The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1900-11-23

bill of fare. The principal food Is
rlce-not boiled and mashed to
pieces With milk and butter-but
to cook IL without breaking the
grain. When 1t Is cooked, each grain
remains In tact, and 1t Is snowy
white and perfectly dry. No salt or
seasoning of any kind is put into it,
as 1t Is thought to spoil the flavor.
The rivers, lakes, and seas are
teeming with splendid fish, and
they form an important part of the
native diet. While Buddhism for.
bade the eating of meats generally,
IL permitted the eating OF Ash. Ger
tain kinds, cut into thin slices and
eaten raw with a kind of sauce, ia
considered a great delicacy, but
only few of the fish consumed are
eaten raw most are boiled or fried.
Foreign vegetables are rare and
are not much liked by the natives,
but there IL an,abundance of native
vegetables. The most common one
is large coarse radish. about two
feet long, called ddikOn, which is
picked and eaten at every meal.
eaten by all classes of people.
Sweet potatoes are abundant and
cheap. They are considered the poo~
mans food, and the we'll to-do
people are ashamed to eat them.
Often when we have asked for sweet
potatoes our servant has replied in
astonishment, Why do you eat
sweet potatoes? They are TOR
coolies" A mountain potato and
the roots of the lotus aud bamboo
are also eaten.
Japanese clothing Is often conspic-
uous by its absence. Many of the
people do not think it necessary to
burden themselves with clothing on
q hot summer day and wear very
little. The government has been
constrained to make laws against
nudity, but these are enforced only
in the cities. The summer garment
of many of the children Is simply the
dark brown one given them by na.
ture. Most OF the coolies wear MOTH
ing but little loin cloth, when at
work. The real native costume is
both pretty and becoming. 1t con.
slsts usually OF a single robe, reach
ing from tie shoulders to the ankles
and tied around the waist with a
heavy girdle. A black outer gar
ment reaching only to the knees, Is
worn over this ordinary robe on extra
occasions. Formerly the Japanese
did not wear hats and even now half
the men one meets on the streets are
bareheaded. The women wear Meth
er hats nor bonnets.
1t is not considered improper to go
barefoot in Japan; but generally
the better classes are shod when they
go outdoors. Ii anything resemD
ling stocking Ia worn it is what
they call tdbi, a kind of foot glove
| made of either white or dark blue
material, with separate apartment
for the great toe. A block Of wood
called getd answers for shoes. 1t
has two cords attached to the same
place in front aud then dividing,
one being fastened on each side OF
the foot. These cords clip between
the great toe and the others, and
passing over the foot, secure the
getd.
japanese bathing customs are
peculiar. Perhaps there are ut
other people on earth that battle as
often as they. 1t is Customary fOl
every one, even the poorest, to battle
we'll the whole body every day. rne
baths are taken very hoG, about lie
degrees, f. Each house has u large
baLh-tab, which is often sufficient II
size to accommodate the whole
family at once. Besides these prl
waite baths, each cry and town has
its public ones, where a good, no
bath in place large enough to swim
around, Can be had for one cent
The W, m III aud cnndren go in then
at the saline time, unfortunately
The funeral customs are very dit
fere mt from ours. The Japanese are
taught when deeply moved to coyel