What cherry blossoms look like. Cherry blossoms – pictures. See beautiful photos of sakura

From the end of January in Japan, cherry blossoms begin in the southernmost prefectures. Sakura is one of the many species, most often decorative, not fruit-bearing.

But sakura flowers are something surprisingly tender and beautiful...


In Japan, it is still grown on 200 different varieties of sakura, one more beautiful than the other. The most famous are Sakura Mountain, called Jamasakuri. They grow wild, in remote places, on slopes, and as soon as they bloom, they are reminiscent of beautiful pink clouds from afar. This type of cherry blossom is legendary, known as thin-blooming cherry blossom. Especially in the western regions of Japan, varieties of tiny flowers that are said to live for thousands of years are thriving.

However, most varieties of Tokyo cherry blossoms are not longevity varieties. Sakura fruits are absolutely insignificant, not too large or tasty, and pay for their beauty to concentrate these plants on their flowers. Sakura flowers are also used with great success in the culinary industry. I always liked it especially at weddings. traditional drink, made from salted cherry blossoms which, after the flower blooms in a container, open and then look as if they are blooming again.

It’s no wonder that sakura is the national symbol of Japan.


An ancient legend says that the founder of the dynasty of Japanese emperors, the great-grandson of the Sun Goddess, chose the youngest daughter of the mountain god, Blooming, as his wife. And with this he sealed the fate of his descendants, who from then on had to live a bright and beautiful life, but short, like the life of cherry blossoms. But if he had preferred his eldest daughter, High Rock, then his descendants would have received a strong and eternal life, like stones.

This produces a very tasty and also eye-tasting drink. In Japanese everyday life, sakura clearly stands out as a symbol of kindness, modesty and serenity. IN Japanese culture We often come across cherry blossoms in various projects, they consist of different decorations, and they become the theme for many works of art. Sakura lovers across Japan are watching as they eagerly report their blossoming as we check weather reports before heading off for a much-desired holiday.

For the Japanese, the beauty of cherry blossoms is literally food for their souls, so they often wander through the cherry blossoms in different parts of Japan. Among the former, snakes thrive in southern Kyushu, where they bloom from mid-April to north island Hokkaido, where they bloom until May in May.

But as it happened, it happened...

But the Japanese received the “Hanami” holiday, or rather, not even a holiday, but the tradition of admiring the blossoms.

Although the hanami tradition refers not only to cherry blossoms (photo),


and also extends to admiring blooming plums, lilies of the valley, tulips, etc.

Oddly enough, the beauty of the beautiful cherry blossoms in Japan could always be enthusiastically admired by warriors and samurai and traveled to the beauty of flowering cherry trees high in the mountains and then held in churches festive banquet, who praised the beauty of cherry blossoms in blossom in his poetry. Today it is said that the air, saturated with bleeding snakes radiating outwards, smiled and the skeleton on his motionless face. And when the breeze brings the winds of positive sentiments caused by sakura, everyone, including animals, rushes to the hill to feel the atmosphere as close as possible.

But most often they still talk about hanami as about admiration cherry blossoms. Sakura blooms from January to April in different parts of Japan. Japanese television announces the timing of cherry blossoms so that people can fully enjoy them. Some tourists, who especially appreciate beauty, even plan their trip to Japan in such a way as to move around the country following the cherry blossoms. In one place, sakura blooms for about a week and during this week the streets and parks are filled with people enjoying this beautiful spectacle.

Vinogradska street is full of cherry blossoms in full bloom. They will bloom for less than a week and then end. I always wish they would just disappear and there would be green trees with dwarf wax cherries that you can't eat. This discovery is related to Zuzka from Zkvasheno, who recently asked where the sakura were, and something with them meant something. It was clear that he was hungry or thirsty. Japanese cherry blossoms are loaded into salt like carp. Wash, acidify, wax, dry, use. The salt is dried, and the vinegar retains its beautiful color - and this is also a joy, of course.

However, it is always rinsing, soaking and using their very delicate aromas and especially their beautiful appearance. You can prepare a variety of delicious dishes and drinks. In the very clean place shoot sakura flowers. You don't have to hug the tree, but be as sensitive as possible to it and try not to suffer too much from the raid.














