SOME ASPECTS OF RURAL JAPAN 



277 



Photograph from E. Gertrude Beasley 

 GATHERING LEAVES FOR FUEL SEEMS TO BE A CONGENIAL OCCUPATION IN JAPAN 



thousand years ago and has known prac- 

 tically no change. The plow they use is 

 that of the Egyptians of the days of 

 Pharaohs, and spade, hoe, sickle, harrow, 

 and flail differ but little from those of 

 their instructors. The wagon and the 

 wheelbarrow are almost unknown. 



Of all the ancient and popular festivals 

 of Japan, those that are celebrated with 

 the greatest zest and enjoyment invaria- 

 bly belong to the life of the countryside 

 and form a standing witness to the pri- 

 meval and paramount significance of 

 agriculture to the entire nation. The so- 

 called ''national ones," dealing with al- 

 leged historical events, are of official ori- 

 gin and nearly all quite modern. Their 



observance is chiefly confined to the large 

 towns and exercises comparatively slight 

 influence on the popular sentiment or im- 

 agination. To the outer world, these are 

 sufficiently unfamiliar and significant to 

 deserve record by way of illustration. 



THE FESTIVAL OE THE FOX GODDESS 



One of the earliest in the year is that 

 of Inari-Sama, the Goddess of Food, at 

 whose gaily decorated shrine services of 

 intercession are held on the first day of 

 the second month (old style"! — i. e., 

 March — on behalf of a fruitful rice har- 

 vest later in the year. Inari-Sama (about 

 whose sex there is some ambiguity) is 

 sometimes spoken of as the Fox Goddess, 



