Japan is giving the United States 250 new cherry trees to help replace the hundreds that are being ripped out this summer as construction crews work to repair the crumbling seawall around the capital’s Tidal Basin.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the announcement as President Joe Biden welcomed him to the White House on Wednesday for an official visit and state dinner. Biden said the gift is meant to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. in 2026, adding, “Like our friendship, these trees are timeless, inspiring and thriving.”
In 1912, first lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador to the United States, planted two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River’s Tidal Basin. They were part of the 3,000 such trees Japan gave the U.S. in a symbol of the two countries’ friendship.
Love how AP journalists say “Washington” instead of “Washington D.C.”, as if the state of Washington doesn’t exist.
Even the AP Stylebook recommends just using “Washington” to describe the Capitol because of its “Global recognition”, but as one of the 7.8 million Washingtonians who don’t live in D.C. on the other side of the country, I absolutely find this shit confusing.
Especially since Seattle’s cherry blossom festival starts today, so it would be the right timing for someone to gift us cherry trees if they were going to.
FYI since you’re into this kind of thing, ‘the Capitol’ refers to the US Capitol building.
‘The Capital’ means DC, the capital city in this case.
Hope you get some fresh Japanese Sakura. They are amazing.
Walking through groves of Sakura, especially when the pedals are falling in the breeze, is a surreal experience. I never get tired of it.
It looks like whoever (or whatever) wrote this article, doesn’t know that cherry trees and cherry blossoms are two different trees and sort of keeps mixing them throughout the article. I had a feeling that’s about what was going on, just based on the title.
cherry trees and cherry blossoms are two different trees
Do you mean “ornamental” cherry trees and “fruiting” cherry trees? A “cherry blossom” (or “sakura”) refers to the flower of a cherry tree, usually of the “ornamental” variety. The article seemed fine to me.
They aren’t the same type of tree, though. Cherry blossoms don’t grow cherries you can put in a pie.
Both kinds of trees have blossoms. Granted, people do call ornamental cherry trees “cherry blossom trees” … but, technically speaking, a “blossom” is literally the flower of any stonefruit tree.
And cherry wood, prized for its attractive red-orange color and excellent working characteristics, comes from neither. Most cherries cultivated for fruit, or Japanese ornamental/blossom cherries are considered “true cherries,” where most “cherry” lumber comes from the black cherry, which is not considered a true cherry.
But the Japanese Sakura are quite specific.
Yes, they are, which is why the gifting of cherry trees is such a strong symbol of friendship! Experiencing Sakura is uniquely Japanese.
The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality; for this reason, sakura are richly symbolic…
