In terms of peach production, Osaka ranks around 30th in the country, but it is home to the peach with the world’s highest sugar content, certified by Guinness. It is the peach from Kishiwada City’s Kanechika area, where the peach orchard is currently in full bloom. Across the country, cherry blossoms are also in full bloom. While many people flock to see the cherry blossoms, there is no one here in Kanechika’s peach orchard. What is the reason for this difference? While you may know that cherry blossoms are Japan’s national flower, there is no other country in the world where the entire nation takes such an interest in a single flower. The long-awaited cherry blossoms, which bloom on a peaceful spring day with the warm sun shining down , are beautiful and perfect for leisurely viewing, but they quickly scatter and are gone. It is precisely in line with the Japanese sentiment. It also leads to Bushido, which says, “Flowers are Sakuragi, people are Samurai.” In contrast, the peach blooms continuously from early March to mid-April, and its flowers are robust and long-lasting, with the added anticipation of the delicious peach fruit to come. This creates a greater sense of expectation for the fruit than the blossom.

桃の生産量では全国で30番前後の大阪に、糖度世界一でギネス認定された桃があります。岸和田市包近の桃です。今その桃園の花が満開です。相前後して全国ではどことも桜が満開。桜には多くの人が押し寄せていますが、ここ包近の桃園には誰もいません。この違いは何でしょう。桜が日本の国花であることはご存知だと思いますが、世界的に見ても、ひとつの花に全国民がこぞってこれほど関心を持つ国はありません。待ち焦がれて、陽がのどかに射している春の日に咲く桜は美しく、のんびりと静かに桜を見ていたいのに、あっという間に散ってしまう桜は、日本人の心象にぴったりなのです。「花は桜木、人は武士」の武士道にも通じます。その点、桃は３月の初めから４月半ばまで咲き続け、花持ちはしっかりしていますし、その先に美味しい桃の実が成ります。その期待の方が大きいのです。