Traditional Hanami

•  Literally means "flower viewing"

• Is a centuries old Japanese custom that appears to have originated in the 8th century. 

• Originally, it was a delicately orchestrated tea ceremony reserved for the elite of the Imperial Court.

• The ceremonies took place beneath the blossoming boughs of the Japanese flowering cherry trees, known as Sakura.

• They believed kami lived inside the trees and flowers.

• The cherry blossoms were seen as metaphors for the fleetingness of life.

• It was a time to observe and to appreciate transcience; a time to renew the spirit.   
  

• Now, hanami is a nationally recognized festival that marks the beginning of spring in Japan, and practically everyone there goes outside to take part in the happenings, even cats! 

• The uniqueness of the hanami celebration that sets it apart from other springtime fests lies in that, for the Japanese, it is still a time to acknowledge and to admire the ephemeral beauty of life through the Sakura blossoms.
  

Wabi-sabi in Hanami

• Wabi-sabi is the quintessential Japanese artistic asthetic; but, it is less about art and more about the instantaneous feeling one gets upon observation of something, in this case, the cherry blossoms.

• It is a relationship between observer and the observed.  

• Sakura are imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.

• It suggests a natural process: the life cycle of the Sakura is an absolute natural process.

• The cherry blossom is a symbol of life and how quickly it fades away.

• Hanami is a time to stop preoccupation with success and to enjoy the unencumbered life.

• It is an awareness and an appreciation of the inevitable; death.

• The cherry blossoms are devloving toward nothingness.

• The admiration of death is somewhat on the darker side of things.

• The sight of Sakura alone are spectacular and evoke an odd feeling of beauty.

Fun Facts

• The cherry blossom is the unofficial national flower of Japan.

• Sakura are fruitless trees.

• The anticipation of Hanami is so intense that even the Japan Weather Association forecasts the blooming season.

• Special edition candies are produced much like the ones produced for U.S. holidays.

• People show up days in advance to procure the most desirable location beneath cherry blossoms.