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308 HONDA THE SAMURAI.
bride and groom, ladies and gentlemen in waiting,
and all, except the judges, join.
The He"ik6 in the red helmets have won. The
riders now pass by the judges, salute, and stall their
horses. The gentlemen riders adjust dress, hair, and
toilet, and soon re-appear as spectators.
Several other games of dakiu followed the first
by fresh relays of Genji and He"ik6 youth. After
the final score the prizes were presented. Of the
three games played, the crack contestants, the whitehats,
or Genji, won two. The daimio presented with
his own hands a roll of figured white silk, a goldemblazoned
helmet with the armorial bearing of the
Genji upon it, and a porcelain vase of red Kaga
ware. To the subordinate players the daimio's son,
Fujimaro, gave scrolls of ornamented Echizen paper,
with his autograph written thereon.
Thus ended the polo tournament in honor of the
young couple and the Higo guests, with all the imposing
surroundings of feudal display. The value
in affording good exercise, health, enjoyment, and
discipline to eye, nerve, and muscle seemed exceedingly
great.
It had all the excitements of war, with
only an extremely low per cent of its danger, and
was evidently one of the best of the manly sports
of "the country of brave warriors."
So the days passed sweetly away during the whole
summer in which Kiku-himd was a bride. Nor did
her heart once become homesick for her southern
home.