There has been no further vandalism to the trees, except from the occasional beaver. The Freer Gallery of Art hid away all its Japanese works of art.Īfter Japan’s defeat in 1945, the United States and Japan gradually became friends again, and nowadays the National Cherry Blossom Festival is a major annual event. Customers complained if stores carried Japanese merchandise. Many people insisted on re-naming the trees as “Oriental” Cherry Trees. The National Cherry Blossom Festival takes place March 20. From 1942 to 1947, for instance, there was no Cherry Blossom Festival. Peak bloom is defined as when 70 of the blossoms on the Yoshino cherry trees along the Tidal Basin have bloomed, according to the NPS. The reaction against things Japanese took other equally misguided forms. Park Police decided the trees had probably been cut down after midnight, when the basin lights had been turned off. Root, said it must have been done by “misguided individuals, probably youths.” He also asked the public to help guard the trees against further assaults. The then superintendent of National Capital Parks, Irving C. One tree was also marked with “To Hell With the Japanese.” Two of the trees were original 1912 specimens. On the night of December 10, 1941, an unknown number of vandals cut down four of the trees on the west side of the Basin. The trees had originally been given to the United States as a good will gesture, and during each spring since 1935 there had been a Cherry Blossom Festival to celebrate the brief blooming of the trees. There were also mistakes as well, such as the internment of Japanese-Americans, and misplaced anger at simply anything from Japan.Īn example of the latter was the destruction of four cherry trees around the Tidal Basin in downtown Washington, DC. Other people went to work in the war factories. Military recruiting offices were swamped with young volunteers. The American public’s infuriated response to Japan’s surprise attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, took many forms. 1920s photo of cherry trees in bloom along the Tidal Basin.
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