CHAPTER XIX.

Accomplishments.

Composition—The writing-table—Odes—Songs—The _haiku_—Chinese poetry—Tea-ceremony—Its complexity—Its utility to women—The flower arrangement—The underlying idea—Its extensive application—The principle of the arrangement—Manipulation of the stalks—Drawing water—Vases—Tray-landscapes—The _koto_—The _samisen_—Its form—Its scale—How to play it—The crudity of Japanese music—Its unemotional character.

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