Hanami, a tradition unique to Japan ?

[YAMA]

Hello! Konbannwa.
I love going hanami very much. Because it is a rare opportunity to have a
big party "outside".
In Japan, there is a saying "花より団子-hana yori dango-"
For many people, viewing cherry blossom is not important, but having a fun with their colleagues, friends, or family members is more important.

Cherry blossoms are very special flowers for the Japanese. Since Japanese school year starts in April, cherry blossoms are always related to new life or new friends and reminds me a sweet sentimental memories of childhood.

I think hanami got its popularity in Edo period when gardening was a national obsession. After Somei yoshino (Typical type of cherry) produced by breeding
in Somei (Name of the place near Sugamo, Tokyo), then Shougun orderd to plant them everywhere. ( I'm sorry if I'm wrong.)

The time for plum blossoms and peach blossoms are still cold to have a party outside that's why they are less popular in Japan, I guess.

Maciamo-san,
I think every country has something unique (or they believe it's unique). Why not for Japan?

[Maciamo]

I think every country has something unique (or they believe it's unique). Why not for Japan?

Of course. Countries can have unique city names, a unique flag, unique national anthem, unique people, etc. But saying that cherry blossoms or "flower viewing" or the clear distinction of the seasons are unique to Japan is very strange for me.

I don't mind that the Japanese say they enjoy seeing cherry blossoms, but in my experience the people I met usually care less than I do. I have met many Japanese who don't know what is "大寒桜" (ookanzakura, i.e. winter cherry trees), when I said I went to watch them in some parks in Tokyo. Funny because it's a quite famous kind of sakura. They usually know 枝垂桜 (shidarezakura, i.e. weeping cherry trees) though. But I am sure most people couldn't tell 5 of numerous sorts of sakura that exist in Japan. So people like sakura, but still don't know so much about it.

You said :

For many people, viewing cherry blossom is not important, but having a fun with their colleagues, friends, or family members is more important.

I have been to almost all the big parks and some gardens in central Tokyo to see the cherry blossoms, and apart from Inokashira Koen or Ueno Koen, most people do not sit under the trees and picnic with their family or colleagues.

So if they just come to see the blossoms, why do so few people watch the ume blossoms ? I went to see them last weekend in several places, and there were very few people, although the weather was nice and there were plenty of blossoms. Why do people care so much more about sakura than ume, when the weather is not that different (sometimes better during the ume season in fact) ? I suppose it is again this typical "group-mentality phenomemnon". Once something becomes popular, everybody has to do it (like with Louis Vuitton bags, Korean drama, some kind of food, etc.).

You also said :

Cherry blossoms are very special flowers for the Japanese. Since Japanese school year starts in April, cherry blossoms are always related to new life or new friends and reminds me a sweet sentimental memories of childhood.

That does not explain why cherry blossoms have been predominant over ume or momo or other flowers since the Heian period. The beginning of the school and financial year in April is quite a recent thing (post-WWII I suppose), and does not explain the historical obstination for cherry blossoms.

Conclusion

What disntinguish Japan are not the cherry trees or cherry blossoms. They can be found in about all countries with a temperate climate.

It is also not the fact that people like "blossoms/flowers viewing", as people have enjoyed seeing flowers bloom in Spring for thousands of years all around the world, and have written poetry about it, and sat under blossoming trees in every corner of the globe.

The interesting thing in Japan is the national obsession with one particular type of blossom/flower, that of the cherry trees. The 'group-mentality' has led to people going en masse to see cherry blossoms, while shunning other kinds of blossoms or flowers, even as beautiful or delicate or seasonal or ephemerous.

This has had for consequence in many Japanese people's mind to believe that cherry blossoms were somehow unique to Japan, and among some people to exaggerate this into believing that the clear distinction of the seasons was also unique to Japan (while it is not). What gives this impression is the overwhelming number of cherry trees that were planted all over Japanese parks and hills and along roads and canals... so that one cannot miss the sight of cherry blossom in Spring (but may forget about other flowers more easily than in other countries).

Any country could decide to give a particular priviledge to one kind of tree or flower, and plant so many of them all around the country that the locaks would eventually come to think first that it is 'typical', then 'unique' to their country, when in fact it could be a species of tree or flower that is not even indigenous to the country.

The question is, why did Japan become so obsessed about cherry trees in the first place, while most other countries did not fall in the same excess ? I suppose that the group-mentality and search for homogenity (rather than diversity) is greatly responsible for that. I would be interested to know whether the same phenomenon also happens in other group-minded and homogenous-minded countries like Korea and China.

[Elizabeth]

I don't mind that the Japanese say they enjoy seeing cherry blossoms, but in my experience the people I met usually care less than I do. I have met many Japanese who don't know what is "大寒桜" (ookanzakura, i.e. winter cherry trees), when I said I went to watch them in some parks in Tokyo.

They are scattered around several parks and/or along roads ? I asked a friend about the appearance of 寒桜 blossoms (were they closer to a plum or somei yoshino) who was very sorry about not being able to assist because he had never seen one. From that I assumed they weren't nearly as numerous but it left me with a slightly sickened and surreal feeling as well.

[nova]

why did Japan become so obsessed about cherry trees in the first place, while most other countries did not fall in the same excess ?

I heard a curious explanation about this by a japanese teacher when another student asked regarding that; in many tragic stories of love -sort of Romeo and Juliet type-, the main characters seal their forbidden love by committing suicide together under a cherry tree (while it blooms of course), the cherry tree works as symbolism of their pure love that dies young. Is like the romantic idea that most people have of the roses, it considered beautiful because is associated with a romantic idea, and can also be compared as why not every one likes Ume as much not every one likes other flowers so much in western culture.
Nowadays, seems related with friendship, loyalty and love.
Call it a cultural issue, I don't know if that works for you.

[Maciamo]

I heard a curious explanation about this by a japanese teacher when another student asked regarding that; in many tragic stories of love -sort of Romeo and Juliet type-, the main characters seal their forbidden love by committing suicide together under a cherry tree (while it blooms of course), the cherry tree works as symbolism of their pure love that dies young.

And how many Japanese actually know about that story ? Nobody ever told me about it, and yet I asked a lot of questions about cherry trees to many people while I was in Japan. Even if they knew about it, it never was clearly associated in their minds with the reason why they like cherry blossoms.

[nova]

And how many Japanese actually know about that story ? Nobody ever told me about it, and yet I asked a lot of questions about cherry trees to many people while I was in Japan. Even if they knew about it, it never was clearly associated in their minds with the reason why they like cherry blossoms.

how old were them?

[Maciamo]

how old were them?

All ages, but mainly between 25 and 40.

[nova]

All ages, but mainly between 25 and 40.

and they didn't knew? how sad, still I think maybe it has a different reason for every japanese I guess to some of them cherry trees bring them good memories or something like that. After all you can't always generalize with people.
PS. Gaijinian: by the way; thanks I already edited it in the other post.