There is but one spot, as far as 

 legends tell us, where it is not deemed 

 lucky to cultivate chrysanthemums, 

 and that is the pretty little city called 

 Himeji, in the province of Harima. In 

 the city of Himeji are the ruins of a castle 

 with thirty turrets, which belonged to a 

 rich nobleman. In the grounds of the 

 castle was the house of one of the noble- 

 man's retainers, who had a serving maid 

 named 0-kiku, the word kiku mean- 

 ing chrysanthemum flower. Her duty 

 was to take care of the many precious 

 things in the house, — rare bronzes, 

 images of beaten brass set with jewels, 

 the household shrines, and all that was 

 costly and fine. Among the many 

 beautiful things were ten splendid 

 dishes of gold which it was her duty 

 to keep bright. One of these dishes 

 was suddenly missed. Even after long 

 search it could not be found, and the 

 girl, knowing she would be held re- 

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