Tokyo—Kameido

“Then, also, the wisteria, the fuji, is in bloom, and at the Kameido temple makes an eighth wonder of the world. Every householder has his wisteria trellis, generally reaching out as a canopy over some inlet, or, as at Kameido, forming the roofs of the open-air tea-houses edging the lake. The mat of leaves and blossoms overhead casts thick, cool shadows, and the long, pendent, purple and white flowers are reflected in the water. Blossoms two and even three feet long are common, and only a great swaying tassel four feet in length draws ‘naruhodo!’ (wonderful) from the connoisseurs.”

Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, Jinrikisha Days in Japan, (New York, 1891) pp. 77–78