The San Francisco call. [volume], April 21, 1907, Page 16, Image 16

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
IT'S CHERRY BLOSSOM TIME IN JAPAN
JB'I '•HE . beauttful and. symbolic
I r "cherry blossom festival"' Is
I Japan's Easter.
It celebrates a resurrection,' not
the exiting oi a deity, a. redeemer aa
1b the cue of the great Chrlstlan'fea
tival, but the rebirth of the fruits and
fiow«r» after six months of death. ;: , ;
But there Is religious feeling In the
ceremony of the cherry ' blossom (festN
ral, for It comes In April, at the same
time aa the < festival of the . Hlron. and ,
the tiro fetes, while separate and hav
ing* entirely '\u25a0_ different > significance,':; 9a%\
snore or less Identified In the' mind of \u25a0
the C weller In Nippon became ?of "'the
fact that he rejoices ovrr both et the
same time.
It seems not an exaggeration. to say.
that even In Japan, land of the ;,.!ctu
resgue, there' Is nothing so bc&utlful as
till*" anneal rejoicing of the^- childlike
little brown men and worwn overthe
return of the cherry blossom./
Daring the days that the : trees are
bearing the burden of pink petals the
Japanese live in tne cbierry "groves.*
Continually they are, bathed ' in a fra
grant snow of the blossornri. f
Toting men bedeck their sweethearts
with the blooms, and send! notes con
taining Cupid's message :on boughs
•tripped from the trees. , The swaia .
"who can carry his - branch : bo carefully '<
that the; petals are not shaken off 'la
transit Is sure that the cods favor his
enSt and that the maiden of : his choice
must listen to -his surp 11 cations.
The Japanese have other ** floral fes
tivals, for. they are notably worshipers •
of the fairest handiwork of nature.
There , ar e seasons . when the glories of
the wistaria, azalea, iris, lotus,, chry
santhemum, orchid, peony and the
leaves of autumn drew the people into
the public places for diversion, but in
popularity the cherry blossom outstrips
them all.
S• ' It is the springtime. • The balmy air,
Jhas sent youthful- spirits bubbling,' and ;
taade 'the old forget their woes. " .
lOn every one 'of the five hundred" In
habited Islands of- the Japanese archi
pelago, .cherry blossoms, are- decking
the trees. The^Jap is the -. most .'skilled
arboriculturist. ln, the world. He can
train trees and. plants: to. grow when
he will and In any enape.
He accomplishes wonders, with; the'
cherry tree. He does 'everything with
It, In fact, but make;:. it gTowv good
fruit. The Japanese Is • quite
unimportant, vln most cases.; tasteless
and , email, but no one cares. 1^ "The v
cherry tree Is.only called, on' to, furnish >
the blooms : for the Japanese Eaater.
Let other tt-ee»»produce: the 'food.
. With -. deft' , mastery, the , Japanese >
gardener shapes the A cherry. , tree * Into \u25a0-.
groves that ;, hang, ovir the -, road. 1 so
that-ln season^ when , the! blossoms rare
out, the. people 'wallr'under* a; bower; of
pink. glory. . \u25a0'\u25a0 ,
IChcrry Blossom Time
I Nothing i could be . fresher 'and '\u25a0 more "
\u25a0 onngllke than the dainty, petals 'of the
lurching trees/ and . as soon' as the first
snoots appear . and * the "trees \ begin to i
put 'on their pin k coats/ Japan - takes : a \u25a0
holiday. . '"imMftwWSffifcQSßtiß I BBißt^S
Out Iroa their homes come th« peo*
||». <>• Cny, girla, with -their
tinm, t lbmtr. pATMOia. fans "and mincing
fTftna. axmat Cirtr Jinrlckahas and go
rnmytoa* to place to make their calls,
wifpitiit •. In * the 5 train v comes % the
»WBR# men- of the nation, paying assid
|Wßi€fiti»eipectfta?eourt.t '*'
% v 6iMh t famous < places > of. -the * cherry
blossoms fas Uyeno Parltf the baiaaf Tof
f, Mtjkojima.' Noge Hill, In .Yokohama, and
the Cherry Banki at Koganol, are filled
| wlthX the * merTymalters.-.iJoyousness " Is
I la l>the w alr.^r: \The -?. t ambus r Japan es«
mountebanks i show'tbelr sklll/at every
; corner s ls fa\ilttl»i theater; l all ioverlthe;
public ' squares are Ithe ' famed Japanese '
: wrestlers.?^ VC- \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0•i'KS. V-- ''\u25a0 -'^ ."\u25a0"\u25a0\u25a0;\u25a0.-:„•.'?" .- : - ••
"i« Along i;the* ; roadways,' an.'lnch^deep
.with ; the £ fallen Vpe^als,; children draw
their. movable temples, a queer toy from
the'pccldentalvle,wpoint/but one. which
, seems [eminently; the 'proper one ' for the
; Jap -:* ."-,• '•--^''.:.- ; \u25a0 < --C;.-v
c ? Sometlmesjf nV'one; long " line ? can\ be .
•een'», perhaps va -hundred ,-. little ;, girls;
[dressed; In " all « the ; gorgeousness'. of i the '
sllks,v pulling "on'.rdpes at
tached \to * miniature , chariots - in" which
are seated : little boys playing on musi
caLlosteuments/^c"^'jci* -;.'-, -.;.. ' '\u25a0 ••"" .-.
