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is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers, flowers ("hana") in this case almost always referring to those of the cherry ("sakura") or, less frequently, plum ("ume") trees. From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Cherry blossom forecast )〕 and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa. The is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning ''hanami'' as the blossoms only last a week or two. In modern-day Japan, ''hanami'' mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. In some contexts the Sino-Japanese term is used instead, particularly for festivals. ''Hanami'' at night is called . In many places such as Ueno Park temporary paper lanterns are hung for the purpose of ''yozakura''. On the island of Okinawa, decorative electric lanterns are hung in the trees for evening enjoyment, such as on the trees ascending Mt. Yae, near Motobu Town, or at the Nakijin Castle. A more ancient form of ''hanami'' also exists in Japan, which is enjoying the plum blossoms (梅 ''ume'') instead, which is narrowly referred to as . This kind of ''hanami'' is popular among older people, because they are calmer than the sakura parties, which usually involve younger people and can sometimes be very crowded and noisy. ==History== The practice of ''hanami'' is many centuries old. The custom is said to have started during the Nara Period (710–794) when it was ''ume'' blossoms that people admired in the beginning. But by the Heian Period (794–1185), sakura came to attract more attention and ''hanami'' was synonymous with sakura. From then on, in both waka and haiku, "flowers" meant "sakura."〔Hoffman, Michael, "(Sakura: Soul of Japan )", "(Petals 'perfect beyond belief' stir poetic )", ''Japan Times'', 25 March 2012, p. 7.〕〔Inoki, Linda, "(Tracing the trees in a long national love affair )", ''The Japan Times'', 25 March 2012, p. 7.〕 ''Hanami'' was first used as a term analogous to cherry blossom viewing in the Heian era novel ''Tale of Genji''. Although a wisteria viewing party was also described, the terms "hanami" and "flower party" were subsequently used only in reference to cherry blossom viewing. Sakura originally was used to divine that year's harvest as well as announce the rice-planting season. People believed in ''kami'' inside the trees and made offerings. Afterwards, they partook of the offering with sake. Emperor Saga of the Heian Period adopted this practice, and held flower-viewing parties with sake and feasts underneath the blossoming boughs of sakura trees in the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Poems would be written praising the delicate flowers, which were seen as a metaphor for life itself, luminous and beautiful yet fleeting and ephemeral. This was said to be the origin of hanami in Japan. The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, but soon spread to samurai society and, by the Edo period, to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this. Under the sakura trees, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts. The teasing proverb hints at the real priorities for most cherry blossom viewers, meaning that people are more interested in the food and drinks accompanying a hanami party than actually viewing the flowers themselves. ''Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees!'' is a popular saying about hanami, after the opening sentence of the 1925 short story "Under the Cherry Trees" by Motojirō Kajii. File:Hana No En.jpg|Ukiyo-e painting from ''Tale of Genji'', ch. 20 - 花宴 ''Hana no En, "Under the Cherry Blossoms"'', by artist Kunisada (1852) File:Cherry Blossom Viewing Picnic, ca. 1624-1644, 39.87.jpg|''Cherry Blossom Viewing Picnic'', ca. 1624-1644. Edo Period, Kan'ei Era. Ink, color and gold leaf on paper, Brooklyn Museum File:Yasui tenjinyama hanami.jpg|Hanami in Osaka. People enjoy viewing blossoms with dance, music, food and sake. The black box on the right is a multi-tiered bento box. File:Chiyoda Ooku Hanami.jpg|Ladies in the Edo palace enjoying cherry blossoms 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hanami」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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