Probably, “sakura(cherry blossom) ” is one of the most popular topic of conversation or on TV in early spring. The blossom forecast "cherry blossom front" is announced every year by the weather bureau.

You might have seen people sitting under the full bloom trees in the park, drinking and eating.

Why does the Japanese drink outside where is still chilly for sitting long time?

Are we just drinkers?

The sakura is a spiritual symbol of Japanese. We have long history of drinking sake with viewing sakura.

Actually, it is handed down that the sakura tree is a divine place.

Sakura of "sa" means the kami(the spirits or phenomena that are worshiped in the religion of Shinto) of rice field, and “kura” means a place to sit, that is to say, it is the place where he stays after descending a mountain.

We believe the crop of the year becomes better if sakura is blooming longer.

When it was bloomed, farmers treated him with sake so that he did not leave immediately and prayed him to stay and bloom as long as possible in old times.

Sake(rice wine) has also meaning. "sa" also means the kami of rice field, and “ke” means the daily life food, that is, sake is the drink which he usually has.

So, sakura viewing is a kind of ceremony serving sake to him as well as we drink it together.

A party under the sakura trees is religious in this way.

Nowadays, we sometimes just enjoy sakura viewing as fun outdoor party with friends, we drink varieties of alcohol besides sake. I just want to say we are not only the drinkers.

Please treat sakura tree carefully as a divine, pulling or breaking branch makes us so sad!