The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-01-30

y
| preached with cake and tcacup on j.
! tray, and, knecling placed them be-
| fore the Admiral. Tea was thAl
/ brought in a long handled pot add
! poured into the cup. After the dis
I tinguished guest had partaken Of these
] refreshments the Mayor arose and
=, read an address OF welcome As he
! has the reputation Of being one Of the
/ best orators of the empire his part
! was dOubly interesting to me. As he
/ confined himself to his manuscript. /
could not judge of his delivery. but
/ his voice was pleasant and his manner
1 natural. The address recited the eX-
/ pioits Of Admiral Togo and gave eX-
4 preston to the gratitude of the people.
/ At its conclusion the hero Admiral
I arose and modestly acknowledged the
! compliment paid to him and to his
officers. Admiral Togo IS short. even
/ for the Japanese. and has a scanty
beard. Neither in statue nor in coun-
I tenance does he give evidence of the
stern courage and indomitable viii
! which have raised him TO the pinacle
! Of fame
When he sat down the Mayor pro-
/ posed three times three banzias and
/ they were given with a Will by the
/ enormous crowd that stood in the open
! place before the stand. While writing
! this article / am in receipt of informa-
/ ton that Mayor Ozaki has secured for
me one of the little camp stools above
/ referred to and has had made for mo
4 duplicate Of the other. They will
/ not only be interesting souvenirs of an
! historic occasion, and priced as such,
| but they will be interesting also be-
! cause they contrast 50 sharply with
! the large and richly upholstered chairs
used in America on similar occasions.
From this DIlhlic naatino- he Ad-
] nirai and his officers were conducted
to a neignboring han, where an elaO-
| crate luncheon was served. With the
! councilmen | went TO this hall and was
! presented to the Admiral and his as
| soci2tes, one of whom had been a stu
/ dent at Annapolis.
By- the cOurTGsy Of Hon. Lloyd Brns-
| com the American minister [ had an
/ audience with the Emperor. these au-
diences being arranged through the
minister representing the country from
/ which the caller comes. our minister,
to whom / am indebted for much as
/ SiStance and many kinGnCSscs during
my stay at the Capital. accompanied
nee to the palace and instructed me, as
| they say in the fratcrnitieS, lin the
secret work OF the order Except
whore the caller wears q uniform, he
is expected to appear in evening dress,
although the hour fixed is in the day
time. At the outer door stand men
in livery, one of whom conducts the
callers through long halls beautifully
decorated on ceilings and walls. to 9
spacious reception room, where halt
is made until the summons comes from
the EmperOr's room. The Emperor
I stands in the middle Of the receiving
room with an Interpreter at his side.
The caller on reaching the threshold
bows, he then advances half way 10
the EmperCr. pauSeS and bows again.
he then proceeds and bows third
! time as he takes the extended hand OF
| the sovereign.
The conversation is brief and for
nal, consisting OF answers to the queS-
tons asked by His Majesty. The En-
pcrOr is Gfty-three years old, about
five feet six inches in height, we'll
built. and wears Il beard, although, as
is the case with most Japanese, the
growth is rot heavy On retiring the
caller repeats the three bows.
We were shown through the palace,
and having seen the old palace at
kyoto. which was the capital until
the date of the Restoration OS6S). l
was struck with the difference. The
former was severely plain: the latter
represents the best that Japanese art
can produce.
NO discussion of Japanese customs
would be complete without mention
Of the tea ceremonial. one meets tea
on his arrival. it is his constant com
panion during his stay ana until il is
mingled with the fareWells that speed
him on his departure. Whenever ne
enters a house he is offered tea and |
cake and they are never refused |
This custom prevails in the larger |
stores and is scrupulousiy observed .
public buildings and colleges. The tea |
IS served in dainty cups and taken |
without sugar or cream. The tea |
drinking habit is universal here. the |
kettle OF hot water sitting OH the |
coais IN the brazier most of the time. |
At each railroad station the boys sing |
out, cha, Cna," (the Japanese word |
for tea) and for less than two cents |
in our money they will furnish the |
traveller with an earthea not of hot /
tea, vita pot and cup thrown in. ,
The use of tea at social gatherings |
dates back at least six hundTed years, I
when q tea ceremonial was instituted /
by q Buddhist priest to soften the |
manners Of the warriors. 1t partook /
Of religious character 1t irst, but |
soon became social form. and differ |
ent schools OF tea drinkers We'd with |
each other In suggesting rules and |
methods OF procedure. About three
hundred years ago Fideyoshi one OF /
the greatest Of the military rulers OF !
Japan. save what IS described as the
largest tea party on record the in /
Vitatons being lin the form Of an i'm
perial edict. All lovers of tea were
summoned to assemble at q given date
in pine grove near hyoto. and they
seem TO have done 50. The tea party
lasted ten days and the Emperor
drank at every booth.
According to Chamberlain, tea
drinking had reached the luxurious
stage before the middle of the four
teenth century. The lords took part
III the daily gatherings. reclining on
tiger skins. the walls of the guest
chamber being richly ornamented-
one Of the popular games Of chat day
was the Offering Of a number OF va