hanami

Hanami is a traditional Japanese custom of mainly admiring cherry blossoms and celebrating the arrival of spring. The practice of family, friends, and workplace colleagues gathering beneath cherry trees in full bloom to admire the flowers while enjoying food and drink is widely beloved throughout the country, making it the most familiar annual observance symbolizing spring for the Japanese.

The history of hanami is ancient; in the Nara period there was said to be an aristocratic custom of admiring plum blossoms, transmitted from China. By the Heian period, the object of admiration shifted from plum to cherry blossoms. Scenes of hanami banquets are depicted even in "The Tale of Genji," and cherry blossoms became central to the Japanese sense of beauty. In the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Toyotomi Hideyoshi is famed for holding a grand banquet known as the "Daigo Hanami," and in the Edo period hanami became widely established among commoners as well.

Cherry blossoms, which scatter within a few days of reaching full bloom, have, through their very transience, become deeply tied to the Japanese sense of impermanence and beauty. Admiring the brief yet beautiful peak of the blossoms and sharing the joy of spring, hanami is not merely an outing but embodies the spirit of Japanese culture that cherishes the changing of the seasons. Each year, many hanami visitors come to famous cherry-blossom spots across the country, such as Ueno Park, Hirosaki Castle, and Mt. Yoshino, to enjoy the spring scenery dyed in pale pink. Hanami is an irreplaceable spring custom reflecting the heart of the Japanese, who have lived together with the cherry blossoms.