When the Cherry Blossoms Bloom

It's mid-March, and cherry blossom buds all over the country are plump and can hardly contain themselves. To be sure, some varieties of cherry have already bloomed, their petals have all completely scattered and their branches are already green with fresh new spring leaves. But those are only the rare, special kind; most cherry blossom trees are only just now on the verge of bursting forth with pink glory.

The time of cherry blossoms has a lot of significance in Japan. Though the Japanese celebrate the New Year in December, the fiscal Japanese year begins on the 1st of April. The whole country is currently abuzz closing out the old year, and getting ready for the start of the new one. Books must be closed before new ones can open. Kindergarten graduates can't wait to begin their lives as 1st graders, and elementary school graduates wonder what awaits them in jr. high school. Jr high school and high school students await the results of their entrance exams to get into a high school or university respectively. By this time, most university students have found jobs at companies and will be beginning their lives in the Japanese workforce. One might liken Japan to a bulging cherry blossom bud; preparing, getting ready to bloom in glorious splendor.

So in many ways, the time of cherry blossoms symbolizes fresh, new beginnings.

For me, this cherry blossom season indicates the end of a lot of old things, and the beginning of a lot of new ones. I won't go into much detail, but this year I'm trying out a new profession. I've been an English teacher through out my time here, but this year, I'm actually going to start work at a company, where my Japanese language and critical thinking skills are going to be put to the test. I'm stepping out of my comfort zone, as it were, but they say that to grow, we humans need that.

This year, my eldest son ends his 3rd and final year as a kindergartner, and will soon begin his first year of elementary school. It's a kind of a happy sad feeling; happy that my son is growing up and moving on to the first grade, but also sad, because a part of his childhood has ended.

There's something about Japanese culture, where they have definite ceremonies marking ends and beginnings. Ends and beginnings have to be celebrated or commemorated in just the right way, at the right time, with the right songs and the right speeches, sung and spoken by the right people, at the right halls with the right decorations in the right colors etc. All graduation ceremonies happen around March, and all entrance ceremonies happen around April. All schools put out a billboard announcing that year's ceremony, and most if not all students and their parents take a picture in front of it for commemoration.

At graduation ceremonies, graduating students collectively give their thanks to their parents and teachers for helping them get to that point, and often collectively sing a "thank you" and/or "goodbye" song, and students staying behind collectively give thanks to their graduating seniors, sometimes singing their own "good-bye" song. The whole thing ends with the principal hand graduates their diplomas, congratulating the graduating class, and officially saying "This concludes the graduation ceremony for the class of 20XX." Curtains close, people get up and leave with the sense that the years culminating to the concluded graduation ceremony are now in the past.

At entrance ceremonies, all the new students gather well-dressed in a hall, where the principal will open the ceremony and officially welcome all the new arrivals. Speeches are given by the principal, as well as an important guest speaker. Current students will often give their own speech, and songs are often sung. Sometimes the band will play a welcoming fanfare. The principal gives the students his final congratulations and wishes them luck before officially ending the ceremony and people are free to leave.

As I sat there in the kindergarten's auditorium, the lights went out, and a projector played a short movie up on a screen. The movie was a commemoration of all 3 years the graduating class spent there. Pictures of the students as 3-year-olds flashed across the screen, with a sentimental song in the background. (Most Japanese kindergartens are 3-year schools, where students enter as 3-year olds and graduate as 6-year-olds.) The pictures cycle through the students' 2nd and 3rd years, and as a parent, you're able to see just how big your child has gotten. At the end of the movie, you can see parents dabbing at their eyes with handkerchiefs, myself included.

After the principal gave his opening remarks, the graduating class was allowed to enter the hall. The kindergarten principal, as well as as visiting principal from a nearby elementary school gave their congratulations to the students. Afterward, a group of 1st year and a group of 2nd year students each gave "thank you for playing with us" and "good luck in elementary school" speeches. Finally, the graduating class stands up, turns around, gives a collective "thank you" speech to parents, and then they sing a "farewell" song. This is what sent me over the edge; by the end of the song my handkerchief is damp with tears.

The cherry blossoms this year, mark the end of an era in my child's and in my life. I knew my son was becoming a 1st grader this year, but it wasn't until I heard my son sing "Goodbye, Our Beloved Kindergarten" in Japanese, with his graduating class that this fact hit me in the face. My son is no longer a babe, he is no longer a kindergartner, he is no longer my "baby boy" that I held in my arms when his vocal chords were used to scream for the first time; he is now officially on his way to becoming a young man. I guess this graduation ceremony makes me rather sad because it marks a real, tangible separation between me and my son. Someday he'll no longer be just "my son," but an independent man. This year, he begins to spread his wings, and someday he'll fly away. He won't be "my little boy" anymore. Boyhood ends, and this ceremony marks the beginning of that end.

I know that growing up is inevitable. We all have to grow up. We all have to leave the nest and learn to stand on our own. I want to do the best I can to appreciate my son while he's still a boy. I don't want to be one of those fathers who wakes up one day and realizes he missed the whole thing; his boy is now a man and it's too late. The song "Cat's in the Cradle" comes to mind...

It's also sad for me to imagine how hard this must be for my son. 84 students were in his graduating class, but they're all going to go to 7 different schools. This means that some of the children he made friends with he will most likely never see again. One of his closest friends is moving to Okayama, two prefectures over. Yes, we've exchanged contact information, and we the parents agreed to keep and contact and possibly meet in the future, but it's not the same, is it. Another friend is moving to Higashiosaka, a city not too far away. Again, close, but yet far. Most likely we'll all get on with our lives, and the last three years will have been just a memory. Yes, the time of cherries is a time for goodbyes... but also the time of "hellos" too. Who knows what's in store for us this year!

"Goodbye, Our Beloved Kindergarten"
For his kindergarten graduation, my son sang the following song with his class called "Goodbye, Our Beloved Kindergarten." I decided to translate it, since the lyrics are so moving. English translation, followed by Japanese lyrics below.

"Good-bye, Our Beloved Kindergarten"
For many days, every day
We spent time together, didn't we
We laughed, many times, we cried many times
We caught colds many times
With many friends, every day
We played here together
We ran everywhere, we fell down everywhere
We had fights and arguments everywhere

Good-bye our beloved kindergarten
The playground where we all ran and played
When the cherry blossoms are in bloom and scattering
We'll all be Lancel-donning first graders

For many days, every day
We spent time together, didn't we
All the happy times, all the sad times
I'm sure, I never will forget
With many friends, every day
We played here together
We played in the water, we built snow men
I never, ever will forget

Good-bye our beloved kindergarten
The playground where we all ran and played
The next time we come and play
We'll all be Lancel-donning first graders

さよなら　ぼくたちの幼稚園
 たくさんの毎日を
ここですごしてきたね
何度笑って　何度泣いて
何度かぜをひいて
たくさんの友達と
ここで遊んできたね
どこで走って　どこでころんで
どこでけんかをして

さよなら　ぼくたちの幼稚園
ぼくたちの遊んだ庭
桜の花びら　ふるころは
ランドセルの一年生

たくさんの毎日を
ここですごしてきたね
うれしいことも　かなしいことも
きっと忘れない
たくさんの友達と
ここで遊んできたね
水遊びも　雪だるまも
ずっと忘れない

さよなら　ぼくたちの幼稚園
ぼくたちの遊んだ庭
この次　遊びに来るときは
ランドセルの一年生

My son's ceremony went something like this. This is the song his class sang at their graduation ceremony.

Relevant Post:

Hanami: The Japanese Tradition of Cherry Blossom Appreciation