The wide diversity of patterns reflects a variety of influences, ranging from Arabic calligraphy, European bouquets and Chinese phoenixes to Japanese cherry blossoms and Indian or Persian peacocks.

UNESCO: Culture

Aside from being seasonally apt, the dish perfectly articulated Benu's point of view: With the torchon, he was referencing his past at the French Laundry (there's a signature foie gras au torchon on that institution's menu), and with the Japanese ankimo and cherry blossom, he was mining the legacy of the city's substantial East and Southeast Asian populations.

WSJ: San Francisco: Culinary Capital

In Japanese art and poetry, cherry blossoms have also served as metaphors for "the ephemerality of life", said James Ulak, the senior curator of Japanese art at Washington's Freer and Sackler art galleries, in an interview with NPR.

BBC: Cherry blossom festivals amid tragedy

Both natural events bring the Japanese out en masse to celebrate the changing seasons, with hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties in the springtime and momiji-gari (maple leaf viewing) in the fall.

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Hanami is an important Japanese custom, when locals break free of their conservative reputation and enjoy a picnic with friends and family under the cherry blossom trees.

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