CHERRY BLOSSOMS_20240723_123651_0000.pdf

ashes that made trees bloom

1. THE ASHES THAT
MADE TREES BLOOM

4. CHERRY BLOSSOMS
The national flower of Japan, the cherry
blossom – or Sakura, represents a time of
renewal and optimism. The pops of pink mark
the ending of winter and signify the beginning
of spring. Due to their quick blooming season,
cherry blossoms also symbolize the
transience of life, a major theme in Buddhism.

6. The story of Hachikō, the dog who waited outside
Shibuya Station in Tokyo for his master to return even
after he had died, tugs the heartstrings of people
worldwide. A statue of the faithful hound outside the
station is the most popular meeting spot in Japan, and
attracts many tourists too.

8. The story "The Ashes That Made Trees Bloom" is from William Elliot Griffs's
book "Japan in History, Folk-Lore and Art", published in the year 1895.
It is a translated version of a Japanese folk tale named Hanasaka Jiisan, also
called Hanasaka Jijii, which means "old man who made flowers blossom".

Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford collected this tale in Tales of Old Japan
(1871), as "The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Blossom".

Rev. David Thomson translated it as "The Old Man Who Made the Dead Trees
Blossom" for Hasegawa Takejirō's Japanese Fairy Tale Series (1885).

9. Andrew Lang included it as "The Envious Neighbor" in The Violet
Fairy Book (1901), adapting it from a German text in Japanische
Märchen, compiled by David August Brauns (the original German
title being Der neidische Nachbar).
There are slight differences between the original edition and the
translated version. Apart, the story remains the same. For
example, the dog's name is 'Shiro' in Hanasaka Jiisan and its
'Muko' in the translated version.