Japan is a country with four distinct seasons, and the pleasant climate of spring and autumn has a representative scenery of cherry blossoms and autumn leaves. Hanami (Hanami) and autumn leaf hunting (紅葉狩り) refer to cherry blossom viewing and autumn leaf viewing activities.
Cherry blossom trees are trees that can be seen all over Japan, and when spring arrives, the cherry blossoms in different regions bloom in succession, but they wither one after another in less than two weeks. The beauty of cherry blossoms lies in the shortness of their flowering period and the gorgeous scene when they fall, which makes people impress and reminds people of the impermanence of life.
△ Cherry blossoms in Nara Park
Enjoying Hanami bento has become a Japanese tradition of flower viewing, and it is also a matter of grace to drink hanami sake while enjoying the flowers.
The Japanese custom of Hanami originated from the aristocratic activities of the Nara period. However, at that time, people enjoyed plum blossoms from China, and it was not until the Heian period that they became cherry blossom viewing.
The earliest record of Hanami can be found in the Afterword to Japan, where Emperor Saga held the "Flower Feast Festival" in Kyoto's Shinsen-en Garden in the third year of Hirohito (812), and since then cherry blossom viewing has spread among the nobles, which is believed to be the origin of the Japanese love of cherry blossoms.
By the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period, Hanami's customs extended from the aristocratic class to the samurai class. During the Azuchi-Momoyama period, people began to hold Hanami events in the wild, and the large-scale Hanami events of this period included YoshinoHanami and Daigo Hanami held by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During the Edo period, Hanami began to spread to the common people.
△ Chiyoda Ōo Mihanami, written by the ukiyo painter Shuyo Ofe at the end of the Edo period, depicts the scene of Hanami in the Edo period
Today, the Japan Meteorological Agency announces the estimated flowering days of cherry blossoms in various parts of Japan every year, and the line connected by areas that are expected to bloom on the same day is called the "Cherry Blossom Frontline". Japan spans a large area of latitude, and the dates for Hanami events vary depending on the region, usually from March to April.
March is the time when Japanese students hold graduation ceremonies and companies hold farewell parties, while April is the time when school opening ceremonies and welcome parties are held. As a result, Hanami, which coincided with its meeting, became a common celebration.
When people come to the cherry blossom trees, they lay out mats and sit together, eating the bento, and the cherry blossom petals are falling.
At night, you can also enjoy the night cherry blossoms, and the cherry blossoms under the illumination have a different scenery from the daytime, just like the beauty who applied evening makeup. At this time, drinking a little more wine is enough to make people drunk.
In addition to The Hanami Bento, Hanami Dumplings are also essential, which are three glutinous rice dumplings worn together in pink, white, and green. Pink naturally represents cherry blossoms and is a symbol of spring, white represents snow in winter, and green represents a new patch of green in early summer.
Why isn't there autumn? Because the pronunciation of "no autumn" (秋ない) in Japanese is the same as "not enough" (飽きない) and "business" (商い), no matter how much you eat, the business is of course good. Of course, this is just a humorous statement of the Hanami dumpling vendors.
It is also said that these three colors represent spring, referring to cherry blossoms, residual snow and wormwood. Although there are different theories, the style of Hanami Dumplings has been fixed.
There are many hanami spots throughout Japan, such as Meguro River in Tokyo, where about 800 Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms are planted on both sides of the strait, Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, where there are more than 400 cherry blossom trees that are more than 100 years old, and Mt. Yoshino in Nara Prefecture, which is known as "Ichimoku 100 Trees"...
From the first bloom, to the five parts, to the seven parts, to the blooming and withering, the cherry blossoms in each region and every period have different beauty.
The Japanese custom of viewing autumn leaves originated in the Heian period, when the aristocratic class popularly held banquets to sing and sing songs while admiring the autumn leaves. The red leaf hunting also spread to the common people in the Edo period and became a seasonal activity.
About seven of Japan's land areas become forests, with a variety of deciduous trees, and when the weather cools in autumn, the leaves begin to turn yellow or red to varying degrees, and the green leaves of evergreen trees form a colorful and magnificent picture. At this time, people will take a bento and sit under the tree to enjoy the autumn scenery.
Like the Cherry Blossom Front, the Autumn Leaf Front moves over time on the Japanese archipelago, but the direction of progress is reversed, from north to south, generally from September to December.
While admiring the autumn leaves and eating the autumn leaves, this experience has a strong autumn atmosphere.
In Osaka's Mino market, there is a famous momiji tempura that is fried with edible autumn leaves, wheat flour, sugar and sesame seeds, and sometimes salted autumn leaves, crisp and slightly sweet fried coat wrapped in salty autumn leaves, which can be eaten as a snack.
The autumn leaf steamed buns in Miyajima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, are also representative of Hiroshima Prefecture. Although the name is steamed buns, it is actually the texture of the cake, and the inside is usually filled with red beans to make a shape of autumn leaves. Born in 1906, the taste of the red leaf steamed bun still retains the tradition and simplicity.
Meiji Jingu Gaien in Tokyo, Kodai-ji Temple in Kyoto, RokkoZan in Hyogo Prefecture, Nagasecho in Saitama Prefecture, Iroha Ramp in Tochigi Prefecture, and Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture are all places to see autumn leaves. Every year, people follow the autumn foliage fronts released by the Japan Meteorological Agency to experience the charm of autumn leaves in different regions.
Since ancient times, Japanese people have been very sensitive to seasonal changes, and food, flower paths, gardens, potted plants... Even some small details in life have seasonal elements included in them.
In Japanese Zen buddhism, where human beings and nature are united, the outside world changes in the same way as the human body. Therefore, it is particularly important to harmonize with nature.
Silence is a unique aesthetic consciousness of the Japanese people, advocating the discovery of beauty in incomplete and impermanent things. In a sense, cherry blossoms and autumn leaves are actually the same, both are brilliant and perishable. From the drifting cherry blossoms and the fallen autumn leaves, the Japanese people saw the impermanence and brevity of life, and saw the beauty contained in it.
It is precisely because of Japan's mountainous landforms and cultural characteristics that Hanami and Autumn Leaf Hunting have formed, and they have also left a deep mark on Japan's picnic culture.