Did you know that there are 3,000 Japanese さくら (Sakura (Cherry Blossom)) trees in Washington DC, America?
Japanese Sakura in Washington, DC (photo from Yahoo! News)
Did you know that those trees were a gift of friendship to America from Japan? And that the first two trees were planted near the White House by the then American “First Lady” and wife of the Japanese Ambassador to America?
I knew all of that already and I also knew that there are Japanese-style 花見 (“Cherry Blossom Viewing” parties) in Washington DC every spring when the flowers are in bloom.
But I didn’t know that Japan gave the trees to America in March 1912. One hundred years ago this month.
And I also didn’t know that the first two trees (the ones planted by the wives of the then U.S. President and Japanese Ambassador) are still standing in the same spot the were planted in Washington DC in 1912.
So, this year’s 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) in Washington DC is special because it’s the one-hundredth anniversary of the gift of the trees from Japan.
The さくら (Cherry Blossoms) are already in bloom in Washington DC because of unusually warm weather in America now.
Another event to help mark the occasion took place in New York City earlier this month.
2012 March 1-6 was called “Japan Week” in NYC.
I don’t know much about this event but from looking at their website, it appears that visitors could experience a lot of Japanese culture that week in New York.
A woman playing the "Koto" (Japanese harp-like instrument) at "Japan Week" in NYC.
花見 (“Cherry Blossom Viewing“) is a centuries-old Japanese tradition. Every spring, Japanese people have a picnic with friends and family under the 桜 (Cherry Blossom) trees.
Japanese people have always loved the pink Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), as can be seen in many things in Japan such as haiku poems, ukiyoe (woodblock prints), paintings, Sakura-flavored snacks, tea and 日本酒 (Japanese sake rice-wine).
I wrote a post last year explaining a bit about Japan’s love of 桜 (Sakura flowers) and 花見 (“Cherry-Blossom Viewing”).
Basically, the Sakura are beautiful and fragile and they are in bloom for only a short time before they fall to the ground in a way that looks like beautiful, gentle pink snowfall…it’s called 「桜吹雪」 (“Sakura-fubuki” (Sakura snowfall)).
They symbolize the beauty, fragility and brevity of life itself.
But this year, due to the disaster last month, the Japanese government has asked people to use 自粛 (self-restraint) this “Cherry Blossom Viewing” season.
Does it seem odd to you that the government would ask that of people in Japan?
I have heard that many people from other countries were surprised to learn that the Japanese government would request people to refrain from Cherry Blossom Viewing or at least to do it quietly and reverently this year.
But in Japan we have no problem with such a request. In fact, even if the government hadn’t asked, most people in Japan probably would have done so anyways.
In many cases 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) leads people to drink excessively and sometimes become a bit loud. But this year, so soon after the huge disaster in the 東北地方 (Tohoku Region) and with so many up there still trying to recover from it, no one is in the mood to celebrate.
Many people are electing to skip Cherry Blossom Viewing this year, and those who are doing it this year are doing so quietly and with more reflection.
Today my wife and I went to a temple with a small lunch to enjoy a quiet 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing).
Here are some photos that I took:
Some junior high school students walking to school. The school year has just begun in Japan.
Can you see the Sakura petals falling in 桜吹雪 ("Sakura snowfall")?
Many Sakura petals on the ground.
Back of 大仏 (Buddah)
Not long after we returned home, our house shook pretty hard from a big aftershock that was a 振動 5 (Level 5 of the Japanese earthquake scale (with goes to “7”))! It was a 振動 6 (level 6 (out of 7)) at it’s epi-center in the Sendai area! It was then that I realized today is the one-month anniversary of the 2011 March 11 Sendai Earthquake!
Yesterday we went to a park for 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing), which has been a springtime tradition in Japan for centuries.
Just as most people in Japan do, we had a picnic under the trees.
There was a traditional Japanese dance performance.
It was a bit cold and overcast in Tokyo today…but the five of us were together, the sakura trees looked beautiful, and my wife made a delicious lunch for us. So we had a good time!
At festivals in Japan, there are almost always booths like this selling snacks and food...like these バナナチョコレート (chocolate-covered bananas).
What types of festivals are popular in your country? Do sakura (cherry-blossoms) bloom were you live? Have you ever been to a 花見 (Cherry-blossom viewing picnic)?
On this day it has been a common practice for centuries for people to play a practical joke on others.
And if someone believes that joke or prank is true, then they are the “April Fool”.
Many major newspapers, magazines, TV shows, and websites often join this holiday and print a false news article that is usually quite preposterous and unbelievable…but many people “fall for the joke”.
They sometimes give hints in the article that it’s an “April Fools” joke, such as listing a false person’s name such as “Lirpa Sloof” (“April Fools” spelled backwards) as a news source, or listing a false product serial number such as “20100401” (2010/04/01…today’s date).
And then either the next day or somewhere in the same day’s publication, they’ll announce that it was only an “April Fools joke”.