Clean the flowers from any remaining wood and leaves and rinse thoroughly. Apply to dishes and dry with other cloths. Then peat 50g of salt and shake it in a bowl. The weight and salt will help draw moisture out of the flowers. Some salt may be deposited on the sides. Load the 100g weight and wrap the foil again. This time the dish will rest for 3 days.

If you don't like your stockings hanging and unbuttoning from the washing machine, this is about a thousand times worse. Loading the flowers this way will intensify their scent so that they seem a little unpleasant to you. Ideally for drying you need something productive. Compared to the original cancellation, adding to another sheet is complete comfort.

At night, the cherry blossom trees are delicately illuminated and the process of admiring continues.



One of the symbols of Japan is cherry blossoms. For the Japanese, they also remind us of a fast-paced life. Japanese cherries were grown from two domesticated cherry species in Japan. Many varieties have been created with simple or full flowers. Flower color ranges from pure white to cream to deep pink. Deciduous leaves are pointed, with saw blades.

Cherry blossoms begin in Okinawa, Japan, and they flourish in Tokyo at the end of March, Hokkaido in April. Information programs are communicated at the beginning of flowering. At that time, Japanese people would go out with friends and family, watching cherry blossoms at shrines and parks.

They do not stay away from the inspiring spectacle of admiring cherry blossoms and adding touchingness and cuteness to it.












From Japan, sakura spread to Europe and America quite recently. However, one of the varieties that had disappeared in Japan was rediscovered in a British garden and from there returned to Japan. Cherry blossoms - their delicate beauty has been admired for centuries. From our correspondent from Japan.

They liked the subtle beauty that they valued most of all ornamental plants. Moreover, cherry blossoms have a privileged place in Japanese history and culture. In some contexts, the Japanese equivalent of the word "flower" means only sakura. This cherry tree has been the subject of Japanese fascination for over a thousand years.

By the way, cherry blossoms can be seen and admired not only in Japan.

This decorative cherry is found in nearby countries such as Korea and China, and in other parts of the world. So, in German city Bonn has a famous sakura alley, which in the spring turns into a piece of Japan. And Germans don’t have to travel far to enjoy the spectacle of cherry blossoms (photo).

The graceful cherry tree is an extremely common element of the Japanese landscape. There are about 300 varieties of cherry trees, and you don't have to go far to come across one. Sakura flowers generally have five petals with notched edges and are collected in inflorescences - after several flowers in each. Some are almost white, others are pink, and some are scarlet. Sometimes the color of a flower consists of several subtle shades. For centuries, the colors and shapes of cherry blossoms have been associated in Japan with purity and simplicity.

When the cherry tree is in full bloom, it really catches the eye. In the soft light of the clouds, a pale glow surrounds the delicate petals. Even more beautiful cherry orchards - because more trees, especially the description being described. White cherry blossoms are famous in the Yoshino Mountain Range. Part of this area is called Hitomi Senbon - "a thousand cherries in the blink of an eye." Indeed, when the eye reaches the mountain slopes, they bleach the flowers as if snow were covering them.

There is a Japanese kindergarten in Moscow Botanical Garden. Muscovites have the opportunity to organize not only a “Moscow Hanami” to admire the blooming cherry blossoms, which are in the sea in the Botanical Garden, but also a “Japanese Hanami” to enjoy the blossoming of Japanese cherry blossoms.

Interesting effects are obtained using the cherry tree planting method. For example, if they grow in parallel rows at such a distance that trees from adjacent rows touch the branch, then “cherry tunnels” are formed. Imagine: overhead we have a pink arch of cherry blossoms, and under our feet there is a carpet of fallen petals.

But these delicate flowers are not permanent - they fall off after two, three days, and sometimes faster. The length of the flowering season is dependent on the weather. In Japan, the cherry blossom season runs from January to the end of May, starting in Okinawa and ending in Hokkaido. Movements of the “cherry front” are reported. Through television, radio, the press and the Internet, you can find out where cherry orchards bloom in Japan. Thus, millions of Japanese people pretend to go places to see the cherry blossoms.



Custom hanami were born in the old days. For cultivators of this tradition, the object of pleasure is, of course, cherry blossoms. During the Heian period, the aristocracy held holidays, the decorations of which were cherry blossoms. Feudal gentlemen and other distinguished guests gathered under the trees and recited poems celebrating the charm of flowers. The ladies wore dresses decorated with a cherry blossom motif.

