Sakura

Sakura represent the short-lived beauty of life. Sakura are often depicted in Japanese art and poetry.

And while the tree is found throughout Asia, its associations with Japan are so strong that in Korea many sakura were removed after the colonial period as an unwanted reminder of the Japanese presence.

“And inside Yamamuto, there continued to live the beauty of blooming sakuras, the transparency of flowing brooks, the blue of the sky, the foamy crests of waves, the blades of grass breathing in the sunlight, the sun rising over the calm ocean…”

On Bandai forest path / two poets walk / with frequent stops. / Blossoms of roses / sakuras, wildflowers / stream from their mouth.

The next day is Sunday, and because there are no Christian churches, and since Junko personifies Japanese hospitality, she has arranged to take us to the neighborhood Shinto shrine. / “I am so very sorry,” she says in English. “The sakura are late this year. I hope you are not very disappointed? Please excuse this problem.”

I’ll have to change my name and move to Japan, where people have given up on reproducing and have turned to much more enlightened, spiritually renewing social activities, like viewing blooming sakuras, bathing in onsens, etc.

In his hand, he holds a sakura. He plans to give it to his daughter, marking a milestone in her life and protection for the future.

In Hawaii there are a number of popular gambling games which have not invaded the mainland, except possibly in Oriental colonies. The basic game among the large Japanese population is sakura, which is played with a deck of forty-eight tiny one-by-two-inch Japanese cards.

Any beachboy was hailed as the day's hero who could scrape together enough money to buy a fresh box of sakura cards, and through the long hot days the gang would sit beneath coconut umbrellas, playing the silly game. No other was allowed, and if a man couldn't play sakura, he couldn't be a beachboy.

A variety of games are played with these cards, including a version of Hanafuda in Hawaii, called Sakura, that uses cards specifically designed with numerical values.