Cherry and Me

Cherry blossoms

Cherry in Tokyo

On a cloudy spring day in 2017, I stood on a train platform on the outskirts of Tokyo and looked ahead in anticipation. It had been a fruitful day of exploring the city. My excursions had taken me to a quiet neighborhood which offered respite from the hoards of people teeming the sidewalks in the central wards of Tokyo. As I looked to my right to see if a train was arriving, a swirl of light pink sakura petals floated gently towards my field of vision. The wind directed its motion, as the ensemble of petals billowed sideways and upwards before it landed softly onto the ground.

Wow, I thought. It looks just like a scene out of an anime movie! I never knew that the depiction was real.

Up until that point, I had imagined that the cherry blossom scenes I often saw in anime shows had been dramatized to heighten the emotional experiences of viewers. But on that day, Japan surprised me by revealing the true capacity of cherry blossom petals to dance in the wind. 

Cherry in Philadelphia

When I moved to Philadelphia, I was pleasantly surprised that cherry blossom trees are plentiful here as well. There are groves of them by the Delaware River Waterfront, as well as in Fairmount Park and in various parks and spots around the city.

Each time I see a cherry blossom tree, it brings up memories of the joy I felt as a child whenever the flowers of Lunar New Year were in full bloom. Each new year brought with it a sense of possibility of what’s to come, and the excitement of celebrations coupled with the fresh blooms of peach blossoms, cherry blossoms, “hoa mai”, and plum blossoms made my heart glad.

The refined and delicate beauty of cherry blossom and its related cousins represent the fresh bloom of falling in love, and the sense of palpitation that exists in every new endeavor. They carry with them the promise and wonder of what’s to come—and the testimony of God’s glory and majestic power.