_Chidori_ "Sanderling."
_O-Kame_ "Tortoise."
_O-Koi_ "Carp."[68]
[68] _Cyprinus carpio._
_O-Koma_ "Filly,"--or pony.
_O-Kuma_ "Bear."
_O-Ryo_ "Dragon."
_O-Shika_ "Deer."
_O-Tai_ "Bream."[69]
[69] _Chrysophris cardinalis._
_O-Taka_ "Hawk."
_O-Tako_ "Cuttlefish." (?)
_O-Tatsu_ "Dragon."
_O-Tora_ "Tiger."
_O-Tori_ "Bird."
_O-Tsuru_ "Stork."[70]
[70] Sometimes this name is shortened into _O-Tsu_. In
Tokyo at the present time it is the custom to drop
the honorific "O" before such abbreviations, and to
add to the name the suffix "chan,"--as in the case
of children's names. Thus a young woman may be
caressingly addressed as "Tsu-chan" (for O-Tsuru),
"Ya-chan" (for O-Yasu), etc.
_O-Washi_ "Eagle."
Even _yobina_ which are the names of flowers or fruits, plants or
trees, are in most cases names of moral or felicitous, rather than of
aesthetic meaning. The plumflower is an emblem of feminine virtue; the
chrysanthemum, of longevity; the pine, both of longevity and constancy;
the bamboo, of fidelity; the cedar, of moral rectitude; the willow, of
docility and gentleness, as well as of physical grace. The symbolism of
the lotos and of the cherryflower are probably familiar. But such names
as _Hana_ ("Blossom ") and _Ben_ ("Petal") are aesthetic in the true
sense; and the Lily remains in Japan, as elsewhere, an emblem of
feminine grace.