Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1904-01-29

ments or RECOMMENDATIONS Ask No
Fees. but Expect Presents - Long
Social Calls Are Good FOrm-Theat-
Japan is Il 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
ina aginabe form. cooked and uncooked,
Is eaten. Even the eyes do not go to
waste. 1t 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.
womau's dress and style of hardress.
ing usually indicate her exact age.
A woman always goes hatless in ia.
pan, and her hair is neatly dressed and
adorned with little shell ornaments OF
a 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 lord
ships whims. \ man expects his wife
to be faithful and a good mother to his
children. When he wishes entertain
ment or brilliant conversation he seeks
1t 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
conversationists, 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
promlscuous bathing among men, wo-
IntU anu CulltItD tbuulS LOT UutulllS.
1t 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 it a su.
pertiuous garment.
The Japanese are veritable salaman,
ders. Heat has no terror for them, and
they usually battle in water about 126
F. A Japanese bathroom is always
open to as many as ii can accommo-
date. AS for privacy, lock and key are
rarely found in a real Japanese inn OF
house. The bath is taken after this
fashion: Every one proceeds, as Taffy
said, to make himself clean by thor
ough rundown of soap and water, then
dash of hot water to remove all soap.
then a soak of from five to eight min,
utes in the tank of boiling water This
same water answers for all and Is KEPT
hot by charcoal fire beneath the tub
Bathing is a continuous process in ia
pan.
Japan is the land of small things.
The little ones of Japan have heads
and faces that resemble Dutch cheeses
and seem always good natured and
happy In fact. it is called the land of
the child's paradise. Everything is
done for the wee tots. who tumble and
totter about in their tiny clogs like
animated. gayly dressed dolls. AS they
are gently touched by the hand of
time the somberness of their dress
increases as well as the eIaborateness
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 bowling the
face to the floor.
In their pastimes they allow them.
selves plenty of time. and note par
ticularly the absence of ruffians ana
rude horse play in Japanese crowd.
Many strange things strike one all oven
Japan. There are laws and regulations
for every feeling and emotion. A bride
wears mourning because she leaves hel
home and her parents. widOweI
mourns three months and then con-
soles himself with No. 2. A widow
mourns thirteen months. One readily
sees the difference in estimate of the
loss of husband or a wife. while the
loss of baby urdar three months is
never looked upon as an occasion for
mourning.
The most japanese of all products in
the empire is the lacquer as the name
of the country means lacquer. The
largest area of land is devoted to the
cultivation of rice, and the whole land
is cultivated like garden. The year
begins in the spring, When the feasts
of cherry blossoms, plums, wistaria,
etc. gladden. the hearts of the people.
Then all work stops, and every man,
woman and child bows before the bean
ties of nature in her fresh loveliness,
homage that no other nation in the
world finds time to bestow upon her in
the mad struggle for existence. The
cherry and the plum trees are cultivat-
ed not for their fruit, hut for the per-
fection and beauty of the blossoms
Some of the Japanese gardens are
the most elfish affairs. For thousand
years the Japanese have propagated
variegatpd plants and dwarf trees. Ev-
cry man has his pet tree in his home
interior tied and twisted into the most
weird shape, an epitome of the great
trees that grow under heavens own
blue, untouched by the transforming
hand Of cultivation and art Every
one in japan, be he rich or poor. seems
to have an Inherent love for flowers.
They are part of the peoples life as
we'll as the motive of their best art.