
The cherry blossom (sakura) is Japan's unofficial national flower. It
has been celebrated for many centuries and takes a very prominent
position in Japanese culture.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. annually
commemorates the 1912 gift to the city of Washington of 3,000 cherry
trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to enhance the growing friendship
between the United States and Japan and celebrate the continued close
relationship between our two peoples.
In a simple ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and
Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first
two of these trees on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac
Park. By 1915 the United States government had responded with a gift of
flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. In 1927, a group of
American school children reenacted the initial planting; the first
festival was held in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the nation's
capital.
Three thousand, eight hundred more trees were accepted in 1965 by First
Lady Lady Bird Johnson. In 1981 the cycle of giving came full circle.
Japanese horticulturalists came to take cuttings from our trees to
replace Yoshino cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a
flood. With this return gift, the trees again fulfilled their roles as a
symbol and agent of friendship. The most recent event in this cycle
occurred in the fall of 1999. It involved the formal planting in the
Tidal Basin of a new generation of cuttings from a famous Japanese
cherry tree in Gifu province reputed to be over 1500 years old.
Cherry Blossoms are available in a variety of colors.
The size of the cherry blossom is approximately 2 3/4" across.
Set of 5 for $25
Set of 5 for $25