The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-08-04
opp THINGS N JAPAN.
To Tell About Them All Would Fill q
Book.
Chicago Record.

chicago RECORD.
One sees lots % odd things In Japan.
and Mr. Kaneko, the assistant minister OF
commerce ard agriculture. tells ne that
he = writing q book on the peculiarities
OF his PEOPLE.
The Jauanese address letters the re-
verse from what we do, writing the coun-
try first the state or province next, then
the city. the street and number and the
name last of all which, when you come
10 think OF II. is a very sensible method,
and would be encouraged by our postnen
and the distributing clerks in our post
Offices
The Japanese carpenter has the blade az
his plane fastened edge upward in the top
Of his bench. and shoves the board or the
plank across ii. He pulls his saw toward
him, instead of showing il away from him
with his weight upon IL.
The needle woman sews from her body
instead OF toward il. The eye OF The
needle is at the point. and the thread IS
not cut from the spool until the seam is
finished. but is drawn along through
every stitch. She uses a paper tfiEbie,
oiled and waxed. instead of metal one.
When you buy few yards of doth tie
merchant always unrolls the whole piece
and cuts IL of the inside end. in order that
you may not have TO take the part that is
faded and shop worn.
A tailor makes the lining 10 a garment
first and cuts out the cloth from it as a
pattern.
Horses are always hitched tail first in
the stall and are fed from nosebags, and
an arrangement that looks like ham,
mock OF knitted rope holds the hay. The
name and the harness fasteniugs Of a
horse are always on the left side and the
rider mou. 3 from the right side.
A japanese book begins at the last page
and reads from right 10 left instead OF the
reverse. as with US. The lines run up and
down the page, and the foot notes" are
at the top. The first column OF a news
paper is on the right-hand edge Of the
page.
Articles upon the bills of fare in hotels
and restaurants are numbered, and you
order by number instead Of The name.
This is a great advantage to people who
do not understand the language or know
how to pronounce IL.
Police and railway officials carry paper
lanterns. properly marked with their
names and numbers and other useful ill.,
formation.
There are no eating houses along the
railway lines, but tea is served at every
station, with neat little wooden boxes
filled with rice and other Japanese cold
dishes, with a pair of chopsticks slipped
through the cord with which they are
fastened. A pretty earthen pot OF tea, IN
Guiding cup and Its contents, costs only
2k sen, which is IL cents in our money
while the box OF lunch costs cents.
Every Japanese is required to report AT
police headquarters whenever he changes
his residence or his employer or his oc-
cupation. Whenever man gets any kind
or a Job he is required to make 1t known
to the officials, so that a perpetual census
is being taken. and the police are sup
posed to know the name, residence, occu-
patton and whereabouts of every person
in the empire All arrivals and departures
at hotels and tea houses must be reported
TO the police. A complete record of births.
deaths, marriages and divorces is kept
also, and no native or stranger Is allowed
TO leave the country. or even travel
through IL, without a passport.
The passports given to strangers and
tourists are curious documents. being
written In Japanese. with translation in
English. In accepting them tourists
agree to observe certain regulations and
are prohibited from doing some very
ridiculous things. For example, one can
not travel at night in a carriage or jim
rikisha without light: he must not at
tend a fire on horseback. nor disregard
notices of mo thoroughfare:" he must
not drive rapidly upon narrow roadways.
nor refuse to pay ferry and bridge tolls.
He is prohibited from removing advert.s-
ing signs from stores or houses or mile
posts from the public highways. He must
not break other peoples windows, nor
scribble on the walls of temples. shrines
and public buildings. These are only few
samples OF the injunctions that are I'M