Masatoshi Asari (94) is a Japanese school teacher turned world-renowned cherry blossom breeder, known for creating a new breed of Japanese flowering cherries called Matsumae cherries.
Almost every day for the past seven decades, he has dedicated himself to creating, growing and disseminating many of the world’s most distinctive and diverse breed of cherry trees.
Asari’s work began in the 1960s in Matsumae Park, Hokkaido, where he hybridised flowering cherries. Today, over 10,000 cherry trees bloom on the slopes of the park overlooking the Tsugaru Strait every spring. The multi-coloured canopies of cherry blossoms stretch over miles of meandering paths. Many of these trees are the offspring of the 116 cultivars that he has created. As a group, these are known as Matsumae-zakura or Matsumae cherries.
Asari’s creations were relatively unknown outside Japan until the 1980s, when his work was featured in the “Manual of Japanese Flowering Cherries” published by the Flower Association of Japan.
Asari’s work was motivated by his desire to atone for the mistreatment of prisoners of war during World War II, which he got to know through his older brother’s accounts. Thanks to his dedicated efforts, Matsumae cherry trees have now spread to many countries across the world.
Asari’s conservation and breeding work earned him the title of “Sakuramori,” meaning “protector of cherry trees.”
Image: A postage stamp depicting cherry blossoms issued by Japan in 2015 to commemorate the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. Courtesy https://www.stampsoftheworld.co.uk/wi
For more details about Masatoshi Asari’s work, please visit the link https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/04/09/japan/masatoshi-asari-cherry-blossoms/