Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-08-14
BARGAINS IN JAPAN.
RARE FABRICS CHEAP IF YOU KNOW
HOW AND WHERE TO BUY.

secondhand sashes That Are Woven With
Gold-Missionaries and Tea Merchants
Know the Ropes-Deference Of the JAP
anese Merchant.
The embroideries of Japan are the most
attractive things in the shops, although
| the silks are 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 weayers arc conservative and
stubborn and will not mako them Of a
width suitable for modern dress goods.
The silks used in making the beautiful
| kimonas and obs worn by the women
there-like those you see in all japanese
pictures-are very narrow, often less than
IL inches wide, II the most artistic and
skillful weavers will not change their
looms or their habits. Therefore the best
silk fabrics of Japan are not shipped
abroad. But by using a little moral sua-
sion and paying a little more you can have
any one of these designs reproduced Of a
width and length to suit you.
The obis-the sashes which the Japanese
women wear-arc the most beautiful fab
RIGS woven in Japan and are the pride Of
the women. y Japanese belle regards her
obi as a European woman does her dia-
monds, and although her wardrobe costs
very little compared with that of her sister
across tho sea two-thirds 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.
y is amazing how the weavers can produce
a combination of gold thread and silk that
glistens like metal, but Is as pliable as
gauze. Obs always come Al 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 arc
now obtained of dealers in secondhand
goods and in the curio shops, where they
have drifted from the kuras (1reproof
wardrobcs) 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
VI "a NhS - hiNA WI Nlibto No u AL
London or New York. The obi is useless,
however, except as an ornament. Its col
ors are too gay for modern taste, and 1t 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
the beaten track of travel are pretty well
stripped of fine examples. The art dealers
have the best that are left and charge fancy
prices for them. But IL you can make the
acquaintance of n missionary who Is in
the habit of visiting the towns Of the In
terror, or "A tea or silk buyer, he will take
you to places where gems of art embroidery
may be found at prices that are almost in
credible. Curtains such rs were used years
ago in the palaces of the diamyos or In the
Shinto n Buddhist temples, masses OF
silk and gold us thick as an administer
carpet and large enough for u portiero or
bedspread, which represent years of labo.
and the most artistic skill, can be bought
for 80 or 90 yen, or half that value In our
money.
The Japanese shops are uninviting look
ing places. They have no show windows.
no counters. Their exteriors are blank
walls, and the entrances are hidden by
heavy curtains of black or dark blue cloth,
bearing largo red or white letters In Jap
ancse, which take the place of signboards.
Two or three feet from the sidewalk Is
raised platform about Is or Is inches high.
and aroun it u curious assortment OF
wooden clogs and sandals, for q native GUS
TONER Always leaves her shoes outside when
she enters u shop. And when she Is buy
ing or looking at goods she sits on tho
nIun Of fhic y,1ntfarp, ~,
ly on the 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 on shelves or
in showcases, but are kept in boxes and
chests usually wrapped In yellow cloth.
You take your seat In n chair, a small boy
brings you u cup of tea, and you tell tho
merchant what you want, while no bows
himself almost double several times to OK
press his appreciation Of your patronage.
he shouts his orders to u dozen Youngsters
In what seems outlandlsh jargon, but they
understand 1t II come rushing in from
some back room or "go down"-which Is
the word for warehouse Herewith bus
kets and boxes full of rolls Of tho most
dainty fabrics. There Is usually some one
about the place who speaks q little Eng
lish, and no is sent for. The merchant
sits down on the floor, unrolls the goods
and chatfers away, while his chief clerk
prctends to explain to you what he is say
ing. If he cannot show exactly what you
want, he will ask the honor Of sending 1t
to your house, and the interpreter will
usually bring it tho next day. There is no
limit to the politeness and Difference shown
by the Japanese tradesman, and no OK.
presses the highest degree of respect for
you when he sucks his teeth with q hiss
ing sound. Philadelphia Press.
Hia Ohtact Vu Ccnult--