The Old World and Its Ways - Bryan William Jennings

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stage between villages. A large part of the hauling of merchandise is done by men, horses being rarely seen. In fact, in some of the cities there are more oxen than horses, and many of them wear straw sandals to protect their hoofs from the hard pavement. The lighter burdens are carried in buckets or baskets, suspended from the ends of a pole and balanced upon the shoulder.

      In the country the demand for land is so great that most of the roads are too narrow for any other vehicle than a hand cart. The highways connecting the cities and principal towns, however, are of good width, are substantially constructed and well drained, and have massive stone bridges spanning the streams.

      The clothing of the men presents an interesting variety. In official circles the European and American dress prevails. The silk hat and Prince Albert coat are in evidence at all day functions, and the dress suit at evening parties. The western style of dress is also worn by many business men, professional men and soldiers, and by students after they reach the middle school, which corresponds to our high school. The change is taking place more rapidly among the young than among the adults and is more marked in the city than in the country. In one of the primary schools in Kyoto, I noticed that more than half of the children gave evidence of the transition in dress. The change is also more noticeable in the seaport cities than in the interior. At Kyoto, an inland city, the audience wore the native dress and all were seated on mats on the floor, while the next night at Osaka, a seaport, all sat on chairs and nearly all wore the American dress. At the Osaka meeting some forty Japanese young ladies from the Congregational college sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" in English.

      The shopkeepers and clerks generally wear the native clothing, which consists of a divided skirt and a short kimono held in place by a sash. The laboring men wear loose knee breeches and a shirt in warm weather; in cold weather they wear tight fitting breeches that reach to the ankles and a loose coat. In the country the summer clothing is even more scanty. I saw a number of men working in the field with nothing on but a cloth about the loins, and it was early in November, when I found a light overcoat comfortable.

      A pipe in a wooden case and a tobacco pouch are often carried in the belt or sash, for smoking is almost universal among both men and women.

      Considerable latitude is allowed in footwear. The leather shoe has kept pace with the coat and vest, but where the native dress is worn, the sandal is almost always used. Among the well-to-do the foot is encased in a short sock made of white cotton cloth, which is kept scrupulously clean. The sock has a separate division for the great toe, the sandal being held upon the foot by a cord which runs between the first and second toes and, dividing, fastens on each side of the sandal. These sandals are of wood and rest upon two blocks an inch or more high, the front one sloping toward the toe. The sandal hangs loosely upon the foot and drags upon the pavement with each step. The noise made by a crowd at a railroad station rises above the roar of the train. In muddy weather a higher sandal is used which raises the feet three or four inches from the ground, and the wearers stalk about as if on stilts. The day laborers wear a cheaper sandal made of woven rope or straw. The footwear above described comes down from time immemorial, but there is coming into use among the 'rikisha men a modern kind of footwear which is a compromise between the new and the old. It is a dark cloth, low-topped gaiter with a rubber sole and no heel. These have the separate pocket for the great toe. The sandals are left at the door. At public meetings in Japanese halls the same custom is followed, the sandals being checked at the door as hats and wraps are in our country. On approaching a meeting place the speaker can form some estimate of the size of the audience by the size of the piles of sandals on the outside. After taking cold twice, I procured a pair of felt slippers and carried them with me, and the other members of the family did likewise.

      The women still retain the primitive dress. About 1884 an attempt was made by the ladies of the court to adopt the European dress and quite a number of women in official circles purchased gowns in London, Paris and the United States, in spite of the protests of their sisters abroad. (Mrs. Cleveland joined in a written remonstrance which was sent from the United States.) But the spell was broken in a very few months and the women outside of the court circles returned to the simpler and more becoming native garb. It is not necessary to enter into details regarding the female toilet, as the magazines have made the world familiar with the wide sleeved, loose fitting kimono with its convenient pockets. The children wear bright colors, but the adults adopt more quiet shades.

      The shape of the garment never changes, but the color does. This season grey has been the correct shade. Feminine pride shows itself in the obi, a broad sash or belt tied in a very stiff and incomprehensible bow at the back. The material used for the obi is often bright in color and of rich and expensive brocades. A wooden disc is often concealed within the bow of the obi to keep it in shape and also to brace the back. Two neck cloths are usually worn, folded inside the kimono to protect the bare throat. These harmonize with the obi in color and give a dainty finish to the costume. As the kimono is quite narrow in the skirt, the women take very short steps. This short step, coupled with the dragging of the sandals, makes the women's gait quite unlike the free stride of the American woman. In the middle and higher schools the girls wear a pleated skirt over the kimono. These are uniform for each school and wine color is the shade now prevailing. The men and women of the same class wear practically the same kind of shoes.

      Next to the obi, the hair receives the greatest attention and it is certainly arranged with elaborate care. The process is so complicated that a hair dresser is employed once or twice a week and beetle's oil is used in many instances to make the hair smooth and glossy. At night the Japanese women place a very hard, round cushion under the neck in order to keep the hair from becoming disarranged. The stores now have on sale air pillows, which are more comfortable than the wooden ones formerly used. The vexing question of millinery is settled by dispensing with hats entirely. Among the poorer classes the hat is seldom used by the men.

      More interesting in appearance than either the men or women are the children – and I may add that there is no evidence of race suicide in Japan. They are to be seen everywhere, and a good natured lot they are. The babies are carried on the back of the mother or an older child, and it is not unusual to see the baby fast asleep while the bearer goes about her work. Of the tens of thousands of babies we have seen, scarcely a half dozen have been crying. The younger children sometimes have the lower part of the head shaved, leaving a cap of long hair on the crown of the head. Occasionally a spot is shaved in the center of this cap. After seeing the children on the streets, one can better appreciate the Japanese dolls, which look so strange to American children.

      Cleanliness is the passion of the Japanese. The daily bath is a matter of routine, and among the middle classes there are probably more who go above this average than below. It is said that in the city of Tokyo there are over eleven hundred public baths, and it is estimated that five hundred thousand baths are taken daily at these places. The usual charge is one and a quarter cents (in our money) for adults and one cent for children. One enthusiastic admirer of Japan declares that a Japanese boy, coming unexpectedly into the possession of a few cents, will be more apt to spend it on a bath than on something to eat or drink. The private houses have baths wherever the owners can afford them. The bath tub is made like a barrel – sometimes of stone, but more often of wood – and is sunk below the level of the floor. The favorite temperature is one hundred and ten degrees, and in the winter time the bath tub often takes the place of a stove. In fact, at the hot springs people have been known to remain in the bath for days at a time. I do not vouch for the statement, but Mr. Basil H. Chamberlain in his book entitled "Things Japanese," says that when he was at one of these hot springs "the caretaker of the establishment, a hale old man of eighty, used to stay in the bath during the entire winter." Until recently the men and women bathed promiscuously in the public baths; occasionally, but not always, a string separated the bathers. Now different apartments must be provided.

      The Japanese are a very polite people. They have often been likened to the French in this respect – the French done in bronze, so to speak. They bow very low, and in exchanging salutations and farewells sometimes bow several times. When the parties are seated on the floor, they rise to the knees and bow the head to the floor. Servants, when they bring food to those who are seated on the floor, drop upon their knees and, bowing, present the tray.

      In speaking of the people I desire to emphasize one conclusion that has been drawn from my observations here, viz., that I

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