Cherry Blossom Symbolism: Motivators for a Fresh Start

🌸Cherry blossom season is a symbolic time of year in Japan. One that I like to believe is a great motivator.

28 March, 2023. Kanda River. The day I moved into my sharehouse in Tokyo.

The cherry blossoms make their appearance during a time where the new school year begins, graduated students are looking forward to the next chapter, and companies are actively recruiting new employees.

When I moved to Tokyo for school last year, I felt a strong sense of pride and motivation. I came to Tokyo after full bloom, but seeing the sakura was a visual reminder that I achieved a huge goal of mine. I wanted to bloom just like them.

Of course, their beauty doesn't last forever, but just the promise of another season is enough to remind me to stay motivated and look forward to a new chapter and achieve my goals in Japan.

Keisuke Uyama, author of Love Like the Falling Petals, says it best:

”Cherry blossoms bloom with beautiful flowers in the spring, and then the petals quickly fall away. The beauty lasts for such a short time. Japanese people feel the transience and beauty of cherry blossoms. At the same time, we also feel the impermanence and preciousness of the passage of time by comparing our own lives to the short blooming period of the cherry blossom. I think cherry blossoms are wonderful flowers that make you love life.”

I agree with Uyama-san. The moment I saw cherry blossoms outside Haneda Terminal 3 and around my neighborhood, I fell in love with my life even more. After interviewing Keisuke Uyama, I was reminded of those feelings I had one year ago.

So, I’m curious, what does cherry blossom season mean to you?

Let’s all continue to bloom this year 🌸