When did the habit of cherry-blossom viewing begin in the first place?
In fact, its history is very old, and it is said that it started in the Nara period about 1300 years ago.
At that time, the aristocrats were not watching the cherry blossoms, but the plum blossoms that had just been handed down from China. He enjoyed banquets and waka poems while gazing at the view of the plum blossoms in the garden.
After that, in the Heian period (about 1200 years ago), the leading role of cherry blossom viewing changed from plum blossoms to cherry blossoms. And as the times changed, the custom of cherry-blossom viewing was inherited even among samurai, and in the Edo period (about 400 years ago), the custom of cherry-blossom viewing spread to the general public.
During this period, a type of cherry tree called Yoshino cherry tree was planted nationwide, and it is said that most of the cherry blossoms we see in the city today are Yoshino cherry trees.
It has long been believed that the god of "rice fields" that descends from the mountains in the spring dwells in the cherry blossoms, and the way the cherry blossoms bloom is used to predict the harvest of agricultural products and prepare for sowing rice at the time of flowering. , Cherry blossoms were very important to the farmers.
It is also an event for everyone to celebrate the successful arrival of spring after overcoming the difficult winter, as many people died of food shortages and illnesses due to the harsh winter cold.
Furthermore, in modern Japanese schools, the graduation and entrance ceremonies are just around the time when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, so when you see the cherry blossoms, you can feel the excitement of farewell to your friends and the excitement of jumping into a new environment. It will come.
As an adult, you can enjoy the cherry blossoms you saw with your parents when you were a child, as your child grows up. In this way, cherry blossoms have been an indispensable and important existence for Japanese people from long ago to the present.
There are cherry trees overseas, but you can't see them everywhere, such as in parks and tree-lined roads, as in Japan. Also, there is no custom of cherry-blossom viewing in Japan, so many people are looking forward to actually coming to Japan and experiencing cherry-blossom viewing.
What surprises foreigners often is that you can drink alcohol anywhere in Japan. In some countries, drinking alcohol outdoors is prohibited by law, so I think it's a valuable experience to be able to taste Japanese alcohol under the cherry blossoms in full bloom.
By the time you go home after drinking too much, it's often fluttering ... so let's enjoy alcohol moderately.
(Please note that in Japan, people under the age of 20 should not drink alcohol.)