Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings

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the quarters for the wealthier classes are not

sharply defined

certain districts,

Enoshima.

'

with

us,

scenery tends to enhance the value of

and consequently

In nearly

all

though the love for pleasant

the

to bring together the wealthier

cities,

however, you will

find

the

houses of the wealthy in the immediate vicinity of the habitations of the poorest.

In Tokio one

may

find streets, or

narrow

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

6

lined with

alleys,

a continuous row of the cheapest shelters

Though

and here dwell the poorest people. as

such places appear

to

the

quarters in nearly

a rich

man

in

all

squalid and dirty

Japanese, they

in comparison with the unutterable filth

immaculate

are

and misery of similar

the great cities of Christendom.

Japan would

;

not, as a general thing,

Certainly

buy up the

land about his house to keep the poorer classes at a

distance,

the reason that their presence would not be objectionable,

for

poverty in Japan

since

manners

is

not associated

Before proceeding with a special

homes, a

general

description

people,

them

m

prises

at

render the

From

is,

a house of the

the infinite variety

works

of art, as

we had

home, we were anticipating new delights and the house

the character of

acquaintance to

intimate

Japanese

intelligible.

house, — that

of their various

of

may

house

more

certainly disappointing.

is

and charming character seen

little

sight of a Japanese

first

—

description

the

of

chapters that are to follow a

The

with the impossible

home.

of a similar class at

familiar with houses of

be

certain

types,

As an American

with conditions among

and other conditions

shiftlessness,

and wealth,

I

we on more

nor were

disappointed.

them signifying poverty and signifying refinement

;

sur-

was

not

competent to

judge the relative merits of a Japanese house.

The it

is

color.

of

first

sight, then, of a

unsubstantial in appearance, and there

Being unpainted,

paint,

it

suggests poverty

is ;

is

disappointing

a meagreness of

and

this absence

with the gray and often rain-stained color of the

boards, leads one to compare at

Japanese house

home, — and these are

and the houses

it

with similar unpainted buildings

usually barns and sheds in the country,

of the poorer people in the city.

With

one's eye

accustomed to the bright contrasts of American houses with their

white, or light, painted

surfaces

;

rectangular

windows,

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF HOUSE.

7

black from the shadows within, with glints of light reflected from the glass

with

front door

;

red chimneys surmounting

warm

appearance outside, which like conditions within,

a low estimate

many no

with

;

and

of

rooms

;

articles,

One as

— one

attic or cellar

too apt at the outset

and as

at least, so

of

the chief

appears at

it

points of

fire-place,

no permanently enclosed

sight.

first

difference in

in the

lies

is

when

he had been familiar

as

;

it

a dwelling at

a Japanese house

treatment of partitions and

In our houses these are solid and permanent

the frame

built, the partitions

form part

;

and

of the frame-

In the Japanese house, on the contrary, there are two or

work.

have no permanent walls.

sides that

Within,

but few partitions which have similar

are

finds

no beds or tables, chairs or similar

for furniture,

—

make up

no chimneys, and within no

;

of

form

to

An American

house.

course no customary mantle

outside walls.

more

is

windows such

or

doors

compared with ours

when

and a general trimness

all,

features are absent that go to

— no

home,

and portico

by no means always correlated with

is

a Japanese

of

steps

indeed to consider such a structure as a dwelling,

difficult

so

pretentious

its

also, there

stability

;

in their

stead are slight sliding screens which run in appropriate grooves in

These grooves mark the limit of

the floor and overhead.

The

each room. or they

may

may

screens

be opened by sliding

be entirely removed, thus throwing a number of

rooms into one great apartment. side

of a house

may

or

sJidji,

rooms, therefore,

substitute

are covered

light to be diffused

Where

the

As a

are not necessary.

In the same

for

;

and

the whole air.

For

swinging doors

windows, the outside

with white paper, allowing the

through the house.

external walls appear they are of

painted black

way

be flung open to sunlight and

communication between

screens,

them back,

if

of plaster,

wood unpainted,

white or dark slate colored.

or

In

certain classes of buildings the outside wall, to a height of several

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

8 feet

from the ground, and sometimes even the entire

It

be either lightly shingled, heavily

Nearly

which or

is

all

be

roof

thatched.

tiled, or thickly

has a moderate pitch, and as a general thing the slope

steep as in our roofs.

may

The

the interspaces being pointed with white plaster.

tiled,

may

wall,

not so

is

the houses have a verandah,

protected by the widely-overhanging eaves of the roof,

by a light supplementary roof projecting from beneath the

eaves.

While most houses

of the better class

have a

definite

porch and

vestibule, or genka, in houses of the poorer class this entrance is

not separate from the living room

house

any

accessible

is

The

point.

ground, and

;

and

from two or three

sides,

covered with

may

one

enter

it

from

and a half or more from the

floor is raised a foot

is

since the interior of the

straw mats, rectangular in

thick

shape, of uniform size, with sharp square edges, and so closely

that the floor upon which they rest

fitted

The rooms are

either square or rectangular,

absolute reference to the

With

is

number

of

completely hidden.

and are made with

mats they are to contain.

the exception of the guest-room few rooms have projections

In the guest-room there

or bays.

is

at one side a

more or

deep recess divided into two bays by a slight partition nearest the verandah

is

called the tokonoma.

one or more pictures, and upon

its

floor,

;

less

the one

In this place hang

which

is

slightly raised

above the mats, rests a flower vase, incense burner, or some other object.

rooms

The companion bay has also

or shelves.

may have Where

recesses to

closets

shelves and a low closet.

accommodate a case

stories

In tea-houses of

the stairs, which often ascend from the vicinity of

the kitchen, have beneath closed

of drawers

and cupboards occur, they are finished

with sliding screens instead of swinging doors.

two

Other

them a

closet;

and

this

is

usually

by a swinging door.

The privy verandah

;

is

at one corner of the house, at the end

of

the

sometimes there are two at diagonal corners of the

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF HOUSE.

9

In the poorer class of country houses the privy

house.

isolated building with

an

is

low swinging door, the upper half of the

door-space being open.

In city houses the kitchen

is

at one side or corner of the house

This apartment

generally in an L, covered with a pent roof. often towards the street,

its

yard separated from other areas by

In the country the kitchen

a high fence.

is

is

nearly always under

the main roof.

In the city few out-buildings such as sheds and

barns are seen.

Accompanying the houses

solid, thick-walled,

of the better class are

one or two storied, fire-proof buildings called

kura, in which the goods and chattels are stored

time of a conflagration.

at the

These buildings, which are known to

" godowns,"

the foreigners as

away

have one or two small windows

Such a

and one door, closed by thick and ponderous shutters.

building usually stands isolated from the dwelling, though often in juxtaposition

and sometimes, though

;

rarely,

it

is

used as a

domicile.

In the gardens of the better classes summer-houses and shelters of rustic

appearance and diminutive proportions are often seen. Specially

Rustic arbors are also to be seen in the larger gardens.

constructed houses of quaint design and small size are not uncom-

mon

;

in these the ceremonial tea-parties take place.

either of board or

bamboo, or

solid walls of

foundations, surround the house or enclose rustic fences border the gardens in the

mud

it

or

tile

from the

suburbs.

High

fences,

with stone

Low

street.

Gateways

various styles, some of imposing design, form the entrances

;

of

as

a general thing they are either rustic and light, or formal and massive.

Whatever towards the

is

commonplace

street,

while the artistic and picturesque face

towards the garden, which house,

— usually

in the appearance of the house is

may

in the rear.

is

turned

be at one side or in the rear of the

Within these plain and unpreten-

tious houses there are often to be seen marvels of exquisite carving.

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

10

and the perfection as one

work

of cabinet

becomes more

;

and surprise follows

surprise,

with the interior

finish of

fully acquainted

these curious and remarkable dwellings.

In the sections which are to follow, an attempt will be

made

by description and sketches to convey some idea of the details connected with the structure and inside finish of the Japanese house.

There diverse

is

Japan that seems

no object in

and adverse

Japanese house

it

;

is

foreigners

than does the

a constant source of perplexity and an-

An

noyance to most of them.

Emerson says he

among

criticism

more

excite

to

finds

" to

Englishman

be him of

particularly,

whom

men who

stands

all

firmest in his shoes," recognizes but little merit in the apparently frail

and perishable nature

dislikes the

anomaly

of

these structures.

He

naturally

of a house of the lightest description often-

times sustaining a roof of the most ponderous character, and fairly loathes a

structure that has no king-post, or at least a

queen-post, truss

;

while the glaring absurdity of a house that

remaining upright without a foundation, or at least

persists in

without his kind of a foundation, makes him furious.

The

mistake made by most writers in criticising Japanese house-

and indeed many other matters connected with that

structure,

country,

is

that these writers do not regard such matters from

a Japanese stand-point. is

poor,

They do not

consider that the nation

and that the masses are in poverty

;

nor do they con-

sider that for this reason a Japanese builds such a house as he

can afford, and one that after his habits

and wants as ours

The observation

all is

is

as thoroughly adapted to

to our habits

of a Japanese has

and wants.

shown him that from gen-

eration to generation the houses of his people have sustain themselves to

visit

;

and

if

managed

to

in his travels abroad he has chanced

England, he will probably recall the fact that he saw

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION.

11

more dilapidated tenements, tumble-down shanties, broken-backed farm-houses, cracked walls, and toppling fences in a single day where there are no typhoons or earth-

in that virtuous country

quakes, than he would see in a year's travel in his

When

of a Japanese house,

framework

of the roof,

and

no attempt at trussing and bracing, he

finds

sionary of trusses and braces,

might be saved

and

and particularly the cross-beams is

with an eager desire to go among these people as a mis-

seized

ever,

country.

contemplates the

critical writers

one of these foreign

own

is

it

—

it

is

so obvious that

much wood

In regard to the Japanese house-frame, how-

!

probable that the extra labor of constructing braces

trusses

would not compensate

for the

saved in

difference

the wood. Rein,

in

his

really

admirable book on Japan,

Japanese house lacks chiefly solidity and comfort."

" the

says If

he means

comfort for himself and his people, one can understand him if

he means comfort for the Japanese, then he has not the

faintest conception of

his house.

of

the solid comfort

Rein also complains of the

evil

odors of

arrangements, though his complaints refer more

closet

cularly to the crowded inns, filthy condition as

one

a Japanese gets out

is

in

what the Japanese would think

Germany, where

parti-

an exceedingly

regards these necessary conveniences,

led to inquire

features in

which are often

the

— and

of similar

in the larger cities the closet

may

be seen opening directly into the front hall, and in some cases

even from the dining-room

!

Bad

as

some

of these

conditions

are in Japan, they are mild in comparison with like features in

Germany.

may

The

filthy

state of the larger cities, in this respect,

be indicated by the fact that the death-rate of Munich a

few years ago was forty-four, and Kaulbach died of cholera that city in mid-winter!

Indeed, the presence of certain feat-

ures in every bed-chamber at as surpassingly filthy

in

home and abroad

by every Japanese,

are looked upon

— as they truly

are.

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

12

Rein and other writers speak of the want of privacy in Japanese dwellings, forgetting that privacy

the midst of vulgar and impertinent people,

Japan has the minimum, and the

my

part, I find

some things not is

to

my

much

—a

class of

which

so-called civilized races

— the

— have the maximum.

English and American particularly

For

only necessary in

is

admire in a Japanese house, and

to

The

comfort.

on the

sitting posture

painful until one gets accustomed to

it

;

floor

and, naturally, I find

that our chairs are painful to the Japanese, until they become

accustomed to them.

found the Japanese house in winter

I

extremely cold and uncomfortable cold rooms

in winter

;

but

question whether their

I

not more conducive to health than

are

are our apartments with our blistering stoves, hot furnaces or

steam-heaters certain

in

features in

and as

;

to

country inns,

many

the

who

odors

from the

arising

similar

not recall

does

closet

offensive

of our country inns at home, with the addi-

tion of slovenly yards

and reeking piggeries?

I question, too,

whether these odors are more injurious to the health than the

stifling

only

filters

from a clamp and noisome

air

through our

floors,

but

cellar,

is

which not

often served to us hot

is

Whittier's description of the coun-

through scorching furnaces. try house,

"

The

best

room

Stifling with cellar-damp, shut from the air

In hot midsummer," is

only too true of

country and

many

—

of our

and construction,

was intended.

means

in the

city.

Whether the Japanese house

it

American houses both

it

A

is

right or

wrong

in its plan

answers admirably the purposes for which fire-proof building is certainly

of a majority of this

people, as, indeed,

it

beyond the is

with us;

and not being able to build such a dwelling, they have from necessity gone

to the other extreme,

very structure enables

it

and

built

a house whose

to be rapidly demolished in the path

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION.

Mats, screen-partitions, and even the board

of a conflagration.

packed up and carried away.

ceilings can be quickly is

rapidly denuded of

work

left

13

its tiles

makes but slow

The

roof

and boards, and the skeleton frame-

The

fuel for the flames.

efforts of the

firemen in checking the progress of a conflagration consist mainly in tearing

down

nection

may

it

oftentimes at a

these adjustable structures

and

in

this con-

be interesting to record the curious fact that fire

the streams are turned, not upon the flames,

men engaged

but upon the

;

down

in tearing

The improvements, however, that

the building

are imperatively

demanded

in Japanese house-structure- are such modifications as shall render

the building less inflammable.

may

While these inflammable houses

be well enough in the suburbs or in country villages, they

are certainly quite out of place in cities

;

and here, indeed, the

authorities are justified in imposing such restrictions as shall not

bear too heavily upon the people. clearly understand that insuperable

The Japanese should

be encountered in any attempt to modify their style

culties are to

of dwellings,

and that many

of such proposed modifications are

neither judicious nor desirable.

may

That

slight changes for safety

be effected, however, there can be no doubt.

agency of

diffi-

science,

Through the

means may be found by which outside wood-

work may be rendered

less

inflammable,

—

by

either

fire-proof

paint or other devices.

The mean path

of Tokio conflagrations has been ingeniously

worked out by Professor Yamakawa, from data extending back

two hundred years; and open with advantage.

now

exist

path.

might be

left

Fire-proof blocks in foreign style, such as

on the Ginza,

may

be ultimately constructed in this

Since the last great conflagration, the Tokio authorities

have specified certain not be

in this path certain areas

made

;

districts

within which shingled roofs shall

and where such roofs

compelled the substitution of

existed, the authorities

tin, zinc,

or tiled roofs.

have

Above

all,

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

14

let there

be a reorganization, under Government, of the present

Such changes

corrupt fire-brigades. results

;

will certainly lead to

good

but as to altering the present plan of house-building and

present modes of living, impossible.

If

it is

not only impracticable but well-nigh

such changes are effected, then will perish

many of

the best features of true Japanese art, which has been the surprise

and admiration

of

Western nations, and

which in the

of

past they have been the unwitting cause of the modification and

degradation

it

has already undergone.

Fig.

The frame-work

of

4.

— Side

an ordinary Japanese dwelling

and primitive in structure

;

it

inclines of the roof above.

in

by short

strips

The

the uprights to which

the

simple

of upright

to the transverse

beams and

vertical

which are

is

number

consists of a

beams which run from the ground

either

Framing.

let

framing

is

held together

in to appropriate

bamboo lathing

notches

is fixed, or

by

FRAME-WORK AND FOUNDATION. longer strips of

wood which pass through mortises

and are firmly keyed or pinned into place

15

in the uprights

(fig.

In larger

4).

houses these uprights are held in position by a frame-work near the ground.

nor

is

There

is

no

cellar or excavation

beneath the house,

The up-

there a continuous stone foundation as with us.

and without attachment, upon single uncut or

rights rest directly,

rough-hewn stones, these in turn resting upon others which have

Fig.

5.

— Pounding

down Foundation Stones.

been solidly pounded into the earth by means of a huge wooden

maul worked by a number is

of

men

In this

(fig. 5).

way

the house

perched upon these stones, with the floor elevated at least a foot

and a half or two

between the uprights Kioto houses.

In some cases the space

feet above the ground. is

boarded up

;

this

is

generally seen in

In others the wind has free play beneath

while this exposed condition renders the house

more uncomfortable

much

;

colder

in winter, the inmates are never troubled

the noisome air of the cellar, which, as

we have

and

and

by

said, too often

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

16

infects our houses

Closed wooden fences of a more

at home.

way

solid character are elevated in this

or

sill

of the fence rests directly

apart of six or eight

feet.

as well as larvae,

insects,

that

;

is,

the lower rail

upon stones placed

The ravages

at intervals

numerous ground-

of

and the excessive dampness

ground at certain seasons of the year, render

of

the

method

of

uprights

is

this

building a necessity.

The accurate way wrought

to

fit

in

which the

base

the

of

the inequalities of the stones upon which they rest, is

worthy

In the

of notice.

Emperor's garden we saw a twostoried house finished in the most

simple and exquisite manner.

It

was, indeed, like a beautiful cab-

though

inet,

disfigured

by

bright-colored foreign carpet

on

lower

its

beach-worn

up-

The uprights

floor.

on large

of this structure rested

oval

a

stones

endwise in the ground

buried

and up-

;

on the smooth rounded portions of

the

above Fig

6.

— Foundation

which

stones,

the

level

of

projected

the ground

to a height of ten inches or more,

Stone.

the uprights had been most accurately fitted

(fig. 6).

The

effect

was extremely

though apparently insecure to the

had not only withstood a number

last degree

light ;

yet this building

of earthquake shocks, but also

the strain of severe typhoons, which during the

sweep over Japan with such violence. small,

and buoyant,

summer months

If the building

be very

then the frame consists of four corner-posts running to

the roof.

In dwellings having a frontage of two or more rooms,

other uprights occur between the corner-posts.

As the rooms

FRAME-WORK AND FOUNDATION. increase in

17

number through the house, uprights come

in the cor-

ners of the rooms, against which the sliding-screens, or fusuma, abut.

The passage

of these uprights

Fig.

7.

— Section

through the room to the

of Framing.

roof above gives a solid constructive appearance to the house.

When

a house has a verandah,

this feature

on one or more

— and nearly every house possesses — another row up-

of its

sides,

of

rights starts in a line with

the outer edge of the ve-

randah.

Unless

the

ve-

randah be very long, an upright

to

sufficient

end

each

at

support

is

the

supplementary roof which shelters

These

it.

support

rights

beam, upon Fig. 8.

cross-beam

from which the

most

is

often

bark

cross-

which

the

slight rafters of the sup-

Framing.

plementary This

a

up-

a straight

has

been

unhewn

removed

roof

stick

(fig.

49).

of

rest.

timber Indeed,

of the horizontal framing-timbers, as well as the rafters, 2

18

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

are usually unhewn,

— the

rafters often

perhaps being accurately squared sticks

having the bark on, or but in either case they

;

are always visible as they project from the sides of the house,

and run out

to support the

and girders are but

Fig.

irregular-shaped

slightly

9.

hewn

— End-framing

beams worked

often for their quaint effects

matter of economy

(fig.

For a narrow house, at each

The

overhanging eaves. ;

and

it is

larger

beams

not unusual to see

of large Building.

into the construction of a frame, (fig.

7),

and

in

many

cases as a

39). if

the roof be a gable, a central upright

end of the building gives support to the ridge-pole from

which the rafters run to the eaves be wide, a transverse

beam

(fig.

8).

If

the building

traverses the end of the building

on a level with the eaves, supported at intervals by uprights

from the ground

;

and upon

this short uprights rest, supporting

FRAME-WORK AND FOUNDATION.

19

another transverse beam above, and often three or more tiers Upon these supports rest the are carried nearly to the ridge. horizontal

beams which run

parallel

with the ridge-pole, and

which are intended to give support to the rafters (fig. 9). In the case of a wide gable-roof there are many ways to support the frame, one of which outline

end of

the house to the

ridge-pole,

stick of timber runs

Here a stout

(fig. 10).

and on a

level

illustrated in the following

is

other on

from one

a vertical line with the

with the eaves.

This stick

A

crowning, in order to give additional strength.

always

is

few thick

uprights start from this to support the ridge-pole above

Fig. 10.

— Roof-frame

these uprights

beams run

the

but

uprights,

at

of large Building.

to the eaves levels

different

from

;

these are mortised into

;

on either side

not to weaken the uprights by the mortises.

From

in

order

these

beams

run short supports to the horizontal rafters above.

The weight,

roof,

— the

if

be of

it

tiles

tile

thatch,

or

represents

being thick and quite heavy, and always

bedded in a thick layer of mud.

The

thatch, though not so

heavy, often becomes so after a long rain. consequently has

though in

its

a massive

oftentimes to

The roof-framing

support a great weight

;

and

structure looking weak, or at least primitive in

design, yet experience

must have taught the Japanese carpenter

that their methods were not only the simplest and most economical,

but that they answered

all

requirements.

One

is

amazed

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

20 to see its

how many I

yielding.

firemen can gather upon such a roof without

have seen massive house-roofs over two hundred

years old, and other frame structures of a larger far greater

Indeed, in

it

age,

is

which presented no

visible signs of

size

and

of

weakness.

a very unusual sight to see a broken-backed roof

Japan.

The beams that support the

roofs of the fire-proof buildings, or

kura, are usually rough-hewn and of ponderous dimensions.

FlG. 11.

— liOOF-FRAMING

would seem that here, at might be an economy strength;

least,

It

OF KlJRA.

the foreign method of trussing

of material, besides giving

much

greater

and yet the expense of reducing these beams

to

proper dimensions, in the absence of saw-mills and other laborsaving machinery, with the added expense of iron rods, bolts,

would more than counterbalance the saving In Fig. 11

is

of material

shown the universal method

of

etc.,

(fig. 11).

roof support

namely, horizontal beams resting upon perpendicular walls, these in turn supporting vertical beams,

horizontal beams.

arch

is

which again give support

to

That the Japanese have been familiar with the

seen in some of their old stone bridges; but they seem as

FRAME-WORK AND FOUNDATION.

