Hi Mariko, the group had such a wonderful time in Japan it's going to take us two months to recover from our two weeks tour. According to our resident scare-monger, the body needs a one-day adjustment for each hour of cheating the sun. We were so weakened by night after night of sleep disruption that some of us promptly got viral infections as soon as we landed back in Vancouver. Dealing with that and the 16-hour time difference, twice, means we should all be operational again by June. Thanks for the heads-up about the Hama-rikyu "Takasago". I may have been muddled by insomnia, influenza and the six sepals. Are you sure about that first character being an abbreviated form of " Kan関? It seems to have the radical for 囗, enclosure, instead of 門, door, which 関 does indeed have. Could it have anything to do with this character 園? There were Kanzans at Hama-rikyu. I'm paying for my sniffy attitude towards Kanzan, so cherry common and overwhelming in Vancouver, because I didn't get a photo record of its Japanese signage. However, all the cherry blossoms were in such fine form at Hama-rikyu I do have Kanzan shots. I better post them while I'm in this interval of lucidity between coughs and naps. That will at least make Wendy happy as Vancouver is under Kanzan cover right now.
I was thinking along the lines of what Mariko suggested too, as the close-up photo of the back of the flowers doesn't show any of the hairs that seem to be an essential feature of 'Takasago'. Those were all the potential IDs (including 'Edo-zakura') we moved on to for the trees that we thought looked like 'Takasago' except for the absence of hairs.
Anne, you spent 2 weeks in Japan!! So you must have seen a lot of things! Did you see cherries in Shinjuku Gyoen Park? I went to there on April 16 and saw a lot of double cherries blooming. Also I found an English booklet, the translation of the Japanese booklet there, newly published this year. Anyway that letter is not “囗”. It is” ” the shortened form of “門”.You know in Mandarin Chinese gate is written like “门”. On the sign you can see a narrower line down like “囗”, but it is not a stroke but a line connecting (jumping) to the next stroke. So it is the shortened or handwriting form of “関山”. Now I think it might be Kanzan. Because it looks like the pictures Wendy posted on Riley Park #105. On the other hand I know the sign boards in Hanma-rikyu were not correct. Also I can’t find the picture of Edo-kind Cherry yet.
Our tour bus rolled onto the shores of Lake Kawaguchi, one of the lakes in the Mount Fuji area, right into the local cherry blossom festival at April 15, 2014. The Yoshino trees lining the streets and the paths along the tents were still in fine form.
Chrysanthemum and cherry meet in this Kiku-zakura just opening at Kenroku-en Gardens, Kanazawa, April 19, 2014. We'll have to confirm that our Vancouver Kiku-zakura meets the 300+ petal count.
Cherries in Fuji-view Hotel You saw Mt. Fiji with cherries, Anne! Even if it was cloudy, you are lucky. On April 19, 2014, I went to a bus tour to see Cherries around Mt Fuji. I just booked 2 days before after I checked the weather forecast and it was almost clear when we left Tokyo, but it became cloudy around Mt. Fuji. We saw Somei-yoshinos around the lake you saw. We went to Fuji-view hotel to eat lunch buffet. It has a large garden of about 10000㎡and there are 234 cherry trees. There are 30 large Shidare-zakuras, 1 Beni-shidare, and Edo-higans. Shidare-zakura Beni-shidare Edo-higan
Cherries in Fuji-view Hotel 2 Somei-yoshino,Yae-beni-shidare, Yama-zakura and Fuji-zakura (mame-zakura) were blooming at Fuji-view Hotel on April 19, 2014. Usually Shidare-zakura and Higan-zakura are early blooming cherries and Beni-shidare blooms just a bit ahead of Somei-yosiho. But there they were blooming together. (In autumn the garden is also beautiful with colored leaves like Japanese Maple. You can see the pictures of all year around.) Somei-yoshino Yae-beni-shidare Yama-zakura Fuji-zakura(mame-zakura)
Outside of the side gate of Fuji-view Hotel, I saw cherries by Lake Kawaguchiko on April 19,2014. Some were Unknown beautiful cherries. Unknown1 (early stage of Unknown No.2?) Unknown2 (might be Yoko?) Unknown3
Shinjuku Gyoen Park on April 16, 2014 (1) I went to Shinjuku Gyoen Park on April 16, 2014. Late blooming cherries were full bloom there. There are a lot of Ichiyo (they say 230 trees), Kanzan, Fugenzo ( Shiro-fugen) and other double cherries blooming beautifully. Also maples are beautiful with new leaves and Handkerchief Tree was blooming (but not so much flowers as ones in Vancouver).
