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How to Make an Unknown Future Feel a Little Less Daunting
How sakura season helps me find comfort in an unknown future
It’s springtime in Japan, which means it’s time for me to talk about cherry blossoms, or sakura.
It’s funny, because for any Japanese person working within the realm of food, entertainment, or leisure, it almost feels like a requirement to acknowledge and honor the tradition of sakura in the spring.
Shops begin to decorate their windows with sakura ornaments, and even convenience stores like 7–11 begin to adorn their shop windows with ads and images of sakura. Magazines publish their annual “Best Places to See Sakura in Japan” articles, and of course cafes and restaurants release their limited edition sakura-flavored sweets and drinks, the most traditional of which is sakura mochi, but recently expanding into inventions like the sakura latte or sakura honey.
What a cherry blossom tree represents in Japan
Sakura definitely has its commercial purposes, but its celebration has very strong ties with important memories for many Japanese people. It falls in line with the end of the Japanese school term, and particularly for graduating seniors, there is a strong sense of accomplishment and joy, mixed with a bit of…