21

averse to using this principle in their house-architecture as were

Fergusson, in his illustrated Hand-

the Egyptians and Hindus.

book of Architecture, page xxxv, says

" So convinced were the

:

Egyptians and Greeks of this principle, that they never used any other construction-expedient than a perpendicular wall or prop,

supporting a horizontal

mode

;

and half the satisfactory

They were

of construction.

with the use of the arch and

its

effect of

to this simple

from their adhering

their buildings arises

expensive

beam

though

perfectly acquainted

properties, but they

knew

that

employment would introduce complexity and confusion into Even to the designs, and therefore they wisely rejected it. ent day the Hindus refuse to use the arch, though

it

quaintly express its

it,

an arch never sleeps

thrusting and pressure

In spite of

to pieces.

damage

done

is

it

all

it is

;

'

and

it is

their pres-

has long

As they

been employed in their country by the Mahometans. k

its

true that by

always tending to tear a building

counterpoises,

whenever the smallest

hastens the ruin of a building which,

more

if

simply constructed, might last for ages."

When

the frame

is

mortised, the carpenter employs the most

elaborate methods of mortising, of which there are

formulas

;

yet I

was informed by an American

many

different

architect that their

ways had no advantage as regards strength over those employed by our carpenters in doing the same work.

There certainly seems

much unnecessary work about many

of their framing-joints.

to be

This same gentleman

greatly admired

the

way

in

which the

Japanese carpenter used the adze, and regretted that more of this kind of work was not done in America.

mon form

of joint

carpenters

(fig. 4).

is

made, precisely similar to that made by our

This joint

similar to the joint in the called a samisen. 1

In scarfing beams a com-

is

called a

Samisen

being

tsugi, it

handle of a guitar-like instrument

1

Fig. 12 represents the frame-work of an ordinary two-storied house.

It is

copied

from a Japanese carpenter's drawing, kindly furnished the writer by Mr. Fukuzawa, of

Tokio, proper corrections in perspective having been made.

The

various parts have been

22

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

BRACING.

23

Diagonal bracing in the frame-work of a building

is

never

Sometimes, however, the uprights in a weak frame are

seen.

supported by braces running from the

ground at an acute angle,

and held

in place

by wooden pins

Outside diagonal braces

(fig. 13).

are sometimes

met with

as

an

In the pro-

ornamental feature.

vince of Ise one often sees a brace

made out

or bracket

hewn

an un-

of

piece of timber, generally

the proximal portion of

some big

fastened to an

branch.

This

is

upright,

and

appears

be

to

a

brace to hold up the end of a horizontal

beam

yond the

eaves.

that projects be-

These braces,

— Outside

Fig. 13.

Braces.

however, are not even notched lettered,

and the dimensions given

in

Japanese

feet

within the fraction of an inch, the same as ours, and

The wood employed

in the

frame

is

and inches. is

The Japanese

foot

is,

divided into ten parts, called sun.

usually cedar or pine.

The

corner posts, as well as

the other large upright posts, called hashira (H), are square, and five sun in thickness; This plate is called do-dai D) these are tenoned into the plate upon which they rest. The do-dai is six sun square, and rests it is made of cedar, and sometimes of chestnut. i

Between the hashira directly on a number of stones, which are called do-dai-ishi (-D, 1). come smaller uprights, called ma-bashira (31) (hashira changed to hashira for euphony); these are Through these pass the cross-pieces called nuki these are two sun square. To these are attached the bamboo slats as substitutes four sun wide and one sun thick. The horizontal beam to support the second- story floor is called the nikaibari for laths. (Ni); this is of pine, with a vertical thickness of one foot two sun, and a width of six ;

The rafters of the roof, called yane-shita (Ya), in this frame are nine feet sun wide, and eight tenths of a sun in thickness. Cross-beams (T), from the upper plate from which spring posts to support the ridge-pole, are called taruki. The first floor is sustained by posts that rest on stones embedded in the ground, as well as by

tenths of a sun. long, three

a

beam

called yuka-shita

one and one-half or two

(Yu);

feet

this is secured to the upright

above the do-dai.

The upper

beams

at the height of

floor-joists are of pine,

two

the flooring boards are six tenths of a sun in thickness, and one foot wide. The lower floor-joists, called neda-maruta (Ne), are rough round sticks, three sun in diameter, hewn on opposite sides. On top of these rest pine boards six tenths of a sun inches square

in thickness.

;

24

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

into the upright, but held in place

by square wooden

of little use as a support for the building,

to hold fishing-rods

venient lodgment

and other long

pins,

and are

though answering well

which

poles,

find here con-

14).

(fig.

In the village of Naruge, in Yamato, I noticed in an old inn a diagonal brace which

made a

pleasing ornamental feature to a solid

supplement-

rested a ponderous

ary roof, heavily

beyond

by uprights the

strength

As the

tiled.

beams were supported

horizontal

of

which

upon

frame-work,

brackets,

was

the

ends

no additional by these

gained

braces in question, except as they

might prevent

and

fore

aft dis-

They were placed

placement.

here solely for their ornamental

appearance all

way

ties in

was

15).

of a building

often revealed in the

that would delight the heart of an Eastlake.

room

in

Irregulari-

the form of a stick are not looked upon as a hindrance in

the construction of

beams are brought prefers them. of

(fig.

The frame-work

Outside Brace. is

a

or at least that

the function they appeared to

perform Fig. 14.

;

The

into use, one

is

is

the

way such crooked

led to believe that the builder

desire for rustic effects leads to the selection

odd-shaped timber.

wherein

From

a building.

Fig. 7

represents the end of

a room,

seen a crooked cross-piece passing through a central

upright, which sustains the ridge-pole.

In the finish of the rooms great care

and preparation

of

the wood.

is

shown

in the selection

For the better rooms the wood

is

SELECTION OF STOCK. selected as follows

First, a stick of

:

timber

25

sawed

is

the central piece (A) being rejected as liable to

Second,

split.

round upright post

in the

that

16),

(fig.

most

in

forms

instances

front

the

the

of

shallow partition that

di-

vides one end of the best

room

into

two bays or

re-

deep groove

cesses,

a

cut, to

admit the edge of

the partition

(fig.

is

By

17).

this

treatment the wood

not

so

apt

to

check

is

or

split.

Special

room other

details

the

of

will be described in

chapters.

It

::'!

may

be well to state here, howFig. 15.

— Ornamental

Brace.

ever, that in the finish of

the interior the daiku, or carpenter, has finished his work, and a

new

workmen, the

set of

sashi-mono-ya, or cabinet

come

makers,

in,

— the

rough framing and similar

work being done by carpenter care Fig. 16.

wood

— Method

of Cutting Timber for House-finish.

is

Great

proper.

taken that

the

to

secure

matches

grain and color

;

and

in this

can be done only by getting material that has

come from the same

log.

In the lumber-

yard one notices boards of uniform lengths tied up in bundles, in

fact tied

up

in precisely the

—

same position that the wood

JAPANESE H03IES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

26

occupied in the trunk before

So with other wood material,

it

was sawed

— the

One never

the same manner.

into boards

(fig.

18).

pieces are kept together in

sees in a lumber-yard a promis-

cuous pile of boards, but each log

having been cut into boards

is se-

curely tied without displacement.

As

made

the rooms are

in sizes

corresponding to the number of Fig. 17.

— Section for.

mats of Post

they are

contain,

to

the

Grooved

beams, uprights, rafters, flooring-

Partition.

boards, boards for the ceiling, and are got

strips

all

The dimensions

dimensions.

Empire

mats from one end

and these are

;

wide and six

compactly on the

fitted

of the

floor.

The

marks on

architect

his plan the

is

of the

accommodate these various

to the other are approximately three feet

feet long

of

out in sizes to

number

mats each room to contain,

number hence

this

defining the

room

the

of

size

—

lumber

the

used must be of

defi-

nite lengths,

and the

carpenter

sure to

is

Fig. 18.

find these lengths at

the lumber-yard. follows

from

— Bundle

of Boards.

It

this that but little

tion of a Japanese house.

waste occurs in the construc-

Far different

is

it

with us in our

extravagant and senseless methods of house-building. country, a

man

after building a

wooden house

finds his cellar

and shed choked

to repletion with the waste of his

and

more

for a year or

at least has the

In our

new

house,

grim comfort of feeding

CONSTRUCTION OF CEILING. his fireplaces

which have

27

and kitchen stove with rough and finished woods

cost

him

at the rate of four to eight cents per square

foot!

The ordinary

ceiling in a Japanese house

thin boards, with their edges slightly overlapping. at first sight appear to be supported like slender reflection,

by narrow

beams, upon which the boards rest

however,

it

wide

consists of

These boards strips of

wood

96).

On

(fig.

soon becomes apparent that these diminu-

Pig. 19.

— Section

tive cross-beams, measuring

in

of Ceiling.

section

an inch square or

less,

are altogether inadequate to support the ceiling, thin and light as the boards ceiling,

composing

why

really are.

he finds no trace of

wonder how the

to

it

strips

pin

or

As one examines the nail,

and

and boards are held

the whole ceiling does not sag.

1

1

room

at distances apart varying

The accompanying

the ceiling.

in

comes

place,

The explanation

the strips upon which the boards are to rest are across the

finally

first

is

and that

stretched

from ten to eighteen

sketches will illustrate the various stages in the construction of

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

28

The ends

inches.

which this

secured to the uprights of the wall.

is

moulding in section

rights,

and

moulding this

into

rests

by a moulding

of these strips are supported

is

angular

;

In cheap houses

notches are cut in the up-

these notches the sharp edge of

and

is

way to economize

Fig. 20.

secured

(fig. 19).

material.

The

— Ceiling-rafters

the angular

The moulding

strips

is

cut in

having been adjusted,

supported temporarily.

they are brought to a uniform level, but crowning slightly, that

is,

the centre

is

a

little

higher than the

sides,

— and

are

held in place either by a long board being placed temporarily

beneath them, and propped up from the a long

stick

is

placed

beneath them, which

a stout string from the rafters above is

then erected on the floor

(the

being over seven or eight feet)

between the

cross-strips,

floor

;

(fig.

stud

20).

of

below

;

or else

supported by

is

A the

low staging

room

rarely

and the carpenter standing

while elevated upon the staging, adjusts

CONSTRUCTION OF CEILING.

29

the boards, one after the other, as they are passed up to him.

The a

board

first

is

placed against the wall,

groove in the uprights

edge on the

wooden

or

first

;

bamboo

the next board

and

board,

its

then

pegs, to the

is

edge fitting into placed with

cross-strips.

Thus

it

no nail or peg holes appear in the ceiling from below. after board

it,

— Method

it

bends very readily, and

manner

half

way

When

This piece

across the room, a long, narrow,

within an inch of is

its

is

free edge

into the cross-strips below.

wood

To the edge

and

parallel to

(fig.

21).

of this

it

rests,

piece

it.

and

two or

are nailed vertically, the upper ends

being nailed to the nearest rafters above. ceiling suspended

and

placed on the last

firmly nailed to the board upon which

three long strips of

thus

the boards are carried

thick piece of wood, say six feet in length, laid,

is

of Suspending Ceiling as seen from above.

brought down on the strip below.

board

Board

in turn being slightly nailed

and each

lapping edge, so that

Fig. 21.

in this

that

Each board has a deep wide groove ploughed out

to the strips. its

is

thus placed in position, each board lapping slightly

is

over the one before

near

its

from above, with

nailed

In this

way

is

the

After this has been done, the remain-

ing boards of the ceiling are placed in position and secured, one

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

30

after another, until the

last

is

To

reached.

the last

secure

one in position the carpenter gets down from his position and

One method

adopts other methods.

is

secured and

the last one

weight

heavy is

TTrmmrflmm^

with

it

as

if

there

board

two or three lengths, and these are placed in

it

is

from below the appearance

as

is

;

either

with

— care being

out

be

weighted

altogether

cross-strips,

^

may

this

or

sawed into

to

and

stones

a closet in

so

comes in the

closet

In

that of a continuous board.

length, that the last piece

22).

position, one after

taken to have these sections come directly over the

arranged,

had been

(fig.

is

another, and nailed from above to the cross-strips,

sections are

in position,

the room or a recess, the last

The

be-

Weighted with

Stones.

so that

it

remains quite as

it

lightly nailed

case

few

and then

stones,

low and placed

firm

— Ceiling-board

a

moved along from

where

Fig. 22.

on

to place this board

left (fig.

Fig. 23.

— Ceiling-board

in Closet.

23).

We so

the

have been thus

explicit in describing the ceiling, because

few even among the Japanese seem to understand precisely

manner

in

which

In long rooms one

it

is

is

suspended.

oftentimes surprised to see boards of

great width composing the ceiling, and

from one end

of the

room

to the other.

apparently continuous

What

appears to be a

PARTITIONS AND WALLS. single board

composed of a number of short lengths.

in fact

is

The matching

of the grain

two adjacent boards

31

and color

is

accomplished by taking

in a bundle of boards, as previously figured

and described, and placing them so that the same ends come together

come

joints

24),

(fig.

— care

being taken, of course, to have the

The graining

directly over the cross-pieces.

of the

wood becomes continuous, each line of the grain and the color being of

course

duplicated and matched in

the other

Some-

board.

times a number of lengths

may

of board

be continued

in this

way, and yet from

below

the

is

—

Method of behoving Boards from Bundle to Preserve Uniformity of Grain.

Fig. 24.

appearance

that of a single long piece.

The advantage

of keeping all the boards of a given log in juxta-

position will be readily understood.

In our country a carpenter

has to ransack a lumber-yard to find wood of a similar grain

and

color;

and even then he generally

precisely the

position to the right to another

tition.

partitions within the house are

Small bamboos are

wooden

strips,

narrow

;

bamboos by means

(fig. 4).

This partition

is

bamboo rods

this the plaster

plastering.

wood

of

made

in vari-

The

is

put.

first

nailed in a vertical

which are fastened from one up-

strips of

bamboo

are then secured across

of coarse cords of straw, or

not unlike our

Another kind of partition

these small

get

In one method, bamboo strips of various lengths take

the place of laths.

these

to

same kind.

The permanent ous ways.

fails

may

own

bark

fibre

plaster-and-lath par-

be of boards

;

and against

are nailed quite close together,

and upon

Considerable pains are taken as to the

plasterer brings to the house samples of various-

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

32

may

colored sands and clays, so that one

A

color of his wall.

The

lime,

good coat of plaster comprises three

first layer, called sliita-nuri,

chopped straw

mixed

is

mixed with

mud

colored clay or sand

composed

is

which

in

the third layer, called uwa-nuri, has the

;

— and

mixed with lime,

this

last layer

is

Other methods of treating

this surface will be given in the chapter

on

interiors.

between the rooms consist entirely of

of the partitions

light sliding screens,

mud,

of

layers.

a second layer, called cliu-nuri, of rough

;

always applied by a skilful workman.

Many

from these the

select

which

will be specially described farther on.

Often two or more sides of the house are composed entirely of these simple and frail devices.

house,

if

of

horizontally,

The

permanent walls

outside

of a

wood, are made of thin boards nailed to the frame

—

as

we

lay clapboards on our houses.

These

may

be more firmly held to the house by long strips nailed against the boards vertically.

The boards may

also be secured to the

house vertically, and weather-strips nailed over the seams,

commonly the way with vertically,

cross-wise.

Japan

;

is

made

of

and held in place by thin This style

is

is

In the southern

certain of our houses.

provinces a rough house-wall

— as

wide slabs of bark, placed strips

common among

of

bamboo

nailed

the poorer houses in

and, indeed, in the better class of houses

it is

often used

as an ornamental feature, placed at the height of a

few

feet

from the ground. Outside plastered walls are also very common, though not of a frequently seen in a dilapi-

durable nature.

This kind of wall

dated condition.

In Japanese picture-books this broken condition

is

often shown, with the

bamboo

is

slats exposed, as

a suggestion of

poverty.

In the

cities,

the outside walls of more durable structures, such

as warehouses, are not infrequently covered with square

board wall being

first

made, to which the

being nailed at their corners.

These

may

tiles

tiles, a

are secured by

be placed in diagonal

STRUCTURE OF KURA. or horizontal rows,

an inch being

left

—

in either case

between the

33

an interspace of a quarter

tiles,

of

and the seams closed with

white plaster, spreading on each side to the width of an inch or more, and finished with a rounded surface. in a very tasteful

gray

and

artistic

manner, and the

This work

done

is

effect of the dark-

crossed by

tiles

these white bars of plaster

ing

very

is

strik-

(fig. 25).

As the

fire-proof

used as

often

are

dwelling brief

-

kara,

or

buildings,

places,

mention

a of

may

their structure

proper here.

be

These buildings are designed

specially

for fire-proof

store-

They

houses.

are

generally two stories in height, with walls

eighteen

two

inches

feet or

to

more

in

thickness, composed of

mud

Fig. 25.

— Arrangement

of Square Tiles on Side op

House.

plastered on

to a frame-work of great strength closely notched,

bamboos are

and bound with a

and

solidity.

coarse-fibred rope

closely secured to the beams.

ropes, a foot in length, are secured in close

beams and uprights.

The beams ;

and small

Short coarse-fibred

rows to the

All these preparations are

made

cross-

for the

purpose of more securely holding the successive layers of 3

are

mud

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

34

As a preliminary

to be applied.

staging

work

a huge and ample

The

erected to completely envelop the building.

is

indeed, forms a

huge cage, and upon

mud

so that the is

to this

mattings are hung

plastering shall not dry too quickly.

This cage

ample to allow the men to work freely around

sufficiently

and beneath

this straw

staging,

Layer after layer

it.

is

and a long time

applied,

may

elapses between these applications, in order that each layer

Two

dry properly.

years or more are required in the proper

one of these fire-proof buildings.

construction

of

having been

finished, a coat of plaster, or a plaster

lamp-black, lacquer,

is

is

and a

applied,

fine

polished surface, like black

This polished black surface

produced.

rubbing with a cloth, then with

first

The walls mixed with

and

silk,

is

made by

finally

with

the hand.

A

newly-finished Tcura presents a remarkably solid and im-

posing appearance.

The

immense

roofs are of

enormous ridges ornamented with

artistic designs in stucco,

the ridges terminating with ornamental fine polish of these buildings

finally

tiles in high-relief.

long iron hooks are seen casing which

is

Upon

applied.

is

;

and

The

soon becomes impaired, and they

assume a dull black or slaty color

white plaster

thickness, with

;

sometimes a coat of

the outside of the wall a series of

these are to hold an adjustable

wooden

often used to cover the walls, and thus to protect

them from the eroding

These wooden

action of the elements.

casings are placed against the buildings, proper openings being left

of

through which the iron hooks project, and long slender bars

wood

stretch across the wall, held in place

by the upturned

ends of the iron hooks, and in turn holding the wooden casing in place.

The windows either

by a

of the buildings are small,

sliding-door of great thickness

double-shutters swinging together.

have a

series

of

rabbets,

and each and

The edges

or steps,

precisely

is

closed

solidity,

or by

of these shutters like

those

seen

JAPANESE CARPENTERS. the

in

heavy doors

of

35

At the time

a bank-safe.

mixed

for such

mud, which

is

These buildings, when properly

an emergency.

flat,

when

— for there are

and walls

all

;

and after

the surrounding territory

is

absolutely

no tottering chimneys or cavernous

to be seen, as

with

conspicuous in the

general

however, as smoke

is

indicating

that, as

in

us,

— these

black,

They do not

ruin.

own

cellars

grimy kura stand all

some

often seen issuing from

our

of

always at hand, ready

constructed, seem to answer their purpose admirably

a conflagration,

fire,

up the chinks

additional precautions are taken by stopping

these closed shutters with

a

of

survive, of them,

are not always

country, safes

fire-proof.

A

somewhat extended experience with the common every-

day carpenter at home leads

me

to say, without fear of con-

tradiction, that in matters pertaining to their craft the Japanese

Not only do they show

carpenters are superior to American.

their superiority in their work, but in their versatile ability in

making new

things.

One

is

amazed

to see

how

patiently a Japan-

ese carpenter or cabinet-maker will struggle over plans, not only

drawn

in

ways new and strange

new, — and struggle

successfully.

of the carpenters in our smaller

to him, but of objects equally It is a notorious fact that

towns and villages are utterly

incompetent to carry out any special

demand made upon them,

outside the building of the conventional two-storied house

ordinary roof.

most

They stand bewildered

in

the

presence

and of

a

window-projection or cornice outside the prescribed ruts with

which they and their fathers were familiar. cases their fathers were not

be

;

Indeed, in most

carpenters, nor will their children

and herein alone the Japanese carpenter has an immense

advantage over the American, for his trade, as well as other trades,

The

have been perpetuated through generations

little

children have been brought

of

families.

up amidst the odor

of

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

36

— have

fragrant

shavings,

duties of

an adjustable

with childish hands performed the

clamp

vise or

and with the same tools

;

which when children they have handed to their fathers, they have in later days earned their daily

When made

I

see

our carpenters'

one of

polished

of

filled to repletion

rice.

ponderous tool-chests,

woods, inlaid with brass

with several hundred

and

decorations,

worth

dollars'

of highly

polished and elaborate machine-made implements, and contemplate the

work often done with them,

— with everything binding

should go loose, and everything rattling that

that tight,

and much work that has

to be

done twice over, with an

indication everywhere of a poverty of ideas,

the Japanese carpenter with his

ridiculously

— and

then recall

light

and flimsy

tool-box containing a meagre assortment of rude tools,

— considering

carpentry of

the

should be

the

two

forced to the conviction that civilization and

and primitive people,

I

am

modern appliances

count as nothing unless accompanied with a moiety of brains

and some It is is

little taste

and

wit.

a very serious fact that now-a-days no one in our country

acquiring faithfully the carpenter's trade.

mentable condition of things

is

Much

of this la-

no doubt due to the fact that

1 machine-work has supplanted the hand-work of former times.

now turned

Doors, blinds, sashes, mouldings are

and mile, and

all

out by the cord

done in such greedy haste, and with the green-

est of lumber, that

if

it

does not tumble to pieces in transporta-

is

sure to do so very soon after entering into the house-

structure.

Nevertheless, the miserable truth yet remains that any

man who

has nailed up a few boxes, or stood in front of a circular

tion

it

in his Lowell Lectures on the United States Census shows that carpenters constitute the largest single hody of artisans working for the supply of local wants. He shows that the increase of this hody from decade to decade and though is far hehind what it should he if it increased in the ratio of the population this fact might excite surprise, he shows that it is due to the enormous increase in machine1

General Francis A. Walker,

for 1880,

;

made

material, such as doors, sashes, hlinds, etc.

parts which in former times trained a

man

;

in other words, to the

in delicate

work and accurate

making joinery.

of those

CARPENTERS' TOOLS AND APPLIANCES. saw

for a

few months,

feels

that most honorable craft,

may

It

competent to exercise

— the building

the duties of

all

of a house.

