Chap. III. 
THUJOPSIS DOLABRATA. 
55 
fashion, without milk or sugar, was set before us, 
and proved very agreeable. 
While we sipped our tea I had time to make 
some observations on the surrounding scenery. 
A quiet and secluded rice valley formed the fore- 
ground to the picture ; hills were on each side of 
us and behind us, densely covered with trees of 
many different kinds. Pines, evergreen oaks, 
chesnuts, bamboos, and palms — the latter giving a 
somewhat tropical character to the scenery — were 
the most common species. On a hill-side to the 
right of where we sat I observed a grove of the 
beautiful Thujopsis dolabrata, which I had come to 
look for. 
A stillness, almost solemn, reigned amongst 
these woods and temples, broken at times only by 
the call of the cock pheasant, or the rich clear note 
of some songster of the woods. What a charming 
place for a hermit, or for some one tired of the 
busy scenes and oppressing cares of the world ! 
But I had not come here to meditate only ; and, 
therefore, setting down my teacup, I intimated to 
the good priest that I wished to pay a closer visit 
to the “ Asnero ,” the Japanese name for Thujopsis 
dolabrata. The old man kindly led the way. On 
arriving at the grove of these trees we found an old 
cemetery amongst them ; and they had, no doubt, 
been planted there, along with a number of Crypto- 
meriaSy at the time the cemetery was first made. 
The “Asnero” is a beautiful tree, straight, 
symmetrical, attaining a height of 80 to 100 feet, 
