The spring mountains in the countryside of Japan west of Tokyo.
Dear friends,
My friend sent me a beautiful picture of the spring mountains in the countryside of Japan west of Tokyo. The cherry blossoms seem to have passed their peak there. The trees have begun to sprout new leaves, and are gradually changing their colors from light pink to tender green. We can enjoy the spring color change until all the trees are completely covered by new green leaves.
Many traditional Japanese colors are named after elements in nature such as: very pale pink “cherry blossoms (桜)”, slightly purplish soft pink “pale red plum blossoms (薄紅梅)”, yellowish light green “new leaves (若葉)”, slightly bluish light green “young bamboo (若竹)”, and grayish brownish green “warblers (鶯)”. These are the colors of the mountains. These are not vivid colors, but slightly grayish and ambiguous ones with nuances which may be a result of the seasonal humid air in Japan. I recently made a traditional Japanese sweet using these spring colors. It is called “ukishima (浮島)” which is a sponge cake made with white beans.
A Japanese sweet “ukishima” with matcha
I have seen that cherry blossoms are fully blooming now in Washington DC, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, as well as in Central Park in NYC. So please enjoy various appearances of cherry blossoms.
All the best,
Kumiko