37

1

be interesting, in this connection, to mention a few of

commonly

the principal tools one

sees in use

among

the Japanese

After having seen the good and serviceable carpen-

carpenters.

try, the perfect joints

and complex mortises, done by good Jap-

anese workmen, one

astonished to find that they do their

is

work

without the aid of certain appliances considered indispensable by similar craftsmen in our country.

no

spirit-level,

They have no bench, no

and no bit-stock; and as

for

labor-saving

With many

chinery, they have absolutely nothing.

vise,

ma-

places which

could be utilized for water-power, the old country saw-mill has 2 not occurred to them.

and

of primitive design,

The only

steel. 1

more

Their tools appear to be roughly made,

There

is

faithfully

though evidently of the best-tempered

substitute for the carpenter's bench is a plank

no question but that than with us

;

press in regard to poor and slovenly postors,

who

letters addressed to the

inveighs against the British first floor

existence of a similar class of im-

work show the

defraud the public by claiming to be what they are not.

Reade, in a series of the

England apprentices serve their time at trades go up in the English

in

nevertheless, the complaints that

workmen

"Pall Mall Gazette," on

as follows

:

"

When

The

last seen, I

of the thing they call a house, with a blunder under

erratic Charles

builders' blunders,

was standing on

— uuvarnished,

my feet,

—

the oppressive, glaring plaster-ceiling, and a blunder over my head, full of the inevitable cracks, and foul with the smoke of only three months' gas." In regard to sash windows, he says " This room is lighted by what may be defined the unscientific window.' Here, in this single structure, you may see most of the intelThe scientific way is always the simple lectual vices that mark the unscientific mind. one half the window is to go up, way; so here you have complication on complication, The maker of it goes out of his way to struggle with the other half is to come down. Nature's laws; he grapples insanely with gravitation, and therefore he must use cords and weights and pulleys, and build boxes to hide them in. He is a great hider. His

unjoined boards

;

:

'

—

wooden frames move up and down wooden grooves, open to atmospheric influence. What is the consequence? The atmosphere becomes humid; the wooden frame sticks in What, ho Send for the the wooden box, and the unscientific window is jammed. Curse of Families, the British workman On one of the cords breaking (they are always breaking), send for the Cursp of Families to patch the blunder of the !

!

unscientific builder." 2

in

A

Government bureau

Yezo, the seat of

I do not

know.

its

called the Kaitakushi,

labors, one or

two saw-mills

now ;

fortunately extinct, established

but whether they are

still

at

work

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

38

on the

two horses; a square,

or on

floor,

the nearest approach to a bench and

wood

block of

A

big

till

is

for

to

firmly held

down with

is

beam a

this

(fig.

bound firmly to the post with a

is

driven

this

orous blows

which

sawed into pieces

to be

wooden wedge and

rope,

vise,

firm, upright post

26).

stout

vig-

pinches the block

it

to be cut into the desired pro-

is

portions.

In using

many

of the tools, the Jap-

anese carpenter handles them quite ferently

from our workman

dif-

for instance,

;

he draws the plane towards him instead of pushing

it

from him.

The planes are

very rude-looking implements.

Their

bodies, instead of being thick blocks

of wood, are quite wide (fig.

27,

and thin

D, E), and the blades

are

inclined at a greater angle than the

blade in our plane.

In some planes, however, the blade stands vertical

this is used

;

in lieu of

the in

scrapers

steel

giving

wood a smooth ish,

and

might

fin-

be

Fig. 26.

—A

Japanese Carpenter's Vise.

used with advantage

by our carpenters as a substitute for the piece plate of steel with

wood.

A

that

is,

planed,

which they usually scrape the surface

huge plane

plane, however,

is

is

often seen, five or six feet long.

fixed in

an inclined

with the blade uppermost. is

of glass or thin

moved back and

forth

position,

The board,

upon

it.

upside

of the

This

down;

or piece to be

CARPENTERS' TOOLS AND APPLIANCES. Draw-shaves are in common

The saws

use.

39

are of

various

with teeth much longer than those of our saws, and

kinds,

cut in different ways.

Some

of

these forms reminded

me

of

the teeth seen in certain recently patented saws in the United

Some saws have

States.

teeth

on the back as

the front, one edge being used as a cross-cut saw

The hand-saw, instead

made

to

c

~-mv

-"

%-

b Fig. 27.

-^

E

1)

Carpenters' Tools in Common Use.

straight cylindrical handle as long as the

saw

itself,

Our carpenters engage one hand

and somein

the stick to be sawed, while driving the saw with

holding

the other

the Japanese carpenter, on the contrary, holds the piece

with his

foot,

and stooping over, with his two hands drives

the saw by quick and rapid cuts through the wood. of

27 B, C).

(fig.

_.r w/v

iliilniiii.ii. .in

;

on

as with us, has a simple

"

hand

as

of having the curious loop-shaped handle

accommodate only one hand

times longer.

well

This style

working and doing many other things could never be adopted

in this country without an importation of Japanese backs.

was an extraordinary sight

to

see

the

attitudes

It

these people

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

40

assumed

work

in doing

of various kinds.

A

servant

for

girl,

example, in wiping up the floor or verandah with a wet cloth,

down on her knees

does not get

over while

on her

still

to do her work, but

she pushes the cloth back and forth,

feet,

in this trying position performs her task.

and thus

The adze

is

provided with a rough handle bending consider-

ably at the lower end, not unlike a hockey-stick

In summer the carpenters work with the possible,

bending

and nearly always barefooted.

man

to a nervous

timber, hacking

(fig.

clothing

scantiest

It is

a startling sight

to see a carpenter standing on a

away

in a furious

27, A).

manner with

stick

of

this crooked-

handled instrument having an edge as sharp as a razor, and taking toes.

whose

great chips of the

off

wood within an inch

Never having ourselves seen a showed the

feet

slightest indication

we regarded

missed the mark,

toeless of

of his

naked

carpenter, or one his

ever having

as good evidence of the unerring

accuracy with which they use this serviceable tool.

For drilling holes a very long-handled awl

is

used.

The

carpenter seizing the handle at the end, between the palms of

and moving

his hands,

down

at the

and forth

;

hands rapidly back and forth, pushing

made rapidly hands gradually slip down on

same time, the awl

as his

quickly seizes as before.

his

it

One

to rotate back

the handle he

at the upper end again, continuing the motion is

astonished to see

in this simple, yet effective

to ours are used.

is

way.

Their chisel

is

how

rapidly holes are drilled

For large also

much

holes, augers similar like ours in shape.

For nailing in places above the easy reach of both hands they use a hammer, one end of which

is

prolonged to a point

;

holding,

thumb and finger with the hammer grasped in the same hand, a hole is made in the wood with the pointed end of the hammer, the nail inserted and driven in. then, a nail between the

A to

portable nail-box

which

is

is

used in the shape of a round basket,

attached a short cord with a button of wood or

CARPENTERS' TOOLS AND APPLIANCES. bamboo

at the

end

waist

encircles the

this is

;

suspended from a sash or cord that

The

28).

(fig.

41

has the

shingler's nail-box

bottom prolonged and perforated, so that it

may

(fig.

be temporarily nailed to the roof

64).

There are three implements of the Japanese carpenter which are inseparable

companions sumi-sashi,

gane

;

these are the magari-gane,

and sumi-tsubo.

The magari-

an iron square rather narrower

is

than our square.

The sumi-sashi

double-ended brush

made

is

a

Eig. 2S.

—A

Japanese

Nail-basket.

out of fibrous

wood, rounded at one end, and having a wide sharp edge at the other

(fig.

The carpenter always

29).

has with him a box containing cotton saturated with ink; by

means

of the sumi-sashi

and

ink the carpenter can mark characters and signs with the Fig. 29.

—A

rounded end, or

with the sharp edge.

lines

made of Wood.

One this

a

kind of a brush

moment's

that the

is

(fig. ;

it

often curiously wrought, having at one end filled

end has a

attending

make one at 30, A, B) is the is made of wood,

carpenter can

The sumi-tsubo

notice.

advantage

substitute for our carpenter's chalk-line

out and

black

fine

Carpenter's Marking-brush

a cavity scooped

with cotton saturated with ink, and the other

reel

with a

little

crank.

Upon

the reel

is

wound

a long cord, the free end of which passes through the cotton

and out throusrh a hole the end of the cord

To make a the

line

is

at

the

end of the instrument.

secured an object resembling an awl.

on a plank or board the awl

wood, the cord

blackened with ink

is ;

To

unreeled,

and

in

this

by snapping the cord

is

act

driven into it

becomes

in the usual

way,

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

42

a clear black line is

left

is

upon the surface

the wood.

of

then quickly reeled up again by means of a

This instrument

little

It

crank.

an improvement in every way over the

is

chalk-line, as

and by left

it is

more convenient,

use a clear black line

its

upon the wood, instead

dim

which

chalk-line

effaced.

is

This implement

so is

is

of the

easily

often

used as a plumb-line by giving a turn to the cord about the handle, thus holding

it

firmly,

and suspend-

ing the instrument by means of the awl.

A Fig. 30.

— The

plumb-line

strip of

Sumi-tsubo.

wood

made with a

is

four or five feet in

each end of which

length, to

wood four

or five

inches long, projecting an inch on one side.

These

nailed, at right angles, a strip of

two transverse and are

so

project the

strips are of exactly the

adjusted

same

to

the

longer

From

distance.

is

same length, strip

as

the longer

to

arm

of one of these pieces is suspended a cord with a

In plumbing a wall, the

weight at the lower end. short

ends of the transverse pieces are brought

against the wall or portion to be levelled, and an

adjustment

is

made

edge of the lower arm. (fig.

31) will

make

the cord just touches the

till

clear

The accompanying sketch the appearance and method

of using this simple device.

In gluing pieces of wood together, more especially veneers, the is

Japanese resort to a device which

....

common with American

.

.

,

cabinet-makers,

—

r

F]G

31

The Japanese PLUMB-LIXE.

oi

bringing into play a number of elastic or bamboo rods, one end

CARPENTERS' TOOLS AND APPLIANCES. coming against a firm

wood

pressing on the the same device

ceiling or support,

and the other end

In polishing and grinding,

to be united.

used in getting pressure.

is

This necessarily brief description

way

43

is

not to be regarded in any

as a catalogue of Japanese carpenters' tools, but

is

intended

simply to describe those more commonly seen as one watches

them is

The

at their work.

that

many

they can easily be made by the users

the exception

the iron part, every Japanese

of

and often does make of

chief merit of

his

own

of these tools ;

indeed, with

carpenter can

tools.

By an examination of old books and pictures one gets an idea the antiquity of many objects still in use in Japan. I was

shown, at the house of a Japanese

antiquary,

a

copy of

a

very old maki-mono (a long scroll of paper rolled

up

like a roll of

wall-paper, on which continuous stories

or

historical

written or painted).

mono

in question

Takakana,

events are

This maki-

was painted by

of Kioto, five

hundred

and seventy years ago, and

rep-

resented the building of a temple,

from the

preliminary exercises

to its completion.

Fig. 32.

One sketch

— Ancient

ied from an

Carpenter.

(Cop-

Old Painting.)

showed the carpenters at work

hewing out the wood and making the frame.

There were

men

;

at

about.

work In

;

all

a few were eating and drinking

tools

the tools represented in the picture,

many

were lying

—

of

which

there were chisels, mallets, hatchets, adzes, squares, and saws,

there was no plane or long saw.

A

cut longitudinal^ with a chisel.

The square was the same

that in use to-day.

The

tool

piece of timber

which seemed

—

was being as

to take the place of a

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

44

plane was similar to a tool

used by coopers, but I believe by

still

workmen, though

remember

no other

class of

man and

a boy engaged in stripping bark from a long' pole with

I

a tool similar to the one seen in the sketch

The in

30,

and box

A

C).

carpenter's

the

32)

32).

tool-box

is

shown

in

form

on page 42

sketch given

light as similar boxes in use to-day. (fig.

have seen a

was much more simple and primitive

suvii-tsubo

those times, judging from

(fig.

(fig.

to

quite as small

To the cover

of this

attached a curious hand-saw with a curved edge.

is

Large saws with curved edges, having handles at both ends, to be

worked by two men, are

seen a hand-saw of this shape.

Nothing

staging.

more

is

sensible

way

tegrity.

to be

in

;

but I have never

All the saws represented in the

and

commended than the

strong, durable,

which the Japanese carpenter

The various

gether, as this

spikes

use

had the same curved edge.

picture

and

common

in

erects his

parts of a staging are never nailed to-

would not only weaken the pieces through which

nails

have been driven, but gradually impair

its in-

All the pieces, upright and transverse, are firmly tied

The rope

together with tough, strong rope.

again and again, in the tightest possible manner. ples of lofty proportions are reared

and

wound

is

about,

Buddhist tem-

finished,

and yet one

never hears of the frightful accidents that so often occur at home as the results of stagings giving lofty structures.

How

to a Japanese carpenter

to the ground.

in the erection of similar

exceedingly dull and stupid

when he

constructs a staging that

him

way

is

it

must appear

learns that his Christian brother

liable,

sooner or later, to precipitate

CHAPTER

II.

TYPES OF HOUSES.

— Fishermen's Houses. — Kura. — A Study op Roofs. — Roofs. — Tiled Roofs. — Stone Roofs. — Thatched Roofs.

City and Country Houses.

Shingled

\

li

7RITERS

any grand or imposing architectural

of

country

;

on Japan have often commented upon the absence

and they have offered

edifices in that

in explanation, that in a country

shaken by frequent earthquakes no stately structures or buildings of lofty proportions can endure. structures do exist,

and have existed

Nevertheless, for centuries,

many

—

such

as witness

the old temples and lofty pagodas, and also the castles of the

Kumamoto and Nagoya.

Daimios, notably the ones at truth were known,

it

If

the

would be found that revolution and

have been among the principal destructive agencies

bellion

may have

nearly obliterating whatever

re-

in

once existed of grand

architectural structures in Japan.

Aime Humbert

finds

much

Daimios, and says, with truth less

:

aimed at than the general

and harmony

some

of

among

the

to admire in the castles of the " In general, richness of detail is effect resulting

from the grandeur

of the proportions of the buildings.

seigniorial residences of

the architectural

monuments

In this respect

Japan deserve

to figure

of Eastern Asia."

In regard to the architecture of Japan, as to other matters,

one must put himself in an attitude of sympathy with her people,

or at

least

appreciation of

he must become awakened to a sympathetic their

work and the

conditions under which

it

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

46

he must

has arisen.

Above

ideas

what a house should

as

to

all,

rid himself of all preconceived

and judge the work

be,

a Japanese builder solely from the Japanese stand-point. tectural edifices, such as exist outside

we

may

Archi-

recognize as architectural, do not

Some reason

her temples and castles.

condition of things

of

for

this

be looked for in the fact that the vast

majority of the Japanese are poor,

— very poor

;

and further, in

the fact that the idea of co-operative buildings, with the exception

mind,

—

each family, with few exceptions, managing to have a house of

its

of the Yashiki barracks, has never entered a Japanese

own.

As

a result of this, a vast

ters merely,

number

of the houses are shel-

and are such from necessity

;

though even among

these poorer shelters little bits of temple architecture creep in,

—

quite as scanty, however, in that respect as are similar features in

our two-storied wooden boxes at home, which

may have

a bit of

Grecian suggestion in the window caps, or of Doric in the front door-posts.

the Japanese, moreover, one

In considering the temples of

should take into account their methods of worship, and precisely

what use the worshippers make sympathy

so with intelligent

of these

remarkable

edifices.

And

finally aroused in all these matters,

new aspect and what appeared grotesque and unmeaning before, now becomes full of significance and beauty.

they begin to wear a

We

see that there is

of the broad

;

something truly majestic in the appearance

and massive temples, with the grand upward sweep

of their heavily-tiled roofs

maze

of supports

colossal

timbers.

and deep-shaded eaves, with

and carvings beneath

;

intricate

the whole sustained on

round posts locked and tied together by equally massive Certainly, to a Japanese the effect

beyond description

;

must be inspiring

and the contrast between these structures

and the tiny and perishable dwellings that surround them ders the former all the

more grand and impressive.

ren-

Foreigners,

though familiar with the cathedral architecture of Europe, must

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES.

much

yet see

towns and

to

Even

admire in these buildings.

where one might

villages,

47 in the smaller

least expect to find such

structures, the traveller sometimes encounters these stately edifices.

lot,

Their surroundings are invariably picturesque

;

no

sterile

or worthless sand-hill outside the village, will suit these sim-

ple people, but the

most charming and beautiful place

always

is

selected as a site for their temples of worship.

Whatever may be

said regarding the architecture of Japan,

the foreigner, at least, finds

among

types of architecture differences

radical in

the houses, or to

the various

in

kinds

travels through the country.

his

any

to recognize

difficult

it

of

distinguish

any

dwellings he sees

may

It

distinct

be possible that

these exist, for one soon gets to recognize the differences between

the ancient and modern house.

There are also marked differences

between the compact house of the merchant in the country house

;

found in our country, there are none.

Everywhere one notices minor

more

sees

and which shown, as

is it

and the

but as for special types of architecture that would

parallel the different styles

which he

city

and ornament

details of finish

fully developed in the temple architecture,

evidently derived from this source

;

and

if it

can be

unquestionably can, that these features were brought

into the country

by the

we can

great religions, then detail to their

priests

trace

who brought one many features of

the two

of

architectural

home, and to the avenues through which they

came. In connection with the statement just made, that cult to recognize

dwellings,

impossible

it

to

architecture.

may

any

it

is

diffi-

special types of architecture in Japanese

be interesting to mention that

get books in

their

Doubtless books

of

we found

language treating of this

nature exist,

it

house

— indeed,

they must exist; but though the writer had a Japanese bookseller,

and a number

looking

for

such

of intelligent friends

books,

he

among

never had the

the Japanese,

good fortune to

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

48

Books in abundance can be got treating

secure any.

temple

of

architecture, from the plans of the framing to the completed

structure of

also of kura, or go-downs, gateways, tori-i, etc.

;

buildings

their

for

the inside finish of a house,

and indeed able of

recesses, book-shelves, screens,

— are

the delicate cabinet-work,

all

easily obtain-

but a book which shall show the plans and elevations

;

A

ordinary dwelling the writer has never yet seen.

the

number as

— the

Plans

and endless designs for

tea-ceremonies,

have given him the plans of their houses

friends

of

made by the

carpenter,

but there were

details of outside finish represented.

the ordinary houses at least, in plan the

number and

no elevations or

would seem as

It

if,

for

were only necessary to detail

it

size of the

the structure to be completed in any

rooms, leaving the rest of

way by

the carpenter, so

long as he contrived to keep the rain out. If there is

no attempt at architectural display in the dwelling-

houses of Japan the traveller

is

at least spared those miserable

own

experiences he so often encounters in his to a

few houses

perforated

of

good taste he

is

sure to pass hundreds of

wooden boxes with angular

unrelieved by a single moulding

;

country, where

roofs

and red chimneys

and now and then

meet

to

with one of those cupola-crowned, broad-brimmed, corinthian-

columned abominations, as well as with other forms equally grotesque and equally offending good taste.

Owing

to the former

provinces, the

and roof

this

and

is

style

of

somewhat

isolated life of the different

building in Japan varies considerably

more particularly marked

Though the Japanese

ridge.

things concerning the house,

it

is

in

the

design

of

are conservative in

worthy

the

many

of note that changes

have taken place in the house architecture within two hundred and

fifty

much

years

;

at all events, houses of the olden times

have

heavier beams in their frame and wider planks in their

structure, than

have the houses of more recent times.

A

prob-

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. able reason is

possible

is

wood was much cheaper

that

strong houses can be

made with

specially

marked

ness about

Rarely does a house strike one as being

some

them

of

are,

the case with the long, uninteresting their picturesque

;

A

becoming monotonous.

marked

wood, usually of one

of

differences

row

the

more subis

a same-

Particularly

this

is

of houses that border

them from

roofs alone save

closer study,

between

;

and yet there

them which becomes wearisome.

a village street

it

sufficiently

or better looking than its neighbors

stantial, certainly,

or

;

lighter material.

The Japanese dwellings are always story and unpainted.

in past times

them that

experience has taught

that

49

however, reveals some

country and

city

houses,

as

well as between those of different provinces.

The country house, elements,

with

its

is

anything more than a shelter from the

and more substantial than the

larger

city house,

ponderous thatched roof and elaborate ridge

picturesque. of

if

One

sees

much

larger houses in the north,

and

always

is

—

roofs

grand proportions and an amplitude of space beneath, that

farther south occurs only under the roofs of temples.

now

of the houses of the better classes, for the

and fisherman, as well as their prototypes houses that are

little

has forcibly expressed

better it,

speak

in the city, possess

than shanties,

of "chips,

We

poor farm-laborer

built,

as a friend

paper, and straw."

But

even these huts, clustered together as they oftentimes are in the larger filthy

cities,

are

condition of

cities of

a

palatial in contrast to the like

class of

tenements in

shattered

many

of

and the

Christian countries.

In travelling through the country the absence of a middle class,

as indicated

by the dwellings,

is

painfully apparent.

It

true that you pass, now and then, large comfortable houses with their broad thatched roofs, showing evidences of wealth and abundance in the numerous Jcura and outbuildings surrounding is

them;

but where you find one of 4

these

you pass hundreds

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

50

which are barely more than

inmates

for their

shelters

and

;

within, the few necessary articles render the evidences of poverty all

the more apparent.

Though the people that inhabit such

shelters are very poor,

they appear contented and cheerful notwithstanding their poverty.

