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El hombre que salvó los cerezos
La fascinante y desconocida historia del británico que luchó por preservar los cerezos en flor japoneses.
En Japón cada primavera la floración de los cerezos es una fiesta de los sentidos, y todo un símbolo de la cultura del país. Lo que casi nadie sabe es que si hoy sigue vivo ese patrimonio de la humanidad es gracias a un inglés llamado Collingwood Ingram. En varios viajes a Japón quedó fascinado por las múltiples variedades de cerezos y, cuando en 1919 se instaló en Kent, descubrió alborozado que en el jardín de la casa que su familia había alquilado había dos espléndidos cerezos japoneses.
En 1926 emprendió un nuevo viaje a Japón y descubrió que, debido a la occidentalización y a la decisión de apostar por una única variedad clonada, se estaba perdiendo la riquísima diversidad de cerezos japoneses, incluido el espectacular Taihaku o «Gran blanco». Ingram dedicó su vida a salvaguardar esos árboles y a proteger la tradición del sakura (palabra japonesa para referirse al cerezo en flor).
En Japón cada primavera la floración de los cerezos es una fiesta de los sentidos, y todo un símbolo de la cultura del país. Lo que casi nadie sabe es que si hoy sigue vivo ese patrimonio de la humanidad es gracias a un inglés llamado Collingwood Ingram. En varios viajes a Japón quedó fascinado por las múltiples variedades de cerezos y, cuando en 1919 se instaló en Kent, descubrió alborozado que en el jardín de la casa que su familia había alquilado había dos espléndidos cerezos japoneses.
En 1926 emprendió un nuevo viaje a Japón y descubrió que, debido a la occidentalización y a la decisión de apostar por una única variedad clonada, se estaba perdiendo la riquísima diversidad de cerezos japoneses, incluido el espectacular Taihaku o «Gran blanco». Ingram dedicó su vida a salvaguardar esos árboles y a proteger la tradición del sakura (palabra japonesa para referirse al cerezo en flor).
448 pages, Paperback
First published March 19, 2019
191 people are currently reading
5154 people want to read
About the author
Naoko Abe
11 books35 followersNaoko Abe is a Japanese journalist and non-fiction writer. She was the first female political writer to cover the prime minister’s office, the foreign ministry and the defence ministry at Mainichi Shimbun, one of Japan’s largest newspapers. Since moving to London with her British husband and their two boys in 2001, she has worked as a freelance writer and has published five books in Japanese. Her biography of Collingwood Ingram in Japanese won the prestigious Nihon Essayist Club Award in 2016. She has now written an adaptation of the book for English-language readers. She is a trained classical pianist and an advanced yoga practitioner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews
July 31, 2019
3.5 stars rounded up. Collingwood “Cherry” Ingram was an Englishman who developed a passion, indeed an obsession, with the various types of cherry blossom trees. He originally started as an ornithologist but became disenchanted with the profession and took to horticulture big time and ended up one of the world’s foremost experts on flowering cherry blossom trees. According to the book, one of his main claims to fame was being instrumental in reintroducing to Japan some of the more obscure or rare species of the trees that had either virtually vanished or had become less popular.
Having lived to the ripe old age of 100 (b.1880; d.1981), he saw great change in the world – WWI, the rise of Japanese imperialism, the Depression, WWII then the rapid, amazing rise of Japan as a powerhouse economy post WWII. Ingram was from a wealthy, privileged background, never wanting for anything and able to indulge his passion of wondering the world in search of different specimens of flowering cherry blossom trees, propagating them and distributing them around the world. He comes across as a bit eccentric and aloof and certainly didn’t endear himself to me, but an interesting character nonetheless. It may sound strange to say seeming he visited Japan multiple times and developed a love for one of their key symbols, but I got the impression he never fully embraced Japan and the people and the culture. He always had an interpreter on hand, the author never mentions him bothering to learn any of the language and he was occasionally dismissive of some of the rituals and idiosyncrasies of the country and its people. It was more his obsession for the cherry blossom trees, the fact that it was in Japan was secondary. Perhaps a slightly harsh assessment, but those were my immediate thoughts about him.
For me the book’s strengths are the quality of the writing and the fact that we get a very succinct, interesting and informative overview of Japanese culture and history. If you don’t know anything about Japan, this book would be a great place to start. Would I recommend it and do you need an interest in both Japan and horticulture / gardening to enjoy the book? Yes I do recommend it but I think you definitely need an interest in Japan and Japanese culture but you don’t necessarily need a love of gardening or flowering cherry blossom trees.
Having lived to the ripe old age of 100 (b.1880; d.1981), he saw great change in the world – WWI, the rise of Japanese imperialism, the Depression, WWII then the rapid, amazing rise of Japan as a powerhouse economy post WWII. Ingram was from a wealthy, privileged background, never wanting for anything and able to indulge his passion of wondering the world in search of different specimens of flowering cherry blossom trees, propagating them and distributing them around the world. He comes across as a bit eccentric and aloof and certainly didn’t endear himself to me, but an interesting character nonetheless. It may sound strange to say seeming he visited Japan multiple times and developed a love for one of their key symbols, but I got the impression he never fully embraced Japan and the people and the culture. He always had an interpreter on hand, the author never mentions him bothering to learn any of the language and he was occasionally dismissive of some of the rituals and idiosyncrasies of the country and its people. It was more his obsession for the cherry blossom trees, the fact that it was in Japan was secondary. Perhaps a slightly harsh assessment, but those were my immediate thoughts about him.
For me the book’s strengths are the quality of the writing and the fact that we get a very succinct, interesting and informative overview of Japanese culture and history. If you don’t know anything about Japan, this book would be a great place to start. Would I recommend it and do you need an interest in both Japan and horticulture / gardening to enjoy the book? Yes I do recommend it but I think you definitely need an interest in Japan and Japanese culture but you don’t necessarily need a love of gardening or flowering cherry blossom trees.
March 22, 2019
From BBC radio 4 - Book of the week:
Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a hundred years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.
Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he fell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.
On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake which destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.
For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.
‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.
In Episode 1, the author keeps seeing the name of Collingwood Ingram associated with the preservation of ancient cherries, and wants to find out more about this fascinating man.
Written and translated by Naoko Abe
Read by Hattie Morahan
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a hundred years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.
Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he fell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.
On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake which destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.
For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.
‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.
In Episode 1, the author keeps seeing the name of Collingwood Ingram associated with the preservation of ancient cherries, and wants to find out more about this fascinating man.
Written and translated by Naoko Abe
Read by Hattie Morahan
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
July 9, 2024
Un trabajo de investigación sobre el tema profundo y completo. Espectacular.
