英語の後に日本語が続きます。
I saw the tree recently while doing jump ropes in a nearby park, amazed by so many blossoms on a relatively small tree. So, I approached the tree this morning to look at the plant label, finding it a type of cherry tree I've never seen, Takasago cherry (Cerasus × sieboldii ‘Caespitosa’). Takasago cherry trees are known to be relatively small but produce double-flowered blossoms. Below are the cherry blossoms I've seen so far.
Takasago Cherry Blossoms タカサゴ（高砂）
Double Pink Flowered Cherry Blossoms 八重桜
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
They're double flowered cherry blossoms. Cherry trees generally bloom from early February (e.g., Kawazu cherry and Taiwan cherry) to mid-to late March (e.g., Oshima and Somei cherry trees), then early April (e.g., double-flowered cherry and mountain cherry). So, the blooming of double flowered cherry trees means the cherry blossom season this year will soon be over. But before that, enjoy these pretty "chubby" blossoms!!
Below are the cherry blossoms I've seen this year. If you're interested in them, read these posts, too!!
They're double flowered cherry blossoms. Cherry trees generally bloom from early February (e.g., Kawazu cherry and Taiwan cherry) to mid-to late March (e.g., Oshima and Somei cherry trees), then early April (e.g., double-flowered cherry and mountain cherry). So, the blooming of double flowered cherry trees means the cherry blossom season this year will soon be over. But before that, enjoy these pretty "chubby" blossoms!!
Below are the cherry blossoms I've seen this year. If you're interested in them, read these posts, too!!
- Taiwan cherry (Prunus campanulata)
- Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
- Kawazu cherry (Cerasus lannesiana)
- Pink & white Oshima cherry (Prunus speciosa)
- Weeping cherry blossoms
- Somei cherry (Prunus x yedoensis)
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| Double pink flowered cherry blossoms 八重桜 |
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| Double pink flowered cherry blossoms 八重桜 |
Cherry Blossoms Onto A Tree Trunk 胴吹き桜
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
Cherry blossoms usually bloom on the branches, and in Tokyo they've already started to fall, but the blossoms in these photos are not. They're still clinging onto the tree trunk. This often occurs to old trees and there's a reason for that.
Old trees are less energetic, so try to make energy with less cost, i.e., producing leaves for photosynthesis as close to the trunk, which is the main body of the tree, as possible. The thing is however that cherry trees generally produce flowers before leaves and producing flowers costs more energy...
Cherry blossoms usually bloom on the branches, and in Tokyo they've already started to fall, but the blossoms in these photos are not. They're still clinging onto the tree trunk. This often occurs to old trees and there's a reason for that.
Old trees are less energetic, so try to make energy with less cost, i.e., producing leaves for photosynthesis as close to the trunk, which is the main body of the tree, as possible. The thing is however that cherry trees generally produce flowers before leaves and producing flowers costs more energy...
Cherry trees are wise and silly, aren't they? Thanks to this, however, people can still enjoy viewing beautiful cherry blossoms after those on the branches have fallen, and I've come to love cherry trees more than I did before😊.
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| Yoshino cherry blossoms on the tree trunk 胴吹き桜 |
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| Oshima cherry blossoms 大島桜 |
Late Blooming Cherry Blossoms 遅咲きの桜
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
I thought the cherry blossom season this year was over, but found many late blooming cherry trees while walking very early morning. I believe I'm a late bloomer, so I like these my friends☺!
For the first time in my life, I enjoyed a variety of cherry blossoms of different colors and shapes.
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外出自粛で心身ともに崩れたので早朝ウォーキングを始めました。そしたら何と満開の桜？
帰って調べたらわかりました。３枚目と４枚目はソメイヨシノでもう終わり。普賢象（１枚目）とカンザン（２枚目）は八重桜で遅咲きなんですね。
遅咲き｡｡｡ 私も勝手に自分は遅咲きだと思っております。死ぬ頃もまだ咲いてないかもしれませんが｡｡｡
(Google アカウントを持ってない方は、コメント記入後に「Google アカウント」をクリックし、「匿名」か「名前/URL」を選択してからご記入ください！)
I thought the cherry blossom season this year was over, but found many late blooming cherry trees while walking very early morning. I believe I'm a late bloomer, so I like these my friends☺!
