The fern leaves and _yuzuriha_, attached to the straw rope, are also in evidence on certain ceremonial arrangements which are to be seen in all households on New Year’s day. Two such objects are illustrated in Fig. 3. They are called _o kazari mono_, “honorably decorated thing.” Both of these stands of _sambo_ form are laid with paper covers on which are placed rice puddings (_mochi_) of various forms. Those on the stand at the left are large, flat and round, in shape representing the mirror into which Amaterasu looked when she came forth from the cave. Again they symbolize the sun, the _yo_ or male principle, and the moon, the _in_ or female principle. They are adorned with two fern leaves, a folded paper arrangement (called _noshi_) and a bitter orange (_daidai_) to which are attached two _yuzuri_ leaves. The Japanese are devoted to puns on words. _Daidai-yuzuri_, in pronunciation, is identical with the phrase which means “bequeath from generation to generation,” hence the adoption of the bitter orange with the _yuzuri_ leaves in the New Year’s decoration. Dried chestnut kernels (_kachiguri_) are often added to the arrangement, for the name suggests the happy thought of victory (_kachi_). The second stand which holds rice puddings is surmounted by a branch of pine, one of the well-known emblems of longevity. The pine, bamboo and plum are arranged together for this occasion and are known as _sho-chiku-bai_. At the base of the pine in Fig. 3 and lying on fern leaves, is a lobster. On account of the bent back and long tentacles it typifies a life so prolonged that the body is bent over and the beard reaches to the waist. A lobster or crayfish is often seen hanging to the center of the straw rope.