Washington, DC — The city’s iconic cherry trees reached full bloom on Sunday, drawing locals and visitors to stroll the Tidal Basin and enjoy the seasonal display.
Spectators called the scene whimsical and beautiful. One visitor said the falling petals made her feel ‘‘like I am in an anime,’’ describing the moment as cute and wholesome.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki to Washington, a gesture celebrating the long friendship between the United States and Japan. The festival now runs about four weeks, attracts more than 1.6 million attendees, and offers programming that highlights traditional and contemporary arts, nature, and community activities. According to the festival, most events are free and open to the public.
The original shipment followed coordination among several Japanese and American figures, including chemist Jokichi Takamine, U.S. Department of Agriculture botanist David Fairchild, Eliza Scidmore (the first female board member of the National Geographic Society), and First Lady Helen Herron Taft. On March 27, 1912, First Lady Taft and Viscountess Iwa Chinda, the Japanese ambassador’s wife, planted the first two trees on the Tidal Basin’s north bank in West Potomac Park.
U.S. First Ladies have frequently supported the festival since. Mamie Eisenhower crowned a festival queen in 1953; Lady Bird Johnson accepted 3,800 Yoshino trees and joined a 1965 planting reenactment. In recent decades First Ladies have served as Honorary Chair and participated in events — including Hillary Clinton in 1999, Laura Bush in 2001, and Michelle Obama, who planted a cherry tree in West Potomac Park in 2012.
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