I can’t believe it’s already April! It feels like just the other day we were ringing in the new year, and a quarter of the year has already passed us by. April has always held a lot of meaning and memories for me.
In school, it was always characteristically the busiest month of the year for me, in terms of putting on International Street Fair and the fact that most of our APIA events for AASU took place during April.
This April marks seven years since Dan and I have been together.
And it was on that fateful day of April 16th three years ago that thousands of lives at our university were forever altered by the actions of a single gunman.
Especially due to this last incident, I can’t really say that I can look back on all of my memories of April with fondness, but it has certainly always been a very emotionally loaded month for me. Since moving to California, April has always been the month I feel the strongest pangs of homesickness. My favorite flower is the cherry blossom, and there’s nothing more gorgeous in April than the 3,800 cherry blossom trees that come into full bloom for a couple weeks every year around the Tidal Basin of the Potomac.
This lovely scene in Washington, DC used to be only a 15-minute drive away from me when I lived in Northern Virginia, but I have not had the pleasure of seeing it in years, due to college and moving out to California, and I have really come to miss it.
The ephemeral nature of the cherry blossoms remind us of the transience of life — characterized by their amazing beauty when in bloom and their swifth death shortly afterwards, the blossoms have often been regarded as a symbol of mortality by the Japanese, and prominently appears in various forms of Japanese art, music and culture. Cherry blossoms, despite their fleeting lifetime every spring, still effloresce and flourish every year, and quickly but gracefully wilt away once they have reached their peak. It’s a reminder of the brevity and delicate aspect of our own human lives, and the importance of living each day to the fullest with no regrets, as if it were our last.
As cheesy as this may sound, I actually have a cherry blossom playlist on my iPod and I have it on repeat every spring when it’s cherry blossom season. There are countless songs about cherry blossoms in Japanese music, but these are my personal top five.
5. 「サクラ色〠by アンジェラ・ア゠(Sakurairo by Angela Aki)
Angela Aki is a half Japanese, half Italian-American singer-songwriter and pianist who grew up in Japan but attended George Washington University — she even has ties to my hometown of Vienna, Virginia, where she recorded her first English album These Words at Jammin Java. She has said that the cherry blossoms she sings of in this song are those in DC, and how they reminded her of her home in Japan. Angela Aki has a really beautiful, powerful voice and this song is one of my favorites by her.
4. 「ã•ãらã€by ケツメイシ (Sakura by Ketsumeishi)
I love this song — it’s a sad song about lost love, but the lyrics are beautiful. I also like the upbeat tempo and the “rap” that comes in here and there. My good friend Richard from school used to sing this song every time we went karaoke, without fail — and was pretty good at it, too!
3. 「桜ã€by コブクム(Sakura by Kobukuro)
Kobukuro’s Sakura is a true classic! I love all of Kobukuro’s ballads. This song also has a tinge of sadness, but the ultimate message is that of hope and having the strength to move forward with your life beyond loss and sorrow. It’s about becoming as strong as the single flower that endures through raging storms and strong winds to see the moment when the rain lets up.
2. 「ã•ãら (独唱)ã€by 森山直太朗 (Sakura (Solo) by Naotaro Moriyama)
This hit song, released in 2003, was Moriyama’s big break and launched him into superstardom. It’s become one of the most popular songs of the last decade, a staple graduation anthem often sung at commencement ceremonies across Japan. The style he sings in seems more traditional than modern, and it really is a classic graduation song in that it sings about the blossoming of youth and the inevitability of parting ways with friends. There are various versions out there, but the one here is his solo, accompanied by piano. I love this other version as well, in which Moriyama is backed by a chorus.
1. 「桜å‚ã€by ç¦å±±é›…æ²» (Sakura zaka by Masaharu Fukuyama)
This is my personal favorite! I fell in love with it when first hearing it in 2000 when it was released, and still love it ten years later. It is one of the most romantic songs I’ve ever heard, although it’s very bittersweet in that it is (again) about a love that has been lost. The soft melody, Fukuyama’s serene vocals and the depth of the lyrics has made it a classic favorite for me. It was a huge hit in Japan as well, selling 750,000 copies in its first week and it remained at the top of the charts for three consecutive weeks; it has sold over 2,300,000 copies overall on the Oricon charts, making it one of Fukuyama’s most successful songs.
I have a friend who can sing the song particularly well and he sang it on guitar for us once, which caused tears to spring to my eyes. I literally melted….
Other memorable “sakura” songs: Sakura no Toki by aiko, Sakura Iro Mau Koro by Nakashima Mika, Sakura by Ikimonogakari, Sakura by Kawaguchi Kyogo… can anyone thing of others?
Keiko
April 3, 2010 @ 4:11 pm
宇多田ヒカルã¡ã‚ƒã‚“ã®ã€ŒSAKURAドãƒãƒƒãƒ—スã€ã‚„エレカシã®ã€Œæ¡œã®èŠ±ã€èˆžã„上ãŒã‚‹é“ã‚’ã€ã‚‚æ€ã„æµ®ã‹ã¶â˜†
æ¡œã®æŒã¯ãƒ’ットã™ã‚‹ã〜ï¼ï¼ï¼
Misono
April 3, 2010 @ 10:29 pm
ã‚ã£ã€ã€ŒSAKURAドãƒãƒƒãƒ—スã€ã¨ã‹å¿˜ã‚Œã¦ãŸï¼
æ¾ãŸã‹åã®ã€Œæ¡œã®é›¨ã€ã„ã¤ã‹ãƒ»ãƒ»ãƒ»ã€ã¨ã‹ã‚‚ã„ã„よã♪
確ã‹ã«æ¡œã®ãƒ†ãƒ¼ãƒžã®æ›²ã¯ã„ã„曲ãŒå¤šã„よã。:D
Stef
April 3, 2010 @ 6:17 pm
i love that pic of the cherry blossoms in DC. i try to go every year~i wish you could come see them =)))
you and dan have been together 7 yrs now?? it seems like only yesterday you first told me about him =D time flies!
