A Japanese miscellany - University of Oregon

Buddhist Names 129
nomenclature. Kobo-mtigi, or " Wheat of Kobo-
daishi," is a common name for the Carex mac-
rocephala ; and a variety of chestnut is called
Kobodaishi - kawa^u -no-huri, — " The Chestnut
that Kobodaishi did not eat."
Many names of plants or living creatures refer
to Buddhist customs, legends, rites, or beliefs.
The word bd^u, " priest " — (the origin of our
word " bonze ") — has been attached to several
plant-names. No less than three different herbs
are known, in different parts of the country, by
the name of Bo^ugusa, or " Priest-grass." In
the dialect of Chikuzen a kind of turtle is called
Umi-bo^u, or "Priest of the Sea," — a name,
by the way, also given to a mythical marine
monster, often represented in Japanese picture-
books. The name of the famous Bo-tree of
Buddhist tradition has been given in Japan, not
only to the Ficus religiosa, but also to the
Tilia miqueliana, popularly called Bodaiju
(Bodhidruma) . The great Buddhist festival of
the spring-equinox, the festival of the Higan,
or " Further Shore," has furnished names for
two plants which blossom about that time, — the
Higan-iahura or " Higan cherry-tree " (Prunus
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