The daily critic., 1890-10-24

AlAaAA AANANHlNh NiAA NAANA ENNAaAfaNA w ta
thoroughly peculiar TO the Japanese:
First, the headdrcss Of the women; sec
ond. the shoes of the men, AMI third
the smallncss Of everything was
prepared for the japanese mode Of
wearing their cl0thcs-any one can get
q good idea of it 10 a japanese picture
book. The iinrikisha, also, were not
o novelty; I had seen them 90 the late
Paris Exposition and read Of them ia
books of travel in Japan It is little
two wheeled carriage, with two pro.
iecting shafts. between which stands
the kurumaya, as the runner is called.
II is perhaps, worth remarking that
the iin1ikisha is copied from the
American buggy that was exhibited al
the first Paris Exposition II is simply
japanese adaptation Of the American
buggy, smaller, and pulled by a man
instead Of o horse. Writers have much
exaggerated In describing the speed nj
which a kurumaya runs. It Is simply
an tasy trot, from which he does not
deviate so long rs he runs on a levs
road. Every one, unless he can affor
a horse and carriage, keeps at least on
iinrikisha and kurumaya; in n larr
family there are two or more, and the
take one everywhere. In the city Of
Tokio-ap enormous city in extent Of
territory-an ordinary kurumava knows
every street, and number, too, appar-
entity so that, If one has his kurumaya
with him, he need never lose his way.
-
But 10 return, the headdress Of the
women is a veritable work Of art, or
rather architecture. 1t seems to have a
foundation and wings and offsets and
gables. More over, every woman hair
Is dressed on the same model. With ali
the multiudinous twistings and wind
ings, there seems to be not an iota of
difference between one COiffure and
another. Every hair has apparently a
local habitation and name. Surely, Il
must have taken centuries of patient
and painstaking effort to evolve so COM
plex and heterogeneous fashion of
dressing the hair. If traced back
through centuries Of change It might
furnish an interesting and instructive
chapter of capilliform evolution; though.
Judging from the accounts Of the old
Dutch and other travellers. the fashion
In this and other respects among the
Of years
As to the second peculiarly, the foot
wear of the Japanese, 1t Is well to say
that the Japanese never wear shoes or
anything but sort of stocking Ia their
houses. This stocking Is usually made
of white cloth with single slit between
the first and second toes, for the space
between them is much greater than
l.
Japanese have more perfect foot than
we, and come much nearer the ancient
Greek models. where the large toe was
separated by a considerable space from
the rest. The shoe of the japanese Is
made of wood, and is only worn ont of
doors. II Is sometimes made of solid
piece, and then resembles somewhat the
soles Of our leather shoes, only very
much thicker and clumsier
WTe
The second kind Is more commonly
worn. II IS made Of a flat piece Of
wood suited to the length of the foo'.
on which the foot rests, and two up
right pieces, often five to eight Inches
high, one near the toes and the other
near the heel The shoes are attached
sandal fashion by two cords passing
from the front Of the shoe through the
slit Of the stocking to the side. where
they are again attached. The effect Of
walking on such inelastlc materials can
be readily imagined. II Is not 50 much
a walk as hObble. Luckily however,
there are no sidewalks In Japan, or the
clatteTing Of SO many wooden sandals
on hard pavement would make as
much noise as a Fifth avenue stage.
At the railway stations, when the crowd
gets out Of train, the noise made on
the floors by thousand or more japan.
ese feet Is simply indescribable. Some
thing like the thunder rattle Of tropic
sky.
20
The third peculiarity, the small scale
Of everything, Is one that runs through
all things japanese. The men are
small, the women are small, the
children small, the babies the
tiniest things ever saw. Their
homes are apparently children's play
houses, seldom over one story high,
and one IS constantly knocking ones
head in passing through door. Their
tableware looks as though made for
dolls; the tea cups are not over an inch
high and the teapOts hold about two
ordinary American cups. Ii Is almost
needless to add that they have narrow
gauge railways, small locomotives and
cars ard also small fire engines. In
fact, one may say that everything Is
small, except the kites and prices they
charge foreigners. The former are
sometimes very huge affairs. and the
latter prove that the Japanese have a
luXuIiant Imagination. | know Of
case where the japanese demanded
$500 for an article be afterwaTd sold for
Just twenty cents. AT a flower shOH
one Is never expected 10 OtIeT more than
a ihird OF fourth Of the first price. The
dealers In CuTiOs are another amusing
lot. They are generally glad 20 get one
half 20 one fourth of the original price
and sometimes even then they get more
than the article Is worth. The japanese
Of this class have a fixed idea that every
American or Enghshman has a limitless
bank account, and needs but 10 draw
on IL 10 pay eXoTbitant prices.
The consequence Is that even In the
smallest purchase a foreigner Is mulCted,
II Is only fair 10 add there are stores
above suspicion whose charges are
uniformly the same 10 japanese aud
foreigners, and this class is steadily in-
CTeasing. ITadesmCn, as a class, have
been despissd for SO many centuries Ia
Japan that Il will take some time b iu-
siill better business methods but a
change for the better Is rapidly coming
There is one prominent case still TO
be mentioned, however, Shere the