Hanami | Pump up your spring with a cherry blossom picnic! | J ● T| Japanese Traditions and culture

There is a popular event in spring called Ohanami (Hanami) in Japan. The word is derived from the literal, “to view flowers” but not just any flowers!
Ohanami is a pastime that specifically celebrates the viewing of the cherry blossom (Sakura).

There is two origin of “Ohanami”.

1 noble culture

As for the noble of the Nara era, “the flower of the plum” was Maine.
And cherry blossoms became the important event than a plum when it was Heian Period.
It is said that it is the origin of Ohanami that the Emperor Saga held a party in a south palace for 812 years.

2 farmer culture

When it was spring, the person of the village went into the hill and mountain nearby with food and drink.
Ohanami of the cherry tree bloom, and tell agriculture of one year.
It is thought with culture made for a long time.
Ohanami was popular between the samurai families in Momoyama era.
Ohanami of Hideyoshi Toyotomi is luxurious, and it is famous.
Ohanami comes to have nothing to do with the noble formula event afterwards after the Edo era began.
It spread out as an event of general public.
The Edo Shogunate planted the large-scale cherry tree for the purpose of city planning.
Yoshimune Tokugawa planted a tree in a penumbra of Edo that was the point of contact of a city and the farm village.
And a famous spot of Ohanami was born.
Ohanami was connected by the open thing for the popularization in a city penumbra.

There is the cherry tree in Asia, the world countries including Europe.
However, there is not the custom to see a flower with a style such as Japan.
Therefore Ohanami is an event peculiar to Japan!

Let’s see Ohanami of Kyoto!