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.

Despite everything, there was a beautiful forest that not even the war had been able to touch. It was full of leafy trees that exhaled delicate perfumes and consoled the tormented inhabitants of ancient Japan. No matter how many battles there were, none of the armies dared to tarnish such a wonder of nature.

In that beautiful forest There was, however, one tree that never bloomed. Although it was full of life, flowers never appeared on its branches. That’s why he looked lanky and dry, as if he were dead. But it wasn’t. He simply seemed doomed to not enjoy the color and aroma of the bloom.

A touch of magic

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

One night the fairy appeared next to the tree and with noble words she let him know that she wanted to see it beautiful and radiant. She was willing to help him achieve it. She then 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 he would get excited and maybe it would bloom again.

The fairy added that thanks to the spell she could become both a plant and a human being, indistinctly, whenever she desired. However, If at the end of 20 years it did not manage to recover its vitality and shine, it would die. immediately.

The meeting with Sakura

Just as the fairy said, the tree saw that it could become a human being and become a vegetable again 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. No matter how much he looked around, he only saw hatred and war. . Then it was a tree again for a long time.

The months passed and so did the years. The tree continued as always and found nothing among humans to free it from its state. However, one afternoon when he became 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 kind to him. To reciprocate, he helped her carry the water to her house, which was close by. They had a lively conversation in which both spoke sadly of the state of war in which Japan found itself and with the hope of big dreams.

The miracle of love in the legend of Sakura

When the girl asked him what his name was, the tree only thought of saying “Yohiro”, which means “hope”. The two became very friends. Every day they met to talk, to sing and to read poems and books. of wonderful stories. The more he got to know Sakura, the more she felt the need to be by her side. She was counting the minutes to go meet her.

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 going to die because it had failed to bloom. Sakura was very impressed and she remained silent. Time passed and the 20-year period was about to expire. Yohiro, who took the form of a tree again, felt sadder every time.

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

She looked around and remembered the war-desolate fields. She then chose to merge forever with Yohiro. And she performed a miracle. The two became one. The tree then blossomed.

The word Sakura meant “cherry blossom,” but the tree didn’t know it. Since then, their love perfumes the fields of Japan.

Meanings and symbolisms around the cherry blossom

The cherry blossom, or sakura, It is one of the most popular symbols of 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 hold a kind of picnic celebrating the arrival of the flowers.

The cherry blossom is delicate and quickly falls off in the wind.. Thus, you can enjoy its beauty, and when it falls there is no time to see it wither. These characteristics have given it different meanings:

Among the most common are the ephemeral nature of life.Another is related to fragilitysince it blooms when spring has just begun and its life expectancy is very short.For the ancient samurai, the cherry blossom symbolized blood, but also fragility and the ephemerality of life, associated with the sacrifice and life of the samurai.It can have a nationalist or military meaningrelated to the kamikazes of World War II.Symbolism attributed by Buddhism: According to this current, the cherry blossom represents the rebirth of spring and is associated with a period of transformation for life.

This legend carries behind it a beautiful part of the symbolism of Japanese folklore. If you liked it, do not hesitate to continue exploring this culture, so far away, and so close at the same time, to the Western world. It is very certain that your curiosity will only increase.

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