Sakura of nostalgia
White flowers of Chishima-zakura with long petals
It seems that individual differences are severe when Chishima cherry grows with seedlings, and there are dark pink and round petals in other places, and trees grafted with it can be seen in various places in Hokkaido, but the seedlings of this tree I bought are seedlings for bonsai.
It is a dwarf cherry blossom that is sometimes planted in Hokkaido, and Hana blooms at a low position, so it is a kind that people can easily see near the face, but in fact this kind is not a native type of Japan.
Some of you may have already noticed from the name of this cherry blossom, but originally it is a kind that grows naturally from the Kuril Islands, which is currently Russia, to the Northern Territories that Russia claims ownership of.
When the former Northern Territories islanders brought a sapling to Nemuro and planted it in a temple in Nemuro City, and my family is probably a descendant who was cultivated by seedlings and grafts from the origin of being cultivated from that tree.
Wild cherry blossoms in Hokkaido have Yezo Yamazakura, and if you grow it without filling the tree height, it will grow to a considerable tree height over time. Even in Hokkaido, the cherry blossoms seen at cherry blossom spots are tree-shaped trees with branches intentionally stretched sideways even if they are Yezo Yamazakura.
From the Kuril Islands to the Northern Territories and the Nemuro Peninsula, the wind is strong all year round and the trees do not grow straight if they are close to the coast.Ezo Yamazakura is difficult to grow, so if the index tree of the cherry blossom front is in Hokkaido, it changes to Someiyoshino around Sapporo but to Ezo Yamazakura around Asahikawa, and to Chishima Zakura in Nemuro.
The original of Chishima-zakura that was brought to Japan was planted in a temple in Nemuro City and now it is also a cherry blossom viewing spot for neighboring people.
Now the people who have been withdrawn from the Northern Territories are also elderly and many have died, and only the descendants are the second generation and third generation, but the graves of the parents and ancestors of the people who have been withdrawn are left over there...
Chishima-zakura was originally planted with the thought of nostalgia that cannot be returned, and for former islanders, if you look at the blooming Hana, it will tell you the latest spring in Japan in the Northern Territories, It was also a tree like a symbol of home.
私がチシマザクラに興味を持ったのは、北方領土の歴史や地域の自然環境と結びついているからです。一般的な桜と比較してチシマザクラは花の位置が低く、顔の近くで観賞できるため、とても親しみやすさを感じます。しかも白花に長い花弁という特徴は珍しく、盆栽としても人気がある理由が分かります。 千島列島や北方領土は風が強く、海沿いの影響で樹木の育成が難しい土地ですが、チシマザクラはその過酷な環境に適応した桜です。根室に植えられた苗木は特に大切にされており、地元の人々がお花見の場として親しんでいます。さらに、元々この桜を持ち込んだ島民の方々の望郷の念が込められており、桜の花を見るたびに北方領土への思いを巡らせる人も多いそうです。 私も実際に根室でチシマザクラを見た経験がありますが、風にそよぐ白い花びらの美しさと静かな佇まいに感動しました。北海道の主流であるエゾヤマザクラやソメイヨシノとは異なる品種ならではの魅力があります。普段あまり注目されない北方領土にゆかりのある植物から、地域の歴史や文化を垣間見ることができる貴重な体験となりました。 また、苗木の実生や接ぎ木による個体差が激しいという話も興味深いです。これは育てる楽しみを増やすだけでなく、1本1本に異なる表情がある桜としての価値を高めています。盆栽用としても使われているのは、花の位置や形の美しさに加えてこの多様性が理由のひとつでしょう。 チシマザクラは望郷のシンボルであると同時に、日本の自然と文化が織りなす独自のストーリーを伝える存在です。桜好きな方や地域の歴史に関心がある人にはぜひ一度、根室のチシマザクラを訪れてその深い魅力を感じてほしいと思います。