Sakura Orihon Exhibition

US National Arboretum

March 10 to April 8, 2018; February 25 to April 5, 2019; February 21 to August 15, 2020; March 1 to April 20, 2021; March 24 to April 10, 2022 (Nashville Tree Foundation); March 4 to April 2, 2023; March 1 to April 20, 2025

Collaboration US National Arboretum, Japan-US Friendship Commission, Travis Rothe Graphic Design, Steven Steinheimer, Jamie Sun, Bian Simin, Friends of the US National Arboretum, Nashville Tree Foundation, Dr. Andrew Bell, Nashville Central Library

Trees the three great cherry trees of Japan: Usuzumi-zakura, Yamataka Jindai-zakura, and Miharu Takizakura; and hundreds others

Credits Olivia Anderson Photography, Ron Henderson

Recognition Honor Award for Communication, American Society of Landscape Architects, 2023

Sakura Orihon: Diary of a Cherry Blossom Journey

Ron Henderson was selected as a Japan-US Friendship Commission Creative Artist Fellow in 2012 for his project, “Routine Maintenance: Caring for Plants in Japan,” This research and drawing project was directed toward the cultural and horticultural practices around the Japanese cherry tree and cherry blossoms.

A selection of thirteen sketchbooks from this fellowship are the subject of a solo exhibition at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the US National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. Followed the blossoming cherry trees from south to north in Japan, the culture of cherry trees were recorded in folding sketchbooks called orihon (ori=folding, hon=book). The work celebrates the cherry blossom culture in Japan, highlighting pilgrimages to famous venerable trees. The exhibition also focuses on the horticultural practices that extend the lives of cherry trees in Japan, illustrating pruning techniques, branch crutches, rope tenting, and root grafting. The exhibition was curated by Kathleen Emerson-Dell and designed in collaboration with Travis Rothe. The inaugural exhibition was in Spring 2018 and the highly successful exhibition has been re-installed annually.