He Was Dressed In Scarlet Silk Hakama, And A Dark,
Striped, Blue Silk Kimono, And Fanned Himself Gracefully, Looking
At Everything As Intelligently And Courteously As The Others.
To
talk child's talk to him, or show him toys, or try to amuse him,
would have been an insult.
The monster has taught himself to read
and write, and has composed poetry. His father says that he never
plays, and understands everything just like a grown person. The
intention was that I should ask him to write, and I did so.
It was a solemn performance. A red blanket was laid in the middle
of the floor, with a lacquer writing-box upon it. The creature
rubbed the ink with water on the inkstone, unrolled four rolls of
paper, five feet long, and inscribed them with Chinese characters,
nine inches long, of the most complicated kind, with firm and
graceful curves of his brush, and with the ease and certainty of
Giotto in turning his O. He sealed them with his seal in
vermilion, bowed three times, and the performance was ended.
People get him to write kakemonos and signboards for them, and he
had earned 10 yen, or about 2 pounds, that day. His father is
going to travel to Kiyoto with him, to see if any one under
fourteen can write as well. I never saw such an exaggerated
instance of child worship. Father, mother, friends, and servants,
treated him as if he were a prince.
The house-master, who is a most polite man, procured me an
invitation to the marriage of his niece, and I have just returned
from it. He has three "wives" himself. One keeps a yadoya in
Kiyoto, another in Morioka, and the third and youngest is with him
here. From her limitless stores of apparel she chose what she
considered a suitable dress for me - an under-dress of sage green
silk crepe, a kimono of soft, green, striped silk of a darker
shade, with a fold of white crepe, spangled with gold at the neck,
and a girdle of sage green corded silk, with the family badge here
and there upon it in gold. I went with the house-master, Ito, to
his disgust, not being invited, and his absence was like the loss
of one of my senses, as I could not get any explanations till
afterwards.
The ceremony did not correspond with the rules laid down for
marriages in the books of etiquette that I have seen, but this is
accounted for by the fact that they were for persons of the samurai
class, while this bride and bridegroom, though the children of
well-to-do merchants, belong to the heimin.
In this case the trousseau and furniture were conveyed to the
bridegroom's house in the early morning, and I was allowed to go to
see them. There were several girdles of silk embroidered with
gold, several pieces of brocaded silk for kimonos, several pieces
of silk crepe, a large number of made-up garments, a piece of white
silk, six barrels of wine or sake, and seven sorts of condiments.
Jewellery is not worn by women in Japan.
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