April Reflection - Sakura, in the tree of love - The Japanese Art of Manifesting

Sakura, in the tree of Love

桜散る　　　Sakura chiru

花あらずとも　hana arazu tomo

愛宿る　　　　ai yadoru

Sakura, fleeting away

Though, In the absence of blossoms

Love resides in grace

Azumi Uchitani

A delightful invitation…..

It is April, mid-spring, the season of hanami, - blossom viewing. As we take off our heavy winter coat, we become lighter and softer, ready to feel the delight of Sakura, cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms have become an iconic symbol of fleeting beauty, mesmerising our hearts, around the world now. And yet, nowhere do they feel quite as intimate, as quietly profound, as here in Japan.

In my latest book YOSHUKU, there is a narrative and my personal story related to Sakura, the tree of cherry blossom, with a philosophical metaphor. Japanese customs, rituals of Sakura viewing are appreciated beyond cultures and many are also adopting how the Japanese embrace the beauty in transience, under the beautiful Sakura tree.

Wabi Sabi, Mono no Aware, the Japanese philosophical aesthetics…. These concepts, once deeply rooted in Japan, now seem to travel into the hearts of the world. I sense that many, even in the modern West, are beginning to embrace its tenderness.

This year, a delightful chain of coincidences brought me to Japan in April, right at the height of Sakura season. I took it as a pilgrimage, a journey of gratitude for the publication of my book and celebration for my life gently surrounded by love during this time of renewal and transformation.

Welcomed by Sakura….

As I landed at Kansai Airport and made my way home, the mountains were brushed with soft powder pink, as if touched by a delicate brush. Yamazakura - wild mountain cherry blossoms- dressed the hillsides with a natural, unstated grace. They look fragile, almost shy, vulnerable to wind and time, but blooming without expecting spectacle, blooming in their own terms, with such grace.

Later, as I walk around my hometown of Wakayama and Kyoto, my favourite spots in Wakayama Castle, and in Kyoto, along the Kamo river, I was greeted by charming Sakura, dancing in the air, little by little, fleeting away.

I felt that all the Sakura I see in Europe are not as shy as the Japanese ones. They remained longer on the trees as if reluctant to let go. There are of course, many varieties, and I am no botanist. But, the blossoms here in Japan felt more delicate, fragile, paler in hue, more fleeting and more exposed.

Was it mirroring the fragile, vulnerable side of myself, letting myself be vulnerable?......

By the time we arrived in Arashiyama, most of the blossoms had already left the tree.

Without blossoms…..

I just wonder……

How do you feel when you see a Sakura tree standing without its blossoms?

“Is it over, just like that, for this year?

It was beautiful… a fleeting moment of beauty….”

We speak often of impermanence, of how nothing stays the same. I feel pleased, knowing that more people around the world are beginning to appreciate the Japanese sense of beauty, this awareness of fleeting moments. Yet, to truly embody this meaning in our daily life, there is a deeper layer I wish to share. It may guide you to another dimension of seeing our life.

Here is a question;

Can we still see, appreciate, and cherish the Sakura tree without its blossoms?

After the petals fall, the trees often become invisible to most eyes. Yet even without blossoms, the tree still carries its essence, its grace, the power to bloom again. When I pass these trees after their brief sparkling beauty has faded, I find myself speaking to them silently, thanking them for their beauty, wishing them rest, honoring their return inward.

Everything in this physical world is constantly changing, and what I call “myself” is not a fixed element but part of that ongoing flow, but carrying this precious essence, the soul.

The Sakura remains the same, with or without flowers. The essence, the soul of Sakura resides in that tree.

In the tree of love

I cherish the tree in its bare state. When I close my eyes, I can still feel the gentle petals drifting through the air, the soft, luminous presence of Sakura surrounding me.

What we have experienced, love, beauty, joy, does not vanish simply because it is no longer visible.

We can embody it. We can keep it alive within us.

Like the tree that knows how to bloom, like the seed that carries the blueprint of the flower, this invisible essence remains. It does not disappear. It rests in stillness, in what we cannot see.

We often trust only what appears before us in the physical world, yet all of it passes, even our own bodies. What endures, what remains is the essence.

Love is like this essence. Love does not exist only in the moment it is felt. We can invite that into our inner realm, let it take root, and allow it to reside within us.

We become that love.

The beauty of transience is what we see.

Transience… as the flower of eternity.

Love resides within me, always, a flower of eternity,

In the tree of love.

Azumi Uchitani

Author, YOSHUKU, The Japanese Art of Manifesting

YOSHUKU, The Japanese Art of Manifesting, is available in UK English, US English, German, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Greek, Thai, Lithuanian, and more to come. Originally published by Penguin Random House UK.