Arizona republican., 1901-08-31
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Speaking of feasts and funerals, said Gatoner to some grifilns he had up to tifiin one day, 'I saw an old man roasting while his family sat around eating and drinking and making merry II was over on the west coast, where Buddhism is strong"
 ''It was a strange sight to me-" he continued, flor l had not been in the country long, and did not know any thing about the native funeral customs The old man who was burning had beer my neighbor. He was 'inkio"-that is retired from active life. His eldest sor was my landlord The old mans friend ship had won me the good will of his household. That is how l happened tC be at the funeral.
 He was SS years old. This is the lucky age in Japan, because of the way the number is written" Then Gardner made marks with his chopsticks dipped in shoyu on the top of his tray. two lit. tie dabs pointing at each other for & then below a cross for 10, and below this two more little dabs. The column then read s. 10. s or SS. Now If the tour dabs were brought close up and dtwr to the cross in the middle the SS wo,ud change into the character rice.
 Rice is the Japare.e synonym ,foI plenty, so the man or woman reaching the age of SS is held in particular es- teem, and my friends funeral was more elaborate than the usual affair because of his lucky age.
 Crowds came to the house, for every body that knew anybody knew Takal- yanagi Inkiyo. They came in and bowed before the household shrine where his name and the age of sucf good omen were inscribed. As they bowed they pressed their hands to. gether as Christians do in prayer. They reverenced his spirit, and by their obei- sance they implied that they held hi: memory in as high esteem as they had held him when he was living man.
 Then they laid their offerings on thC floor below the little image in it's gildet case. Every one brought something The well-to-do gave money, other: vases full of red or white flowers.
 Meanwhile. the good wife of thu house was busy in the kitchen prepar ing food for the guests. In neighborinl kitchens, too, the women helped witt this. In my house cooking began earl, in the morning and the maids kept c it all day long. When the cooking wal over there was more food than I eve saw before; raw fish, sugared fish cutie fish. seaweed soups and coh boiled rice rolled up in seaweed with ; dab of horseradish In the center.
 The feasting lasted till noon next day when it was time to go to the temple.
 The old mans body the priests Sav put into a jar shaped like a huge fiowa pot, with fragrant leaves pressed il round about it. When all was read! for the procession the mourners put tn jar in a box covered with white cloth White is the mourning color in Japan and some white robbed attendants iron the temple carried 1t off on a stretche on their shoulders.
 Just ahead of the jar walked com pany of singers with bells. They wer in white also. In fact, we were al white. except the old mans son, m ldnulpIu. ne ildu Uli Woliuti lui UT tS suit made after the foreign pattern much too large for him and lined wit pink silk. The trousers were rolled u about foot on each leg and fitted a though they were on hind side first
 His hat was old, too. It was of th good old stovepipe design. runnin straight up at the sides with broa | flat brim.
 It was fortunate for my friend tha he had ears, or his hat would hay reached down to his shoulders. He ha homeless appearance in his outfi that was almost ss distressing as 1t wa amusing
 "I was in the procession, of course wore a white duck suit and rode l a ilnrikisha. At the temple the bearer | put the jar on an altar, and a doze priests chanted a service. As tn chanting went on each guest steppe | forward Tn turn. and after lowing | the priests kneit before the bier an salaaming. took il pinch of powdere incense from bowl and dropped il int charcoal brazier, in which a tiny fir burned Then with another prolonge salaam the mourning guest returned his seat. This was sort of good by to the body and a salutation to tn spirit of the ancient gentleman.
 When my turn came, l put my fir gers absent mindedly into the brazie and burned them, and then In confusio put too much incense on the fire, whic made such a smoke that the priest and had coughing fit. Afterward explained that we always did that wa at home. We burned our fingers
 little to purify them, and the last ma always dumped on all the incense ths
 was left so that the carpse wouldn think that we weren't generous. SinC then have been regarded in Etchiu { VkyA <" % z