Departments
Intermediate Japanese - Free Online Course
HANAMI
花見
cherry blossom viewing
The springtime blooming of the cherry blossoms is celebrated throughout Japan each year. Hanami first became popular during the 12th century, when it was an activity reserved primarily for court nobles. At that time, the practice of ritualistically viewing the cherry blossoms had religious associations. Today hanami is an entirely secular activity.
The cherry blossoms stay on the trees for only a few days in April, and the annual bloom is marked by group hanami outings to nearby parks. The Japanese take hanami seriously. Newspapers publish reports about the best places to view the flowers, and married people plan weekend family excursions to the park.
Sometimes company employees enjoy the cherry blossoms with an extended lunch hour and picnic in the park. Junior employees are given the task of going to the hanami location ahead of time and securing a good spot.
Because the cherry blossoms only stay in bloom for a brief period, their metaphorical potential has always appealed to poets and philosophers, who compare them to the impermanence of human life. During the Second World War, the cherry blossom became an analogy for Japan’s fallen soldiers, sailors, and pilots. The fall of the cherry blossom from the tree was likened to death in battle.