Untitled

30
THE WONDERFUL CITY OF TOKIO.
were not quite correct. When the landlady entered, the Pro-
fessor inquired where she had obtained the picture.
"Ah!" she said, "that is a very valuable thing. A
foreign gentleman once came out here to stay. His remittances
did not arrive in time, so he gave me that picture in
1
;cu of a month's rent."
"What does it mean?" asked Oto. "Our countrywomen
never dressed in that fashion."
"Certainly not," was the smiling response.
r
Those are,
honorable foreign
"
It is signed
ladies going to a matsuri (festival)."
Emile Bayard, and was painted by quite a
celebrated French artist," said the Professor. "I wonder
where he got his models?"
"I should think out of his own head," said Fitz. "No one
ever saw Japanese children rigged up in that style."
They entered the grounds of the temple of Temmangu
and passing the outer gate, saw a pond around which were
many wistaria trees, trained upon trellises and covered with
straw to protect the young branches.
After walking over a bridge they came to a gate that faced
the temple.
In the garden, before the main edifice, stood a beautiful
tree which was one mass of red and white blossoms.
:r
That," said Oto, "was grown from a seed of the celebrated
Flying Plum-tree."
"Flying?" queried Johnnie. "Surely you must be joking."
"Oh, no!" gravely replied the young doctor. "There
have been several books written about the tree. Sugawara-no-
Michizane, who is worshipped in this temple under the title of
Tern-man Dai-ji-zai Ten-jin, was one of our national heroes."
"Did he kill himself?" inquired Fitz.
"No," laughingly answered Oto. "He was a great scholar