Pantheist Aesthetics

Today is March 24, 2023. In Japan, the cherry (sakura) blossom season extends from the end of March to the beginning of April. It is just a short window of about two weeks. During this period, there are many festivities. There is much eating, sake drinking and barbequing underneath the cherry trees. It is customary for the Japanese to go out with colleagues, friends and family to have cherry-viewing parties. This called hanami, which literally means “watching blossoms.”

While most non-Japanese tourists can appreciate the beauty of the cherry blossoms, I am not sure that they understand the full significance of the sakura blossoms in the Japanese soul. To the Japanese, they signify not only nature’s beauty and the renewal from a long Winter. They also signify the transience of life itself. The very short period of cherry blossom is a perfect symbol of the fleeting world. Thus, cherry blossoms are cherished, not only because of their beauty while the flowers are in full bloom. They are also cherished because their beauty does not last. After a night of storm, the cherry flowers will be scattered everywhere. Some of them fall to the ground. Others fall into the rivers and streams. I have seen pictures where an entire river has turned pink. Both the rise and the fall of natural objects have their unique beauty.