Welcome back on bon.bah 🙂

This week’s writing is special to me, again. It’s the first one I wrote about Japan, and it made me learn something about myself. It all started with this quote:

The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your entire life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.”

Katsumoto — The Last Samurai

A Japanese lady strolling in a park with planted cherry trees

Many of us travel to Japan during the cherry blossom season, also known as the Sakura season. But how much do we really know about it? Is it enough to wake up early and hunt a secret place for that perfect picture? Or finding that famous spot where the exact picture has been taken a trillion times already? How far does our curiosity stretch? Usually, it just scratches its surface.

People admire Sakura for its meaning of impermanence, hope, and renewal. Quite beautiful. The Japanese might be more poetic than us Westerners. Or is it just their well-preserved philosophies that resonate?

The history of the flower-viewing

The hanami tradition, a centuries-old flower-viewing custom, dates back several centuries. Some may not know that hanami was first associated with plum and peach blossoms, which were popular during the Nara period (710-794). These ornamental trees were brought from China and admired by aristocrats.

During the Heian period (794 to 1185), Heian-kyō (Kyōto) became the new capital, and people’s appreciation shifted towards cherry blossoms. It became widely spread and popularized, so it managed to sneak into art, literature, and poetry. As their aesthetic value increased, it later led to the cultivation of cherry trees.

A little side note

It somehow makes me draw a connection to the idea Robert Zajonc derived from his studies: “The more often we see, hear or experience something, the more we like it.” It becomes familiar or even trendy. The more people do it, the more I want to do it. The more people possess an item, the more I desire it. It becomes a status. But back to cherry trees.

Later, during the Edo period (1603-1868), newly planted cherry trees became a popular feature in places such as temples and shrines. With this, popularity has increased even more, and people would wildly party there.

For example, in “Hanami: Blossom Viewing Party” by Kitao Shigemasa, he portrayed a scene of three women and a man enjoying their “picnic” at Asukayama Park (18th century). (Today’s Tokyo) The park was opened by the Japanese Shōgun (title of the military rulers in Japan) Tokugawa Yoshimune, who “planted” his famous cherry trees in the park in 1720.

Kitao Shigemasa | Third Lunar Month, Blossom Viewing at Asuka Hill

Utagawa Hiroshige, "Meisho of Edo" / National Diet Library Digital Collection

The already mentioned park, Asukayama, and its 1,270 cherry trees led to a point in history when cherry blossom viewing was free, regardless of one's social status.

(From a diary 10/04/2025)

So, what is a perfect blossom?

Entering the Maruyama park in Kyoto, you can spot people looking for the perfect blossom from very early in the morning. We sat down on a bench, enjoyed our breakfast, watched, and, of course, criticized. I do not like this side of my personality, but I sometimes feel like I am enjoying a good mocking. I mainly saw families with their children crying because the perfection of the Sakura picture couldn’t reach its full potential, as well as individuals, couples, or groups that had hired professional photographers. It’s nice to have a beautiful photo taken and keep it as a memory. I was never a huge fan of this, and I guess that’s why I don’t remember much from my past. As I was sitting on that bench, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of these people actually sit down to look at those trees, feel the slight breeze, and notice the beautiful snow it creates early in the spring. How many of us wonder if we just suddenly entered Narnia?

This can only be found in the beauty of the moment, in the moment of stillness. As Andrew Juniper mentions, it’s found in the melancholy and spiritual longing of wabi-sabi. But we learned to ignore those moments in search of perfect memories, and instead, we capture moments the way we do nowadays. What about the different ways to capture a moment? What about experiencing the spring within?

“I feel that the perfect blossom is, in fact, the moment you cannot touch; it’s the moment you can only feel.”

It cannot be planned. We cannot experience it the same way as the person who posted that beautiful picture, we are desperately trying to imitate. But we can find our own way of experiencing it. What is your perfect blossom moment?

Oldest Geisha District | Kyoto

A day before or after (I can’t remember now), we didn’t plan much, but we wanted to see Kitano Shrine in the northwest of Kyoto. As in Sakura season, I also got dragged into the perfect blossom capture vibe, but the idea of foreign bodies touching me was too scary. I often get migraines from the noise and, I guess, some sort of built-in anxiety.

The dilemma of whether to visit popular places is more relevant when staying just for a few days. Everyone wants to see everything, and in the end, we often see nothing, as we cannot comprehend what we’re seeing or experiencing. Sometimes, I feel I should push myself to see more, but my inner workings won’t let me. It’s when the comparison to others kicks in again. You need a few lives to see all you want to see.

That’s why we chose this Shrine. I was promised it would be less touristy. We parked our bicycles in front of the Kitano Shrine and walked inside the complex. We were amazed by the number of locals either strolling with their dogs or runners coming to pay their respects.

Kitano Complex | A local during the morning stroll

Sakura Festival | Dressed up family

A little girl being photographed by her mother during the Sakura Festival

After a few moments of experiencing the Shrine and its morning atmosphere, we headed towards the oldest geisha district– Kamishichiken. It seemed like a small street lined with various shops and restaurants, all of which were closed. That’s the Japanese sense of intimacy – it looks closed, but they are open. We walked towards the Theater and turned left onto an even smaller, more intimate street. The light was beautiful, with rays of sun passing through the branches of, guess what? A cherry tree. When it turned into a slight breeze, the flower petals formed into snow that seemed to fall from heaven. And then the moment arrived.

From behind the corner, we spotted a beautiful creature. It’s her. We finally saw her. She’s not fake. She’s not just another tourist pretending to be one of them. How can I tell? Because of the nobleness with which she carried herself. It’s because of the gaze that wasn’t directed towards us but the ground instead. The humbleness.

I desired to capture a moment like this so much, but my camera stayed in its place, and I just stood hypnotized. And that's how I captured this moment: by paying respect and doing nothing. Even by staring, you can disrespect Geisha. I couldn’t stop looking at that beauty, at the perfection she carried with her. This is what I would describe as my perfect blossom moment. Hope you can find yours.

Yours truly,

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