During the Edo era, this form of entertainment - picnicking under cherry blossoms - was also accepted among the lower classes of society. There was eating, drinking, singing and dancing among family and friends as the eyes of revelers feasted on the sight of cherry blossoms covered in flowers. The custom of hanami is still very popular today and is widely cultivated. The Japanese go to their favorite quiet places to admire the branches generously sprinkled with pink fluff.

And if both Japan and Moscow are a bit far from you, you can travel to where the sakura blossoms and watch the video below...

In Japan, it is believed that anyone who does not perceive the beauty of Nature cannot be trusted in anything because he has a “heart of stone.” The Japanese had certain customs and rituals associated with each season. Received particular fame hanami- admiring flowers.

Sakura is an integral part of the history and culture of the country rising sun. This motif has been found in Japanese literature, poetry, theater and music. For centuries, artists have engraved cherry blossoms onto a variety of objects, from ceramics to paraphernalia.

Sakura was also popular among samurai. They had to give the feudal lord complete devotion to die without hesitation. Cherry blossom was a good symbol of short life. In the Kodansha Encyclopedia in Japan we read: “The cherry blossom, which swells quickly and immediately loses its flakes, has become a fitting symbol of Japanese aesthetics, emphasizing the beauty of the flora.”

Hieroglyphics (khana)- flower. Literally means admiring flowers. In the Japanese perception of the word "hana" goes beyond a specific narrow concept. It denotes the best time, pride, the color of something, and is also included in the diverse Difficult words - "hanabanasii"(brilliant, brilliant) "hanagata"(theater star), "hanayome"(bride), "hanamuko"(groom).

The national worship of sakura continues to this day. It often appears on beautiful kimonos, scarves and other wardrobe pieces, as well as on various household items. The fact that many beautiful girls are proud to give Sakura a name, meaning that the road is the hearts of the Japanese people.

The pale pink flower is fragile, but so powerful that it manages to capture the enduring emblem of the culture of the land of cherry blossoms - an accurate example of the subtle beauty of our Creator's masterpieces. Noble cherry wood is well suited for sculptures, furniture and woodcuts. But that's not because these raw cherry trees are so popular in Japan. Japanese cherry trees - unlike the cherries found in other parts of the world - are grown primarily for their popular flowers.

When talking about hanami, we do not mean 1-2 flowers, but a plural number of flowers of the same species. None National holidays do not leave such a strong impression on the Japanese soul as alternating "small annual miracles"- blossoming of plums, sakura, peaches, wisteria, chrysanthemums.

The history of hanami dates back to ancient times Heiana, when the Japanese aristocracy, sophisticated in grace and sophistication of manners, spent hours under flowering trees, enjoying light drinks, parlor games and composing poetry for the occasion.

Sakura is easily reproduced from seedlings. They are planted along rivers and main streets and in countless parks and groves - like a country of thriving cherry trees, long and wide. Sleeping cherries look like amazing pink snow. From here, without any reason, they gracefully fall to the ground. A strong wind tears all the clouds from the trees pale down and down where it falls. The Japanese gave this unique phenomenon the name sakura fubuki - cherry blossom. The ground under the trees was then preserved with a beautiful pink carpet.

Few nature glasses have such a calming spell, which produces thin flakes of cherry blossoms. "Hanami" - a picnic under the cherry blossoms. It's like a national heroine. When it blooms, all of Japan goes crazy. But not because it is so tasty, but because of its phenomenal beauty.

A beautiful procession of flowers begins mind(Japanese plum, reminiscent of cherry plum). The first hanami occurs in late February - early March in the prefecture Shizuoka(Atami, Yugawara). You can observe the flowering of ume in other areas, but it is the hanami that is famous in Yugaware or Odawara(Kanagawa Prefecture). The favorite of Japanese flowers takes up the baton in the mind sakura(Japanese cherry).

Most people associate hanami with, since it is she who personifies Japan for foreigners. In addition, the second meaning of the hieroglyph "hana""sakura flowers", and the concept "hanami" By now, it has become predominantly related to admiring sakura.

