Japanese with anime voice: episode20
Hello, I’m Sachi.
It’s cherry blossom season again this year! Where I live now, the Kakegawa-zakura cherry blossoms are already in full bloom! These cherry blossoms bloom earlier than most cherry blossoms and are a deep pink color. Usually, the cherry blossoms are at their best around mid-March, but this year, due to the mild winter, they were opened as early as the end of February. But then the cold weather continued, so there was a little time before the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. These cherry blossoms are deep pink and have a sense of presence, but the flowers themselves tend to bloom in a downcast way. They are show-offs masquerading as modest.
In this town, there is a castle called Kakegawa Castle, and in front of the castle there is a small river with over 300 cherry blossoms planted along the river on both banks! On a clear day, the contrast between the blue sky and the cherry blossoms is absolutely beautiful!
As many of you may know, “Ohanami” is the Japanese word for enjoying the cherry blossoms.
We eat lunch under the cherry trees while looking at the beautiful cherry blossoms, and have a banquet while drinking. Well, when it comes to banquets, sometimes it is hard to tell whether the purpose of the banquet is to see cherry blossoms or to have a drink. The custom of Hanami in Japan is said to have started in the Heian period, and we have been enjoying viewing cherry blossoms for a very long time. The Heian period is the period from 710 to 1192 A.D. It has been a custom for more than 1,000 years.
By the way, do you all know about 夜桜 (yozakura)? Cherry blossom viewing at night is called 夜桜 (yozakura). In some places, the cherry blossoms are lit up, which is also tasteful and very beautiful. The Kakegawa-zakura cherry blossoms in front of Kakegawa Castle are also lit up, making it a good date course for lovers during this season.
I recently realized that I can enjoy the Kakegawazakura cherry blossoms in early March. Then, when I return to my hometown, I can enjoy the regular cherry blossoms from the end of March to the beginning of April. I can enjoy the cherry blossoms longer than other people! I can’t believe my luck!
Kakegawa, where this Kakegawa-zakura is located, is a big city. If you want to see ソメイヨシノ(someiyoshino) cherry trees, ヤマザクラ (yamazakura) cherry trees, and other common cherry trees, you have to drive a little bit far from the city. But in my hometown, surrounded by mountains and a river, you can see cherry blossoms all around! So, if you take a short walk, you can easily find cherry blossoms. That’s what I like about the countryside!
Cherry blossoms are an attractive plant that attracts people with its overwhelming presence when in full bloom. But did you know that it is actually a very, very delicate tree? If you cut or break a branch of a cherry tree, rotting fungi will grow from it and cause disease to the entire tree. That is why you should never break a branch of a cherry tree. So, when pruning cherry trees, knowledgeable specialists prune them while treating them with care. That is why the word “Ohanami” means cherry blossom viewing. We just look at them as they are in their natural state. You enjoy it with your eyes, marveling at its beauty.
Since the increased use of social networking services, we often see cherry blossoms in full bloom and Mt. Fuji, or a shrine or a scene in Kyoto amidst cherry blossoms in full bloom, but the beauty of cherry blossoms is not only when they are in full bloom. The beauty of cherry blossoms lies in the sequence of events from when the buds appear to when they fall. When buds form on a cherry tree, we are excited. When the blossoms open little by little, the anticipation for the full bloom is heightened. When the blossoms are in full bloom, we are overwhelmed by their splendor. And when they fall gracefully, we are deeply moved. These are the cherry blossoms.
Among such a series of events, especially when the flowers are in full bloom, they not only make the place beautifully colored, but also make the people who see them happy.
After the New Year, I think that it will soon be the season of cherry blossoms, and my mind starts to turn to cherry blossoms. Even though I know it is too early for the cherry blossoms to bloom, when I pass by a cherry tree, I naturally look at it and check to see if it is ready yet. I’m not a person who is interested in flowers, but cherry blossoms attract even such people’s attention. By the way, when cherry blossoms begin to fall, young leaves appear, which are called “葉桜 (hazakura)”. The pink color mixed with fresh green is also very nice. Cherry blossoms delight us until the very end, don’t they?
