The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-09-12
Japanese Manner of Living.
From AppletOns' Journal.

It must be difficult for most Europeans
and Americans to realize that a nation
like the Japanese have lived for centu-
ries, fulfilling all the functions of life
honOrably, without ever having known
the use of q bed, a chair, or a table, as
We understand these articles; and vet,
these people have all the virtues of civ
lllzatlOn, and perhaps not quite all it's
vices. They are polite, generous, hos
pitable, perform their religious duties
with exemplary piety, and if cleanliness
| is next to gOdlinesss they are much more
gOdly than we are, for they are the
cleanest people on earth, according to
the general testimony Of travellers. We
have certainly much to learn before our
houses can be as Immediately neat as
theirs are. It is III universal custom
to walk upon our richest carpets with
the same f~eet-covering that has served
us in the tlthiest streets. Nothing
could well be more repugnant to the
sense of prOpriety of q Japanese house
keeper than this; and, despite the fact
that it prevails all over Western civili-
cation, it is truly a barbarous custom.
| Shoes or boots that have served us in
the street are at least dusty in dry
weather, and unfit for contact with car
! pets which are as clean as they should
always be; and in muddy weather they
cannot be sufficiently cleaned by any
amount of scraping and rubbing upon
rugs. Still, it is difficult to see how we
can adopt the nice habit of donning
! slippers when we enter the house, I'M
less VIC discard Il custom of wearing
boots with elaborate f~astenings.
Japanese housekeeping is reduced to
the minimum of care and labor. There
is not in the whole country an uphol-
sterer, or, at least, there was not a few
years ago, and q young couple who
wish to marry and set up housekeeping
need not delay on account of the ex-
pense of the outfit. A Philadelphia
gentleman, living in Japan, sums it up
in this way: "A few mats, a chest OF
drawers for clothing, two or three quilts
for d bed on the floor, some simple
kitchen utensils, and the house is fur
nished." Of course we must make due
allowance for the fact that this is a
mans inventory: a woman would pro-
badly discover many things that would
escape masculine eyes. "Why," the
gentleman continues, should we litter
these neatly matted rooms? Why COW
er with paint and gliding virgin wood
of faultless grain, or mar the sweet
simplicity and airy rOOminess of Japan,
ese chambers by loading them with un-
necessary luxuries 2" Why, indeed, now
that housekeeping has become such 8
burden to women, and good servants
are q thing Of the past? We certainly
might dispense with much that bu1
gives us care and trouble for a cOmpen,
sation that is totally inadequate. Tht
bed, bring from side-clOsets their bed
| dim urhTah YS cTn0nIu wh0+ vrR vrn1HIf
designate a "cOvering.n This they
place upon one of their soft mats, three
or four inches thick, and, remove every
yestige of clothing, put on a long, 1OOst
gown. Sheets they have no need for
and for pillows they have a bar of Woo
six inches high and one wide. On TIN
top is q narrow cushion, covered witt
paper, which is removed every day il
all well-regulated households. Travel
ers wonder much at the origin of thi
anomalous pillow. It seems that it a
rose as a consequence of the lofty an'
elaborate couture of the ladies, which i
too arduous q work of art to berenewe'
every day.
The dinner of ceremony in Japan is
very extensive affair; but nothing cOul,
be simpler than the ordinary repast il
the hotels, for example. A little to,
, table, four inches high, is placed befor
the guest, on which are four cOvere,
bowls containing the articles of food
One of these is always rice in some form
another soup, another fish cooked wit
soy. This you eat sitting on the clea
l soft mats, a subdued light falling O
you through elegant paper screens o
one side, and, on the other, the latticeC
sliding partitions being Withdrawn, yo
look into a large open court, spanne,
by an arched bridge. In this court is
garden, an aviary, a pond filed wit
= goldfish and marine plants, and tn
bridge. is frequently decorated wit
splendid lilies and other flowers in pot
/, The whole atmosphere of the JaDanes
: house suggests airiness, utter elean1i
: ness, and comfort also, when you ono
have learned to do without chairs; bu
how long the ancient customs and tn
{ simple ease with which the middl
1 classes live, will resist the incomin
. wave of Western civilization it is diff
. cult to say. Already the common cues
+ ton that greets the traveller on arrivin
at an hotel is, if he will be servedin tn
Western or in the Japanese style. TIL
| young men have mostly adopted GU
method of cutting the hair, and al
L gravitating toward standing collars an
Congress boots, while the crinoline ths
our ladies have just discarded may pos
sibly find favor in the eyes Of their
Let us pray that this cup, at least, ma
Y pass from them in their present I'm.
t versal passion for Western civilization
: A GooD WORD FOR APRIooPs.-Wh