It’s spring again in New York, and the cherry blossoms are blossoming in Central Park as well as the rest of the City. Cherry blossoms are native to eastern Asia, so how did so many end up in eastern American cities New York and Washington DC? The answer lies in diplomacy.
In the early 20th century, the Japanese Empire was a rising power in Asia that began to rival other Asian and European countries that exercised influence across the region. Throughout the 19th Century it had expanded its sphere influence in the South Pacific by taking control of many islands. In 1905, Japan defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War and took control of areas in continental Asia.
Japan’s relationship with the United States wasn’t without issues either. Stateside there were concerns about the treatment of Japanese immigrants in the US. In 1870, The Naturalization Act of 1790, was expanded to include “persons of African nativity or descent” for citizenship; however, Hispanic and Asians were still excluded. This meant they could not vote or serve on juries. “Whites only” clauses made buying or leasing land difficult. In 1905, the Asiatic Exclusion League was formed in San Francisco and pushed for discriminatory treatment of Japanese and other immigrant Asian groups. Labor struggles included The Cooks and Waiters Union boycotting Japanese owned restaurants, and the Anti-Jap Laundry League picketing Japanese owned laundries and threatening their customers. Not even schools provided refuge. In 1906, the San Francisco Board of Education began segregating Japanese and Korean students from white students. All of this Anti-Japanese sentiment was fostering significant resentment in Japan.
Meanwhile in China, competing trade interests between the US and Japan were beginning to fester. Throughout the 19th Century both nations benefitted from an “Open Doors” trade agreement that emphasized free trade and equal access to Chinese markets with no foreign power having an advantage over any of the others. This abruptly changed with the end of the Russo-Japanese War, as the Empire took control of South Manchuria and secured the rights to the South Manchurian Railway. The US was begging to wonder how long equal access to free enterprise would last in China.
The Empire realized that diplomatic efforts with the US would need to be stepped up to assuage its leaders of trade concerns, and its citizens of xenophobia. In 1908, the Root-Takahira Agreement addressed each county’s interest in China and across the region. Japan’s “special interests” in Manchuria were recognized by the US, while continued reliance on the Open Door policy was recognized by Japan. Additionally, in the years to come Japan began to engage in gestures of goodwill to the American public. One of these efforts was the gift of cherry trees.
In 1909, the first attempt at giving trees to went disastrously wrong in multiple ways. The 2,000 trees sent to New York were lost at sea. The subsequent year it was discovered that the 3,000 trees sent to Washington DC were infected with multiple species of insects and nematodes. All of them had to be destroyed. Undeterred a second attempt was successfully made in 1912, with 3,000 trees again sent to Washington and 2,000 to New York.
Most of the New York trees went to River Side and Sakura Parks; however, a significant amount also found their way to Central Park. Different cherry tree species were planted in different areas of the park, with Yoshino trees clustered around Cherry Hill and along the east side, and Kwanzan trees dominating the west side of the Reservoir. These original trees have grown over the decades and while being joined by additional cherry tree types such as Higan and Okame. The current assortment of tree species offers diversity in size, flowers, and blooming time throughout the spring. Today, many people annually visit the park to see the trees in all their glory, while many new visitors discover them. In a broader context they have become one of the City’s seasonal symbols such as air conditioners dripping on summer-time pedestrians, autumn pumpkin spice everything, and 5th Avenue Christmas decorations.
To learn more about cherry trees and Central Park in general, join us on our Central Park Tour.