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Cherry Blossom Season
"🎶 Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
In fields, mountains and villages
As far as the eye can see.
Is it mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the rising sun.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Flowers in full bloom. "
~ Sakura, Sakura
Spring often arrives on a whisper of petals and light… and then, almost overnight, the world is transformed.
“Sakura, Sakura” — “Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms” — is a traditional Japanese folk song that celebrates this fleeting, magical season of bloom. For centuries, it has evoked the soft haze of blossoms drifting on the breeze and the quiet joy of springtime renewal.
In Japan, the arrival of cherry blossoms is not just admired — it is anticipated with near-reverence. The annual sakura zensen, or “cherry blossom front,” is carefully tracked as it moves northward across the country, beginning as early as January in Okinawa and reaching Kyoto and Tokyo in late March to early April, before continuing on to Hokkaido in May. Each stage of blooming is marked, from the first buds (kaika) to full bloom (mankai), and even the gentle fall of petals (sakura fubuki), when blossoms drift like pink snow.
These moments shape the timing of cherry blossom festivals (hanami), where people gather beneath the trees to celebrate the beauty of the season. Friends, families, and communities come together for picnics, music, and quiet reflection, knowing that the blossoms will last only a short time — often just a week at their peak. It is this fleeting nature, known as mono no aware, that gives sakura their deep cultural meaning: a reminder to cherish beauty in the present moment.
The colors in this tartan are inspired by both the blossoms themselves and the natural world that surrounds them. Soft pink reflects the Kawazu Zakura, one of the most cherished varieties of early-blooming cherry trees, known for its vibrant petals. Green represents the fresh leaves that emerge as the blossoms begin to fall, while the softest blue evokes the clear spring sky and white the gentle clouds drifting overhead.
Kawazu Zakura cherry trees are especially beloved for their early and long-lasting bloom. Flowering as early as February, they brighten the landscape well before many other varieties awaken. Unlike some cherry blossoms that fall almost as quickly as they appear, Kawazu blossoms linger for nearly a full month, allowing for a longer season of enjoyment. This remarkable tree traces its origins to a single sapling discovered by chance in the town of Kawazu in 1955, later cultivated into one of Japan’s most celebrated sakura varieties.
This is one of four tartans in a series that celebrate the realtionship between the UK and Japan.
Happy Cherry Blossom Season! 💗 💚 🤎 💚 💙 💗 🌸 🌸 🌸
It's the season for Cherry Blossom festivals in Japan, and in many other places around the world.
This is one of a set of four tartans in 'The Four Seasons' collection by designer David McGill, created in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first treaty between Japan and the UK (1858) and the arrival of Thomas Blake Glover, the Scottish Samurai, in Nagasaki (1859).
The sakura (cherry blossom in Japanese) tartan represents Spring.
Hanami (花見?, lit. "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers, flowers ("hana") in this case almost always referring to those of the cherry ("sakura") or, less frequently, plum ("ume") trees.
From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan. The blossom forecast (桜前線 sakura-zensen, literally, cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week or two.
For a beautiful gallery of cherry blossom photos from Japan, click the blossoming trees.
And to find the dates and locations of cherry blossom festivals in your area for your own hanami, click here.