Cherry treeTraditional garden plants

There are some 10 varieties of wild cherry found in Japan, including the mountain cherry and the Oshima cherry. For over 2,000 years, the cherry has been deeply involved in the lives of the people of Japan as the flower heralding the start of spring.

From the Nara period (794~) onward, Mt. Yoshino became a favorite place for the nobility to view Cherry trees. From the Kamakura to the Muromachi period (1185-1573), the double-flowered village cherry was created from the Nara and Kyoto mountain cherry and the Kanto Oshima cherry.

During the Edo period, the third Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, had mountain cherries from Mt. Yoshino transplanted to the Kan’ei-ji temple, resulting in Ueno Hill where the temple was located becoming a popular location for Cherry tree viewing. The eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune (ruled 1716-1745), planted cherries* on the banks of the Sumida River, the hills of Goten'yama in the Shinagawa area, the Asukayama area in Oji, and around the Tamagawa Aqueduct Koganei Bridge (Tamagawa-zutsumi) to serve as spaces for relaxation for commoners impoverished due to the budgetary austerities caused by the Kyoho reforms enacted in 1736. In turn, these areas became popular Cherry tree viewing locations for both commoners and samurai alike.

In 1924. the cherries at Koganei-zutsumi were even designated a place of scenic beauty in the Act on Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments, but later declined. Koganei Park was established in order to replace this once famous site; the park was planted with a variety of cherries in 1954 and today a Cherry tree Festival is held in the park each year in spring. A pamphlet on cherries is distributed at service center windows during the period when cherries may be viewed.

*In the Edo period, wild cherries such as the mountain cherry as well as the double-flowered village cherry were used.