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| Late bloomer Double-flowered cherry 普賢象 |
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| Late bloomer Kwanzan カンザン |
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| Earlier bloomer Yoshino cherry season was over ソメイヨシノはもう終わり |
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| Earlier bloomer Yoshino cherry blossoms two weeks ago ２週間前のソメイヨシノ |
For the first time in my life, I enjoyed a variety of cherry blossoms of different colors and shapes.
(If you wish to post your comment but don't have a Google account, select "anonymous" from the drop down menu titled "comment as"!)
外出自粛で心身ともに崩れたので早朝ウォーキングを始めました。そしたら何と満開の桜？
帰って調べたらわかりました。３枚目と４枚目はソメイヨシノでもう終わり。普賢象（１枚目）とカンザン（２枚目）は八重桜で遅咲きなんですね。
遅咲き｡｡｡ 私も勝手に自分は遅咲きだと思っております。死ぬ頃もまだ咲いてないかもしれませんが｡｡｡
(Google アカウントを持ってない方は、コメント記入後に「Google アカウント」をクリックし、「匿名」か「名前/URL」を選択してからご記入ください！)
In and After Bloom 満開中と満開後
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
I took the first photo about two weeks ago and the second yesterday when taking out the trash. Before I knew it, the cherry blossom season was over...
When will we able to see the ending of the coronavirus outbreak? Nine years ago, this cherry tree made me think of radioactivity around us. This year, of the virus....
(If you wish to post your comment but don't have a Google account, select "anonymous" from the drop down menu titled "comment as"!)
満開中と満開後。マンションの前の桜です。知らない内に終わってました。
東日本大震災の時は放射能、今年はウィルスについて考えさせる桜の木。桜に罪はありません｡｡｡
I took the first photo about two weeks ago and the second yesterday when taking out the trash. Before I knew it, the cherry blossom season was over...
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| In full bloom two weeks ago |
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| After bloom today |
When will we able to see the ending of the coronavirus outbreak? Nine years ago, this cherry tree made me think of radioactivity around us. This year, of the virus....
(If you wish to post your comment but don't have a Google account, select "anonymous" from the drop down menu titled "comment as"!)
満開中と満開後。マンションの前の桜です。知らない内に終わってました。
東日本大震災の時は放射能、今年はウィルスについて考えさせる桜の木。桜に罪はありません｡｡｡
(Google アカウントを持ってない方は、コメント記入後に「Google アカウント」をクリックし、「匿名」か「名前/URL」を選択してからご記入ください！)
Cherry Buds and Blossoms ちっちゃく満開です！
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
Although taken from different angles, these two photos are of the same two cherry flowers showing a big change during the eight days from March 17 to March 25.
マンションの前の桜のビフォーアフターです。満開の桜ももちろんきれいですが、赤ちゃんつぼみが育っていくのを見守る過程にはとっても癒されました☺。
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| March 25 - in bloom |
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| March 17 - still in bud |
It's fun to see something perfectly beautiful but it warmed and healed my heart to see these closed buds gradually opening themselves and showing their life force and utmost beauty.
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マンションの前の桜のビフォーアフターです。満開の桜ももちろんきれいですが、赤ちゃんつぼみが育っていくのを見守る過程にはとっても癒されました☺。
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Cherry Blossoms and Fukushima 桜と「Fukushima」
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
On March 14, Japan has announced the start of cherry blossom season. It was record early, i.e., 12 days earlier than usual and 7 days earlier than last year. The picture below is of their buds I took in my neighborhood on the following day, March 15.
Cherry blossoms are beautiful, but they also remind me of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 and the subsequent nuclear plant explosions in Fukushima.
At 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, I was working at office. I walked home as public transportation stopped and that was the beginning of everything. After watching the footage on TV of tsunami washing away so many people and houses, I learned that nuclear plants exploded. I considered leaving Tokyo to be further away from Fukushima, but decided to stay. I had nowhere to go.
A week or two weeks later, I saw this cherry tree in full bloom in front of the apartment where I live on my way to work. The pink was amazing, but at the same time, it was surreal, showing a stark contrast with the reality... Aftershocks, another explosion and radioactive air pollution.
Nine years have passed since then, and now for me, cherry blossoms are not only the symbol of the beginning of spring, but also a reminder of Fukushima. Seeing cherry trees in bloom every spring makes me realize how blessed I am to be able to live without worrying about air, water or any form of contamination...
