Cherry Blossoms at the Heian Shrine, Kyoto.
In Japan, Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon are sometimes compared to different flowering trees that bud and bloom in the spring. Reserved and contemplative as she was, Murasaki is thought of as similar to a cherry blossom, a traditional symbol of purity, while the gregarious, slightly more promiscuous Sei is likened to a vibrant red plum blossom.
A Sakura in Washington, D.C.
March is the month of the first Cherry Blossom or Sakura Festivals in Japan and in Washington, D.C. If you cannot get to Japan, the festival starts in our nation’s capital on March 27th this year. Even if you don’t particularly love cherry blossoms, there’s at least a parade with an enormous Hello Kitty balloon.
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Back home we had a crab apple tree in our front lawn. That always signified the beginning of spring.
I love cherry blossom season in Japan. I don’t do the parties anymore, but it’s still fun.
If only the season were longer! Cherry blossoms make me think of my birthday. Growing up, my mother planted two different types of cherry blossoms in our yard. One blooms the last week of March for my sister’s birthday, and the other in mid-April for mine.
They’re such lovely trees, and seem all the more enchanting since the blossoms last for so short of a time.
just want to say i love your website, I am a lurker usually, but a very novel idea.
oh and i cant wait for cherry blossom season here either!
thank you, feel free to lurk! it’s nearly daffodil and crocus season here.