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Hanami (花見 lit. flower viewing) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the
beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms
(桜 or 櫻, sakura), or ume blossoms (梅, ume). From late March to early April
(early May on Hokkaido), sakura bloom all over Japan. The blossom forecast (桜前
線, sakurazensen, lit. cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the
weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the
blossoms only last a week. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of
having an outdoor party beneath the sakura, which are pretty in daylight and
enchanting at night. Hanami at night is called yozakura (literally "night sakura").
In many places such as Ueno Park temporary paper lanterns are hung for the
purpose of yozakura.
History
The practice of hanami is many centuries old. The custom is said to have started
during the Nara Period (710–784) when the Chinese Tang Dynasty influenced
Japan in many ways; one of which was the custom of enjoying flowers. Though it
was ume blossoms that people admired in the beginning, by the Heian Period,
sakura came to attract more attention. From then on, in tanka and haiku,
"flowers" meant "sakura."
Hanami was first used as a term analogous to cherry blossom viewing in the
Heian era novel Tale of Genji. Whilst a wisteria viewing party was also described,
from this point on the terms "hanami" and "flower party" were only used to
describe cherry blossom viewing.
Sakura originally was used to divine that year's harvest as well as an announcer
of the rice-planting season. People believed in gods' existence inside the trees
and made offerings at the root of sakura trees. Afterwards, they partook of the
offering with sake.
Emperor Saga of Heian Period adopted this and held flower-viewing parties with
sake and feasts underneath the blossoming boughs of sakura trees in the
Imperial Court in Kyoto. Poems would be written praising the delicate flowers,
which were seen as a metaphor for life itself, luminous and beautiful yet fleeting
and ephemeral. This is said to be the start of hanami.
The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court but soon
spread to samurai society and by the Edo period to the common people as well.
Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this.
Under the sakura trees, they had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts.
Today, people continue with the tradition of Hanami, gathering in great numbers
wherever the flowering trees are found. Thousands of people fill the parks to
hold feasts under the flowering trees, and sometimes these parties go on until
late at night. In more than half of Japan, the cherry blossoming period coincides
with the beginning of the scholastic and fiscal years, and so welcoming parties
are often opened with hanami.
beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms
(桜 or 櫻, sakura), or ume blossoms (梅, ume). From late March to early April
(early May on Hokkaido), sakura bloom all over Japan. The blossom forecast (桜前
線, sakurazensen, lit. cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the
weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the
blossoms only last a week. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of
having an outdoor party beneath the sakura, which are pretty in daylight and
enchanting at night. Hanami at night is called yozakura (literally "night sakura").
In many places such as Ueno Park temporary paper lanterns are hung for the
purpose of yozakura.
History
The practice of hanami is many centuries old. The custom is said to have started
during the Nara Period (710–784) when the Chinese Tang Dynasty influenced
Japan in many ways; one of which was the custom of enjoying flowers. Though it
was ume blossoms that people admired in the beginning, by the Heian Period,
sakura came to attract more attention. From then on, in tanka and haiku,
"flowers" meant "sakura."
Hanami was first used as a term analogous to cherry blossom viewing in the
Heian era novel Tale of Genji. Whilst a wisteria viewing party was also described,
from this point on the terms "hanami" and "flower party" were only used to
describe cherry blossom viewing.
Sakura originally was used to divine that year's harvest as well as an announcer
of the rice-planting season. People believed in gods' existence inside the trees
and made offerings at the root of sakura trees. Afterwards, they partook of the
offering with sake.
Emperor Saga of Heian Period adopted this and held flower-viewing parties with
sake and feasts underneath the blossoming boughs of sakura trees in the
Imperial Court in Kyoto. Poems would be written praising the delicate flowers,
which were seen as a metaphor for life itself, luminous and beautiful yet fleeting
and ephemeral. This is said to be the start of hanami.
The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court but soon
spread to samurai society and by the Edo period to the common people as well.
Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this.
Under the sakura trees, they had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts.
Today, people continue with the tradition of Hanami, gathering in great numbers
wherever the flowering trees are found. Thousands of people fill the parks to
hold feasts under the flowering trees, and sometimes these parties go on until
late at night. In more than half of Japan, the cherry blossoming period coincides
with the beginning of the scholastic and fiscal years, and so welcoming parties
are often opened with hanami.