Sakura: Unforgettable And Ancient Japanese Legend About True Love

The legend of Sakura begins hundreds of years ago in ancient Japan. At that time the feudal lords fought terrible battles, in which many humble combatants died, filling the entire country with sadness and desolation. Moments of peace were very rare. One war did not end when the other began.

In spite of everything, there was a beautiful forest that not even the war had been able to touch. It was full of leafy trees  that gave off delicate perfumes and comforted the tormented inhabitants of ancient Japan. No matter how much fighting there was, none of the armies dared to defile such a wonder of nature.

In that beautiful forest , however, there was a tree that never blossomed. Although it was full of life, flowers never appeared on its branches. That’s why he looked lanky and dry, like he was dead. But it wasn’t. He just seemed doomed not to enjoy the color and scent of bloom.

A touch of magic

The tree remained very lonely. The animals did not approach him for fear of catching his strange evil. Grass didn’t grow around him either for the same reasons. Loneliness was his only company. The legend of Sakura tells that a forest fairy was moved when she saw that tree that seemed old, when it was young.

One night the fairy appeared next to the tree and with noble words let him know that he wanted to see it beautiful and radiant. She was willing to help him do it. Then he made him a proposal. She, with her power, would cast a spell that would last 20 years. During that time, the tree could feel what the human heart feels. Maybe that way she would get excited and maybe she would flourish again.

The fairy added that thanks to the spell she could become both a plant and a human being, indistinctly, when she wanted to. However, if after 20 years it failed to regain its vitality and shine, it would die immediately.

The meeting with Sakura

Just as the fairy said, the tree saw that it could turn into a human being and go back to being a vegetable when it wanted to. He tried to stay a long time as a man, to see if human emotions helped him in his purpose to flourish. However, the beginning was a disappointment. As much as he looked around, he saw only hatred and war . Then it was a tree again for a good season.

The months went by and also the years. The tree continued as usual and found nothing among humans to free it from its state. However, one afternoon when he turned into a human, he walked to a crystal clear stream and there he saw a beautiful young woman. It was Sakura. Impressed by her beauty, the tree turned human approached her.

Sakura was very nice to him. In return, he helped her carry the water to her house, which was nearby. They had a lively conversation in which both spoke with sadness of the state of war that Japan was in and with the illusion of big dreams.

The miracle of love

When the girl asked him what his name was, the only thought occurred to the tree to say “Yohiro”, which means “hope”. The two became very close friends. Every day they met to talk, to sing and to read poems and books with wonderful stories. The more he got to know Sakura, the more he needed to be by her side. I counted the minutes to go to meet him.

One day Yohiro couldn’t take it anymore and confessed his love to Sakura. He also confessed who he really was: a tormented tree, which was soon to die because it had failed to flourish. Sakura was very impressed and kept quiet. Time passed and the term of 20 years was about to be fulfilled. Yohiro, who reverted to tree form, felt sadder every time.

One afternoon, when he least expected it, Sakuro came to his side. She hugged him and told him that she loved him too. He didn’t want him to die, he didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. Then, the fairy appeared again and asked Sakura to choose whether she wanted to remain human, or to merge with Yohiro in the form of a tree.

She looked around her and remembered the fields devastated by war. He then chose to merge forever with Yohiro. And the miracle was done. The two became one. The tree then blossomed. The word Sakura meant “cherry blossom”, but the tree did not know it. Since then, their love has perfumed the fields of Japan.

Meanings and symbolisms around the cherry blossom

The cherry blossom, or sakura, is one of the most popular symbols in Japanese culture. It appears in spring and Japan celebrates the hanami festival in its honor, in which families and loved ones gather under the shade of cherry trees. There they have a kind of picnic celebrating the arrival of the flowers.

The cherry blossom is delicate and with the wind it immediately falls. Thus, you can enjoy its beauty, and when you fall you do not have time to see it wither. These characteristics have endowed it with different meanings.

Among the most common, the ephemeral nature of life stands out. Another is related to fragility, since it blooms when spring is just beginning and its life expectancy is very short.

For its part, for the ancient samurai, the cherry blossom symbolized blood, but also the fragility and ephemerality of life , associated with the sacrifice and life of the samurai. In addition, it can have a nationalistic or military meaning, related to the kamikazes of World War II.

Finally, the symbolism attributed by Buddhism stands out. According to this current, the cherry blossom represents the rebirth of spring and is associated with a period of transformation for life.