Autumn Cherry Blossoms
Cherry blossoms are iconic for Japan. They’re not just a national flower. In a sense they represent everything Japanese. Every park, every school, every mountain road, many private gardens, and of course every temple has its share of cherry trees. If you fly over the countryside in April you’ll see that really, the whole nation has taken on a pale pink hue.
If you ask a Japanese person, “Why cherries? Why not roses?” They will explain that its because they identify with the cherry blossom. It’s delicate and refined, and blooms when it is still quite chilly, thus representing enduring hardship with grace and beauty. The main thing they identify with is the fact that they are so short lived. They last only about 3 days, and then rain down from the tree in the slightest breeze. They will tell you that’s how they want to live. Beautifully, and with grace, then when the time comes to let go of life, or even just a relationship or a stage in their life, they want to let go with no struggle and no regrets.
I think it’s a shade on the dark and lonely side to see them trying to be satisfied with this life with no thought of what may come after, but indeed it is a noble effort.
What most Japanese don’t even know is that some types of cherries bloom in the fall as well. In the fall, for some reason the flowers last for weeks. These trees started blooming in mid Sept. and are still going strong six weeks later. A testimony to the fact that life doesn’t necessarily have to be short to be sweet.