Page:Sketches of Tokyo Life (1895).djvu/18

2 possible to infer from their appearance the speciality of the eating-houses where they are hung. The largest of these lanterns, however, is used by the story-tellers’ hall. It hangs at the entrance, at right angles to the street, so that its two flat faces covered with the names of the entertainers of the evening may be seen by any one making for the place from either end of the road, while on the narrow outward strip is found the name of the hall. Within the wide door-way of the hall is a small court, on the walls of which are rows of pegs for hanging the clogs, sandals, or shoes of the audience; and when they are hung there, wooden checks with the numbers of the pegs are given in exchange. After putting down the entrance-money which is usually four or five sen, the spectator passes into a large matted hall, at the furthest end of which is a

platform or dais, about four feet high, where the story-teller takes his seat. Cushions and “fire-boxes” for lighting tobacco are supplied at a trifling charge; the receipts, however, from the loan of these articles and the