Sakura cherry blossom is a symbol of Japan. Each year, many tourists visit Japan to see the cities, embellished with the beautiful pink flowers.
Japanese people are also fond of beautiful Sakura flowers. When the flower starts to bloom, it’s a sign that warm spring is finally here.
Sakura is a sign of beginnings
For us, Sakura flowers symbolizes the beginning of a new life. The Japanese school system has chosen the month of April as the beginning of a new school year. Students can start their school year, under the warm-gaze of beautiful flowers looking over them.
Long time, the Sakura flowers have reminded us of the new start. Since the Yayoi period (300 BCE-300 CE), Japanese people have started rice cultivation when the Sakura blossom starts blooming. That is also why Sakura trees were considered as the god of grain, looking over the success in plentiful harvest.
The pink color of Sakura reminds me that it’s time to start something new. Or do the same thing but with a fresh new perspective.
Seize each moment
As many tourists coming to Japan know, we can’t always predict when the flower will be fully bloomed. In a society with an extremely rigid and reliable scheduling system, it must be frustrating for everyone that we can’t know the exact date of flower blooming, like we can control our trains.
That’s why Sakura flowers are special, I guess. We just wait for the flowers to bloom, making us see our surroundings more closely, hoping to catch the first sign of flower blooming.
Once it starts to bloom, we need to seize the moment and enjoy the beautiful flowers since Sakura flowers only last for a short time. It lasts 1 or 2 weeks if we are lucky. Bad weather or unstable weather can make flowers fall faster.
Sakura flowers tell us to seize each moment, because life can suddenly change or good things can disappear, just like those beautiful flowers. Take time in your busy schedule and spend time admiring the flowers. They may not be there tomorrow.
Reference
https://innosho.co.jp/web-mag-11%E3%80%80%E6%A1%9C%E3%81%A8%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E4%BA%BA/
