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Rh seems to be of ancient standing in Japan, for Brinkley records that "The house of a person who had set out upon a journey must not be swept, nor must hair be combed there, for the space of three days." That the taboo is one connected with the welfare of the absent person rather than with that of the persons remaining at home is suggested by its bracketing with the taboo against combing the hair, a widespread prohibition applying to persons whose friends or dear ones are away from home. Dr. John Steele, discussing the Japanese taboos against sweeping when a person has left his house, and using Chinese beliefs as the basis of his proposition, says that "a man who leaves his house and goes abroad does not leave the house entirely. Behind him remain some of his influences. The relatives … believe that a man's spirit remains in the home to which he is accustomed, and are unwilling to disturb it by sweeping." This explanation