Princess Kiku: A Japanese Romance. A Play for Girls

A staged romance set in Tokyo follows a young princess and her ladies-in-waiting whose peaceful chrysanthemum-garden life is disturbed when a scheming courtier manipulates a child to enact a malefic prank that the princess mistakes for real magic, leading her to believe that whatever she touches withers. English visitors and household revelations about a shipwrecked child and an heiress intensify the misunderstanding until the child's confession lifts the curse and reconciles the parties. The entertainment blends melodrama and comedy, with detailed scene directions, costume notes, and properties suited to amateur female casts.