Shinjuku Gyoen Park on April 16, 2014 (2) Kenrokuen-kiku-zakura which Anne saw in Kenrokuen, Kanazawa was full bloom and Baigoji-juzukake-zakura, too. Kenrokuen-kiku-zakura There are many (about 20??) cultivars of chrysanthemum –type flower with petals over 100. Kiku-zakura has about 100 petals. But Kenrokuen-kiku-zakura has 100 to 300 petals. It blooms with green leaves. So you can't see flowers from far. The original tree located in Kenrokuen Park, but it died in 1970. The one Anne posted was grafted the original cherry tree. Baigoji-juzukake-zakura I saw a young cherry of Baigoji-juzukake-zakura just started blooming. It looks like similar to Kenrokuen-kiku-zakura, but flower color is a little darker pink and sepals and calyx are reddish green(brown). This year I didn’t have time to see a large Baigoji-juzukake-zakura. But last year I saw it blooming. So I post them, too. They were taken on April 12, 2013. Last year cherries started blooming earlier. Even late blooming cherries were earlier than usual.
Shinjuku Gyoen Park on April 16, 2014 (3) Large Fukurokuju tree was standing out from afar. It has a lot of large beautiful fluffy flowers. There was a young Shogetsu blooming beautifully there. I think Shogetsu in Japan has brighter colors than Vancouver ones.
Shinjuku Gyoen Park on April 16, 2014 (4) Surugadai-nioi was blooming. It has middle-sized white flowers of 5 to 10 petals. It blooms with reddish purple brown young leaves and it has strong fragrance. There was Ichihara-tora-no-o finishing there. It has an unique shape. The double flower with white middle-sized petals blooms at the same time as Fugenzo (Shiro-fugen). ‘Tora-no-o’ means ‘a tiger tail’ .”Tora-no-o” was thought to be the name of cherries of which flowers bloom on branches like a tiger tail. But I think bark of the branches of this tree look like tiger tails. I think I have seen Ichihara-tora-no-o in full bloom. But I can’t find the pictures. So I’m posting the pictures just started blooming.
Shinjuku Gyoen Park on April 16, 2014 (5) Young Masuyama was blooming. I dont know this cherry. Flowering Cherries of Japan New Edition says Masuyama is alike Kanzan except color of the flowers and tree shape. Young Gyoiko was beyond the peak bloom. Ukon was finishing there.
