Why cherry blossoms signal year's start for Japanese.

The cherry blossoms started to bloom surprisingly early this year despite the severe chill of winter, which had made me expect they would flower much later than usual. But it seems that a cold winter is indispensable for cherry blossoms because the severer the cold, the more beautiful the blossoms.

I think this is very symbolic. At the same time cherry blossoms bloom, many "newcomers" emerge in society, entering schools, companies and other organizations for the first time. Whether they "bloom beautifully" will depend on the severity of every aspect of their lives and training up until that moment, or so the story goes.

From time to time, I hear that young people who have just started new jobs are somewhat lethargic. If this is true, I suspect it may be due to a lack of discipline in their lives, …