Misono
April 3, 2010 @ 10:30 pm
I really miss the cherry blossoms of DC. I don’t think you can find a more beautiful bunch of cherry blossoms in all of the United States! I wanted to make it back this year but it looks like I won’t be able to…
Maybe next year?!
beccastewart via livejournal
April 3, 2010 @ 7:29 pm
There are lots of “Sakura” children’s songs.
Misono
April 3, 2010 @ 10:25 pm
There are! Are you teaching some in your class? 🙂
beccastewart via livejournal
April 4, 2010 @ 5:46 am
I’ve taught an easy one in 2nd grade called “Sakura Matsuri” (spelling?) and did a difficult one in 5th grade called, “Hitori”. A few years ago, we did another one in Japanese for all-county chorus called “Haru Ga Kita” (which I don’t think had anything to do with cherry blossoms). I’ve found it difficult to teach songs in Japanese because the syllables are so simple, so I find myself accidentally inserting the wrong consonant at the beginnings of syllables. I always have to have the words super memorized before I teach a Japanese song so that I don’t mess up the kids when I’m teaching it.
Misono
April 5, 2010 @ 12:11 am
Those are all great songs! “Haru ga kita” was one of my favorites as a child. I would love to hear you teaching! That is so neat that you incorporate international songs into the class. 🙂
Kenji
April 3, 2010 @ 8:23 pm
Check out the Nichi Bei Weekly-produced Official Guide to the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival — the first such publication under the nonprofit Nichi Bei Foundation. At a Japanese market or church near you. (in El Cerrito, that’s Yaoya-san, Ichiban-Kan). Cherry Blossom Fest is April 10,11,17,18.
Misono
April 3, 2010 @ 11:21 pm
I’ll be at the festival this year! 🙂 Dan and I will be volunteering at the Queen Program on the 10th, and then we’ll probably check out the parade on the 18th too. 😀
theskyiscrying via livejournal
April 4, 2010 @ 2:18 am
Hikki’s Sakura Drops was always a favorite of mine, although I think I like the PV more than the actual song, hehe.
Misono
April 5, 2010 @ 12:11 am
The PV for that song is amazing. I heard it took months to do the CG on it.
Ryo
April 4, 2010 @ 3:50 am
The dude who played sakura zaka for you guys must have been pretty freaking amazing. =P 俺ã®ã‚®ã‚¿ãƒ¼ã«ç¾Žåœ’ã»ã©æ„Ÿå‹•ã—ãŸäººã¯ã„ãªã„ã。笑 
今夜ã¯ä¹…ã—ã¶ã‚Šã«ã‚®ã‚¿ãƒ¼å¼¾ã語りã—ã¦ã¿ã‚ˆã†ã‹ãªã€‚
Misono
April 5, 2010 @ 12:17 am
本当ã«ã‚ã®æ™‚ã¯ã™ã”ãæ„Ÿå‹•ã—ãŸã‚ˆï¼ï¼ï¼ã‚Šã‚‡ã†ã¡ã‚ƒã‚“ã»ã©ä¸Šæ‰‹ãªå¼¾ã語りã€è´ã„ãŸã“ã¨ãªã„ã¨æ€ã†ãƒ»ãƒ»ãƒ»ã€‚ã¾ãŸã€Œæ¡œå‚ã€è´ã‹ã›ã¦ã»ã—ã„よー
日本ã«ç§»ã£ã¦ã‹ã‚‰ã‚®ã‚¿ãƒ¼ã¯ã‚ã¾ã‚Šå¼¾ã„ã¦ãªã„ã®ï¼Ÿ
ユリ
April 4, 2010 @ 10:02 pm
æ¡œã®æ›²ã£ã¦ã™ã¹ã¦è‰¯ã„æŒã ã‘ã©ã€æ‚²ã—ã„ã®ãŒå¤šããªã„?失æ‹ã¨ã‹åˆ¥ã‚Œã¨ã‹ã€‚。。
(´ノω・`*)ナケル−
ã‚ãŸã—ã‚‚è¿‘é ƒãƒ›ãƒ¼ãƒ ã‚·ãƒƒã‚¯ã«ã‹ã‹ã£ã¦ã¾ã™ã€‚゚(゚ノω`゚)゚。クスï¾
Misono
April 5, 2010 @ 12:19 am
確ã‹ã«æ¡œã®ãƒ†ãƒ¼ãƒžã®æŒã£ã¦ãã†ã„ã†é›°å›²æ°—ã®æŒãŒå¤šã„よãï¼
ãªã‚“ã‹ã€è´ã„ã¦ã¦ã¨ã¦ã‚‚切ãªã„æ°—æŒã¡ã«ãªã‚‹ã‚ˆã・・・。
ãã‚Œã§ã‚‚ã„ã„曲ã°ã‹ã‚Šã ã—ã€ç§ã¯å¥½ãã ãªã。
後2ヶ月ã§å¸°ã‚Œã‚‹ã‚“ã ã‹ã‚‰ã‚ã¾ã‚Šæ°—ã‚’è½ã¨ã•ãªã„ã§ï¼ã‚ã£ã¨ã„ã†é–“ã ã‚ˆã€‚é ‘å¼µã‚Œãƒ¦ãƒªï¼ï¼ï¼