It Is An Education To Me;
I Am Beginning To Appreciate The Extreme Beauty Of Solitude In
Decoration.
In the alcove hangs a kakemono of exquisite beauty, a
single blossoming branch of the cherry.
On one panel of a folding
screen there is a single iris. The vases which hang so gracefully
on the polished posts contain each a single peony, a single iris, a
single azalea, stalk, leaves, and corolla - all displayed in their
full beauty. Can anything be more grotesque and barbarous than our
"florists' bouquets," a series of concentric rings of flowers of
divers colours, bordered by maidenhair and a piece of stiff lace
paper, in which stems, leaves, and even petals are brutally
crushed, and the grace and individuality of each flower
systematically destroyed?
Kanaya is the chief man in this village, besides being the leader
of the dissonant squeaks and discords which represent music at the
Shinto festivals, and in some mysterious back region he compounds
and sells drugs. Since I have been here the beautification of his
garden has been his chief object, and he has made a very
respectable waterfall, a rushing stream, a small lake, a rustic
bamboo bridge, and several grass banks, and has transplanted
several large trees. He kindly goes out with me a good deal, and,
as he is very intelligent, and Ito is proving an excellent, and, I
think, a faithful interpreter, I find it very pleasant to be here.
They rise at daylight, fold up the wadded quilts or futons on and
under which they have slept, and put them and the wooden pillows,
much like stereoscopes in shape, with little rolls of paper or
wadding on the top, into a press with a sliding door, sweep the
mats carefully, dust all the woodwork and the verandahs, open the
amado - wooden shutters which, by sliding in a groove along the edge
of the verandah, box in the whole house at night, and retire into
an ornamental projection in the day - and throw the paper windows
back. Breakfast follows, then domestic avocations, dinner at one,
and sewing, gardening, and visiting till six, when they take the
evening meal.
Visitors usually arrive soon afterwards, and stay till eleven or
twelve. Japanese chess, story-telling, and the samisen fill up the
early part of the evening, but later, an agonising performance,
which they call singing, begins, which sounds like the very essence
of heathenishness, and consists mainly in a prolonged vibrating
"No." As soon as I hear it I feel as if I were among savages.
Sake, or rice beer, is always passed round before the visitors
leave, in little cups with the gods of luck at the bottom of them.
Sake, when heated, mounts readily to the head, and a single small
cup excites the half-witted man-servant to some very foolish
musical performances. I am sorry to write it, but his master and
mistress take great pleasure in seeing him make a fool of himself,
and Ito, who is from policy a total abstainer, goes into
convulsions of laughter.
One evening I was invited to join the family, and they entertained
me by showing me picture and guide books. Most Japanese provinces
have their guide-books, illustrated by wood-cuts of the most
striking objects, and giving itineraries, names of yadoyas, and
other local information. One volume of pictures, very finely
executed on silk, was more than a century old. Old gold lacquer
and china, and some pieces of antique embroidered silk, were also
produced for my benefit, and some musical instruments of great
beauty, said to be more than two centuries old. None of these
treasures are kept in the house, but in the kura, or fireproof
storehouse, close by. The rooms are not encumbered by ornaments; a
single kakemono, or fine piece of lacquer or china, appears for a
few days and then makes way for something else; so they have
variety as well as simplicity, and each object is enjoyed in its
turn without distraction.
Kanaya and his sister often pay me an evening visit, and, with
Brunton's map on the floor, we project astonishing routes to
Niigata, which are usually abruptly abandoned on finding a
mountain-chain in the way with never a road over it. The life of
these people seems to pass easily enough, but Kanaya deplores the
want of money; he would like to be rich, and intends to build a
hotel for foreigners.
The only vestige of religion in his house is the kamidana, or god-
shelf, on which stands a wooden shrine like a Shinto temple, which
contains the memorial tablets to deceased relations. Each morning
a sprig of evergreen and a little rice and sake are placed before
it, and every evening a lighted lamp.
LETTER X - (Continued)
Darkness visible - Nikko Shops - Girls and Matrons - Night and Sleep -
Parental Love - Childish Docility - Hair-dressing - Skin Diseases.
I don't wonder that the Japanese rise early, for their evenings are
cheerless, owing to the dismal illumination. In this and other
houses the lamp consists of a square or circular lacquer stand,
with four uprights, 2.5 feet high, and panes of white paper. A
flatted iron dish is suspended in this full of oil, with the pith
of a rush with a weight in the centre laid across it, and one of
the projecting ends is lighted. This wretched apparatus is called
an andon, and round its wretched "darkness visible" the family
huddles - the children to play games and learn lessons, and the
women to sew; for the Japanese daylight is short and the houses are
dark. Almost more deplorable is a candlestick of the same height
as the andon, with a spike at the top which fits into a hole at the
bottom of a "farthing candle" of vegetable wax, with a thick wick
made of rolled paper, which requires constant snuffing, and, after
giving for a short time a dim and jerky light, expires with a bad
smell.
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