veareflejos:

Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858)
Takino Coast, Noto Province, 1856
Color woodblock, Oban Tate-e
Norton Simon Museum

The sakura (cherry blossom) has long been an important symbol in Japanese art and literature, so much so that by the eighth century, the general term for flower (hana) in poetry referred to the cherry blossom. Its significance in Japan is due, in part, to its evanescent beauty, which resonates with the Buddhist ethos of life’s illusory nature. The cherry tree blooms en masse during the spring, and its blossoms die within a week of their flowering, making their beauty both intense and short-lived. It is during this time that friends and family gather to take part in hanami, or “flower viewing,” by traveling to districts populated by cherry trees.

Source: Norton Simon