T 



IV. THE CHERRY. 

 HIS is the prince of flowers in Japan. 



"Hana wa sakura; 

 Hito wa bushi." 



"The flower [is] the cherry ; 

 The man [is] the knight." 



Just as the bushi, or samurai (knight), was the beau 

 ideal among Japanese men, i. e., the "gentleman" of the 

 nation ; so the cherry, with its spotless blossoms, "symbol- 

 izing that delicacy of sentiment and blamelessness of life 

 belonging to high courtesy and true knightliness," is the 

 Chevalier Bayard of Japanese flowers. 



The wild cherry is said to have existed in Japan from 

 time immemorial; and from this "have been developed 

 countless varieties, culminating in that which bears the 

 pink-tinged double [yaesakura] blossoms as large as a 

 hundred-leaved rose, covering every branch and twig with 

 thick rosettes. A faint fragrance arises from these sheets 

 of bloom." (Scidmore's Jinrikisha Days in Japan.} 



The pale pink is the only one that takes first rank among 

 cherry blossoms. "When, in spring, the trees flower, it is 

 as though fleeciest masses of clouds faintly tinged by sun- 

 set had floated down from the highest sky to fold them- 

 selves about the branches .... The reader who has never 

 seen a cherry-tree blossoming in Japan cannot possibly 

 imagine the delight of the spectacle. There are no green 



