[Footnote 33: A mountain spoken of in Chinese literature. It was said to be in the Eastern Ocean, and people of extraordinary long lives, called Sennin, were supposed to dwell there.] [Footnote 34: In China and Japan handwriting is considered no less an art than painting.] [Footnote 35: An ideal woman patroness of the art of dyeing.] [Footnote 36: The weaver, or star Vega. In the Chinese legend she is personified as a woman always engaged in weaving.] [Footnote 37: In the same legend, it is said that this weaver, who dwells on one side of the Milky Way in the heavens, meets her lover--another star called Hikoboshi, or the bull-driver--once every year, on the evening of the seventh day of the seventh month. He dwelt on the other side of the Milky Way, and their meeting took place on a bridge, made by birds (jays), by the intertwining of their wings. It was this which gave rise to the popular festival, which takes place on this day, both in China and Japan.] [Footnote 38: Little darlings--a kind of pink.] [Footnote 39: The Tokonatz (everlasting summer) is another name for the pink, and it is poetically applied to the lady whom we love.] [Footnote 40: A female divinity in Indian mythology.] [Footnote 41: From the Chinese poet Hak-rak-ten, who was mentioned before. He says in one of his poems: "Once upon a time a certain host invited to his abode a clever match-maker. When the guests were assembled he poured forth wine into a beautiful jar, and said to all present, 'drink not for a moment, but hear what I say about the two choices, daughters of the rich get married soon, but snub their husbands, daughters of the poor get married with difficulty but dearly love their mothers-in-law.'"] [Footnote 42: A soft style of Japanese writing commonly used by ladies.] [Footnote 43: A stiff and formal style of Japanese writing.] [Footnote 44: The fifth of May is one of the five important national festivals. A solemn celebration of this fete used to be performed at Court. It is sometimes called the festival of the "Sweet Flags,"--_calami aromatici_--because it was held at the season when those beautiful water-plants were in the height of perfection.] [Footnote 45: Another of the five above-mentioned. It was held on the ninth of September, and it was customary on the occasion for rhymes to be given out to those present, wherewith to compose Chinese poems. It was sometimes called the "Chrysanthemum Festival," for the same reason that the celebration of the fifth of May was termed the "Sweet Flag Festival."] [Footnote 46: This is an astrological superstition. It is said that when this God is in any part of the compass, at the time being, it is most unlucky to proceed towards it, and to remain in the same line of its direction.] [Footnote 47: The deputy governor of the province Iyo; he is supposed to be in the province at this time, leaving his young wife and family behind.]