Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/152

* JAPAN. 184 JAPAN. These, according to several authorities, were Malayan or Malayoid tribes, who eauie by way of Korniosa and the Loochoo Islands, and the physical characteristics of this section of Japan bear testimony to tlieir presence and their num- bers. Otiicr evidence of a ilahiynn inllucnco ex- ists, according to some ethnologists, in the struc- ture of the house, the practice of massage, cer- tain dances, luxurj-, and love of weapons. Some of these resemblances are too general, however, and others too dearly the product of the Ja|)a- nese environment, to be conclusive evidence. The introdiction of Chinese and Korean civilization into Japan dates back for its beginnings to about the first Christian century, and this inlluence was strengthened after the transference of Bud- dhism in the sixth century. M.NXERS, CiSTOMS, ETC. The Japanese are a cheerful, contented people, lovers of nature, and always ready for a holiday. Responsibility rests liglitly on tlieir shoulders, and e!n])lovers have always to reckon on absences from time to time on account of 'sickness' when apparently there is none; and a contract is not always sacred. Opium-growing and the importation of it are forbidden, and (Sovemment supplies the needs of the medical profession. Courteousness is a distinguishing trait, and their ceremonious po- liteness is oftentimes most embarrassing to the foreigner, who is not usually given to self-depre- ciatory remarks, and whose stock of honorifics is small and not always instantly at command. Handshaking is not a Japanese custom, and the lowness of the obeisance varies with the rank of the individual, women and the lower classes usuallv getting down on their knees. Children dress exactly like their elders, and though their foot-gear is clogs held on by a band passing be- tween the big toe and the next one. they romp and run as much and as fast as European or American children. Their socks — when they wear them — have a separate compartment for the big toe. Their toys and indoor amusements are in- numerable. In dress th* .Ta'panese are not bur- dened with much imderdothing. Their chief outer garment is the loose-sleeved gown known as the kimono, open in front but boiind round the wai«t with a sa.sh. That of the women is a little longer, difTers somewhat in the sleeves, and the sash or nhi is wide and formed into a bow at the back which varies in style according to age, etc. Married women shave off their eyebrows, and blacken their teeth with the juice of the per- simmon-tree. The coiflure is an el.ahorate con- struction with 'waterfalls.' plastered dovn with bandolin and decked with stick-pins. ■Japanese houses are usually of one storv'. There are no cellars. The floor is about 2l{. or 3 feet from the ground, and is formed of soft. thickly padded mats measuring G feet by 3. and on these the family sit (or rather squat on their heels), eat, and sleep. There are no tables, chairs, or bedsteads, thick wadded quilts serving as mattress and blankets. Heat when wanted is provided by a hiharhi or brazier filled with burn- ing charcoal. The pillow is a little paper-cov- ered cylindrical cushion strapped on a narrow stool, which is placed under the neck so as not to disturb the hair. Foot-gear is left in the porch before stepping on the verandah. A single picture, changed with the season, and a small wall vase containing a single sprig, form the only decoration, apart from that of the shoji or sliding paper screens which serve as partitions. Passers-by may get a glimpse through the open screens of a tiny garden at the back, with a miniature rivulet, a stone thrown across it as a bridge, a miniature hilloek crowned with a dwarfed pine, and a Uowcring shrul) or two, and perhaps a stone-pillar lantern. A neccssaiT fea- ture of every house is the "god-shelf,' or family altar, where is the little shrine — Shinto or Bud- dhist — before which the oH'crings are placed. Cleanliness is nc.vt to godliness, and the bathtub at the back, with its little furnace in one end for boiling the ivater, is patronized by every mem- lier of the family in succession, the water being invariably hot ("l0° to 115° F,), Food is served on little lacquered stands about a foot high, and is eaten with chop-sticks (both of the same material). Kice, with soup of sea- weed, beans, vegetables, or hard-boiled egg cut up into pieces, with a little lish with soy, and the like, daintily served, make the meal, sake (their fermented beverage) when used being heated and served in the tiniest of porcelain cups. Tea is the usual beverage. But there is no meal called 'tea,' Pickled daikon (or radish) is their chief relish. ]Iarried life is usually happy. Of 8.537 sui- cides in 1S90. only 212 were due to family quar- rels, and 000 were attributable to 'love.' Cere- monial luiclcanncss arises fnmi contact with the dead in any way, and mourners are 'unclean.' Those returning from a funeral are sprinkled with salt before reentering the house. Those who favor the Shinto cult bury their dead in coffins. Cremation was introduced by the Buddhists about ..n. 700. After the Restoratitm it was for- bidden, but a custom of such long standing could not be wiped out with the stroke of a pen. The people, and especially the women, are very super- stitious, and are believers in gliosts, demons, fairies, and witchcraft, A handful of green peas thrown at a suspected demon will cause him to scamper olT, and when the fox (q,v. ) or the badger is suspected by the careful mother with daughters of being around, a flash from her metallic magic mirror will strip ilr. Fox or Mr. Badger of his disguise: and it is a curious fact that the presence or proximity of a serpent should never be pointed out to a woman or men- tioned to her. Kverybody wears a charm or charms. HISTORY. The Japanese begin their history with a year which corresponds to B.C. 660, when Jimmu Ten- no (q.v.), the leader of a band of invaders, set- tled in Yamato after ha"ing conquered several of the tribes who opposed him. Our only source of informaticm in regard to the early history of the dynasty which was fiiunded l)y him. and which exists to the present day, is found in the Kojiki. the oldest extant book of .Japan, in which are found the m^-ths and legends written down in Chi- nese characters in the years 711-712 by one Yasumaro, from the lips of a person named Hiyeda-no-Are, who possessed a most wonderful memory! These myths and legends, under close analysis, show three streams of legends — the Tsukushi or Kiushiu cycle : the Idznmo legendary cycle, which covers Central and Western .Japan; and the Yamato cycle, which covers the central and eastern parts of the main island. The north- ern and eastern part of the main island was in- habited by the Emishi savages, or .•Vinos, who had