How the Japanese Cherry Blossom Ritual Came to Germany
Germans are gearing up for cherry tree blossom season.
Germans are gearing up for cherry tree blossom season. The exotic pink or white-blooming trees made their way to Germany on various routes.In Japan, blooming cherry trees (sakura) are more than just a spring ritual. The cherry blossom symbolizes the bond between man and nature.
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People celebrate the pink abundance with picnics under cherry trees and trips to places with the best view of blooming trees — after first consulting special forecast maps with information about blooming times.
This integral part of Japanese culture is based on the philosophy of "mono no aware" — an appreciation of impermanence.
The blooms last for about ten days, a period also eagerly awaited in Germany.
Asian culture in Germany
"Among the branches of the cherry trees in bloom, no one is a stranger here," reads a small bronze plaque on a memorial stone in former East Berlin.
On the outskirts of the city, at the site of so-called "death strip" that ran paralell to the Berlin Wall to discourage escape attempts, Japanese citizens initiated and collected donations to plant a thousand cherry trees. The project celebrated the unification of East and West Germany in the early 1990s.
This long avenue of Japanese cherry trees has been known as Japaneck (Japanese Corner) since 1996.
Supported by the TV Asahi Network, the trees were planted by the Japanese Sakura Organizing Committee, with the memorial stone marking the significance of a touching gesture.
Here, too, the Japanese ritual of the cherry blossom festival signals the arrival of spring as people gather at Japaneck for a picnic under the blossoming cherry tree branches. Locals gather with Japanese and international visitors alike to enjoy the iconic spring celebraton together.
Why travel to Japan for the cherry blossom festival?
The trees with the iconic pink and white blossoms can be found not only in Berlin, but across Germany, and also attract thousands of visitors from Germany and abroad. At the most popular destinations, blossom barometers also indicate the best time for a visit.
The cherry trees made varied journeys to different parts of Germany.
In Bonn, the blooming trees made their way to then German capital in the 1980s when a municipal town planner decided to substitute the ornamental cherry trees for another tree species that was unavailable.
Bonn now boasts a famous cherry blossom avenue that attrcats both locals and international tourists.
Cherry trees in memory of Hiroshima
Hannover, which is Hiroshima’s twin city, also enjoys the cherry blossoms every year. Here, the focus is on remembrance.
The Hiroshima Memorial Grove has 50 Japanese cherry trees and was inaugurated in December, 1987.
By 1989, another 60 trees were added to commemorate the 110,000 people killed by the atomic bombin Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
Each of the 110 cherry trees represents 1,000 victims.
This article was originally writtten in German.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2023 06:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).