The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-11-22

his japanese gown is fastened together with
girdle. He does his work sitting on his knees
or heels, and his Office is little pen-like cage,
no higher than the seat of chair. The mo-
ment you arrive at Japanese hotel you are
received by q number Of maid servants, who
bump their heads upon the mat in saluting you
and assist you to take off your shoes. You are
then conducted to your room and given mat
upon which to sit aud rest yourself. The tired
japanese will sit down on his heels on this mat
for refreshment. The maiden bows low when
she asks your wants. and she supposes the first
thing you will take is a bath. There is no
washstand in your room, and the only furni-
ture is the mating. You hang your clothes
up on the floor, and you rest your limbs in the
same way. There are no looking glasses and
the bathroom is your toilet chamber. In the
country hotel, one room and one water serves
for all the guests, and the most honOred of the
guests gets the first bath. These baths are hot,
and the room is filled with steam when you
enter. You are not expected to use soap in the
tub, and until a few years ago there was no
such thing as toilet soap in the Empire. You
will be struck with the cleanliness of every
thing about the hOtel-and, indeed, the Japan
ese people are the cleanest people on the face
of the earth. They are far superior to the
Dutch in this regard The women of Holland
are always scrubbing their houses, but the
Japanese keep clean both their houses and
themselves. You can see yourself in the floor
of any japanese hotel, and l have yet to see
the first man, woman or child who appeared to
be ilthily dirty.
/ visited number of the manufacturing es-
tablishments of Nagoya. 1t is city of 125,000
people, and doubt whether many of the read
ers of this letter have ever heard of it. 1t has
wide streets made up of thousands of story
japanese houses, the roofs of which oyerhang
and the walls of which are in the daytime of
lattice. The whole town is busy, and with all its
business it keeps itself wonderfully clean. 1t
makes some of the finest pottery of Japan, and
thousands of fans and beautiful vases are ship
ped from here to America every year. 1t is
not far from here that the famous blue china
which is used so much in America is made and
some wonderful clOisOnne vases are turned out
in the Nagoya factories Accompanied by
guide from the Government we visited some of
the most noted of these The cosoune work
is very costly, and we were shown vases which
cost hundreds of dollars and each of which
had taken years to make A little vase the
size of a teacup costs $25 in America, and sim
gle placques are sold for hundred dollars
apiece. A cloisonne vase consists of a copper
vessel beaten into the required shape and
lined with porcelain. On the outside of the
vase pictures of flowers, birds or other objects
are made with bits of copper Wire fattened
and bent to form the desired patterns,
ana over UhlS Klnd OF glazed SUD
stance of different colors, for the enamel, is
spread The jar is then burnt 1t is again re-
touched and burnt again, and after it has be-
come as hard as glass it is handed over to the
grinders. 1t is now rough vase made up of
different-colored clays, with few if any, of the
copper wires showing. With little piece of
stone as smooth as the finest milestone, it is
then rubbed, and this rubbing is continued for
months, until the outer edges of the copper
wire all show, and the beautiful pattern comes
out in all its artistic workmanship. l saw lit
tie boys sitting on their heels working at these
costly vases aud in other shops l saw other
boys doing kinds of work which the American
boy would think far beyond his years.