A cherry blossom is also known as Japanese cherry s.
They are also a common species in East Asia, including China, Korea, and especially in
Japan.
They generally refer to ornamental cherry trees, not to be confused with cherry trees
that produce fruit for eating.
It is considered the national flower of Japan.
In Japan, cherry blossoms symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse,
besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese
cultural tradition that is often associated with Shinto influence, and which is embodied
in the concept of mono no aware.
The association of the cherry blossom with mono no aware dates back to 18th-century scholar
Motoori Norinaga.
The transience of the blossoms, the exquisite beauty, and volatility, has often been associated
with mortality and graceful and readily acceptance of destiny and karma; for this reason, cherry
blossoms are richly symbolic and have been utilized often in Japanese art, manga, anime,
and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect.
There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi (bamboo flute), titled
"Sakura", and several pop songs.
The flower is also represented in all manner of consumer goods in Japan, including kimono,
stationery, and dishware.
The Sakurakai or Cherry Blossom Society was the name chosen by young officers within the
Imperial Japanese Army in September 1930 for their secret society established with the
goal of reorganizing the state along totalitarian militaristic lines, via a military coup d'état
if necessary.
During World War II, cherry blossom was used to motivate the Japanese people, and to stoke
nationalism and militarism among the populace.
Even prior to the war, they were used in propaganda to inspire "Japanese spirit", as in the "Song
of Young Japan", exulting in "warriors" who were "ready like the myriad cherry blossoms
to scatter".
In 1932, Akiko Yosano's poetry urged Japanese soldiers to endure suffering in China and
compared the dead soldiers to cherry blossoms.
Arguments that the plans for the Battle of Leyte Gulf, involving all Japanese ships,
would expose Japan to serious danger if they failed, were countered with the plea that
the Navy be permitted to "bloom as flowers of death".
The last message of the forces on Peleliu was "Sakura, Sakura" — cherry blossoms.
Japanese pilots would paint them on the sides of their planes before embarking on a suicide
mission, or even take branches of the trees with them on their missions.
A cherry blossom painted on the side of the bomber symbolized the intensity and ephemerality
of life; in this way, the aesthetic association was altered such that falling cherry petals
came to represent the sacrifice of youth in suicide missions to honor the emperor.
The first kamikaze unit had a subunit called Yamazakura or wild cherry blossom.
The government even encouraged the people to believe that the souls of downed warriors
were reincarnated in the blossoms.
Cherry blossoms are a prevalent symbol in Irezumi, the traditional art of Japanese tattoos.
In tattoo art, cherry blossoms are often combined with other classic Japanese symbols like koi
fish, dragons, or tigers.
It was later used for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics mascot Someity.
It is also a common 'season' that signals the start of spring in the Animal Crossing
series of video games, where all of the game's leafy trees bloom with cherry blossoms.
The most popular variety of cherry blossoms in Japan is the Somei Yoshino.
Its flowers are nearly pure white, tinged with the palest pink, especially near the
stem.
They bloom and usually fall within a week before the leaves come out.
Therefore, the trees look nearly white from top to bottom.
The variety takes its name from the village of Somei (now part of Toshima in Tokyo).
It was developed in the mid- to late-19th century at the end of the Edo period and the
beginning of the Meiji period.
The Somei Yoshino is so widely associated with cherry blossoms that jidaigeki and other
works of fiction often depict the variety in the Edo period or earlier; such depictions
are anachronisms.
It is a natural hybrid between Oshima cherry and Prunus campanulata, and is characterized
by deep pink petals.
Wild cherry trees usually do not bloom in cold seasons because they cannot produce offspring
if they bloom before spring when the pollinating insects begin to move.
In wild species, flowering before spring is a disadvantageous feature of selection, but
in cultivars such as 'Kawazu-sakura, early flowering and flower characteristics are preferred
and they are propagated by grafting.
Cherry blossoms are basically classified by species and cultivars, but in Japan, they
are often classified by specific names based on the characteristics of the flowers and
trees.
Cherry trees with more petals than ordinary cherry trees with five petals are classified
as (double-flowered sakura), and those with drooping branches are classified as shidare-zakura
or weeping cherry.
The color of cherry blossoms, in general, has a gradation between white and red, but
there are cultivars with unusual colors such as yellow and green.
The representative cultivars are Prunus serrulata 'Grandiflora' A. Wagner and Prunus serrulata
'Gioiko' developed in the Edo period of Japan.
In 2007, Riken produced a new cultivar named 'Nishina zao' by irradiating cherry trees
with a heavy-ion beam for the first time in the world.
This cultivar is produced from the Prunus serrulata 'Gioiko' with green petals and is
characterized by its pale yellow-green-white flowers when it blooms and pale yellow-pink
flowers when they fall.
Riken produced 'Nishina Otome, 'Nishina Haruka, and 'Nishina komachi' in the same way.
All wild varieties of cherry blossom trees produce small, unpalatable fruit or edible
cherries.
Edible cherries generally come from cultivars of the related species Prunus avium and Prunus
cerasus.
