Basho’s peach blossoms
2009/06/14
This is a picture of peach blossoms I took in Akita in the middle of May.
Peach blossoms have been loved and taken up in haiku, waka, folklore, legends, and cultural events since the ancient days in Japan. Peach trees originated in China, where they loved peaches as well as peach blossoms, so they were often used in their legends or poetry.
Chinese writer Tao Yuanming of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) once described in his work of a legendary fairyland “Peach Blossom Valley” （桃源郷）as a place completely isolated from the rest of the world. People there lived a simple, pastoral life. They planted peach trees around their houses, loved peach blossoms, and tasted beverages made from peaches, which kept them healthy and young throughout their lives. For centuries, Chinese people regarded this valley as “Utopia”, an imaginary place.
But does such a fairyland really exist in the real world?
