Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-02

- on the floor. Japanese floors are
raised off the street, though nothing is
raised off them. The transient customer sits
on the edge of the floor sidesaddle. A real
shopper, who means to do the thing prop
erly, like a peasant buying jewelry in Italy,
climbs upon the floor, which is also the
counter, and squats on his heels.
Real Japanese shops don't have doors
or windows or counters. Shop windows in
New York don't leave much wall in a
twelve-foot frontage; but even an American
shop window does not take the whole front
of the house.
The Japanese don't have many regular
shops. There are very few streets of shops
even in Tokyo, which is as large as Berlin.
Foreigners never buy anything but curios
and knick -knacks at Japanese shops; If
they are fools they deal with shops kept by
Europeans; if they want good bargains they
deal with Cinnamon. There are many Chi
nese shops in treaty ports. The Chinaman
is cheaper and more reliable than the Jap
anese. European shopkeepers do not set
up in Japan for philanthropic reasons. Jap
anese shopkeepers are the lowest class OF
the population except the outcasts. Serv-
ants and laborers take precedence of them
in society, and precedence is the hobby of
the Japanese.
You have a different bow and a different
salutation for a man who is below you or
your equal, and several for the people
above you; you have even a different Ian
guage for each, and Japanese writing wrig-
giles like the carvings on their temples.
Just as debutantes have to learn how to
bow and kick away their trains before they
are presented at courts, Japanese infants
learn their alphabet of salaams. 1t is the
49, 49,. a. ~ Tn-anAn1
all the world is a court.
This makes it a serious matter going
to a Japanese shop, unless you are going to
buy silk handkerchiefs, the only thing for
eigners buy often enough to spoil the man
ners of the shopkeeper. You get out OF
your riksha and the riksha boy lies about
you. All the attendants in the shop salaam
till you wish they would get up and let you
catch their eye and explain what you want,
Whtl they do get up, Instead OF having
a shop walker and four counter-jumper
asking you to repeat your order, you are
offered five cups of tea-Japanese tea with
out milk or sugar-but you can have sailed
cherry blossoms if you want, when /. is q
good shop. This is the japanese way OF
asking you to take a drink.
Good Japanese shops contain nothing ex,
cept the proprietor. When you have got
as far as explaining what you want he gives
orders to attendants, who hiss as If the!
were brushing a horse and trying to keel
the hairs out of their mouths, while the!
rub their knees and bob their heads.
OF they go at a run-good servants al
ways run-and bring back goods tied up II
faded green silk handkerchiefs, or greer
cotton cloths. The goods are kept in til,
godown, but the customer is never takel
there lest he should choose right away arr
have done with it, instead Of being etiluet
tically worked up for half a day witt
enough tea for a bath.
A Japanese goodwin has no windows, an,
only one door. and looks like a black o
white plaster coffin with a heavy gable
roof and a crest which fills the whole gable
It's thick walls are made of compresse
plaster, covered with lacquer, and tn
Japanese believe it to be fire and Lurgla
proof. 1t looks like meerschaum or ebony
All Japanese houses of any Importance hav
godowns.
. The Japanese keep all their thing
put away, and have them out (excep