JAPAN. 



613 



P.- .-.-,! 

 by Tbun- 



Jipan. important object to the Japanese, and a principal part 

 - "^ of thrir subsistence, are very numerous around the 

 coasts, especially salmon, perch, eels, shrimps, oys- 

 ters, crabs ; and the flesh of the whales, which are 

 kilted by harpoons, is sold in the markets as an ordi- 

 nary article of fo.xl among the poorer people. Many 

 curious shells especially those that were of a small size 

 and elegant shape, are collected by the Japanese, fixed 

 with nee-glue upon carded cotton, and sold to the 

 Dutch traders. 



, .. The original population of Japan has been little il- 



lustrated. The present Japanese seem to be a kindred 

 race with the Chinese, having at the same time, accord- 

 ing to K&mpfer, a language radically distinct. Per- 

 haps, in the earlier stages of society, as is observ- 

 ed by Pinkerton, the Japanese may have emigrated 

 from China, and their complete insular reparation may 

 have given birth to a language rendered peculiar by 

 the progress of a distinct civilization. The people 

 of lhn nation are described by Thunberg to be well 

 made, active, free and easy in their motions, and 

 stout limbed, though yielding in strength to the north- 

 ern inhabitants of Europe. The men are middle sized, 

 and in general not corpulent, all over of a yellowish 

 colour ; in some brown, in others white predominates. 

 The lower classes, from exposure to the sun, are brown, 

 but ladies of distinction, who seldom go abroad unco- 

 Dba*nina- vered, are perfectly white. The discriminating mark of 

 stag sank, the Japanese, as of the Chinese, is the eye. This or- 

 * 7- gan wants its characteristic rotundity, being oblong, 

 small, and sunk deep in the head, whence these peo- 

 ple have the appearance of being pink-eyed. The co- 

 lour of their eyes, liowever, is dark brown, or rather 

 black ; and the eyelid forming a deep furrow, makes 

 the Japanese look sharpsighted. Their head is in ge- 

 neral large, their neck short, and their hair black, thick, 

 and shining from the use of oils. 



They are said to be an intelligent and provident 

 people, inquisitive and ingenious, frugal and sober, 

 friendly and courteous, frank and good humoured, 

 snright and honest, brave and unyielding, capable 

 of concealing and controuling their feelings in an ex- 

 traordinary degree; but distrustful, proud, unforgiving, 

 and revengeful. 



The usual dress of the Japanese is a short upper 

 garment with wide sleeves, and a complete gown un- 

 derneath, fastened round the neck, ana reaching quite 

 down to the feet; the dress much resembling that 

 of European females, except in being more confin- 

 ed from the hips downwards, which produces great 

 embarrassment in walking. But this exercise is seldom 

 resorted to by a Japanese, except from compulsion. 

 The rich are clothed in silks, the poor in coarse woollen 

 stuff*. The upper garment is generally black, the un- 

 der dreat is of mixed colours. Every one has his fa- 

 mily arms, about the size of a halt dollar, wrought 

 into his clothes in different places, a practice common 

 to both sexes. Thus persons of a particular family 

 may be easily recognized. A young lady wears her fa- 

 ther's arms till after marriage, when she assumes those 

 of her husband. The greatest honour a prince or go- 

 vernor can confer, is to present a cloak with his arms 

 upon it ; and the person who is thus honoured puts his 

 own arms upon tome under part of his dress. In win- 

 ter they wear five or six dresses over each other ; but 

 though the weather is bad in January and February, 

 they use neither cloth nor furs in their apparel. In- 

 stead of shoes they have soles merely of straw, fastened 

 to the great toe by a loop, and these are taken off when 

 * 



they enter a room. Although they have their heads Japan. 

 half shorn, they are regardless of a burning sun, or < *""Y""'' 

 piercing cold. They do not use parasols in sunshine, 

 nor umbrellas in rainy weather ; but in travelling, co- 

 nical caps, fans, umbrellas, and cloaks of oiled paper, 

 are very commonly used. The toilets of the Japanese must Toilet, 

 occupy a considerable share of attention, as they are very 

 particular in anointing and dressing their hair, which is 

 collected in a tuft on the crown of the head. Small pincers 

 are employed to pluck out the hairs on their chin, and 

 these, with a small metal looking mirror, are found in 

 the possession of every Japanese. They cannot be denied, Remarkable 

 Krusenstcrn observes, to study great cleanliness of per- cleanliness 

 son, although they make no use of linen ; and this ap- of periou. 

 pears a governing propensity of the Japanese of every 

 rank. Hence, in almost every house, a bath forms an 

 essential part of domestic arrangement and comfort. 

 But in one respect their customs are extremely offen- 

 sive. The privies, which are also indispensible in every 

 house, are all built towards the street or road, and open 

 outwards, exhibiting large jars sunk in the earth, to 

 receive every kind of ordure and refuse. Hence the 

 stench is insupportable, and the putrid exhalations, as 

 Thunberg affirms, injurious to the eyes of the na- 

 tives. 



In Japan the houses are of wood, never exceeding two Houses, 

 stories, the upper one consisting chiefly of garrets and construction 

 lumber rooms. Though the house is commodious, it 

 consists in general of one room, capable, by rnoveable 

 partitions, and screens, of being divided into apart- 

 ments. Neither tables nor chairs are used, the people 

 sitting squat on straw mats,, in which position they eat 

 their food. 



The diet of the Japanese is composed of a greater va- Diet, 

 riety of articles than that of any other people in the 

 world. Net contented with the numerous kinds of 

 wholesome and nutritive food supplied by the produce 

 of their lands and waters, they contrive, by their modes 

 of preparing their victuals, to render the less valuable 

 ana even the poisonous parts of animal and vegetable 

 substances useful, or at least harmless articles of sub- 

 sistence. Their meats are cut into small pieces, tho- 

 roughly stewed or boiled, and always highly seasoned 

 with strong spices and sauces. At their meals, the 

 company are seated on the floor-mats, with a small 

 square table before each person, whose portion is served 

 up in neat vessels of porcelain, or of japanned wood, 

 which are tolerably large basons, always furnished with 

 lids. The guests salute each other with a low bow be- 

 fore they begin to eat ; and, like the Chinese, take up 

 the food by means of two small pieces of wood, held 

 between the fingers of the right hand, and used with 

 great dexterity, so as to pick up the smallest grain of 

 rice. Between each dish they drink warm sacki, or rice 

 beer, out of shallow saucers, and at the same time oc- 

 casionally take a bit of a hard boiled egg. Some of the 

 most common dishes are fish boiled with onions and a 

 kind of small beans, or dressed with oil ; fowls, stewed 

 and prepared in numerous modes ; and boiled rice, which 

 supplies the place of bread for all their provisions. Oils, 

 imi-hronms, carrots, and various bulbous roots are used 

 in making up their dishes. Tea and rice beer are the 

 only liquors used by the Japanese ; and it is with diffi- 

 culty that they can be persuaded to taste wines or spi- 

 rits. The sacki, or rice beer, heats and inebriates when 

 taken to any extent, but the intoxication which it pro- 

 duces passes off speedily. Tea, which is always ready, 

 is the usual beverage for quenching thirst It is cus. 

 tomary to eat three times a day ; at eight o'clock in the 



