Amanda Frayer artisan // illustrator // designer

One of the earliest trees to flower, cherry trees are celebrated in many places around the world. The tradition comes from the Japanese, who turn out in large numbers at parks, shrines, and temples with family and friends to view the Japanese sakura in bloom.

Cherry may also be applied to many other members of the genus Prunus. The fruits of many of these are not cherries, and have other common names, including plum, apricot, peach, and others.

Washington DC, among other places, received a gift of cherry trees from the Japanese in 1912. This commemorated the 1854 Treaty of Peace and Amity, officially establishing formal relations between the two nations.

In Japan, cherry blossoms also symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese cultural tradition that is often associated with Buddhistic influence, and which is embodied in the concept of mono no aware, literally “the pathos of things”. The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality; for this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic, and have been utilized often in Japanese art.

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Believe to bring the wearer: achievement, action, awakening, divination, joy, knowledge and learning, love, playfulness

Other associations: communication with animals, overcoming obstacles, peace, the will, root chakra, transformation, the cycle of life and death, youth, seeking wisdom and awakening to new levels, meditation to find inner peace

Spirit animals: red fox, red-tailed hawk