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The Meaning of Cherry Blossoms in Japan: Life, Death and Renewal

April 2, 2016 by Helen

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japanese cherry blossoms at ryoanji temple in kyoto

To everyone’s delight, cherry blossoms in Japan are already blooming as families and friends unite for the highly anticipated, centuries-old tradition of hanami (cherry blossom-viewing). The explosion of pale pink petals is a euphoric sight to behold, but did you know there’s more to their splendour than meets the eye? The meaning of cherry blossoms in Japan runs deep, making the country’s national flower a cultural icon revered around the world not just for its overwhelming beauty, but for its enduring expression of life, death and renewal.

What Are Cherry Blossoms?

Cherry blossoms, also known as sakura in Japan, are the small, delicate pink flowers produced by cherry blossom trees. The springtime bloom is a lavish spectacle but remarkably brief; after only two weeks, they drop to the ground and wither, falling like snow with the ebb and flow of the winds. As flowers native to Asia, they can also be found in China, South Korea and India, but today they enjoy worldwide blooming. 

cherry blossoms in high park toronto canada

Sakura in High Park, Toronto, Canada.

From the U.S. and Canada to Australia and New Zealand, sakura attracts and captivates an international audience.

What Do Cherry Blossoms Mean?

Cherry blossoms hold elevated status in China, signifying love and the female mystique (beauty, strength and sexuality), but nowhere in the world are the elusive flowers more cherished than in Japan, home to thousands of cherry blossom trees. The floral imagery permeates Japanese paintings, film and poetry.

japanese sakura flowers in full bloom

Every April, families and friends across the country ceremoniously gather in large groups for hanami and elaborate feasts with music under giant, feathery canopies of soft pink.

But what are they honouring and celebrating, exactly?

The brilliance, fragility and transience of life

Tied to the Buddhist themes of mortality, mindfulness and living in the present, Japanese cherry blossoms are a timeless metaphor for human existence. Blooming season is powerful, glorious and intoxicating, but tragically short-lived — a visual reminder that our lives, too, are fleeting.

Why don’t we marvel at our own passing time on earth with the same joy and passion? Why do we neglect to revel in life when it can end at any moment, or in the grace surrounding us everywhere: our family, friends, a stranger’s smile, a child’s laugh, new flavours on our plate or the scent of green grass? It is time, cherry blossoms remind us, to pay attention.

japanese cherry blossom tree

sakura flowers in japan

In Japanese culture, sakura as the embodiment of beauty and mortality can be traced back centuries. No one in history personified this metaphor more than the samurai, the warriors of feudal Japan who lived by bushido (“the way of the warrior”) — a strict moral code of respect, honour and discipline. It was their duty to not only exemplify and preserve these virtues in life, but to appreciate the inevitability of death without fearing it — in battle, it came all too soon for the samurai. A fallen cherry blossom or petal, it’s believed, symbolized the end of their short lives.

During World War II, cherry blossoms took on a similar meaning for Japanese pilots who painted their kamikaze warplanes with the flower imagery before embarking on suicide missions to “die like beautiful falling cherry petals for the emperor”.

night scene of fallen cherry blossom petals

Sakura are no longer embraced for military or self-destructive purposes; today, they’re widely valued for philosophical and aesthetic reasons.

Renewal

Sakura are also revered as a symbol of rebirth. Hanami was in fact established as a ritual as early as 710, long before the rise of feudal Japan. Believed to represent the mountain deities that transformed into the gods of rice paddies in Japanese folk religions, cherry blossom trees signified agricultural reproduction. It was during this time the Japanese travelled to the mountains to worship the trees every spring, then transplanted them to inhabited areas.

close-up of cherry blossom flowers in japan

Sakura have therefore always signalled the beginning of spring, a time of renewal and optimism. With the blooming season coinciding with the beginning of the Japanese calendar year, they also bring hope and new dreams at a time when students start their first day of school and employees their first day of a new job. When cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the future is bursting with possibilities.

The Ritual of Hanami

Hanami in Japan isn’t just any springtime activity, it’s a national pastime with deep cultural and religious roots.

hanami or cherry blossom-viewing in maruyama park kyoto japan

When the Japanese gather under the cherry blossom trees every April, they’re not just admiring the aesthetic attributes of a flower. Over tables of sake-filled glasses, bento boxes and sweet mochi, they’re seizing the day. They’re wringing the beauty out of life. They’re commemorating the loss of loved ones and reflecting on their own precious lives with a sense of wonder while shedding the past to usher in a bright, promising new year.

Ultimately, the meaning of cherry blossoms teaches the Japanese they are sakura. We all are.

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cherry blossom meaning in japan


Planning a trip to Japan to see the cherry blossoms for yourself? Click on one of the cities below to search for hotels on Booking.com:
Tokyo | Kyoto | Osaka | Hiroshima

Disclosure: I earn a modest commission from Booking.com if you click on one of these links and make a hotel reservation (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support!

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Comments

  1. Shehab says

    May 9, 2016 at 3:06 pm

    This is a great post.

    • Helen says

      May 11, 2016 at 2:08 pm

      Thank you, Shehab.

  2. Piotr Kulczycki says

    May 30, 2016 at 5:07 am

    Every photographer should witness hanami at least once! Thanks for sharing its meaning, your articles are great! Cheers!

    • Helen says

      June 6, 2016 at 2:50 am

      I agree. Cherry blossom season is a surreal experience, especially in Japan.

  3. Annette Emannuel says

    January 21, 2017 at 10:32 am

    Hi,

    The meaning of the cherry blossoms and the way in which you have written about them are beautiful.
    I would be most appreciative if I could quote a small excerpt on the blossom’s Bhuddist symbolism in my Word Press site A Scattering Of Petals – annetteemannuel.com
    Thank you for writing something really special ! Annette Emannel

    • Helen says

      January 23, 2017 at 2:31 pm

      Hi Annette. Thank you for reading! Please send me a message at notwithoutmypassport[at]gmail.com. 🙂

  4. Sally says

    April 11, 2017 at 2:59 am

    Hi, I loved your article about the cherry blossoms.

    I have a question, do you happen to know if all of these cherry trees bear fruits and what happens to all of the cherries?

    Thank you very much for your answer and have a fantastic day.

    Sally

    • Helen says

      April 14, 2017 at 4:58 pm

      Hi Sally. Thanks for your kind note! There’s a difference between cherry blossom trees and cherry fruit trees. From what I understand, cherry blossom trees do not produce fruit.

About Helen

Helen Suk

Travel writer. Photographer. Always curious. I search the world for beauty and inspiration while sharing valuable tips to help you plan your next trip.

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