2011: Ohanami

April 12, 2011
Kyoto

Kyoto Ohanami* Season III

“Cherry Blossom 2011” has been delayed and extended due to cool weather. Blooms are everywhere close to home … the small stream a stone’s throw plus Takanogawa a short walk, both bursting forth.  Full spectrum:  white, palest pink, rose’, pinkest pink; singles, doubles, tight ball clusters, weeping; full open, bulging buds.  Pedals are ever falling, drifting, scattered, clustered in corners or floating in patterns on the still stream waters.  Ancient trees planted near the roads pruned and trimmed to spread toward the waters form heavy, black, long-reaching arms that tunnel over the stream or arch protectively over the riverside pathways.  The nearby streamside provides a botanical bonanza that includes maples in early leaf, camellias, flowering quince, forsythia, daffodils, tulips, violets and other spring flora.

The center city canal along Kiyamachi alternates various cherry trees (sakura) with the freshest green of weeping willow (yanagi) for a perfection of spring celebration.  This same combination is seen in the old Geisha Quarters of Gion. Throngs of folks are seen all about the city and beyond.  “Light up” at Kiyomizu (Clear Water) Temple on the final evening was a wonderland of pink clouds and reflections in the black waters of the ponds all enjoyed by multitudes.

The spring joy in Kyoto and ohanami is tempered by the devastation in Tohoku as continuing aftershocks dominate the evening news.  Earth loosened by the quakes is now prone to landslides as rains cover the area.  The images and stories are heart rending.  Yesterday, April 11, a moment of silence held to mark the one-month memory of the quake and tsunami.  News of the reactor repairs, radiation, clean up and evacuations changes daily.  Life is continuously compounded for the effected populations.

*Ohanami   Grand blossom viewing