This is Megumi Yoshida, a 20-year-old from Saitama, a suburb of Tokyo, who's Japan's Cherry Blossom Queen for the next two years. Megumi is studying English literature in college, speaks the language very well - far better than our Japanese - and had fun using it today at Morris Arboretum. She met a large contingent of girls from Springside School and graciously let herself be photographed from every angle.
She was chosen from an initial group of 213. The 18K gold crown that goes with the title contains 200 cultured pearls donated by Mikimoto and apparently is quite large. Megumi travels with a smaller version, and instead of the grand ceremonial kimono that goes with the title, she wears her mother's orange and green silk one. It's very beautiful, embroidered with the Japanese crysanthemum and other symbols, and she says it dates to her mother's pre-marriage days. You can tell because the sleeves are long. Shorter sleeves indicate that the woman is married. I guess so she can wash the dishes.
Megumi has already been to China and to Capitol Hill, where she met Nancy Pelosi, about as far from a traditional, kimono-wearing gal as you can get. Tomorrow she flies home. Chaperone Sonoko Kudo, director of the Japan Cherry Blossom Association, says her charge will visit Germany next year.
The staff at Morris credits the lack of frost this year for the "cherries" being so beautiful. They really are. Down by the arboretum's garden railway, the cherry trees were so thick tiny pink and white petals were drifting by on the wind. Since I didn't have my glasses on, they looked like so much fur.
Everyone seems to be stepping a little lighter on this glorious spring day. Between "the queen's coming" and the flying fur, quite a day.
