Forecast:  pink snow for Sakura Matsuri

Get there early!

Cherry trees bloom in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

Each year the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) hosts the Cherry Blossom Festival, which is known as Sakura Matsuri in Japanese.  For an event this size, it takes a lot of planning; and timing is everything.  The cherry trees can bloom as early as mid-March if weather conditions permit, and as late as early May.  They do their best to have the event coincide with full bloom in the garden, but sometimes – like this year – they miss their mark slightly.  A tree can bloom for as long as a week before the petals fall, so you have a viewing window.  But not all of the species in the BBG bloom at once…and it’s a five week sequence.

Daffodils bloom in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

This year the festival spanned the weekend of April 28th, but the cherry blossoms didn’t get the memo and were late to the party…they came into full bloom a week later.  Nevertheless, it’s still a spectacular event.  The tulips are out in full force, as are the magnolia trees, and the daffodils.  As you might imagine, during Sakura Matsuri attendance is at its peak.  The lines to enter wrap around into the parking lot.  Eventually they reach full capacity inside the BBG, and you have to wait for people to leave before more can enter…so get there early!

The magnolias are in bloom.

The Japanese Garden – a hidden gem

Overlooking the pond of the Japanese Garden.

Another advantage to arriving early – besides avoiding the wait to enter – is that you can take a tour of the Japanese Garden.  The Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is home to a world-renowned Japanese Garden.  According to the BBG’s website, “it is one of the oldest and most visited Japanese-inspired gardens outside Japan.”   It is a combination of styles, giving you the experience of a traditional hill-and-pond garden mixed with a stroll-garden.  So you get the best of both worlds.  Unbeknownst to me, tours are mandatory for entrance to the Japanese Garden until noon, when they open it up for viewing to everyone.  This worked to my benefit, since tours limit the number of people in the garden, and the groups are spaced apart.  This makes it much easier to take photos without hoards of people in them.

The architect arrives

Japan is a mountainous country with a rocky coastline.  Takeo Shiota, a Japanese native, spent his youth exploring the country on foot before coming to America in 1907 and creating this Japanese garden in 1914 – the first Japanese garden to be created in an American public garden.  He used trees, plants, and structures to represent the landscape he was so intimately familiar with, on a scale that creates an impression of greater space.  The theme is balance…using simplicity as the rule of thumb.

The torii

Not all of the garden is visible at any one time, and at every turn there’s something new to take in.  A magnificent torii (gateway)stands in the pond of the Japanese garden, instantly catching your eye as you pass through the entrance.   It is bright red and marks the boundary between the sacred space of the Shinto shrine atop the steep hill behind it, and ordinary space.  Unfortunately, the tour – during Sakura Matsuri, at least – does not go up to the shrine, but you can either break away from the tour to scope it out (I found they don’t yell at you – or wait for you), or you can come back later when the tours are over.

Mount Fuji transplanted?

The Mount Fuji volcano is a mere 60 miles from Tokyo, and visible from there on a clear day.  Mount Fuji plays a prominent part of the landscape in the region, along with the 5 lakes below it; and I imagine it to be a strong influence on the young Takeo.  The hills of the garden may represent the volcano, and the pond the 5 lakes.  Also, the Shinto shrine is located on a hill, just as shrines are located along the face of Mount Fuji.  Koi are in residence, as well as turtles, and mallard ducks…and on previous visits I noticed a crane.  Aside from the torii and the shrine, other man-made elements include the viewing pavilion at the entrance, wooden bridges, and stone lanterns.  A 5-tier waterfall and an island round out the natural elements of the garden.

A metaphor for life

As I exit the Japanese Garden, Sakura Matsuri is in full swing.  I find myself on the Cherry Walk facing the Cherry Esplanade.  It is quite a sight to see the Cherry Esplanade in full bloom.  It’s even more amazing to be there when the blossoms fall and it looks like pink snow!  The Japanese revere the cherry blossom, because a cherry blossom is life.  Life is fleetingly beautiful.  It burns brightly for a short time, but is destined to end.  The pink petals of the cherry tree that fly through the air and blanket the ground like snow, show that there is also beauty in endings.  Such is the transitory nature of life.  The cycle begins again the next year with another beautiful rebirth of blossoms.  Bottom line – life is short…seize the day!

Bridge in the Japanese Garden

It’s like a Japanese cultural explosion!

Kabuki on the Cherry Esplanade Stage

Kokeshi dolls

There is a stage in the Cherry Esplanade, and I stop to watch a graceful Kabuki dance already in progress.  It is mesmerizing, though I’m sure some of the meaning is lost on me.  The dancers move in unison with such grace that I’m envious.  I can be quite the klutz sometimes.  But there’s a lot more cultural infusion going on here.  There is a Japanese market selling authentic kimonos, parasols, and even kokeshi dolls – originally from northern Japan.   Witness a tea ceremony or experience the roar of taiko drumming…Samauri swords clash, funky punk rock bands play, Manga comes to life, and there’s even a cosplay fashion show!   A flute concert promises to be a crowd-pleaser, along with the origami display.

Cosplay at Sakura Matsuri

Don’t forget to visit the Bonsai museum before you go.  The current collection boasts 350 bonsai, but only about 30 are on display at a time.  The amount of work it takes to produce a thriving bonsai…especially specimens upwards of 100 years old…is impressive.   I’m instantly drawn to the azalea, which is also native to Asia, probably because azaleas surrounded my house growing up.  There is so much more to see here, like the rose garden, the herb garden, the Shakespeare garden, the celebrity path, the rock garden…etc.  I ran out of time, but I’ll be back.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll see you here to celebrate Sakura Matsuri next year!

106 year old pink azalea bonsai tree