Cherry Blossoms: Sakura Collections from the Library of Congress

Description

A beautiful gift book commemorating the nation's most cherished springtime tradition, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, through original works of art from the Library of Congress collections Experience the splendor of the annual spring viewing of the nation's sakura (cherry blossoms) with this stunning keepsake book. Original artwork, photographs, and objects from the Library of Congress collections illuminate the story of these landmark trees and how they came to the nation's capital as a symbol of friendship with Japan. More than one million visitors from the US and abroad gather each year to enjoy Washington's glorious profusion of cloud-like blossoms and join in the festivities. Cherry Blossoms- Sakura as Living Symbols of Friendship showcases exquisite watercolor drawings of blossom varieties among the original cherry trees, Japanese woodblock prints by such master artists as Kiyonaga and Hiroshige, early 3-D stenographs and contemporary photos of the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms, mementos from a former cherry blossom princess, posters of the festival, and more. These works offer the opportunity to explore Japanese culture while celebrating Washington's beloved cherry blossoms.

MARI NAKAHARA is the Curator of Architecture, Design, and Engineering in the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, and she was formerly a Japanese specialist in its Asian Division. Before coming to the Library, Nakahara had worked at the Octagon, New York Public Library, Skyscraper Museum, Columbia University, and Tokyo Metropolitan University. KATHERINE BLOOD is Curator of Fine Prints in the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division. She has co-curated several exhibitions including "The Floating World of Ukiyo-e" for which she also co-authored the exhibition catalog (Abrams, 2001).

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER "This modest and diminutive book focuses on the way poets, artists, botanists and everyday people have related to cherry blossoms and its legacy in America for a century, and in Japan for even longer. It tells as much of a human story as a botanical one. [...] The ephemeral experience of Washington DC's spring bloom now has a longer lasting and tangible form that has inspired poets to sing, painters to explore, photographers to obsess about, and for all to enjoy." THE DC LINE "The 108-year-old gift of more than 3,000 cherry blossom trees from Tokyo to Washington, DC, finds fresh life in a vibrant new keepsake book from Smithsonian Books, Cherry Blossoms: Sakura Collections From the Library of Congress. The slim, image-heavy volume explores the art, photography and object holdings of multiple divisions of the Library of Congress pertinent to the gift of trees in 1912 as well as how the trees became icons and catalysts of celebration in DC." THE GEORGETOWN DISH "With its delightful illustrations, everything from vintage posters to woodblock prints and botanical watercolors, Cherry Blossoms: Sakura Collections from the Library of Congress celebrates the thousand year-old Japanese springtime tradition." THE BEACON "The cherry trees in bloom are a haven of serenity in the nation's capital. Cherry Blossoms is a keepsake volume that preserves their beauty and elegance no matter the season."