Read Online The Sakura Obsession The Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan Cherry Blossoms Naoko Abe 9781524733575 Books
Download As PDF : The Sakura Obsession The Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan Cherry Blossoms Naoko Abe 9781524733575 Books
The incredible—and improbable—story of how an English eccentric saved Japan’s beloved cherry blossoms from extinction.
Collingwood Ingram—known as “Cherry” for his defining passion—was born in 1880 and lived until he was a hundred, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change. Visiting Japan in 1902 and again in 1907, he fell in love with the country’s distinctive cherry blossoms, or sakura, and brought back hundreds of cuttings with him to England, where he created a garden of cherry varieties.
On a 1926 trip to Japan to search for new specimens, Ingram was shocked to find a dramatic decline in local cherry diversity. A cloned variety was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan’s expansionist ambitions, while the rare and spectacular Taihaku, or “Great White Cherry,” had disappeared entirely.
But thousands of miles away, at Ingram’s country estate, the Taihaku still prospered. After returning to Britain, the amateur botanist buried a living cutting from his own collection into a potato and repatriated it to Japan via the Trans-Siberian Express. Over the decades that followed, Ingram became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally, sending more than a hundred varieties of cherry tree to new homes around the globe, from Auckland, New Zealand to Washington, D.C.
As much a history of the cherry blossom in Japan as it is the story of one remarkable man, The Sakura Obsession follows the flower from its significance as a symbol of the imperial court, through the dark days of the Second World War, and up to the present-day worldwide fascination with this iconic blossom.
Read Online The Sakura Obsession The Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan Cherry Blossoms Naoko Abe 9781524733575 Books
"Love the story! History with wonderful character development. I enjoyed reading on my own first and then listening to the superbly read audiobook."
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The Sakura Obsession The Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan Cherry Blossoms Naoko Abe 9781524733575 Books Reviews :
The Sakura Obsession The Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan Cherry Blossoms Naoko Abe 9781524733575 Books Reviews
- The Sakura Obsession by Naoko Abe is a history of the Japanese cherry blossom tree and the man who obsessively studied and cultivated them, Collingwood Ingram.
I think it is a very special kind of book. This is all in one a personal story, a history lesson, a culture overview and a complicated and compelling life of pure dedication. I believe that the author made a tremendous job building a high-level picture of the world. World history and aspects of different times, the impact of small and big events on the world in general and the cherry tree in specifics. And Ingram was living as a part of that history.
He fell in love with the tree during his first visit to Japan. And even though his original calling was studying birds, he later chose the cherry tree and became obsessed with it. “His methods required knowledge of plant physiology, nimble fingers and a degree of dexterity that came from years of practice.†Abe wrote. Just the way Ingram was talking about the cherry tree is impressive “A moon of unsurpassable brilliance flooded the silent landscape with a cruel glare of greenish light, which traced sharp inky shadows of the trees on the rounded white folds. The snow crystals caught and reflected the moonlight upon a myriad facets until I appeared to be walking in a world of sparkling diamonds. The frightful stillness of the woodland at midnight was almost startling – everything seemed to be frost-bound and nerveless. Even the icy air seemed frozen into immobility. The crisp crunch of my footfall appeared to be an unpardonable intrusion, while the scars they made upon the smooth field of scintillating white seemed a positive sacrilege.†Later on, he will be one of the key keepers of knowledge around cherry trees and will publish work that lists different varieties of cherry blossom trees, Which is still a significant work in the world of gardeners and cherry tree lovers around the world.
Also, Abe writes elegantly so that you can feel the culture even in the words and the flow of thought. The book is a great reflection of the culture of Japan, specifically when it comes to the symbolics of the cherry blossom. You can feel the history of a tree. A tree that was first cared for by a lowing nation then was almost lost due to big natural disasters, then became a war flower, a kamikaze flower, and then a flower of hope and peace, and freedom. The way it is all described is so well written it almost feels like a novel.
“The cherry blossom was ephemeral, like life itself,†it says.
“In the snowy mountains of Gifu Prefecture in central Japan, an impassioned gardener explained how he and his colleagues were keeping alive a 1,500-year-old tree, the world’s second-oldest cherry.†And this is all a representation of their dedication to a cherry blossom tree.
While consuming the book many small and more complex feelings and thoughts came into my mind. Like
- That being proud can get your best treasures lost in time
- That real beauty requires a tremendous amount of effort from someone, but it also requires a lot of friends and cooperation
- That, no matter what, but the impact of such level, such an obsession and results could be only achieved by a wealthy person, who is not thinking daily about food and where to the get the money from
- That losing respect and freedom after having it for granted can be devastating and take away all love from a person
- That war is similarly ugly in all areas of the word
- That a word "sakura" is actually pronounced with the stress on the 2nd syllabus in English)
And many other things. And I thank the author greatly for it. - Love the story! History with wonderful character development. I enjoyed reading on my own first and then listening to the superbly read audiobook.
- One should always get out of their comfort zone and try things they say. Different things. For me reading something which I wouldn’t otherwise is radical enough. I mean, this book intrigued me, and I just had to read it to know more. I am so glad I did. To experience a different culture (which of course I have through other reads), but also knowing about the Cherry Blossom and how it came to be saved was a brilliant experience.
The story starts in 1907, when Collingwood “Cherry†Ingram fell in love with the sakura or the cherry tree, as he was visiting Japan on his honeymoon. He was taken in with the tree to such an extent that he couldn’t help but bring back hundreds of cuttings back to England, where he literally grew them, creating a garden of cherry varieties. In fact, in 1926 when he learned that the cherry tree was extinct in Japan, he sent a cutting of his own through the Trans-Siberian express. Not only that, Ingram also ensured that cuttings were sent to other parts of the world, where it was conducive to grow the specimen.
This in short is what the book is about. However, there is so much more to it. Abe writes elegantly, and not only that – the research is spot on – with photographs, details, linking of other events, and personal perspectives. At times, I also felt that I was actually reading a historical novel, it is so well-written.
The Sakura Obsession is what it is because Abe understands Ingram’s motivations, his complex nature – the oddity and the gentleness and that’s what makes this book so unique and refreshing. The Sakura Obsession tells a story that most people aren’t aware of – of how it took one man to save blossoms people enjoy over the world and are in awe of. I am only too glad that I got out of my comfort zone and read this one. - This book is about saving the traditional Japanese Cherry Tree varieties in England!
This is a very amazing story & very inspiring about someone who found their "purpose" in life.
Thank you!
