More cherry blossoms

 The trees were in full bloom and really smelled nice.

 This picture shows the top of the kofun (a grave mound about 1,500 years old) in Antoku Park. The people are having picnics under the cherry blossoms. When the blossoms come up, the people come out. Most company employees stake out an area under the trees and, as soon as work is over for the day, they go and eat and drink under the trees.

Cherry blossoms have a strong metaphorical meaning for the Japanese. When they bloom, they are beautiful but only for a short time. Then they die and make a mess, contrasting with the previous beauty. This is a metaphor for life. We live beautiful lives but they are short and then we die and rot away. One additional feature to the metaphor. The trees blossom every year and this can be likened to the Buddhist concept of reincarnation. The same thing comes back (the blossoms) but each time they are different.

This is the kofun as viewed from the parking lot. My ground golf course is off to the left.