Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms. Here is one of the most recognized traditional Japanese folk songs written to honor the spring. Internationally known to be representative of the Japanese culture, its message celebrates the end of winter and the coming of spring, as signified by the bright pink color of the cherry blossoms.

Almost everyone is familiar with the melody. It's beautifully haunting and easy to anticipate, which makes it accessible for any age group. Surprisingly, it is not traditional to put a lot of passion into the instrumental and vocal presentation. Typically, it is pleasant to crescendo when the melody ascends, and decrescendo when the melody descends. But in this case, dynamics are actually not recommended. So find a mezzo forte for your choir and stay put.

There are many performance videos online for reference. It is suggested that you research them to aid with pronunciation. Also many online articles about the song are available. You may want to make it a cross curricular lesson with a discussion about the fascinating culture that brought about "Sakura, Sakura."