Passing beauty

On cherry blossoms and contentment | Russell Board

Mild weather has caused the cherry blossoms outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to bloom earlier this season than in any year since records started being kept in 1953.

In Japan, cherry-blossom viewing is a well-organized group activity. Families, friends, and couples plan excursions to parks where the trees are known to bloom lavishly. Companies send representatives early in the day to reserve space for colleagues to gather in the evening, where they will eat skewered bits of grilled chicken and squid, drink beer and sake, sing nostalgic songs, and gaze at the cherry blossoms by the light of the moon, stars, and paper lanterns.

The beauty of the delicate, pink-white blossoms is dazzling, but short-lived. Peak viewing time lasts no more than a week, and can be cut short by strong winds that tear the flowerets from the branches and sent them whirling through the air like tinted snowflakes, or by drenching rains that cause them to drop prematurely and blanket the ground with a sodden pink carpet.