What is hanami: 花見 (hanami)
花見 (はなみ, hanami, “cherry blossom viewing”) is the Japanese custom of going outside to enjoy blossoms, above all cherry blossoms, in spring. It's written with two kanji, 花 (flower) and 見 (to see), so it means "flower viewing". In practice it's a picnic: friends, family or colleagues sit under the trees with food and drink and look at the blossoms.
The word is said ha-na-mi, three short beats of the same weight. The blossoms are 桜 (さくら, sakura, “cherry tree”) (桜 has its own page), and hanami is what you do beneath them. That's the difference between the two words: sakura is the tree and its flower, hanami is the viewing party.
The kanji are worth a look: 花 and 見 each have a page. If kanji are new to you, start with What is Kanji?.
When is hanami? Sakura season
The blossoms open in late March or early April in the big cities, and the season moves across the country as a wave. Japanese has a word for that wave: 桜前線 (さくらぜんせん, sakurazensen, “cherry blossom front”). It starts in the warm south, in Okinawa, and moves north to Hokkaido.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) keeps the official record of two moments:
- 開花 (かいか, kaika, “flowering”), the first bloom, is declared when five or six or more blossoms have opened on the agency's sample tree. In Tokyo that tree stands at Yasukuni Shrine.
- 満開 (まんかい, mankai, “full bloom (esp. of cherry blossom)”) is declared when 80 per cent or more of the buds on that tree have opened.
The days around full bloom are the 見頃 (みごろ, migoro, “best time to see”), and they don't last long. In Tokyo the average first-bloom date is 24 March and the average full-bloom date is 31 March, going by the JMA's averages for 1991 to 2020. Facts on this page last checked on 2026-10-02.
One surprise: the JMA doesn't forecast the blossoms any more. It stopped issuing its own forecast from spring 2010, because private weather companies already provided one for the whole country. It still observes and records the real dates. So the forecasts people follow each spring, the 開花予想 (kaika yosō, "blooming forecast") you'll see in the news, come from those companies, not from the JMA.
The months March and April are explained in Dates in Japanese.
The history of hanami
Hanami began as a custom of the court, and at first the flower was not the cherry.
- Nara period (710 to 794). The aristocracy copied a Chinese habit of enjoying poetry under blossoming 梅 (うめ, ume, “Japanese apricot (Prunus mume)”) trees. The plum was the favourite. The Man'yōshū, a collection of poems, has 110 poems about the plum and 43 about the cherry.
- Heian period (794 to 1185). The cherry took over. By the Kokinshū, a collection of the 10th century, the numbers had turned round: 70 poems about the cherry and 18 about the plum. From then on, "flower viewing" meant cherry blossoms.
- 812. The earliest recorded hanami is thought to be Emperor Saga's "Flower Banquet" at the Shinsen-en garden in Kyoto, on the 12th day of the 2nd lunar month, which is 28 March by the modern calendar. The flower is thought to have been the cherry. From 831, the court held it every year.
- Edo period (1603 to 1868). Hanami spread to ordinary people. The shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune had cherry trees planted at Asukayama and along the Sumida river in 1720, to encourage ordinary people to go out and enjoy the blossoms.
- Meiji period (from 1868). The Somei-yoshino, or Yoshino cherry, spread across Japan. It's now the most common cherry variety there.
There's also a belief about older roots. The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi says that ancient farmers saw the blossoms as "gods of the fields arriving" and held ceremonies under them, offering food and prayers for a good harvest. Treat that as a tradition rather than something proved: the written history above starts with the court.
What people do at hanami
For many people, hanami is a party as much as a flower walk. People spread a plastic sheet on the ground and eat a bento, drink beer or sake, and talk. Many workplaces send the newest employee or intern to stake out a good spot early in the morning, or the day before.
Some words you'll hear:
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 夜桜 | よざくら | yozakura | cherry blossoms at night | Blossoms seen after dark, often lit with lanterns or floodlights |
| 花見酒 | はなみざけ | hanamizake | sake drunk while viewing cherry blossoms | Drinking under the trees |
| 花見団子 | はなみだんご | hanamidango | dango eaten during cherry blossom viewing (esp. pink, white, and green) | Pink, white and green dumplings on a skewer |
| 桜餅 | さくらもち | sakuramochi | rice cake with bean paste wrapped in a pickled cherry leaf | A sweet of the season |
| 場所取り | ばしょとり | bashotori | staking out (in advance; e.g. a seat or a spot); saving a place; reserving a location | Saving a spot with a sheet |
There's an old proverb about the food: 花より団子 (はなよりだんご, hana yori dango, “function over aesthetics”), literally "dumplings rather than flowers". It teases people who care more about the snacks than the blossoms. It's said with a smile, and it fits hanami well, because both halves are part of the day.
