Taiko Hanami Gyoretsu - Kyoto Cherry Blossom Festival
Spring is the time of cherry blossoms in Japan and Japanese love their hanami. Hanami is cherry blossom viewing parties where people gather under the sakura blossoms and make merry. One of the grandest hanami events ever held was over 400 years ago at Daigo Temple in Kyoto. The host of this hanami was the most powerful man in Japan at the time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and this gala event could be see as the culmination of an extraordinary life which began in a farmer's hut. Toyotomi was the medieval Japan's ultimate rags-to-riches story. Toyotomi was born to a poor farmer/foot soldier during a time of anarchy known as the Sengoku Period or Warring States when Japan was torn apart by feuding warlords. He joined the services of Oda Nobunaga an innovative warlord who began unifying the land. After Oda's death, Toyotomi continued this work and by 1590 succeeded in uniting all the warring factions in the country. Toyotomi became the strongest leader in Japan bu...