128 ST NICOTINE 



among the dishes at a feast with the pipe in his mouth [the 

 dishes resting on mats ranged along the floor]. 



(4) People knock the ashes out of their pipes while still 

 alight and forget to extinguish the fire ; hence clothing and 

 mats are frequently scorched by burning ash. 



(5) Smokers spit indiscriminately in the hibacki, foot 

 warmers, or kitchen fire ; also, in the crevices between the 

 tatami which covers the floor. 



(6) They rap the pipe violently on the edge of the fire- 

 pot. 



(7) They forget to have the ash-pot emptied till it is 

 full to overflowing. 



It is easy to see how pointed admonitions such as these, 

 thrown broadcast upon Japanese smokers, would yield a 

 handsome crop of good manners. The Japanese are, and 

 have always ranked among, the foremost of polite people — 

 a grace natural to their fine sensibility. Rather than hit 

 his friend over the head with his pipe in a fit of temper, the 

 valiant Japanese will put his fingers into the burning hi-ire 

 in order to change the venue of his annoyance. A trait of 

 their child-like character comes well into view in a story 

 told of one, Oka, a famous judge, whose book of anecdotes 

 and wise decisions Sir Ernest Satow has rendered into 

 English. The work is entitled Oka Inseidan, and the 

 story is of, 



'The Theft of the Golden Pipe.' 



Once upon a time a wealthy man was the happy owner 

 of a rich and rare kiseru (tobacco pipe) made of silver, 

 inlaid with gold and precious stones. It happened on one 

 occasion, after calling to his servants to bring him the 

 tobacco-bon that he might indulge in a breath of fragrance 

 from his treasured kiseru, that he was told the pipe was 



