The first job I was ordered to do when I entered the workforce was to remove caterpillars.

It was not the job I had imagined.

I never thought it would last more than 30 years.

But now, every year, I put everything into it just for one week.

There is such a guardian of spring in Osaka.

(Osaka Broadcasting Station News Reporter: Mayu Ogawa)

After the new employee training...

An employee of the Mint in Osaka, Hidekatsu Watanabe.
He wanted to work for the Mint because he wanted to create a medal for a country that required skill.

However, one day after completing one month of training for new employees, I was assigned to a new employee, and my boss told me to arrive.

Caterpillars line up the cherry trees. Not one or two.

"Drop it and catch it"

It was the first time since I was a child that I touched a caterpillar.

Thirty years have passed since then.
Watanabe is known as "Sakura Mamoru."

Osaka's spring tradition, passing through the cherry blossoms

The Mint is built along the former Yodo River.
There are 140 cherry trees of 339 varieties lined up on the site, and it is known as a famous place for cherry blossoms.

It is open to the public in time for full bloom in early spring.
"It would be a waste to see the cherry blossoms only by the bureau members," began in Meiji 16 with the idea of the director general at the time, and this year marks the 140th anniversary.

Eventually, it came to be called "Passing through the cherry blossoms" and has been loved by the people of Osaka throughout the Showa and Heisei eras.

Passing through the cherry blossoms in 1976

At the time, the visitors
said, "After all, Osaka people don't feel like they've seen cherry blossoms here for a long time Reiwa,"

and now cherry blossoms are posted on various SNS.
However, many people do not know that its beauty is not just left to nature.

From the perspective of a viewer of cherry blossoms

As a staff member of the Facilities Division, Watanabe is entrusted with the management of the cherry blossoms while inspecting the building.

It's best for Sakura not to really touch it.
However, it is said that sentai is indispensable for visitors who pass through the cherry blossoms.

Low branches are cut off, so as not to obstruct the passage.
However, if you cut too much, you will have to look up to see the cherry blossoms.

It is difficult to discern.
Moreover, it does not cut all the low branches.

"I thought it would be good to leave the cherry blossoms in the low part because the face would be just as high as the cherry blossoms,"

he thinks from the perspective of a spectator.

Pay attention to your step.

The steps created by the roots of the cherry blossoms push up and the tiles on the ground are even replaced so that no one trips.

"I hope we can make the cherry blossoms bloom the same way every year, but we can make them better every year."

Even if there is no one to watch ...

However, there was a time when the history of cherry blossom passing through was almost cut off.
It's a corona disaster.

In 2020, the cherry blossom trail was canceled.

It was the first time since World War II and the first since the end of the war.
Still, I didn't miss taking care of the cherry blossoms.

In an interview at the time in 2, he said:

At the time of the interview in 2020

"It's a shame that people won't be able to see so many beautiful flowers, and I'll do my best to take good care of them for another year so that they bloom beautifully next year,"

he said, adding to the following year, 1, when the cherry blossom trail was canceled.
I have continued to care for the cherry blossoms while thinking about the people who come to see them.

Smile back

And last year, the cherry blossom passage was revived.
Advance reservations are required and the number of people is limited, but smiles have returned under the cherry blossoms.

This year's festival will be open to the public for one week from April 4.
Many people are passing under the cherry blossoms.

Parents and children
of onlookers: "I'm glad you saw it beautifully.

A female
onlooker: "When I was a child, my parents brought me here, and I love flowers, and I forget everything. I definitely want to come as long as I can move."

Cherry blossoms 10 years from now

To let people see the cherry blossoms with a smile in the future.

Now that he is 50 years old, Watanabe is focusing on passing on technology to the next generation.

In order to keep the variety of cherry blossom varieties alive, "grafting" is indispensable.
We will teach you detailed techniques such as how to insert the teeth of a box cutter into a branch.

"Well, I think it will probably take 10 years before it comes out. I think everyone will do their own thing next time."

Young staff
: "It's not strict, they always teach me kindly and in detail. However, I go to see the cherry blossoms first thing in the morning right after a typhoon. It's amazing. I've been thinking about cherry blossoms up to that point."



It may be a gift given to us by one of the Sakura Mamoru who joined the bureau on that day 30 years ago because he wanted to make a medal.

"When I see people taking beautiful pictures and looking at the cherry blossoms, I think I'm glad I did it for one year, and the people who come to see it make me feel happy, and when I see their smiles, I feel happy too."

I would like to make it easier to pass through the cherry blossoms with many beautiful flowers."

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