FAMILY LIFE IN JAPAN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2309, 2 June 1898, Page 49

FAMILY LIFE IN JAPAN.

A Day's Doings.

To give some idea of Japanese family Me. I cannot do bettor than desoribe a day.^ doings. ' ' ' L We ail kaow how we a?& cowitantl* Ju&Sk.

mg in our daily life various sounds, the very familiarity of which makes us oblivious to them, for the most part, bat the absence of which we feel instantly. The sounds that are heard at daybreak in Japan are thoroughly characteristic. Almost simultaneously with cock-crowing and the plaintive cries of numerous crows that go out to feed during the day is heard the opening of skylight 3in the kitchens. If by chance one happens to be up at this time of day, he soon sees smoke begin to rise from those skylights as the kitchen fires are lighted. The sounds of the well-wheels are heard as water is drawn. The preparations for breakfast are evidently going on in the kitchen. Then follows the sound of the opening of the rain-doors that have shut in the house during, the night. Then is heard the sound of dusting paper slidicg doore which shut the rooms from the verandah. The duster is made of strips of paper or Cloth tied to a small bamboo pole, ami when a door is struck with it the paper tightly stretched over the door frame acts almost like a sounding-board. You would think that people could hardly sleep through all these noises, but they get accustomed to them easily enough. When one wakes up after these preparations are made one hears first the cheerful chirping of the sparrows, and very often, in mild days, the. beautiful Bong of the ugaisu, or Japanese nightingale. Many take pleasure in roaming about the garden a little while in the morning bafore breakfast., tending 'planfe, perhaps watering some favourite flowers, or snipping a branch or two ofE some shrub to mend its shape. This does not imply necessarily a large garden. A space 10 ft square may be made a source of great enjoyment to a man of taste. After breakfast the older children go to School, and. the master of the house goes to his business or office. The mistress of the family is thus generally left alone, but she has plenty of duties to perform. 11l there are old people in the family the parents of the master, she usuaily sees them and looks after their comforts. Children also take up a great deal' of her lime. In Japan ladies never go to market ; tradespeople come to the house. The fish-dealer brings his stock, and if any is bought he prepares it for cooking. The greengrocer, the sake- dealer, and nowadays the meatman come one after another. There is much sewing to be done, also, for both men's and women's clothes, except the pery best, are almost always made at home, and they are made oyer every year. I fear that my knowledge of this department of household activities is rather limited, but I imagine that there has to ba a great deal of planning, cutting, and basting to make things go well and economically. In the morning you will often find ladiea in the characteristic occupation of doing harimono — that is, of Btarching old pieces of cloth and spreading them on larga oblong boards (harimono-ita) in order to lee them dry in the sun. It is the first process in the makings over .of old clothes. All this is done in the open air, and gives ladies an hour or so of outdoor occupation

The moondaj meal was the meal of the day in old times; but it is getting to be only a light one ia Tokio, as many of the families are 1 apS to be away. It is generally jn the afternoon that ladies go oufc, if they are inclined to do so. They may go to see relatives or to make calls on friends. One or more of their childen may often accompany them. I think it shows the respect in which ladies are held that the jinrikishas ia which they are carried are.usually beautiful. While a man would not care much about the appearance of his vehicle, and often rides a dilapidated hired hack, the

carriage which his wife uses is likely to be very neat. All private jinrikishas nowadays are painted in the beautiful shining black lacquer, with 'no ornament but the iamily crest on the back. The drawer of the jin- j rikish'a for fe lady is also dressed in the j approved style, and must be a steady man. By 4 or 5 in the afternoon things that have spread about the house, childran's toys, sew- j ing, fee., are put away in their places. The house is again swept very carefully, and the verandah is wiped once more with a damp '< cloth. Soon all the members of the family coma home. "If it is summer time, they indulge" in a bath to wash off the sweat and dust of tho day, and get into 000 l and easy starched clothes. The evening meal is taken comparatively early — at or a little before flusk the year through. A small table about lft square' and 'Bin high is set before each person. . There is space for four or five dishes pr bowL-, only ,4m or sin in diameter. There " are "cie&nite. places, for all kinds of food. Thus/the -bowl for rice is always on the left nearest to me person, and the soup next to It c bn the same side, ' and so forth. Kice, boiled in : &uch a way' that every grain is separate, is the great staple of food. It ia taken plain, without the addition of anything. When I tell people in tfaoair that xice Is taken with milk and

sugar in America what dismay it causes, At a meal there is a maid with a box full of rice by her, "ready to replenish one's bowl. The strength of one's appetite is measured by the number of- bowlfals of rice he eats. When the maid receives a bowl from anyone she looks into the bottom of it, and if she sees any grains of rice left she knows that more is wanted. If the bowl is entirely empty it signifies that the person is through, and she pours some tea. Fish and vegetables are also taken largely, and nowadays meat is sometimes used.

When night comes beds are prepared. Bedding is brought out from the closets where it has been put away during the day. One or two large thick f utonp, or cushions, are laid directly on themats ofbedrooms, and covericgs which look like enormous kimono or clothes are spread over tbeai. Every traveller has told of the pillow made of a wooden box with a little cylindrical cushion on top, but this kind of pillow is goieg out of fashion. Softer cylindrical pillows, made by stuffi.Bg a cloth bag with husks of buckwheat, are now more commonly used. In summer it is necessary to have mosqaito nets, which generally enclose the whol

le room.

A great institution of a Japanese family is the hibacbi or fire-box. It may have been In the family for a number o f years ; or, if a young couple has started in a new house, the hibachi is given by the parents or elderly relatives, or by some friends who have cars of the young people more or less. It is larga in size, and nas- the inside covered with copper, which is alway3 kept bright. It is filled with wood, or straw ashes up to within 2in or 3iu of the top, and io one particular spot in it there is a charcoal fire. All through the day the water ia kept hot over it in an iron kettle, ready for u39 in making tea at any time. In winter nighta the hibachi is apt to be the centre of tbe family life. The master sits generally on one aids of il — the side on which its little drawers do not open — and the mistress of the house on the other side. Children and other members of the family sic nsar, usually making a circle, with the lamp in the c jntre. Chearful conversation with much laughter is likely to go around such a family circle.

As a lule Japanese families retire early. Ten o'clock is about the average time ; 11 is considered late. A function that begins at 9 or 10 and lasts till the small hours of the morning fairly staggers the Japanese. " Why," they say, " even ghosts, who are comme il faut, retire by that hour.'' — Atlantic Monthly.