The ephemeral beauty of cherry blossoms (sakura, 桜) represents the transience of life, which stems from the Buddhist idea of impermanence of all things.

This woodblock print by Ogata Gekko features mother and children playing under the blooming sakura trees. A sense of movement and joy was added by the scattering petals in the wind, representing a flower blizzard (hana-fubuki, 花吹雪).

(via @ROMtoronto@twitter)