Q 01/05

Before cherry trees took over in the Heian period, which tree's blossoms did Japan's earliest hanami parties admire?

A) Peach

B) Plum

C) Wisteria

D) Camellia

Answer · why

B) Plum

Plum blossoms were the fashion of the Nara-period court, and they are still viewed today at quieter parties that tend to draw an older crowd.

Q 02/05

A teasing Japanese proverb says most hanami-goers care less about the flowers than about which food?

A) Grilled eel

B) Noodles

C) Dumplings

D) Pickles

Answer · why

C) Dumplings

Dumplings rather than flowers, runs the saying, and hanami has its own kind: a skewer of three in pink, white and green.

Q 03/05

What happened to the first 2,000 cherry trees Tokyo sent to Washington, found riddled with insects in 1910?

A) They were burned

B) They were sent back

C) They were sold off

D) They were quarantined

Answer · why

A) They were burned

They were burned on presidential orders to protect American growers, and Tokyo answered with a second, healthy shipment of 3,020 trees in 1912.

Q 04/05

Which Japanese prefecture sees the country's first cherry blossoms of the year, opening as early as January?

A) Kagoshima

B) Nagasaki

C) Kochi

D) Okinawa

Answer · why

D) Okinawa

Okinawa's subtropical islands bloom in midwinter, some two months before the season reaches Tokyo around the end of March.

Q 05/05

Which sport's Japanese national team, nicknamed the Brave Blossoms, has worn a cherry blossom badge since 1930?

A) Football

B) Baseball

C) Rugby

D) Volleyball

Answer · why

C) Rugby

Rugby gave the flower a sporting life: the first badge showed a bud, a half-open and a full bloom, replaced in 1952 by three open flowers.