Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) · Worksheet 1
A Picnic Under Pink Clouds
Read the story. 英文を読もう。
1Every spring, parks in Japan turn pink. Thousands of cherry trees bloom at almost the same time. People spread blue sheets under the trees and have picnics with family, friends, and coworkers. This is called hanami, or flower viewing. Some people even come back at night to see the flowers under paper lanterns.
2Hanami is a very old custom. But at first, people looked at plum flowers, not cherry blossoms. In 812, an emperor held a party under cherry trees in Kyoto. After that, cherry blossoms became the most loved flower in Japan. Later, in the 1700s, a shogun planted cherry trees in Edo so that ordinary people could enjoy them too.
3Most cherry trees in Japan today are a kind called Somei-yoshino. All of them came from one single tree. Gardeners copied it again and again by joining its branches to other trees. That is why the trees in one city bloom together and fall together.
4The blossoms move north like a wave. They open in Okinawa in January and in northern Hokkaido in May. In Tokyo, the best time is usually late March or early April. In 2026, the trees in Tokyo reached full bloom on March 28. The weather agency watches special sample trees and tells everyone when they open.
5The flowers last only about a week before the petals fall like pink snow. So people stop, look up, and enjoy the moment. As an old saying goes, some people still like the dumplings more than the flowers.
- cherry blossom 桜の花
- bloom 咲く、開花
- petal 花びら
- picnic ピクニック
- plum 梅、すもも
- emperor 天皇、皇帝
- ordinary ふつうの、一般の
- gardener 植木職人、庭師
- single たった一つの
- wave 波
- last 続く、持つ
- dumpling 団子