Notable Moments

April 9, 2020

The beauty of cherry blossoms in spring appeals to our emotions. Today, I would like to introduce you to a speech Inamori gave when he visited Japan Airlines and participated in a tree-planting ceremony for a donated cherry blossom tree upon the airline's opening of direct flights to Boston in April 2012.

"In 1912, Japanese cherry blossoms were donated to the United States, and exactly a century later, I am honored to have the opportunity to take part in this prestigious tree-planting ceremony. To the Japanese, cherry blossoms hold a special significance. In Japan, we have a long-standing culture of waka, a form of short, structured poetry. Among them, there is a verse by Motoori Norinaga, a leading scholar of the Japanese language, which asks about the spirit of the Japanese, or Yamato-damashii, which goes as follows:

If one should ask about the spirit of Yamato
In the land of Yamato,
I would say it is like wild cherry blossoms
Glowing in the morning sun.

In other words, if asked what the Japanese spirit is, it is like cherry blossoms quietly blooming in the mountains, glowing in the rising sun. Modest yet charming, it represents the virtues the Japanese hold dear. The spirit that moves us is the cherry blossom." (From Inamori's speech at the Boston Cherry Blossom Donation Centennial Commemorative Tree Planting Ceremony, April 18, 2012)

Photo: Inamori giving a speech at the commemorative tree planting ceremony