Jake Shimabukuro, master of the four-string ukelele, performs the Japanese folk tune "Sakura Sakura," traditionally played on a 13-string koto. Video courtesy of JakeShimabukuro's channel on YouTube. Didn't know the intro to Bon Jovi's "Tokyo Road" gave a nod to "Sakura Sakura" (See YouTube video here.) Nice.
REAL-LIFE CHERRY BLOSSOMS are beautiful. But the man-made images are tired and timeworn. The familiar and traditional need to evolve, or end up in museums and library archives, seen only by tour groups and Ph.d candidates. Global creatives -- like Hawaiian musician Jake Shimabukuro, rock band Bon Jovi, and the digital photographers here -- dodge the cliches and seek out the new. (Also see interesting cherry blossom photos from last spring.)
"Dreaming of Spring" by Temari 09 (no real name given), under a Creative Commons license on flickr.
