Part 1
When do the hanamizuki flower?
After the cherry blossoms in spring.
Who gifted Japan the dogwoods and when?
America in 1915
What is Hitoto Yo's song a prayer for?
A world without war.
What is the name of Hitoto Yo's song?
Hanamizuki
what does hanamizuki signify in Japanese?
A return present/gift.
What happened to the dogwoods after WWII broke out?
They were regarded as the flower of the enemy and forgotten.
Why did Hitoto Yo write the lyrics of Hanamizuki?
To pay tribute to the victims of 9/11.
what is the English word for hanamizuki?
Flowering Dogwoods
How did dogwoods come to Japan?
In the 1990s who rediscovered the dogwoods and where?
Mr Mine Yoshihiko at Tokyo Metropolitan Engei Highschool, Koishikawa Botanical Gardens and at the Nation Institute of fruit trees in Shizuoka Prefecture.
What was she thinking of when she wrote hanamizuki?
How to stop the chain of hatred and anger.
What does she long for in her song?
Peace.
Where were the cherry trees planted?
Half went to New York and half were planted along the banks of the Potomac river in Washington DC.
What did the US government do in 2012 and why?
What was she worried about when she wrote the lyrics?
That the events (for example of 9/11) would gradually fade from people's memory.
What does she pray for?
Everyone can live lives free from fear and suffering
What tradition has this started in America?
The National cherry blossom festival has been held in Washington DC every year since 1947.
Why are hanamizuki symbolic to disaster throughout history?
They signify a hope for recovery.
Why do listener's not recognise the message of peace in her song?
Because Hitoto Yo chose to erase the words "war" and "destruction" and instead use the image of flowering dogwoods to express hope and love.
How did she support victims for the 2011 disaster?
She sang at concerts.