However, in some cultivars, the pistil changes like a leaf and loses its fertility, and for
example, Prunus serrulata 'Hisakura' and Prunus serrulata 'Albo-rosea' Makino, which originated
from Oshima cherry, can only be propagated by artificial methods such as grafting and
cutting.
In Japan, cherry blossoms symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse,
besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese
cultural tradition that is often associated with Shinto influence, and which is embodied
in the concept of mono no aware.
The association of the cherry blossom with mono no aware dates back to 18th-century scholar
Motoori Norinaga.
The transience of the blossoms, the exquisite beauty, and volatility, has often been associated
with mortality and graceful and readily acceptance of destiny and karma; for this reason, cherry
blossoms are richly symbolic and have been utilized often in Japanese art, manga, anime,
and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect.
There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi (bamboo flute), titled
"Sakura", and several pop songs.
The flower is also represented in all manner of consumer goods in Japan, including kimonos,
stationery, and dishware.
The Sakurakai or Cherry Blossom Society was the name chosen by young officers within the
Imperial Japanese Army in September 1930 for their secret society established with the
goal of reorganizing the state along totalitarian militaristic lines, via a military coup d'état
if necessary.
During World War II, the cherry blossom was used to motivate the Japanese people, and
to stoke nationalism and militarism among the populace.
Even prior to the war, they were used in propaganda to inspire the "Japanese spirit", as in the
"Song of Young Japan", exulting in "warriors" who were "ready like the myriad cherry blossoms
to scatter".
In 1932, Akiko Yosano's poetry urged Japanese soldiers to endure suffering in China and
compared the dead soldiers to cherry blossoms.
Arguments that the plans for the Battle of Leyte Gulf, involving all Japanese ships,
would expose Japan to serious danger if they failed, were countered with the plea that
the Navy be permitted to "bloom as flowers of death".
The last message of the forces on Peleliu was "Sakura, Sakura" — cherry blossoms.
Japanese pilots would paint them on the sides of their planes before embarking on a suicide
mission, or even take branches of the trees with them on their missions.
A cherry blossom painted on the side of the bomber symbolized the intensity and ephemerality
of life; in this way, the aesthetic association was altered such that falling cherry petals
came to represent the sacrifice of youth in suicide missions to honor the emperor.
The government even encouraged the people to believe that the souls of downed warriors
were reincarnated in the blossoms.
Prunus subhirtella, a wild species, grows slowly, but has the longest life span among
cherry trees and is easy to grow into large trees.
For this reason, there are many large and long-lived trees of this species in Japan,
and their cherry trees are often regarded as sacred and have become a landmark that
symbolizes Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and local areas.
In the United States, cherry blossom viewing began to spread after Japan presented cherry
blossoms as a token of friendship in 1912.
The botanical classification of cherry blossoms varies from period to period and from country
to country.
As of the 21st century, in the mainstream classification in Europe and North America,
cherry trees for ornamental purposes are classified into the genus Prunus which consists of about
400 species.
In the mainstream classification in Japan, China, and Russia, on the other hand, ornamental
cherry trees are classified into the genus Cerasus, which consists of about 100 species
separated from the genus Prunus, and the genus Cerasus does not include Prunus salicina,
Prunus persica (Peach), Prunus mume, Prunus grayana, etc.
In Japan, the genus Prunus was the mainstream as in Europe and America until around 1992,
but it was reclassified into the genus Cerasus in order to more accurately reflect the latest
botanical situation of cherry blossoms.
However, it is often classified into the genus Prunus for presentation in English-speaking
countries.
In general, cherry blossom (sakura) refers only to some of these about 100 species and
the cultivars produced from them, and it does not refer to plum blossoms that are similar
to sakura.
In addition, since cherry trees are relatively prone to mutation and have a variety of flowers
and trees, there are many varieties, such as variety which is a sub-classification of
species, hybrids between species, and cultivars.
For this reason, many researchers have named different scientific names for a particular
type of cherry tree in different periods, and there is confusion in the classification
of cherry trees.
Many wild species and cultivars bloom from March to April in the Northern Hemisphere.
Wild species, even if they are the same species, are genetically different from one tree to
another, so that even if they are planted in the same place, there is some variation
in the time when they reach full bloom.
On the other hand, because cultivars tend to be planted for cherry blossom viewing,
which is a clone propagated by grafting or cutting, is genetically uniform, each tree
of the same cultivar planted in the same place is in full bloom and scattered all at once.
In addition, some wild species such as Edo higan and the cultivars developed from them
are in full bloom before the leaves open, giving a showy impression to the people who
enjoy them.
Yoshino cherry became popular as a cherry tree for cherry-blossom viewing because, in
addition to these characteristics of simultaneous flowering and the fact that the flowers are
in full bloom before the leaves open, it bears a large number of flowers and grows quickly
to become a big tree.
Many cultivars of the Sato-sakura group, which were born from complex interspecific hybrids
based on Oshima cherry, are often used for ornamental purposes and generally reach full
bloom a few days to two weeks after Yoshino cherry reaches full bloom.
The flowering time of cherry trees is thought to be affected by global warming and the heat
island effect of urbanization.