The opening ceremony of the US capital’s annual National Cherry Blossom Festival has been held to celebrate the gift of trees from Japan to the United States more than 100 years ago.
Washington DC is one of the most famous places for cherry blossom viewing in the country. The trees include ones donated in 1912 by Tokyo’s mayor at the time.
The head of the festival’s organizing group, Diana Mayhew, spoke at the ceremony on Saturday. She said that more than a century after the original gift of cherry trees from Japan, the blossoms continue to bloom as a living reminder of the enduring bond between the two nations.
Japan’s Ambassador to the US, Yamada Shigeo, mentioned a Japanese plan to gift the US with 250 cherry trees on the occasion of the country’s 250th anniversary this year.
He said he hopes the new trees will also take root in American soil and flourish as enduring symbols of the friendship between the peoples of the two countries.
The ceremony also featured “Onikenbai,” a traditional sword dance from Japan’s northeastern prefecture of Iwate, and pop music by Japanese singer Hirahara Ayaka, including her hit song “Jupiter.”
The festival runs through mid-April. The US National Park Service expects peak bloom to arrive between March 28 and April 1.
AloJapan.com