With flower-covered boughs in their hands,
turquoise kimono-clad Sumisuzu and her 9-year-old daughter Lina
danced slowly and elegantly against a background of pale-pink,
weeping higan cherry trees Tuesday morning.
The dancers, who had recently arrived from Tokyo, are just one
of the dozens of acts to be featured at this weekend’s 23rd annual
"Sakura Matsuri," or cherry blossom festival, at the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Of course, the centerpiece of the two-day extravaganza is the
more than 220 flowering cherry trees that line the Garden’s Cherry
Esplanade, the Cherry Walk and dot the perimeter of the Japanese
Hill and Pond Garden.
"Although the blossoms only last about a week, we have over
50 varieties of cherry trees all blossoming at different times,
so we have a constant show of cherries," said Anita Jacobs,
director of public programs.
The garden posts the progress of the cherry trees on the "Cherry
Watch" page of its Web site, www.bbg.org, where visitors
can see which blossoms are about to bloom, are now in bloom and
are past-their-peak, as well as learn more about each type of
cherry tree.
"This is typical of the attention the cherries would get
in that country," explained Jacobs, who said that in Japan
a status report on cherry blossoms is delivered daily with the
weather forecast.
This weekend, visitors to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden can linger
and admire the blossoms while having a picnic of Japanese food,
beer and sake on the Esplanade.
Surrounding the brief blossoming of the cherry trees, beloved
by the Japanese for their short-lived beauty, Jacobs has organized
numerous performances, exhibits, demonstrations, film screenings,
tours and even shopping opportunities that celebrate the rich,
ancient traditions of Japanese art and culture.
"This is one of the largest festivals in the country,"
said Jacobs, adding that many of the performers are locals. "It
also reflects what is happening in New York’s Japanese culture,
today, too."
The exuberant TV personality Yoshi Amao, host of cable television’s
Outdoor Living Network show "Samurai Sportsman," will
emcee the festivities for a second year at the Cherry Esplanade.
"This is the biggest and most beautiful traditional Japanese
event in New York," said Amao, who lives in Manhattan.
While there will be performances on a stage at the Cherry Esplanade
during the festival, there will also be performing arts scattered
throughout the 52-acre garden: by the lily pool terrace, in the
meadow, the auditorium, and by the Alfred T. White Memorial,
said Jacobs.
In addition to his duties as master of ceremonies, actor-samurai
Amao will perform in a theatrical work written and directed by
Jun Suenaga, "Undefeated Mind: Samurai Sword Spectacle,"
with his troupe Samurai Sword Soul. Suenaga told GO Brooklyn
that he set his play during the early days of Japan’s Edo period,
when the shogunate and swaggering samurai made Tokyo the capital
of the country.
On Tuesday, Amao and his students demonstrated their martial
arts skills with wood swords called bokutos, while dressed in
traditional wide-leg trousers (hakama) and jackets (gi).
The festival will also include several concerts featuring Japanese
instruments, and there will even be a demonstration of imperial
court music (gagaku).
"One event that is very dramatic is the koto performance,"
said Jacobs. "We have 40 performers onstage ranging in age
from the elderly to children."
There is more to the festival than trees and performing arts,
however. In the Steinhardt Conservatory’s exhibit, "Harukaze:
Spring Wind," two very different types of artwork by two
artists are on view. The display of Japanese contemporary art,
organized by the Manhattan-based Lightbox Gallery, features works
of bold black calligraphy by poet and painter Mukyo Hirama that
are painted with an unusually large brush, and in contrast, Kumi
Ito’s lavishly gilded gouache and acrylic paintings on paper
that depict cherubic Asian children in gloriously colorful kimonos
cavorting and performing mischievous antics. Many of Ito’s compositions
depict annual children’s festivals such as "Hina Matsuri,"
a doll festival for girls.
On both May 1 and May 2, Ito will give a demonstration in the
Steinhardt Conservatory Gallery from 2:30 pm to 4 pm, and Hirama
will give a demonstration from 4:30 pm to 5:15 pm. Other artists
will demonstrate woodblock printing and grind pigments out of
gemstones.
The Garden’s "Sakura Matsuri" festival has an attraction
for everyone, of any age, with an interest in Japanese culture.
New to this year’s festival are screenings of anime, recent Japanese
animation films. All of the films chosen have scenes with cherry
blossoms, said Jacobs.
Other newcomers to this festival are Sumisuzu and her daughter
Lina, who will be performing traditional Japanese dance choreographed
to modern arrangements of enka – folk songs.
Children will have the opportunity to learn flower arranging
(ikebana) and origami, and visit a temporary-tattoo parlor. The
"Japan and Nature: Spirit of the Seasons" exhibit,
designed by the Brooklyn Children’s Museum for kids ages 5 to
12, will also be open in the Conservatory. The exhibit features
objects and artwork collected from Japanese children in its displays
about how their families celebrate the seasons in different regions
of the country.
In addition to the demonstrations by visual artists, there will
be paper jewelry, gift-wrapping and tea ceremony presentations.
Even the Brooklyn Go Club will be on hand to teach visitors the
rules of the game. There will, of course, be tours of the Garden’s
own Japanese collections: the Japanese Hill and Pond Garden and
the C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum.
Amao sums up the significance of "Sakura Matsuri" in
its simplest form, "This is the happiest moment you can
get for Japanese people – drinking sake under the cherry blossoms."
The 23rd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival,
"Sakura Matsuri," will be held Saturday and Sunday,
May 1-2, from 10 am to 6 pm, at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden,
900 Washington Ave. in Prospect Heights. The festival will be
held rain or shine. For a complete schedule of festival events,
visit the Web site at www.bbg.org.
Admission is free on Saturdays, from 10 am to noon, and Tuesdays;
other times, $5 adults 16 and older, $3 seniors 65 and older,
$3 students with valid IDs, free children under 16. "Harukaze:
Spring Wind" and "Japan and Nature: Spirits of the
Seasons" will be on display through June 6. For more information,
call (718) 623-7333.
