The New York herald., 1921-10-30


dust. When Japanese man or woman
or child, for that matter-is waiting for
tramcar, or wants to indulge in a tete-a-
tete, he or she just squats down, and can
maintain a position that would be decid-
edly uncomfortable to a Westerner. OF
course the better grade of Japanese do not
squat in the streets, but the "lower classes"
young and old. fan naturally into the habit
| have seen some men and women of
20 resting on their heels for full half
hour withr,.t a break. Inasmuch as few
japanese ever get fat. it struck me that
the squatting habit would be good one
to introduce in America. foreigner by
the way, is likely to find the chairs of
Japanese house rather inconvenient. They
are couple of inches lower than the West
ern models, because the Japanese on an
average are not much over feet inches
for the men and two or three inches shorter
as to women
M course the cultured japanese pos
~ sess as charming and correct table
manners as any people in the
world. but foreigner is likely to expert.
ence an unpleasant sensation in mixed
gathering of Japanese at table Table
etiquette in the Flowery Kingdom does not
discountenance audible manifestations of
gustatory pleasure. The old gag that
Frank Bush used to spring about going to
a banquet to hear" the guests eat soup
was probably inspired by visit to Japan.
1t seems to be the theory of the ordinary
Japanese that he can best instance his en-.
joyment of the meal by making as much
noise as possible, by smacking his lips,
sucking his teeth and belching between
courses. Incidentally, toothpicks are used
somewhat for ornaments, or as plumbing
devices, ostentatiously manipulated.
Vegetable diets are not always conducive
to happiness, though the Japanese as
rule eat very little meat. particularly those
of the Buddhist faith. A statistician has
figured out that diet of vegetables, fish
and rice induces pessimistic view of life
and leads many persons to suicide. In proof
of his assertion he cites the case of ten
Buddhists, five Of whom were women, who
cast themselves into the ocean without any
explanation. He thinks that if they had
eaten some meat they wouldn't have
done So
The popular view that the Japanese
exist entirely upon rice and fish is some
what erroneous. They are very fond Of
starchy foods, go in for corn on the cob.
squash, potatoes, noodles-which takes the
place of the Coney Island "hot dog"-and
have very sweet tooth, indeed. But fish
is always in order. Probably one-tenth of
the population in the islands of the Japa.
nese archipelago are engaged in catching.
curing and drying fish for the other nine
tenths The dried fish is cut up into flets
and stacked up in the provision shops like
kindling wood, the price Of it being
painted in white on the fish itself. The
Japanese like an American meal" for
change, and the hotels and restaurants in
the large cities are favorite places for them
to dine out
- UJIYAMA Mount Fuji) is one of the
few bits of natural scenery that
eclipses in splendor the pictures Of
it. 1t is one of the most impressive spec.
tacles that ever met the human eye, and
there is little wonder that the Japanese
star IL as their most valued possession
Seen in the early morning, rising above
majestic grandeur. it fixes itself indelibly
in the mind. Silhouetted against sky
Of orange, azure and sepia, its noble crest.
crowned with snow even in September
invites alteration until the clouds have
drifted upward and hidden it from sight.
It is only natural that IL should be the
most popular shrine in the Far East to
which people of all religious dogmas come
to worship. The most eloquent tribute to
its beauty is rendered in these lines from
the pen Of a Japanese poet little known.
81 turn my face 10 the lofty Full
Queenliest queen OF the world below.
Crowned with a crown of pure white lilies
Flowers Of the winters frost and snow.
The stars and the clouds are in her secret.
And her beauty shines or the wondering sea.
But not on me"
The crest Of Fujiyama is the magnet
that draws many thousands of ambitious
hikers during the good weather." for the
tip of il rises 10000 feet in the air and
is at times not only uncomfortable but un.
safe. A journey to the top consumes the
best part of five hours steady climbing up
passably good footpath and is by no
means easy walking Sometimes storms
overtake the hikers and the Government
guides are compelled to rescue persons
who remain too long at the top Recently