But I was naive. The Fukushima disaster is far from over. The tanks for contaminated water at the plants will be full in 2022, so the water in them has to be released into the ocean, but only after contaminants in it are removed. How to remove such substances and after that, seek permission for the release from other countries, however, has still not been decided yet or even discussed.
Japan is now tackling the spread of COVID-19, but the Fukushima crisis is not past. It is still imminent. Japan shouldn't forget about it....
(If you wish to post your comment but don't have a Google account, select "anonymous" from the drop down menu titled "comment as"!)
マンションの前に一本だけ桜の木が植えられています。写真はその木に付いたつぼみです。ただ、私にとって桜の木は単に満開を待ち望むだけのものではありません。
2011年3月11日、会社から歩いて家に戻った私は、津波、そして原発が爆発する映像を見て言葉を失いました。東京から脱出することも考えましたが、それはできず、1～2週間後、結局また出社し始めた時にマンションの前で出会ったのが、その頃満開だったこの木です。そして思いました。「この桜も放射能に汚染されているんだ｡｡｡」と。以来、桜を見る度、日常の有り難さを感じると同時に「Fukushima」についても考えるようになりました。
ところがつい先日、あるニュースで、2022年に汚染水のタンクが一杯になってしまうことを知りました。放射性物質を除去し、海に廃棄しなければならないとのこと。でも方法はまだ決まっていないそうです。
コロナウィルスの問題で今世界中が揺れています。でも「Fukushima」もまだ終わってはいません。忘れてはいけないと思いました。
(Google アカウントを持ってない方は、コメント記入後に「Google アカウント」をクリックし、「匿名」か「名前/URL」を選択してからご記入ください！)
On March 14, Japan has announced the start of cherry blossom season. It was record early, i.e., 12 days earlier than usual and 7 days earlier than last year. The picture below is of their buds I took in my neighborhood on the following day, March 15.
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| Cherry blossom buds in the neighborhood |
Cherry blossoms are beautiful, but they also remind me of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 and the subsequent nuclear plant explosions in Fukushima.
At 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, I was working at office. I walked home as public transportation stopped and that was the beginning of everything. After watching the footage on TV of tsunami washing away so many people and houses, I learned that nuclear plants exploded. I considered leaving Tokyo to be further away from Fukushima, but decided to stay. I had nowhere to go.
A week or two weeks later, I saw this cherry tree in full bloom in front of the apartment where I live on my way to work. The pink was amazing, but at the same time, it was surreal, showing a stark contrast with the reality... Aftershocks, another explosion and radioactive air pollution.
Nine years have passed since then, and now for me, cherry blossoms are not only the symbol of the beginning of spring, but also a reminder of Fukushima. Seeing cherry trees in bloom every spring makes me realize how blessed I am to be able to live without worrying about air, water or any form of contamination...
But I was naive. The Fukushima disaster is far from over. The tanks for contaminated water at the plants will be full in 2022, so the water in them has to be released into the ocean, but only after contaminants in it are removed. How to remove such substances and after that, seek permission for the release from other countries, however, has still not been decided yet or even discussed.
Japan is now tackling the spread of COVID-19, but the Fukushima crisis is not past. It is still imminent. Japan shouldn't forget about it....
(If you wish to post your comment but don't have a Google account, select "anonymous" from the drop down menu titled "comment as"!)
マンションの前に一本だけ桜の木が植えられています。写真はその木に付いたつぼみです。ただ、私にとって桜の木は単に満開を待ち望むだけのものではありません。
2011年3月11日、会社から歩いて家に戻った私は、津波、そして原発が爆発する映像を見て言葉を失いました。東京から脱出することも考えましたが、それはできず、1～2週間後、結局また出社し始めた時にマンションの前で出会ったのが、その頃満開だったこの木です。そして思いました。「この桜も放射能に汚染されているんだ｡｡｡」と。以来、桜を見る度、日常の有り難さを感じると同時に「Fukushima」についても考えるようになりました。
ところがつい先日、あるニュースで、2022年に汚染水のタンクが一杯になってしまうことを知りました。放射性物質を除去し、海に廃棄しなければならないとのこと。でも方法はまだ決まっていないそうです。
コロナウィルスの問題で今世界中が揺れています。でも「Fukushima」もまだ終わってはいません。忘れてはいけないと思いました。
(Google アカウントを持ってない方は、コメント記入後に「Google アカウント」をクリックし、「匿名」か「名前/URL」を選択してからご記入ください！)
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