The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-01-29
Japan and the Japanese. 4.

Jdphu anu the JApdncScs
Townsend Harris, the U. S. Consul ,
Yedde, iu one of his very interesting letter
from that mysterious country, says:
Tho houses of the Japanese are of WOO
and never more than two stories high the
are covered with thatoh or tiles; the from
ends are closed by wooden window shades
covered with paper, which gives pleasan
light in the interior, and " OGDEN windoy
shutters enclose the windows at night, tn
interior is divided into rooms by means Q
sliding partitions, made Of wooden frames
covered with paper. These partitions Cal
be removed in . few moments, and tn
whole house thrown into one room. Th
floors are covered with straw mats, som
two inches thick; they are soft and fine
and are kept ex4uisitely clean. Neithe
chair, table, couch nor bedstead, nor any
ornamental article to be seen. The ma
serves as chair and table by day, and a.
bed at night. This description ef . ho1s'
will apply to all, from the Palace Of the em
psror to the cottage of the peasant. Ii
winter, they are warmed by charcoal bra
ziers. There is not chimney nor a pan,
! Of window glass to be found in the whole
empire.
The gilded columns supporting the fretted
ceilings and golden roofs Of stately palaces
described by the old writers on Japan, are
not to be found, and l am assured by the
Japanese that they never had any existence
/ out Of the % Travellers Tales, which relate.
snch marvels about Japan.
The japanese sre emInently genial in their
dispositions, and there is q cordiality in
their refined politene. that convinces one
of their sincerity. They are frugal in eve
rything, and utilitarian up to the standard
of good snd wise old Jeremy Bentham.-
Food is abundaat and cheap. The beggars
Of Japan are mostly q religious class and
are all as fat o. seals. Not one japanese
in so ever ta.tcs Of any animal food except
fish. Sugar Is the only luxury, and yet
buy it here n Simeda cheaper han you
can in New York. They are TIE best f d
clad and l.dsed, and the least overworked d
Of any people on earth. God grant that iu-
ture gsnor.jions may not have cause to re-
gret the hour arrived in japan, The usu.
al dress Of the Japanese Of rank is of silk
but on the occasion OF my audience, the no.
bles wore dresses made Of coarse yellow
grass cloth. This, as they say, is 10 rem nd
them Of the poverty and frugal!ty Of their
ancestors. | have never seen a diamond,
pearl, ornament OF gold or silver, worn by
any person in Japan.
With this notice OF the women Of Japan,
we close our extract:
As you take an interest in the fair sex, you
will expect NE description OF the beauties
o. Japan. The women Of condition never
make visits, Except the mother 10 = mar
Red daus glitter y have no sssemblsges Of the r
dear five hundred friends )" nor do they
assemble at the tea-tsble, to hold high
coar,s OF cedsure on the mann-rs and NOR
as of theirJriends. They so out onre or
twice IN 4 ysar TO visit some celebrated tenn
pie, but their ordinary dcvotions are paid at
. shrine within their own house, or al 4
pretty Mia erected within the enclosure OF
their grounds. The females of the laboring
classes perform soma portion Of out door la
Dor but they arc not overworked, as in
China and other parts Of Asia.
Polygamy obtains. e., man may have
any urnber of &" second wives" When a
female is selected as = first wife, she pre-
pares for her change of condition" by
smearing her teeth with q horid mixture
which not only blackens them forever, but
also destroys \ portion of the gums, and tue
lips sometimes remain permanently swollen.
She next shaves her eyebrows and exter-
inmates her eyelashes, ano changes the
fashion Of her hair. Shc has now only to
bring the kno. of her girdls round to the
front, and all the world knows that she is a
first wife, the commander-in chief Of all tn e
"seCoud wives" and the undisputei pro.
prietress Of all the children born in the
house. This last privilege reminds one of a
similar right exsrcised by the wives Of the
respectable Jacob (Rachci ard Leah.) The
second wives do not perform any Of these
absurd actions, consequently they arc by
far the best locking in the To jim or foreign
erS.
4 lady in run fress-i. C., made up for
mi,chief-is worth describing Her face is
thickly covered with rice -four, on which
rouge-real rouge is prettiiy placed, while
her lips are brought TO that just violet tinge
that drives the japanese lover even TO ma.
king poetry; her robes are numerous and
clumsy, and her girdle is SO vast in its am.
plitude that it would make a robe for any
ordinary woman; her head is bristling with
metal ornaments, that look | ke grandfath
ers OF all the tuning forks; her really pretty
feet are protected by neat straw sandals
when she walks she minces her steps as
though her legs were tied together at the
knees.
Did / ever tell you of the description a
young Malay Tumangong, Of Sumatra, once
gave me of yong girl with whom he was
in love? No. Then you shall have it now:
"Tuan," said he, " Tuan. she is high-bos
omed and moon faced; she has mole on
her cheek like pot of annbergris; her lips
are like the newcut she'll of the mangosteen /;
her teeth are winter than the chamhska
flower; her hair is blacker than the night
of separation to the distracted lover; her
form is like a branch ofwillow, and as she
walks, her hips move from side to sidc!"