The Vanishing Cherry Blossoms of Iso

Cherry blossoms are undoubtedly one of the major reasons many overseas tourists visit Japan. The draw of these delicate ephemeral blooms is undeniable, and famous cherry blossom viewing areas like Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo or the Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto attract thousands of visitors each year.

Here in Kagoshima Kotsuki River, Yoshino Park, and Iso Yama Park are all well known viewing spots for cherry blossoms. Sengan-en has quite a few cherry blossoms as well but is perhaps better known for its plum blossoms and winter cherry blossoms which bloom mid to late February.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), the Iso area surrounding Sengan-en was famous for its cherry blossoms. The mountain behind the gardens was covered with hundreds of trees which would burst into bloom turning the hillside from green to a gentle pink for a short time each spring. The area to the southwest of the present Shoko Shuseikan Museum was even known as Sakura-dani – literally “valley of cherry blossoms”. Wealthy Osaka merchant Takagi Zensuke also recorded in his pictorial travelogue that “the mountain at Iso is covered in cherry blossoms” when visiting Kagoshima.

A topographical study of Kagoshima called “Famous Scenes of Satsuma, Hyuga, and Osumi” from 1843 shows local people in small boats in Kinko Bay with their back to Sakurajima admiring the blossoms on the mountainside above Sengan-en. A folding screen from the same era even shows a Ryukyuan Junk alongside the local boats. It must have been a fantastic experience to sit sipping some shochu, bobbing on the tide, and enjoying the dual spectacle of active volcano Sakurajima and the mountainside covered in cherry blossoms in full bloom.

There are also many other hanging scrolls and written accounts of local people enjoying cherry blossoms in the Iso area, showing parties and gatherings on the beachfront promenade that stretched into Kagoshima City.

Unfortunately, after 1850 most of the cherry blossoms in the Iso area were cut down in order to quarry stone for building fortifications around Kagoshima City. Increasing pressure on Japan’s borders by western nations led to a need to rapidly develop modern technology and industry, and Kagoshima was one of the first areas to begin industrialising under the leadership of Shimadzu Nariakira.

By the 1890s prefectural culture minister and artist Kiwaki Keishiro started a project to restore the cherry blossoms of Iso to their former glory. Five hundred trees were planted, but Kiwaki died before the project was completed. Most of the trees planted by Kiwaki are no longer on the mountainside so it is assumed they died some years after being planted.

A project is currently underway at Sengan-en to replant cherry blossoms and recreate the some of the stunning natural scenes enjoyed by the people of Kagoshima in the Edo period in addition to the plum blossoms and winter cherries around the gardens.