Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 7.djvu/214

 masterfulness; and of that peculiar clan of stalwarts, represented in feudal times by the otoko-date, a genuine redresser of wrongs and champion of the weak, but in modern days by the greatly degenerate sōshi, who aims at being a political reformer, but seldom rises above the level of a hireling bully. The pouches that accompany these big pipes are of correspondingly large dimensions, and have metal clasps which, as specimens of fine glyptic work and clever designing, deserve the special attention that collectors have bestowed on them. The same remark applies to the clasps of smaller pouches, carried by every-day folks. But as the chiselling of these objects falls to the task of the maker of sword-furniture, they will be further noticed in the latter context.

The pouch itself was generally of leather, fur, skin, or some rare textile fabric. There were nearly a hundred recognised varieties of choice material, each having its duly defined points, and each designated by a special name. Attention may be directed here to a feature which will be further illustrated by-and-by,—the extraordinary wealth of nomenclature presented by the Japanese vocabulary of decorative art. How many kinds of leather, or cloth, or silken fabric, suitable for the cover of a tobacco-pouch or a pocket-book, could an American or European expert indicate by means of a terminology that would be immediately intelligible to the person addressed? A score and a half would probably exhaust the list. Yet, in a well-known Japanese work compiled at the close of the eighteenth century, no less than ninety-three varieties are separately designated and described. There is, of course, no occasion to enter into any