Other

classes,

who though

not poverty-stricken are yet poor in

every sense of the word, occupy dwellings of the simplest char-

Many

acter.

the

of

dwellings

are

often

diminutive in

size

and as one looks in at a tiny cottage containing two or three rooms at the most, the entire house hardly bigger than a goodsized

room

at

home, and observes a family

persons living quietly and in a cleanly space,

he learns that in Japan, at

least,

three

of

manner

or four

in this limited

poverty and constricted

quarters are not always correlated with coarse manners,

filth,

and crime. Country and as with us,

city houses of the better class

— the

smoke-blackened

one with

its

vary as greatly

ponderous thatched roof and

other with low roof neatly tiled,

interior, the

or shingled, and the perfection of cleanliness within.

In Tokio, the houses that abut directly on the street have

The walls

a close and prison-like aspect.

or plaster, and perforated with one or

are composed of boards

two small windows

lightly

barred with bamboo, or heavily barred with square wood-gratings.

The entrance

to one of these houses

or at the side.

The back

have a verandah.

is

generally at one corner,

of the house

I speak

now

of

and one

side, at least,

the better class of houses

in the city, but not of the best houses,

which almost invariably

stand back from the street and are surrounded by gardens.

The accompanying sketch houses bordering a street in

33)

(fig.

Kanda Ku,

represents

Tokio.

a group of

The windows

are in some cases projecting or hanging bays, and are barred with

bamboo

or square bars of wood.

A

sliding-screen covered with

stout white paper takes the place of our glass-windows.

Through

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES.

51

these gratings the inmates of the house do their bargaining with

the

venders.

street

by means sists of

of a gate

big gate

sliding-door

ingress

The

common

is

or

and

grating,

number.

to a

square opening in

— and

houses,

if

of wood, case,

painted, a dead black to

surface

the

it,

Sometimes by a

closed

the

are painted

wood

— Street

in

is

black

left

is

used

;

in

or

;

its

as

else,

is

natural state,

Kanda Ku, Tokio.

and

by exposure.

this color

is

When

certainly agree-

though the heat-rays caused by this black become almost unendurable on hot days, and must add

greatly to

eyes,

the

heat and discomfort within the house.

a plastered outside wall the surface

frame-work of the building

treatment gives

/?

usually

through this the inmates have

this gradually turns to a darker shade

able

is

This entrance con-

egress.

Fig. 33.

the

these houses

a smaller gate used by the people.

has a large

more usually the

and

to

a large gate used for vehicles, and heavy loads, and by

the side of this the

The entrance

?16o

it

is

is

With

often left white, while

painted black,

a decidedly funereal aspect.

— and

this

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

52 In

fig.

34 two other houses in the same street are shown,

one having a two-storied addition in the rear. to this house

is

by means

of a gate,

which in the sketch

The farther house has the door on the It is

is

open.

street.

not often that the streets are bordered by such well-

constructed ditches on the side, as

two

The entrance

figures

;

is

represented in

the last

in these cases the ditches are three or four feet

^snSv.

Fig. 34.

— Street

Kanda Ku,

in

Tokio.

wide, with well-built stone-walls and stone or wooden bridges

spanning them at the doors and gateways. ditches the water

is

fishes.

these

running, and though vitiated by the water

from the kitchen and baths quite

Through

is

yet sufficiently pure to support

a number of creatures, such as

snails,

frogs,

and even

In the older city dwellings of the poorer classes a num-

ber of tenements often occur in a block, and the entrance

by means

of a

gateway common

to all.

Since the revolution of 1868 there has appeared a of building in Tokio, in

is

new

style

which a continuous row of tenements

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. under one

is

roof,

and each tenement has

entrance directly upon the street. a

row

these

of

one story, are the

may

rear

is

tenements.

now

separate

35 gives a sketch of

Fig.

in various parts of Tokio.

In

provided a small plot for each tenement, which

be used for a garden.

no means the poorer I

own

its

These blocks, nearly always of

common

quite

53

classes, generally

was informed by an

Fig. 35.

People of small

old

— Block

resident

of

means, but by

occupy these dwellings.

Tokio that only since

of Cheap Tenements in Tokio.

the revolution have houses been built with their doors or main entrances opening directly on the street. This form of house is

a

certainly convenient

common On the

and economical, and

is

destined to

be

feature of house-building in the future. business streets similar rows of buildings are seen,

though generally each shop directly to the next;

and indeed of many

and

is

an independent building, abutting

in the case of all the smaller shops,

of the larger ones, the dwelling

are one, the goods being displayed in the

while the family occupy the back rooms. at a shop, the

room on the

While one

whole front being open, he

and shop

may

is

street,

bartering

often catch a

glimpse of the family in the back room at dinner, and

may

look

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

54

entirely through a building to a garden beyond.

of

It is

to a foreigner to find in the rear of a

amazement

a source

row

of dull

and sombre business-houses independent dwellings, with rooms of I remember, in one of the busiest exquisite taste and cleanliness. through a lithographer's establishment,

streets of Tokio, passing

with the inky presses and inky workmen in full activity, and coming upon the choicest of tiny gardens and, after crossing a miniature

Fig. 36.

It is

to

foot-bridge,

a

house of rare beauty and

— Street View

of

Dwelling

common merchant

customary for the

in Tokio.

to live

under the same

roof with the shop, or in a closely contiguous building

Tokio, more than elsewhere, I was informed

among

finish.

it

is

;

though in

the custom

the wealthy merchants to have their houses in the suburbs

of the city, at

some distance from their place

of business.

The sketch shown in Fig. 36 is a city house of one of the The house stands on a new street, and the lot better classes. on one side all sides

is

vacant

;

nevertheless, the house

by a high board-fence,

a Japanese house, privacy,

if

—

since,

is

surrounded on

with the open character of

desired, can be secured only

by high

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. The house

fences or thick hedges.

The front-door

the street. left

of the sketch.

tural front

;

and best rooms are

There

in the

shown

as

is

is

appears from

it

near the gate, which

is

indeed, there

is

55

is

shown on the

here no display of an architec-

The

no display anywhere.

back of the house

;

largest

and what might

be called a back-yard, upon which the kitchen opens,

is

parallel

with the area in front of the main entrance to the house, and

Fig. 37.

separated from

— View

it

one room, and this to this

chamber

of thick plank,

roof

is

strips of

shown

garden.

by a high

may

fence.

The second

story contains

be regarded as a guest-chamber.

by means

of a

Access

made out any kind. The

steep flight of steps,

and unguarded by hand-rail

of

heavily tiled, while the walls of the house are outwardly

composed

is

is

of Dwelling from Garden, in Tokio.

of

broad thin boards, put on vertically, and having

wood

to cover the joints.

in Fig. 37.

Here

all

A

back view of

this

house

the rooms open directly on the

Along the verandah are three rooms en

suite.

The

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

56

balcony of the second story roof,

covered by a light supplementary

Similar screens are also seen hanging below.

the sun's rays.

The verandah

is

between the rooms screen or shutter

quite spacious

when

Fig. 38.

of the sketch

is

;

and

in line

with the division

a groove for the adjustment of a

is

it

is

wooden

desired to separate the house into

At the end

two portions temporarily.

left

is

from which hangs a bamboo screen to shade the room from

— Dwelling

verandah to the

of the

near Kudan, Tokio.

The house

the latrine.

is

quite open be-

neath, and the air has free circulation.

Another type

of a

Tokio house

is

shown

low, one-storied house, standing directly roof cut

a barred barred.

up

into curious gables.

sliding

door.

A

large

upon the

The entrance

The back

is

a

street, its tiled is

protected by

hanging bay-window

Just over the fence a bamboo curtain

which shades the verandah.

This

in Fig. 38.

may

is

also

be seen,

of the house

was open,

— though

this I did

and probably looked out on a pretty garden,

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. not

see, as this sketch, like

many

others,

57

was taken somewhat

hastily.

From

this

character of

example some idea may be got

many

of the diminutive

of the Japanese dwellings, in which, never-

theless, families live in all cleanliness

and comfort.

In the northern part of Japan houses are often seen which possess

features

Fig. 39.

Switzerland,

— the gable

the

of

suggestive

— Country

picturesque

Inn in Rikuzen.

all

the irregularities of the tree-trunk

beams being

preserved, the interstices between these

jecting rafters.

The eaves

Oftentimes delicately-carved wood

gestion of this resemblance, the

As a

main

its

still

is

with

seen about

further sug-

roof, if shingled, as

as the roof that shelters the verandah,

various sizes to prevent

filled

are widely overhanging, with pro-

the gable-ends and projecting balcony.

of

of

ends showing, in their exterior, massive

timbers roughly hewn, with

clay or plaster.

architecture

is

well

weighted with stones

being blown away by the high

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

58

This feature

winds that often prevail.

is

particularly

common

in the Island of Yezo. Fig. 39 gives a house of this description near Matsushima, in

An

Rikuzen. side of

opening for the egress of smoke occurs on the

the roof, in shape not unlike that of

a round-topped

dormer window.

This opening in almost every instance

on the gable end,

directly beneath the angle

is

found

formed at the peak

of the roof. of this kind,

Another house

shown

in

fig.

40.

seen in the same province,

Here the smoke-outlet

Fig. 40.

— Country

;

in this

the supplementary ridge

of boards

is

of

ridge running at right

a latticed window.

This

roof, is heavily thatched, while

main

A

its

is

ventilator, as well as the is

on the ridge in

Inn in Rikuzen.

the shape of an angular roof, with angles to the main ridge

is

is

and weighted with

stones.

good example of a heavily-tiled and plastered wooden fence In the road a number seen on the left of the sketch. laborers

of stone.

are

shown

in

the

act

of

moving a heavy block

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. Another house, shown in Mororan, in Yezo.

was seen on the road

to

Here the smoke-outlet was in the form

of

fig.

41,

a low supplementary structure on the ridge.

was

flat,

and upon

59

it

grew a luxuriant mass

was unusually large and

of

The ridge lilies.

itself

This roof

capacious.

At the place where the river Kitakami empties into the Bay of Sendai, and where we left our boat in which we had

Fig. 41.

come down the the olden style,

river

—a

— House

near Mokoran, Yezo.

from Morioka, the houses were

number

of

examples of projecting windows. of a house in this place.

these Fig.

to

the gable

ends

support the

of

good

42 represents the front

This shows a large gable-roof, with

broad overhanging eaves in front, projecting

presenting some

all

eaves

— the

ends of the rafters

and the transverse-beams

being equally in sight.

of

The projecting win-

dow, which might perhaps be called a bay, runs nearly the entire

length of the gable.

The panels

in

the frieze were of

60

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

dark wood, and bore perforated designs

of

bamboo

pine and

alternating.

The

larger houses of this description are always inns.

They

usually abut directly upon the road, and have an open appearance

and an

air of

hospitality about

them which

One encounters such

their character.

Japan, that travelling in the interior

at once

indicates

places so frequently in is

rendered a matter of

ease and comfort as compared with similar experiences in neigh-

— Bay-window,

Fig. 42.

boring countries.

The

larger

are of one-story, though

Very rarely does a

Village of Odzuka, Kikuzkn.

number

many may

of these inns in the north

be seen that are two-storied.

three-storied building occur.

sents one of this nature, that

was seen

Fig. 43 repre-

in a small village

north

of Sendai.

Houses

of the

better classes stand back from the road, and

have bordering the road high and oftentimes ponderous ridged walls, with gateways of similar proportions and character, or fences of various kinds with rustic gateways.

Long, low out-

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. buildings, for servants' quarters, also often

boundary wall. to find

form portions

In the denser part of larger cities house, — the

an old

61

it

of the is

rare

de-

vastating conflagrations that so often

sweep

rendering

the

across

survival

the

cities

old

of

houses almost an

impossibility.

In the suburbs of

cities

the country, however,

dred years

is

in

not

houses one hun-

difficult to find

dred, and even

it

and

two

or three hun-

The houses age

old.

as rapidly as the people,

and new

houses very soon turn gray from the weather

;

Fig. 43.

— Three-storied

House

in

Rikuchiu.

the poorer class of

houses in particular appear

much

older than they really are.

In entering Morioka, at the head of navigation on the Kita-

kami River, the long

street presents a

remarkably pretty appearwith

ance,

low

T?

(fig.

-

its

odd

houses

roofed

44), each stand-

ing

with

to the

its

street,

end

— the

peak of the thatched roof overhanging the

smoke -outlet

The

hood.

like a

street

is

bordered by a high, Tig. 44.

— Street

in

the Suburbs of Morioka.

rustic,

bamboo fence

and between the houses are

little

plats filled with bright-colored flowers,

bery clustering within the fences, even sending the footpath bordering the road.

its

and shrubsprays into

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

62

of an independent samurai, or rich farmer,

The country house is

large,

roomy, and thoroughly comfortable.

I recall

with the

keenest pleasure the delightful days enjoyed under the roof of one of these typical mansions in Kabutoyama, in the western

The

part of the province of Musashi.

group of

buildings

shut in from

the

residence consisted of a

road by a high wall.

Passing through a ponderous gateway, one enters a spacious court-yard, flanked on either side by long, low buildings used

mm

Pig. 45.

as store-houses

— Old

Farm-house

in

and servants' quarters.

the yard, and facing the entrance,

was a thatched one

of

Kabutoyama.

At the

farther

was a comfortable

house, having a projecting gable-wing to roof

*

1

its

right

unusual thickness.

(fig.

At

end of

old farm45).

The

the end of

thin blue the wing was a triangular latticed opening, from which few wreaths of smoke were curling. This building contained a

rooms, including an unusually spacious kitchen,

which

is

given farther on.

—a

The kitchen opened

a larger and unfinished portion

of

sketch

directly

of

into

the house, having the earth

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. for

its

me

that

To the

floor,

The owner informed

and used as a wood-shed.

was nearly three hundred years

the farm-house

left of

63

was a high wooden

the building

fence,

old.

and passing

through a gateway one came into a smaller yard and garden. In this area was another house quite independent of the farm-

house

;

this

was the house

surmounted by an elaborate and

sisted of a newly-thatched roof,

picturesque ridge,

—

Its conspicuous feature con-

for guests.

design derived from temple architecture.

its

Within were two large rooms opening upon a narrow verandah. These rooms were unusually high in stud, and the mats and the appointments were most scrupulously clean.

Communication

with the old house was by means of a covered passage. this dwelling,

two

and some distance from

stories in height,

and

was

it,

built in the

dignified

and courtly in

his

A

home.

piled

huge

pile of

up against the L.

tomary

utensils

The sketch

wood

all

;

and

gentleman,

cut for the winter's supply

was

occupation were scattered about.

of this old house gives but a faint idea of the massive

were much

make

fine old

taste

the features of similar areas

of the roof, or of the large size of the tiled

later additions to the structure.

In the city houses of the better class to

another house,

The barred windows below, covered by a narrow

building.

of

Basket-like coops, rakes, and the cus-

of a farmer's

and top-heavy appearance

roof,

—a

Back

manners.

The farm-house yard presented at

still

most perfect

here lived the grandfather of the family,

all

much

care

is

often taken

the surroundings appear as rural as possible, by putting

here and there quaint old wells, primitive and rustic arbors, fences,

and gateways.

The gateways

receive special attention in this

way, and the oddest of entrances are often seen in thickly-settled parts of large cities.

Houses with thatched

roofs,

belonging to the wealthiest classes,

are frequently seen in the suburbs of Tokio as

it

may

and Kioto, and, strange

appear, even within the city proper.

One might be

led

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

64

to suppose that such roofs of a conflagration

;

would quickly

fall

a prey to the sparks

but an old thatched roof gets compacted with

dust and soot to such an extent that plants and weeds of various •

kinds,

and large clumps of mosses, are often seen flourishing in

luxuriance upon such surfaces, offering a good protection against

In Kioto

flying sparks.

we

which was nearly three centuries old

Fig. 46.

— Entrance

of its appearance

and from the

The

first

rear,

;

and since we made sketches

to Court-yard of

from the

we

a house of this description

recall

street,

from

Old House

in Kioto.

just within the gateway,

will describe these views in sequence.

view, then

(fig.

46), is

from the

street,

and represents

a heavily-roofed gateway, with a smaller gateway at the big gates had been removed, and the

nently closed.

little

side.

The

gateway was perma-

This ponderous structure was flanked on one side

by a low stretch

of buildings, plastered

on the outside, having

small barred windows on the street, and a barred look-out com-

manding the gateway both outside and within. side of the

gateway was a high, thick wall,

On

the other

also furnished with a

CITY

window

AND COUNTRY HOUSES.

The outer walls

or lookout.

forming the gutter,

or,

moat that ran along the

roof,

may

rose directly

from the wall

more properly speaking, a diminutive Blocks of worked

side of the street.

stone formed a bridge across this

The

gained to the enclosure.

65

moat, by which access was

old dwelling, with its sharp-ridged

be seen above the buildings just described.

Fig. 47-

Old House

in Kioto.

Coukt-yard View.

Fig. 47 represents the appearance of this old house

within the gateway. sketch tree

now

may

The barred window

the

to

be seen through the open gateway in

which showed over the top in full view.

The

of the

gateway

tiled roof

just

of

the

left

46, and the

fig.

in that sketch

old house has a thatched

remarkably steep pitch, surmounted by a ridge of

from

is

roof with a

tiles

;

a narrow

runs about the house directly below the eaves of the

thatched roof. fire-engine, to be

Suspended below

this roof

ready in case of emergency.

is

seen a ladder and

The truth must be

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

66 told,

however, that these domestic engines are never ready

when they so

are wanted,

it

is

;

for

found that the square cylinders are

warped and cracked by the hot summers that when they are

brought into action their chief accomplishment consists in squirting water through numerous crevices upon the tically

endeavoring to

make

are fran-

these engines do their duty properly.

Old House

Fig. 43.

men who

in Kioto.

Garden View.

The yard was well swept, and quite free from weeds, though at one side a number of shrubs and a banana tree were growing in a luxuriant tangle.

A

single tree, of considerable age, rose directly

in a line with the entrance to the yard.

The

house, like

toward the "lean-to,"

street

all ;

such houses, had

its

uninteresting end

and here, attached to the house, was a

or shed, with

a small circular window.

This was

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. probably a kitchen, as a gateway

is

67

seen in the sketch, which

led to the kitchen-garden.

In Fig. 48 a sketch of this house

The house

the rear.

is

given from the garden in

quite open behind,

is

garden and fish-pond, which

is

and looks out on the

The

seen in the foreground.

tiled

roof which covers the verandah, and the out-buildings as well,

consisted of the mother and rian

Ninagawa

The

to the old house.

was a subsequent addition

maiden

sister of the

The garden, with

Noritani.

its

sole occupants

famous antiquashrubs, plats of

with lotus

flowers, stepping-stones leading to the fish-pond filled

and

lilies,

and the bamboo

garden upon which but In the

cities

a

rustic

of the

little

nothing

to go from the dust

trellis, is

is

care has been bestowed.

more surprising

and turmoil

yard and the

a good specimen of an old

of

felicity

to a foreigner

of a busy street directly into

quiet country

life.

On

one

busy streets of Tokio I had often passed a low shop,

the barred front of which was never opened to

any one present with

there ever to peer

than

between the bars

;

whom

in

deal.

and from the form

boxes on the step-like shelves within,

was a dealer

to

I

knew

One day

old pottery.

I

traffic,

I

nor was

used often

of the

wooden

that the occupant

called

through the

man pushed back the screen me come in by way of a narrow

bars several times, and finally a in the rear of the shop

alley a little

a gate that

gardens

it

is

and bade

way up the street. led me into one of

This I did, and soon came to the neatest and cleanest

possible to imagine.

The man was evidently

getting ready for a tea-party, and, as

is

little

just

customary in winter, the

garden had been liberally strewn with pine-needles, which had then been neatly swept from the few paths and formed in thick

mats around some already accosted

of the

me from

shrubs and trees.

The master had

the verandah, and after bringing the

customary hibachi, over which

I

warmed my hands, and

cake, he brought forth some rare old pottery.

tea and

68

SURROUNDINGS. JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR

-p

1G , 49.

The verandah and a

— House

portion

in Tokio.

of

this

house as

At the end

fig. 49. from the garden are given in partition, made ont is seen a narrow

it

appeared

of the verandah

of the planks of

an old

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. ship of

secured to the side of the house by a huge piece

is

it

;

69

One

bamboo.

how

greatly interested to see

is

curiously,

and

oftentimes artistically, the old worm-eaten and blackened frag-

house,

—

this being

Huge and to a

into

the various parts of a

of the

Japanese house-build or.

worked

of a shipwreck are

ments

an odd fancy

irregular-shaped logs will often form the cross-piece

gateway

rudder-posts fixed in the ground form the sup-

;

port of bronze or pottery vessels to hold water. of a

commending with

This wood

shipwreck are most commonly seen.

and has an antique

rich in color,

appearance, — these

is

always

qualities

and rendering

at once to the Japanese eye,

it

But fragments

it,

associations, an attractive object for their purposes.

its

In the house above mentioned a portion of a vessel's side or bottom had been used bodily for a screen at the end of the

verandah,

which

is

—

beyond was the

for just

latrine,

from the

side of

seen jutting another wing, consisting of a single weather-

This was a screen to

worn plank bordered by a bamboo-post.

Various stepping-stones of

shut out the kitchen-yard beyond. as

shape,

irregular

around the yard with more or

well

blackened planks, were

as

in picturesque disorder.

one of the

less accuracy,

arranged

The sketch conveys,

many

phases of Japanese

taste in these matters.

The wood-work from the to

the planks below,

or varnish of

rafters of the

was undefiled by

this

Fig.

is

shown

in

while outside

;

was as neat and clean

verandah

fig.

wood-filling,

light, yet durable

and inside every

The room bordering

as a cabinet.

125.

50 gives a view from the

in Tokio,

paint,

oil,

The carpentry was

any kind.

and thoroughly constructive feature

verandah roof above,

L

of

a gentleman's house

from which was seen the houses and gardens of the

neighborhood.

The high and

which runs along the bank of brush juts out obliquely

close

of the

fence

borders

Sumida-gawa.

from the

latrine,

A

a roadway short fence

and forms a screen

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

70

between the house and the

little gate.

From

this sketch

some

be formed of the appearance of the balcony and veand how well they are protected by the overhanging

may

idea

randah, roofs.

p IG

The

50.

— View

inns, particularly the

at

in Ijiado, Tokio.

country inns, have a most cosey

One always has the freedom at least a foreigner generally makes himself the entire place home everywhere about the public houses, and in this respect

and comfortable of

from Second Story of Dwelling

air ;

about them.

