April 15, 2012

Sakura, Sakura


Asahi newspaper said  in VOX POPULI two years ago, 
 "In romantic relations, it is said that when your are kept waiting by another person, you develop stronger feelings for that  person. Apparently, this year's spring goddess is playing with our motions." 
How true it is!! This spring also, it seems that Spring Goddess kept us waiting and playing  hide-and-seek with us. At last, Sakura or cherry blossoms started to bloom. One day pastel pink mists and clouds appeared here and there like mirage, and gave us a  supreme surprise. But,  but already they started  to flutter. 

Sakura blossoms in the early stage look like shy girls at early adolescence.


Sakura have been long loved by people in Japan. Sakura bloom and fall. And we love from the beginning (even before the beginning)  to the end, every phase of Sakura blossoms. We 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.Transience of nature,  transience of our life.
 I visited Sakura in Nara one rainy day. Maybe, you do not like to go out in a rainy day, especially when you want to take photos. Lights are so weak that scenery seems dim and hazy. But, how serene  the air is  and how comfortably the  sounds are absorbed by rain drops!
Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple. The Hall is the largest wooden structure in the world.
The footsteps and conversation sound quietly.
 I feel everything so peaceful.  My lens has a rain drop in the centre.

Sakura blossoms near me look more vivid in a rainy day, but a scenery
far away looks hazy. Many petals are fluttering with rain drops.

People are listening to a tour guide at the approach to Great Buddha Hall. 
 Sakura trees are welcoming and listening together with them.

Weeping cherry tree.
In front of Great Buddha Hall there is a huge space surrounded with  many different types of Sakura.
They are in  bloom.

Under Great South Gate, the main entrance gate to Todai-ji Temple,  
the deer take shelter sometimes and go out to welcome the visitors..

The mist is rising and laying among mountains. There are small dots on the grass field.
They are birds. In a spring rain, both deer and birds are resting together.
In Nara Park, Sakura are here and there.

Here is Kasuga Grand Shrine. Kasuga means Spring Day. The shrine has been a strong guardian deity of Nara since it became the capital of Japan in 710.
weeping cherry tree


Part of the corridors of the shrine.

In Kasuga Grand Shrine, there are about 3000 lanterns;  two thousands stone lanterns
and 1000 metal lanterns. But, nobody knows exactly  how many lanterns there are.
So, it is believed that if you can count the exact number of the lanterns at night,
you are promised to be very rich.

One rain and one wind accelerate Sakura falling.
The deer are eating Sakura.

My blogs about Sakura

32 comments:

  1. What a beautiful temple and great shots. I love going out on rainy days, but rain is so rare here and is almost always accompanied by lightning and thunder.

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  2. Wonderful to see sakura slowly in full bloom! The delicate petals are lovely, and I love the message that they bring along with them - the transient nature of things in life. All the temples look so magnificent and tranquil in your wonderful captures. Its also very fascinating to see deers roam around freely in the temple premises. Thanks for the amazing virtual tour, snowwhite. Wish you a warm week ahead.

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  3. A beautiful scenery captured with love!

    The deer eating Sakura - are they to live a long life or will they be eaten, too?

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  4. Hi Whitesnow,
    How amazing your photos!! I enjoyed them as usual.

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  5. I love that quote from the Asahi newspaper, and the rain adds a lovely mysterious atmosphere to your photos. I'm now hoping for rain during Tokyo's next sakura season! ^^

    Stunning photos. Thanks!

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  6. Your misty, rainy photos highlight the beauty of the landscape. I love the one where you can spot the visitors' umbrellas. It seems to tell a special story about how much the people love the Sakura blossoms. I'm thinking I should come and try to count the lanterns!

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  7. つずれもシックでどこか懐かしい桜ですね。独特の趣があってこころに残ります。咲き始めから落花まで、奈良の歴史ある風景とともに鑑賞させていただきました。夕日の効果もきれい。

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  8. Hello Keiko!
    Beautiful photos of a wonderful subject.Second image,the close-up is absolutely stunning,it would make a great poster. The avenue of lanterns looks amazing,quite spooky at night perhaps! As always,lovely to see the deer.Thanks for the tour.

    Enjoy your week,
    Ruby

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  9. Hi,Snowwhite.
    奈良には本当に沢山の美しい桜がありますね。
    しだれ桜はまた趣きがあって好きです。今年は皆さんが桜のポストをされて、今更ながら日本人は桜が好きなのだなあと思いました。私は今年始めての桜の写真を撮りましたが、桜って本当に難しいなあと思いました。snowwhiteさんのように幻想的な桜を撮ってみたいです。
    Have a good week!
    Tomoko

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  10. Although it's cloudy, these photos can show us wonderful cherry blossoms. I didn't know that deers eat cherry blossoms. Interesting.

