Sakura Flavoured Tragedy

Both – in sorrow and joy Japanese people gather together: to grieve about the victims of Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster (東日本大震災, Higashi Nihon Daishinsai), happened exactly a month ago, on March, 11^th, and - to celebrate the short 10-days sakura boom all over the Sun-Rising Paradise…

In grieve…

Whoever of my Japanese friends I would talk to – everybody’s equal in the opinion that the tragedy in Miyagi and Fukushima has made everyone join hands to encourage and stiffen the spirit of those who has lost their families, home, job and peace of their minds… And even living pretty far from Northern Japan, I had felt the united efforts of the whole Japanese nation wherever I would go: TV commercials, donations gathered by various organizations (there is a box for Tohoku victims support near the cash register in all the tiny shops, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants), festivals and services by the churches, temples and shrines of all confessions, baseball in Kyoto, long-distance running competition in Hirakata, concert in Osaka – every single event this month (and I’m sure for the nearest time further as well) has been organized for donating and supporting our Northern neighbors.

 

Words are useless here, just watch some of the next videos, I’ve found the most interesting to reflect the whole atmosphere here.

•  SMAP (Japanese old version of Arashi:) in CM for Japan 
• let’s not waste our money on trash we don’t need and turn the electric appliances off so that to help Northern Japan to save electricity and get rid of blackout sooner.
•  celebrities persuade us not to waste money and electricity, being caring about Tohoku victims
•  Foreigners try to express their feeling as well - listen to this song 

… and in joy…

The same way as the Tohoku tragedy may be felt in the air, it is sakura blossoming time has finally caught us napping. What does the whole sakura thing mean for a Japanese person?- someone would wonder. As far as I see it, sakura implies not only the tender, delicate woman-like beauty, but also a brand-new start in a life marathon, for at least the beginning of one more spring makes everybody leave their “fuwa-fuwa” (fluffy) warmers and heated with kotatsu (a heater under a little table) houses.

Hanami (花見-literally means “flower” and “look, enjoy”) as a Japanese sakura (and sometimes plum-trees too) cherry-viewing custom first appeared in one of the oldest and fascinating novels in the world - “The Tale of Genji” (Heian Era 794 – 1185). Since that time the tradition is being held every year, although the motivation for cherry-picnic has been changed from highly appreciating the beauty of light-pink pedals flying in the air - to the joy of sakura-flavoured consumerism. This tendency has found its equivalent in the old Japanese saying – 花より団子（hana yori dango – dumplings before flowers http://books.google.com/books?id=qQPWtyEP23kC&pg=PA41&dq=%22HANA+YORI+DANGO%22&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22HANA%20YORI%20DANGO%22&f=false）.

Meanwhile, this truth works for the best: any main dish, desert (sakura parfe doesn’t need any introduction), ice-cream, perfume, alcohol - every single thing is flavoured with sakura. What kind of clothes do you think is the favourite among Japanese women of fashion? Of course, pink, mild-coloured, in tiny flowers, windy and feminine… Actually it also reminds me  what sabi-wabi aesthetic principles say about beauty – simple, harmonic, humble (http://mercury.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/nontech/wabisabi.html ), but it’s absolutely different story… Anyways, who knows, may be the whole modern かわいい（kawaii - cute）culture roots from the universal Japanese worshipping of sakura blossoming?..

Or may be it’s sakura, what to consider the inspiration for Japanese  頑張る (ganbaru) –  working hard nature? Because a new kindergarden, school or a college semester and a working year begins in the very beginning of April. Why? Silly question. Because it’s so beautiful outside, don’t you see?

 

They Are Always Together

Did you get the connection between all-over Japan support for Tohoku and all-places sakura-viewing custom? Exactly, their all-overness. Have you ever seen a lonely person doing hanami? If you did – it was me or other awkwardly handling his/her chopsticks gaijin, for sure. No, Japanese people live in various groups, and for thousand years they are used to solve all the problems and share happy moments together.

However, nowadays due to the Western influence (again “white man burden”かもね？) on Japanese culture, it’s become fashionable to picture collectivism negatively and by all means they hurry to assure us and themselves as well that the Japanese nation’s becoming very individualistic. Even our Japanese language textbook refers to this idea, teaching us a remade very-Japanese old proverb:「出る杭は打たれない」- the stake that sticks out wouldn’t be hammered down).

... While the reality shows the magnificent mutual all-over-country support, encouragement and fantastic endurance – to what all other individualistic but unable to unite countries left to admire and learn from tiny but courageous and strong spirited Japan.

 頑張って、日本ね！