At the beginning of every spring when the weather turns to warmth I think that I am not the only one who dreams of following the "Sakura" on her journey to the north of the Japanese archipelago as seen through the evening newscasts of that time of year. For several years photography has helped me achieve this dream that seemed impossible to me and beyond. From that time, I traveled to different parts of the country every spring, carrying a camera to take pictures of flowers when I opened them.
Perhaps what I realized during this project is to open flowers in reality does not necessarily occur in the south of the country and then move to the north gradually. In some years cherry trees bloom in Tokyo before blooming in Kyushu, about 1,000 km southwest of the capital. The timing and duration of flowering vary from year to year to a surprising extent, even for the same trees.
At the moment you can easily get detailed information about where and when to bloom and open all over the country, but of course it is impossible to control the weather. The view of the full bloom of cherry blossoms is more than wonderful, but short-lived. Sometimes I travel specifically to see the flowering in a certain place, but when I arrive I discover that the time of flowering has ended the day before. Another problem is spring rains. If your luck is bad and the rain falls on everything, you have to wait a full turn and come back the following year again.
Cherry blossoms and trees are generally difficult to portray. Capturing the power of life and majesty emanating from a tree that may last decades or centuries is not at all easy. I admire all the fans who face this problem face to face. But for me, it is the interaction between humans and flowers that makes the sakura an object of interest.
The question is what makes this time of year so exciting? What is the motivation of the Japanese people to gather under cherry trees to eat, drink and have fun? Every spring I ask myself these questions as I travel through the country trying to capture the unique social scenes of the sakura when they blossom full.