The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-06-07
Japanese Foot. Gear.

The foot-gear of the Japanese, so odd
in the eye of the foreigner, has it's origin
in religious notions. Because of the
belief in the TRANSPORTATION of souls,
nothing pertaining to the flesh of ami.
mails or to leather was allowed to entel
house or temple. Tanners and workers
in leather were the ~outcasts of the peo-
pie, a fraternity by themselves, despised
by all. They were never allowed tc
enter any habitation except their own
quarters. Wood and straw came to be
utilized to protect the feet from the
ground as the natural result of these
conditions. How much the fashion and
shape of the wooden shoes may have
altered andimproved from their earliest
adoption there are no records to show,
but it is a certain thing that, taking
climate and character of country to be
gone over, they are just the thing they
should be. There are no deformed
feet caused by them, and for facility Of
use they are beyond compare. With
thet abby or the article that covers the
foot, probably the feet, of the Japanese,
their wooden shoes are really more
comfortable, both as regards heat and
cold, than when incased in sock and
iCdtiCI SuOC vi DOOG. AS Guo SuOc IL
always put off the foot upon entering
the porch of the house, the wearing OF
laced or buckled shoes is an intolerable
vexation. But not SO the wooden
articles; they are instantly put on and
of, no dirt or mud is taken into the
house because of soiled shoes, and the
trouble and expense of bootbfacks is
unknown. Probably so long as the
present style of living is maintained,
the wooden foot-gear of the people will
be the correct thing for general use. In
the treaty ports there are numbers OF
Japanese who are to be seen with
leather boots and shoes, and the police
of the cities, as we'll as all the rank and
file of the army, wear leather boots; so,
also, they wear clothing of foreign cut
and style.
In the days of feudalism those who
worked on leather were known as yetas,
and from this class came the execution
ers of all criminals other than those
from the Samural ranks, who were de-
capitated when condemned to death by
one of their w class. A common form
of punishment was by crucifixion. The
Office of piercing the crucified with the
spear was confined to the yetas, and
they performed all the funeral offices
for ex ecuted criminals. The yetas had
a ruler of their own, who exercised lordly
sway over them. The first chief appointed
over them was appointed to rule them
over seven hundred years ago, in the
of Yoritomo. His title was daw-
zayamon, and his residence was at Yed-
do. There being no distinction now
before the law for the commonalty, and
the use of leather being adopted by
sanction and order of the Government,
the shoemaker occupies a far different
position than formerly. There are nu-
merous establishments on a large scale
by japanese, where most ex-
cellent work is done. In fact, most of
the boots and shoes worn by foreigners
are made by these workmen. They a
work SO cheap and are so careful and
expert in what they do that competitor
from abroad will neve interfere with
trade. Establishments for turning
out wooden shoes are almost without
number. One may see the stocks of
these places stacked up like cordwood.
is a surprise to one that such immense
quantities a be disposed of. The
inely-lacquered wooden shoe is about
as expensive as a leather one, and when
gold is used in decorating them there
is much larger cost in wearing them
jhan there would be in the most expen-
sivc Partisan Yokohama Cor.
San Francisco Chronicle.