Cherry Blossoms and Song

Image by Listen Missy! via Creative Commons

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the United States. Boston is receiving a gift of cherry trees from Japan this spring to celebrate this 100th anniversary of the friendship between Japan and the United States.

Berklee College of Music, where Yoko Miwa is an assistant professor and also her alma mater, is participating in this celebration. Yoko’s music evokes the symbolism of the cherry blossoms, or sakura, themselves. Take The Day We Said Goodbye for example. Cherry blossoms represent the ephemeral nature of life in Japanese culture. Here, Yoko expresses this concept through the poetry of instrumental jazz.

You can see the Yoko Miwa Trio play on March 27th at the Regattabar. The Yoko Miwa Trip plans on playing a traditional Japanese song about sakura in honor of this important occasion. Click here for more information.

Photo by Listen Missy!.