Every spring, right when the cherry blossoms bloom fully on the branches and boughs of the sakura tree, millions of Japanese gather in parks, gardens and other spacious areas where these fragile flowers are in full display. They assemble under the trees to share food and drinks, enjoy each other’s company, and marvel at the spectacle of the flowers in full bloom. This is the Hanami, or as the rest of the world knows it, the Cherry Blossom Festival. In collaboration with the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), asianTraveler takes a look at the history of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Hanami Through the Years

Hanami is made up of two words: hana, which means “flower”, and mi, which means “to see or to view”, hence Hanami literally translates to “flower viewing”. While this much-cherished Japanese tradition has gained worldwide popularity, cherry blossoms were not the original flowers that gained the affection of the Japanese aristocracy. Belden Joseph Yñiguez, Deputy Marketing Manager of JNTO Manila Office gives a background on the history of the hanami.

He explains, “Unbeknownst to many, the flowers that inspired the flower viewing were originally not cherry blossoms. Plum blossoms were the original flowers of affection of the Japanese aristocracy.”

During the Nara period (710-794 AD) trade between Japan and China flourished, with China heavily influencing many facets of Japan’s way of life. There was a great exchange of cultures and goods, and among these was the plum tree. “As it came from China, plum trees were treated as sacred and looked upon with great favor by the Japanese aristocrats. They loved watching the trees produce plum blossoms when they bloom in early spring,” Yñiguez continues.

Emperor Saga, the 52nd emperor of Japan, started the practice of sakura-viewing parties when he hosted the first ever hanami party. Inspired by a sakura tree in Jishu Shrine within the Kiyomizu-dera Temple area of Kyoto, the gathering was marked by feasting, music playing, and poetry writing while admiring the beguiling Cherry Blossoms. This became a regular event and the practice eventually spread amongst the aristocrats.

During Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s reign, he hosted two hanami parties that set the style for the modern hanami. The first was in 1594, when he held a five-day hanami party at Mt. Yoshino, Nara, for 5,000 people, with 1,000 Cherry trees replanted from Osaka. The second was in 1598 at Daigo-ji, Kyoto, for around 1,300 people, where he had 700 cherry trees planted. Representatives of samurai families were invited to these gatherings, so it was then that the samurai class were exposed to hanami.

During the reign of Tokugawa Ieyasu known as the Edo period (1603-1867 AD), cherry trees were re-planted from Mt. Yoshino to Tokyo in what is known as Ueno Park today. In 1720, his descendant Tokugawa Yoshimune had cherry trees planted in Asakusa and Asukayama Park. This gave the common people a chance to enjoy viewing the cherry blossoms as well.