Want to read
April 1, 2019
How did growing more than one variety of flowering cherry tree become a treasonable offense?
From The Spectator's review:
Between 1639 and 1853, seeds and scions of flowering cherry trees travelled across Japan to Edo (present-day Tokyo). Each came from the most beautiful specimens of varieties of tree from the different principalities of Japan. From mountainous regions came the light pink yama-zakura; from the chilly climates of Hokkaido and northern Honshu came the crimson Ohyama-zakura; Mame-zakura, with their neat skirt-like white petals, came from Mount Fuji; and the rainy Izu islands produced Oshima cherries, with large, white flowers.....This sounds like a must read!
In the 1920s–30s, cherry trees killed by the Great Kanto Earthquake, and pollution, were replaced with just a single variety, the fast-growing somei-yoshino, partly due to this species’ hardiness and partly as a method of propaganda. In the lead up to and during the second world war, emphasis was placed on the short flowering life of the increasingly abundant somei-yoshino, so that the cherry blossom — once the mark of a peaceful, diverse people — became a symbol of a conforming, unified population, willing to die for the emperor. While many cherry species began to die out in Japan, individualism and free speech were suppressed and restricted, too.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2019/03/t...
So I was still waiting for my copy of 'Cherry' Ingram when I came across another Japanese botanical/agricultural story, this one about how under Japanese occupation Korea went from multiple varieties of rice to just a few high output white varieties. https://food52.com/blog/23925-history...
Japanese varieties went from making up 2 to 3 percent of Korea’s rice to 90 percent. Korea quickly became Japan’s breadbasket, increasing its rice production by more than 250 percent, eventually supplying almost 98 percent of Japanese rice imports.
January 14, 2022
La periodista japonesa Naoko Abe recupera en ‘El hombre que salvó los cerezos’ la figura de Collingwood Ingram (1880-1981), un británico de familia acomodada apasionado por la ornitología y la horticultura, temas en los que se convirtió en toda una eminencia a nivel mundial. Sin embargo, si hay algo en lo que destaca su legado, es su trabajo por salvar los cerezos de Japón de los que se enamoró tras un viaje por el imperio nipón.
El sakura, o cerezo japonés, es una de las imágenes más icónicas del país del sol naciente. Y, sin embargo, ciertos hechos hicieron que algunas de sus variedades más importantes llegarán extinguirse. Ingram, trabajando mano a mano con grandes expertos japoneses en cerezos, consiguió devolverlos a Japón. No fue un camino de rosas y surgieron muchas trabas y dificultades, pero quien la sigue la consigue y finalmente, (gracias a una patata) los cerezos volvieron a crecer en Japón.
Sin embargo, ‘El hombre que salvó los cerezos’ va mucho más allá de la biografía de Ingram, realiza una fotografía a la historia de Europa y Japón durante los años de vida de este personaje, porque en el convulso siglo XX, los no fueron pocos los acontecimientos que influyeron irremediablemente en el destino del cerezo, las personas y las naciones.
En esta genial obra que baila entre el ensayo, la crónica y la biografía, la autora introduce anécdotas de su infancia en Japón y también cariñosos recuerdos de sus familiares contemporáneos a Ingram y que le permite afrontar la disertación aportando tanto el punto de vista británico como el japonés. Además, aunque es neutral en casi la toda la narración, exponiendo los resultados de su investigación, citas de entrevistas y fragmentos de cartas y diarios, hay un momento donde Naoko Abe se posiciona, y se muestra abiertamente crítica a las decisiones tomadas por su país antes y durante la II guerra mundial. Las páginas dedicadas a su visita a Chiran, población donde vivían los que serían soldados kamikaze, son sobrecogedoras.
Un ensayo sorprendentemente ameno y enriquecedor. Lo mejor de las épocas victoriana y eduardiana británicas combinado con la cultura e historia de Japón y con una flor como hilo conductor. De diez 🌸
El sakura, o cerezo japonés, es una de las imágenes más icónicas del país del sol naciente. Y, sin embargo, ciertos hechos hicieron que algunas de sus variedades más importantes llegarán extinguirse. Ingram, trabajando mano a mano con grandes expertos japoneses en cerezos, consiguió devolverlos a Japón. No fue un camino de rosas y surgieron muchas trabas y dificultades, pero quien la sigue la consigue y finalmente, (gracias a una patata) los cerezos volvieron a crecer en Japón.
Sin embargo, ‘El hombre que salvó los cerezos’ va mucho más allá de la biografía de Ingram, realiza una fotografía a la historia de Europa y Japón durante los años de vida de este personaje, porque en el convulso siglo XX, los no fueron pocos los acontecimientos que influyeron irremediablemente en el destino del cerezo, las personas y las naciones.
En esta genial obra que baila entre el ensayo, la crónica y la biografía, la autora introduce anécdotas de su infancia en Japón y también cariñosos recuerdos de sus familiares contemporáneos a Ingram y que le permite afrontar la disertación aportando tanto el punto de vista británico como el japonés. Además, aunque es neutral en casi la toda la narración, exponiendo los resultados de su investigación, citas de entrevistas y fragmentos de cartas y diarios, hay un momento donde Naoko Abe se posiciona, y se muestra abiertamente crítica a las decisiones tomadas por su país antes y durante la II guerra mundial. Las páginas dedicadas a su visita a Chiran, población donde vivían los que serían soldados kamikaze, son sobrecogedoras.
Un ensayo sorprendentemente ameno y enriquecedor. Lo mejor de las épocas victoriana y eduardiana británicas combinado con la cultura e historia de Japón y con una flor como hilo conductor. De diez 🌸
September 26, 2020
The Sakura Obsession is book for sore eyes and minds — is that a thing? After finishing this book, there are so many topics I wish to explore further: Japanese history, Japanese poetry, cherry blossoms in general (including how to grow and where to find them), and the lives of the many figures who have perpetuated the existence and cultural significance of cherry blossoms over centuries. I’m so grateful the author did take on the task of re-creating this book for English language readers. Her approach to the subject matter makes for such an informative and immersive read - I sincerely hope she writes more books in English.
The book focuses on the life of the quintessentially British gentleman naturalist, Collingwood “Cherry” Ingram. His life alone is worth reading about, and the care and dedication he brought to the study of cherry blossoms is inspiring. However, the author thoughtfully weaves in aspects of Japanese history and culture that bring so much more context to these beautiful trees and their near disappearance in Japan, including her research on the Japanese figures who also played a starring role in preserving cherry blossoms, as well as those who were impacted by the co-opting of cherry blossom imagery for militaristic propaganda. Ingram is a central figure, but appropriately not the whole story.