Mine-zakua in Nasu May 24, 2014, No.1 On May 24, 2014, I went to Nasu Onsen (hot springs) area to see Mine-zakura, the Japanese Alpine cherry ( P. nipponica). Nasu locates less than 3 hours’ drive from Tokyo. It is known as a summer retreat area. There are many tourist attractions, golf courses, hotels and cottages. Two years ago I visited there on June 15 and heard about cherries. But it was too late. So I planned to visit a bit earlier this year. Kuitert wrote Mine-zakura blooms in mountains on altitude over 1500m in mid-Japan. Mine-zakura colony in Nasu locates around Hinode-daira, 1786m on Mt. Chausu-dake (Mt.Nasu). There is a ropeway and we can get around 1700m very easily. But then we have to walk about 40 minutes on the path like mountain climbing. Unfortunately Mine-zakura hadn’t bloomed so much. The web-site told it started to bloom one week before but it hadn’t changed so much. But at least I saw some flowers at the edge of the colony. Mine-zakuras there were like small shrubs fighting against strong wind and heavy snowfall. When they start blooming, the slope would be pink. The Top station of the ropeway and the climbing path Mine-zakura near Hinode-daira
★Mine-zakura in Nasu No.2 Its already June 2, 2014, today. We have been having 3 Mid-summer days in a row. In Japan we call the day on which the temperature goes above 30 degrees celcius a mid-summer day Its already terribly hot now. The web-site of Nasu Ropeway said Mine-zakura there became in good condition on May 29th. But I couldnt go there again. So Ill post what I saw in Numappara Marsh on May 24,2014. A shop clerk at Nasu Ropeway station told me that in Numappara Marsh (Elevation: 1230m ) Mine-zakuras might have been blooming. So we visited there. Near the entrance of the park there was a Mine-zakura tree. But unfortunately flowers had already finished. It was a mature tree in a magnificent shape. But it was less than 2 meters. We walked down to the marsh. It was well maintained and had wooden causeways. It showed a stage of early spring. There some Mine-zakuras were still blooming. Mine-zakura differs tree to tree a bit. But all of them were less than 2 meters. There was a green-leafed Mine-zakura.
★Cherries in Nasu on May 24, 2014, No.3 There was a cherry tree which didn't look like Mine-zakura near the entrance. It was a wild young tree but about 3 meter high. I wondered what it was. But I think it O-yama-zakura (Sartgent Cherry) with white flowers. It looked like Kasumi-zakura (Korian Mountain Cherry) but Kasumi-zakura is said to bloom with Shiro-fugen, late blooming also the tree had a bit sticky bud scales. So I think it is O-yama-zakura. There was a wild Togoku-mituba-tsutsuji (Rhododendron wadanum ) was blooming beautifully. The dam next to the marsh looked fantastic in the evening sunshine. I went to Nasu to see cherries but most of the people came to Nasu to see wild Rhododendrons. There is a famous wild Yama-tsutsuji (Rhododendron kaempferi) colony of 200,000 at Nasu-yahata. We went there, too. Also there were many Shiro-yasio-tsutsuji (Rhododendron quinquefolium)blooming in Nasu.
Cherry season finished in Tokyo about 1month ago and even in Vancouver it finished. But I haven’t posted many cherries I saw this year or before. It might against season, but I’d like to post more and at least I want to finish all the cultivar I saw in Shinjuku Ghoen then Nakakokubun and my trip to Kyoto this year. ★Shinjuku Gyoen on April 11, 2010 No. 1 At that day Somei-yoshino, Akebono, Oshima, Yama-zakura and Shirayuki were beyond the peak bloom but still worth viewing. Yae-beni-shidares were full bloom and Ichiyo were 50 to 70% bloom. Ukons were about 50 % and Kanzans were just starting to bloom and fugen-zo were not yet. Ichiyo::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Ukon:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Fugen-zo(shiro-fugen)::::::::::::::::::::::::::Kanzan Shirotae Taihaku ( I think Taihaku flowers in Japan are a bit smaller than Vancouver ones. Suzaku
★Shinjuku Gyoen on April 11, 2010 No. 2 Arashiyama Bendono Matsumae-hayazaki is called Naden or Kechimyaku-zakura in Matsumae, Hokkaido.