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. must impress a Japanese with guests

usually keep to

kitchen, with

glow coal

its

his boorish ways, since the native

own

rooms.

The

big,

smoke-blackened rafters overhead,

of wood-fire (a sight rarely seen in the cities,

is

is

its

ruddy

where char-

a most cosey and agreeable region.

Fig. 51.

On

capacious

the principal fuel), and the family busy with their various

domestic duties,

a

their

71

— Old

Inn in Mishima, Suruga.

the ride across Yezo, from Otarunai to Mororan, one passes

number

of inns of the

most ample proportions

;

and their present

deserted appearance contrasts strangely with their former grandeur, of

when

the Daimio of the province, accompanied by

swarms

samurai and other attendants, made his annual pilgrimage to

the capital.

At Mishima, seen

(fig.

51).

in the province of

The second

Suruga, a curious old inn was

story overhung the first story in front.

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

72

At

and the eaves were very widely-projecting.

the sides of the

building a conspicuous feature was the verge boards, which were

very large, with their lower margins cut in curious sweeps.

may have

been

sibly for a it,

intended for

This

an architectural adornment, or pos-

wind or sun screen

;

at all events

it

was, as

associated with buildings of considerable antiquity.

we saw In the

middle and southern provinces of Japan the feature of an over-

hanging second story

Fig. 52.

A

is

by no means uncommon.

— Village

Street

in

Nagaike, Yamashiro.

group of houses in a village street

nearest

house

is

;

the third

is

;

in fig. 52.

the

next

The is

a

and jinrikisha man may replenish

a jinrikisha stand, and beyond this

a light board-structure of some kind. as well.

shown

a resting-place for travellers

candle-shop, where the traveller their lanterns

is

is

All of these are dwellings

This street was in the village of Nagaike, between Nara

and Kioto.

The country houses on the

east coast of

Kagoshima

Gulf, in

the province of Osumi, as well as in the province of Satsuma,

have thatched roofs

of

ponderous proportions, while the walls

supporting them are very low.

These

little

villages along the

CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES. coast

73

present a singular aspect, as one distinguishes only the

high and thick roofs.

Fig. 53

a sketch of Mototaru-midsu as

is

seen from the water,

and

fig.

54

repre-

sents the appearance of a

group of houses

seen in the same

which

vil-

is

on the

road running

along

lage,

Fig. 53.

— Shore

of Osumi.

the gulf coast of Osumi.

The ridge

of the ridge,

covered by a layer of bamboo

is

where

Fig. 54.

uncommon

and the ends

joins the hip of the roof, are

— Farmers'

a stout matting of

New England

it

;

Houses

bamboo and

well-sweep

is

in

Mototaru-midsu, Osumi.

straw.

seen,

guarded by

In this sketch a regular

though

it

object in other parts of Japan.

is

by no means an

Where

the well

is

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

74

under cover, the well-sweep

is

so

arranged that the well-pole

goes through a hole in the roof.

The fishermen's houses are oftentimes nothing more than the roughest shelters from the elements, and being more closed than the

peasants'

houses are consequently darker and

In

dirtier.

the neighborhood of larger towns,

the

fishermen

more their Fig. 55.

— Fishermen's

Huts

in

Hakodate.

of

Fig. 55

class.

shows a group

are

prosperous,

houses

com-

pare favorably with those of

ant

where

of fishermen's huts

the

peas-

on the neck

sand which connects Hakodate with the main island.

The high

stockade fences act as barriers to the winds which blow so furi ously across the bar at certain seasons.

Fig. 56 represents a

fishermen's huts at Enoshima, a famous resort a

Fig. 56.

Yokohama. fortable,

in

the

— Fishermen's

little

few

south of

Houses at Enoshima.

Here the houses are comparatively large and com-

though poor and dirty sketch

are

boat to the shore.

at best.

The huge baskets seen

used to hold and transport

fish

from the

KURA.

75

In the city no outbuildings, such as sheds and barns, are seen.

Accompanying the houses

of

the better class are solid, thick-

walled, fire-proof buildings called kura, in which the goods and chattels are stowed

away

in times of danger

from conflagrations.

These buildings, which are known to the foreigner as " go-downs,"

Fig. 57.

are usually

two

stories

— Kura

in height,

in Tokio.

and have one or two small

windows, and one door, closed by thick and ponderous shutters. Such a building usually stands isolated from the dwelling, and sometimes, though rarely, they are converted into domiciles.

such a character in

is

Of

the group of buildings in Tokio represented

57, belonging

fig.

to a genial antiquary, in

which he has

stored a rare collecold

books,

manuscripts,

paint-

tion

ings,

of

and other an-

tique objects. Fig.

58,

Fig. 58.

Kura, or Fire-proof Buildings

in

Tokio.

copied

from a sketch made by Mr. of these buildings in Tokio.

S.

Koyama,

represents another group

These kura belonged to the famous

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

76

In these buildings were stored

antiquarian Ninagawa Noritani. his treasures of pottery

sions are built

around the kura, and in such cases

An

in the outside apartments.

which

in

fig.

of

Hakodate.

59,

is

it

In case of

example

the-

family live

of this kind is

shown

an old house in a poor quarter of the

The

kura, and around roof.

Often light wooden exten-

and painting.

portion

central is

fire

built

represents

city

the two-storied

an additional shelter having a

tiled

the contents of the outer rooms are hur-

riedly stowed within the fire-proof portion, the door closed,

the crevices chinked with mud.

Fig. 59.

— Old

and

These buildings usually survive

House

in

Hakodate.

in the midst of a wide-spread conflagration, while all the outer

wooden additions

are consumed.

Further reference will be made

to these structures in other portions of the work.

It

may

be

proper to state, however, that nearly every shop has connected

with It

it

a fire-proof building of this nature.

hardly comes within the province of this work to describe or

figure buildings

which are not

reason no reference will be ings so

common

in Tokio,

made

strictly

speaking homes

to the

monotonous rows

which form portions

of the

;

for this of build

boundary-

A STUDY OF ROOFS. wall of the yashiki

;

have been somewhat

and, indeed, had this been desirable, difficult to find

Many

condition, for study.

by

fire

;

77

have been destroyed

of the yashikis

by various Government departments.

Daimio

of

Kaga

is

would

the material, in their original

others have been greatly modified, and are

yashiki of the

it

now

occupied

In Tokio, for example, the

used by the educational depart-

ment, the Mito yashiki for the manufacture of war material, and still

others are used for barracks and other

As one

rides

Government purposes

through the city he often passes these yashikis,

showing from the

street as long

monotonous rows

of buildings,

generally two stories in height, with heavy tiled roofs. of the first story is generally tiled or plastered.

may

wall

be of wood or plaster.

vals with small heavily-barred

This wall

which

are,

what appear

however, of

is

second-story

perforated at inter-

windows or hanging

entrance, composed of stout beams,

thickly studded with

is

The

The wall

bays.

The

closed by ponderous gates

to be massive-headed bolts, but

The buildings

fictitious solidity.

rest

on

stone foundations abutting directly on the street, or interrupted

by a ditch which often assumes the dignity of a castle moat.

These buildings in long stretches formed a portion of the outer walls of the yashikis within which were the separate residences of the

Daimios and

were used by the

officers,

while the buildings just alluded to

soldiers for barracks.

The great elaboration and variety

in the

form and structure

of the house-roof almost merit the dignity of a separate section.

For its

it

is

mainly to the roof that the Japanese house owes

picturesque appearance

;

it

is

the roof which gives to the

houses that novelty and variety which

them

in different parts of the country.

is

The

so noticeable lines of a

among

well-made

thatched roof are something quite remarkable in their proportions.

A

trimming

great deal of taste and skill of

the

eaves;

is

displayed in the proper

and the graceful way

in

which the

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

78

made

eaves of the gable are

and a noticeable feature

attractive

and the admirable way to unite

to join the side eaves is always

in

in

Japanese

architecture,

which a variety of gables are made

with the main roof would excite praise from the most

critical architect.

The

and

elaborate structure of the thatched

the great variety in the

show what might be portions

of

the

and structure

design

clone

tiled roofs,

the

of

by a Japanese architect

house-exterior

received

an

equal

and

ridges

if

other

amount

of

tiled.

In

ingenuity and attention.

Japanese roofs are either shingled, thatched,

or

the country, tiled roofs are the exception, the roofs being almost exclusively thatched, in

— though

in the smaller houses, especially

the larger country villages, the shingled and tiled roofs are

often seen. tiled

yet

;

In the larger towns and

to the poorer houses.

the

the houses are usually

even here shingled roofs are not uncommon, and

though cheaper than the

of

cities

tiled

roofs, are

In the suburbs, and even in the outskirts

common

thatched roofs are

cities,

by no means confined

such

in

:

cases

the

thatched roof indicates either the presence of what was at one

time an old farm-house to which the city has extended, or else

is

it

on account of

its

that go with

life

who

the house of a gentleman

picturesqueness and the

prefers such a roof

suggestions of

rural

it.

The usual form

of the roof is generally that

a

of

hip

or

In the thatched roof, the portion coming directly below

gable.

the ridge-pole

a hip-roof.

is

A

in the

form

curb-roof

is

classes a simple pent roof is

of

a gable, and this blends into

never seen.

common

;

Among

the

poorer

and additions or attach-

ments to the main building are generally covered with a pent roof.

A

light,

narrow, supplementary roof

ing just below the eaves of the main

made

of

wide thin boards

(fig.

60).

is

often seen project-

roof

This roof

;

it

is

is

generally

called hisashi.

SHINGLED ROOFS. It

commonly

shelters

79

from the sun and rain an open portion

of the house or a verandah.

It is either

supported by uprights

from the ground, or by slender brackets which are framed at right angles

main uprights

building

the

to

of the

proper.

Weak and

even

flim-

sy as this structure often appears to be, it

manages

port

Fig. 60.

— Hisashi.

sup-

to

known laws of structure and After a heavy fall of damp snow one may see

in

itself,

gravitation.

violation

of

all

thick accumulations covering these slight roofs, and yet a ride

through the city reveals no evidences of their breaking down.

One sure,

recalls similar structures at

home

yielding under like pres-

and wonders whether gravitation behaves differently in

this land of anomalies.

In the ordinary shingled roof a light boarding to the rafters,

courses.

The

and upon

shingles are always

being about the

They come

throughout.

nailed

first

and are very

split,

thin,

—

of

an ordinary octavo book-cover,

size,

and having the same thickness

thickness

and not much larger in

is

this the shingles are secured in close

in

square bunches

61, A),

(fig.

bunch containing about two hundred and twenty

each

shingles,

and

costing about forty cents.

Bamboo

pins,

resembling attenuated shoe-pegs, are used as

The

shingle-nails.

shingler

takes

and with quick motions works

manner shingler's

as

a

similar

hammer

iron portion

is

is

class

a mouthful

precisely

of

and

workmen do

a curious implement

these

of

in the

(fig.

at

home.

The

61,

B,

The

in the shape of a square block, with its

face nearly on a level with

its

handle.

pegs,

same rapid

C).

roughened

Near the end

of the

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

80

handle, and below,

The

is

inserted an indented strip of brass

shingler in grasping the handle brings the

Fig.

finger

opposite

61.— Bunch

the

of

brass

61,

thumb and

fore-

he takes a peg from

;

b).

Hammer.

of Shingles, Nails, and

strip

(fig.

his

mouth with the same hand with which he holds the hammer, and with the thumb and

the brass strip it

(fig.

62),

he forces

into the shingle by a pushing

By

blow. is

peg against

holding the

forefinger

this

movement

forced half-way

lique

blow

is

down

the peg

an

;

then given

it

ob-

with

the hammer-head, which bends the

protruding

portion

against the shingle,

down head Fig. 62.

— Shingleu's

portion of

bamboo

Hand.

our being:

of

—

separating.

In this

way

is

peg

this broken-

representing shingle-nail.

the

The

tough and fibrous

can easily be broken out

the

down

with-

the shingle held to the roof.

The hammer-handle has marked upon

it

the smaller divisions

SHINGLED ROOFS.

81

may

of a carpenter's measure, so that the courses of shingles

be properly aligned.

The work

one hand the shingle

is

is

done very rapidly,

adjusted, while the other

—

hand

with

for is

busily

driving the pegs.

That the shingles are not always held firmly to the roof by

method

this

gling

of shin-

seen in the

is

fact that oftentimes

long narrow strips of

bamboo

Fig. 63.

nailed

are

— Bamboo

Strips on Shingle-koof.

obliquely across the roof,

from the ridge-pole to the eaves

placed

the

at

Yet even in roof

is

distance

of

spite of this

eighteen

These strips are

(fig. 63).

inches or

two

added precaution, in violent gales the

often rapidly denuded of its shingles, which

at such times like Fig.

autumn

fill

the air

leaves.

A, represents a portion

64,

feet apart.

of

a shingled roof with

courses of shingles partially laid, and a shingler's nail-box held to

the

The box has two compartments,

roof.

compartment holding the bamboo pegs taining iron

nails,

;

— the

larger

and the smaller con-

used for nailing down the boards and for

other purposes.

There are other methods of shingling, in which the courses of

shingles are laid very closely

layers.

some

Remarkable examples of

of the temple roofs,

together, this

and

also

in

many

method may be seen

and particularly

in

in the roofs of certain

temple gateways in Kioto, where layers of the thinnest shingles,

forming a mass a foot or more in thickness, are compactly with the

many

The edges

of

laid,

graceful contours of the roof delicately preserved.

the roof

are beautifully rounded,

squarely and accurately trimmed.

On

and the eaves

seeing one of these roofs

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

82 one

is

remind ad of a thatched

The

rich

also used in a similar

way

intended to imitate.

evidently

hi-no-ki tree is

which

roof,

and durable roof

it

seems

style

this

brown bark

of

the

and a very compact

;

In better shingled house-

appears to make.

it

is

customary to secure a wedge-shaped piece of wood

parallel

to

the eaves, to which the

roofs

of shingles are nailed

(fig.

of shingles is secured

64, B).

But

variety

little

shingled roof.

of

treatment of the ridge

Two narrow

our shingled roofs.

wood

of

A

more thorough way

as is

is

wood

weather-strips of

the ridge answer the purpose of a joint,

of

rows

Shingles partly laid.

and thus a thicker layer

closely,

three or four

other courses of shingles are then laid

— Roof with

Fig. 64.

on very

;

first

is

seen in a

nailed over

customary in

to nail thin strips

a uniform length directly over the ridge and at

right angles to

it.

These

strips are thin

enough

to

bend

readily.

Five or six layers are fastened in this way, and then, more firmly to secure

wood

or

them

bamboo are

to the roof,

two long narrow

nailed near the

parallel to the ridge (fig. 65).

two edges

strips

of

of this mass,

SHINGLED ROOFS. The shingled the

structure in

roof

is

83

the most dangerous element of house-

The

cities.

nothing more than

are

shingles

thick shavings, and

curved

and warped

by the sun are ready to spring into a blaze

by the contact first

of the

spark that

falls

upon them, and then to be sent flying

a high wind

by

to scat-

Fig. G5.

— Bidge

of Shingle-roof in Musashi.

ter the fire for miles.

A very

stringent law should be passed, prohibiting the use of such

material for roofing in cities and large villages.

The usual form

of gutter for

conveying water from the

roof

bamboo

split

consists of a large

lengthwise, with the natural par-

broken

titions

away.

This

is

held to the eaves by iron hooks, or

by long pieces

—

to the rafters,

being

notched,

bamboo bamboo,

their

Fig. 66.

— Water-conductor.

this

bamboo

square

and tapering tunnel

elasticity of the

of

a

been

The upper end is

cut

away

in

such a manner as to leave four long spurs

a

also

likewise

broken through. of

the

which the natural

have

partitions

upper edges

which

in

consisting in

nailed

This leads to a

rests.

conductor,

wood

of

of

thin

;

between these spurs

wood

bamboo holding the tunnel

is

forced,

in place

(fig.

— the 66).

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

84

Attention has so

been drawn, in books of travels,

often

ways

to the infinite variety of

in

which Eastern nations use

the bamboo, that any reference to the subject here would be

wonder-

I can only say that the importance of this

superfluous.

domestic economy has never been exaggerated.

ful plant in their

The more one

the

studies

ethnographical

peculiarities

of the

Japanese, as displayed in their houses, utensils, and countless the more fully

other fabrications,

could more

he persuaded that they

is

many

easily surrender the

and appliances

devices

adopted from European nations, than to abandon the ubiquitous

bamboo.

roof, the

In tiling a

upon

shingled, and of

mud,

The mud

are firmly bedded.

tiles

is

men

lumps by the a

to

man

another

In conveying

layer.

still

roof, is

Into this the

The material

is

tossed, one after

the roof, or,

who

the roof be

if

The mud

higher staging.

then spread over tiles

it

in a thick

are then bedded,

row

There seems to be no special adhesion of the

this substratum of

worked

on a staging or ladder,

man on

on a

having been got to the

and even

mud many of

getting the

and these are

stands

to the

it

used.

is

laborer,

man who

in turn pitches

got from

also

is

is

kneaded and worked with hoe and spade

mass to the roof no hod

another, to

after

tiles

to

mud, and high gales often cause great havoc

to a roof of this nature. it

then spread a thick layer

is

acquires the consistency of thick dough.

into large

row.

roughly and thinly

from the deep gutters which border

This

the streets.

high,

first

some ditch or moat, and

ior this purpose

this

is

In the city one often sees

the canals.

it

surface

this

which the

into

scooped up from

till

boarded roof

In the case of a conflagration,

becomes necessary to tear down buildings in

its

path,

firemen appear to have no difficulty in shovelling the

a roof with ease and rapidity.

when

tiles

the off

85

TILED ROOFS. The

ridge-pole

often

an imposing combination of

presents

and plaster piled up in square ridges and

tiles

in

many

orna-

In a hip-roof the four ridges are also made thick

mental ways.

and ponderous by successive layers forming great square

of tiles being built up,

and

In large fire-proof buildings the

ribs.

be carried up to a height of three or four feet. In such ridges white plaster is freely used, not only as a cement, designs but as a medium in which the artist works out various

may

ridge

in

One

hick-relief.

of

the most favorite

that of dashing and foaming waves.

Fig. 67.

skill

is

which

— Ridge

A

subjects selected

is

great deal of art and

of Tiled Roof.

often displayed in the working out of this design, is

conventional, though

generally very

freedom of expression

is

shown

in the work.

at

times great

It certainly

seems

an extraordinary design for the crest of a roof, though giving a very light and buoyant appearance to what would otherwise

appear top-heavy. ance of this of

this

from at

fire;

is

a very poor sketch of the appear-

kind of a ridge.

design,

stition led to

Fig. 67

it

From

would seem as

if

the

common

occurrence

some sentiment or super-

using this watery subject as suggesting a protection

whether

this

be so or not, one

may

often notice

the end of the ridge in the thatched roofs in the country

JAPANESE HOMES AXD THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

86

the Chinese character for water deeply cut in the straw and

blackened

(fig.

82),

— and

was

this custom, I

told, originated in

a superstition that the character for water afforded a protection against

fire.

Jl^7

sz^x

— Ornamental

Fig. 68.

ihL

Coping of Tiles.

JilLMi "''' (711

ill,,

'm'-ii

i

'Ipu

it.

rr^i m

'

U)

'>

1

mu

tiled ridges

tiles specially

that run

!„

)'»

L

I u,;hni,M

to

„,,

lt

i,f

Iwaki

exceeding

beauty.

In some cases veritable ridge-poles, with their ends freely pro-

jecting beyond the gable

and wrought

gentle are

upward

seen

in a

curve,

(fig.

39).

This treatment of the

FlG

79

.

.

free ends of

beams

ridge-poles,

gateways, and other structures, notably in certain

forms of

and

tori-i} is

effective

in

a

common

feature in Japanese architecture,

and buoyant appearance to what might otherwise appear heavy and commonplace. At Fujita, in Iwaki, and other places in that region, a roof is often seen which shows the end of a round ridge-pole is

1

A

in giving a light

structure of stone or wood, not unlike the

in front of shrines

and temples.

naked frame-work of a gate, erected

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

94

projecting through the thatch

point a

wood

spur of

flat

which projects two

and at this

;

springs up from the ridge, to which

made

attached, at right angles, a structure black,

gable-peak

the

at

of

plank and painted

more beyond the

feet or

is

This

gable.

appears to be a survival of an exterior ridge-pole, and

retained

is

from custom.

Its appear-

ance, however,

decid-

is

edly flimsy and insecure,

and from of

at

Tiled Ridge of Thatched Roof

in

its

weak mode

attachment

mercy

the

high gale

(fig.

it

must be

of

every

79).

After

Iwaki.

getting south of Sendai, ridges composed of tile are often to be seen,

common

as

kind of

ridge

tiles,

The construction

one approaches Tokio. very simple

is

— becoming

and

more

of

this

semi-cylindrical

effective;

or the wider forms of hon-gawara, are used for the crest,

and these

turn cap a row of similar

in

side of the

ridge

a layer

clay

mud

of

80).

The

tiles

placed on either

appear to be bedded in

or

chopped

and

straw, which

piled

(fig.

tiles

first

is

on to the

thatched

ridge.

In

some cases a large

bamboo

holds

lower row of place

the

tiles in

(fig. 81).

Fig. 81

Tiled Ridge of Thatched Roof in Musashi.

What

other means there

They must be

'/y/s

are of holding

fairly secure,

the

however, as

tiles it

is

I

did

not learn.

rare to see

them

displaced, even in old roofs.

A

very neat and durable ridge

and neighboring provinces.

(fig.

82)

This ridge

is is

common

in

Musashi

widely rounded.

It

THATCHED ROOFS. is

95

covered with a layer of small bamboos

first

then narrow

;

bands of bamboo or bark are bent over the ridge at short

and these are kept

intervals,

or entire bamboos,

place

in

by long bamboo-strips

which run at intervals

parallel to the ridge.

