PREFACE 
Almost everyone knows that Japan abounds in 
sakura or cherry trees. Generally speaking, however, 
the public has little knowledge about the kinds of 
Japanese cherry trees. To appreciate, in the true sense 
of the term, the real beauty of cherry flowers, and to 
understand rightly the virtues of sakura as the national 
flower of the country, one must know something of the 
characteristics of different kinds of Japanese cherry 
trees, because the beauty of cherry trees differs accord- 
ing to their species and environment. The same remark 
applies equally to those places which are noted for 
cherry trees. 
What is important about the Japanese sakura is the 
very distant origin of its culture and the nation’s love 
for it. A perfect understanding of the history of sakura 
culture will enable one to realize the reason why and 
how Japan has produced so many varieties of these 
superb flowering trees. 
The present brochure gives an outline of this his- 
tory, together with a brief description of the preserva- 
tion of noted sakura and the remarkable kinds of such 
trees in this land. 
Manabu Miyoshi 
March, 1934 
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