Wichita eagle., 1888-03-27
FLOWERS IN JAPAN.
FLORAL WONDERS OF THE DAN
GO-zAKA GARDENS.

sDthemums-Wa1king Flowerpieces-A
Floral Murderes--Giants, Dragons and
Demons in observation-disclosures Art.
No one goes to Dango-zaka except in
the chrysanthemum season, and the little
community tend, prune, dwarf and Guilt
vate their plants in peace until the chrys-
anthemums begin to flower. Then Dango-
zaka becomes gay fair. Banners, flags,
pennants, lanterns and gorgeous pos tiers
fill the sides of the steep, narrow street,
holiday crowds trudge up and down, and
before every garden entrance an eloquent
proprietor sits, Turk fashion, on table
covered with red blanket, and holding
his hands over . hibachi, or brazier of
charcoal, and sings the merits of his
,,hrysanthemums. The little gardens
themselves are models Of landscape art
and arrangement, all 80 many poems in
rocks, trees, vines and flowers. Dwarf
pines, dwarf NAPLES, dwarfed everything,
are ranged in prosaic rows or benches, but
the pet chrysanthemum bushes are now
housed in temporary huts or sheds Ct
bamboo mats, in order that not petal
! may uncurl or drop, and that they may be
kept at their perfect stage as long as posi-
BILE. Bushes as tall as those in the EN-
perors garden, covered with as superb and
! finely tinted blossoms, are there, but not
| in such regiments as in the imperial
| grounds These florists, too, have their
4 bushes bearing 100 and 200 separate and
| full blown flowers, and bushes where
! skillful grating has made the great top
I of variegated blossoms look like one well
| arranged bouquet Of long stemmed flow
4 erS.
| The specialties Of Dango-zaka gardens
1 are set pieces Of flowers that dwarf all
other floral efforts in that Ene. Under
| matted sheds, which are so many tenn
| porary stages without footlights, tableaux
with life size figures are arranged. The
| faces and hands of the figure are of wax
| or composition but their clothes and the
! accessories and scenery are made Of living
! flowers, trained so closely over frame
| works that one cannot even suspect a
mechanism. The flowers are not clipped,
\ and wired or toothpicked into place to
wilt in day, but the plants forming the
| lower parts of the pieces grow in the
/ ground. For the upper courses the plant
i is taken. up with all its roots, and they are
I wrapped in straw and cloths and watered
/, every day, as if they were in the ground,
| instead OF being propped up inside the
| skeleton framework. The blossoms are
drawn to the outside and woven into
| place, and the most natural effects are
realized in this ingenious way. Groups
of ladies are literally clad in Powered
| gowns, kimonos of white chrysanthemums
being lined with deep crimson or yellow,
and having folds of pale lilac at the neck.
| The tableauX represent scenes from history
and legends, from the latest plays ct the
! ShintomiZa theatre, and in one case illus
trate the last sensational murder with
which the japanese newspapers have been
/ ringing-represented in this latter case by
floral Mrs. Druse plunging a dagger
1 into PROSTATE chrysanthemum man.
In one garden alcove three youngsters
I stand around a huge vase Of evergreens.
From a hole in its side gush streams Of
/ white chrysanshemums and small boy
with a distressed countenance and a red
chrysanthemum coat. The figures are life
! size, and illustrate the story of the boy
who had presence of mind, and by break
| ing hole in the side of huge water jar,
saved the life of their playmate, who had
| fallen in and would have drowned. The
| boy in the jar is a common subject with
the artists who embroider or decorate
| porcelain, lacquer or bronze. In another
| garden that is q study Of rocks there is q
charming little pool in a rocky niche,
| overhung and almost cur:ained by trees.
/ On ledge over the pool sits Edisu, one
| of the seven household gods of luck, clad
| in chrysanthemum clothes, and holding q
! fishing rod that has just hooked small
chrysanthemum fish. AS picture, this
little lone flSherwoman is the most charm
| ing thing in Dango-zaka and the tiny lit
| tie amphitheatre, with its high rocky
| walls, its mirror pool and parted curtains
| of maple branches, is worth ravinS over,
| without the contemplative deity being in
| troduced.
The great piece of the year is scene
from ancient history, where the Empress
| lingo and her councillor, Takenonchi,
stand on the deck of chrysanthemum
ship, bound for the conquest Of Korea,
and receive omens from the gods of luck
and the marine deities, over whom lingo
Kogo had control. Only the forward half
of the ship is shown, but that is more
than fifty feet long; PROV Of yellow
chrysanthemuIns and a hull of banded red
and white flowers, riding on a deep green
sea f1ecked with foam of white flowers
Seeing this life size ship of living chrys-
| anthemums, that has been on view for a
fortnight and is good for a fortnight
longer, makes one smile to remember the
tiny floral ships that the florists Of the
western world build up as marvels Of
their art.
The giant of Alazku is a splendid fell
low, thirty feet high, with shoes and
sword and voluminous garments Of highly
Colored flowers, and the mask face has q
pair of big rolling eyeballs that hold
Japanese children spellbound One chrys-
anthemum man fleeing from the giant
has climbed live pine tree, and two
others are hiding behind a messy green
rock. One florist has large landscape
piece, with waterfall of white chrysan-
themums pouring through a gap in a
mountain range and spreading into a
stream, where huge green dragon with
red eyes and foaming mouth is coiling and
diSporting itself. A rustic bridge, car
peted with reddish-brown flowers, crosses
the stream, and achrysanthemum woman
leads chrysanthemum horse, ridden by
a chrySanthemum man, across the bridge.
The third monumental piece of this season
represents q temple drum and standard,
some thirty feet high altogether, with a
big demon coming out of one end of it and
terrifying some pilgrims and worshipers
below This colossal piece and some won
derful chrysanthemum bushes with 200
odd flowers on them are passing attrac-
tons in garden celebrated for its beau
tiful landscapes. - Japan Cor. Globe
Democrat.
Forcing in the Public schools.
know perfectly well that shall prob
ably be called an old fogy, if not crank,