Spring Has Sprung...

And in Japan, that means it is time again to contemplate mono no aware, the fleeting and slightly melancholy nature of being alive. Japan has got to be the only country in the world with forecast systems in place for both some of the worst natural disasters imaginable, and flowers. Meteorological agencies across the country rush to predict just when and where the cherry blossoms will bloom so millions can plan on which days to pull sick days in order to recover from Hanami.

Ever since I’ve been in Japan I feel like a 45 year old woman (as Decky put it), going to tea-parties, card nights, book clubs, pot-lucks and being in bed by 10:00…might as well keep it going with a ‘flower viewing’ party eh? In fact, many of my friends drove all the way down to Joetsu to enjoy the viewing b/c it supposedly has the #3 night viewing in all of Japan. Notice I said “night” –some of my friends aren’t all together too bright and drove down in the morning…but ALTs never claim to be the sharpest tools in the shed. Fortunately for them Hanami isn’t about appreciating cherry blossoms. It about sitting making as much of an ass of yourself as possible in a crowded public park and drinking to the brink of passing out...which ALTs seem to be pros at. It’s the time of year when hospital admittances for alcohol poisoning are at their highest and sales of blue plastic sheets skyrocket.

“Cherry blossoms (sakura) are charged with meaning. Their fragile and fleeting bloom has been compared to a woman's beauty, blossoming for a short period before withering into old age. The fighting men of Japan - soldiers, samurai and gangsters - often used them as a symbol of a life that was short but magnificent. Because the Japanese school year begins in April, the sakura are also seen as a sign of beginning, signaling a new stage in life.” Of course, most of this ancient symbolism has been lost in the pursuit of an excuse to get drunk and take nenkyu (leave from work)..but I’m not complaining.

HANAMI FACTS:

1. When and how this whole hanami thing got started is a mystery, but it has been going on for a long time. Some say it started in the Nara period (710-784), due to the encroaching influence of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and its established culture of flower appreciation. Others argue it is a Japan-original, with 3rd century hanami parties being mentioned in the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan). Either way, plum blossoms and wisteria were originally the flowers of note, with nobody giving a hoot about sakura. However, like pretty much everything else in traditional Japanese culture, this all changed with the publication of The Tale of Genji, which included a sakura-hanami party scene. From then on, the word came to be exclusively associated with parties under cherry blossoms.

2. Whether or not hanami parties are indigenous to Japan, Sakura trees aren't. They were imported to Japan from the Himalayas and have been artificially hybridized for centuries, resulting in around 305 distinct varieties. Considered the most beautiful sakura and genetically grafted so that all of its flowers bloom at the same time, the Somei Yoshino was perfected towards the end of the Edo period. And yes, I know most of you probably already know but…although they are called "cherry blossoms" in English, actual cherries come from an entirely different species of tree, so don’t ask for any cherry omiyage.

3. To help manage the big sake bottles, people are often seen drinking from masu, a square wooden box-shaped cup usually with some design etched in it. Masu were originally a standardized measuring cup for counting rice, said to contain exactly enough rice to feed a working man for one day. 365 masu added up to a koku, enough rice to feed someone for a year; this was used as a measure of wealth in feudal Japan.

4. Nowadays, the focus of the event has changed, which resulted in the phrase hana yori dango. It means: being more interested in the tasty and sweet foods of hanami parties (dango) rather than wasting time staring at the flowers (hana) and contemplating mono no aware. Personally, I think this would be better called hana yori sake, but whatever flips your skirt..