Page:Things Japanese (1905).djvu/349

Rh "Above all things, men must practise charity: it is by alms-giving that wisdom is fed.

"Less than all things, men must grudge money: it is by riches that wisdom is hindered."

 Mourning. The Japanese, like other nations under Chinese influence, are very strict on the subject of mourning. Formerly three mourning codes (Bukki Ryō) prevailed simultaneously. Of these one was for Shintō priests, another for the Kyōto nobility, and yet another for the Daimyōs and Samurai. The last alone has survived, and its prescriptions are still followed by old-fashioned persons. Mourning, be it remarked, consists of two things the wearing of mourning garments, and abstinence from animal food. This premised, the following table is self-explanatory:—