Cherry Blossom Lingo: Morning Cherry Blossom

There are dozens of words used specifically for describing cherry blossoms. Some of them relate to the time of day that you view cherry blossoms. Of those time related terms, 'yozakura' - the term for viewing cherry blossoms by night - is probably the best known. But there is also a term that refers specifically to morning time cherry blossoms. In Japanese it is simply called Asazakura, 朝桜. 

However, more than just the time of day you view them, asazakura refers to the condition of the cherry blossoms in early morning. When they are fresh and dewy. The petals covered in night dew emit a soft light in the morning sun. This moment lasts only a short time. But that's why it's beautiful. The fragility of the cherry blossoms wrapped in the veil of morning mist, as fleeting as the cherry blossoms themselves. 

It is difficult to catch "asazakura", both in person and on camera. The photo in this post is not a true "asazakura", the dew had already passed. It looks like a famous cherry blossom spot in Tokyo, but in fact it is just a local, quiet sakura spot in Saitama Prefecture.