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One Hundred Cherry Tree Views
Text: Tadashi Wakami, Takuji Shokawa | Photo: Ryoihi Saito

Yokozuna of the East, Iriya Area
Text: Hajime Tsuchiya
Reigning on high in its lofty position as the Kawazu Cherry Blossom Viewing Ranking's Yokozuna of the East, the highest ranking taken from the name of the grandest of all sumo titles, is a cherry tree presently in full bloom in a Mr. Hajime Tsuchiya's front garden in Iriya. This particular tree is more than a quarter of a century old. Above our heads, its branches hang over us as if to blanket us in a thick canopy of cherry blossoms, which draw out long sighs of wonder from those who have come to enjoy them. It is not only humans that are mesmerized by these flowers; the same is true for the Japanese white-eye and a great many other wild birds in the area as well. From pillar to post, they gather in and around the sight, merrily extolling the virtues of Kawazu in spring. Truly nature at its finest, or as the old Japanese saying goes, "flowers and birds, billowing wind, evening sky" or "kachofugetsu" - the perfect harmony of the most traditional of aesthetic elements.

Yokozuna of the West, Sasahara Area
Text: Takashi Tsuchiya
The undisputed Yokozuna of the West glitters magnificently in the shape of one particular flowering cherry in the home of a Mr. Takashi Tsuchiya. This tree is also estimated to be in of a quarter of a century old. It has been painstakingly watched over and attended by Mr. Tsuchiya – "as if it were my own child," says he – to color the spring in glistening shades of sakura pink. Blooming together with the cherry trees growing alongside the Loop Bridge of the Nashimoto area, the tree consistently ranks at first place in the Kawazu Cherry Blossom Viewing Rankings.


The Men Who Refused to Think "Once the Festival Was Over, They Were Only Trees"
The Japanese are very fond of flowering cherry trees and are likely to recall them at the very mention of flowers. It has been suggested that this might be because of a fascination held for their ephemerality, where after enduring the long wait for the coming of spring, the flowers bloom all at once only to be seen scattering again after a few short days of splendor.

But how accurate is this analogy? In terms of duration, the Kawazu cherry continues to bloom for almost a month. Yet people today continue to purposefully seek out this particular species to enjoy. Obviously, one might argue, it is not merely the purity of the blossoms falling that the Japanese hold so dear.

In essence, it is the cherry blossoms themselves they adore. The pastel crimsons embraced by the gentle spring sun, the faint hint of perfume wafting distantly through the air – those are the qualities that have struck a chord with the Japanese. And one by one, these people thus head for the township of Kawazu without a thought for the congested traffic jams and hectic crowds they will face on their way. Yet, in the town itself there are folks who are still more entranced by the sight of cherry blossoms, on a level far above and beyond them. These are the members of the Kawazu Cherry Conservation and Propagation Committee.
The volunteer organization tirelessly watches over the some 8,000 cherry trees that make up the spring palette of the Kawazu Township. Members make routine patrol checks for diseases such as witch's broom (where a dense mass of branches grow too close together, thus resembling a witch's broom) and infestation by harmful pests such as the green cocklid, upon which if damage is found to have occurred, immediate sterilization and eradication is carried out. The trees are also pruned of old and unwanted branches to ensure the overall health of the tree and sustained growth of younger shoots growing in narrower spaces. Conversely, individuals also make patrols around homes to inspect cherry trees in the area deemed to be growing excessively fast which might pose a danger to passerby by due to large falling branches.

Fertilizer distribution and weeding efforts are also maintained to ensure the flowers bloom beautifully and the trees themselves are sturdy and strong. The group also works alongside professional horticulturalists and landscape artists in the township to help raise seedlings (and grafted saplings) in an effort to spread its locally cultivated Kawazu cherry species to various parts of Japan.

While a part of the funding for these activities are supplemented by sales proceeds earned through Kawazu Cherry Blossom Viewing Ranking activities and seedlings at the Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival, most services are provided on a voluntary basis. This is something that could only have been accomplished by a work of true passion for what they do.

"Back then, once the festival was over, the cherry trees would return to being merely trees again (to the participants). It was such a shame, really," says Committee Chairman Mr. Shinsuke Hama. Through forming a body of volunteers from the Youth Division of his local Commerce and Industry Association, the Committee has since gone on to conserving and promoting the Kawazu flowering cherry to see in the great success it enjoys today.

Kawazu Cherry Blossom Viewing Ranking
Initiated by the Committee. The ranking system is a lover's guide to cherry trees in which the some 8,000 specimens within the township are assessed and the resulting research data on selective specimens is gathered and then published as a compilation.


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