Our friend Japan

Cherry Tree, 6x6" oil on panel

A friend tells me this is a Yoshino Cherry. Over 3000 cherry trees, mostly Yoshino, were gifted by the Japanese in an act of friendship to the United States in 1912. In 1965 Japan’s gift was renewed with 3800 more cherry trees. Our nation’s capital turns into a fairyland each spring when these trees bloom and are celebrated at our annual National Cherry Blossom Festival.

I don’t know that this is a Yoshino Cherry; it may be a Kwanzan Cherry, another tree native to Japan. I cannot mention this country right now or look at this painting without being reminded of the devastating triple tragedies that have recently wreaked havoc on that country’s mainland.

Keiko Tanabe is an artist whose work I have collected. I just placed a bid on another painting by this remarkable San Diego watercolorist. Please join me in her generous effort to help her native country. Several of her beautiful paintings are up for auction on her blog at Disaster Relief Fund.