed. In Japan, the cherry blossoms are appreciated not only for their good looks but also for their metaphorical value. The Japanese culture traditionally took the essence of being to reside in the transition, rather than the permanence, of existence.
Cherry blossoms come to full bloom within a relatively short period and then start to perish. The very transience of the beauty of cherry flowers has always been a source of inspiration to the people of Japan, giving birth to waka poems, stories, drawings and paintings, and recently, a series of popular songs loved by younger generations.
Cherry pink in vivid contrast with green of new foliage.
The hanami festivities, although they are certainly occasions for celebrating life, can also remind us of our own mortality. To observe the cherry blossoms displaying their peak beauty and then fading away is a great lesson on the powers of the procession of time, which nobody among us can resist. The hidden agenda of the hanami festivities, therefore, is "memento mori" ("remember death" in Latin).
Kajii Motojiro, a Japanese writer famous for short novels of poetic prose, once wrote that "a dead body is buried under the cherry tree in full bloom."
So that time of the year comes again. The cherry blossoms are here to teach us the value of life. Enjoy the time as it passes, and embrace your precious lives. Have a cup of sake, and share the joys with your loved ones. (Story and photos by Kenichiro Mogi)
The author at Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto at cherry blossom time
Author's profile:
Kenichiro Mogi, born in Tokyo in 1962, is a neurologist now working as a senior researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratories and as a cooperating professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology graduate school. He also appears regularly on television and radio to discuss the workings of the human brain.
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