Relation between Japanese ancestors and cherry blossoms
There are some 10 varieties of wild cherry blossoms has been found in Japan, including Yama-zakura and Ooshima-zakura. For over 2,000 years, the wild cherry blossoms have been deeply involved in the lives of Japanese as the flower heralding the start of spring.
Cultivar cherry blossoms called Sato-zakura have been created by bleed improvement of wild cherry blossoms.
There are over 300 varieties of cultivar cherry blossom today.
In the first place, cherry blossoms have a feature to bear fruit naturally with other variety one.
So we can get hybrid one easily.
Until now, many cultivars of cherry blossoms have been created utilizing this feature.
wild cherry blossoms
It is said that the creation of cultivar cherry blossoms has already started in the Kamakura period.
Cherry blossoms of various cultivars were planted in the feudal lord’s garden in Edo, and it was familiar.
After the Meiji Restoration, when the structure of the country changed, many feudal lord’s residences were demolished and many cultivar cherry blossoms in the garden were forgotten.
In order to convey the cultivar cherry blossoms to people who grieved over the loss of breeds, they made a tree row of cherry blossoms by the Arakawa river.
This tree row called "Arakawa 's five colors cherry blossoms" became a sight of Tokyo' s most popular tourist spot of cherry blossoms.
However, this cherry blossoms of tree row is not left now.
It was extinct in the fuss of the war.
“Youkihi” Five colors cherry blossoms in Arakawa river
It is told now that the most famous variety “Somei-yoshino” was born in Edo at “Yoshino village” (now known as Komagome) in the early Meiji period.
Characteristically, it grows so quickly, it has the feature that the flowering from the planting is fast and that it blooms at the same time.
As a result, “Somei-yoshino” quickly became popular cherry blossoms variety, and it circulated throughout the country like "Cherry blossoms’ representative."
On the other hand, some of the other cultivar cherry blossoms avoided extinction, because they had been moved outside the prefecture and overseas, and you can see their appearance even now.
“Somei-yoshino”