Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 6.djvu/123

 banquet in honour of the chrysanthemum used to be one of the regular observances at the Imperial Court in ancient times, and that, at a later era, when the Tokugawa ruled in Yedo, the ladies of the Palace there were accustomed to engage in a species of competition, each procuring a chrysanthemum blossom, the choicest of which was selected for presentation to the Shogun's consort, rich rewards and great éclat accruing, of course, to the owner of the "victor flower." All these old fashions have now been merged in a garden-party of Occidental type. At one of the Emperor's detached palaces in Tōkyō numerous chrysanthemum plants of the finest and rarest kinds are cultivated, and during three days in October the park is thrown open to the aristocratic and official classes, the Emperor and Empress themselves appearing among their guests on the first day,—a great occasion for "globe-trotters," who, by the good offices of their country's representative, can generally procure an invitation. The resident foreigner is seldom so fortunate, unless he be in the service of the Government or the recipient of a high-class Japanese decoration, but to be a stranger is to have a warrant of welcome.

Common to all seasons and essentially Japanese in their origin as well as in their developments, are performances held nightly at a species of public-hall called yose-seki, or, in every-day parlance, yose. The most respectable of these entertain-