Spring is upon the northern hemisphere, and the cherry blossoms transform into a living painting, only for a couple of weeks. The pink blossoms symbolise the impermanence and transience of life, the importance of cherishing every moment.
The tradition of flower viewing, known as “hanami,” dates back centuries and involves people gathering for picnics to appreciate the beauty of seasonal blossoms. Recently, however, cherry blossoms have gained attention for a different reason. Live streamers have been seen hanging from the branches, inadvertently shaking off the petals and creating chaos online.
IRL streamers Mizkif and Tokyo Sims caught heat for doing “pull-ups and gymnastic tricks” on a branch of the cherry blossom tree. The deleted video showed the two, along with content creator Swhite, taking turns hanging and doing calisthenic moves at a Japanese park late evening.
In response, netizens criticised the lack of respect for culture in a foreign land, while those opposing suggest that the trees are just trees and people are overreacting. One of the significant posters of the issue was Shibuya Kaho, a local content creator and cosplayer. She wrote on Twitter: “It just broke my heart to see someone I actually know doing such things in Japan; it’s always been unknown people on social media.”
Some users pointed out that local authorities have already put up signs all around Japan, instructing against tampering with the trees, while trolls run rampant, suggesting people are too emotional about the cultural symbol. The divide in the views and opinions is stark, almost as if this were a live demonstration of the online disinhibition effect.
While the discourse has already left its mark on the faith in humanity for those reading the comments, Mizkif did write an apology, expressing regret for his conduct. In the tweet, he posted: “I have been in Japan for the past few months and I have loved the Japanese culture… so much I came back twice… I do not want to promote my actions as proper; they were wrong, and should be seen as such.”
Mizkif expressed a desire for people not to target those who criticised him, understanding that what he’s done is wrong. Tokyo Sims also issued their own statement, writing: “As Japanese, we’d like to apologize for the reckless behavior involving something significant in our culture. We feel ashamed to have made climbing recklessly on these sacred trees seem okay.” Their apology went on to express their disappointment at not having better foresight before carrying out the act.
This isn’t the first time such an issue has come under the spotlight, as just previous incidents saw tourists and influencers shaking sakura branches for photos. Just last year, this also drew similar backlash from netizens, slamming tourists and influencers for their disrespect of the sacred tree.
Watch the viral clip below:
Content creators Mizkif and Tokyo Sims are drawing criticism for doing pull-ups and gymnastic tricks on a Japanese cherry tree. One Japanese language post about it has already received over 200k views.pic.twitter.com/XEAeQO2Hty https://t.co/rVbSMMIr2j
— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) April 6, 2025
Gan contributed to this article.
