During Spring Break, I attended Sakura Matsuri, better known as the Cherry Blossom Festival, at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Upon seeing the flowering trees, I was reminded of the Kokinshū’s focus on the ephemerality of the beautiful blossoms. “Are they not like/the fleeting world?/Cherry blossoms:/no sooner do they flower/than they fall” (73, p. 1113). The anonymous writer’s observation accurately describes the brief existence of the cherry blossoms, which the garden exhibition reinforced thematically. While most plants were just beginning to bloom or were in full-bloom, the cherry blossoms within the garden were already wilting, shedding their petals on the bare ground beneath them. This scenery, which may compare to a snapshot or a painting found in a museum, portrayed a powerful image of the ephemerality of cherry blossoms and, on a more dramatic note, of life. It was compelling to realize that just a couple of weeks ago, the trees were in full-bloom, and now their beautiful existence was fading. This is essentially the image the Kokinshū portrays in its brief mention of the life and death of cherry blossoms.
The first photograph was taken on April 30th, when the blossoms were still somewhat blooming, but no longer in full-bloom. From the diagram below (retrieved May 14th, 2016), it’s obvious that the blossoms are in “post-peak bloom.” After just a two-week period from when I visited, the blossoms have completed their lifecycle for the year.
Visiting the garden also reminded me of The Pillow Book, which captures the captivating beauty of cherry blossoms. Shōnagon remarks, “the cherry blossom blooms every year, but does anyone find it less lovely for that?”. The annual blossoming of the trees intrigues everyone, even though it’s a natural and recurring occurrence. The festival reminded me of this thought because the cherry blossoms bloom every year, yet thousands of people gather to witness their beauty. Similarly, Shōnagon often referred to cherry blossom designs on bystanders’ clothing (2, p. 1133). The abundant scenery of the garden and the exuberant costumes of fanatics reminded me of these descriptions, as I was able to visualize exactly what Shōnagon was depicting in her writing.
Works Cited
Ki no Tsurayuki. The Kokinshū. Trans. Laurel Rasplica Rodd. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. Vol. B. New York: Norton, 2012. 1106-1113. Print.
“Cherry Blossoms at BBG.” BBG.org. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, n.d. Web. 14 May 2016. <http://www.bbg.org/collections/cherries>.
Shōnagon, Sei. The Pillow Book. Trans. Meredith McKinney. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. Vol. B. New York: Norton, 2012. 1131-1153. Print.
