Foreign Student (hereinafter FS): The cherry blossom is Japan’s national flower, but what significance does it have for Japanese people? Teacher (hereinafter T): As you know, pink cherry blossoms are flamboyant, but they fall after about a week of blooming. Japanese look forward to cherry blossom viewing and to having parties under the cherry blossoms. Because of its beauty, “sakura” (cherry blossom) is often used as a girl’s name. However, it has been occasionally used in a different manner. FS: In a different manner? To give an example, for what kind of thing? T: When you’re walking around town, have you ever seen long queues in front of stores? FS: Yes, I have. A queue formed outside a certain restaurant. I thought they would serve delicious cuisine and wanted to join the queue, but gave up as it looked like it would take a while. T: It’s often the case that there are sakura in these queues. FS: What do you mean by that? T: The “sakura” referred to here are fake customers. In other words, the restaurant hires these people to make it seem as if business is thriving. This trick is especially prevalent at street stalls or in theaters. FS: Why do you call them sakura? T: There are various theories about this, but it seems the name arose from the way they suddenly appear and disappear like cherry blossom that quickly blooms and falls. This practice is also called “yarase.” FS: If a long queue is made, real customers will go home. Don’t they conversely make a loss? T: That’s not a problem as Japanese have a tendency to want to do the same thing as others are doing. This is reflected in a joke about the Titanic. FS: By the Titanic you mean the luxurious passenger ship that sank in the Atlantic Ocean don’t you? T: That’s right. When the ship was sinking, there were not enough rescue boats. So, the captain said the following in order to get the male passengers to dive into the sea. To the Americans: “Now, you can be a hero.” To the British, just the one word: “Gentlemen.” To the Germans: “This is an order.” And to the Japanese: “Everyone is diving.” FS: Are there any other examples of sakura being misused? T: Cherry blossom has been the subject of many poems and songs and is often used as a metaphor for the transience of human life. Are you familiar with the kamikaze? FS: Do you mean the young pilots in the Japanese military who crashed into American warships? T: That’s right. In order to boost their morale, the state created some sakura-themed military songs. As in the lyrics, the young men died like “…blooming flowers fated to fall, we fall beautifully for our country.” In this way, a shadow is sometimes cast on the flamboyant pink flowers.