The Washington times., 1906-05-19
HOWE, ITS PROBLEMS AND INTERESTS
a JAP ENTERTAINMENT
VARIES THE MONOTONY
The Decorations Required Are Very
Simple and Certainly Effective.
An APPROPRIATE Menu.

| mentS have recently come into popular
ity among women who long for variety.
and just now. during cherry blossom
time, when this favorite blossom OF the
Flowery Kingdom is available. enter
| tainments are being given. Contrary 10
the average persons preconceived ideas
Of japanese decorations, the latter are.
correctly, extremely simple. for instead
Of a room or house full Of variegated
lanterns, gay colored vases. quaint bowls
and a profusion of bamboo settees,
chairs. etc. the arrangement is ex-
| tremely plain. To begin with. all seats
except well padded pillows are removed
from the rooms where the guests are TO
! be entertained, no pieces of furniture are
| left to obstruct free passageway, and
there are no plants or floral decorations.
| SONS prettily arranged In ornamental
4 vases and placed at either end OF the
| apartment near the entrance or exit
4 Along the sides Of the walls pretty pill
| lows or silk. bright colored cretonnes, Of
| those on satin with gold and silver braid
| in japanese effects are placed. one for
| be used in real Jap style-feet under
| the body. sitting on the knees and toes
instead Of our more conventional chairs
Screens Are Essential.
To keep the room from looking bare
and incidentally TO copy exactly the
smart houses in Japan. beautiful screens.
attractive for their remarkable needle
work and portrayal of decorative art,
are placed against the walls for orna-
ments Women who do not possess
| these viii have little difficulty IN secur-
| ing them from dealers in the city for an
Afternoon, and viii ind that the rental
I IS comparatively small
/ With the screens and pillows in place.
/ the rooms are ready for the guests It
| possible, the hostess should have mat
| ting on the floor. and that Of as fine
should be plenty OF thick padding under
IL for the softer II IS the more COM
| Portable for those who sit on the pillows
/ II will be.
| one Of the women in the smart set
/ who recently invited her friends to
Japanese luncheon. stated on the invita-
| tion that she would provide them with
| the regulation Oriental costume. and
| that they were expected 20 wear sandals
| such as are used IN Japan These we're
1 left at the entrance 70 the rejection
/ room. according 70 native custom. and
| the women, all in handsome stockings.
/ walked around without any other pro-
lection than these thin silk hose.
Practice Sitting la japanese
| A person who could not afford TO have
| elaborate costumes for her guests could
| get brfght-cOlored printed stuffs Wit.
| chrysanthemums, on red, yellow. or
purple back grounds. furnish vivid rib
/ bons for sashes and real flowers for
| the hair. and the entertainment would
/ be as picturesque as could be desired
1t might be we'll fer the hostess 20 add
TO her invitations that practising sit
| ting. according TO the japanese would
be an advantage, in the ease with which
the women occupied their pillows. and
might. incidentally. prev ent some un-
| comfortable stiffness the following day.
| When all have been received BY the
/ hostess, they seat themselves ana talk
/ until the luncheon IS served on dainty
! lacquer trays. Every dish IS real Jap
4 anese, served in the most correct way
, and eaten with chop sticks.
! Like course lunch, the soup IS
| served first. II may be Of lobster with
/ vegetables that are In season now, or
/ Of chicken with the same ingredients.
/ eaten with the peculiarly shaped Jap
! spoons that most OF us are familiar
/ with. Following II a dish OF raw fsh.
either red snapper or white, carefully
! skinned, boned and cut In dainty, Thin
/ slices, covered with a yellowish sauce
! such as is made by an experienced na-
I tive cook, is served. and though few
| women know anything about unCoOked
\ FISH. most Of them declare that the dish
/ IS delicious.
I Fried oysters or lobster cooked ex-
actly as they are in this country with a
mealy kind OF paste OF flour. water.
/ etc, and placed On a pretty dish make
! the next course. or fried chicken with
/ mushrooms and bamboo sprouts. ar odd
/ combination for American palates, viii
/ be appreciated by most OF the guests,
because il is unusual and especially de-
/ lecta bic.
| Broiled squab. plover. or snipe. some
/ kind Of wild fowl is then brought on.
/ and the next course is a salad made of
/ cucumber with shrimp or oranges; the
| latter with the vegetable is much liked
| For dessert there is -sakura
| cherry made at this season that is de-
! licious. II is wrapped in cherry leaves
/ in a dainty fashion that is pleasing to
I the eye and an artistic finish 10 the
meal. The only difficulty is in securing
l this sweet. for IL is not made in this
country and must be secured direct
| from Japan. Tea, all that any one
wants, fragrant leaves such as are rare
" drunk here, IS kept in the cups on
the tray from the first course to the
| last.
When the luncheon is over and the
/ japanese servants have removed the
trays, a little native music makes
nice diversion. particularly if the
J Geisha girls can be secured.
CEEFPFITI. CHANS0NTTTE