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Description:
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Cherry blossom viewing, otherwise known in Japanese as "hanami." Cherry blossom season occurs in the spring. Cherry blossoms, "sakura," are very symbolic in Japan.The beauty of cherry blossoms is short lived and they are quite delicate. Cherry blossoms were actually painted on Kamikaze planes because the kamikaze, like the cherry blossoms, enjoyed short lived beauty and a death which is also celebrated as beautiful. Thus, the sakura now also has a patriotic and militaristic nuance. In the old days, one was supposed to sit quietly under a cherry blossom tree and drink sake while watching the petals fall gently into one's cup and compose poetry. "Mono no aware" and "wabi sabi" are two emotions often connected with cherry blossom viewing. Both convey the idea of sadness in realizing the fleeting nature of beauty. As you can see from the photos taken in Tokyo, modern Japanese people no longer necessarily sit quietly under a cherry blossom tree and compose poetry while savoring the emotions of "wabi sabi" and "mono no aware." Instead most get very drunk. |
