[3-Choice Quiz] Cherry Blossom Trivia You'll Want to Share with Someone

green

Among cherry blossoms, there are varieties that bloom with rare green flowers. One such variety is the Gyoikō cherry, written as 「御衣黄」 and pronounced “gyoikō.” It blooms a little later than the Somei Yoshino, around mid to late April. It is said to have originated at Ninnaji Temple in Kyoto Prefecture.

Tokyo Metropolis

In Tokyo, the Somei Yoshino cherry blossom has been designated as the city’s flower. The Somei Yoshino is said to have been created by a gardener from Somei, a district that once existed around present-day Komagome in Toshima Ward, Tokyo. Incidentally, the ginkgo has been chosen as Tokyo’s official tree.

Rugby

On the Japan national rugby team’s uniform, an emblem of three blooming cherry blossoms shines. When the national team was first formed in the 1930s, only one of the blossoms was in bloom and the others were not. However, as the Japanese team gradually grew stronger and became able to compete on equal terms with teams like England, all of the blossoms came to be shown in full bloom.

Edo period

It is said that sakuramochi was created when a gatekeeper of Chomeiji Temple in Tokyo wondered if cherry leaves could be put to some use. There are Kinki (Kansai) and Kanto styles of sakuramochi, each differing in shape and preparation, but due to differences in distribution and transmission, the Kanto style is mainstream in parts of the Chugoku region, while the Kansai style is predominant in Hokkaido.

Edohigan cherry

Somei Yoshino is a cherry tree cultivar created by crossbreeding the Oshima-zakura and the Edo-higan varieties. It inherits the Oshima-zakura’s trait of large, rounded petals and the Edo-higan’s trait of producing leaves after the flowers bloom.

Cherry blossom

Sakura is “cherry blossom” in English. It’s common to add an “s” to “blossom” and say “cherry blossoms.” Nowadays, since Japanese culture has spread around the world, “sakura” is sometimes understood as well.

sweet cherry

The cherries we eat are mainly harvested from a type of cherry tree called the sweet cherry (Prunus avium). Japan’s representative cherry, the Somei Yoshino, is an ornamental variety and rarely bears fruit. Even when it does occasionally produce fruit, it is not edible.