A review by shays
The Sakura Obsession: The Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan's Cherry Blossoms by Naoko Abe

informative slow-paced

3.75

 The Sakura Obsession contains a fair bit of introspection about Japan’s culpability in the war, and how the militaristic government of the period exploited the history and symbolism of the cherry blossom to send a generation of young men to their early deaths even well after the war was effectively lost. Abe also delves into how that same ideology helped the Yoshino cherry become the predominant variety in urban Japan, threatening the local biodiversity. Unlike other artifacts exported (and often outright stolen) from the East by colonial powers, plants continue to grow and propagate, and their cuttings or scions can be returned to the places that gave birth them while also remaining in their transplanted soil around the world. Ingram obtained cuttings from acquaintances and fellow enthusiasts in Japan and sent their descendants and hybrids back in turn. What the book does not explore so much while venerating Collingwood Ingram for preserving the various cherry blossom varieties abroad, is the implications it might have for the ecosystem of the British Isles of introducing so many non-native species, often at the expense of local fruit-bearing varieties. Nevertheless, I found this to be a fascinating and informative read. 

Full review: https://shayshortt.com/2023/05/30/the-sakura-obsession/
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