How the Japanese cherry blossom ritual came to Germany
March 24, 2023
In Japan, blooming cherry trees (sakura) are more than just a spring ritual. The cherry blossom symbolizes the bond between man and nature.
People celebrate the pink abundance with picnics under cherry trees and trips to places with the best view of the blooming flora — after first consulting special forecast maps with information about peak blossom times.
This integral part of Japanese culture is based on the philosophy of "mono no aware" — an appreciation of impermanence.
The blooms last for about ten days, a period that is also eagerly awaited in Germany.
Asian culture in Germany
"Among the branches of the cherry trees in bloom, no one is a stranger here," reads a small bronze plaque on a memorial stone in former East Berlin.
At the site of the so-called "death strip" that ran parallel to the Berlin Wall to discourage escape attempts, Japanese citizens initiated and collected donations to plant a thousand cherry trees. The project celebrated the unification of East and West Germany in the early 1990s.
Since 1996, this long avenue of Japanese cherry trees has been known as Japaneck (Japanese Corner).
Supported by the TV Asahi Network, the trees were planted by the Japanese Sakura Organizing Committee, with the memorial stone marking the significance of a touching gesture.
There, too, the Japanese ritual of the cherry blossom festival signals the arrival of spring as people gather at Japaneck for a picnic under the blossoming cherry tree branches. Locals gather with Japanese and international visitors alike to enjoy the iconic spring celebration together.
Why travel to Japan for the cherry blossom festival?
The trees with the iconic pink and white blossoms can be found not only in Berlin, but across Germany.
At the most popular destinations, blossom barometers also indicate the best time for a visit.
The routes taken by these trees to different parts of Germany were many and varied.
Flowering cherries found their way to the then-German capital Bonn in the 1980s, when a municipal town planner decided in favor of the ornamental trees when another tree species proved unavailable.
Bonn now boasts a famous cherry blossom avenue that attracts hordes of both locals and international tourists.
Cherry trees in memory of Hiroshima
Hannover, which is Hiroshima’s twin city, also enjoys its annual cherry blossoms. There, the focus is on remembrance.
The Hiroshima Memorial Grove has 50 Japanese cherry trees and was inaugurated in December 1987.
By 1989, another 60 trees had been added to commemorate the 110,000 people killed by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
Each of the 110 cherry trees represents 1,000 victims.
This article was originally writtten in German.