Hanami... or almost

Since I moved in Nishi-Waseda, I have been expecting the riverside of the Kanda to become like this :

Here they are : the sakura are blossoming! Spring is officially there. It's still a bit early and not as pink as it's going to be next week, but let me introduce this "almost-Hanami" anyway.

When I arrived in Tokyo last June, it was not my first fight with the tropical rain, followed by the insanely warm Japanese summer. In November, it was not my first experience of the momiji trees and their beautiful colors. And I had also spent Chrismas in Japan before. Actually, I was familiar with all the Japanese seasons before ETP, except the most mythic one : Spring. The Japanese Spring and its holly cherry blossoms, or sakura.

Why is the sakura period so important in Japan ? To make it short, for a main symbolic reason : life, as sakura, is gone with the wind. And it's never as beautiful, as precious than at the exact moment it starts to die. So watching at the sakura, you are supposed to realize how amazing and short-lived your existence is. You are supposed to meditate. But in fact, Japanese people are mostly meditating drinking many, many beers under the cherry trees, and this is a nice plan too.

Hanami means "to watch the flowers"and it consists in going to cherry tree places with family, friends, colleagues... to have a pic-nic and feel the imprint of time. You can find references to Hanami in almost any manga, movie or anime dealing with daily life in Japan. Some people are even following the "wave" of blossoming sakura from Okinawa, in early March, to Hokkaido in late April.

At Shinjuku-Gyoen :

今年も友幸と花見楽しもう！

Comments

[Nicoleta]

Cest magnifique!!!
Si vous avez des pouvoirs magiques.....arretez la floraison.
Nous, on veut profiter...aussi .

[Nico]

Cest magnifique!!!
Si vous avez des pouvoirs magiques.....arretez la floraison.
Nous, on veut profiter...aussi .

[Noemi]

C'est beau, hein ! J'étais sûre que ça te plairait...

[kawai mummy]

Woufff!!!!
Absolument sublime,déjà bien qu'"almost"! Les rives de la rivière Kanda sont tellement différentes, bordées de ce poétique et gracile foisonnement!
Encore, encore!!