Page:A handbook of modern Japan (IA handbookofmodern01clem).pdf/105

Rh are so long and partly because they are unintelligible. When the writer attended the theatre in Mito, the play began, thirty minutes late, at 3:30 P. M., and continued, without interruption, until almost midnight. Then, according to custom, a short supplementary play of almost an hour's duration followed, so that it was about one o'clock when he finally reached home. The Japanese, however, are accustomed to this "sweetness long drawn out," and either bring their lunches or slip out between acts to get something to eat and drink, or buy tea and cake in the theatre.

The wardrobes and the scenery are elaborate and magnificent. The former are often almost priceless heirlooms handed down from one generation to another. Changes of wardrobe are often made in the presence of the audience; an actor, by dropping off one robe (which is immediately carried away by a small boy), entirely metamorphoses his appearance. One convenient arrangement of the scenery is that of the revolving stage, so that, as an old scene gradually disappears, the new one is coming into view. The supernumeraries, moreover, though theoretically invisible, are distinctly present, but seem to distract neither players nor audience. The female parts are usually taken by men dressed as women; and animals are represented by either men or wooden models.

The orchestra plays an exceedingly important part in a Japanese drama. It consists of the samisen (a guitar of three strings), the fue (flute), and the