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Seeking Sakura and Samurai in Tohoku: Past and Present Glories of Kakunodate and Hirosaki By Vicki L Beyer Photo: Vicki L Beyer Today | 09:05 am JST TOKYO
We all know samurai, those armor-clad sword-wielding warriors of pre-modern Japan. It is a romantic image. Equally romantic is the image of the delicate, pink sakura blossoms that make their appearance only briefly in the spring. Sakura is often regarded as symbolic of the fleeting nature of life itself, a notion that particularly appealed to the samurai spirit. Indeed, it was during the Pax Japonica of Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1867) that sakura rose to popularity, supplanting the late winter-blooming plum as the excuse for blossom viewing parties.