Bathing in the Blossoms: Hanami in the U.S. Daylight savings
time has begun, and just seeing flowers blooming makes us feel
that spring is all around us now. For Japanese people, it is
hanami (flower-viewing) season. When people talk about “hanami”,
the flower they mean is always sakura (cherry blossoms).
Innumerable hanami events and sakura matsuri (cherry blossom
festivals) take place nationwide in Japan. But even in the U.S.
there are areas where we can enjoy sakura trees just like in
Japan. The most famous East Coast sakura are in Washington, D.C.
In 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo donated 3,000 sakura trees
to the city of Washington, D.C., and each year since 1927, the
National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the gift. This
year, marking the 101st anniversary of the gift of trees, the
festival takes place from March 20 to April 14, and it
culminates with the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on
April 13, which is filled with cultural events, celebrity
performances, marching bands from across