Page:Japanese Gardens (Taylor).djvu/336

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JAPANESE GARDENS

nearer touch to divinity in the perfection of delicate and ethereal grace; they stand for an idea, they represent a symbol. As the Plum speaks of the still beating heart of old Japan, so the Cherry typifies the old and ever-new spirit of Chivalry (Bushido), the knightly ideal—the ideal of Japan.

Among flowers the Cherry,
Among men the Samurai,”

and—

“It is a Cherry blossom, it falls when it must,”

suggest, in the haunting, elusive way of the Japanese, the courage and faith of Japan.