“Picnic-style tea ceremony,” Japan, ca. 1900, a hand-colored postcard, via The New York Public Library.
It may be a “ceremony,” but I think it’s more likely an informal bite to eat after a long walk under the cherry blossoms — with lots of conversation.
Children along a summer garden path, ca. 1900, via Nova Scotia Archives Commons on flickr. Click on the photo for a larger view.
“. . . standing on road in (cemetery) garden [in Japan]; large flowering cherry trees, evergreens and stone monuments,” ca. 1910, a hand-tinted glass-plate slide, via University of Victoria Libraries Commons on flickr (both photos).
(Click on the images to enlarge them.)
A commenter on the flickr page thought this was the pathway to the Kasuga Shrine in Nara.
“Group of deer feeding on lawn in wooded garden; stone monuments and summer house in mid-ground.”
Akasaka, Tokyo, ca. 1890s, photographer unknown. The image is part of “The Album of Photographs of Japan,” via The New York Public Library* Commons on flickr.
Cherry blossoms (sakura) in Tokyo are expected to open on March 30 this year, with the peak bloom being about April 6 to 15.
In Washington, D.C., The National Cherry Blossom Festival will begin on Thursday, March 20, and continue through April 13. Click here and here for more information on events and local accommodations.
The Washington Post has predicted this year’s peak bloom to be about April 9.
*Photography Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs.
enclos*ure 