UK junior Sarah Gooch is one of only 161 recipients of the National Security Education Program Boren Scholarship. The Boren Scholar, from Georgetown, Ky., will use the $20,000 scholarship to study and teach in Japan in the fall.

As Japan gifted Washington D.C. with cherry trees in 1912, offspring of those original trees are being donated to Kentucky and four will be planted at UK. A dedication ceremony will be held for this gift on April 26.

Tsugaru shamisen musicians Oyama x Nitta will present a concert at UK on April 1 as part of the Kentucky Cherry Blossom Festival. Yutaka Oyama and Masahiro Nitta are known for using the Tsugaru shamisen instrument to bring a modern sensibility to ancient, highly percussive folk music sometimes referred to as "Japanese bluegrass."