"Hanami" - Cherry Blossom viewing in Japan

"Spring is here, a-suh-puh-ring is here. Life is skittles and life is beer..." Or so sang Tom Lehrer in his classic "Poisoning Pidgeons In The Park". Many others have been singing recently because its hanami season (or was when this article was written). Hanami is a long established custom in Japan of partying under the blossoming trees in Spring - the blossoms in question being sakura. Sakura are cherry blossoms, the unofficial national flower, though at one stage (about 1000 years ago) it was the ume blossoms that were the center of attention.

Literally translated, hanami means viewing the flowers - ie sitting under the trees looking at the cherry blossoms. Aristocrats wrote poetry and sang under the blooming trees. It has been the theme of numerous literary works, dances, and paintings. In actual practice while there is a lot of sitting under the trees, there isn't a lot of looking at the cherry blossoms. This isn't because the blossoms aren't beautiful, it is more a case of the food and drink tending to dominate people's attention spans. And where there is food & drink in Japan, fun is always close to hand. Many of the hanami parties involve everything from BBQs to boom boxes and portable karaoke machines, though in the case of one group of elderly Japanese encountered at Okazaki Castle last week no accompaniment was required - they were singing German folk songs a cappella.

Hanami is not a new thing in Japan, with the custom of getting riotous drunk under the trees "borrowed" from Tang period China. Aristocrats and others with time on their hands were the first to enjoy the opportunity, as described in early Japanese literature such as the Heian period epic Tale of Genji. Tanka poems were written with hanami themes, often using the short life of the flowers as a metaphor for human life - a practise that continues to this day. The flowers were considered an indicator of the likelihood of a good harvest, so as well as heralding the end of winter, sakura became associated with renewal, and fertility rites. Offerings of sake were made to the kami in the trees, and then the sake was consumed (not by the kami).

By the Edo Period, it was no longer a practise limited to aristocrats. The 8th Tokugawa shogun (Tokugawa Yoshimune) planted large strands of trees for PR purposes, and merchants and other townspeople (the lowest rank of Tokugawa period society) joined in the fun. By the late 20th century, mass media reported on the blooming of the flowers, with the progress of the sakurazensen closely monitored by TV as the flowers begin blooming in the southern parts of Kyushu in mid March, with the hanami season reaching southern Hokkaido several weeks later. If you arrive in Japan in mid-April, you have missed the main blossoming, but can still enjoy hanami if you head north or into the cooler air of the mountains.

Cherry trees near castles, shrines, established city parks etc are the most popular spots. In Okazaki the castle and the banks of the Sugo and Iga rivers, are amongst the most popular spots. The flowers near the castle are illuminated during the Cherry Blossom Festival (April 1 to 15), with the liveliest nights for parties being Fridays and Saturdays. Apart from people watching and flower viewing, this is a good time to partake of the various delicacies being sold by hundreds of small "yatai" stalls - squid on a stick, chicken skewers, and just about everything else. The delicate little flowers don't last long (especially if it rains), and if there is the slightest breeze they rain down on the revellers like confetti.

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