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, "symbolising 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 varie- 

 ties, culminating in that which bears the pink-tinged double [yae- 

 zakura\ 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 sunset had floated down from the 

 highest sky to fold themselves about the branches .... The reader 

 who has never seen a cherry-tree blossoming in Japan cannot pos- 

 sibly imagine the delight of the spectacle. There are no green 

 leaves ; these come later ; there is only one glorious burst of blos- 

 soms, veiling every bow and twig in their delicate mist ; and the 

 soil beneath each tree is covered deep out of sight by fallen petals 

 as by a drift of pink snow." (Hearn's Glimpses of Unfamiliar 

 Japan.) 



It is also to Professor Hearn that we are indebted for the fol- 

 lowing: "About this mountain cherry (yamazakura) there is a 

 humorous saying that illustrates the Japanese love of puns. In order 

 fully to appreciate it, the reader should know that Japanese nouns 



