"In the cherry blossom's shade there's no such thing as a stranger." ~Kobayashi Issa

After Josh got off work he came into DC to meet me and sight-see for the afternoon. We headed down to the Tidal Basin and joined the throngs of people who were all enjoying the beautiful blossoms that are the focal point of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. On the way we walked through the National Sculpture Garden, Chinatown, and by the Smithsonian Castle.

In 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo, Japan giften to the city of Washington 3,000 Cherry Blossom Trees. In March of 1912, First Lady Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. In 1915, the United States Government reciprocated with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. A group of American school children reenacted the initial planting in 1927 and the first "festival” was held in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the Nation’s Capital.

First Lady Lady Bird Johnson accepted 3,800 more trees in 1965. In 1981, the cycle of giving came full circle. Japanese horticulturists were given cuttings from our trees to replace some cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a flood.

Today, more than a million people visit the Nations Capital to see the beautiful blossoms. This event is the reason I scheduled my trip over the dates that I did. Josh and I were among the million people that walked the TIdal Basin, under the fluttering petals of the blossoms overhead. Even with all the people, it was well worth it.

Below is the lantern that is lit during the festival.

Are we to look at cherry blossoms only in full bloom, at the moon only when it is cloudless?" ~Yoshida Kenkô