'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms

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'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - 'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms, Episode 1

Cherry blossoms are synonymous with Japan and the United Kingdom, but what is their story?

4 Extra Debut. Author Naoko Abe’s curiosity about Collingwood Ingram’s link to the preservation of ancient cherries. Read by Hattie Morahan.

Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a 100 years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.

Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he fell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.

On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked at the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.

For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.

‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the 20th century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.

In this opening episode, the author keeps seeing the name of Collingwood Ingram associated with the preservation of ancient cherries, and wants to find out more about this fascinating man.

Written and translated by Naoko Abe

Read by Hattie Morahan

Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies

Producer:  Lizzie Davies

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2019.

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