As someone who reads a lot of nonfiction, I so appreciate Abe’s tone and treatment of this subject matter. She provides an occasional fascinating personal note without her own history or experience of writing the book becoming a persistent parallel to the narrative (as so many nonfiction writers are wont to unnecessarily do). She also expertly treads issues of historical conflict without seeming moralistic or judgmental, uniting all as appreciators of the cherry blossom while honestly exploring the lasting impacts of war and change across cultures. Weirdly, though this is something I almost never notice, I even loved the font used for the edition I read. From the first page, this book was soothing and immersive. The only thing I might change is adding in-text references to the notes provided at the end of the book, as I didn’t look for them at the onset of reading and found even these little tidbits to be very well compiled and compelling.
I struggle to identify who precisely this book would be perfect for, as the book is many things: a biography, a cultural history of cherry blossoms, and an intriguing glimpse into some aspects of Japanese and British history and culture. For those who are not already passionate about any of the above topics, I recommend it to fellow eclectic readers, for whom this book will be a balm.
The book focuses on the life of the quintessentially British gentleman naturalist, Collingwood “Cherry” Ingram. His life alone is worth reading about, and the care and dedication he brought to the study of cherry blossoms is inspiring. However, the author thoughtfully weaves in aspects of Japanese history and culture that bring so much more context to these beautiful trees and their near disappearance in Japan, including her research on the Japanese figures who also played a starring role in preserving cherry blossoms, as well as those who were impacted by the co-opting of cherry blossom imagery for militaristic propaganda. Ingram is a central figure, but appropriately not the whole story.
As someone who reads a lot of nonfiction, I so appreciate Abe’s tone and treatment of this subject matter. She provides an occasional fascinating personal note without her own history or experience of writing the book becoming a persistent parallel to the narrative (as so many nonfiction writers are wont to unnecessarily do). She also expertly treads issues of historical conflict without seeming moralistic or judgmental, uniting all as appreciators of the cherry blossom while honestly exploring the lasting impacts of war and change across cultures. Weirdly, though this is something I almost never notice, I even loved the font used for the edition I read. From the first page, this book was soothing and immersive. The only thing I might change is adding in-text references to the notes provided at the end of the book, as I didn’t look for them at the onset of reading and found even these little tidbits to be very well compiled and compelling.
I struggle to identify who precisely this book would be perfect for, as the book is many things: a biography, a cultural history of cherry blossoms, and an intriguing glimpse into some aspects of Japanese and British history and culture. For those who are not already passionate about any of the above topics, I recommend it to fellow eclectic readers, for whom this book will be a balm.
April 11, 2019
20 MAR 2019 - a lunchtime listen-to recommendation through Laura. Many thanks.
Listen here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
11 APR 2019 - finished my listening today over lunch hour. Very enjoyable.
Listen here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
11 APR 2019 - finished my listening today over lunch hour. Very enjoyable.
January 16, 2023
It's closer to a 4 star but my pleasure in reading became nearly a 2 star. Love trees, love plants.
She did an excellent job in research and the graphics in the book, all types of them- were 5 full stars.
It's an interesting story and his 100 year life was too- but the reading of it also became a slog. Can you say that this man was insular in his habits and interests. Oh yes. I can't imagine his poor wife putting up with the logistics of her honeymoon. Mostly alone and vomiting.
But the goals were worthy. And yet the hate (no other word fits for his vitriol against the form) for the double blossomed cherry?
Count me in as a flowering shrub and tree fan- but on a wider scale of tolerance? Or tradition? Nothing in nature remains unchanged over time.
She did an excellent job in research and the graphics in the book, all types of them- were 5 full stars.
It's an interesting story and his 100 year life was too- but the reading of it also became a slog. Can you say that this man was insular in his habits and interests. Oh yes. I can't imagine his poor wife putting up with the logistics of her honeymoon. Mostly alone and vomiting.
But the goals were worthy. And yet the hate (no other word fits for his vitriol against the form) for the double blossomed cherry?
Count me in as a flowering shrub and tree fan- but on a wider scale of tolerance? Or tradition? Nothing in nature remains unchanged over time.
May 24, 2022
Entre la biografía y la investigación periodística, entre Japón y Reino Unido, se mueve esta historia real de Collingwood Ingram, un botánico autodidacta inglés que se dedicó a buscar y cultivar variedades de cerezos ornamentales, salvando algunos de la extinción y siendo responsable por su reintroducción en Japón. Con la flor de sakura como hilo conductor, Naoko Abe traza un paralelismo entre la vida de Collingwood Ingram y la historia del siglo XX. Y nos ilumina sobre el trasfondo, el significado y el valor de la cultura de contemplación/veneración de la floración del cerezo en Japón.
August 1, 2019
Sakura, as the decorative flowering cherry trees are called in Japan, are widely distributed across the world.
This is the charming tale of one man's captivation of the glorious cherry tree and how he became one of the world's foremost experts on the breed. Namely, Collingwood Ingram, a British gentleman who experienced an unconventional youth and education. He adored birds (the family had albino birds that ate at the table helping themselves to morsels from every plate) but was smitten by Japan in his travels in 1901-1902. Upon buying The Grange in Benenden that he was re-introduced to the decorative cherry trees which became a life-long obsession.
The author does an excellent job of mixing not only Ingram's history but her own while telling of Japan's social connection to the cherry trees. Many a feudal lord - or daimyo - would replace warfare with the creation of gardens with varieties of cherry trees. Hybridization as well as varieties from the different regions created flowers with five or more petals of white, pink, purple, red, yellow, and even a green yellow along with leaves of many colors and shapes. Over 400 varieties that would be adapted to mountain, beach, tropical and more. Even a natural hybrid would be collected and transferred to the nobility's gardens. It was only when Japan opened itself to the world, with its drive to become a world power through the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, that many of those trees disappeared from their homeland.
Fortunately, Ingram was the proverbial unstoppable force in regards to collecting grafts and scions of literally hundreds of them in the years before World War 2 and his home was awash in color and beauty. It was those flourishing trees that enabled Ingram to provide cuttings to anyone who asked for them no matter where in the world they were. Thousands of them.
The only negative I could think of was I wished for color photos of more varieties. Ingram himself was a talented artist and several of his drawings - color and black-and-white - litter the pages. Black and white photos of people and even one of a revered 1500-year-old cherry tree being supported in it's old age along with multiple distant views of a cherry forest in bloom.
So when you are admiring the magnificence of the springtime blossoming of the cherry trees be it in Washington, DC, or even in Japan itself, remember that the world owes an old English gentleman a debt for all the effort he put into collecting a specific plant.