On the “Museum Of Hoaxes” website, they a list of “The Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes Of All Time“.
Here are some of the best hoaxes that I’ve paraphrased from their list:
#59: Daylight Savings Contest
1984 April 1: the Eldorado Daily Journal newspaper of Illinois, USA announced a contest to see who could save the most daylight for daylight savings time….whoever succeeded in saving the most daylight would win. Only pure daylight would be allowed—no dawn or twilight light, though light from cloudy days would be allowed. Moonlight was strictly forbidden. Light could be stored in any container. The contest received a huge, nationwide response. The paper’s editor was interviewed by correspondents from CBS and NBC and was featured in papers throughout the country.
#47: Internet Spring Cleaning
1997 April 1: An email message spread throughout the world announcing that the internet would be shut down for cleaning for twenty-four hours from March 31 until April 2.
The cleaning would be done by “five very powerful Japanese-built multi-lingual Internet-crawling robots (Toshiba ML-2274) situated around the world.” During this period, users were warned to disconnect all devices from the internet.
This joke was an updated version of an old joke that used to be told about the phone system. For many years, gullible phone customers had been warned that the phone systems would be cleaned on April Fool’s Day. They were cautioned to place plastic bags over the ends of the phone to catch the dust that might be blown out of the phone lines during this period.
#20: The Twenty-Six-Day Marathon
1981 April 1: The Daily Mail in London, England ran a story about an unfortunate Japanese long-distance runner, Kimo Nakajimi, who had entered the London Marathon but, on account of a translation error, thought that he had to run for 26 days, not 26 miles.
#15: Metric Time
1975 April 1: Australia’s This Day Tonight news program revealed that the country would soon be converting to “metric time.” Under the new system there would be 100 seconds to the minute, 100 minutes to the hour, and 20-hour days. Furthermore, seconds would become millidays, minutes become centidays, and hours become decidays. They received numerous calls from viewers who fell for the hoax. One frustrated viewer wanted to know how he could convert his newly purchased digital clock to metric time.
#12: Flying Penguins
2008 April 1: The BBC of England announced that camera crews filming near the Antarctic had captured footage of penguins taking to the air. It even offered a video clip of these flying penguins, which became one of the most viewed videos on the internet.
Presenter Terry Jones explained that…(these penguins) flew thousands of miles to the rainforests of South America where they “spend the winter basking in the tropical sun.”
#8: The Left-Handed Whopper
1998 April 1: Burger King published a full page advertisement in the USA Today newspaper announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a “Left-Handed Whopper” specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans.
Thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Also “many others requested their own ‘right handed’ version.”
#4: The Taco Liberty Bell
1996 April 1: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the “Liberty Bell” monument in America and was renaming it the “Taco Liberty Bell”. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger.
Taco Bell's April Fool ad about the "Taco Liberty Bell"
#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
1957 April 1: The BBC in England announced that thanks to a very mild winter…Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop.
Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”
Have you ever been fooled by an “April Fools” joke? Have you ever fooled anyone with one?
+++++++
On a different note, yesterday I noticed a few Sakura trees blooming here in Tokyo.
Next weekend we plan to go 「花見」 (“Cherry Blossom Viewing”).
It’s getting close to 花見 (“Cherry-Blossom Viewing“) time in Japan.
Every spring, during the short time that the pink Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) are in bloom, Japanese people enjoying hanami (“Cherry-Blossom Viewing“).
This ancient Japanese tradition is basically a picnic under the Sakura trees.
Japanese people will often join a “hanami” party more than once during the period the flowers are in bloom…because people will often join a party with friends, another with co-workers, and another with their family.
It’s very enjoyable to sit under the delicate flowers as they fall from the trees in the spring breeze like a pink snowfall and enjoy good food and beer and conversation with friends and / or family.
Sakura is a symbol of Japan and it’s appreciated for it’s beauty and also that it’s gentle and is gone soon after it blooms…like life itself.
Quite a contrast from a strong thorny flower with a long life like a rose.
Anyways, “MAPPLE” is probably the most famous map company in Japan. And on their website they have a 「お花見地図」 (“Cherry-Blossom Viewing Map“).
On this map, you choose an area of Japan from the list on the left (it looks like this):
And then the map will highlight that area of the map of Japan with images of Sakura trees that are color-coded to indicate whether the sakura flowers in that area are “in full bloom”, “just beginning to bloom”, “not yet”, “almost all past”, or “finished”.
There’s a key in the upper-left corner of the site that indicates what the colored trees mean:
If you can read Japanese, you can click here to see the 「お花見地図」 (“Cherry-Blossom Viewing Map“).
Have you ever gone on a 「花見」 (Cherry Blossom Viewing)? Did you enjoy it?
Will you go this year?
Today my wife and I went to 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine).
靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine) is a beautiful shrine in Tokyo that is dedicated to all who have died defending Japan in battle.
Some of the WW2 veterans enshrined at 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine) have been classified as war criminals by Allied courts. So, for that reason, 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine) is a controversial place, especially with neighboring Asian countries.
