Sakura Bridges of Hope

A UK–Japan–Ukraine programme built around thirty cherry trees bred by Masatoshi Asari.

THE TREES

Masatoshi Asari, 95, has bred 116 varieties of cherry in Hokkaido, known as the Matsumae cherries. Through the 1970s and 1980s he sent them to China, North and South Korea, England and Poland. In his words: “The cherries were all symbols of peace. If they bloomed in places where people had been tormented because of aggression, I felt that I was fulfilling my responsibilities.”

Thirty of his saplings, grafted in England, now stand at Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium. They are Mr Asari’s gift. LSN organises the convoy and the programme around it.

THE CONVOY

In spring 2027 a convoy carries the trees through Poland to Kremenets in western Ukraine, with medical supplies and prosthetic limbs. The Kremenets Arboretum will plant thirty trees.

2026–2027

1 May 2026: Naoko Abe, “‘Sakura diplomacy’: One tree, two men, three wars”, The Japan Times

August 2026: Keele University awards Mr Asari an honorary degree in Hakodate; Ukrainian children’s paintings are shown there

11–12 October 2026: International Christian University, Tokyo

3–17 November 2026: exhibition, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London. Opening on 3 November at 6pm with Naoko Abe’s programme The Sakura Peace Journey

Spring 2027: convoy and planting at Kremenets

WHAT THE PROGRAMME MAKES

Film. Short documentary films directed by Adrian Pennink (Chimerica Media), narrated by Naoko Abe.

Theatre. Regeneration, a one-woman play commissioned from a Ukrainian playwright and performed by Kristin Milward. London in spring 2027, then Kremenets, Lviv and Kyiv.

Schools. Resources for UK schools, with Keele University’s arboretum. A children’s book, The Trees That Travelled.

Companion programme. A printed guide for each exhibition, linking the trees to five themes: biodiversity, education, reconciliation, relief of suffering and peacebuilding.

PARTNERS

Keele University · Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation · International Christian University · NPO Kraiany, Tokyo · Japan–Ukraine Sakura Peace Initiative · Kalmthout Arboretum · Kremenets Arboretum · Chimerica Media · Nights for Ukraine

THE CURRENT EXHIBITION

Tokyo — International Christian University, 11–12 October 2026. Edition 1 of the programme.

Each exhibition has its own edition of the programme. When the next exhibition opens, this page points to it.