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Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) and Enkai (parties)

Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) season has arrived again this year. It is said that “Dumplings are better than flowers.'' There were and still are many such people who prefer feasting to flowers during the cherry blossom viewing season. According to Toto Saijiki (Annual Record of Eastern Capital), famous cherry blossom viewing spots in Edo include the Sumida River, Ueno, Asukayama, and Gotenyama.

Ueno

Of all the hanami spots, the cherry blossoms at Ueno no Yama (Ueno Hill) were special. Ueno no Yama is the site of Toeizan Kan'eiji Temple, the family temple of the Tokugawa family, and people entered through the Kuromon Gate, which was open during the cherry blossom season. However, music and drinking were strictly forbidden, and the gate was closed at Kuremutsu (around 6 pm), when people were made to leave. As expressed in the haiku, "The pitch-black gate is a checkpoint for cherry blossoms (Makkuro na mon ga sakura no sekisho nari)," the Kuromon Gate (black gate) seemed to be a checkpoint for people viewing cherry blossoms. The following two nishiki-e depict people walking and viewing cherry blossoms.

So, how was hanami in other locations? People enjoyed hanami at the Sumida River, Asukayama, and Gotenyama as they do today, enjoying themselves freely under the cherry blossoms, playing music and dancing. These joyful scenes are depicted in nishiki-e and other works of art.

Asukayama

The following pictures depict many people spreading out their lunches, drinking, and lounging on rugs at Asukayama. In these paintings, people are enjoying drinking under the cherry trees, playing the shamisen, and dancing. One of them depicts foreigners.

Sumida River

The east bank of the Sumida River was also a popular hanami spot. The people depicted below may be those who came from the opposite shore to view the cherry blossoms on a boat. There is a man who is dancing on the boat, perhaps still drunk. People went out early to secure a place to view the cherry blossoms and returned home tipsy. It is a scene that has not changed since then.

Gotenyama

Below is a scene of people enjoying hanami freely at a place overlooking Edo Bay.

In the picture below, a woman with a baby is also enjoying viewing the cherry blossoms. It seemed to be a once-a-year pleasure.

Springtime hanami was a pleasure for many ordinary people in Edo. Although the scale and location of these famous spots have changed slightly, they are still visited by many people every year. Some people drank too much, like the woman in the following picture titled Onna aruji Hanami no Meitei (The mistress got drunk while viewing the cherry blossoms) and returned home while being supported. Times may have changed, but the way to enjoy hanami seems to remain the same.

Digital Exhibitions

The culture of hanami is also detailed in "Parties under the Cherry Blossoms in Edo Introduction" in Kaleidoscope of Books.

References

• 斎藤月岑 (幸成) 編, "東都歳事記 巻之1春之部下" (博文館 1894)
• 齋藤月岑幸成 編 et.al, "江戸歳事記 4巻 付録1巻" (須原屋佐助 [ほか12名])