Japanese sakura in the West is called mountain cherries or wild cherries. Its flowers, beautiful and delicate, are considered the personification of human life, the embodiment of the beauty of Japanese women and the national symbol of Japan. It can be found everywhere in Japan: in mountainous areas, along river banks, in city and temple parks.

Each sakura flower tells, according to Japanese belief, about the fate of a child. There is a legend: To prove to the ruler Shogun the cruelty of Prince Hotta, the brave elder of the village of Sakura brought his children to him and showed their backs, completely covered with beatings of the prince's servants. The punished Hotta harbored a mortal grudge against the complainant. He managed to secretly capture Sakura and the children, tied them to a cherry tree and flogged them to death. Since then, cherry trees in Japan have bloomed pink, because they were sprinkled with the blood of innocent children of sakura.

The sad legend gives sakura a special mystery. And it is not for nothing that the charm of a flowering tree gave rise to the ritual of admiring cherry blossoms in Japan and a favorite folk holiday that coincides with the arrival of the new year.

Today there are about 16 species and approximately 400 varieties of this tree. Trees come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Cherry blossom festival- one of the oldest rituals of the Japanese, and hanami, dedicated to sakura, is the most interesting, and in this event-festival About 90% of the population takes part.

Every year, at the end of March, when sakura begins to bloom, Japanese families, work groups and individuals go to nearby parks to admire it. unique phenomenon. Already on television in early March, they announce the timing of cherry blossoms in each individual area, and also inform about the number of trees in each of the parks. One of the most famous parks, where many cherry trees are planted, the flowering of which causes general delight among local residents, and the Japanese themselves, is a park Ueno, located in Tokyo.

The Japanese begin to prepare for this event in advance. Company employees plan a special day to observe hanami, they go to work, but spend this day outdoors surrounded by co-workers, drinking sake - Japanese rice vodka, eating obento - simple food in a box - onigiri rice balls, mochi rice sweets, sandwiches, fried chicken pieces. They sing to karaoke music, admire the magnificent flowers, which when the wind blows, become a real rain of petals, and the beautiful landscape surrounding them.

Masters of park art transform all the municipal green areas available to them and even their own tiny courtyards into real living paintings, the richest palette of which is constantly changing, moving at the whim of the gardener and depending on the time of year from one shade to another. And this is also an opportunity to admire nature, which no Japanese will miss.

Cherry blossoms are very short term, and this phenomenon symbolizes for the Japanese the transience of everything in this world. The white and pink miracle only lasts a few days, and sometimes only a few hours, and this is one of the most favorable times of the year for traveling to Japan.

photo with comments by Denis Korzhonov

It's raining in Osaka today. Sakura, almost all pink snow, descended from the treetops to the ground, from the showers and wind.


Beautiful evening at Kintaikyo Bridge, Iwakuni.


And another photo from sunny Kyoto. The cherry blossom season is fabulous in Japan: hardly anywhere else on the planet can you see so many beautiful flowers overhead and streets filled with greenery and light.



Waiting to meet you on the Kintai Bridge...Iwakuni, Japan.


One of most beautiful places Kyoto for sakura viewing is a philosophical path. This is a 2 kilometer tunnel of sakura along the canal, with bridges and tea houses.


Yoshino is perhaps the most popular place for Japanese people to admire the cherry blossoms. The town is located in the mountains, and by mid-April it is covered with carpets of thousands of cherry trees.

This year the spring was very cold, and in Yoshino the newly blooming flowers were almost immediately knocked down by raindrops. But nevertheless, the colors here in spring are simply beautiful, every piece of simple living nature is like engravings or canvases of color that you can admire endlessly.


In Japan, we have been admiring the cherry blossoms for several days now. It’s amazing to walk under the soft sky of endless cherry blossoms - snow-white, soft pink. Weather last days strange: it rains often, and sakura petals fly like snow from ancient trees


In Kyoto, during the cherry blossom season, amazing festivals of light and music are held. There are many Japanese maples and several sakura trees on the temple grounds, and here they have closed their branches.




This morning we saw a wonderful sunrise near Fuji. Still, Japan is the land of the rising sun, and finally the mountain was revealed to us in all its glory. Chureito Pagoda, Fuji.

photographer Denis Korzhonov