2019-107
This is the charming tale of one man's captivation of the glorious cherry tree and how he became one of the world's foremost experts on the breed. Namely, Collingwood Ingram, a British gentleman who experienced an unconventional youth and education. He adored birds (the family had albino birds that ate at the table helping themselves to morsels from every plate) but was smitten by Japan in his travels in 1901-1902. Upon buying The Grange in Benenden that he was re-introduced to the decorative cherry trees which became a life-long obsession.
The author does an excellent job of mixing not only Ingram's history but her own while telling of Japan's social connection to the cherry trees. Many a feudal lord - or daimyo - would replace warfare with the creation of gardens with varieties of cherry trees. Hybridization as well as varieties from the different regions created flowers with five or more petals of white, pink, purple, red, yellow, and even a green yellow along with leaves of many colors and shapes. Over 400 varieties that would be adapted to mountain, beach, tropical and more. Even a natural hybrid would be collected and transferred to the nobility's gardens. It was only when Japan opened itself to the world, with its drive to become a world power through the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, that many of those trees disappeared from their homeland.
Fortunately, Ingram was the proverbial unstoppable force in regards to collecting grafts and scions of literally hundreds of them in the years before World War 2 and his home was awash in color and beauty. It was those flourishing trees that enabled Ingram to provide cuttings to anyone who asked for them no matter where in the world they were. Thousands of them.
The only negative I could think of was I wished for color photos of more varieties. Ingram himself was a talented artist and several of his drawings - color and black-and-white - litter the pages. Black and white photos of people and even one of a revered 1500-year-old cherry tree being supported in it's old age along with multiple distant views of a cherry forest in bloom.
So when you are admiring the magnificence of the springtime blossoming of the cherry trees be it in Washington, DC, or even in Japan itself, remember that the world owes an old English gentleman a debt for all the effort he put into collecting a specific plant.
2019-107
April 8, 2019
I found this book very engaging and informative. I think it did a great job of introducing many of the cherry varieties and Mr. Ingrams passion for them without being too technical or verbose. I very much enjoyed learning of the many varieties of cherries as much as the history of their cultivation and their symbolic meaning for Japan and the world.
I appreciated the shorter, bite sized chapters and the many photographs and illustrations. I felt they helped me grasp the aesthetics that Ingram and others saw in specific cherries and it was enjoyable to see how my tastes compared with theirs.
I appreciated the shorter, bite sized chapters and the many photographs and illustrations. I felt they helped me grasp the aesthetics that Ingram and others saw in specific cherries and it was enjoyable to see how my tastes compared with theirs.
September 21, 2021
Collingwood Ingram (1880-1981) fue un ornitólogo inglés, Capitán de Ejército, y jardinero durante toda su vida. Se enamoró de Japón cuando estaba recién abriéndose al mundo y dedicó su vida a plantar, multiplicar y admirar a los cerezos. Más allá de los estadistas y militares, empresarios y filósofos, el mundo que vemos está creado sobre los hombros de millones de Collingwood Ingrams, que tuvieron la generosidad de sembrar las semillas de árboles que no necesariamente ellos llegarían a ver y disfrutar.
April 24, 2019
As an avid gardener, ok obsessive, who had to seek out flowering cherry trees within a hundred mile radius I loved this book! But, this book is far more than gardening, it’s Japanese history, and sadly my beloved cherry trees are forever linked to the fleeting lives of youth in war. Such a contrast from beauty to death, love books that teach me new things, but not sure I like what I learned ...
June 17, 2021
Un bel saggio, di piacevole lettura.
Il racconto della vita di Collinwood Ingram naturalista inglese "dilettante", che tanti ciliegi ornamentali ha salvati e altrettanti creati con il suo inesauribile entusiasmo di botanico, è lo spunto per parlare della storia recente del Giappone di cui i ciliegi sono il simbolo. Da lì si divaga tra Europa, Asia e America, grazie al filo conduttore dei meravigliosi fiori di ciliegio.
Per quanto io la trovi molto bella (è lei che mi ha spinto a informarmi) la copertina è un po' fuorviante. Tra i toni tenui e il titolo la mia bibliotecaria pensava fosse un romanzo d'amore O_O.
Il racconto della vita di Collinwood Ingram naturalista inglese "dilettante", che tanti ciliegi ornamentali ha salvati e altrettanti creati con il suo inesauribile entusiasmo di botanico, è lo spunto per parlare della storia recente del Giappone di cui i ciliegi sono il simbolo. Da lì si divaga tra Europa, Asia e America, grazie al filo conduttore dei meravigliosi fiori di ciliegio.
Per quanto io la trovi molto bella (è lei che mi ha spinto a informarmi) la copertina è un po' fuorviante. Tra i toni tenui e il titolo la mia bibliotecaria pensava fosse un romanzo d'amore O_O.
January 4, 2020
I sure enjoyed the first half of this immensely but then it got into the war which was too sad and depressing. I learned some things I had never heard before and had to quit reading it for a bit. I got back into the book when she went back to telling about cherry trees and three of the oldest, one of which is 1,500 years old! It is almost as old as a bristle cone pine. I greatly admire Ingram and it was so fun reading about him.
I recommend this for everyone but especially those who love nature and gardens.
I recommend this for everyone but especially those who love nature and gardens.
May 12, 2021
Naoko Abe explains the inexplicable here, parsing Japanese history and culture while telling the story of a dedicated British cherry tree aficionado, Collingwood Ingram. She lays out the morphing of Tokugawa culture, in which power was not centralized and the Emperor not divine, through the Meiji era in which Japan Westernized, industrialized, became a world power and a military force in service to the Emperor. The flowering cherry became the symbol of all that Japan's leaders wanted the populace to exemplify, but the wheels came off big-time in the 1930s. This surprising blend of arboreal and gardening culture with Japan's history is a cracking good read.
November 8, 2019
An absolutely brilliant, fascinating book.
Read
May 30, 2021Heerlijk, hoe de enten uiteindelijk met de Trans-siberische spoorlijn op een aardappel overleefden..
August 13, 2022
An unusual book that will not be for everyone as it's 300+ pages primarily focused on cherry blossoms and the history of one of its most famous collectors--'Cherry' Ingram, an Englishman (1880-1981) who travelled to Japan, fell in love with both Japanese culture and its cherry blossoms, and dedicated much of his life to studying and propagating them and sharing them with the rest of the world.
