" THORNY-PEONIES."                 79
or ragging. They liked having their rooms festooned with flags, and would often point out the English and Japanese ones with a smile, and say, "Domei" ("Allies"). Flowers were their greatest delight, but, strangely enough, roses are not appreciated in Japan. They are considered too gaudy, and on account of their thorns are sometimes called thorny-peonies.
One morning when I arrived with my kuruma filled with flowers (which can be bought for a few sen in the streets), I saw a number of white-clothed figures with bare legs racing from all directions to meet me. At first I did not realise what they wanted, but when they surrounded me, holding out their hands and laughing like a party of merry schoolboys, I saw that they were asking for my flowers. I had not nearly enough for all, but that did not trouble