Cherry Blossom Queens

Did you know that there are Japanese 桜 (cherry blossom) trees in Washington DC?
And that they have an annual Japanese-style cherry blossom festival when the flowers bloom in the spring?

And did you know that those trees were a gift to America from Japan about sixty years ago?

Well…did you know that both Japan and America crown a Cherry Blossom Queen every year?
It isn’t a beauty contest type of competition. Each state in America and each prefecture in Japan enters a young woman into the competition based on community service that she has done.

And then the country’s Cherry Blossom Queen is chosen by a random draw.

Every year the U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen comes to Japan and meets the Japanese Prime Minister along with the current Japanese Cherry Blossom Queen.

Last year, the 2012 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen was an African-American woman for the first time.
She made headlines in Japan!

The 2013 U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen, Mary Anne Morgan, just came to Tokyo and met Japanese Prime Minister Abe and 2013 Japanese Cherry Blossom Queen, Chiori Kobayashi yesterday.

100 year old Japanese trees in America

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 in USA?

A number of years ago, Japan gave America 桜の木 (Cherry blossom trees) as a symbol of friendship.

They’re planted in Washington DC.

桜 (Cherry blossoms) are very popular in Japan. They are a symbol of Spring in Japan.
Japanese love them not only for their beauty…but also their fragility. They only stay in bloom for a week or so…and then gently fall to the ground like a beautiful pink snowfall. They’re like a symbol of the beauty and shortness of life.

Every Spring, Japanese people sit under the 桜の木 (Cherry blossom trees) to have a picnic together and enjoy the view.
It’s called 「花見」 (Hanami)…or “Cherry Blossom Viewing”.

I was surprised that America has Japanese-style 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) festivals every Spring in Washington DC under the 桜の木 (Cherry blossom trees) from Japan.

Are these festivals popular in America like they are in Japan? Have you ever been?

At this year’s 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) festival in Washington DC on March 28, Jero will be performing.

Jero is a 27-year old Enka singer.

Enka is a traditional Japanese blues type music that is popular mostly with older Japanese people.

So, it’s surprising that Jero is a young Enka singer. But more surprising is that he’s a black American. And he sings Enka while dressed in hip-hop fashion (Enka singers usually wear 着物 (kimono).

ジェロ (Jero)

I wrote a post about Jero before. Click here to read it.

nine-eleven

Today is September 11.

For the past seven years all one needs to say is that date and everyone knows what is being referred to.
September 11, 2001. In the United States, it’s usually just called “9/11“.

I don’t need to say that I’m talking about today being the seventh anniversary of the four hijacked airplanes that were used by terrorists to bring down both World Trade Center buildings in New York City, crash into “ The Pentagon” government building in Washington DC, and a fourth failed attacked that potentially saved numerous lives due to the sacrifice of the heroes that crashed that plane into an empty field in Pennsylvania.
Do I?

Where were you when the 9/11 Attacks occurred?

In Japan, it was already late in the evening of September 11, 2001.
I was in the shower. My wife saw the “breaking news” on TV and she came to the bathroom to tell me that an airplane crashed into the World Trade Center in NYC.

I assumed it was just a small Cesna plane. Who would’ve guessed that hijackers could take over the cockpit of a passenger 747 and fly it into a skyscraper in a major metropolis?
And who would’ve guessed that they could fly a second 747 into the neighboring skyscraper?
And two more planes? One into the American military’s biggest building?

It was quite obvious that America was under attack.

Then the two towers came crashing down!

It was quite a sad, shocking event, wasn’t it!?

My wife and I stayed up for hours watching the TV news. It was impossible to sleep!

Condolences to the families of the victims.