Some Popular Kimono Motifs Part 3: The Cherry Blossom

Flowers, a major feature of kimono design, are used to represent different seasons of the year. A kimono designed with cherry blossoms would traditionally be worn in spring or summer.  (A kimono with a maple leaf design would be worn in the autumn and a kimono designed with bamboo, pine trees or plum blossoms would be worn in winter.)

The cherry blossom or sakura, frequently depicted in Japanese Art and on Japanese goods, is perhaps one of the best known symbols of Japan. The significance of the beautiful but fragile cherry blossom goes back hundreds of years, with the cherry blossom season an annual visual reminder of a major theme in Buddhism that life is beautiful but only transient.

Hanami, which translates as "flower viewing", is a significant part of the Japanese calendar. Although originally referring to the viewing of plum (ume) - which blooms slightly earlier than cherry - hanami now commonly refers to mainly cherry blossom viewing. During the cherry blossom season many Japanese people take picnics and drink sake under the blooming cherry blossom trees.

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