Hanami, the cherry blossoms celebration, was in the old times, for about a thousand years, a festivity reserved for aristocracy.

It became a mass phenomenon only during the Edo period, when the samurai warrior class and the common people started to celebrate it too. Since then, the tradition preserved until today and now many people are wearing for hanami a traditional attire like kimono or yukata.

Shirakawa-dori, Gion, Kyoto

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Sakura blossom at Jourenji, Tokyo