Friday, May 2, 2025
On Wednesday, April 30th, three cherry tree seedlings were planted at Nonno Forest in Hokuryu Town with the cooperation of Kazuo Shibasaki, a forestry instructor belonging to the Sorachi District Forestry Instructor Liaison Council, Susumu Yotsutsuji, a Hokuryu town resident, and Junichi Iguchi, head of the Industry Division at Hokuryu Town Hall, and Yoshihiro Ichiba, section chief. The seedlings were planted in three locations along the walking path in Nonno Forest.
Cherry tree seedling planting (Nonno Forest)
Seeds planted by third graders at Shinryu Elementary School
The cherry tree seedlings are young trees that have grown four years since they were planted by third graders at Shinryu Elementary School.
Students at Shinryu Elementary School sow cherry blossom seeds when they are in the third grade, and when they graduate three years later, they plant the grown cherry trees in Konpira Park as a graduation memento. This is an annual commemorative event.
A story from instructor Kazuo Shibasaki
"I have been working as a forestry instructor for about 10 years.
Around the end of June, a month and a half after the cherry blossoms have finished blooming, the trees begin to bear fruit. At first they are yellow, then red, and finally ripen and turn purple-black. The fruit is harvested when it turns black. The fruit is washed, peeled, and the seeds are collected. The third graders at Shinryu Elementary School then sow these seeds in an experiential lesson.
The sown cherry tree seedlings will grow to 30-40cm in the autumn of the following year. After a year, by the autumn of the fifth grade, they will have grown into young trees nearly 1m tall. Then, in the autumn of the sixth grade, in late October, they are planted to commemorate their graduation from elementary school.
The three seedlings that will be planted in Nonno Forest this time are just a few of them."
Setting up supports and adding protective materials
"We protect the seedlings by setting up supports, attaching protective material to them, and tying them to the supports with hemp rope. Furthermore, in winter, wild mice are more likely to eat the new shoots, and if they eat the bark, the trees will wither. We attach tubes of material that prevent mice from eating the seedlings to protect them and take defensive measures," explained Shibasaki, a forestry instructor.
Mayor Sasaki Yasuhiro visits to offer encouragement
Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki took time out of his busy schedule to visit and offer encouragement.
Cherry blossoms that bloom when you're 20 years old
After the cherry blossoms bloom in Konpira Park, the fruit ripens and the seeds are sown by third-graders. Three years later, when the sixth-graders graduate, the young trees that grow are planted as a graduation commemoration. Then, ten years later, when the students turn 20, beautiful cherry blossoms bloom...
The cherry blossom is Japan's national flower, and is loved by the Japanese people and captivated by its beauty.
The children of Shinryu Elementary School are growing up together with the cherry blossoms, which hold the culture and soul of Japan.
I sincerely hope that when I turn 20, I will be able to see the beautiful cherry blossoms in my hometown of Hokuryu Town.
The cycle of all life changes with the changing of the seasons...
The graceful cherry blossoms symbolize the aesthetic of transience, encounters and partings, and the ever-changing nature of "impermanence," and are filled with boundless love, gratitude, and prayers.
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◇ Photography, editing, and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi
