April 12, 2011

Sakura・・・・・

Sakura or cherry blossoms have been long loved by people in Japan. Sakura bloom and fall. And they love from the beginning (even before the beginning)  to the end, every phase of Sakura. They see beauty in those blooming Sakura, and admire scattering Sakura as 花吹雪‐flower blizzard. Fallen petals on the water are appreciated as 花筏‐flower raft.

A deer is quietly eating petals of Sakura.

Sakura has been synonymous with the word "flower". But at first for a few centuries around the 8th,  noble people loved Ume or Japanese plum blossoms, more than Sakura. While Sakura are native plants in Japan,  Ume were  introduced from China with the latest Chinese culture. So emperors or people of high rank loved Ume as part of the then modern culture. Ume represented  "flower" and were mentioned about in  poems of old more than Sakura.   

white Ume blossoms

In olden days Sakura were considered as the messengers sent by the deity of mountains to let farmers know the time of seeding rice. When the farmers saw Sakura start to bloom, they would prepare for seeding.




Sakura have mysterious power. They give people energy, spreading  merry and  happy spree.The spree is so contagious that the ripples of joy pervade from person to person. They enjoy cherry-blossom viewing.


A boy is dancing on a stump. Sakura are quiet audience.

The season of Sakura coincides with the period of new starts in Japan. School, companies, fiscal year and more start in April. Children with shinny school bags, students in new school uniforms and fresh recruits in brand-new suits are proudly smiling in the photos where Sakura are watching them warmly. Thus Sakura add one more unforgettable happy memory to them.

                                                junior high school students in black school uniform

The life span of cherry flowers is very short, so people feel the transience of life in them - there is nothing lasts forever. But diffferent varieties of Sakura are blooming one by one in one month. When strong winds blow, people worry about Sakura if the winds blow away petals of Sakura. When it rains, people care about Sakura and spend restless spring days.


The famous poet  in the 9th century, 在原業平, Ariwara-no-Narihira, mentioned this poem .

世の中に  たえて櫻の  なかりせば  春の心は  のどけからまし
If there were no Sakura in this world,
how peaceful and tranquil my heart would be in spring.

May this energy of Sakura reach the people in Tohoku.
  
                                                      Visit  My World site  and see more !

21 comments:

  1. The cherry blossoms are so beautiful. I love it when the wild cherries bloom here, which won't be for a few weeks. Wonderful post about your world. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love Sakura. We are blessed to have many here in Vancouver where I live. But I think your country must have many more beautiful Sakura than we do. I am happy to see yours.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How wonderful that the Japanese people can concentrate on your beauty at this time. The attitude of the Japanese people is a wonder of the world.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The cherry trees in Washington D.C. have passed their peak. Those in my yard in Virginia are currently at their peak.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kirei!!! Sakura are my favorite flowers! That's why I do my own hanami here on my part of the world :) Would love to visti Japan at this season...

    Arigatou for posting! -ViennaDailyFotos

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sakura is the symbol of Japan I think. Each time I see it I think of Japan. God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a fantastic post for the day! And, yes, I think Sakura is the symbol of Japan as well. Your photos are so incredibly beautiful. And thank you for the very interesting history/background! Wonderful! Hope you have a lovely week!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your Sakura blossoms make me happy, too. Whether the petals are on the tree or flowing onto the ground, their fragile beauty is breathtaking. I hope that viewing these beautiful blooming trees lifts the spirits of the Japanese people.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful blooms and looks pleasant. Underneath the trees nice flower beds.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such a beautiful post full of gorgeous flowers. A symbol of hope for Japan.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm so glad these blooming trees are not bound by "self-restraint".

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a splendid cherry blossoms

    Because the flowering of this year's cherry blossoms was later than the ordinary year, it is serious thing that takes the photograph only of this.

    I will admire the effort of snowwhite.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely flowers. the cherry blossoms in our area start blooming too

    Hope you can visit Picture My World for My World Tuesday

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your post and photos convey eloquently the joyful to see cherry blossoms, and the beauty of spring. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  15. WOW! Really splendid! I especially love the first, fouth and seventh photos! The carpet of fallen petals and a deer. What a great composition!

    伊勢物語82段の渚の院にて惟喬親王のお供をした人たちが酔っ払って(?)の歌の詠み合いは面白いですね。伊勢物語の中で好きな段の一つです。業平のこの歌に対しての返歌もまた趣がありますね。 返歌から察すると、業平の歌の意味合いはsnowwhiteさんが説明していらっしゃるほかにも、意味が
    あるような気もします。この歌碑が渚の院のあった水無瀬や枚方にあるのはよく理解できるのですが、ご存知ですか?なんと芦屋市にもあるのですよ! 業平は芦屋に別荘をもっていただけなのですが、芦屋市はちゃっかりこの歌の歌碑を立てているので、ちょっと笑ってしまいます。こちらは毎日揺れて、なかなかおじゃまできなくてごめんなさいね。

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a beautiful world you live in. The trees are all go lovely, and the blossoms are gorgeous. Awesome captures. I know you had a grand time while shooting all of these photos.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Truly mesmerized with these cherry blossoms. How lovely and heavenly. Especially I like the first one and the fourth one, whose pastel pink dyeing pale green field of fresh grass with soft-hued pink.

    ReplyDelete
  18. 私たち日本人の桜に対するさまざまな想いを、素晴らし英語で表現されていて、とても素敵です!! 私のお粗末な英語ブログへいつも嬉しいコメント頂きありがとうございます。ヾ(;´▽`A``

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is all so beautiful and the image of the deer grazing among the fallen blossom is quite exquisite.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The cherry blossoms are lovely and, they are "here and gone" in a flash. We must enjoy them while we can. But, thanks to your lovely photography, we can enjoy them anytime. Mickie :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. hi,I love you blog, the sakura are so beutiful!!! I wish see it personally. I´m from Ecuador , we don´t have "primavera" in spanish. you`re so lucky !! :) and those photo are good

    ReplyDelete

Thanks a lot for visiting my blog and leaving warm messages. I will visit your site soon. keiko

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.