The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-10-16
Bargains in Japan,

attractive things i'll the shops, although
the silks arc alluring The delicate shade
Of color and the exquisite designs that are
most popular in the local trade are seldom
shipped to foreign markets. because the
artists and wcavcrs are conservative and
stubborn and will not make them Of
width suitable for modern dress goods
The silks used in making the beautiful
kmonas and obs worn by the women
thcre-like those you SEQ in all japanese
pictmcs-are very narrow often less than
II inches wide, and the most artistic and
skillful wcavcrs will not change their
looms or their habits Therefore the best
silk fabrics of Japan are not shipped
abroad. But by using little moral sua-
sion and paying u little more you can have
any one of these designs reproduced of
width and length to suit you.
The obis-tho sashes which the japanese
women wcar-arc the most beautiful fab
RIGS woven in Japan and are the pride of
the women. A Japanese belle regards her
obi as European woman does her dia-
monds, and although her wardrobe costs
very little compared with that of her sister
across the sea twothirds of its value will
be invested in her obi. These precious
brocades absorb the most artistic patterns
that the designers of Japan produce. They
are as thick as leather and as soft as Grape.
1t is amazing how the weavers can produce
combination of gold thread and silk that
glistens like metal but is as pliable as
gauze. Obs always come Az yards long
and 8 inches wide, and you can buy them
at any price between SO and $500. 1t is
said that some of those in the wardrobes
Of the women of the upper cult in the old
feudal times carried as much as $500 worth
Of pure gold in their threads.
The rarest and most beautiful obs are
now obtained of dealers in secondhand
goods and in the curio shops, where they
have drifted from the kuras Circproof
| wardrobes) of the aristocracy and the
| geisha dancing girls) who have become
| Impoverished. The best place to buy them
| Is in the cities of the interior. The same
| is true of all old brocades and embroider-
les. You pay three times as much for
| similar articles in Yokohama as in Kioto
or in Nagoya, and ten times as much in
London or New York. The obi is useless,
however, except as an ornament. Its col
ors are too gay for modern taste, and it is
| too short and narrow.
| The price Of embroideries in Japan has
increased very rapidly with the number of
tourists that are going that way and those
portions of the country which lie within
|
stripped of fine examples. The art dealers
| have the best that are left and charge fancy
| prices for them. But If you can make the
acquaintance Of a missionary who is in
the habit of visiting the towns of the in
terror, or II tea or silk buyer, he will take
| you to places where gems of art embroidery
may be found ut prices that are almost in
| credible. Curtains such MS We're used years
| ago in the palaces of tho diamyos or in the
| Shinto and buddhist temples, masses of
| silk and gold rs thick as an administer
C.'Nrt and large enough for a portiere or IL
hc,.aLr, ad, which represent years of labor
and 1.o iAost artistic skill, can be bought
| tur ~ or 90 yen, or half that value in our
| uuucl
&C Japanese shops are uninviting look
Ing places. They have no show windows,
no counters. Their eXteriors are blank
walls, and tho entrances are hidden by
heavy curtains of black or dark blue cloth,
hearing large red or white letters in Jap
aneSe, which take the place of signboards.
Two or three feet from the sidewalk is a
raised platform ..bout 3 or Is inches high.
and around it curious assortment of
wooden clogs and sandals, for native GUS
toner Always leaves her shoes outside when
she enters II shop. And when she is buy
edge of this platform or squats ungraceful-
ly on tho mating within.
Foreign buyers are allowed to enter with
their shoes on, and three or four chairs are
usually kept for their accommodation.
The goods are not spread out on shelves or
in showcases, but are kept in boxes and
chests usually wrapped in yellow cloth.
You take your scat in chair, small boy
brings you a cup of tea, and you tell the
merchant what you want, whilo no bows
himself almost double several times to eX-
press his appreciation of your patronage.
He shouts his orders to dozen youngsters
in what seems outlandsh jargon, but they
understand it and come rushing in from
some back room or Ego down"-which Is
the word for warehouse herewith bas
kets and boxes full of rolls of the most
dainty fabrics. There Is usually some one
about tho place who speaks little Eng
lish and he Is sent for. The merchant
sits down on the floor, unrolls the goods
and chatters away, while his chief clerk
pretends to explain to you what he Is say
ing If lac cannot show exactly what yor
want, he will ask tho honor of sending II
to your house, and the interpreter viii
usually bring 1t the next day, There is NJ
limit to the politeness and Difference shown
by the Japanese tradcsman, and he ex
presses the highest degree of respect fol
you when he sucks his teeth with II hiss
, ing sound. philadelphia Press
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