The Weight of the Delicate Blossom

I am a Japanese-American who was raised mostly in Florida and did not have the chance to experience actual seasons until much later in my life. When I was a child, I would go to Japan every year to go to school and live with my grandparents for a period of time. The cherry blossom, called Sakura in Japanese, is an iconic symbol of Japan and with its beauty, it holds a deep history. While walking through Central Park on a spring day, I am reminded of the history the Sakura Trees hold for me and for the two countries I call home.

In 1912, Japan gave more than 3,000 cherry blossom trees to the United States in effort to bring the two countries closer together, and to feed a budding relationship. Those trees were planted here in Manhattan in Sakura Park (located in Morningside Heights). Then again in 1965, the gift was renewed with another 3,800 trees. Today, there are parks with cherry blossoms all over the United States. Ranging from right here in New York, to Washington D.C., San Diego, Philadelphia, and Georgia. The cherry blossoms are celebrated each spring with festivals and attractions for locals and tourists.

In Japanese Buddhist Culture, cherry blossoms are seen as a symbol of transience. Cherry Blossoms are famous for their stunning beauty and their incredibly short lives. Once in bloom, you can only catch their awe-striking beauty for about two weeks. This symbol is an extremely important one in Japanese Buddhist culture because transience and impermanence is one of the main principles of Buddha’s teachings. One must remember how impermanent the world is in order to let go of possessions to achieve nirvana.

When walking through Central Park and seeing my beloved Sakura, I smell the air and hum the oh-so- famous song “Sakura Sakura” in which every middle school band has in their repertoire, and think about the religious and historical significance these little pink and white blossoms have in Japan and America. While I am not a religious person and have had a hard time finding something with religious significance to me, I realized while walking through the cherry blossoms the hidden religious impact it had on me. Growing up, the trees were symbols of my ethnicity, my culture, and my identity as a Japanese American woman. Not until now had I realized the sort unconscious effect it had on me through it’s symbolism in the Buddhist culture.

I wonder now through my realization, how this affects people of all different religious backgrounds and cultures who walk through Central Park or Washington D.C. admiring these wonderful trees. Is it possible that the Japanese who had given the Unites States these trees were offering a part of their religion as well as part of their culture? Do people recognize the significance of these trees? It is not only a symbol of transience in the Buddhist tradition, it also symbolizes hope for a new beginning in Japan. In other contexts, it often became a symbol of quick and impending death. Specifically, sakura symbolized the death of the Kamikaze’s in World War II. It was also used to create a sense of nationalism in Japan in propaganda for recruiting soldiers. With this heavy history behind these delicate flowers, I wonder if the meaning of these flowers have flown away. Has it now become just a beautiful part of nature people come to gawk at for two weeks in April? And does it have the same weight of meaning in America as it does in Japan?