Because my husband is British and comes from a gardening family, I was probably more interested in the topic than most, although it was my interest in Japanese history and culture that kept me turning the pages and I'm glad that I did because the author, Naoko Abe, is one of the first authors I've encountered who tells the story of how much the image of the cherry blossom coloured the Japanese idea of nationalism and total dedication to the emperor in the build-up to the second world war. "The metamorphosis of the cherry's image began quietly soon after 1868, when the reforming Meiji government replaced the anachronistic Tokugawa shogunate" (p. 195). It was then that the image of the blossoms, once "primarily a symbol of life, cheerfulness, vigour and peace" became politically associated with the transience of existence and mortality and became the symbol of Japanese youth dedicated to falling like blossoms for the glory of the emperor and the country. They became the very symbol of the young kamikaze pilots (who were in their late teens to mid '20s).
Ingram's home, 'The Grange' became a well-known garden and was visited by royalty and world-class botanists throughout its lifetime, and (spoiler alert!) was eventually sold, after Ingram's death to the rock musician and producer Alan Parsons who converted an old scullery into a recording studio, which became "a rural haven" for the Beatles. But during its lifetime, sent its seedlings and samples to gardens throughout the world and helped restore some of Japan's "lost" due-to-wartime cherry trees to their native home. A real bonus feature is an appendix list that lists "Cherry Blossom viewing locations" that covers the world (but alas, none in my current residence of Singapore, but several in my part of the world in Taiwan, Australia, South Korea and China).
As an admirer of Robin Lane Fox, both as a historian and first-rate author-gardener whose columns in the FT I never miss, it was his endorsement "A remarkable book...a treat for gardeners and historians" that made me pick up this unusual choice (at least for me), but I'm so very glad I did. As the Sunday times noted when naming it a 'book of the year', "This is not just a tale of trees, but of...endeavour, war and reconciliation."
Because my husband is British and comes from a gardening family, I was probably more interested in the topic than most, although it was my interest in Japanese history and culture that kept me turning the pages and I'm glad that I did because the author, Naoko Abe, is one of the first authors I've encountered who tells the story of how much the image of the cherry blossom coloured the Japanese idea of nationalism and total dedication to the emperor in the build-up to the second world war. "The metamorphosis of the cherry's image began quietly soon after 1868, when the reforming Meiji government replaced the anachronistic Tokugawa shogunate" (p. 195). It was then that the image of the blossoms, once "primarily a symbol of life, cheerfulness, vigour and peace" became politically associated with the transience of existence and mortality and became the symbol of Japanese youth dedicated to falling like blossoms for the glory of the emperor and the country. They became the very symbol of the young kamikaze pilots (who were in their late teens to mid '20s).
Ingram's home, 'The Grange' became a well-known garden and was visited by royalty and world-class botanists throughout its lifetime, and (spoiler alert!) was eventually sold, after Ingram's death to the rock musician and producer Alan Parsons who converted an old scullery into a recording studio, which became "a rural haven" for the Beatles. But during its lifetime, sent its seedlings and samples to gardens throughout the world and helped restore some of Japan's "lost" due-to-wartime cherry trees to their native home. A real bonus feature is an appendix list that lists "Cherry Blossom viewing locations" that covers the world (but alas, none in my current residence of Singapore, but several in my part of the world in Taiwan, Australia, South Korea and China).
As an admirer of Robin Lane Fox, both as a historian and first-rate author-gardener whose columns in the FT I never miss, it was his endorsement "A remarkable book...a treat for gardeners and historians" that made me pick up this unusual choice (at least for me), but I'm so very glad I did. As the Sunday times noted when naming it a 'book of the year', "This is not just a tale of trees, but of...endeavour, war and reconciliation."
May 13, 2023
My fascination with sakuras started with the Japanese animes I used to watch as a kid (specifically Card Captor Sakura) often with backdrops of falling soft pink petals of sakuras. I remember coming here and finding out that they're called cherry blossoms here and that they look just as beautiful, if not more, in person - what felt like life imitating art actually art imitating life. I remember my excitement when I realized DC's Cherry Blossom Festival is less than 3 hours drive away.
Naoko Abe tells the truly incredible story of Collingwood "Cherry" Ingram - yes, a plant hunter, but also a nature enthusiast, an environmentalist before it was a trend, a philosopher. His pertinacity for preserving the variety of cherry blossoms is the reason why hanami/cherry blossom viewing has become a part of spring life in Great Britain and in the United States. He is a true sakuramori/cherry guardian and he inspired future generations to continue this guardianship of nature. Today, because of Ingram's efforts, there is more variety of cherry blossoms in Britain than there is in most of Japan where most cherry blossoms bloom all at the same time as they are clones of the same common type, the Somei-yoshinos; some of the varieties have found a way back to Japan including the great white cherry, the Taihaku.
Beyond just the story of Ingram, The Sakura Obsession is as much about the evolution of Japanese culture and ideologies, about the devastation caused by war, and the unity between people. It is about finding hope and reconciliation and building for a better tomorrow.
Naoko Abe tells the truly incredible story of Collingwood "Cherry" Ingram - yes, a plant hunter, but also a nature enthusiast, an environmentalist before it was a trend, a philosopher. His pertinacity for preserving the variety of cherry blossoms is the reason why hanami/cherry blossom viewing has become a part of spring life in Great Britain and in the United States. He is a true sakuramori/cherry guardian and he inspired future generations to continue this guardianship of nature. Today, because of Ingram's efforts, there is more variety of cherry blossoms in Britain than there is in most of Japan where most cherry blossoms bloom all at the same time as they are clones of the same common type, the Somei-yoshinos; some of the varieties have found a way back to Japan including the great white cherry, the Taihaku.
Beyond just the story of Ingram, The Sakura Obsession is as much about the evolution of Japanese culture and ideologies, about the devastation caused by war, and the unity between people. It is about finding hope and reconciliation and building for a better tomorrow.
June 25, 2023
Dit boek zou een film moeten zijn! Je komt het verhaal binnen in de luxueuze, elf kamers tellende bungalow van de excentrieke familie van Collingwood Ingram. In de kast in de hal woont een zuivere albino-kauw. “De vogel had in de hoed een nest gemaakt en daar een zilveren pen en enkele vorken in verstopt.”
Ook de sakura (kersenbloesems) zouden het heel goed doen op beeld, zoals ik zelf in Japan heb mogen aanschouwen. Zij staan centraal in dit boek; en met hen de (deels militaire) geschiedenis van Japan. De bloemen zijn symbolen geweest van liefde, romantiek en verzoening. Maar ook van massavernietiging en vallen voor de keizer.
Aan het eind gekomen van deze natuurhistorische familiereis, vond ik vooral de laatste drie hoofdstukken ontroerend. Collingwood Ingram waardeerde al het leven. Na zijn dood zetten vele mensen zijn werk om de kersenbomen te beschermen voort (google bijvoorbeeld eens op ‘1500 year old cherry tree Neo’). Als we zoveel mogelijk het leven proberen te ondersteunen, worden alle lentes steeds mooier.
