In Summer They Feed Chiefly On Leaves, Supplemented
With Mashes Of Bruised Beans, And Instead Of Straw They Sleep On
Beds Of Leaves.
In their stalls their heads are tied "where their
tails should be," and their fodder is placed not in a manger, but
in a swinging bucket.
Those used in this part of Japan are worth
from 15 to 30 yen. I have not seen any overloading or ill-
treatment; they are neither kicked, nor beaten, nor threatened in
rough tones, and when they die they are decently buried, and have
stones placed over their graves. It might be well if the end of a
worn-out horse were somewhat accelerated, but this is mainly a
Buddhist region, and the aversion to taking animal life is very
strong. I. L. B.
LETTER XXIV
The Symbolism of Seaweed - Afternoon Visitors - An Infant Prodigy - A
Feat in Caligraphy - Child Worship - A Borrowed Dress - A Trousseau -
House Furniture - The Marriage Ceremony.
KUBOTA, July 25.
The weather at last gives a hope of improvement, and I think I
shall leave to-morrow. I had written this sentence when Ito came
in to say that the man in the next house would like to see my
stretcher and mosquito net, and had sent me a bag of cakes with the
usual bit of seaweed attached, to show that it was a present. The
Japanese believe themselves to be descended from a race of
fishermen; they are proud of it, and Yebis, the god of fishermen,
is one of the most popular of the household divinities. The piece
of seaweed sent with a present to any ordinary person, and the
piece of dried fish-skin which accompanies a present to the Mikado,
record the origin of the race, and at the same time typify the
dignity of simple industry.
Of course I consented to receive the visitor, and with the mercury
at 84 degrees, five men, two boys, and five women entered my small,
low room, and after bowing to the earth three times, sat down on
the floor. They had evidently come to spend the afternoon. Trays
of tea and sweetmeats were handed round, and a labako-bon was
brought in, and they all smoked, as I had told Ito that all usual
courtesies were to be punctiliously performed. They expressed
their gratification at seeing so "honourable" a traveller. I
expressed mine at seeing so much of their "honourable" country.
Then we all bowed profoundly. Then I laid Brunton's map on the
floor and showed them my route, showed them the Asiatic Society's
Transactions, and how we read from left to right, instead of from
top to bottom, showed them my knitting, which amazed them, and my
Berlin work, and then had nothing left. Then they began to
entertain me, and I found that the real object of their visit was
to exhibit an "infant prodigy," a boy of four, with a head shaven
all but a tuft on the top, a face of preternatural thoughtfulness
and gravity, and the self-possessed and dignified demeanour of an
elderly man.
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