Symposium to be held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kakunodate's cherry blossom cultural heritage designation

It has been 50 years since the nationally designated natural monument "Kakunodate Shidarezakura" and the nationally designated scenic spot "Hinokinai River Bank (Sakura)" were designated cultural assets. Semboku City will hold a symposium to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the designation of Kakunodate's Sakura as a cultural asset. In the morning session, we will invite participants from the city to carry out fertilization work on the cherry tree-lined banks of the Hinokinai River. In the afternoon session, we will hold a keynote speech looking back on the history of Sakura and a panel discussion to consider the future of Sakura. We look forward to your participation.

For more details, please see this flyer (PDF: 1.6MB)

Date and time

Reiwa, May 18, 2025

Morning session: Fertilizing cherry trees "Thank you fertilizer"

Location

Cherry blossom trees along the banks of the Hinokinai River in Kakunodate , Semboku City (between Yokomachi Bridge and Kojo Bridge)

Time​

From 10:00 to 11:30

● Advance application

April 1st to May 16th (Friday) (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) 8:30am to 5:15pm

Contact details

Cultural Properties Division ☎0187-43-3384

Afternoon Symposium

Location​

Semboku City Kakunodate Community Center (free admission, no registration required)

Time​

From 12:45 to 16:30

Keynote speech

• Speaker: Noboru Kurosaka (Semboku City Sakura Advisor)
• Title: "Records of the Cherry Blossom Guardians of Kakunodate- Looking back 50 years since the designation as a cultural property"

● Sakura diagnosis results presentation by second-year students of Kakunodate Junior High School

• Presenters: Several representative second-year students from Kakunodate Junior High School

Panel discussion

• Theme : "What is necessary to preserve Kakunodate's cherry blossoms for the next 50 years"

Coordinator​

• Akifumi Makita (Executive Director and Vice President, Akita Prefectural University)

Panelists :

• Mr. Tomoaki Taguchi (Mayor of Senboku City)
• Ms. Makiko Hashiba (Cherry Blossom Guardian, Chief of the Management Section, Parks and Green Spaces Division, Hirosaki City)
• Mr. Odano Naomitsu (14th head of the Odano Seiemon Main Family of the Kakunodate Samurai Residence)
• Mr. Atsushi Tanaka (Cultural Property Investigator, Cultural Property Division 2, Agency for Cultural Affairs)