The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1915-11-06
ODDITIES IN JAPAN
Natives Have a TOpSy Tdry
Way of Doing Many Things.
BATHING IS A SACRED RITE
And Whenever n Native Has On Mo-
ment to Spare He Resorts TO the Tub,
With It's Peculiar Code of EthieA-
Houses Without Windows.

rnent TO Spare Hs Resorts TO the Tub,
With It's Peculiar Code of EthieA-
Houses Without Windows.
| just can't set used to how turned
around, upside down. it.~;de out, topSy
turvy. things are in Ia in. A. Japa-
meSe carpenter draws l,,e plane toward
himself, and blacksmith sits down to
WORK.
y .iapaEc>,' ,,lcSSnlith never knows
the joys OF ;-rl ing tickets TO the circus,
for he hasn't any place for the advance
man to l,..S,c up his three sheets. The
whole front of a japanese blacksmith
shop is open, with other buildings JAM
med up so close on each side that the
circus man couldn't get a poster in.
A japanese book begins on our last
page and finishes on our first para
graph. And their sentences begin at
the top OF the page and read down. like
long columns of figures. They wear
white TO funerals and judge poetry by
the beauty Of the handwriting.
Japanese houses haven't any chin
neys, SO you may see whole plateau
of houses with not single curl OF
smoke as far as the eve can reach. The
japanese cooking is done outside the
house in a little charcoal stove. They
have no stoves to keep themselves
warm, only little hibachis. gallon jars
with charcoal in them covered with
fine ashes There isn't enough heat in
one to SINCE d miller, and whenever
they get too cold they take warR
bath.
Bathing is a sacred rite. Whenever
they have spare moment they run
and take a bath. When business IN duh
they hurry to public bathhouSe and
Jump in. IL they miss one train they
take bath while waiting for the next
They take hot baths-steaming, siz-
cling hot. And the strange thing is they
don't do the bathing in a tub. They
have little foot baths about the size or
crooks that they use for washing them
selves, and when they are thoroughly
clean they climb into the tub.
If you should get into the tub first
the proprietor would break into tears
and tell you that you were bankrupting
him, for the same water is used nj;
the hotel has.
After soaking awhile they crawl out
steaming all over gently blot them
selves, get into kimonos and sit arounG
bare ankled. One would think that be
fore the evening was over a fleet foot
ed runner would have TO be dispatched
for medical assistance. but instead OF
that they never catch cold!
When got here and was invited into
Japanese home | found that lhey
hadn't any chairs. In fact, there isn
stick of furniture foot high In O.
Japanese house. You have TO sit OH the.
floor. \ person Of my build was never
meant for sitting on the floor. When
get down ON the floor and try to draw
up to japanese table my feet arc So
in the way that can't get up to where
there is anything doing The waitress
has TO walk around my feet to bring me
the viands BY the time the meal, is
over she is pretty well tagged out
A Japanese house hasn't single.
window. And it's only the most stylish
of houses that have pane OF glass,
A person who has a pane OF glass
somewhere in his house sets the social
pace in that neighborhoOd. Instead Of
glass they have paper pasted on sliding
frames, and through the paper the
light filters. Naturally one wonders
how they keep the rain out This il
little trouble. for outside the paper
walls are a series OF wooden dOOFh
which also slide back and forth.
When time comes To retire you look
around for the bed, but there isn't Cae
in sight 1t is rolled up IA a drawer.
and the japanese wouldn't know "a
bedstead from a quilting frame. ALL
lions of People in Japan have gr0wH
to manhood, voted, paid taxes ana
gone to their reward without ever hay
ing clapped eyes on an American bed
stead.
To make the bed ready the servanG
opens the drawer and unrolls the quilts
on the floor, putting a tomato can look
ing thing under one end for a pillow
Then she shuts all the paper windows
and pulls TO all the wooden slides so
that not breath of air can get III anQ
the bed is ready. Money in the palm
wouldn't persuade a japanese to sleep
with the window open.
Their theory is that during the day
the air becomes full OF dust and germs
so that If you keep your window
sealed during the night none OF the
germs can get in.-Homer CrOy in Les
lies Weekly.