1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, the production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum. Here in Japan, the annual spring explosion of 3 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: blushing pink cherry blossoms has been celebrated for over a 4 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: thousand years, and now there are cherry blossom festivals around 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: the world in Sweden, Canada, Spain, and Washington, d C, 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: just to name a few. Every spring, some million and 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: a half tourists visit d C to witness the fleeting 8 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: flowering of more than three thousand, seven hundred cherry blossom 9 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: trees encircling the tidal basin, a reservoir in the middle 10 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: of the city with West Potomac Park and many monuments 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,840 Speaker 1: around its banks. For the article, this episode is based 12 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: on How Stuff Work. Spoke with John Malott, a former 13 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: president of the Japan America Society of Washington, d C 14 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: and a former Director of Japanese Affairs at the US 15 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: State Department who served diplomatic roles in Kobe and Osaka, Japan. 16 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: He said, it's very, very picturesque. You have the blue 17 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: of the water and the blue of the sky. Then 18 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: you have the whitish pang of the cherry blossoms against 19 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: the incredible white of the Jefferson Memorial in the distance. 20 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: It's very beautiful and also very peaceful. The story of 21 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: how and why thousands of cherry blossom trees were gifted 22 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: from Japan more than one hundred years ago and planted 23 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: in America's capital city is fascinating. But first let's learn 24 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,040 Speaker 1: a little bit more about the cherry blossom tree and 25 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: its history. Flowering cherry trees are native to a number 26 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: of places with temperate climates around the world, but in 27 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: Japan these have been cultivated and celebrated since around eight 28 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: hundred CE, which is when they and their blossoms, called 29 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: sukura in Japanese, first began to appear in poetry and 30 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: picture scrolls. They're related to the cherry trees that we 31 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: humans get fruit from, but whereas cherry fruit trees have 32 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: been bred for their tasty fruit, but cherry blossom trees 33 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: have been bred as ornamentals, that is, for those beautiful flowers. 34 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: Most varieties do still grow fruit, but they're small and 35 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: not delicious. The birds and other non human animals will 36 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: eat them, though they are. Flowers range in color from 37 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: white to deep pink, depending on the variety. While they 38 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: typically only live about thirty to forty years. With care 39 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: and good conditions, they can go much longer. More on 40 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: that later. For more than a millennium, people in Japan 41 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: have celebrated the arrival of spring with parties called hanami, 42 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: meaning flower gazing. The idea is to have a picnic 43 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 1: of varying complexity out under the blooming trees to enjoy 44 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: the blossoms while they last. A cherry blossom tree only 45 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: blooms for about ten days every year, just as the 46 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: weather begins to warm up after the cold of winter. 47 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: So in Japan from about mid March through April, families 48 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: and groups of friends vie for picnic spots under a 49 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: canopy of pink blossoms, and companies throw rowdy, sake fueled 50 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: parties that run laid into the night. Malott said they 51 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: get the lowliest staff member to go out early in 52 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: the morning and stake out a spot under the trees. 53 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: The poor guy has to be there all day, which 54 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: doesn't actually sound all that unpleasant, but I'm sure it 55 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: has its low points. The Japanese Meteorological Agency tracks the 56 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: so called cherry blossom front as bloom worthy warmer weather 57 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: slowly makes its way from southern to northern Japan from 58 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: March through May each year, and offers predictions for when 59 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: the peaks will be in different areas so that people 60 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: can plan their hanami. But okay, so these trees are pretty, 61 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: But how did sakura become such a thing in Japanese culture? 62 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: As with any cultural thing, there isn't a single answer, 63 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: but a number of dovetailing reasons. Their early spring blooming 64 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: coincides with a season of renewal and new beginnings In Japan. 65 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: April is the start of the new school year for 66 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: kids and the start of the new fiscal year for companies, 67 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: and part of the draw of the blossoms is the 68 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: knowledge that they'll soon be gone. That blooming window is 69 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: so short, partially because cherry blossom trees shed their petals 70 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: while they're still springy and colorful, not once they're faded 71 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: or wilted. The bright pet can create lovely clouds in 72 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: the breeze and on bodies of water. This simple fact 73 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: of botany has become symbolic for the beautiful but ephemeral 74 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: nature of all life. A malot said, because they fall 75 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 1: off the tree and die at the peak of their bloom. 76 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: Whenever you see a cherry blossom in a Japanese movie 77 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: or TV show, that usually means that someone young has died. 78 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: If the heroine is in the hospital getting sicker and 79 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: sicker and they cut to a shot of a cherry 80 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: blossom falling to the ground, you know she's gone. It's 81 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: a symbol that carries a lot of weight. During World 82 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: War Two, the planes flown by Japanese Kamakazi pilots were 83 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: named after another word for cherry blossom Oka. The young 84 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 1: cadets who piloted the planes were also called cherry blossoms, 85 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: and their uniforms and aircraft were stamped with the image 86 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,799 Speaker 1: of a single pink flower. The Japanese word natsukashi describes 87 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: a nostalgic feeling of happiness tinged with sadness, and is 88 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 1: associated with cherry blossom season as a whole. In addition 89 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 1: to being a time of renewal, it's a time of 90 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: endings too. A school graduations, for example, are held in March. 