When the
crisp air of winter begins to soften and the forest draws in a new breath, a white flower opens in
Koajiro Forest — like a signal that a new season has arrived. This is the Oshima cherry.
Unlike the pale pink Somei Yoshino, this cherry unfurls its green young leaves at the very same time as its blossoms. White petals and tender, newly budded leaves rest side by side on a single branch — as though the tree were accomplishing the acts of blooming and growing all at once.
The Oshima cherry is a native cherry that has long taken root in coastal lands such as the Izu Islands and the Boso Peninsula. It is resilient, resistant to sea winds. And so it has settled naturally into this
watershed forest that reaches toward the sea. The fragrant leaves used to wrap sakura mochi — those, too, come from this very tree. Quietly, in a corner of our everyday memory, this cherry has always been with us.
In spring, Koajiro Forest welcomes another protagonist: wisteria. Long, trailing clusters of violet flowers hang down like a waterfall cascading from the canopy, swaying gently with every passing breeze, releasing their sweet fragrance into the surrounding air. Wisteria is a plant that winds itself around other trees, reaching ever higher over years and decades, little by little. Never in haste, yet never giving up. Those breathtaking flower clusters may be, in the end, a living record of existence itself — built up slowly, patiently, over a great span of time.
Season: Spring
Highlights: Oshima cherry — a native cherry whose blossoms and young leaves open simultaneously, also known for its leaves used in sakura mochi — and the long, cascading clusters of wisteria
Characteristics: A coastal native cherry resilient to sea winds, thoroughly at home in the
watershed forest that flows toward the sea
Related:
Koajiro Forest
Location: Koajiro, Misaki-cho, Miura City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Map:
Koajiro Forest Map
Official Site:
Koajiro Forest (Kanagawa Prefecture)
Supervising editor: Yuji Kishi (Professor Emeritus, Keio University)
Photography: Hiroichi Yanase (Professor, Institute of Science Tokyo)
Producer:
Eisuke Tachikawa (Representative of
NOSIGNER / Project Professor, Keio University)
Published by:
NOSIGNER / NPO Koajiro Outdoor Activity Coordination Council
