Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-01-16
LIFE tjF THE JAPANESE
Customs of Mikado's Subjects Described by an American.
THE WOMEN ALWAYS GO HATLEss

Their Hair, Neatly Dressed, h
 Adorned with Small she'll Orna-
 ments1or FIowers--Doctors Ask No
 Fees, but Expect Presents = Long
 Social Calls Are Good Form--Theat-
 ricaI Performances Go on Forever.
 Japan is land minus many things that we think essential to life, says a correspondent of the Springfield Re publican. There are no bakers and butchers. Rice takes the place of bread, meat and fowl but fish in every lima aginable form, cooked and uncooked, is eaten. Even the eyes do. not go to waste. It would take no end of time to enumerate what Japan has not, such as beds, chairs, shoes, except wooden and straw shoes; bolts, locks, keys, wardrobes. washstands, etc. When one falls i'll in Japan the patient pays for the medicine consumed. The doctor asks no fee, but expects present. Theatrical performances begin in the morning and, like the brook, go on for ever The audience all come provided with food. Long social calls are good form, and one must always ask the age and income of his acquaintance. A woman's dress and style Of hairdress- ing usually indicate her exact age.
 A woman always goes hatless in Ja- pan, and her hair Is neatly dressed and adorned with little shell ornaments or flower or two Man in Japan, as throughout the east, is considered heav- en born, while woman is Of the earth earthly, created to cater to his losd- ships whims. A man expects his wife to be faithful and good mother to hiu children. When he wishes entertain ment or brilliant conversation he seeks it among the geisha girls in the tea houses, who are carefully selected for their wit, beauty and intelligence. They are the brightest, best informed and most accomplished of Japanese wom en- They are educated to entertain as 5conversationists, mimics, actresses and musicians. Dancing in Japan is al- ways done by hired girls, and courtship is done by proxy. A kiss Is the. height of impropriety, but seminakedness and promiscuous bathing among men, wo- men and children counts for nothing It is only within recent years that law forces every man to wear a loin cloth. The toiler in the field and the fisher on the sea seem to find 1t su- pernuous garment.
 The Japanese are veritable salaman- ders. Heat has no terror for them, and they usually bathe in water about 126 F. A Japanese bathroom Is always open to as many as 1t can accommo- date. As for privacy, lock and key are rarely found in a real Japanese inn or house. The bath is taken after this fashion: Every one proceeds, as Taffy said, to make himself clean by a thor pugh rubdown of soap and water, then dash of hot water to remove all soap, then soak of from five to eight min- Autes in the tark of boiling water. This $ame water answers for all and is kept bot by charcoal fire beneath the tub.
 Bathing Is continuous process in Ja- Sban.
 Japan is the land of small things The little ones of Japan have heads an6 faces that resemble Dutch cheeses and seem always good natured and happy Tn fact, 1t is called the land of the cEild's paradise Everything is uoHe 1oE tue wee Iots, Wno lumDle ana totter about in their tiny clogs like animated, Ngayly dressed dolls. As they are gently touched by the hand of time the somberness of their dress increases as well as the elaborateness of their coiffure. Even these dear lit tie ones are tremendously polite, al- ways bowling low. The salutation, which is most ceremonious, consists in getting down on the knees, spreading the hands on the mats and lowing the face to the floor.
 In their pastimes they allow them selves plenty of, time, and note par