- - -
Dankjewel Thijs voor het uitlenen van jouw boek
Ook de sakura (kersenbloesems) zouden het heel goed doen op beeld, zoals ik zelf in Japan heb mogen aanschouwen. Zij staan centraal in dit boek; en met hen de (deels militaire) geschiedenis van Japan. De bloemen zijn symbolen geweest van liefde, romantiek en verzoening. Maar ook van massavernietiging en vallen voor de keizer.
Aan het eind gekomen van deze natuurhistorische familiereis, vond ik vooral de laatste drie hoofdstukken ontroerend. Collingwood Ingram waardeerde al het leven. Na zijn dood zetten vele mensen zijn werk om de kersenbomen te beschermen voort (google bijvoorbeeld eens op ‘1500 year old cherry tree Neo’). Als we zoveel mogelijk het leven proberen te ondersteunen, worden alle lentes steeds mooier.
- - -
Dankjewel Thijs voor het uitlenen van jouw boek
March 22, 2021
Outstanding.
This book made a very big impression on me. I got it in my hands in quite an unusual fashion, but I was intrigued by the story from the first moment. Naoke Abe did such a wonderful job painting a picture of the history of sakura and Collingwood Ingram's major role in it.
For this translated work, she also dedicated her pen to explaining big chunks of Japanese culture to the non-Japanese reader. She discusses the traditions, history, and culture of the country and how they affected the iconic cherry blossom culture. So wonderfully done.
Very impressive is also how she managed to bring the stories of WWII into the book and discover connections between trees and persons that can only be described as magically.
One of the rare books that make you kinda sad when you finish it.
I'll discuss this book further soon on my blog.
This book made a very big impression on me. I got it in my hands in quite an unusual fashion, but I was intrigued by the story from the first moment. Naoke Abe did such a wonderful job painting a picture of the history of sakura and Collingwood Ingram's major role in it.
For this translated work, she also dedicated her pen to explaining big chunks of Japanese culture to the non-Japanese reader. She discusses the traditions, history, and culture of the country and how they affected the iconic cherry blossom culture. So wonderfully done.
Very impressive is also how she managed to bring the stories of WWII into the book and discover connections between trees and persons that can only be described as magically.
One of the rare books that make you kinda sad when you finish it.
I'll discuss this book further soon on my blog.
October 27, 2022
Veré el famoso cherry blossom con otros ojos.
La autora nos presenta a Collingwood “Cherry” Ingram, quien hace un esfuerzo personal para salvar de la extinción a múltiples variedades de cerezos japoneses y nos lleva a realizar un viaje al pasado para conocer cómo se fusionó la imagen de Japón y el cerezo.
La autora proporciona imágenes a lo largo del libro, y unos apéndices donde hace un breve listado de las variedades de cerezo que menciona en el libro y algunos sitios alrededor del mundo para admirar estos árboles. Incluye notas para quien desea extender algún tema. La lectura es agradable.
La autora nos presenta a Collingwood “Cherry” Ingram, quien hace un esfuerzo personal para salvar de la extinción a múltiples variedades de cerezos japoneses y nos lleva a realizar un viaje al pasado para conocer cómo se fusionó la imagen de Japón y el cerezo.
La autora proporciona imágenes a lo largo del libro, y unos apéndices donde hace un breve listado de las variedades de cerezo que menciona en el libro y algunos sitios alrededor del mundo para admirar estos árboles. Incluye notas para quien desea extender algún tema. La lectura es agradable.
March 16, 2022
“Ingram había contribuido a cambiar la faz de la primavera. Había diseminado belleza por el mundo y ayudado a crear un tesoro compartido - los cerezos ornamentales - para disfrute de todos”
August 25, 2024
Saggio interessantissimo, mai pesante o noioso. Ha catturato la mia attenzione come se fosse un romanzo d'avventura e mi ha permesso di imparare tantissime cose sul Giappone, sia a livello culturale che storico. Affittato in biblioteca, l'ho comprato per averlo a disposizione da consultare o per avere la possibilità di rileggere alcuni passaggi.
March 26, 2019
BOTWhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
Description: Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a hundred years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.
Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he fell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.
On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake which destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.
For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.
‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.
In Episode 1, the author keeps seeing the name of Collingwood Ingram associated with the preservation of ancient cherries, and wants to find out more about this fascinating man.
Written and translated by Naoko Abe
Read by Hattie Morahan
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
August 2, 2019
The Sakura Obsession tells the story of Collingwood "Cherry" Ingram, an avid bird watcher and nature lover. In his youth, he visited Japan and fell in love with the cherry blossom trees of the country and their precious symbolism to its people. A time progressed, he dedicated his later years to bring about each individual species to Britain and cultivating the beloved tree. Upon his return to Japan following the war, he had hoped to find missing species for his collection. Instead, he found that the trees were n danger our being homogenized due to the country's Westernization and lack of interest in the cherry blossom tree they once loved. He went on to dedicate the rest of his life to ensuring that extinct species returned to Japan and saving others from going extinct.
I have to say that I admire Ingram's love for the cherry blossom tree and its importance to Japan. It's a beautiful story to see how he appreciated the country's culture and symbol so much that he wanted to ensure it survived the disinterest implemented during and after the war.
Abe weaves a great timeline of her own culture, memories and experiences in Japan into the story and it's filled with drawings and photos that aide the reader. The prose itself is very digestible and elegant as it retells Ingram's life and the events that lead up to his manifesto.
I often try to read nonfiction, but find that I have a hard time trudging through the slow pacing and heavy amount of fact. However, it's clear that Abe's time as a journalist allowed her to craft the story in a way that got straight to the point but still held the poignancy of a book detailing the history of the cherry blossom tree in Japan.
I have to say that I admire Ingram's love for the cherry blossom tree and its importance to Japan. It's a beautiful story to see how he appreciated the country's culture and symbol so much that he wanted to ensure it survived the disinterest implemented during and after the war.
Abe weaves a great timeline of her own culture, memories and experiences in Japan into the story and it's filled with drawings and photos that aide the reader. The prose itself is very digestible and elegant as it retells Ingram's life and the events that lead up to his manifesto.
I often try to read nonfiction, but find that I have a hard time trudging through the slow pacing and heavy amount of fact. However, it's clear that Abe's time as a journalist allowed her to craft the story in a way that got straight to the point but still held the poignancy of a book detailing the history of the cherry blossom tree in Japan.
August 29, 2019
An interesting enough history book about cherry blossoms, centered around Collingwood Ingram’s love of the trees.
