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 O-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- 
179 