To me, 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine) is Japan’s equivalent to America’s Arlington Veterans Cemetery in Washington D.C..
Nothing wrong with honoring those who sacrificed their lives for their country. (I’ve written a few other posts about 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine)…click here to read one.)
Anyways, the reason we went to 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine) was to see the 桜祭り (Cherry Blossom Festival) there.
The 桜 (Cherry Blossoms) in Tokyo are close to the end of their short life. They are beginning to fall to the ground. Soon they’ll be gone until next year…so, as we do every year, we’re appreciating them before they’re gone.
Whenever the wind gently blew today, the 桜の花びら (petals of the Cherry Blossom flowers) would fall to the ground. It was like a beautiful pink snowfall!
Here are some of the photos we took today (in many of them, you can see the falling 桜の花びら (petals of the Cherry Blossom flowers)):
Entrance to 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine)
Can you see the falling petals in this photo?
You can see the falling petals in this picture too!
Sakura petals are floating in the lake.
屋台 (Festival food booth
Entrance to the world-famous 日本武道館 (Nippon-Budokan)
Statue of a 19th century Japanese politician 品川弥二郎 (Shinagawa Yajirou)
Today we went to a nearby 桜祭り (Cherry Blossom Festival) and enjoyed a 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) picnic that my wife and daughters made.
Our lunch was おにぎり (rice balls), 卵焼き (Japanese grilled eggs), broccoli, chicken, 苺 (strawberries), cookies, and beer*!
It was an excellent picnic lunch! ♥
(*Of course, only my wife and I had beer. Our daughters had tea. 😉 )
Here are some photos we took:
Many people were enjoying 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing)
There are many turtles, ducks and carp in the pond.
Today my daughters each went out with their friends.
My oldest daughter went to お台場 (Odaiba, Tokyo) with her friends, my second daughter went to the 動物園 (zoo) with her friends, and my youngest went to 東京ディズニーランド (Tokyo Disneyland) with her friends.
So, my wife and I decided to go to 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) together at 新宿御苑 (Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden).
新宿御苑 (Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden) is a very large, beautiful park with both Japanese and Western-style gardens right in the center of metropolitan Tokyo.
We had a nice picnic lunch in the gardens and went home before our daughters were due home and we all had dinner together.
Here are some of the photos we took today:
「東京体育館」 (Tokyo Metropolitan Gym) was used in '54 World Wrestling Championship and '64 Olympics
「新宿御苑の千駄ヶ谷門」 (Sendagaya Gate to Shinjuku-Gyoen)
桜 (Cherry Blossoms)
The skyscrapers of Shinjuku can be seen from the gardens.
ツバキ (Camellia)
There were many people enjoying 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) today.
ボケ (Flowering Quince)
Japanese garden
(Click here if you want to see the official 新宿御苑の花見 (Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden‘s Cherry Blossom Viewing) page.)
My wife and I also stopped by 上野 (Ueno, Tokyo) to see the 桜 (Cherry Blossoms) there. It was very crowded there (as expected).
浅草 (Asakusa) is one of the many parts of Tokyo that I like alot.
It’s a 下町 (traditional downtown area). Famous for the 雷門 (Lightning Gate), 浅草寺 (Sensouji Temple), and the numerous excellent 祭 (festivals) that are held there.
(Click here to read a post I wrote about 浅草 (Asakusa)).
Starting today, for the next few weeks, there will alot going on in 浅草 (Asakusa).
Today (March 18): 金竜の舞い (Golden Dragon Festival).
This is held every year on March 18. I have been to this festival a few times when the date fell on a weekend. I have to work today, so I can’t go this year…but, if you can make it—I recommend it. Click here to read about it on my Festivals In Tokyo page.
Sunday, March 22, 2009: Tokyo Marathon.
An annual international marathon with runners from all over the world racing through the streets of Tokyo.
The course brings them past the 雷門 (Lightning Gate) in 浅草 (Asakusa).
Late March – Early April: 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing).
This traditional event is done all over Japan. One popular location is near the 隅田川 (Sumida River) in 浅草 (Asakusa).
(Last year, I wrote a few posts about 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing). Click here to read one.)
Sunday, April 12, 2009: 白鷺の舞い (White Heron Dance).
A famous 浅草 (Asakusa) festival.
「白鷺の舞い」 (White Heron Dance)
Saturday, April 18, 2009: 流鏑馬 (Horseback Archery).
An exciting ancient Japanese archery display that involves the archers shooting arrows at targets while riding a galloping horse.
(I have seen 流鏑馬 (Horseback Archery) a number of times. Last year, I wrote a post about the 流鏑馬 (Horseback Archery) at 浅草 (Asakusa). Click here to read it.)
There are plenty of other great festivals in 浅草 (Asakusa) throughout the year. But these are the ones that are coming up.
Have you ever been to any of these festivals in 浅草 (Asakusa) before? Will you attend this year? Did you already know about these events?
Tokyo Five 
Recent Comments