The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-01-21
JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE AS SEEN THRU THE EYES OF
w. ]. BRYAN OUR "ROJND THE WORLD" CORRESPONDENT
Peculiar Features of Life in
the Island Empire of the
Far East Which Surprise
the T raveler from the
United States.

roof is cheaper, but far less durable.
Some of the temples and palaces have
roof, in which the bark of the
straw. These roofs are often foot
thick, and are quite imposing. In
cities most buildings are rooted with
tile of pattern which has been used
for hundreds of years. Shingles are
sometimes used on newer structures,
but they are not nearly so large as our
shingles, and instead of being fastened
with nails, are held in place by wire.
{ On the business streets the houses are
generally two stories, the merchant liv-
ing above the store. The public build
ings are now being constructed of brick
and stone, and modelled after the build
ings Of America and Europe. But re-
turning to the native archltecture-the ,
house is really little more than frame,
for the dividing walls are sliding
screens, and the outside walls are taken
out during the day. The rooms open
into each other, the hallway extending
around the outside instead Of going
thru the center. Frail sliding parti-
tions covered with paper separate the
rooms from the hall, glass being almost
Unknown. The floor is covered with a
heavy. mating two inches thick, and
as these mats are of uniform size,
six feet by three, the rooms are made to
! fit the mats, twelve feet square being
the common size. AS the walls of the
room are not stationary, there is no
place for the hanging OF, pictures, altho'
the sliding walls are otter richly deco
rated. =
Such pictures as the house contains
are painted on silk or paper, and are
rolled up when not on exhibition. At
one end of the room used for company
there is generally raised platform upon
which a pot of flowers or other orna-
ment is placed, and above this there
arc one or two shelves, the upper one
being inclosed in sliding doors. There
are no bedsteads, the beds being made
upon the floor and rolled up during
the day. There are no tables or
chairs. There is usually diminutive
desk about foot high upon which writ
ing material is placed. The writing is
done with brush, and the writing case
or box containing the brush, ink, ETC.,
has furnished the lacquer industry with
one of the most popular articles for
ornamentation. The people sit upon
cushions upon the floor and their meals
are served upon trays. -
What the Japs Eat.
Japanese food is so different from
American food that it takes the visitor
some time to acquire fondness for
it, more time than the tourist usually
has at his disposal. With the masses
rice is the staple article of diet, and
it is the most palatable native dish
that the foreigner finds here. The white
rice raised in Japan is superior in quail.
ity to some of the rice raised in China,
and the farmers are often compelled to
sell the good rice and buy the poorer
, quality. Millnt, which is even cheaper
is used as a substitute for rice.
AS might be expected in a seagirt
land, fish, lobster, crab, shrimp, etc.
: take the place of meat, the fish being
often served raw. AS matter Of fact
it is sometimes brought to the table
alive and carved in the presence of the
guests. Sweet potatoes, picked rad
ishes, mushrooms, seaweed, barley and
fruit give variety to the diet. The
radishes are white and enormous in
size. I saw some which were two feet
long and two and half inches in
diameter. Another variety is conica1 in
form, and six or eight inches in diam.
eter. 1 heard of a kind of turnip that
grows so large that two Of them make
l a load for the small Japanese horses
7 The chicken is found generally thruout
5 the country, but is small, like the fight.
ing breeds or the Leghorns. Ducks also
l are plentiful. Milk is seldom used, ex,
ccpt in case of sickness, and butter il
5 almost unknown among the masses.
But the subject of food led me away
from the house. No description would
be complete which did not mention the
little gate thru which the tiny dooryard
= is entered; the low, doorway upon which
a the foreigner constantly bumps his
head, and the little garden at the rear
of the house, with it's fish pond, It's min'
iature mountains, its climbing vines
and fragrant flowers. The dwarf
trees are cultivated here, and they are
delight to the eye; gnarled and
knotted pines two feet high and thirty
or forty years old are not uncommon
Little maple trees are seen mere .n1ty
years old and looking all of their age
but only twelve inches in height. We
saw collection of these dwarf trees
several hundred In number, and one
could almost imagine himself transport
ed to the home of the brownies. Some
of these trees bear fruit ludicrously
large for the size of the tree. The
houses are heated by charcoal fires in
open urns' or braziers, but an American
would not be satisfied with the amount
of heat supplied. These braziers art
moved about the room as convenience
requires, ard supply heat for the in
evitable tea.
A Quiet People.
have never seen more quiet, or
derby OF self-restrained people. / hav,