As the rest of the world welcomed the coming of a new year with festive sparklers and glowing optimism, an unidentified vandal tore apart two cherry trees in front of a cultural center in San Francisco’s Japantown.
ABC7 News reports the vandal tore the tree apart branch by branch in front of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC). The process occurred over the course of three days, with the vandal returning over the weekend after New Year’s Day to “finish the job.”
“To me, it looked like a total violent assault on those trees,” Paul Osaki, JCCCNC executive director, said. He further noted the intentionality of the vandalization by the strength with which the perpetrator would have needed to use to break branches that were several inches thick from 15-foot-tall trees.
The remains of the beautiful tree elicited a sickening feeling further compounded by their historical and cultural significance. Their origins can be traced back to 1994, when they were first planted to welcome Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko to America. “They weren’t regular street trees to us,” Osaki said to ABC7. “We planted them with intent, purpose and culture in mind.”
Though perhaps innocuous, the timing of the vandalism adds another dimension to its hurtful message. In an interview with SFGATE, Osaki said, “In Japanese culture, it’s not New Year’s Eve that’s important. It’s New Year’s Day that families gather and celebrate. And the trees were very symbolic for us when they bloomed. They meant beauty; they mean beginning again.” The branches of two trees targeted by the vandal were hacked off before their buds could bloom, meaning two cherry blossom trees would not be present to usher in a new era after a year full of contention, tragedy, and loss.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incidence—two years ago, a third cherry blossom tree was vandalized in a similar fashion. Though JCCCNC requested help from the city to replace the tree back then, the center shouldered the costs of replacement by itself. This time, Osaki hopes that not only will the city take action in aiding the replacement of the damaged trees (the costs of which could go up to $10,000) but that it will also investigate the incident as a hate crime using surveillance footage from the center.
“[The trees] had personal meaning to us, so seeing them so violently destroyed, we took it internally as it reflected on our cultural heritage,” Osaki said.
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