Magnolia blossoms bring signs of spring to Tokyo

By Shinobu Miwa

Female graduates in ceremonial hakama walk under magnolia flowers at Kitanomaru Park in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, after attending graduation ceremonies at Nippon Budokan nearby.

The Daily Yomiuri

Magnolia trees are in full bloom in Tokyo. The trees bloom a little earlier than cherry blossoms, and in the northern regions they are starting to color mountainsides, making people feel that spring has come.

Due to the bud's resemblance to a balled-up hand, the tree's name in Japanese is kobushi, which means fist.

In some regions, harvests have been customarily predicted by the blooming of the magnolias — if many flowers blossom, the harvest will be abundant, and if flowers face upward, rain will be scarce and wind will be light.

There is also a sad story involving the magnolia. Warriors of the Heike, one of the great ruling clans of the 12th century, fled to the mountains of what is present-day Kumamoto Prefecture after being defeated by the Genji clan in the battle of Dan no Ura sea in 1185, off present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture. One morning the warriors awoke to see their camp surrounded in white. Thinking the white to be the flags of the Genji, the Heike warriors gave up all hope and killed themselves. But the white flags were actually the surrounding magnolia trees in bloom.