Hanami (花見) Cherry Blossom Viewing

  

Japan's Cherry Blossom Season

Hanami (花見) is the Japanese tradition of going out and viewing the Spring sakura (cherry blossoms), usually by having a picnic with family, friends or colleagues. Himeji Castle is usually a popular site for hanami, but this year there were signs up due to COVID-19 and picnics and big gathering were not allowed. We weren't able to have a full hanami picnic, but we walked around and took in the beautiful cherry blossoms with Himeji Castle as our background.

Cherry blossoms are an important part of Japanese culture and have a lot of associated vocabulary. Cherry blossoms are seen as as a symbol of transience. In what is seen as representative of the transient nature of life, they bloom very briefly in the Spring before quickly shedding their petals and vanishing. Below are just a few of the hanami-related words that we have heard.

Sakura (桜): Cherry blossom.
Mankai (満開): Full bloom.
Sakura-fubuki (桜吹雪): Special phrase that means “cherry blossom snowstorm.” A beautiful scene to behold when cherry blossom petals are gently carried by a spring breeze.
Hana-no-ami (花の雨): Special phrase used to describe when rain falls on the cherry blossoms; it means "flower rain."
Hazakura (葉桜): Cherry tree leaves that begin to appear after the flower blossoms have fallen.