The Legend Of Sakura: A True Love Story

The legend of Sakura took place hundreds of years ago in the early history of Japan. At about that time, terrible battles took place between lords of nobility, in which many ordinary warriors died.

This plunged the whole country into grief and despair. At that time, the country had only a few moments of peace. As soon as one war ended, another began.

Despite all this misery, there was a beautiful forest that even the war could not affect. It was full of trees with aromatic leaves. These trees comforted the tormented inhabitants of ancient Japan. No matter how many wars raged, no army dared enter and attack that beautiful forest.

However, there was one tree in the forest that never blossomed. Its branches never had flowers despite how much life the tree had in it. Therefore, the tree appeared tall and dry, as if it were dead. However, that was not the case. The tree simply didn’t seem destined to bloom.

A little magic

The tree was very lonely. The animals that lived in the forest did not want to come near because the tree looked evil. For the same reason, no grass grew around the tree. The only company the tree knew was loneliness itself.

The legend of Sakura tells us about a fairy who was affected by how old the tree looked, despite the fact that it was so young.

One evening the fairy appeared next to the tree. With some kind words she let the tree know that she wanted to see it at its best. She wanted to see the tree shine, and she wanted to help with that. So she cast a spell whose effects would last for about 20 years.

At that time  , the tree would be able to feel what human hearts feel. Perhaps that way it would become happy and be able to bloom again.

The fairy told the tree that, thanks to the spell,  the tree could take either the natural form of a plant or the form of a human if it wanted to. The tree was also told that if it was unable to regain its vitality and splendor within those 20 years, it would die immediately afterwards.

meet Sakura

Just as the fairy had indicated, the tree found that it could switch between its human and vegetable forms whenever it wanted. He tried to live as a human being for a long time. He did this to find out if human emotions would help him thrive.

The tree, however, was deeply disappointed, for wherever he looked he saw only war and hatred. After this he transformed into a tree again.

According to the legend of Sakura, years passed without change. Whatever the tree did, it didn’t feel any better. One afternoon, however, the tree decided to take on human form again.

After this he walked to a stream with crystal clear water, where he saw a beautiful young lady. Her name was Sakura. The tree was very much impressed by her beauty and decided to approach her.

Sakura was very kind to the tree. To repay her kindness, he helped her carry the water to her house. This house was just around the corner. Here they had a lively conversation where they sadly discussed the wars of Japan. They also talked about the many dreams they both still had.

The Legend of Sakura: Love is Miraculous

When the girl asked his name, the tree replied “Yohiro.” They subsequently became good friends. They met regularly to talk, sing, read poetry and exchange great stories.  The better the tree got to know Sakura, the more often he wanted to be with her. Every day he counted down the minutes until he could be with her again.

According to the legend of Sakura, Yohiro, the tree, couldn’t handle it and decided to confess his love to Sakura. In addition, he told her what he really was: a tormented tree that would soon die because it couldn’t bloom. Sakura was shocked and said nothing for a while.

More time passed and the 20 years almost came to an end. Yohiro returned to his original form, feeling sadder by the day.

One afternoon, when Yohiro least expected it, Sakura appeared beside him. She hugged the tree and told him that she felt the same for him as he did for her. She didn’t want him to die. At that moment the fairy appeared and asked Sakura if she wanted Yohiro to become human, or if she wanted to join Yohiro in his vegetable form.

Sakura looked around and thought back to the war. After this, she chose to merge with Yohiro, after which a miracle occurred. The two became one and the tree blossomed. Since then, their love has perfumed the Japanese fields. The legend of Sakura thus shows us that another person can really bring out the best in us.