These are firmly bound down to the thatch. outer bamboos

these

form a continuous

In some cases

The ends

layer.

the ridge, showing a mass of projecting thatch

abruptly

cut

vertically,

and

the

free

of

border

in section, are is

rounded

in

a bead-like moulding and closely bound by bamboo, appearing

edge of a thick basket.

the

like

This finish

is

done in the

iw-"'" t&y//

w/"? .

7/>

Fig. 82.

— Bamboo-ridge

of Thatched Roof in Musasiii.

most thorough and workman-like manner. cate end

water

for

of is

this

It is

upon the trun-

kind of a ridge that the Chinese character

often

seen,

allusion

to

which has already been

made.

When

there

is

no window at the end of the roof for the

egress of smoke, the roof comes under the class

of

hip-roofs.

In the northern provinces the opening for the smoke in various

to

figs.

may

ways upon the ridge or

side of the roof.

By

is

built

referring

39, 40, 41, various methods of providing for this

window

be seen.

Smoke-outlets do occur at the ends of the roof in the north, as

may

be seen by referring to

for the outlet of

smoke

is

fig.

44.

The triangular opening

a characteristic feature of the thatched

96

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS. roofs south of To-

kio

on some of

;

them a great

deal

and

skill

bestowed

by

of study is

the architect and

Some-

builder.

times an additional

gable

with

seen,

is

triangu-

its

window

lar

(fig.

This sketch

83).

represents the roof of a gentle-

man's house near

and

Tokio,

is

a

most beautiful ex-

ample

of the best

form

of thatched

roof

in

Musashi.

Another

grand

old roof of a dif-

type

ferent

shown

in

Where

fig.

these

is

84. tri-

angular windows occur the opening is

protected by a of

lattice

The

wood.

roof partakes

of the double na-

ture

of

a

gable

and hip roof combined,

— the win-

THATCHED ROOFS. dow being

in the gable part,

97

from the base of which runs the

slope of the hip-roof.

Great attention

ming

the

the thatch at

of

By

gable.

given to the proper and symmetrical trim-

is

referring to

of the clever

way

in

at

the edges of

83 and 84 some idea

figs.

which

eaves and

this is

managed.

may

the

be got

Oftentimes, at the

peak of the gable, a cone-like enlargement with a circular depression

curiously shaped out of the thatch

is

deal of skill

is

shown

also

(fig.

A

84).

good

in bringing the thick edges of the

m Fig. 84.

eaves,

An

which are on different

example of

this

In Musashi a not there

beam

— Thatched

is

together in graceful curves.

may be seen in fig. uncommon form of ridge

an external ridge-pole wrought

of a

tori-i.

the letter X,

— the

S.

is

seen, in

which

upper transverse

like the

;

resting transversely

number

of

wooden

upon

it,

and at

structures shaped like

lower ends of these pieces resting on the

This sketch was made from a photograph taken

W.

39.

This beam has a vertical thickness of twice

short intervals, are a

1

levels,

kind

or three times its width

of Dr.

Roof, near Tokio.

1

Bigelow, by Percival Lowell, Esq. 7

for this

work, at the suggestion

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

98

slopes of the roof, the upper ends projecting above the ridgepole.

at this point

The ridge

parallel

is

matted with bark

;

and running

with the ridge a few bamboos are fastened, upon which

these cross-beams rest, and to which they are secured

Modifications of this form of ridge occur in a

45).

(fig.

number

of south-

ern provinces, and ridges very similar to this I saw in Saigon and

Cholon, in

Anam.

Ise, said to

The

curious Shin-to temple, at Kamijiyama, in

be modelled after very ancient types of roof, has

the end-rafters of the gable continuing through the

n\\ \ X

w^

X

^

xx

-

roof

and

^

A

,,

lattice-work as well.

In

fig.

circular

121 the large

window next

the tokonoma had a

bam-

lattice-work of

boo arranged exceedingly

an

in

graceful

design.

Great attention

is

devoted to the win-

dow which comes the

recess

writing

The

used for

purposes.

frame

of

window may lacquered,

in

and

this

be the

Fig. 154.

Window.

lattice-work and shoji are often marvels of the cabinet-maker's art.

Windows

of curi-

ous construction are often placed in some passage-way or space

PORTABLE SCREENS.

177

at the end of the verandah leading to the lavatory,

The accompanying

exists.

figure

from the outside

this nature, seen

154) shows a

(fig.

when one window of

the bars were of iron, and

;

below the opening the wood-finish consisted of alternate panels

and

of cedar-bark

light wood.

There are hundreds of forms of these windows, or mado, as

The few

they are called.

some idea

to give one

of these openings.

which allusion has been made serve

to

of the almost entirely

worthy

It is

ornamental character

of note that each

form has

appropriate name, and books are specially prepared, giving

windows and

designs of

their

modes

its

many

of construction.

In the chapter on Gardens a few descriptions and sketches are

given of other forms of windows belonging to summer-houses.

The open character

Japanese house has caused the

the

of

development of a variety of forms of portable screens, bamboo shades, curtains, and the of

The

known

a number of

A

and

this

may

biyo-bu, or

panels

or

narrow border

wrought metal

strip

of

receive

separate

of

picture

screen.

portions of

efforts.

upon

continuous landscape the

Many

on both sides with

The end

folds

it

or of

Each

its

or,

;

as

fold is

have the

frame decorated with

its

inner

runs

or

most

a

border

edge a narrow

within this comes the panel

artist's

too well

wood forms an outer frame,

varying width, and on ;

have

These consist

allusion.

Just within the frame

pieces.

brocade the

of

screens, are

covered

be plain or lacquered.

corners as well as other

of brocade

folds

artistic talent

of

folding

more than a passing

to require

stout paper.

upon which much ingenuity

amount

construction and an infinite

been expended.

of

like,

panel

or

portion

may have

to

a

usually the case, a

composition covers the entire side of the

great

artists

of

Japan have em-

bodied some of their best works on screens of this kind, and the prices at which some of these are held are fabulous. 12

178

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

The

rich

and heavily-gilded screens now

marvels of decorative painting.

may have

a broad landscape, the back

surface, or

I

may

of the screen

be simply a plain gold

have some sketchy touches of bamboo, pine,

Fig. 155,

black.

so rare to obtain are

While the front

— Biyo-bu,

have been told that the gold-leaf was so thick on many

of destroying

richest

devised.

in

ok Folding Screen.

of the old screens, that the sacrilege has often been

The

etc.,

them

six-panelled object

of

committed

for the gold contained on their surfaces.

gold-screen

is,

household use for

There certainly

is

beyond

all

decorative

question,

purposes

no other device in which so

decorative arts are called into play.

The

the

ever

many

rich lacquered frame,

PORTABLE SCREENS.

179

the wrought metallic mountings, the border of gold

nearly

screen

a six-fold

of

sides

is

an

decorated,

and

height

in

feet

five

brush

for the artist's

and the great expanse

area

with which

gives a

permits

display

to

it

We

screens

One

which came

one figured scene

ter

(fig.

Its adjustable nature

to the light.

now,

refer

of

gold-

old

in sets of two.

may The

particularly fortunate.

155) has depicted upon

it

a win-

by Kano Tsunenobu, and

painted

nearly one hundred and seventy years old

companion

mer

by the same

sides are painted

bamboo and

the

enclosed

are

A

long,

in

Fig.

pine.

with

may have two

as in this case.

the

a sum-

the

reverse

with bright and vigorous touches

of the screen-frame

screens

On

artist.

;

is

it

upon

of this has represented

scene,

dead

rich,

the reflections, and

softens

possessing a set of these screens

consider himself

length)

painting

its

genuine

the

to

gilded

is

warm, radiant tone

in every light. course,

it

in

The

both

obtained

is

feet

give great variety for richness of adornment. gold-leaf

when

(for

twenty-four

brocade,

its

156 shows one corner

metal mounting.

folds, or three, or

set of screens

silk

bags, and

narrow wooden box

(fig.

These

even

when not

six,

in use

then placed in a

wrought

157).

me-

tallic motjnt-

This box, like

ing of Screen

1

other articles of household use, such as bureaus and

Frame

.

chests of drawers, has long hanging iron handles,

which when turned upwards top,

project

above the level of the

forming convenient loops through which a stick

passed,

— and

thus in case of

fire

may

may

be

be easily transported upon

the shoulders of men.

When

the

screen

is

unfolded

and

placed

various devices are provided to prevent the end

on

the

floor,

panels being

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

180

swayed by the wind.

some metal of pottery

figure

made

may

These devices

be in the shape of

which acts as a check, or a heavy weight

shown

in the shape

in fig. 158, the .end of the

screen fitting into the slot in the weight.

Fig. 157.

On

certain

festival

— Screen-box.

days,

it

is

customary

for

the

people

bordering the wider thoroughfares to throw open their houses

and display

their screens

;

and

in Kioto, at such times, one

walk along the

streets

hold a wonderful

may

and

be-

exhibition

of

these beautiful objects.

A and seen, Fig. 158.

— Foot-weight

for Screen.

screen

peculiar

probably farther in

which

and bamboo

panels

to

Kioto,

south,

is

rush

of

split in delicate

bars

are inserted in each leaf of the screen. of

Such a screen when spread admits a certain amount

light as well as air,

A

low screen of two

and may be used folds, called a

in

summer.

furosaki biyo-bu

is

placed

PORTABLE SCREENS. front of the faro, or fire-vessel, used

in

The purpose

tea.

and

prevent

Sometimes

made

are

of this

the

for boiling water for

screen the furo from the wind

to

from being

ashes

these

is

181

blown

about

the

room.

screens

form

in a rigid

wood, with the wings

of

at right angles, the panels

being of rush

;

and

in the

corner of the screen a shelf

tle

which the

is

lit-

upon

fixed,

tea-utensils

may

Such an one

be placed. here figured

(fig.

159)

;

Fig. 159.

— Purosaki Btto-btt.

is

are

there

many

designs for this kind

of screen.

In the old-fashioned genka, or hall-way, there stands a solid screen of

wood with heavy frame, supported by two transverse

This

feet.

screen

is

called

a

tsui-tate,

and

article

belonging

furniture hall.

an

is

It

of

the

to

often richly dec-

is

orated with gold lacquer, and is

usually

much

lower

height

than

screen.

In old Japanese pic-

ordinary

the

ture-books this form represented. Pig. 160.

— Model of Tsui-tate in Pottery.

and these are

made

rubbed.

In another form of

uprights placed in such a

paper or a panel vertical position

often

(fig.

160)

in pottery or porce-

for the purpose of standing in front of the

ink-stone to prevent the mats from being spattered is

is

Diminutive mo-

dels of the tsui-tate

are lain,

in

may

way

tsui-tate

a stand

is

when the ink made having

that a screen covered with stout

be placed upon the stand and held in a

by these uprights, as shown in

fig.

161.

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

182

When

the shoji are

open to the light and

removed, and the room thrown wide

air,

curtains composed of strips of

bam-

these are generally

hung

boo or rush are used as sun-screens

up

just

or

may

rolled

;

below the edge of the supplementary roof or hisashi, suspended just

be

up and

or dropped

tied,

the

outside to

They can be

room.

any desired length.

These

A

— Tsui-tate.

Fig. 161.

curtains

may

designs

of

Fig. 162.

— Bamboo

be either plain or have traced upon them delicate

vines

or

gourds,

or

conventional

to

carry out a zigzag

162 (A), or

fig.

or

case

the

shade of the room

back-ground to bring out

the ;

if

in

fig.

162 (B).

In

within gives the necessary

design

These devices are called nor en

shown

bamboo may have square

notches cut out from their lower edges as in this

bamboo being

other design, as

else the thin strips of

These

patterns.

designs are produced either by the joints on the adjusted

Curtains.

shown

as

made

of

in

fig.

163.

bamboo, they are

called sudare.

In illustrated books there such as stand,

is

shown

in

fig.

is

164.

often

seen

figured

a

screen

This consists of a lacquered

from which spring two upright

rods,

which

in turn sup-

PORTABLE SCREENS. transverse

port a

bar not unlike some forms of towel-racks

dependent from this

sweep the

to

floor.

18i

is

I

a curtain of cloth, which

have never seen this

is

long enough

object,

though

it

probably in use in the houses of

is

the Daimios.

Fig. 163.

A

Fig. 164.

Bamboo Curtain.

screen or curtain

is

often seen in

— Curtain-screen.

doorways and passage-

ways, consisting of a fringe of cords, upon

which have been strung tions of vals.

inter-

bamboo, with black seeds at

A

curtains

like beads short sec-

portion is

one of

of

illustrated

in

fig.

these

fringed

165.

Such a

curtain has the advantage not only of being

a good screen,

through

it,

of lifting

but

the

inmates

may

pass

so to speak, without the necessity

it.

There are

many forms

of this

curtain to be seen, and at present the Jap-

anese are exporting a variety of delicate ones

made

of glass beads

and sections

of rushes.

Cloth curtains are used at the entrance to FlG 1 '

to^!*

W>

the kitchen, and also to screen closet-like reThe cloth is cut at intervals, leaving cesses.

184

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

a series of long

flaps.

This curtain

is

not readily swayed by

the wind, and can easily be passed through as one enters the

.room

(fig.

166).

In front of the Japanese shop one

a similar form of curtain

at intervals, so that

slit

it

may may

see

not

be affected by ordinary winds.

There are doubtless many other forms of screens and curtains not here enumerated, but most of those described present the

common forms

usually observed.

;

Eig.

1(56.

I

|f§f

— Slashed

Curtain.

CHAPTER INTEKIOKS

TV.

(Continued).

— Floors. — Closets. — Stairways. — Public Bathing. — Bathing Con — Towel-racks. — Bedding and Pillows. — Hlbachi and Tabako-bon. — Candles and Candlesticks. — Lamps and Lanterns. — Household Shrines.— Houses. — Privies. Birds' Nests

Kitchen.

veniences.

in

" I

^HE

kitchen, as an apartment, varies quite as

as

that

is

it

does in our country, and varies

much

Japan

in

same way

in the

to say, in the country, in houses of the better

ooth in Japan and the United States, the kitchen

;

class,

large and

is

oftentimes spacious, well lighted and airy, in which not only the preparation of food and the washing of dishes go on, but in

which

city

also the

house in both countries

ill-lighted,

The kitchen

meals are served. is

of the

oftentimes a dark narrow room,

and altogether devoid

of comfort for the cook.

this class of houses the kitchen is the least defined of

rooms

;

it

Among Japanese

lacks that tidiness and definition so characteristic of

the other rooms. roof,

common

rarely,

if

It is often

ever,

a narrow porch or shed with pent

possessing

a

ceiling

;

its

exposed

raft-

ers are

blackened by the smoke, which finds egress through a

scuttle,

through which often comes the only light that illumi-

nates the dim

comes on that

interior.

side of the

In the city house the kitchen often

house next the

street, for the reason

that the garden being in the rear of the house the best rooms face that area

;

being on the street too, the kitchen

ent for the vender of fish and vegetables, and for traffic,

which too often with us

all

is

conveni-

the kitchen

results in the strewing of our

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

186 little

grass-plots

with the wrapping paper of the butcher's bun-

and other pleasing reminiscences

dles

country the kitchen

is

of the day's dinner.

In the

generally at the end of the house usually

opening into some porch-like expansion, where the tubs, buckets,

and the winter's supply

etc.,

Fig. 167.

— Kitchen

of

wood

in old

finds convenient storage.

Farmhouse at Kabutoyama.

In public inns and large country houses, and also in of the larger city tea-houses, the

customary raised

by a narrow area, which has for

its floor

and

this area

many

floor is divided

the hard trodden earth

forms an avenue from the road to the heart of

the house, and even through the house to the garden beyond.

This enables one to pass to the

necessity

of

the

centre of

removing one's shoes.

bring the guest's baggage and deposit

it

the house without

Porters directly

and servants

upon the mats

KITCHEN. and

in

more privacy

inns

the

is

187

secured by the kago being

brought to the centre of the house, where the visitor may alight A plank or at the threshold of the very room he is to occupy. other adjustable platform

occupants

may go from

is

used to bridge this avenue, so that

one portion of the house to another in

their bare or stockinged feet.

common room, and thoroughfare. In the common

If this area is in a public inn, the office,

kitchen border one side of this

room the baby-tending, sewing, and the various duties of the

family go on under heavily-raftered

the

thatched

and

roof,

which blackened by the smoke from the

kitchen

and

fire,

fes-

tooned with equally cobwebs,

blackened

Fig. 168.

— Kitchen

Range.

presents a weird ap-

when lighted up by the ruddy glow from the hearth. speak now of the northern country houses, particularly where

pearance

We the

fireplace, as

floor.

in the

Aino house,

In country houses of the better

and roomy

the

;

under the same

well roof.

is

is

is

the middle of the

in

class the kitchen

An

enormous quantity and

;

if

of

dishes,

is

is

is

used

outside,

bamboo spout conveys the

always wet and sloppy

and nearly every utensil and

come under

water

the well

water into a big water-tank within the kitchen. it

large

arranged beside the well, into which the water

poured, and from this trough a

of the well

is

always conveniently near, and often

in the kitchen of a Japanese house

then a trough

is

this deluge of water.

;

In the vicinity

the vegetables,

article

of food

rice,

seem

to

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

188

167 (page 186) gives a sketch of an old kitchen at

Fig.

Kabutoyama

in the western part

This kitchen

is

of

province

the

of

nearly three hundred years old, and.

a kitchen of

a wealthy and

The great wooden curbed well

is

the type

independent Japanese farmer.

is

seen in front, with a pulley

Near by

above in which the rope runs.

Musashi.

of

from which

a trough

is

a bamboo spout leads to some trough in another portion of the house.

The kamado,

beyond

is

or cooking- range,

is

seen to the

Directly beyond

a room partly closed by fusuma.

may

the well two girls

be seen in the act of preparing dinner,

on

which

consists in arranging the dishes

trays,

which are to be carried in when dinner

range are

the

little

used as braziers.

portable

The

and

left,

made

affairs

raised floor

kitchens invariably have wooden

is

is

of

composed

floors,

raised lacquered

little

ready.

Near and

stone

soft

of broad planks

;

which are oftentimes very

smooth and polished.

The usual form this is

made

of

of kitchen range

broken

and

tiles

mud

is

represented in

front

;

and

this structure rests

168

or clay compacted together

and neatly plastered and blackened on the range there are two recesses for

fig.

fire,

In this

outside.

which open

directly

in

upon a stout wooden frame having

a place for ashes in front, and a space beneath in which the

wood and charcoal the same form, little

is

Sometimes

are kept.

made

of copper

;

retaining

this range,

within this water

is

kept,

and

openings permit the wine-bottle to be immersed in order

to heat

it,

as the sake

drunk hot without the admixture

is

of

hot water.

In another kitchen in a house in Imado, Tokio, a hood of

was arranged

sheet-iron ing.

In

This fig.

is

to

convey the smoke outside the build-

probably a modern device

170 a sketch

is

stoves.

I

169).

given of a kitchen in Tokio in which

the range was a c'osed affair

end as in our

(fig.

was

made told

of stone,

with a funnel at the

by the owner

of this

house that

KITCHEN.

Fig. 169.

this

— Kitchen

189

Range, with Smoke-conductor.

kind of a stove had been in use in his family for three

generations, at least.

In this kitchen an area level with the

190

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

ground

seen, in

is

which stands the sink containing an inverted

Beside the sink stands a huge water-jar, with water-

rice-kettle.

bucket and water-dipper conveniently near

which are numerous buckets and the usual

bamboo rack

and below

it is

tubs.

for skewers,

On

;

above

— Kitchen

wooden spoons,

in City

ashes for the

spatulas, etc.,

to be

made.

On

fishes'

little

bits of

and near by

The customary

stands near the stove.

On

a bam-

heads from

a post near the

hangs a coarse wire sieve with which

frugally saved, ders.

is

upon

House.

boo pole a few towels hang, and also two large

which a thin soup

shelf

one of the posts hangs

a case for the meat and fish knives.

Fig. 170.

of the stove

is .a

mouth

to sift the

unburnt charcoal, which are always is

a covered vessel to hold these cin-

stone brazier for heating water for the tea

191

KITCHEN. Fig. 171 represents called a shichirin.

is

more

clearly the

It is a

form

of this brazier,

which

convenient and economical device

the cooking of small messes or for boiling water, charcoal

for

Instead of bellows, a fan

being used for the purpose. kindling or quickening a

fire.

A

short

bamboo tube

used for

is

also used

is

through which the cook's lungs act as a bellows in performing

a

like service.

Fig.

172 gives a

clearer

view of the

bamboo rack and the below,

knife-case which

with

almost

every kitchen

Often in pub-

plied. lic

sup-

is

inns the kitchen

opens on the

street,

may

where the cook

be seen conspicuous-

In our

ly at work.

country

chop-

the

houses oftentimes have the

grilling

and

stewing ostentatiously displayed

same way, petizing

in

the

an ap-

as

inducement

to attract guests. Fig. 174

Eig. 171.

— Braziers.

gives a

view of a common arrangement for the kitchen in the north of Japan, is in

fire

and

in the country everywhere.

the centre of the room.

by a chain, and other

heated.

A

kettle

is

Here the

fireplace

suspended over the

kettles are huddled

Overhead a rack hangs, from which

around fish

it

to be

and meat

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

192 are

suspended,

fire

is

straw

and thus the smoke which ascends from the Sometimes a large cushion of

utilized in curing them. is

suspended above the smoke, and

little

fish

skewered

with pointed sticks are thrust into this bunch of straw like pins in a pin-cushion.

In

fig.

175 a more elab-

orate affair

shown from

is

which to suspend the This

kettle.

tea-

a complex

is

mechanism with a curious so that

joint,

be

lowered

or

hoisted

may

it

at

will.

In the hut of the peasant

a simple affair

made out

173)

seen

is

(fig.

bamboo,

of

which answers the same This

purpose. ji-zai,

means "

which

fig.

box

is

175 a square copper noticed, having

is filled

with water, which

becomes heated by the is

two

This box

round openings.

and

at

In the front

one's will." of

called a

is

fire,

for the purpose of

warming the The tongs

sake, or wine.

are stuck into Fig. 173.

Fig. 172. — Bamboo

Rack and the

Knife-case.

chop-sticks

ashes

in

— Ji-zai.

one corner. of

iron

held together at one end by a large ring, so

that

These consist of

one leg of the tongs, so to speak, inconsiderable skill

is

may

a

long

pair

not get misplaced.

