Let’s Bring Japanese Hanami to Des Moines

And How Iowa Became Sister State To Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture

A Tale of Two States

Last fall, my brother asked me to take him to view a traditional Japanese Bell that is displayed just to the west of the Iowa Supreme Court building. If you go there- you’ll find an inscription that details the story of how this monumental object came to Des Moines.

Summarized, the Japanese Bell of Peace and Friendship was a thank-you gift for the people of Iowa in December of 1961. Two years prior, the Prefecture of Yamanashi (perhaps most known for being the Home of Mt. Fuji) had been devastated by two typhoons resulting in a myriad of losses from property damage, to lives, and livestock. True to his Iowan roots, a man stationed in Tokyo with the US Air Force felt compelled to help. He, with the help of other Iowans, organized to have 36 purebred breeding hogs airlifted to Japan. Apparently, this is known in history as the “Hog Lift”, which I find hilarious.

Iowa and Yamanashi have been sister states ever since.

A Century of American Sakura

My own fascination with Japan and its culture blossomed after I visited Washington D.C. in the spring of 2012. Ironically it was exactly 100 years earlier that Japan famously gifted 3,000 cherry trees to be planted in our nation’s capitol. It was by happenstance that I got to visit in the two week window in which they bloom. Learning that they were a gift prompted many google searches about Japan’s relationship with America on my part, along with one registration for Understanding Cultures: Modern Japan, at Kirkwood Community College.

The cherry trees, called sakura in Japanese, are considered culturally significant to both countries. Their blossoms are a soft pink that stands out against a blue sky. The experience of seeing them in D.C. was nothing short of breathtaking; when they shed their petals the city is littered with them like little pink confetti. To this day, I can’t help but think of Japan in the early spring when many trees are flowering.

Flowers, Exhibited!

It was down one of those google search rabbit-holes that I learned of an interesting concept called Hanami, a practice in which one stops to appreciate the ephemeral beauty of flowers. If you’re not familiar with Hanami, people across Japan gather under the aforementioned cherry blossom trees (though other flowering trees are acceptable, I’ve read) and spend time together. There are snacks, drinks and people simply enjoying the beautiful scenery and each other’s company. Apparently Yamanashi is even a coveted travel destination for this time, being the home of what could be the oldest sakura in the world.

Much like the autumnal changing of leaves in Iowa, the pink blossoms signify the changing of the seasons and the beginning of a new school year. They even forecast the blossoming with the weather, like we do with the changing leaves. Naturally, the time is widely associated with new beginnings.

Given our longstanding friendship with Japan, I think this is a tremendous practice to adapt for our own city. Anything that promotes time spent admiring beautiful places is great for my mental health, and I think many in Des Moines could say the same. If you’d like to have your own Hanami celebration, all one must do is prepare a picnic and find a flowering tree or garden to admire. If you want to get historical with it, you can bring a poet, (I think you’re unlikely to find a Samurai).

If you’d like to keep it similar to Japanese tradition I suggest preparing some bento boxes, they’re very portable. You could bring wine if appropriate. What we call saké is specifically rice wine from Japan, and can be purchased at local specialty wine retailers.

It seems crabapple trees are the preferred pink tree here in Des Moines, we have what could be the largest concentration of them anywhere at Waterworks Park. True sakura trees or not, what matters most is that you’re getting out and experiencing the beautiful amenities we have in Des Moines.

You never know the stories you’ll hear or the friends you could make.