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  11. とろけそうな桜、雫の桜、風に揺れる桜・・・、雨の日の桜もいいですね。snowwhiteさんの手にかかると、少ない光の量も効果的にはたらき幻想的です。日焼けしやすい肌なので、これからは雨の日の撮影もいいと思っているのですが、カメラを雨からどう守るかを考慮中です。

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  12. Cherry blossom in a light rain has special atmosphere. I can see cherry blossom is pink in cloudy or rainy day.
    You are lucky to be able to go to Katura-rikyu.
    I went to the Kyoto Imperial Palace on the 12th about 11:00 a.m.
    Ito-Zakura in your header is so lovely though Ito-Zakura in the Kyoto Imperial Palace were beautiful. I want to take it like you.

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  13. Hi Keiko :)
    so nice that you visited on my blog, i made that blog header by some computer program, but i do draw myself too.. i have made some canvas bags and drawn something those.. you may see those in my older postings :)
    Have a nice day :)

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  14. 小雨降る中の桜、本当に風情があります。春日大社のしだれ桜、まるで夢の中の情景ですね。鹿って桜の花びらを食べるの、初めて知りました。こうしたステキな写真を拝見すると、古都奈良を訪ねたくなります。関西、関東の桜が終わってから、東北のほうが本番になりますね。花を追って、旅してる知り合いがいます。keikoさんの桜の写真を見ると、なぜ桜を追うのかわかる気がします。

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  15. So Gorgeous....
    A friend of me visited Nara and send me some marvelous pictures too but not with Sakura !
    Best regards from Paris,

    Pierre

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  16. 桜って晴れやかな空の下がいいと思っていましたが、どんなお天気でもどんな時間にでもその時々のすばらしい表情を見せてくれるのですね。Snowwhiteさんの写真を見ていると、小雨の日が一番いい!と思ってしまいます。桜に限らず、どの写真にも魅入ってしまいます。
    こうして今年の桜も行ってしまいますね。

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  17. The blossoms, the deer and the lanterns are all beatiful. Thank you for the tour.

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  18. Your have excelled yourself with these beautiful pictures. Your pictures are always good but these have such atmosphere! I think it's partly because they are taken in the peaceful quiet rain. The picture of the deer, with the light shining through behind them, is wonderful.

    Sakura is certainly a very feminine sight.

    I am considering getting a weeping cherry tree, after seeing your photos.

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  19. I was swept away by your lovely photographs, snowwhite! Trees in blossom add to the beauty of each scene and the deer bring their own special enchantment. It would be highly unusual to see them wandering at monuments and walkways around the special buildings in my world. I especially like the shot of the umbrella blooms. How pretty their colors look in the gray softness of the rain. :)

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  20. A beautiful tribute to cherry.

    Thank you very much.

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  21. What an enchanted world you have shown us. So beautiful.

    I do believe the blossoms look even more gorgeous in the rain.

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  22. 桜は、春の出会いと別れの時期をまるで選んだかのように一気に咲き、風に舞い落ちる花吹雪はそこに集う人達を歓迎してくれているようですね。また、雨に打たれる姿にこんなにも心揺れるのは日本人だけなのでしょうか? 春日大社前ののしだれ桜は本当に見事ですね。奈良からの桜だよりに感謝します。ありがとう!

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  23. Wow! Stunning beautiful shots! I found there are two kind of weeping cherry trees. Early blooming cherry trees are named Edo-Higan in Tokyo, late blooming ones are named Beni-Shidare in Nara an Kyoto.
    Cherry trees are very special kind of trees. Because after blooming, they would produce cherries in one or two months. Usually peach trees and pea trees would bloom in spring and produce fruits in Autumn.

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  24. Thank you so much for your lovely post. Who would of thought to go see Sakura on a rainy day. I rather like it ...

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  25. What a joy to see these beautiful pictures. The cherry blossom time looks truly magical.
    Anna

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  26. What a majical place. The sweet deer sure add to the romance. Thanks. I am your newest follower. Glad you stopped by my blog and left such a nice comment. Richard from My Old Historic House.

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  27. Beautiful photos, a poetry extravaganza with these flowers, visit this incredible place would be wonderful. Greetings.

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  28. Some of these shots have the air of Japanese ink paintings. Beautiful!

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  29. こんばんは。 豪華で素晴らしいブログですね。 JINTO の公式ブログの様です。
     また訪問させていただきます。

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  30. I am a late visitor.
    雨の中の桜、霧の中の桜、どれもすべて、Snowwhite さんの桜への思いが伝わってきます。きっと長い間歩かれた事と思います。
    春日神社の階段と赤い傘、青の傘をさして歩いてる若者の写真。雨やどりしている鹿達は、特に好きです。いつか私も愛情こめた目をもって鹿を撮れるようになりたいと思っています。
    Tomoko

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

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