Sakura Sakura

(Traditional Japanese)

This song which translates as “Cherry Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms” is a folk song from Japan which celebrates the annual appearance of the cherry blossoms which depicts the arrival of spring.

It is known to have been a melody popular in the Edo period which covered the time from 1603 to 1868, but it became more popular in the later Meiji period which lasted between 1868 and 1912. The melody uses a pentatonic scale, aka the in scale, which was used for the traditional Japanese instruments the shamisen and the koto. An arrangement of it was published in the Collection of Japanese Koto Music for the use of koto students at Tokyo Academy of Music in 1888.

The lyrics were originally what is now used as the second verse and possibly written in the Edo period, but in 1941 the Ministry of Education published the song with a new first verse and the original lyrics becoming the second verse.

The song has retained its popularity and has been used as a basis for many arrangements by various composers, such as Keiko Abe in his Dream of the Cherry Blossoms, Helmut Lachenmann in his Sakura-Variationen, Alfred Reed in his Fifth Symphony “Sakura” and Yoquijiro Yocoh’s “Variations on Sakura”. It has been recorded by numerous artists that include Maurice Andre, Babymetal, Marc Edwards, James Galway, Kiyoshi Hikawa, Jason Kouchak, Lily Laskine, Led Zeppelin, Yo-Yo Ma, New York Harp Ensemble, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Andre Rieu, Vienna Boys Choir and Julian Lloyd Webber and is included on many compilations. It has also been sampled in songs such as “Tokyo Road” by Bon Jovi and used in the video games such as Detroit: Become Human, Perfect Cherry Blossom, the Punch Out! series

Hilary Field recordings
“Variations on “Sakura”” (Yuquijiro Yocoh)
YTC-10103 (CD: Hilary Field: Ballad Stories)
Guitar – Hilary Field
Seattle String Quartet
Violin – Tom Dziekonski
Violin – Ellie Marie Gray
Viola – Leslie Johnson
Cello – Page Smith Bilski

Sources:

Sakura Sakura

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