I was intrigued to read a book about a western influence in Japan from the perspective of a Japanese writer. Abe delivered ample, well-researched history but could have used a heavier editing hand. The facts go quite far into the weeds at times, and I personally dislike non-fiction that is loose with timelines (she’s hardly the worst offender, but she would certainly jump when trying to make particular points).
The Sakura Obsession didn’t need to be 300 pages, but it was informative enough to be worth the read if you are interested in the history of cherry blossoms.
I was intrigued to read a book about a western influence in Japan from the perspective of a Japanese writer. Abe delivered ample, well-researched history but could have used a heavier editing hand. The facts go quite far into the weeds at times, and I personally dislike non-fiction that is loose with timelines (she’s hardly the worst offender, but she would certainly jump when trying to make particular points).
The Sakura Obsession didn’t need to be 300 pages, but it was informative enough to be worth the read if you are interested in the history of cherry blossoms.
March 7, 2023
Een non-fictie boek over de Japanse kers, feitelijk de biografie van de Britse activistische-Japanse-kersenbloesem-purist, Collingwood Ingram.
Zijn grootste ‘historische’ prestatie was de herintroductie van de thaihaku-kers in Japan in het begin van de jaren dertig.
Het wekte in Japan sterke emoties op.
Hoe kon het gebeuren dat een buitenlander een mogelijk uitsterven van een van de prachtigste kersenbloesems van het land had moeten voorkomen? Sommige kersenliefhebbers vonden het een schande dat Japan zelfs maar overwoog een kersenboom van een Engelsman aan te nemen.
Als tweede wapenfeit valt het verschijnen van zijn boek ‘Ornamental Cherries’ te noemen, geen geringe prestatie.
Niet gek allemaal voor een autodidact/hobbyist.
Het boek start met een overdaad aan namen, vooral Britse en Japanse natuurlijk. De auteur schetst de vele contacten met netwerken van plantenliefhebbers zoals HRS, de Kersenassociatie, ambtenaren die over de Japanse openbare parken gingen en plantkundige wetenschappers. En van al die contacten weer van welke belangrijke persoon zij familie waren, of vriend, of buurman of buurman van de buurman.
Met name de bemiddelde Britse elite, de geprivilegieerde landeigenaren met hun oude geld en grote buitenhuizen, irriteerde mij. Zo gemotiveerd als zij waren om hun onnozele persoonlijke doelen te halen, die zij dankzij hun onafhankelijke bevoorrechte positie dan ook daadwerkelijk wisten te bereiken. En ondertussen vindt er een wereldoorlog plaats, een beurskrach, een economische crisis, werkloosheid. Genoeg probleemgebieden waar je je geld en energie aan zou kunnen besteden. (Zelfs toen Ingram tijdens WO I in Frankrijk zat, waar hij vliegtuigkompassen moest kalibreren, besteedde hij een groot deel van zijn tijd aan privé uitstapjes, ver weg van de loopgraven.)
Maar mijnheer Ingram steekt zijn energie dus in de Japanse kers vanwege hun ‘verfijnd elegantie wanneer zij in bloei staan, en een exquisheid in kleur en vorm’. Leuk hoor, dat je een hobby hebt. Ga tuinieren, als je daar zin aan hebt. Ga lekker kersen kruizen (de taihaku, en de yama-zakura, de sumizome, kiku-zakura, horinji, shogetsu, fugenzo, enzovoort, en de in Japan meest voorkomende en door Ingram verafschuwde somei-yoshino) tot je honderden variëteiten hebt. Ga lof oogsten in de gentlemenclub ‘The Garden Society’. Allemaal prima, maar wat moet ik als lezer er mee?
Het is allemaal teveel. Alle kersen variëteiten zijn prachtig, alle persoonlijke contacten van grote waarde, alle boeken zijn voorzien van de fraaiste illustraties en dan zijn ze ook nog eens gedrukt op het beste papier. Kan het even een onsje minder? Zo wordt het onmogelijk om nog onderscheid in de feiten te maken, wordt alles even belangrijk, krijgt het verhaal geen reliëf.
Veel historische gebeurtenissen, maar ook kleine persoonlijk incidenten worden met de kers in verband gebracht om ‘hartverwarmende’ verhalen te creëren. Voor mij is het vaak net even te kunstmatig, met uitzondering van hoofdstuk 5.
Pas in hoofdstuk 5 (van de in het totaal 7, bladzijde 221), krijgt het verhaal wat diepgang. Dan wordt WO II geïntroduceerd, de Japanse positie daarin en wat het voor gewone mensen betekende (onder meer de ouders van de auteur, in 1940 nog kinderen van lagere school leeftijd). Liedteksten die bedoeld waren om de jeugd te brainwashen tot slaafse dienaren van de staat, de staat verpersoonlijkt in de Keizer. Liedteksten die daar ook in slagen. En de rol van de kers als symbool van kortstondige schoonheid, vergankelijkheid en dood, ‘bereid het leven te verlaten als de natuur daarom vroeg’. Het moreel voor toekomstige kamikazepiloten werd vast voorgevormd (3.800 vonden de dood). De kersenbloesem als propagandamiddel.
En dat is binnen Japan maar de kers werd al lang ook buiten Japan ingezet. Met name het moment dat Japan in Azië de hegemonie had en in de veroverde gebieden kersen ging planten om de Japanse eenheid van het gebied op die manier tot uitdrukking te brengen. Er is zelfs een (niet tot uitvoering gekomen) plan geweest het traject van de spoorwegen in centraal Azië met kersenbomen te beplanten. In het plan was voorzien dat er met verschillende soorten gewerkt zou worden, afhankelijk van de klimatologische omstandigheden langs het traject.
Bij hoofdstuk 6 zakt het weer in, vervalt de auteur weer tot het opsommingen van namen, het beschrijven van uitzonderlijkheden die geen belang hebben en de gezochte symbolische koppelingen daartussen om daar een zeker belang bij te suggereren.
Heel het boek door wordt gestrooid met gedichten alsof het neergedwarrelde bloemblaadjes zijn. Maat en rijm gaan in de vertaling (waarschijnlijk) verloren, poëtisch is het wel.
Maar je moet het ook weer niet overdrijven.
Als op de dag dat Ingram sterft ook de ‘imose zijn vaalroze bloembladeren’ afwerpt ‘de kers die Ingram in 1926 als eerste in Groot-Brittannië had geïntroduceerd’, is het beeld wel duidelijk. Dat ‘het leven van Ingram (…) eindigde terwijl de bloesems (…) stilletjes wuifden in de wind’ en het ook nog eens volle man was maakt mij giechelig.