I 1 Then comes another if orni '. of '- proces- -
•ion/ In which^thejmosf.beautljtuljyoung-"
; womaa]Tof jthe^townvls-.crbwned \wlth'
cherry r- blosaoms.'i drawn w" by \u2666" retainers
| covered Swith *"the *« blooms. •*? Even f* the
>opes :*j by. 'which i,the* chariot^ isj drawn :
are 'concealed iby sprays'of cherry, bios-.
.s6ms\ : -?>>>"\u25a0 rf'i'r^-?. I '/--^.--^'! --\u25a0\u25a0'\u25a0.
-v^Natnre i itself; harmonize, and
take mute part iv this beautlf ul^ parade •
by^everylnowandUhen, sending a gentle -
breeze • that ; star ts >«. * shower J of '". petals '
from' > theJtre^sialongithe'avenueiV'ii,j'i s '.j
&Cherry;blosßbm"^reiplcinsr"'probably at- -
talnsr.lts^perfectlon-at'theVcapital.-sTb-"
kio,. and llt J. isTwortHy^ of * mentlon«that -
\u25a0while .the recent successes I Jn;. warfare i
and. statecraft have impressively demon
stratedftoithe|worlditheiabilltylof^the v
Japanese : to J meet; his Caucasian rivals ;
Th© San Francisco Sunday Call
en equal terms, they have not had thm,
.unfortunate effect of changing hi* sfca«"
, pllcity of temperament. -
•- /\u25a0-'\u25a0•\u25a0 \u25a0 -
Play Hours of the Land
;*On. the battlefield, 'in his boslneaa ox
In . statecraft' h«: may b» a cold, calcu
lating, keen. 'daring man, but at horn*
In his holiday a ha 1j a child.
' '\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0= To Uyeno '. Park on Cherry Blossom
Sunday ths whola population repairs.
Th« avenue of cherry trses going n?
from ths.to-wn form.* a perfect arcii of
-; pink .boughs, nnder .which, the p«opl«
throngr^ The \u25a0 tea \u25a0 houses '\u25a0\u25a0 hive spread
their : best red. blankets on th • mattsd
platforms.- Under "ths- trees are cherry
cplcnio parties; laughing from th« very
joy \u25a0of * life -In the ©pen, with th« air
scented : . and .the eye-ouarmed by the
'- most '.beautiful of springtime bloorr*.
:\u25a0 A.- group of young men. each oarrylng
\u25a0~s a- bough -.of oherry. blossoms throws
. across the shoulder, at their belts takt
. bottles," which' they stop- every no-«r aad
then to have filled, drink and laagh.
confident' that should - the joyfnlaeja of
the occasion 'make them overstey th»
hounds of propriety — a rare thing tor a
, Japanese— some good . " friend - win re
£ member: that It Is holiday time* put
; them on; a" kuruma and send "them
home.'itofreaolve that such a thias; will
never happen: till, another cherry blos
som time conies around again. .
.^. This sakl bottle is as near ail the
iJapanese.^Eaater comes to : one of the
Kreat essentials of the American eels
-bratlora^of ,rtli« f; holiday eggnog, and
_ those w'lii' have tried both say that the
j Innocent looking sakt can hiv» quita
\u25a0^as palnXurJeffecta-.if.kept tilted too
\u25a0 long.- ,
' At ilukojlma ls'a double ar*nne of
\u25a0 trees, ;. stretching .-., along the
-banks of : the^SuraWa:, This is perhaps
r finest "» display ;of blossoms in all
• Japan/and ilukojima Is the great gath
ering place of the mummers. - -
In their costume,, pink and white,
;.the 'colors- of ; the T cherry .blossoms pre
sdominate, and' In- performing their
1 tricks^these bfown^ skinned Kellara and
\u25a0Herrmanns /delight especially In draw
ling; from* tiny- receptacles . an endless
procession 'of cherry-blossoms. " '
"What vrelicrious observance comes
• into. the cherry blossom festival. ls the
. result ; of. coincidence with the festival
of -Hlgon. ; Thi9 marks the anniversary
"'of.*'. the happy , day when Buddha, the
.'Japanese idelty,; passed" over from the
; turmoil tof life Into the blissful forget
: . fulness of .the Nirvana;' This festival
-causes* religious and* secular celebra
tions ? to ,;Joln" with;. most Incongruous
result.- ' The wildest 9t i revels mark a
time that Is supposed to be more sacred
c than.'anyj which comes ' In ' the calendar
; of; Buddha.".,' : -
.-'• niecca of the faithful is the great
statue of; Buddha -at Kaaakura, Just
outside the great seaport of Yokohama.
'This is .the Colossus of -Japanese
- Idols?, ";It 13 ' fifty.- four feet In height.
. made of ;bronze -and - wetshs 450 tons.
The- "flat thumbnail, alone -Is large
enough^ to afford a seat for ; a weary
, pilgrim. - and by - means of *a * staircase
t inside; one • can mount \to a tiny shrine
'. In i the ' idol's > nose. .*
;> Even" into this* worship comes the
Therry .\u25a0blossom. -. While at' the tea
houses.^scarlet robed' slrla are serving
a", tea* made of cherry ; blossoms, devout
-men aad/women a>e> putting; garlands
: made^ofi the -blooms at • the ' feet of the
great .; I &°I3S£OBSS3gBtgBn&3BMgBQHB
. It Is cherry blossom tisu la nlixioa
; as^welTsji pleasur*,- ;