Autumn Cherry Blossom (shikizakura)

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Autumn Cherry Blossoms (shikizakura, Japan)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Autumn
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Cherry blossoms of the four seasons SHIKIZAKURA 四季桜
blossom twice a year, in spring and in autumn. They begin to bloom around the day of the Vernal Equinox and their white or pale pink blossoms are at their best around the same time as those of other kinds of cherry trees. Other types bloom from October through December. In Obara they are called 'SHIKIZAKURA' (four-season cherry blossom trees), while they are called 'Fudanzakura' (constantly -blooming cherry blossom trees), Fuyuzakura 冬桜　(winter cherry blossom trees) or Kanzakura　寒桜 (cold-season cherry blossom trees) in other parts of Japan. (See below for the Winter Kigo.)

SHIKIZAKURA has been designated as the village tree of Obara 小原の四季桜. The village has made considerable efforts to protect and propagate these objects of beauty, and there are about 6,000 trees throughout the village now.
http://www.kankou-obara.toyota.aichi.jp/shikizakura/top.html

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A four-season cherry tree owned by Mamoru Futamura a resident of Maebora, Obara, is estimated to be more than one hundred years old and was designated as a natural monument by the Aichi prefectural government.

In autumn Shikizakura start to bloom in the beginning of October, however they are at their best from the middle to the end of November.

Shikizakura is said to be a hybrid of Mame-zakura and Edo-higan-zakura.

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Festival of the Shikizakura Blossoms / Shikizakura Matsuri

Aichi Prefecture, Obara Town 小原の四季桜


http://www.kankou-obara.toyota.aichi.jp/shikizakura/matsuri.html

Links with beautiful pictures of Obara and the Cherry blossoms
http://hideitabi.com/travel/obara2004/main.html
http://www.japan-net.ne.jp/~nagayama/page/2340obara.html
http://homepage3.nifty.com/SWEET/2004kou/obaramura.htm

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Worldwide use

North America

I was so unnerved at everyone's surprise when I wrote that there are cherry trees in bloom here in Palo Alto that I drove over to school and photographed them today. I also spent a lot of time in Google looking for blooming times and learned indeed that there are forms of Higan cherry that bloom in winter.

You will know them as pink and often weeping in habit, but apparently they can bloom white and can have broad non-weeping canopies. Our Palo Alto trees are not particularly spectacular as specimens, but since the city has planted them I assume they are a variant that requires little care, and that they were chosen for the street on either side of the gate to the cemetary so that things would not be quite so dismal for winter funerals.



white petals drop
on a funeral cortege
winter blooming cherry

Incidentally, I found that we have a cherry that is native to the eastern United States called the Black Cherry (prunus serotina). It's the tree for cherry furniture and flooring, and the bark is used for cough medicine:

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=66
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/prunus_serotina.html
http://www.honeygardens.com/hnews2.html

late winter cold
one last wild cherry cough drop
in my pocket

Linda Papanicolaou

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

never too late
to start flowering -
autumn cherry blossoms

autumn cherry blossoms -
the cold wind feels
much warmer

enjoying a sip
of hot ricewine -
autumn cherry blossoms

Gabi Greve

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Related words

***** Winter Cherry Blossoms, fuyuzakura 冬桜
Cherry Blossom in the cold, kanzakura　寒桜
fuyuki no sakura 冬木の桜 (ふゆきのさくら) cherry tree in winter
karezakura 枯桜（かれざくら） withered cherry tree


***** pink winter cherry blossom hikanzakura 緋寒桜
..... Prunus cerasoides var. campanulata


Kigo for Late Winter.

Smaller trees which blossom twice, in December and April.


Look at more photos here:
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~db3t-kjmt/kigi/sakrookn.htm


山の日は　鏡のごとし　寒桜
yama no hi wa kagami no gotoshi kanzakura

the mountain sun
is like a mirror -
cherry blossoms in the cold
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Takahama Kyoshi

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The PINK version grows in Kyushu and Okinawa and shows bright pink flowers during January to March.
Look here for some great photos from Amami Island.
http://amamicco.net/amami/amami14.html



***** Cherry Blossoms (sakura, Japan)
... and many related kigo



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