804 PRIMEVAL JA.PANESF. 



conlined at the waist b}' a girdle, and they had loose trousers reaching 

 nearly to the feet. For ornaments they used necklaces of beads or of 

 rings — silver, stone, or glass; finger rings, sometimes of silver or gold, 

 sometimes of copper, bronze, or iron, plated with one of the precious 

 metals; ring-shaped buttons; metal armlets; bands or plates of gilt 

 copper, which were attached to the tunic; earrings of golcf, and tiaras. 

 Not one item in this catalogue, the tiara excepted, appears among the 

 garments or personal ornaments of the Japanese since their history 

 and ha])its began to ))e known to the outer world. No nation has 

 undergone a more radical change of taste in the matter of habiliments 

 and adornments. The earring, the necklace, the linger ring, the brace- 

 let, and the band or plate of metal attached to the tunic — all these 

 passed completely out of vogue so long ago that, without the evidence 

 of tlie contents of the dolmen, it would be impossible to conceive the 

 existence of such things in Japan. One of the most noteworthy 

 features of the people's iiabits in medieval or modern times is that, 

 with the solitar}' exception of pins and fillets for the hair, they eschew 

 every class of personal ornament. Yet the dolmens indicate that per- 

 sonal adornments were abimdantly, if not profusely, employed by the 

 ancestors of these same Japanese in prehistoric days. Indeed, the 

 only features connuon to the fashions of the Japanese as they are now 

 known and the Japanese as their sepulchers reveal them are the rich 

 decoration of the sword hilt and scabbard and of the war horse's 

 trappings. 



As to the food of these early people, it seems to have consisted of 

 fish, rtesh, and cereals. They used wine of some kind, though of its 

 nature there is no knowledge, and their household utensils were of 

 pottery, graceful in outline, but unglazed and archaicalh* decorated. 

 Whether or not they possessed cattle there is no evidence, nor yet is 

 it known what means they employed to produce fire, though the fire 

 drill appears to be the most probable. 



That they believed in a future state is evident, since they buried 

 with the dead whatever implements and weapons might be necessary 

 in the life beyond the grave; that ancestral worship constituted an 

 important part of their religious cult is proved by the otterings period- 

 icall}' made at the tombs of the deceased; and that idolatry was not 

 practised or superstition largel}' prevalent may be deduced from the 

 complete absence of charms or amulets among the remains found in 

 their sepulchers. 



