Information on the Hanami Festival in Japan

1. Hanami
BY: CHERI-LEE STEYN

2. こんにちは先生、これは私の文化的なプ
ロジェクトです、お楽しみください！
Kon'nichiwa sensei, kore wa watashi no
bunka-tekina purojekutodesu, o tanoshimi
kudasai!

3. What Is Hanami?
 It is Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers, flowers ("hana") in this case
almost always referring to those of the cherry ("sakura") or, less frequently, plum ("ume") trees.From the
end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan, and around the first of February on the island of
Okinawa. The blossom forecast is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully
by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week or two. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly
consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. In some contexts the
Sino-Japanese term kan'ō is used instead, particularly for festivals. 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. On the island of Okinawa, decorative electric lanterns are hung in the trees for
evening enjoyment, such as on the trees ascending Mt. Yae, near Motobu Town, or at the Nakijin Castle.
 A more ancient form of hanami also exists in Japan, which is enjoying the plum blossoms instead, which is
narrowly referred to as umemi (plum-viewing). This kind of hanami is popular among older people,
because they are calmer than the sakura parties, which usually involve younger people and can
sometimes be very crowded and noisy.

4. History of Hanami
 The practice of hanami is many centuries old. The custom is said to have started during the Nara period (710–794) when it
was ume blossoms that people admired in the beginning. But by the Heian period (794–1185), sakura came to attract more
attention and hanami was synonymous with sakura. From then on, in both waka and haiku, "flowers" meant "sakura."Hanami
was first used as a term analogous to cherry blossom viewing in the Heian era novel The Tale of Genji. Although a wisteria
viewing party was also described, the terms "hanami" and "flower party" were subsequently used only in reference to cherry
blossom viewing.
 Sakura originally was used to divine that year's harvest as well as announce the rice-planting season. People believed in kami
inside the trees and made offerings. Afterwards, they partook of the offering with sake.Emperor Saga of the Heian period
adopted this practice, 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 was said to be the origin of Hanami in Japan.
 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, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts. The teasing proverb dumplings rather than flowers hints
at the real priorities for most cherry blossom viewers, meaning that people are more interested in the food and drinks
accompanying a hanami party than actually viewing the flowers themselves.[8][9] Dead bodies are buried under the cherry
trees! is a popular saying about hanami, after the opening sentence of the 1925 short story "Under the Cherry Trees" by
Motojirō Kajii.

5. The Holiday Today:
 The Japanese people continue 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 days come at the same time as the beginning of school and work after vacation, and
so welcoming parties are often opened with hanami. Usually, people go to the parks to keep the
best places to celebrate hanami with friends, family, and company coworkers many hours or even
days before. In cities like Tokyo, it is also common to have celebrations under the sakura at night.
Hanami at night is called yozakura. In many places such as Ueno Park, temporary paper lanterns
are hung to have yozakura.
 The cherry blossom front is forecast each year, previously by the Japan Meteorological Agency
and now by private agencies, and is watched with attention by those who plan to celebrate
hanami because the blossoms last for very little time, usually no more than two weeks. The first
cherry blossoms happen in the subtropical southern islands of Okinawa, while on the northern
island of Hokkaido, they bloom much later. In most large cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, the
cherry blossom season normally takes place around the end of March and the beginning of April.
The television and newspapers closely follow this "cherry blossom front", as it slowly moves from
South to North.
 The hanami celebrations usually involve eating and drinking, and playing and listening to music.
Some special dishes are prepared and eaten at the occasion, like dango and bento, and sake is
commonly drunk as part of the festivity

6. Bibliographies:
 "Hanami". Wikipedia. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 June 2016.
 "Hanami: The Cherry Blossom Festival Welcomes Spring". Samovar Tea Lounge.
N.p., 2009. Web. 14 June 2016.
 Rodgers, Greg and Greg Rodgers. "What Is Hanami? - Enjoying The Japanese
Cherry Blossom Festival". About.com Travel. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 June 2016.

7. 乾杯!
Kanpai!
ご清覧ありがとうございました
Go seiran arigatōgozaimashita