In Japan cherry blossoms also symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life and which is embodied in the concept of mono no aware.  The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality;
Mono no aware, literally “the pathos of things”, also translated as “an empathy toward things,” or “a sensitivity of ephemera,” is a Japanese term used to describe the awareness of mujo or the transience of things and a bittersweet sadness at their passing.