Washington DC, 1925

 

Source: Library Of Congress

Symbolic of the then-blooming relationship between Japan and the United States, in 1912 Tokyo City Mayor Yukio Ozaki bestowed the American capitol with over three thousand Japanese cherry trees. Believe it or not, such an exchange came after decades of planning and turmoil, and the trees would become quite political in years to come.

Writer, photographer and geographer Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore had been petitioning for the US to plant the trees since 1885, and in 1909 it seemed that Scidmore had finally gotten her way. However, the Department of Agriculture found that the two thousand donated trees were infested with insects and nematodes, and thus had to be destroyed lest they harm the host ecosystem. Then-president Taft ordered the trees burned, and Scidmore’s planning literally went up in smoke.

Nevertheless, Japan made an even more generous offer–three thousand-plus trees in twelve varieties–that would complement Washington DC’s biological makeup a bit better. They were shipped over on the Awa Maruon Valentine’s Day 1912, and arrived over a month later in DC, via a rail car from Seattle. First Lady Taft and Viscountess Chinda, the wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees at West Potomac Park, creating one of the US capital city’s main draws.

The first Cherry Blossom Festival was held in 1935 (ten years after this photo was taken), and the trees themselves became the site of several political protestations. In 1938, when it was announced that some of the trees might be chopped down to make way for the Jefferson Memorial, a group of women chained themselves together at the site in protest. And of course, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, four trees were cut down. Thus for the remainder of World War Two, the festival was halted and the trees were referred to as ‘Oriental” flowering trees. And you thought trees couldn’t be political.

Read more at Cherry Blossoms In Bloom: Washington DC, 1925