A Japanese miscellany - University of Oregon

1^0 Japanese Miscellany
miqueliana), and the Higan-bana, or "Flower
of Higan" {Lycoris radiata). What we term
" Job's Tears " are in Japan called Zu\udama,
or Buddhist rosary-beads; and a kind of dove
is known — probably because of its markings
— as the Zu\uhake-hato , or " Rosary-bearing
Dove." The Allium victoriale is called Gyoja-
ninniku, or " Hermit's garlic " (" gyoja " being
the Buddhist term for hermit) ; and the popu-
lar Japanese name for the Bleeding-heart is
Keman-so, or " Keman-htrh," — an appellation
probably due to the resemblance of the flower
to the Keman, or decoration, placed upon the
head of the statue of Buddha. Perhaps the
water-arum has the most curious of all such
Buddhist appellations : its Japanese name, Koku-
len-so literally signifies the " Small-sitting-in-
Dhylna-meditation-plant.
"
The word Sennin, — commonly translated as
"Genius" or "Fairy," but originally meaning
Rishi, — a being who has acquired supernatural
power and unlimited life by force of ascetic
practices, — occasionally appears in plant-names.
A variety of Clematis is known as Sennin-so,
or "Fairy-weed"; and a kind of cactus has