The small agricultural town of Miharu is located in Fukushima prefecture. It inherited the name “Miharu”, meaning “three sources”, from the exceptional flowering of its fruit trees: cherry, plum and peach. The town of 17,000 residents is best known for Miharu Takizakura (三 春 滝 桜), literally “spring waterfall cherry blossoms”, or simply “the most beautiful cherry tree in Japan”.
![Miharu Takizakura (三春滝桜)](https://offbeatjapan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/miharu_takizakura_ancient_weeping_cherry_blossom_tree.jpg)
A thousand-year-old cherry turned national treasure
This ancient tree has been classified as one of the three giant cherries of the Japanese archipelago (日 本 三 巨 大 桜) and among the five largest in Japan (日 本 五 大 桜).
The tree was also designated a national treasure in 1922, a first for any tree! Much appreciated by the Japanese, it is often cited in polls as the number one in the whole country.
![Miharu Takizakura (三春滝桜)](https://offbeatjapan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ancient_weeping_cherry_blossom_tree_japan.jpg)
It takes its name Takizakura (“cascade cherry”) from the shape of its branches, which when in bloom create a cascade of millions of pale pink petals, akin to a waterfall of blossom.
Modest in height (only 12 metres), it’s the circumference of the trunk (9.5 metres) and the spread of the branches (22 metres) that are so impressive.
A cherry waterfall dominating the hillside
Ideally located halfway up a small hill, visitors can admire the cherry tree from every angle: from the the roots upwards or from the top of the hill downwards.
![Miharu Takizakura (三春滝桜)](https://offbeatjapan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ancient-weeping-cherry-blossom-tree.jpg)
Miharu Takizakura usually blooms between mid and late April. At its peak, hundreds of thousands of people come to admire the colourful petals.
![Miharu Takizakura (三春滝桜)](https://offbeatjapan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/miharu-takizakura-ancient-weeping-cherry-blossom-tree.jpg)
These visitors represent an important source of revenue for the small municipality, which uses the entrance fee to maintain the tree.
Miharu Takizakura: a symbol of resilience
In 2005, snow almost got the better of the tree: heavy falls weakened some branches and they broke. Thanks to the mobilization of local residents, who cleared the snow and installed beams to support the tree, it held firm.
![Miharu Takizakura (三春滝桜)](https://offbeatjapan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/miharu_ancient_weeping_cherry_blossom_tree.jpg)
Then, on 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake shook the Fukushima region but Miharu Takizakura was miraculously undamaged.
The thousand-year-old cherry tree has become a regional symbol of resilience.
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