THE TREE PEONY 



The peony was much cherished by the upper 

 classes, who gave it " scrupulous care and nurs- 

 ing " in order to produce flowers of enormous 

 size. This care included, according to Ito Ifui, 

 the rubbing of the stems with camellia oil in order 

 to free the bark of lichens and moss! 



In Japanese art the plum blossom is insep- 

 arably connected with the nightingale. Similar 

 combinations of bird and flower or beast and 

 flower are found in the many designs of the 

 country, as, for example, bamboo leaves and spar- 

 rows, deer and maple leaves, peonies and peafowl. 



The " exuberant flower " of the peony, with 

 its long, curling petals, was a favourite subject in 

 art. With peacock or Shishi — a kind of conven- 

 tional lion derived from the Chinese — the peony 

 forms the constant decoration of temple and 

 palace walls. 



As the peony was given royal rank and was 

 regarded as the queen of all flowering plants, it 

 had to be used alone in any indoor flower arrange- 

 ment and had to be placed in the position of 

 honour in the room, that is, on the dais of the 

 principal recess. 



The peony has a place in the religion of the 



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