Singapore

[Who had the first Hanami festival?]
In the old book of “Nihon Kouki” (Japanese classical text book) says that Emperor of Saga held the banquet of Hanami in the year of 812. We believe that it is the first cherry blossoms viewing ceremony. Hanami at that time was originally the event of nobles such as the emperor.

[The origin of Sakura]
There are many stories about origin of the word ”Sakura” (cherry blossoms in Japanese.)
One of them is that they combined the words “Saku”(Bloom) and “Ra” (plural suffix) . It is believed that the word originally meant all the flowers that grow together. Also the other one shows that they combined the words “Sa”(the god of rice field) and “Kura”(the place where the god sits).

[What is “Sakura-zensen” (Cherry blossoms front)?]
“Sakura-zensen” is forecast of cherry trees blossoming across Japan. It is based on the sample trees planted in the different regions of Japan. The name “Sakura-zensen” came from the reason that this front is like the one for rainy weather front in Japan.

[What is the difference between Plum, Peach and Cherry trees?]
Plum, Peach and Cherry trees which bloom after the arrival of spring – they all look alike and it is easy to be mistaken. Actually all are in the order of Rosales, in the family of Rosaceae and in the genus of Prunus so it is natural that they all look similar. However, it is still possible to distinguish them by their petals. Plum has the petals with round tip, peach has the ones with pointy tip and the petal of cherry flower lacks tip!