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Here are some photos of sakura (cherry blossoms) a couple of weeks ago during the peak of the sakura blossoming here in Tokyo. This is a really big deal in Japan every year.

i think they(blossoms) have a spiritual place in japanes life, as fas i understand.
mikehawthorne

mikehawthorne wrote:i think they(blossoms) have a spiritual place in japanes life, as fas i understand.

They certainly figure prominently in Japanese life, that's for sure.

Henry, thanks for giving us a tiny glimpse of what it is like in Japan right now!

I may remember wrong but a Japanese engineer who worked in Istanbul at one of the Hotel constuctions once told me that fish, especially trouts and cherries had a significant place in their cultural heritage to symbolize 'change and rebirth; renewal; starting a fresh; overcoming dificulties in a breeze' and the like. His engineering staff had a giant trout flag placed right in front of the entrance to the construction site and had planted a couple of cherry trees close to the temporary site buildings.

He said that trout fish swim upstream in an unprecedented effort to lay their eggs and to start off a new generation of their species. They did it with such seeming ease that the Japanese took their example of survival to overcome hardship. And the cherry blossoms are for starting afresh with beauty even if it doesn't last long, reminding the human kind that every beauty is temporary but only perseverence makes any real beauty eternal...
That's why they hung the trout flags in front of a difficult construction project, to overcome all hardship with ease..
I hope I was able do at least some justice to his explanations... : )

I believe that's how they come rising brighter and smarter after all those natural and nuclear disasters...rebuilding a nation as though nothing could disturb them. (Their hears are broken, I know, but they sure do everything to survive the turmoil)

Yildiz




.

Henry, I love them all especially the last one is my favorite. To add to Yildiz, with such rich cultures we have developed as humans
we shoot more with guns than with cameras.

With best regards,
Sury

Yildiz, I didn't know that, but it certainly sounds Japanese so I imagine it is correct.

Here is another Japanese cultural tradition: Holding a spot for an hanami. You can read about hanami here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanami

In reality an hanami is usually a drinking party under the sakura. In these photos taken in the early afternoon you will see places reserved for a hanami in the evening. Typically one person volunteers or is volunteered to sit in the park all day to hold the spot until his friends or co-workers arrive after work. For that person he just sits there holding the turf all day. Good time to take a nap, read a book, listen to music, or these days play with a smartphone.







By the way, a hanami is not just for the evening. Many people are there during the day too, as you can see, and not everyone is drinking. The serious drinking parties are usually more in the evening though. Still, during the day you see a few groups of men who are drinking and from their red faces appear to have been drinking for quite awhile already.

sury wrote:Henry, I love them all especially the last one is my favorite. To add to Yildiz, with such rich cultures we have developed as humans
we shoot more with guns than with cameras.

Yes, that is so true.





This is after the peak and the petals are starting to fall:

That is a wonderful series Henry- It encompasses the holiday from start to finish.
I love the paper fish- I can see scores of school children hand painting them just for the season. Thanks for showing us this little slice of the world. John

Juanito200 wrote:That is a wonderful series Henry- It encompasses the holiday from start to finish.
I love the paper fish- I can see scores of school children hand painting them just for the season. Thanks for showing us this little slice of the world.

Yes, I imagine children made those. Very nice.

Fabulous set Henry. It is difficult not to smile with pleasure on seeing trees full of blossom like this. One of my favourite sights

Birma wrote:Fabulous set Henry. It is difficult not to smile with pleasure on seeing trees full of blossom like this. One of my favourite sights

Thanks, Birma. Right now there are spring flowers blooming all over here. The sakura are mostly gone though since they only last a week or so.

Brilliant coverage there Henry, loved every photo and the newsy descriptions.
Greg

I sense the odor, and all those bees gathering the pollens...
It's a wonderful feeling.

Thanks, Greg, Doc. Sakura season is always such an important time for Japanese. The TV news everyday has reports and maps showing where the sakura are blooming as the line advances north up the Japanese archipelago. I think now the best places are in Hokkaido (the big island above Honshu). Here is the forecast for various places around Japan:

http://www.jnto.go.jp/sakura/eng/index.php

And here:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html