Plum blossom festival in Kyoto's Kitano Tenman-gu shrine

Plum blossom festival in Kyoto's Kitano Tenman-gu shrine

KYOTO, Japan - The Kitano Tenman-gu shrine, a well-known plum blossom viewing site in Kyoto, holds a plum blossom festival on Feb. 25 with geisha serving tea to visitors. The shrine boasts 2,000 plum trees of 50 strains.

Abe gets courtesy call by 'plum mission' from Dazaifu shrine

Abe gets courtesy call by 'plum mission' from Dazaifu shrine

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (C) poses after receiving two "bonsai" plum trees during a courtesy call at his office in Tokyo on Feb. 9, 2015, by representatives of the Dazaifu Tenman-gu shrine in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Plum blossom festival in Kyoto's Kitano Tenman-gu shrine

Plum blossom festival in Kyoto's Kitano Tenman-gu shrine

KYOTO, Japan - The Kitano Tenman-gu shrine, a well-known plum blossom viewing site in Kyoto, holds a plum blossom festival on Feb. 25 with geisha serving tea to visitors. The shrine boasts 2,000 plum trees of 50 strains. (Kyodo)

Tenjinbashi bridge from yodogawa naniwabashi bridge

Tenjinbashi bridge from yodogawa naniwabashi bridge

Bridges built over Yodo River and Nakanoshima; Nanba Bridge to the fore, Tenjin Bridge and a slight view of Tenman Bridge to the rear. It is a picture before the Nanba Bridge was rebuilt of steel in 1876.==Date:unknown, Place:Osaka, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number23‐22‐0]

The Osaka Mint

The Osaka Mint

This mint was built after the Meiji Restoration as an affiliated organization of the Ministry of Finance with the objective of currency reform. Initially, it was called the Zoheiryo . Approximately 500 cherry trees of 77 kinds along the bank of Tenman River made the place famous in Osaka as the Torinuke (walk-through) of Zoheikyoku.==Date:unknown, Place:Osaka, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number23‐10‐0]