No

required to pick up hot coals with this

FLOORS.

193

kitchen implement, as in unaccustomed or

awkward hands

the

ring prevents the points from coming together. It

may

be proper to mention here an arrangement for holding

a pot over the

and which

River,

though

I

an upright

seen in a boat coming

fire,

is

probably used

have never seen

it

the

in

in

down

the Kitakami

north of Japan,

the

house.

It

consisted

having a groove through the centre.

stick

of

In this

groove fitted a jointed stick resting horizon-

and arranged

tally,

in

such a

way

that

it

could be adjusted

at

any height.

Fig.

176 (page 195) will

manner

illustrate the

of

working

its

ter than

bet-

any descrip-

tion can.

The

floor of

most

rooms, being permanently covered with the mats already described

in

previous

chapters, has

no

spe-

be-

attention

cial

stowed upon all events,

it

;

the floor

at is Fig.

Hi.

— Fikeplace

en

Country House.

often of rough boards laid

in such a

When

way

that irregular spaces occur between them.

the house has a proper hall or vestibule, the floor

posed of

wide planks;

and

the

smooth,

ivory-like,

condition in which such floors are often kept 13

is

is

com-

polished

surprising.

In

194

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

country houses in portions

of

it

is

not unusual to

the front rooms, and

polished-wood floors

see

as

one rides along the

/>"/,

//'///fSf

.^ Fig. 175.

road he

may

their polished

The best Fireplace.

often see the reflection of the garden beyond in surfaces.

In country inns the

floor in the front

FLOORS. of

the house

is

often of

plank.

195

Matted

floors

are,

however,

universal from the extreme north to the extreme south of the

Empire. In houses of

traders bordering the street the matted floor

properly terminates a few feet within the

Fig. 176.

being of earth.

— An

the space between

Adjustable Device for supporting a Kettle.

The

floor

being raised, the space between the

edge of the floor and the earth of

sill,

is

generally filled with plain panels

wood, though sometimes designs of flowers or conventional

figures are cut in the panel.

These panels are often arranged

so that they can be removed, revealing a space in

which

One becomes

shoes, umbrellas, etc., can be stowed

of the surprising features that strike

acquainted

with

the

under the

floor

away.

a foreigner as he

Japanese house

is

the

entire

196

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

absence of so

many things

that with us clutter the closets, or

squirrel-nests of the attic,

The reason

of this

—

I speak

now

common

of the

make house.

that the people have never developed the

is

miserly spirit of hoarding truck and rubbish with the idea that

some day

it

may come

into use

this spirit

:

when developed

into

a mania converts a man's attic and shed into a junk-

The few necessary

shop.

anese are stowed

articles

away

kept by the Japcupboards, or

in boxes,

interspaces beneath the floors.

The kitchens floors, all

in

every

case

have

wood

as do the halls, verandahs,

passage-ways.

neath the of the

floor

and

The ground

be-

in the houses

is,

better class, prepared

with gravel

and mortar

mixed with

clay,

or

macadamized.

A

variety of closets

is

found

m

Fig. 177-

— Kitchen

The

the Japanese house. or

Closet, Drawers, Cupboard, and Stairs combined.

larger closets, closed by sliding screens,

fusuma, are used for clothing and bedding.

chest of drawers not unlike our bureau

the closet, which

The ordinary high

is

also

closet

—

is

The tansu

often placed within

a receptacle for chests is

—a

and trunks.

not so often seen; and where in our

CL OSETS.

deemed a necessity

houses

it

with a

closet, in the

is

open

have each chamber provided

to

There are low cupboards or

In the kitchen, dressers and similar conveniences

shelf.

Omi

In the province of

are used for the dishes.

to see a case of shelves with cupboard beneath;

combined with the

flight of stairs

bed-clothes,

pillows,

upon the shelves

a closet

also,

or

geta,

wooden

often

is

In this closet are often

and night-lamps.

candle-sticks,

Fig. 177 illustrates the appearance of this closet.

way,

common

is

a closet; and this closet usu-

a door swinging on hinges.

kept the

it

In the kitchen there

the larger dishes are displayed.

ally has

closets in cer-

upper part or top of which forms a deep

the

recesses,

197

Japanese house bed-chambers rarely contain

such conveniences. tain

— STAIR WA YS.

In the

hall-

sometimes seen in which to stow away the

is

A

clogs.

closet

of

nature

this

is

described

farther on.

As most

of the houses are of one story,

and the area between

the ceiling and the roof never utilized, as with us, stairways arc

not

common

when they do occur they

;

A

construction.

are primitive in their

stairway incorporated into the structure of a

nor

building and closed below I have never seen in Japan;

is

there any approach to the broad, low steps and landings or spiral staircases If

such as

we

are familiar with in

American houses.

the house be of two stories the staircase assumes the form of

a rather precipitous step-ladder strings, in

which the

This ladder

tised.

is

;

that

is, it

has two side-pieces, or

steps, consisting of thick plank, are

so steeply inclined that

mor-

one has to step

sideways in ascending, otherwise his knee would strike the step above.

Rarely

is

there any convenience to hold on by

:

if

present,

however, this consists of a strip of wood fastened to the wall, or a rope

open,

is

— that

The

secured in the same way. is,

there

is

no

riser; but

face an open room, then slats of

wood

if

arc

front of the step

is

the back of the steps

muled on behind.

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

198

In a beautiful house recently erected in one of the imperial gardens

a remarkably

is

and simple

pure

and

staircase

rail

178).

(fig.

In the inns and large farm-houses the step-ladder form often seen, and this

other kind,

common

is

removable

to the

same

occasion calls for

if

class of houses,

is

An-

it.

has the appear-

ance of a number of square boxes piled one upon another, like a set of different-sized blocks.

This

a compact structure,

is

however, though in reality consisting

a

of

number

of

may be There are many

compartments which separated.

forms of this kind of

The one shown

case.

177 has the closed

;

first

then

two

stair-

in

fig.

steps

comes a low

cupboard with sliding doors at the side, its Fig.

forming another

Stair-kail.

178.

upper corner step.

Upon

the cupboard rest three more steps,

each of which has a drawer which pulls out at the

Next

to this

three

more

comes a high steps.

closet,

side.

supporting on Us top two or

This closet usually has a swinging door,

a feature rarely seen elsewhere within the Japanese house proper.

This closet contains on candlesticks,

or

it

may be solid.

the night-lamp, or andon, and

used for trays and dishes.

It

may

The

have no baluster or

with a surface like polished ivory.

wood

steps are not so steep rail,

and are remark-

be well to say here that the wood compos-

ing the staircase, as well as certain floors,

the

tall

and above are stowed away the bedding and pillows

as in the ladder form,

ably

its floor

for evidences of

wax

I

is

highly finished, often

have frequently examined

or polish applied to

its

surface,

STAIR WA YS. — P UBLIC BA THING.

Inquiry brought out the curious information

but found none.

that the water from the bath

with which the

wood

is

wiped

had much

tions of the skin

When

attained.

often used to moisten the cloth

is

and evidently the sebaceous

;

are

a house possesses a genka, or

somewhat higher than our

the steps, two

hall,

and generally the

These steps are

steps.

every case permanently built into the structure of the steps

t'ae

form

wood

;

if

may

wood, the step

of

tree, or

be a transverse section of some

— Steps

a massive plank.

to Verandah.

Other forms of steps

simply of two side-pieces, with the steps

sist

mortised in

(fig.

179)

;

or a

is,

may

they

There

is

made

may

con-

plank and

of

more compact structure may be made These forms are

with a very low hand-rail. that

In

shape of square or irregular blocks of stone or

Fig. 179.

huge

floor.

in

which lead from the verandah to the ground the usual in the

is

secre-

to do with the beautiful polish often

or three in number, are as broad as the hall, fcteps

199

all

adjustable

be placed at any part of the verandah.

no feature of

more ignorantly, and

in

social

life in

some cases

Japan which has been

wilfully,

animadverted upon

than the custom of public bathing; nevertheless, I dare to say that

there

is

no feature in Japanese

commended than this

this

same system

assertion I do not

mean

to

life

to be

more heartily

of public bathing.

suggest that

we

with proceed to establish baths after the Japanese

But by

shall

forth-

style,

and

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

200

The Japanese,

take them after the Japanese fashion.

as well

as other Eastern people, have for centuries been accustomed to see nakedness, without its provoking

or

attention,

in

any way

on the contrary, the result

the

seen

is

in

gaze

to the vulgar

apparel.

A

With

us,

and the dire

;

the almost utter extinction in our country oi

burlesques, —

dancing and

1

has been different

effect

the slightest

immodesty.

suggesting

drama, and the

classical

among them

of

anything in fact that

of

ballet-

shall present

thousands the female form in scanty

of

woman

Turkish

therefor

substitution

looks upon her Christian sister as

not only immodest and vulgar, but absolutely immoral, because she.

unblushingly parades the public street with a naked face

but the Christian

customs

that the established

her country sanction such an exposure as entirely proper.

of

A

woman knows

;

girl

among

who

in our country

the

members

of her

and yet under the glare scores

of

own

immodest

it

to appear

family in a robe de chambre,

of a bright gas-light, in the

appears with low corsage,

strangers,

an act which

would deem

to a Turkish

woman would

midst of

committing

is

appear inexplicable.

sight of our dazzling ball-rooms, with girls

To a Japanese, the

in decollete dresses, clasped in the

arms

of

their partners

and

whirling to the sound of exciting music, must seem the wildest

debauch imaginable lower

classes,

;

for in

Japan the

never intermingle.

sleigh-rides, boat-sails,

No

sexes, except

free

among

and happy

and evening parties among the

the

picnics,

girls

and

1 A correspondent in the " Pall Mall Gazette," in protesting against the attempt to impose European clothing on those people who are accustomed to go without any, says: " In many parts of India there is a profound suspicion of the irreligiousness of clothing.

even hy the regulation rag upon which the Government modestly The late Brahmo minister, Chesub and a fully dressed fakir would he scouted. Chunder Sen, expressed the belief that India would never accept a Christ in hat and boots. The missionary should remember that clothes-morality is climatic, and that if a

The

fakir is distressed

insists,

certain degree of covering of the

body has gradually become

with morality and piety, the traditions of tropical countries elaborate dress rather with the sensualities of of

tile lilv

as clothed

bv Nature."

Solomon

in the

Northwest associated

may have

in his glory

equally connected

than with the parity

PUBLIC BATHING. known

boys are

there

201

no hand-shake., no friendly

;

Japanese visitor in this country

is

a narrow-minded and witless

home with

he will probably startle his friends at

scribbler,

as

he

is

with the corner loafer eying eveiw

walks by, or with that

pose of being stared

he

visits

girl

— nay,

at,

summer

our

swarms

of

girls,

who

of our people

resorts at the seaside

— tripping

and

sees a

clings to her

to a battalion of

In Japan,

form and renders her an object

young men who

among

when young

over the sand under a

bright sun, bare-legged, clad only in a single wrapper, which

wet

that

are there for the pur-

what must he think

them

girl

which throng our walks with the

class

purpose of staring at the

sole

ac-

Unfa-

counts of the grossly immoral character of Christians. miliar

the

If

kiss.

when

of contemplation

fringe the beach

!

the lower classes, the sexes bathe together,

but with a modesty and propriety that are inconceivable to a foreigner until he has witnessed

indecent exposure of the person.

it.

Though naked, While

there

is

no

in the bath they are

absorbed in their work, and though chatting and laughing seem utterly unmindful of each other.

The

grossest libels have been

written about the Japanese in reference to their custom of public

bathing

;

and

I hazard the

statement, without fear of contra-

an intelligent Japanese, seeing many

diction, that

for the first time, without

of our

customs

knowing the conditions under which

they had grown up, would find infinitely more to condemn as

immodest, than an intelligent foreigner would find the

first

time certain Japanese customs, with the same ignorance

at the outset as to If cleanliness is

a godly race. 1

numbers 1

in seeing for

implied.

next to godliness, then verily the Japanese are

The simple statement, without

qualification, that

Japanese in their public baths bathe in the same

of

Rein says

what such customs

:

" The cleanliness of the Japanese

is

one of his most commendable

apparent in his body, in his house, in his workshop, and no less in the great carefulness and exemplary exactness with which he looks after his fields." qualities.

It is

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

202

water would seem a

Certainly

filthy habit.

were really true in regard to our own lower

most

When

habit.

filthy

Japanese working classes others

it

such a statement

if

classes, it

would be a

understood, however, that the

is

— such

as the carpenters, masons,

— often bathe two or three times a day, and must bath in a state of cleanliness such as our

sity enter the

rarely

if

When

it

statement loses some

ever attain, the is

of

further added that these people do not

baths, but boil or soak in

them

for a while,

filthy character of this

A

quite another aspect.

of neces-

workmen its

force.

wash

in the

and then upon a

wash and

platform, with an extra bucket of water and a towel,

dry themselves, the

and

performance assumes

Japanese familiar with his airy and

barn-like theatres, his public readings under an open tent-like in a

structure, or gatherings

may

room

in

which one or

sides

all

be open to the air even in mid-winter, would look upon

the usual public gatherings of our people in lecture-halls, school-

rooms, and other closed apartments, wherein the air often be-

comes so foul that people a breath of fresh air,

—a

upon such practices as

and struggle

faint

Japanese, I say, would justly look

filthy

to the last degree.

would he say to one of our great ple,

where a vast unwashed herd

actually bathe their delicate

breath of hundreds

The public

to the door to get

And what

political meetings, for

of perspiring

exam-

and excited people

membranous lungs

in the

combined

!

baths, however, do not concern us,

— though

it

may

be well to contrast our country with Japan in this respect, where in the latter country every village city nearly every square, price of a cent or

possess

two one may

and every town, and in the public

where

baths

for the

find conveniences for a hot bath

while in our country public baths are only found in the larger cities,

and few

of these

even can boast of such a luxury.

the private houses in our country where bathing

is

As

for

customary, an

inquiry shows that few possess the convenience of a bath-tub.

BATHING CONVENIENCES. Among the may not be

203

masses of our people a Saturday-night wash enforced

when

;

it is,

this

may

or

performance usually takes

place in the kitchen, with hot water furnished from the kettle.

But in Japan nearly every house

among classes

the

and

higher

middle

most ample

possesses the

arrangements for hot baths; and even among the poorer

classes,

in the country as well as in the city, this ins:,

convenience

with the added convenience

of public baths

able

not want-

is

if

everywhere attain-

desired.

There are

Fig. 180.

many forms

ing-tubs, all of

them being

heat

which

the

direct,

is

attained in various ways.

small chamber of copper

bottom of the tub,

— Bath-tub with

Side Oven.

of bath-

— the

Means

large and deep.

course

of

In the is

for applying

most economical,

the

common form

(fig.

mouth having a frame or

chamber a

180), a

end near the

introduced at one

of clay

is

of stone, or

plaster. fire

is

In this built,

and

the water can be brought,

if

necessary, to the boiling-point.

Within the tub a few transverse bars prevent the bather

from coining

in contact with

the hot chamber in which the fire Fig. 181.

Bath-tub with Inside Flue.

is

has a grating of wire its

;

(fig.

charcoal

In another

form, a copper funnel or tube passes

bottom of the bathing-tub

burning.

181). is

directly

The bottom

through

the

of this tube

then placed in the tube, and

combustion rapidly heats the water.

A

pan

is

placed below

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

204

the tube to catch the coal and ashes that

more elaborate form

182), the bath-tub

(fig.

separated by the partition

the

of

through.

fall

two

in

is

In a

sections,

These two sections

room.

num-

are connected by a

bamboo tubes

ber of flues,

so that the water

may The

m

circulate

the

fire-box,

which the

Bath-tub

Fig. 182.

in section,

by

with Oven

outside the Room.

very excellent form of bathing-tub

wooden

of

is

fire

is

the

dis-

smoke

fire.

shown

in

fig.

183,

a chamber not unlike a small

is

barrel closed at both ends

a copper tube, in which a

built

is

bather escapes the

comfort

which, outside the tub,

in

fire

in

arrangement the

this

from the

A

freely.

section outside con-

tains

z.

or

;

through this barrel runs

of charcoal

is

built.

The

barrel

connected with the

bath-tub

bamboo a

tube, having

square door

little

which

within,

bather

by a large

may

the

close

if

the water becomes too

In

hot.

a hood in

many is

such a

cases

arranged

way

that

the

smoke from the

fire

is

the

planks of

carried

off.

Fig. 183.

Bath-tub with outside Heatingchamber.

These tubs stand on a large wooden

which

incline

to

a central gutter.

floor,

Here the

bather scrubs himself with a separate bucket of water, after

having

literally

parboiled

himself

in

water

the

temperature

BATHING CONVENIENCES. of

which

endure

A

great that

so

is

is

it

205

impossible for a foreigner to

it.

common form

very

the country consists of a

of bath in

larce and shallow iron kettle,

upon the top

of

which

is

secured

a wooden extension, so as to give sufficient depth to the water within

The

184).

(fig.

fire

is

built

beneath the kettle,

— the

bather having a rack of wood which he sinks beneath him, and

upon which he stands tub

is

after

Goyemon

called a

from burning.

to protect his feet buro,

This

named

Ishikawa Goyemon, — a famous

robber

of

Taiko's

who was

time,

treated to a bath in boiling

oil.

There are doubtless other forms of bath-tubs with conveniences for heat-

ing the water, but the forms here

given comprise the principal kinds.

There

is

veniences

no reason

why

similar con-

might not be adopted

Fig. 1S4.

— Bath-tub, with

in

our country in cases where aqueducts or city supply able.

There are

many forms

of foot-tubs

with high backs, in which hot water necessity of describing

While

them

is

is

not avail-

and large wooden tubs

poured

;

but there

is

no

here.

Japanese house, as

in a

Iron

we have

seen, the

most ample

conveniences exist for taking a hot or cold bath, the minor conveniences for washing the face so apparent.

In such attempts one

and hands are not always is

more often reminded

a primitive country house at home, where one either goes to the kitchen, to

wash

the well,

more

and amid a

himself,

— and

agreeable.

or

this

else

clutter of pails

takes

of

down

and pans manages

a tin basin and goes out to

on a fresh cool morning

In the country a Japanese

may

is

by far the

be seen in the

yard or by the roadside washing his face in a bucket or shallow

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

206 tub

and at

;

and even

in

private houses, one

and a bucket

of

water being brought he uses

inns,

copper basin,

a portion of the verandah as a wash-stand. for

this

purpose

do exist

to

is

given a

That conveniences

some extent may be seen from

the accompanying sketches.

The one shown

in

fig.

country inns at the north.

Fig. 1S5.

185

may sometimes

be

found in

This consists of a shallow trough

— Lavatory

in

Country Inn.

resting on the floor at the end of the verandah or passage-way.

In the trough

is

a stout water-bucket with cover, and a copper

wash-basin.

The convenience shown in Tokio.

The

of the

floor,

it

was made with great

care.

sliding window-frames, covered with stout white paper, ad-

clean

wooden

may seem odd

affair as a

;

while the rich brown pottery-jar, the

dipper, copper basin,

attractive features It

an

level

passage-way which ran behind a suite

The wood-work about

mitted sufficient light

all

186 was in a private house

fig.

Here the trough was above the

in a recessed portion of a

of rooms.

in

and quaint towel-rack were

from their very neatness and

simplicity.

for one to get enthusiastic over so simple

trough and a few honest contrivances for washing

BATHING CONVENIENCES. the

hands and face

arrangement

is

a

;

such a plain and sensible

nevertheless

relief,

207

in contrast

guest-chambers

to certain

at home, where one wishing to go through the rather vigorous

performance of dashing into the water with his elbows outstretched, finds these free

movements

curtailed to the last de-

gree by a regiment of senseless toilet articles in the shape of

Fig. 186.

— Lavatory

in Private House.

attenuated bottles, mugs, soap-dishes with rattling covers, and

diminutive

and

all

top-lieavy

crowded about

resting on a slab of white marble.

tably broken

bottom. sink,

pitchers

with

for water,

if

After its

they are brought such

recollections,

down

his

wash-basin,

Things are

inevi-

too hard upon such a

one admires the Japanese

durable fiat-bottomed basin, capacious pottery-jar

and ample space to thrash about

in

without fear

of spattering the wall-paper or smashing a lot of useless toilet articles in

the act.

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

208

The form

last

described

is

the usual one seen in private

Conveniences of this nature that are brought to the

houses.

who are used to exceedingly awkward for a

level of the floor, while giving the Japanese

them no

trouble, are

foreigner,

who

is

found to be

obliged to go through his toilet in a stooping

posture.

Often the

toilet

places

are

rendered exceedingly attractive

by the ornamental wood-work used in their construction. 187

Fig. -

drawing

is

from

a

a

j a Jap-

design in

anese book, entitled

"Yaye Gaki

no Den."

I

have

modified the draw-

ing

conform

to

more

to our

me-

thods of perspective.

This

was

placed at the end of

the verandah,

and

on

a

level

TOWEL-RACKS. offered

in

the chodzu-bachi,

will be given

description

There are

structure.

Eigs. 188-192.

in

design

(figs.

and

figures

of

which

under that head.

The towel-rack merits some simple

209

and made

188-192)

to

illustrate

The simplest kind

is

in

attention from its exceedingly

many

— Forms

be

them

rustic

of Towel-racks.

suspended.

some the

forms, most of

of

The following

the forms in

figures

common

use.

shape of a ring of bamboo sus-

pended by a larger bamboo, to the end of which 14

it

is

attached.

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

210

Another form, and a very common one,

a yoke of bamboo,

is

the lower ends of which are firmly secured to a larger bamboo,

confining at

same time a

the

piece

bamboo which

of

slides

up and down on the yoke, and by its own weight resting on the towel which may be thrown across the lower bamboo. Another form consists of a loop of bamboo suspended to the freely

which

side of a board

hung against the

is

wall.

are pretty objects, being of cotton or linen,

The towels

them sketchy designs

usually have printed upon

in

and

two shades

of blue.

how few

After living in Japan for a time one realizes

He

the essentials necessary for personal comfort. that his personal comfort

izes

many bed affair

is

its

to

its

simplest

Japanese

the

arrangements,

expression.

