Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 6.djvu/148

 times at the close, of the month. "Feasts of year-forgetting" (bonen-kai) are still organised to dispel regrets for the death of another span of life; and in the shadows of the tutelary deities' temples and shrines night fairs are still held, to which the people throng in vast crowds to buy pines of perennial verdure, lobsters of longevity, ropes of sweet airs, and all the other decorative adjuncts of the season, as well as battle-boards for little girls and kites for boys. The fairs themselves are festivals,—bright landmarks in the lives of the young, revivals of fond memories for the old.