Hanami etiquette
Hanami is relaxed, but parks are shared, and a few rules apply almost everywhere.
- Don't touch the trees. Don't pull or shake the branches, pick blossoms or climb the trees.
- Take your rubbish home. Many parks have no bins.
- Check the local rules. Some parks limit alcohol, barbecues or the hours you may stay in the evening.
- Spots go early. At popular parks, people spread a sheet in the morning and mark it with the group's name and start time, or someone stays on it all day. At one popular park, most of the spots were taken before 8 am.
If you're a visitor, you can enjoy the blossoms from a path or a riverbank without a sheet at all. If you do join the picnic crowd, leave other people's sheets alone.
What does hanami symbolise?
Hanami symbolises the beauty of things that don't last. The cherry blossom is short-lived, and the custom is a way of stopping to enjoy it while it's here. The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi calls it "an analogy to human life" that "reminds us to make the most of our time here".
The word for falling blossoms is 散る (ちる, chiru, “to fall (e.g. blossoms, leaves)”), and the falling is often seen as part of the beauty, not the end of it. Cherry blossom designs, including tattoos, usually draw on that same idea, though a tattoo's meaning is personal and no source fixes one.
Practise the months
The blossoms open in March and April. Learn the months of the year in Japanese in a short quiz.
Questions about hanami
What is hanami in Japanese?
Hanami (花見) is the Japanese word for flower viewing, and it usually means looking at cherry blossoms in spring. It's written with 花 (flower) and 見 (to see). The parties people hold under the trees are also called hanami.
What does hanami mean in English?
Hanami means "flower viewing" or "cherry blossom viewing". The word describes the activity, usually a picnic under blossoming trees.
What is hanami in Japan?
Hanami in Japan is a spring custom: people gather under cherry trees with food and drink, from late March in cities such as Tokyo to later in the north. It's held in parks, along rivers and around castles and temples, in the day and at night.
How is hanami pronounced?
Hanami is pronounced ha-na-mi, with three short beats. English speakers often stress the middle (ha-NAH-mee), but Japanese gives all three beats the same weight.
Why does Japan celebrate hanami?
Japan celebrates hanami to mark the arrival of spring and to enjoy the short life of the blossoms. The custom began at the Nara and Heian courts and became a custom of ordinary people in the Edo period.
What does hanami symbolize?
Hanami symbolises the passing of beauty, because cherry blossoms are short-lived. It reminds people to make the most of the moment.
What is the difference between hanami and sakura?
Sakura is the cherry tree and its blossom, and hanami is the act of viewing it. You go to hanami to see the sakura.
What does a cherry blossom tattoo mean on a woman?
A cherry blossom tattoo usually draws on the idea behind hanami: beauty that doesn't last. Its meaning is personal, though, and the sources for this page give no fixed meaning for women or for anyone else.
Is Hanami from JJK a girl? Was hanami a girl in JJK? What exactly is Hanami JJK?
Hanami is a character in the Japanese manga and anime Jujutsu Kaisen, and the character is not a girl: it's a powerful cursed spirit, born of humanity's negative treatment of forests. English Wikipedia lists the character with the pronouns "they/them". The name sounds the same as hanami, but it's written 花御, with a different second kanji, so it's a different word from 花見 (flower viewing). The character has nothing to do with the custom.
Is Hanami a baddie?
Yes, Hanami is a villain in Jujutsu Kaisen. They are one of the cursed spirits who ambush the character Gojo in the Shibuya Incident, and they believe humans have gone too long in ruining the Earth's environment.
Sources
- Readings and meanings: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0).
- History, the Man'yōshū and Kokinshū counts, Emperor Saga in 812, Yoshimune in 1720: Japanese Wikipedia, 花見; English Wikipedia, Hanami.
- Customs, foods, night viewing, symbolism: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Hanami: Cherry Blossom Culture in Japan; Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi, Japanese Traditions: Hanami.
- Etiquette and reserving spots: Japan Guide, How to do hanami?.
- First bloom and full bloom, the sample tree: Nippon.com, Measuring the Spread of Spring; JMA, Tokyo cherry blossom information (averages for 1991 to 2020).
- The end of the JMA's own forecasts from 2010: Japan Meteorological Agency, press release of 25 December 2009. The 24 March Tokyo average: JMA, sakura observation data. Facts on this page last checked on 2026-10-02.
- Hanami in Jujutsu Kaisen: Wikipedia, List of Jujutsu Kaisen characters.
- Reviewed independently; the points about hanami etiquette, workplace spot-staking, the 開花予想 forecasts, the pronunciation and the tattoo meaning are waiting for a native speaker's check.