SLICE OF JAPANESE CULTURE BLOOMING CHERRY TREES, FRIENDSHIP CELEBRATED.

Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Cherry trees started blooming at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum just in time for the debut Friday of the library's Cherry Blossom Festival, a celebration of friendship and Japanese culture.

The trees, donated with the help of a local Japanese-American group, symbolize harmony with nature and people, and should remain blooming at the library for weeks.

The Rev. Alfred Tsuyuki, head minister of Konko Church of Los Angeles, was asked to conduct a traditional Shinto rite at the festival, and said Reagan's friendship represented a turning point in Japanese-American relations.

Reagan was known for the close personal relationship he developed with former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, with Reagan calling Nakasone Yasu and Nakasone calling the president Ron.

In Japan, it is a national pastime to enjoy the cherry blossoms, Tsuyuki said.

``The Shinto tradition is to be in harmony with nature and with all people,'' he said. ``Enjoying the cherry blossoms is part of welcoming the spring season and opening our hearts to others.''

The library's festival included Odori dancers, Taiko drums, Koto harp music, Japanese fencing, demonstrations of calligraphy and flower-arranging and a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, making it one of the biggest celebrations of Japanese culture in Ventura County.

Members of the America Miyazaki Cherry Tree Association, founded by Rocky Mori of Simi Valley, helped contribute the trees to the library and other sites in Simi Valley, including the civic center.

A California variety of cherry tree is used at the library, and the trees bloom earlier than cherry trees of other varieties used in Japan and in Washington, D.C., Mori said.

Although the library trees usually bloom in February, they are blooming late this year, with only a few blossoms in time for the festival.

``This year they will probably reach their peak in March,'' Mori said.

Washington's National Cherry Blossom Festival in April celebrates the thousands of trees that were given by Japan to the United States in the early 20th century.

Jokichi Takamine, known for isolating adrenaline in 1901, helped donate the Washington trees, and his grandson, Jokichi ``Joe'' Takamine III, who practices medicine in Santa Monica, was an honored guest at the Reagan Library festivities.

Mori said he is proud to be a part of the Japanese-American tradition and sees his work helping to plant trees at the library and elsewhere in Simi Valley as a way to give something back to the community where he raised his two daughters.

``I wanted my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to remember that I did something for the city of Simi Valley and the Reagan Library,'' he said.

Some of the cherry trees are planted along the walkway from the parking lot to the library's main entrance, but most are planted on a bank of landscaping still under development west of the library's replica of the White House South Lawn and Reagan's grave.

The Reagan Library and Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $12, or $9 for visitors 62 and older and $3 for children 11 through 17. Children under 10 are free.

There is no charge to visit the cherry trees and library grounds at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley.

Eric Leach, [phone]

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Toshishiro Obata demonstrates swordsmanship by slicing bamboo during the Reagan Library's Cherry Blossom Festival.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News