Space Sakura and Other Legends
- Lazy Ghost
- Apr 16
- 2 min read
In 2008, a Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata brought 118 cherry tree seeds with him to the Space Station. After orbiting the Earth for nearly a year, the seeds were brought back and planted around Japan. The seeds originally came from one of the oldest sakura tree in Japan. Only two of the “space” seeds survived and sprouted. The trees are now residing in Jissoji Temple in Yamanashi Prefecture and in Ganjoji Buddhist temple in Gifu prefecture.
Distinguishing characteristics of the space sakura - flowers with six petals. Regular sakura tree blossoms usually have five petals. Unusual flowers are, apparently, the result of exposure to radiation when the seeds were circling the orbit.
Phantom Sakura
Kyoto is well-known for it's beautiful cherry blossom trees. Oharano Shrine, in Nishinkyo-ku (Kyoto), is famous for hosting a “thousand eyes cherry blossom” tree. It's a weeping sakura tree with a shape resembling traditional lanterns. When the tree is in bloom, from a distance it looks like many eyes are stuck next to each other, staring at the passers-by. The blooming period is so short and unpredictable, just two or three days, that it's really hard to catch. As legend has it, one who manages to see the cherry blossoms, will be granted a thousand wishes.
No more flooding
Tokugawa Yoshimune, the great samurai, shogun, and the founder of the Edo shogunate, once decreed to plant cherry trees along riverbanks in Kyoto. Sumida River in Kyoto was prone to frequent flooding at that time, causing damage to households and crop. Yoshimune's logic was that blossoming cherry trees would attract great crowds of people to the river. All those people would pound the earth on the riverbank, making it more stable and less likely to be washed away by heavy rains. The idea was popularised around the country, which resulted in many, many riverbanks strengthened and beautified by sakura trees.
Images: The Met, Yasa Art Studios.
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