The National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC, and celebrates the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. Today’s Festival now spans four weeks and welcomes more than 1.6 million people to enjoy diverse and creative programming promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty, and community spirit. Events are primarily free and open to the public.
Check out the 2025 Annual Review for Festival highlights, including Signature Events, Japanese culture, community, and more throughout a City in Bloom®!
More than 3,000 trees arrived in Washington in 1912 after coordination between the governments of the two countries. Dr. Jokichi Takamine, a world-famous chemist and the founder of Sankyo Co., Ltd. (today known as Daiichi Sankyo); Dr. David Fairchild of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Eliza Scidmore, first female board member of the National Geographic Society; and First Lady Helen Herron Taft lead the group to coordinate the gift.
In a simple ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Iwa Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador,
planted the first two trees from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park.
Since First Lady Taft’s involvement, the nation’s First Ladies have been proponents of the Festival. Historically, many were involved in events through the National Conference of State Societies’ Princess Program. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower crowned Queen Janet Bailey in 1953, and in 1976, Betty Ford invited the princesses to the White House. In 1965, Lady Bird Johnson accepted 3,800 Yoshino trees from the government of Japan and held a tree planting reenactment. All first ladies in recent years have served as Honorary Chair, with many participating as well. In 1999, First Lady Hillary Clinton took part in a tree planting ceremony. In 2001, First Lady Laura Bush greeted guests with remarks at the Opening Ceremony. First Lady Michelle Obama was involved in 2012, planting a cherry tree in West Potomac Park among dignitaries and guests.
In 1915, the United States Government reciprocated with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan
School children reenacted the initial planting and other activities, holding the first “festival” in 1927. Civic groups helped expand the festivities in 1935.
In 1981, the cycle of giving came full circle. Japanese horticulturists were given cuttings from the original trees in DC to replace some cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a flood.
The Festival expanded to two weeks in 1994 to accommodate a diverse schedule during the blooming period. Growing again in 2012, the 100-year anniversary was marked with a five-week celebration.
In 2020, the National Cherry Blossom Festival pivoted to a virtual Festival with one week’s notice at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
As the pandemic continued, the 2021 Festival featured hybrid programs and activities that extended beyond the Tidal Basin – across the District, in adjacent neighborhoods in Maryland and Virginia and even across the country and around the world.
The 2022 Festival celebrated the 110th anniversary of the gift of trees. What started with a gift is now one of the world’s greatest celebrations of spring.
The 2027 Festival will mark a century of celebrations, with this being the longest-running festival in DC.
