Ume Japanese apricot heralds spring in chilly weather

Feb. 20, 2010

Ume Japanese apricot heralds spring in chilly weather


Japanese apricot, or “ume” plum trees are beginning to bloom in Tokyo and neighboring regions, though the mercury shows no signs of going up. The season’s second accumulation of snow was observed in the central part of Tokyo this week as a low-pressure system packing cold air stayed over the Kanto region. Streets near the Gaien gardens outside the Imperial Palace compounds were covered with a thin layer of snow early Thursday, inconveniencing people walking to their workplace. The snowfall also forced a delay in the opening of a trial at a district court in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, because two lay judges were unable to be there on time.
Enduring cold weather, ume plum trees begin to bloom as the hours of sunshine get longer. Ume blossoms are less brilliant than "sakura" cherry blossoms, Japan's most favored flower in terms of its traditional culture. But ume charmed ancient people with its fragrance, which spreads elegantly in chilly, humid air in early spring. They were also impressed by the dignified atmosphere the style of the ume trees gives off.
Ume plum blossoms were loved by waka poets from the ancient times as a flower that signals the arrival of spring before other flowers.

Let’s get the scent of plum blossoms
to be carried with the messenger of the breeze
so it may be a guide
that lures bush warblers out of the valley.
(A personal translation)

This is a poem composed by Ki Tomonori, one of the editors of Japan’s second oldest waka poem anthology Kokinwakashu. Ume is the first flower that appears in the spring section of the poem anthology, compiled in the 10th century. Bush warblers were also believed to be a bird which heralds spring. Ume plum trees were imported from China, but they were admired by ancient people so that it came to be seen as Japan’s indigenous flower.
In warmer areas, people enjoy plum blossom viewing parties from early February. But ume trees are just budding in Tokyo and its vicinity. The temperature remains far below 10 degrees centigrade in Tokyo, but the budding ume trees brighten up people's heart, telling them that spring is just around the corner with various new lives poised to be born.