|
Japanese Culture |
|
Sakura, cherry blossom |
 Sakura
or Cherry Blossom (Japanese kanji and Chinese character: 桜
or 櫻; katakana: サクラ; hiragana: さくら) - The Japanese
name for ornamental cherry trees, Prunus serrulata, and
their blossoms. Cherry fruit (known as sakuranbo) comes from
a different species of tree. Sakura is also a given name.
The word "sakura" becomes "zakura" when used in a compound
word such as "shidarezakura".
Sakura is indigenous to the Himalayas, including northern
India, and in east Asia such as China, Japan and Korea.
Japan has a wide variety of sakura; more than 305 cultivars
can be found there. Many were artificially hybridized or
grafted by Japanese horticulturalists centuries ago.
Flower viewing
During the Heian Period (794–1191), the Japanese nobility
sought to emulate many practices from China, including the
social phenomenon of flower viewing (hanami: 花見), where the
imperial households, poets, singers, and other aristocrats
would gather and celebrate under the blossoms. The first
recorded flower-viewing event took place at Kyoto's Shinsen-en
Garden in 812. In China, the ume "plum" tree (actually a
species of apricot) was held in highest regard, but by the
middle of the ninth century, the sakura had replaced the
plum as the favored species in Japan.
Every year the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public
track the sakura zensen (cherry-blossom front) as it moves
northward up the archipelago with the approach of warmer
weather via nightly forecasts following the weather segment
of news programs. The blossoming begins in Okinawa in
January and typically reaches Kyoto and Tokyo at the end of
March or the beginning of April. It proceeds into areas at
the higher altitudes and northward, arriving in Hokkaidō a
few weeks later. Japanese pay close attention to these
forecasts and turn out in large numbers at parks, shrines,
and temples with family and friends to hold flower-viewing
parties. Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of the sakura
and for many are a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful
view. The custom of hanami dates back many centuries in
Japan: the eighth-century chronicle Nihon Shoki (日本書紀)
records hanami festivals being held as early as the third
century CE.
Most Japanese schools and public buildings have sakura trees
outside of them. Since the fiscal and school year both begin
in April, in many parts of Honshū, the first day of work or
school coincides with the cherry blossom season.
Information source: “Sakura.” wikipedia.org. Article date:
30 Jan. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 2 Feb. 2008 <Sakura>.
Video - The following is all about sakura.
The first video is a JR commercial. The second video is a song about
Sakura by the famous Kobukuro. |
|
and
about this page
Visit Our Other Sites
Copyright © 2008-2012 Japanese Language Culture Food All rights reserved
