the wife took the box , and opening it carefully took out a metal disk with a handle attached . one side was bright and shining like a crystal , and the other was covered with raised figures of pine - trees and storks , which had been carved out of its smooth surface in lifelike reality . never had she seen such a thing in her life , for she had been born and bred in the rural province of echigo . she gazed into the shining disk , and looking up with surprise and wonder pictured on her face , she said : " i see somebody looking at me in this round thing ! what is it that you have given me ? " the husband laughed and said : " why , it is your own face that you see . what i have brought you is called a mirror , and whoever looks into its clear surface can see their own form reflected there . although there are none to be found in this out of the way place , yet they have been in use in the capital from the most ancient times . there the mirror is considered a very necessary requisite for a woman to possess . there is an old proverb that ' as the sword is the soul of a samurai , so is the mirror the soul of a woman , ' and according to popular tradition , a woman 's mirror is an index to her own heart - if she keeps it bright and clear , so is her heart pure and good . it is also one of the treasures that form the insignia of the emperor . so you must lay great store by your mirror , and use it carefully . "
the capital .
where had been using mirrors since ancient times ?
where had been using mirrors since ancient times ?