Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 1.djvu/235

 For riding abroad ox-carriages and palanquins were used. The palanquin, essentially a Chinese institution, was originally reserved for the sovereign, the Empress, and the chief ritualist,—an imperial prince,—but that rule ultimately lost its exclusive force. In general form the palanquin bore a strong resemblance to the sedan-chair of the eighteenth century in England. The shafts, however, were of great length, and a long curtain of thin silk completely draped the body, concealing the inmate from public gaze. Sometimes richest gold lacquer covered the woodwork of this vehicle; sometimes the body, shafts, and roof were of glossy black, contrasting finely with the snow-white curtain and the gilded mountings. A very much more elaborate and brilliant equipage was the ox-carriage. Its portly wheels and strong shafts were generally black, but the body glowed with richly tinted lacquer, and was set off by ornaments of silver elaborately chased and chiselled. Delicate bamboo blinds, coloured green and having bands of red brocade and tassels of silk, hung at the four sides, and the ox, generally a jet-black beast of fine proportions, was handsomely caparisoned with red harness. One of these carriages, moving along at a stately pace and escorted by a strong body of officers in flowing robes of silk and brocade and men at arms with picturesque costumes and glittering accoutrements, presented a spectacle in harmony with the luxurious extravagance of the time.