★Shinjuku Gyoen on April 11, 2010 No. 3 On that day, Edo was starting to bloom. (about 10%) Edo is a beautiful cherry. I think the unknown cherry Anne posted in Hamarikyu Park, which had ‘Kanzan’ name board, might be Edo. The new English booklet of Shinjuku Gyoen writes like below: ‘Nobilis’ ‘江戸’ (Edo) Cerasus Sato-zakura Group ‘Nobilis’ ‘Nobilis’ is a cultivar of Sato-zakura. The double flowers have large petals, with the inside ones light pink and outside ones becoming a darker pink. Its characteristics are that 1-2 pistils may become like leaves, and many flowers crowded together on a branch. ”Edo” is recorded from the Edo era (the 1700s). The cherries called “Yae-beni-torano-o”, “Azumanishiki”, or “Temari” are the same clone with “Edo”, and classified as a cultivar ‘Nobilis, ‘Mollis(Yokihi)’ is similar to ‘Nobilis’, but it is distinguished by normal pistils and slim petals. The Japanese version booklet of Shinjuku Gyoen says ‘Ito-kukuri’ also is the same clone with “Edo’. By the way once Douglas said ‘Ito-kukuri’ sound more beautiful than “Temari”. I can’t understand why Ito-kukuri sounds better. Ito-kukuri means just “tied with strings’ in Japanese. Temari is a very beautiful traditional Japanese handcraft. Temari pictures
Early Cherries in Japan On January 19, 2015, I found 3 Fuyu-zakuras were blooming just a bit at a school yard in North Ichikawa . Usually schools in Japan have a lot of Somei-yoshinos in the school yard. But this Shimokaizuka Junior High has 3 Fuyu-zakuras, 1 Shidare-zakura, 2 Somei-yoshino and something like Yama-zakura as far as I can see. In the middle of the February, Fuyu-zakuras had stopped blooming but some Mumes were blooming there. I now understand Fuyu-zakura doesn’t continue blooming during winter. By the way I bought a bunch of Keiou-zakura and they were blooming at the entrance of my home. I enjoyed cherries for 2 weeks. Keiou-zakura is a cherry which is mostly used for cut flowers. It has a broadly fastigiated shape and easy to get a lot of branch cut. The branches are cut in winter and kept in a greenhouse and start blooming before spring comes. It has lots of small pink flowers. It is said to be a hybrid of Shina-mizakura and Kohigan-zakura. Kohigan-zakura is a wild hybrid of Edo-higan and Mame-zakura.
Koishikawa Botanical Garden on February 15,2015 I visited Koishikawa Botanical Garden on February 15, 2015. This year we are having rather cold weather in Japan. It slowed the blooming of Kan-zakura. It was about 40 % bloom. It is later than 2011 but still much earlier than 2012. Early types of Mume were almost full bloom, but not others. Camellias and wild camellias were blooming there.
★On February 28, Kan-zakura in Koishokawa boranical Garden became full bloom or a bit beyond full bloom.But other cherries didn't show any sign of blooming. March 3 was Hina-matsuri, or Girl's Day in Japan. It is a festival of girls. Parents who had a baby girl prepare a set of dolls for her first Girl's Day and display them every year for daughter's happy future. Mime is a set of 14 dolls on five platforms, but nowadays only Emperor and Empress Dolls are brought out at my mother's house. Girl's Day is also called a festival of peach. So we display peach branches for Girl's Day. But we don't eat peach on the day. We eat Sakura-mochi, clam soup and Chirashi-zushi. Salted Oshima cherry leaves are used for Sakura-mochi to cover and add flavor. Peach blooms just a little earlier than Somei-yoshino. So they hadn't started blooming yet. Mumes are blooming Junsai Pond Park. On March 7, I went to Fukuyama for reunion of my University Orchestra. I hoped to see some early blooming cherries but I couldn't. Instead, I saw many kinds of Hina-ningyo. (Dolls for HIna-matsuri) there. Some of them were made in 1700s. Seven-platform-bina::::::::::::dolls of 1700s:::::::::::::::::: modern cat dolls Turusi-bina::::::::::::::::::::::longevity-dolls hanging dolls::::::::::::::::::::100-year-old emperor & Empress::Large Hina-dolls Dolls with an imperial palace
Three small Kawazu--zakura on Match 11, 2015 I saw small pink things far away from the bus I commute, so yesterday I went to check it. There were three small Kawazu-zakura by the small river called Mama River. They are young trees and just a bit behind the peak bloom. Mama River runs through Ichikawa city. It was famous for lines of cherries beside the river. Because of constructing new embankment cherries were cut in some part. But there are lows of cherries (most of them look like Somei-yoshino) around there.