Japan
The cherry-blossing viewing festival O-Hanami is a time when Japanese people gather beneath the cherry trees to celebrate the return of spring and the fleeting evanescence of life (suggested because the flowers bloom, fade, and fall so quickly). It's also a time of parties, of drinking and singing.
A wandering guitarist in Kyoto's Maruyama Koen sings Yu-no-machi Erejii
[Hot Spring Resort Elegy], a popular ballad written in 1948, with lyrics by Toshio Nomura and music by Masao Koga--
Izu no yamayama tsuki awaku
On the mountains of Izu, the moon lights faintly
Akari ni musebu yu no kemuri
The steam of the spa is sobbing in the light
Aa, hatsukoi no
Ah, my first love
Kimi wo tazunete koyoi mata
Searching you, I came here again tonight
Gitah tsumabiku tabi no tori
I play my guitar, I am a wandering bird
Kaze no tayori ni kiku kimi wa
People say that you are
Ideyu no machi no hito no tsuma
Married to a man in a spa town
Aa, aimite-mo
Ah, even if we could meet each other
Harete katarenu kono omoi
I never can tell my feelings openly
Semete todoke-yo nagashi-uta
I wish you might hear my song at least
Awai yu no ka mo roji-ura mo
This faint scent of the spa and even the back alleys
Kimi sumu yue ni natsukashi-ya
Make me feel nostalgic, because you live here
Aa, wasurarenu
Ah, I shed tears over a yearning
Yume wo shitaite chiru namida
For the unforgettable dream
Koyoi gitah mo musebi-naku
And my guitar weeps too, tonight
Later, the party erupts into the traditional folktune Sakura [Cherry Blossoms], one version of which goes--
Sakura - sakura - noyamamo satomo
Cherry Blossoms, cherry blossoms. On mountains, in villages.
miwatasu kagiri
As far as you can see.
kasumi-ka kumo-ka - asahi-ni niou
They look like fog or clouds. They are fragrant in the morning sun.
sakura - sakura - hanazakari
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms. In full bloom.
