Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-12-16
A japanese House.

A correspondent says: A Jananes.
for rich merchant or well 10 -dn c;,; ,'oass
about as follows: A house fourteen IN q
teen feet square, two stories hiyh a. u
seven feet between jnisss. and diy;d.a
four apartments, both stories adkeN,.asna,o
out achimney, bat with suficientlv, "a
aperture in the oator wall Of the t;.ase
department to allow tie smoke frr.s. ea
little charcoal furnace which l. rssl Ie
cooking TO escape from the room ~ "a
building must have little norch :, ne
two feet wide in front and in rasr eo9l
the second story as well a ,,,.or 4p'a
ground floor. The roofs are sharn- poia, tss
In the city they are of pottery tile; in b,
country OF thatched rice straw. Ar vac
OF me OUTSIDE OF the building which mss
need paint is colored a gray black !,
bronze color. The house is without m,
nitnre, except the little furnace win :.
tea.kettle, which stands close by the ). =
trance, the water always boiling 10 servs
the friendly cup of tea oeyery visitor s,s
the habatchi, or small bronze vessel 80
tanning hot ashes with live coal with viii
to light the pipe, must keep company Wiz
the tea~kettle; also few tiny cups. rers-
ally without saucers, small clock, ami !,
family idol of some description n
kitchen contains small brick furnaes
with one cooking utensil upon i. for bos
ing the rice and fish, and two or tk,s.
small wooden tubs in which to performs,
necessary household operations. r.
floors are covered with lined straw ma
ting, which TO the tread is IS soft AZ a
Administer carpet As the japanese sles.
on cotton mats or quilts laid upon n.
floor, they require no bedsteads or room,
for them. Their mats and coyerinr,
with the pillows, are laid away in cIosss,
during the day, so that the same room,
that are used for daily occupation ssrvS
for sleeping rooms at night. The roons
are divided by sliding paper partnops
so that different members OF the family
may have their own apartments at niFt
The pillow is a small block Of vgd
about one foot long by five inches n
width and about eight inches higb
Upon one of the narrow sides Of he
block is slight curve, so cut out as 10 n
the neck, over which little pin-cushion
pillow filled with rice straw is tied ana
then covered with several thickness a
rice-paper, which may be changed at dis
erection, this being the pillow.case An
economical housekeeper will have lrtls
drawers fitted into this block-pllow
which serve as a receptacle for all the toi
let articles, such as brushes, combs and
hair-plns. The hair dressing is the only
part of the toilet in which special pride i
taken, and it must be done by profes
sional air-dresser who understands bis
business. Even the coolies, who draw
the jinrikishas, and are almost without
clothing, must have their hair nicely
dressed and tied up in small twist on The
top of the head. The blanket or covering
they use at night is a large blouse, into
together behind, and then lies down %
running water is admitted serves the
whole family for their daily additions
But well-regulated japanese family will
have accommodations for warm bath,
which they highly appreciate. The win
dows are small, sliding frames covered
with white rice paper, and which really
admits considerable light, but it must b
often recovered, as the paper is not i'm.
pervious to rain. The house is withOuts
single piece of furniture that we consider
essential; they require no chairs, for they
sit upon the floor with their legs turned
under them; neither tables, for they take
their food from small earthen or woodsa
bowls by means of the chop-stick The
frame OF a city house is made OF hard
wood, cut into small, square timbes, and
so nicely adjusted and fitted together ha
the inside of the frame work is polished
smooth, and requires no other finish IN
many instances. Indeed, the inside Of The
framework of the house is quite artistic
The country house is made of bamboo
poles, sided and rooted with ricestra
matching. No wardrobe or closets are
needed in aJapanese house, they generally
wear upon their backs all or nearly al
they possess in the line of clothing