Every spring, the 10th century poet, Ariwara no Narihira’s poem comes to mind. It is the
third poem in the koto piece, Haru no Kyoku by Yoshizawa Kengyo. He said, “If in this world
there were no cherry blossoms, life would be carefree.” I understand that this negative
sentiment was Narihira’s way to complement the beautiful of cherry blossoms. Every spring
in the Washington, DC area, particularly along the Tidal Basin, there are heightened worries
among cherry blossom festival and parade planners, tourists, and merchants. Everyone is
concerned about when the cherry trees will blossom and when will they peak. This year
(2024) we learned that the trees as well as the blossoms are ephemeral. Stumpy (photo) is
over a hundred years old, as are 300 more, and they will be replaced to make room for
younger cherry trees donated by Japan.