Hanami

Japanese Word of the Day (now with kanji!):
English: Flower
Japanese: Hana  (はな or 花)

              Oh, hey, almost forgot about you guys here, すみません (sorry)! I’ve actually been quite busy, what with midterms in my Japanese classes made me feel certain a newly born Japanese baby could speak circles around me. My anguish aside, while I was ‘away’ はなみ (Hanami) happened! Some of you have probably noticed by now that I’ve learned how to type in Japanese on my laptop and seem to be enjoying it; don’t worry, I promise to provide translations for what I’m talking about. Hanami is the name of the week or so in spring when the sakura (cherry blossoms) bloom and everyone in Japan goes out to enjoy them. Traditionally, Hanami is a somber event, mourning the short life of the sakura and our own mortality. Those crazy kids nowadays have changed the event into more of ‘sitting under the sakura and getting drunk to the point of being unable to walk’. For the records, I didn’t take part in those festivities.

               Sakura in Japan aren’t exactly hard to find but for the sake of good photography I went to the infamous kitty park to get some good pictures of sakura without a cityscape background. And so, in lieu of a proper blog entry, have an album full of pictures! Coming up, the beginning of a multipart entry on gender and sexuality in Japan! With any luck I might get it done before I get home to America.

[Hanami Picture Link Remove, sorry!]

***I’m pretty sure I don’t need to say this to any of you but as a passive reminder, these pictures are all my property and may not be claimed as your own or reposted without proper permission. Thank you for respecting a future starving artist!

Ja Ne!