the cause of beauty—made into powder, to take the shine off a dainty lady’s cheek, or to dry the dimpled, rosy skin of a baby. They say that, in the old days, in order to save their Shobu roots, and thus their fragrant powder, when the order went out that every available inch of land was to be planted in rice, the Irises were set on the house roofs. From this exalted position they have not to this day been banished, although now poor indeed is the house which has not Iris plants in its garden as well.
All sorts of delicate compliments and poetic congratulations are conveyed to friends by these latter flowers, but the colour should be considered carefully, and on no account must the most lovely of mauves or purples be sent on the occasion of a marriage, as that is a fickle colour, and would presage change. A girl may not even meet her betrothed for the first time in a kimono of a soft violet shade, nor wear an obi of purple brocade then, and how a foreign lover’s offering of violets would be regarded by her I cannot say.
Shobu leaves are religiously significant, too, and are used in Shinto rites of Purification; while, waved in the air and thrashed upon the ground, they keep away malignant spirits.
A Japanese friend has given me a legend about the Shobu, which originally came from China. Once upon a time, in China, a man was chased by a demon, and he was forced to take refuge in
