Page:Through the torii (IA throughtorii00noguiala).pdf/177

 yet the rarest plant at that time. It is said that Rikiu had put all the flowers, of course morning-glories, away from the garden for the fine pebbles and white sand on the appointed day where Taiko, as you can imagine, walked most sulkily towards the tea-room, where the great tea-master prepared the morning tea for his lord, The lord at once questioned himself where the morning-glory Rikiu promised was planted; but lo! when he entered the room, just one single morning-glory most winsome and delicate like a forgotten moonbeam, welcomed him from the tokonoma, Indeed, it was a great sacrifice for Rikiu to cut off all the other morning-glories; but it was the heroic way to give the one flower its full distinction. I think that the other flowers did not die in vain. So it is with my attitude towards the flowers when I look at them; I do not see the mass of them, and what I see in them, whether they be a willow or a branch of plums or the petals of lotus or the crawl of morning-glory, is just a touch or hint of their beauty, and I object to seeing the rest of them. To call my own way suggestive often leads people to misunderstanding; Rh