91 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: A Malot reported that they're often accompanied by and I 92 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 1: quote tear jerker songs about cherry blossom's falling. You can 93 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: still find wild flowering cherry trees around the world but 94 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: most cherry blossom trees grown are cultivated varieties from Japan 95 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: or hybrids grown using trees from Japan. A sum like 96 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: many in Brazil, were brought over by Japanese immigrants. Others, 97 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: like many in Australia and the ones in Washington, d C, 98 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: were gifts from the Japanese government. On March twenty eighth 99 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: of nineteen twelve, a one paragraph article appeared in The 100 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: Washington Post with the underwhelming headline Missus Taft plants a tree. 101 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: The day before, first Lady Nelly Taft, a wife of 102 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: President William Howard Taft, had planted the first two cherry 103 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: blossom trees in Washington, d C. As gifts from the 104 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: Mayor of Tokyo. And that's the story that most people 105 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,279 Speaker 1: know that the entire chair ry blossom tradition in DC 106 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,479 Speaker 1: started with a Japanese gift in nineteen twelve, But that's 107 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: not the half of it. The real story starts with 108 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: what Eliza Skidmore, a photographer and writer who was the 109 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: first woman to sit on the board of the National 110 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: Geographic Society. Skidmore traveled extensively in Japan and came back 111 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: to d C in eighteen eighty five, convinced that cherry 112 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: blossom trees should be planted in Potomac Park. This was 113 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: a then new bit of land that had been under 114 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,159 Speaker 1: the Potomac River until an engineering project to protect the 115 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,159 Speaker 1: city from flooding was enacted earlier in the eighteen eighties. 116 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 1: It changed the banks of the river, created the title Basin, 117 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: and left the city with this new stretch of land. 118 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: Skidmore later wrote, since they had to plant something in 119 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,360 Speaker 1: that great stretch of raw reclaimed ground by the river bank, 120 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: they might as well plant the most beautiful thing in 121 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: the world, the Japanese cherry tree. Skidmore campaigned tirelessly for 122 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: more than twenty five years, petitioning every president in DC 123 00:06:57,160 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: official she could get a hold of to plant cherry 124 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: blossom tree, but her idea was ignored. Then one David 125 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: Fairchild came along. A Fairchild worked for the brand new 126 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:12,360 Speaker 1: US Department of Agriculture as a plant explorer who traveled 127 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: the world looking for plant species that could be cultivated 128 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: in America. While in Japan, he also fell for cherry blossoms. 129 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: In nineteen oh nine, Fairchild showed that cherry blossom trees 130 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: thrived in the temperate climate of the DC area, which 131 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: emboldened Skidmore to write one more letter to the new 132 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: First Lady, proposing to pay for the trees herself. To 133 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: her amazement, Nellie Taft replied two days later, writing I've 134 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: taken the matter up and promised the trees. That's when 135 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: a wealthy Japanese chemist by the name of doctor Jokichi 136 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 1: Takamine got involved. He was the first person to isolate 137 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: adrenaline by the way. He lived in the US and 138 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: had campaigned for cherry blossom trees in New York City. 139 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 1: Skidmore told him about the First Lady's promise, and Takamine 140 00:07:56,960 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 1: came up with the idea of making DC's cherry blossom 141 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: trees again from Japan. Unfortunately, the first shipment of two 142 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: thousand trees was plagued with insects and disease and had 143 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: to be burned. But two months later, on March twenty 144 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: sixth of nineteen twelve, a shipment of threeenty twenty healthy 145 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: trees arrived. Missus Taft planted the first two the very 146 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: next day, and Skidmore was there to witness the fruition 147 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 1: of a decade's long dream. Now cherry blossom trees line 148 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: the tidal basin and other parts of the park, as 149 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: well as other areas of the city, and incredibly, a 150 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: few of them have been there this whole time. The 151 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: two original trees planted by Nelly Taft one hundred and 152 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: twelve years ago are still standing, along with a handful 153 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: of others from that shipment. Many others are related to 154 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: those first trees, brought to new life through cultivated clippings. 155 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: The park's arborists keep a database containing the personal health 156 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: record of each tree. If you go, be aware that 157 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: the trees are delicate. It's actually illegal to touch them. 158 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: Just enjoyed with your other senses and from a respectful distance. 159 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article The Very Short 160 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 1: Symbolic Life of the Cherryblossom on how stuffworks dot com, 161 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 1: written by Dave Ruse. A brain Stuff is production of 162 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and is 163 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler klang Afore more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 164 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,599 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 165 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:27,559 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.