Hanami, or the Japanese traditional practice of flower viewing is many centuries old. Depending on the season, the Japanese flowering Cherry trees bloom anywhere from late March early April to the middle of May. Hanami refers to the month long spectacle that culminates with the Sakura Matsuri weekend festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

According to the BBG, this past weekends festival saw 70,000 visitors. Fortunately, I averted the lines with MJ’s family pass.

There’re some 60+ events and cultural demonstrations that take place in the garden, but the last time I got to catch one of them was about 5 years ago, in ’06. This time around I saw the Taiko Drumming at noon on Saturday. I’ve been a fan of Taiko drumming for years, and to see it performed live re-invigorated that in me. Check out the videos below.

Although you’ll find numerous traditional cultural expressions at the BBG during the festival, you’ll also witness what has only recently been a surge of people participating in Cosplay.

Cosplay or “Costumed play” is actually an inherently American cultural expression which has its origins in the American Science Fiction convention. However, it was coined “cosplay” by a member of a Japanese studio in L.A in 1984. During play, fans of a certain genre or show dress in strange, sometimes elaborate garments- and they not only don the costume, but become the character and interact with others as such.

I think the BBG has incorporated an event where members of these cosplay networks can participate in a fashion show. Sadly, I didn’t catch that, but I was able to snap a few pictures of people in funny clothing.