The Nature of Cherry Blossoms
(This is less an entry and more some ideas, historical fact, opinion than a full bodied entry..)
Idle Thoughts..
As the story was told..George Washington wanted to try out a new axe, so he chopped down his father's cherry tree; when questioned by his father, he gave the famous non-quotation:
"I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree."
Seiko was amused by the story. The tale, originating long after Washington's death was created to emphasize the legendary honesty of the First American president.
Honesty after the fact, she supposed, was the American way.
During the Meiji era, tales of George Washington's greatness were accepted and adapted so that in the minds of the Japanese, Washington was likened to that of a fierce and cunning Daimyo who fought for the freedom of his taxed and burdoned people from the unscrupulous rulership of England. The Meiji Restoration was equated to Post-Revolutionary reconstruction, an attempt by the East to reach out and find common standing with a Western nation which still considered it to be a sub-civalised, medieval country.
Seiko was not an American Historian, however she knew that the cherry blossoms that lined the Potomac and the Mall were gifts transported from a rising nation to it's admired, more advanced counterpart. The City of Tokyo made a gift of the Sakura trees to Washington in 1909. On February 14, 1912, 3,020 the trees began their journey across the Pacific to Seattle where they ultimately spent the rest of the decade being planted and arranged around promanent areas of the capital city.
In Japan, Hanami (flower-watching) was a yearly custom. Because of their sweet colour and precious fragility, the Sakura are reknowned as incredibly beautiful and tragically romantic in the eyes of their Japanese countrymen. The beauty of the cherry blossom was a potent symbol equated with the evanescence of human life and epitomized the transformations Japan had undergone throughout the ages.
It pleased Seiko that in America, this foriegn flora had been so adopted and appreciated in such a manner. For a fleeting moment, she could almost imagine herself back in her native country...
The District was beautiful at night.
Seiko recalled a haiku written by a favourite of hers, Basho:
A lovely spring night
suddenly vanished while we
viewed cherry blossoms
The Sakura stood graceful, full in her glory. The gentle wind caressed the petals, causing them to shiver. Seiko studied the trees in admiration, without her floral bounty, the tree would still appear delicate, yet there was a steadiness about it. With deep roots and open branches beckoning to the star-studded heavens, Seiko could find nothing but respect for the patient boughs.
Grace and strength. Steadfast and delicate. Romantic and powerful.
One can learn so much by watching a cherry tree.
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Blossom raft, begins to move with a small wave on the water.
When the petals of cherry blossoms fall and gather on the surface of water, floating slowly like a raft, we, in the haiku world, call it a blossom raft. On the calm surface of a lake a blossom raft afloat remains still. Whether from a boat going past, a bird flying away or a breeze, the moment a small rippling wave crosses the water's surface, the blossom raft begins to move very slowly. The raft will soon crumble and rot away. But, that one small movement on the water gave life to the blossom raft and started it on a journey.
Madoka Mayuzumi
http://www.nps.gov/nacc/cherry/history.htm
Idle Thoughts..
As the story was told..George Washington wanted to try out a new axe, so he chopped down his father's cherry tree; when questioned by his father, he gave the famous non-quotation:
"I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree."
Seiko was amused by the story. The tale, originating long after Washington's death was created to emphasize the legendary honesty of the First American president.
Honesty after the fact, she supposed, was the American way.
During the Meiji era, tales of George Washington's greatness were accepted and adapted so that in the minds of the Japanese, Washington was likened to that of a fierce and cunning Daimyo who fought for the freedom of his taxed and burdoned people from the unscrupulous rulership of England. The Meiji Restoration was equated to Post-Revolutionary reconstruction, an attempt by the East to reach out and find common standing with a Western nation which still considered it to be a sub-civalised, medieval country.
Seiko was not an American Historian, however she knew that the cherry blossoms that lined the Potomac and the Mall were gifts transported from a rising nation to it's admired, more advanced counterpart. The City of Tokyo made a gift of the Sakura trees to Washington in 1909. On February 14, 1912, 3,020 the trees began their journey across the Pacific to Seattle where they ultimately spent the rest of the decade being planted and arranged around promanent areas of the capital city.
In Japan, Hanami (flower-watching) was a yearly custom. Because of their sweet colour and precious fragility, the Sakura are reknowned as incredibly beautiful and tragically romantic in the eyes of their Japanese countrymen. The beauty of the cherry blossom was a potent symbol equated with the evanescence of human life and epitomized the transformations Japan had undergone throughout the ages.
It pleased Seiko that in America, this foriegn flora had been so adopted and appreciated in such a manner. For a fleeting moment, she could almost imagine herself back in her native country...
The District was beautiful at night.
Seiko recalled a haiku written by a favourite of hers, Basho:
A lovely spring night
suddenly vanished while we
viewed cherry blossoms
The Sakura stood graceful, full in her glory. The gentle wind caressed the petals, causing them to shiver. Seiko studied the trees in admiration, without her floral bounty, the tree would still appear delicate, yet there was a steadiness about it. With deep roots and open branches beckoning to the star-studded heavens, Seiko could find nothing but respect for the patient boughs.
Grace and strength. Steadfast and delicate. Romantic and powerful.
One can learn so much by watching a cherry tree.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blossom raft, begins to move with a small wave on the water.
When the petals of cherry blossoms fall and gather on the surface of water, floating slowly like a raft, we, in the haiku world, call it a blossom raft. On the calm surface of a lake a blossom raft afloat remains still. Whether from a boat going past, a bird flying away or a breeze, the moment a small rippling wave crosses the water's surface, the blossom raft begins to move very slowly. The raft will soon crumble and rot away. But, that one small movement on the water gave life to the blossom raft and started it on a journey.
Madoka Mayuzumi
http://www.nps.gov/nacc/cherry/history.htm