Dat de schrijfster ‘de prestigieuze Nihon Essayist Club Award’ heeft gewonnen met dit boek, waaraan zij vier jaar gewerkt heeft, komt mogelijk door bewondering voor het terugvinden van alle feitjes. Best knap want het zijn veel feitjes, héél veel feitjes.
Per saldo een teleurstellende leeservaring van een boek dat in het Engels ‘The Sakura Obsession’ heet, waarbij het woord obsessie het boek het best typeert.
Zijn grootste ‘historische’ prestatie was de herintroductie van de thaihaku-kers in Japan in het begin van de jaren dertig.
Het wekte in Japan sterke emoties op.
Hoe kon het gebeuren dat een buitenlander een mogelijk uitsterven van een van de prachtigste kersenbloesems van het land had moeten voorkomen? Sommige kersenliefhebbers vonden het een schande dat Japan zelfs maar overwoog een kersenboom van een Engelsman aan te nemen.
Als tweede wapenfeit valt het verschijnen van zijn boek ‘Ornamental Cherries’ te noemen, geen geringe prestatie.
Niet gek allemaal voor een autodidact/hobbyist.
Het boek start met een overdaad aan namen, vooral Britse en Japanse natuurlijk. De auteur schetst de vele contacten met netwerken van plantenliefhebbers zoals HRS, de Kersenassociatie, ambtenaren die over de Japanse openbare parken gingen en plantkundige wetenschappers. En van al die contacten weer van welke belangrijke persoon zij familie waren, of vriend, of buurman of buurman van de buurman.
Met name de bemiddelde Britse elite, de geprivilegieerde landeigenaren met hun oude geld en grote buitenhuizen, irriteerde mij. Zo gemotiveerd als zij waren om hun onnozele persoonlijke doelen te halen, die zij dankzij hun onafhankelijke bevoorrechte positie dan ook daadwerkelijk wisten te bereiken. En ondertussen vindt er een wereldoorlog plaats, een beurskrach, een economische crisis, werkloosheid. Genoeg probleemgebieden waar je je geld en energie aan zou kunnen besteden. (Zelfs toen Ingram tijdens WO I in Frankrijk zat, waar hij vliegtuigkompassen moest kalibreren, besteedde hij een groot deel van zijn tijd aan privé uitstapjes, ver weg van de loopgraven.)
Maar mijnheer Ingram steekt zijn energie dus in de Japanse kers vanwege hun ‘verfijnd elegantie wanneer zij in bloei staan, en een exquisheid in kleur en vorm’. Leuk hoor, dat je een hobby hebt. Ga tuinieren, als je daar zin aan hebt. Ga lekker kersen kruizen (de taihaku, en de yama-zakura, de sumizome, kiku-zakura, horinji, shogetsu, fugenzo, enzovoort, en de in Japan meest voorkomende en door Ingram verafschuwde somei-yoshino) tot je honderden variëteiten hebt. Ga lof oogsten in de gentlemenclub ‘The Garden Society’. Allemaal prima, maar wat moet ik als lezer er mee?
Het is allemaal teveel. Alle kersen variëteiten zijn prachtig, alle persoonlijke contacten van grote waarde, alle boeken zijn voorzien van de fraaiste illustraties en dan zijn ze ook nog eens gedrukt op het beste papier. Kan het even een onsje minder? Zo wordt het onmogelijk om nog onderscheid in de feiten te maken, wordt alles even belangrijk, krijgt het verhaal geen reliëf.
Veel historische gebeurtenissen, maar ook kleine persoonlijk incidenten worden met de kers in verband gebracht om ‘hartverwarmende’ verhalen te creëren. Voor mij is het vaak net even te kunstmatig, met uitzondering van hoofdstuk 5.
Pas in hoofdstuk 5 (van de in het totaal 7, bladzijde 221), krijgt het verhaal wat diepgang. Dan wordt WO II geïntroduceerd, de Japanse positie daarin en wat het voor gewone mensen betekende (onder meer de ouders van de auteur, in 1940 nog kinderen van lagere school leeftijd). Liedteksten die bedoeld waren om de jeugd te brainwashen tot slaafse dienaren van de staat, de staat verpersoonlijkt in de Keizer. Liedteksten die daar ook in slagen. En de rol van de kers als symbool van kortstondige schoonheid, vergankelijkheid en dood, ‘bereid het leven te verlaten als de natuur daarom vroeg’. Het moreel voor toekomstige kamikazepiloten werd vast voorgevormd (3.800 vonden de dood). De kersenbloesem als propagandamiddel.
En dat is binnen Japan maar de kers werd al lang ook buiten Japan ingezet. Met name het moment dat Japan in Azië de hegemonie had en in de veroverde gebieden kersen ging planten om de Japanse eenheid van het gebied op die manier tot uitdrukking te brengen. Er is zelfs een (niet tot uitvoering gekomen) plan geweest het traject van de spoorwegen in centraal Azië met kersenbomen te beplanten. In het plan was voorzien dat er met verschillende soorten gewerkt zou worden, afhankelijk van de klimatologische omstandigheden langs het traject.
Bij hoofdstuk 6 zakt het weer in, vervalt de auteur weer tot het opsommingen van namen, het beschrijven van uitzonderlijkheden die geen belang hebben en de gezochte symbolische koppelingen daartussen om daar een zeker belang bij te suggereren.
Heel het boek door wordt gestrooid met gedichten alsof het neergedwarrelde bloemblaadjes zijn. Maat en rijm gaan in de vertaling (waarschijnlijk) verloren, poëtisch is het wel.
Maar je moet het ook weer niet overdrijven.
Als op de dag dat Ingram sterft ook de ‘imose zijn vaalroze bloembladeren’ afwerpt ‘de kers die Ingram in 1926 als eerste in Groot-Brittannië had geïntroduceerd’, is het beeld wel duidelijk. Dat ‘het leven van Ingram (…) eindigde terwijl de bloesems (…) stilletjes wuifden in de wind’ en het ook nog eens volle man was maakt mij giechelig.
Dat de schrijfster ‘de prestigieuze Nihon Essayist Club Award’ heeft gewonnen met dit boek, waaraan zij vier jaar gewerkt heeft, komt mogelijk door bewondering voor het terugvinden van alle feitjes. Best knap want het zijn veel feitjes, héél veel feitjes.
Per saldo een teleurstellende leeservaring van een boek dat in het Engels ‘The Sakura Obsession’ heet, waarbij het woord obsessie het boek het best typeert.
November 13, 2019
This book was such a pleasure to read. Not only did I discover a fascinating person (and his family), I leant about cherry trees and their history. I was also able to reminisce about travels in Japan and enjoying hanami during the cherry blossom season.
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