Almost every day for the past seven decades, 94-year-old Masatoshi Asari has dedicated himself to creating, growing and disseminating many of the world’s most distinctive and diverse cherry trees.
One of Japan’s foremost living authorities on cherry trees and their blossoms, the wiry, weather-beaten Asari is a walking encyclopedia about sakura. When he leads small groups through Matsumae Park on the southern tip of Hokkaido, he comments at length on the heritage of each cherry variety as if they were his children, which, in a sense, they are.
Matsumae Park is Asari’s creation. Each spring, more than 10,000 cherry trees bloom on its slopes overlooking the Tsugaru Strait. There are few more breathtaking sights than the multicolored canopies that stretch over miles of meandering paths.
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