023.Miharu Takizakura/Fukushima

Miharu Taki-zakura is a 1,000-year-old red weeping cherry tree located in Miharu Town, Tamura County, Fukushima Prefecture. It is a giant tree with a height of 13.5 meters, a root circumference of 11.3 meters, a trunk circumference of 9.5 meters, and branch coverage of 22 meters from east to west and 18 meters from north to south. It is called one of the three largest cherry trees in Japan, along with the Neodani Danboku cherry tree in Gifu Prefecture and the Yamataka Jindai cherry tree in Yamanashi Prefecture. It is said that the name "Taki-zakura" came from the light red flowers that bloom from the thick branches that stretch out in all directions during the flowering season, as if a waterfall were spouting from them, and from the fact that the cherry tree is located in Oaza Taki, Miharu-cho. Miharu Town is a typical rural area where about 17,000 people live most of the year, but in spring, nearly 300,000 people visit the area to see the Miharu Taki-zakura. Literally meaning "waterfall of cherry blossoms," the delicate pink petals of the Taki-zakura cherry blossoms are stunningly beautiful and bloom like a cascading waterfall. It is unlike any other cherry blossoms you will see in other parts of Japan.

023番　三春滝桜/福島県

三春滝桜は、福島県田村郡三春町にある樹齢1000年以上の紅しだれ桜です。 樹高13.5ｍ、根回り11.3ｍ、幹周り9.5m、枝張り東西22m・南北18mの巨木で、岐阜県の根尾谷淡墨桜、山梨県の山高神代桜と共に日本三大桜と称され、桜の木としては初めて国の天然記念物に指定された日本を代表する桜です。開花期､四方に伸びた太い枝から滝がほとばしるかのように薄紅色の花を咲かせることから、又は桜がある場所が三春町大字滝であることから「滝桜」と呼ばれるようになったといわれています。 三春町は、年間のほとんどは約1万7,000人が暮らす農村地域ですが、春になると30万人近くの人が三春滝桜を一目見ようとこの地域を訪れます。文字通り「桜の滝」を意味する滝桜の、その繊細なピンク色の花びらははっとするように美しく、滝が流れるように咲く見事な桜の木です。日本の他の地域で見るどの桜とも異なります。