In regard to the

have

The whole

reduced

is

soft mats, in

the draught or out of

and

level

down on

upstairs or

it,

upon which

surface

this

the whole

floor,

a bed, and one can fling himself

house indeed,

find a smooth, firm,

further real-

enhanced by the absence of

things deemed indispensable at home.

and

are

the

down, and to sleep,

—

no creaking springs, hard bunches or awkward hollows awaiting him, but a bed-surface as wide as the room itself, and

To be more

comfortable to the last degree.

made upon

the mats

scribed area of

The

bed-clothes

;

there

consisting

upon the

and another one acting

1 it

is

number

lightly

floor,

or

is

heavily

is

placed.

1

wadded com-

one or more forming the bed,

as a covering.

wadded with cotton; the stuffed with floss silk.

of

bed

no bedstead, or frame, or circum-

any kind upon or within which the bed

forters are spread

consisting of a

is

explicit, the

best ones are

The common ones are

made

of

silk,

and are

In private houses one often gets a bed of these silk comforters,

— and

a most

From the name toJconoma, which means "bed-place," literally "bed of floor," supposed that in ancient times the bed was made or placed in this recess.

BEDDING AND PILLOWS. delightful bed they

wadded

211

In summer the foreigner finds these

make.

hot and stuffy

affairs altogether too

and

;

at all times

he misses the clean sheets which at home intervene between the bed-clothes and his person,

provided sheets.

if

and

desired,

The usual form

On

closet.

pillow,

of

this

box

Fig. 193.

or makara,

is

secured a small cylindrieally-shaped

— Forms

box, and the sauie

the

folded (fig.

pillow-case,

several

times,

common

of Pillow in

string

which as

a light

consists of

either flat or slightly convex.

cushion stuffed with buckwheat hulls.

cures

is

answers as a substitute for the

this

wooden box, with a bottom

the top of

the

a clean night-dress

In the day-time these comforters are folded up and

stowed away in some

closed

— though

This cushion

that holds

is

use.

tied to

is

in place also se-

it

simply a sheet of soft paper

shown

the

in

here

figures

given

193).

There are

many

other forms

of

pillow, either in the shape

of

a hard cushion or of a square oblong box, the ends being

of

wood, and the rest of basket-work.

also seen, but rarely.

ones,

some

and others

of of

which

which are

There are also fold

Porcelain

many forms

and stow away

in

pillows of

are

portable

small compass,

in the shape of a box, within

which are

drawers and spaces for paper-lantern, matches, mirror, comb,

and various

articles of the toilet.

These are generally used by

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

212

The Japanese,

travellers. literally

with

a

pillow

take up his bed and walk; for

this

of

kind,

can

he has a head-rest

if

or pillow containing these conveniences, he can get along very

Pillows

well.

in

when

naturally,

all

the shoulder rests on the

lowing figure

(fig.

accustomed to

it,

ward, and his

first

194).

To a

the Japanese

the next morning

and

;

is

until

becomes

he

seems exceedingly awk-

pillow

in

results

it

a

neck

stiff

the night he has

at intervals during

any freedom

falling out of bed, for

head results

of the

as in the fol-

floor,

foreigner,

experience with

the sensation that he

movement

arranged to support the head

are

cases

of

from the pillow.

in its downfall

Getting used to

how-

it,

ever, one recognizes that

good

this pillow has its

points

the neck

;

is

kept

free for the air to cir-

culate beneath,

head

is

kept

and the

cool.

This

peculiar form of pillow Fig. 194.

— Showing position

of

Head

in resting

was a

necessity for the

on Pillow.

Japanese so long as the hair

was done up

women with eral

of

much

methods

their

abandonment

them

in the rigid queue,

of

and

a necessity for

of hair-dressing; but with the gen-

the queue on the part of the men, a few

are resorting to head-rests

more

though

like our pillows,

smaller and harder, and on the whole I believe

find this substitute

bed entails much

chamber-maid than do our arrangements. girl

will do the

this

work

is

chamber-work

ridiculously simple.

for

the

The

air.

She gathers up a huge

less

work on the

In a large inn one entire house.

In fact

futons, or comforters, are

rapidly folded up and stowed away, or to

many

more comfortable.

This simple form of

rail

still

is

hung over the balcony

pile of the light pillow-

BEDDING AND PILLOWS.

213

boxes in her arms, and carries them to the room below;

which hold the cushions in

strings

the

she unties

the work of bed-making

is

place, sub-

paper for the soiled ones,

stitutes clean sheets of folded

done.

With a

here

— and

duster, consisting of

tough paper tied to the end of a slender bamboo, the

strips of

rooms are dusted and made ready for the next

As

arrivals.

matters pertaining to the toilet are performed in other portions placed in order in an incredibly

house, the rooms are

of the

short time.

In a crowded inn each guest

mat

of one

and the entire

;

may occupy

floor is occupied in this

winter a thickly-wadded comforter in

form

the

Many rooms have

needed, a

kindled; this

is

called a ro.

frame

capacious

made

sleeves.

fire

be

Above square

a

ro

having

is

a

may

of charcoal

the

provided, which

is

In

which,

in

when

way.

in the

square hole

floor

huge garment

a

of

the dimensions

wood

of

and

adjusted,

Fig. 195.

is

— Heating

Arrangement

in Floor.

the

bed-clothes being placed over this frame are thoroughly heated,

may go to bed in the warmest of nests. In the day-time one may gather a portion of the bed-clothes about him, and keep warm by the little coal-fire burning beneath. so that one

Fig.

195

is

an illustration of

this

opening in the

floor,

with

frame-work above to keep the bedclothes from falling on the fire

below.

A

little

wooden box

is

used for the purpose of

holding an earthen receptacle for coals, and this as a substitute for the hot stone or brick

home

for a similar

purpose.

From

which

is

is

taken to bed often used at

the inflammable nature of

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

214

the bedding,

many

fires

must originate from

carelessness in the

use of this luxury.

In this connection

may

it

be well to add that oftentimes .

square thin cushions are provided for guests to

little

and one often

sees a light

when one

elbow-rest

round cushion which

reclining

is

upon

sit

used as an

is

196).

(fig.

Mosquito nettings, or kaya, are to be found in all houses,

even the poorest people being

The usu-

supplied with them. al

— Elbow-rest.

Pig. 196.

form of netting

is

made

shape of a square

the

in

box,

nearly as large as the room

and

when

this,

placed

in

position,

suspended at the four

is

corners by cords which are tied to pegs in the four corners of

A

the room.

work

smaller netting for infants

bamboo

of

infant wherever

An

like a cage, it

may

inseparable

and

this

may

vessel of

when

may

wood

be placed over the

to

the

every

of

very humblest,

in use a

few

of

bits

home,

Japanese is

the

with

hibachi.

fine

ashes,

burning charcoal.

This

This object consists of a vessel partially containing

made on a frame-

drop to sleep on the mats.

accompaniment

from the most exalted

is

filled

be of bronze, iron, porcelain, earthenware, or even

lined

earthen vessel.

with copper, or a wooden box containing an

The most usual form

of

hibachi consists of

a

square wooden box lined with copper, between which and the

wood

is

and common form jar of black

A

clay or plaster

a layer of is

pair of iron rods

chop-sticks.

200).

a wooden box in which

un glazed earthenware

a large ring answer

(fig.

(fig.

A is

very cheap a cylindrical

197).

generally held together at one end by

as tongs, being used after the

manner

of

These are either stuck in the ashes, or when the

HIBACHI AND TABAKO-BON wooden box contains the

separately

fire-vessel

secured in the corner of this box a

215

may

there

bamboo tube

be

in which the

tongs are kept.

In bronze hibachi there

handles or rings on

are

the sides for convenience of

moving. In the square-

box

hibachi

on opposite sides

nailed to

as

answer as handles is

case,

are

cleats

;

"^

or,

more usually the narrow holes

are Fig. 197.

— Common

Hibachi.

cut through the sides of the box to accommodate the fingers, as

shown

in the previous

figure (197).

Much hibachi,

art

and

skill

are

and forms such

as

displayed

in

bronze

the

might be found

and iron

an ordinary

in

house in Japan would be regarded as gems in collections of bric-a-brac at

home.

Even the wooden

are

hibachi

often

ob-

jects of exquisite taste.

We

recall

made

an old one the

of

richest

grained wood, in which

were drawers at

one

end to hold pipes and tobacco,

and around the

base of the box ran a

deep Fig.

19S. — Hibachi.

band

of

black

lacquer inlaid with or-

naments

of pearl, the

design representing in various positions the iron bits of a horse.

So various and oftentimes inexplicable are the surprises in their designs, that one

might almost imagine the decorator to have

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

216

opened while blindfolded a dictionary of objects, and to have taken the

A

first

word he saw as the theme

for his subject.

very favorite form of wooden hibachi This

198.

consists

wood turned into relief

An

per.

a

of

single

in a cylindrical

by

piece

form,

of

shown

is

in

fig.

oak or other hard

the grain

being brought

and the inside lined with cop-

special treatment,

and polished by age

old one richly colored

much

is

esteemed.

The duties

may

hibachi of

be quite a large

An

a stove as well.

iron

and subserve the

affair,

ring

having three or

a grid

the box,

spanning

is

on which kettle

is

legs,

provided the

tea-

supported,

or even fishes broiled.

The

hibachi

a sort

is

of portable fireplace,

around

which

the

family gather to gossip, Fig. 199.

drink

warm

— Hibachi.

their

tea,

or

hands.

The one represented in

199 shows a

fig.

in a thick

warming

child

little

night-garment.

One

itself,

while wrapped

will often observe a Japanese

absent-mindedly stirring the coals or ashes with the tongs, just as

we

are fond of doing at home.

A

sentiment

prompts many families to keep the hibachi

burning continually

fire

Tokio the

fire

;

and

I

had been kept

was

told that in one family in

alive continuously for over

two

hundred years. In a winter party the hibachi are previously arranged by the servants, one being allotted to each guest

each

is

to sit on the matted floor

is

;

and the place where

often indicated by a

little

HIBACHI AND TABAKO-BON. 200

Fig.

square cloth-cushion.

illustrates

217

the arrangement of

hibachi for company.

Whenever you first

call

act of hospitality

Fig. 200.

on a friend, winter or summer, his very is

— Hibachi

arranged for Company.

in shops the hibachi is present, or is

the mats

A

when a

brought in and placed on

visitor enters.

smaller form of hibachi, called a tabako-bon

is

commonly

(fig.

It is a convenience

also usually brought to a visitor.

smokers, and

Even

to place the hibachi before you.

in the

form

of a square

201),

is

used by

wooden box

containing a small earthen vessel for holding hot coals,

ment

of

bamboo

either

cuspidore,

ment

is

shown

and great in using

seg-

with

This last

without a cover.

hand

and a

it,

is

or

a

refine-

either

by averting the head or screening

Fig. 201.

The mouth with the hand. cuspidore, or spittoon, as commonly used by

— Tabako-bon.

the

in comparison with that of the Japanese.

bon

is

made out

pression occurs

of the burl of

(fig.

202).

us,

seems vulgar

Sometimes the tabako-

an oak in which a natural de-

This form

is

often seen in Japanese

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

218

Another form

picture-books.

many and

To

being very odd. is

is

shown

in

There are

203.

fig.

them

various designs for this convenience, some of

replenish the hibachi with hot. coals there

provided a shallow

bowl called a dai-ju-no

iron

Upon the bottom bowl

strip of

which in

iron,

secured

is

stand

of this

riveted a bent

is

turn

204).

(fig.

to

The

wood.

of

a

bowl has an iron socket, Fig.

202. — Tabako-bon.

which

into

is

fitted

wooden handle. vessel burning coals are brought

When to

the

hibachi

heap the ashes in a pyramidal

mark a

series

of radiating lines

plenish the fire

is

arranged, pile

upon

basket

is

is

customary

about the coals

The charcoal

it.

is

used.

for this purpose are always tasty affairs,

color

it

and to re-

generally kept in a basket, though sometimes

a deep wooden box with a handle

brown

In this

by the servant.

properly

is

a

from age.

The baskets used

having often a rich

In the

a pair of old brass or

copper rods with which to handle the coal.

A

single stick of coal

buried vertically in the ashes

The

burned for several hours. charcoal-vender

way

has

a

is

curious

of utilizing the small

and Fig. 203.

fragments

pulverized charcoal,

of

by mixing the powder with some kind

and then forming the mass into round orange.

— Tabako-box.

the of

sea-weed,

balls the size of a large

In making these balls he goes through a motion pre-

cisely like that

wards dried

seen in

in the sun,

making

snow-balls.

and seem to burn very

These are well.

after-

In riding

CANDLES AND CANDLESTICKS. alono- the streets

exposed to the

one often sees trays

filled

219

with these black balls

,sun.

Before kerosene

oil

was introduced

Japan the means

into

illumination were of the most meagre description. realize the difficulty a student

of

One can hardly

must have experienced

in studying

by the feeble light emitted from tiny wicks,

his Chinese Classics

dim and unsteady

or the

flame of a vegetable-wax candle, all

—a

the

light rendered

more

filtered

It is related that

former

in

a paper

through

lantern.

students Classics

when

feeble

times

devout

the

Chinese

of

were accustomed

at night to read a single Fig. 204.

character

dim

the

at

a

time

— Pan

for holding burning Charcoal.

by

illumination of a

glowing coal at the end of an incense-stick held close to the page

Of the many things which

the

Japanese

!

have adopted and

promptly utilized from Western nations, I know of nothing which has been so great a boon to

Western practice

of

all

medicine

Chinese practice, and this

ical

yond

all question,

districts,

the greatest

rapidly displacing

the

The

empir-

when accomplished will be, beThere are many outlying boon.

under the sway of Chinese methods, and the beneficent

effects of the rational ;

is

oil.

however, as well as thousands of inhabitants of the

cities, still

felt

the people as kerosene

treatment of disease has not yet been widely

but everywhere throughout the Empire the bright light of

kerosene has lengthened the day for

all.

Japanese candles are made of a vegetable wax, having a wick consisting of a roll of paper, not unlike the ordinary paper lamp-

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

220

This wick, being hollow,

lighter.

is fitted

to a sharp spur of iron

about an inch long, in the candlestick (in England the pricket candlestick

went out

At the top

retained).

still

firm,

of use a

hard point.

When

few centuries ago

all

a candle has burned low,

is

Japan

it is

it

is

removed

new

of the

By

then adjusted on the sharp spur.

the candle

A is

is

in

wick projects in a

of the candle the

from the candlestick and placed on the end

which

;

candle,

this simple device

utilized in combustion.

made

superior kind of candle,

in the province of Aidsu,

beautifully painted in bright colors, with designs of flowers

and other ornamental

subjects.

Candles are depended upon to illuminate the rooms, as well as to light the hand-lanterns

and those which are used

which are carried about the for the house,

— these

last

streets,

consist-

ing of a square or hexagonal frame, covered with paper and attached to the end of a short handle.

A common candlestick, Fig. 205.

-Iron

Candlestick.

form of Japanese

called

represented in

fig.

te-shoku,

205.

It is

is

a

rude affair made of iron, supported on three legs, and has a wide disk to prevent the melted

wax from dropping on prevent

by

its

its

the mats, and a ring about the candle to

falling over.

It is easily picked

up from the

floor

longer arm.

Another common form of candlestick consists of a hemispherical base of brass, ten or fifteen inches in diameter,

from which

a rod of the same metal runs up to the height of two feet or

more, on the end of which

is

the usual cup and spur.

sticks of this description are seen in fig.

The

snuffer

is

Candle-

177 (page 196).

usually in the form of a blunt pair of tweezers,

with which the burnt wick

is

removed

;

the servants, however,

LAMPS AND LANTERNS.

221

often take the hibashi, or tongs, and, removing the wick, thrust it

into the ashes of the hibachi.

Candlesticks of rustic design, manufactured of curious woods, are

made

to carry

at

Nikko and other famous

away than

which vegetable

more

is

usually in the form of a shallow saucer,

oil is

The wick,

burned.

consisting of long

slender rods of pith,

by a

little

a spur

is

is

projects

as in

it

— Lamp. moved

a disk or ring of iron, which

covered with paper. is

is

shown

in

fig.

206.

A common It

is

of the

wick

beyond the saucer, and

along.

— Lamp. The saucer

rests

suspended within a frame

form

consists of

down

attached for a handle.

Fig. 207.

burns away at one end

held

ring of iron, to which

The unburned portion

Fig. 206.

mementos

as

as implements intended for actual use.

The Japanese lamp in

resorts,

of this lamp,

or andon,

a square frame of wood

covered with paper, open above and below, and having one side

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

222 in

the shape of a movable

lamp needs tending.

which can be raised when the

lid,

This frame

secured

is

two uprights,

to

which spring from a wooden stand in which may be a drawer containing extra wicks and a pair of snuffers.

These uprights

extend above the lantern, and have a cross-piece by which the lantern

is lifted,

and another below

from

which the lamp hangs.

The

cross-bar

just

from

light

by

one can barely see his

it

way

night-lamp

and uncertain, and

feeble

is

this

about the room.

There are

many

kinds of

andon, some being very in-

One form

genious.

being

drical,

is cylin-

composed

of

two frames, one within the other,

— the

outer frame re-

volving in a groove in the

One

stand.

Lamp and Lacquered

Fig. 208.

lantern

Stand.

so that

is

half

of

each

covered with paper,

by turning the outer

frame the openings are brought together, and thus access gained to the lamp. in a different

the saucer of Still

;

in metal,

In are

the

often

which

way, with a

is

little

of

andon

shelf in

(fig.

207) opens

one corner to hold

oil.

another form

ture-book

Another form

is

(fig.

208)

this consists of

is

copied from an old colored pic-

an elaborate lacquered stand mounted

with a lamp supported on the top. passage-ways, and at the head of stairways, lamps fixed to the wall.

represented

in

fig.

In Osaka I saw a curious one, 209.

The frame was hung by

hinges to a board which was affixed to the wall (the hinges

LAMPS AND LANTERNS.

223

being above), and rested against the board like a cover, and was

up when the lamp needed

lifted

In an andon in

attention.

Osaka, I saw a good bit iron-work

of

made

210)

(fig.

suspend

to

the

lamp.

Lamps made

of

pot-

tery are rarely seen.

Fig.

211

is

a sketch of an old

lamp

of Oribe

ware from

the

author's

collection.

An inclined

portion with-

in supports the wick, Tig. 209.

the cover

— Wall-lamp.

is

and

— Lamp.

Fig. 210.

notched in

front and behind to allow the passage of the

Another form from the same

wick.

province of Iga,

shown

is

in

fig.

must have been made from some is

seen

handle

of

a slot

that

it

may

the

a hole in the wick-tube

;

The

lamp

the in

in

In this lamp the wick

212. fibre

made

through which the wick can be moved along.

has

it,

so

be hung

against the wall. is

collection,

.

It

possible that these

two lamps, or at

least

the last one, are for

—a

the

hami-dana,

shelf

which supports

the household shrine.

Fig. 211.

— Pottery

Lamp.

In connection with

lamps made of pottery,

it

may

be well to add that

one meets with a pottery candlestick. resents one

from the author's

now and then

That shown in

collection,

made

of

fig.

213 rep-

Owari pottery.

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

224

Near the cJwdzu-bachi, hanging from the edge roof above,

of the

verandah

usually seen an iron lantern, generally a quaint

is

by a

old rusty affair suspended

chain, and,

ting through

when

lighted, admit-

the perforations

in its side

In

the faintest possible glimmer.

figs.

240

and 253 (pages 255 and 267) lanterns

may

this description

doorway

— Pottery Lamp*

in

expose on a public

and

frailty

a dwelling.

of

214.

fig.

It

is

height,

and

street.

The very

lightness

such

of

at

often

the

affixed

to

gateway

or

The usual form

frame and lantern

of this Fig. 212.

posts

slender

short

be seen.

are

Street-lanterns

of

is

represented

not over five feet

seems to be a

in

frail affair to

objects,

however, often exposed as they are with entire safety

on busy thoroughfares, are

man-

striking indications of the gentle

ners

the

of

One

Japanese.

wonder how long such a

lamp would remain with

those

seem to

mobs

be- solely

ilization.

is

led to

delicate street-

intact in our streets,

thronging

by

that

a product of our civ-

These, and a thousand simi-

lar points of contrast, set a thoughtful

man

reflecting

toms

of the

on the manners and

two great

cus-

civilizations.

In nearly every house one sees perched

up on a

shelf

called

the kami-dcma a

curious little architectural affair, which

Fig. 213.

- Pottery CandleSTICK.

on more be

special

examination proves to

a model of a Shin-to

shrine, or

a principal feature of a

"

HOUSEHOLD SHRINES. Shin-to

altar,

—a

few lamps

this are a

the shrine

If

then accompanying

it

are various

shelf

in

front of

is

shape of a box,

in the

little

brass

stands, slips of

upon them, and in short a minia-

characters written

wood with

the

lamp) and trays, containing at

(or a single

times food-offerings.

On

mirror.

circular

225

ture representation, apparently, of the paraphernalia used in a

ceiling is

The

temple.

large

shelf

and in old houses

;

up on the wall near the

high

is

region

this

black with the accumulations of smoke

from the

a

for

lighted

is

and which may have burned

every night, there

lamp which

little

These

century.

the

are

Shin-to shrines.

The Buddhist household

Buddha

shrines, hav-

of

his disciples,

or perhaps of

god, are

much more

the

—

My

ornate,

some other and

so I

w as

informant also told

me

floor,

at least

majority of the

one of

or of

ing a figure

T

rest

on

informed. that

the

people worship at the

shrines of both great beliefs, and that all

Buddhists, unless very shrines

to

Buddhists

strict,

have Shin-

their

houses.

and

even

Buddhist

lantern.

priests

have been known to go into the Osaka, and of

an alien

acts

bow

Roman

Catholic cathedral at

in reverence before the altar

religion.

The

Fixed Street-

Fig. 214.

Indeed,

in

and other emblems

tolerance and charity evinced in such

something pathetic, when one recalls the mutually hostile

is

attitude of the

two great branches

of the Christian

Church

Flowers and incense-burning usually accompany the Buddhist Shin-to

household shrine, while before burned. brass,

shrines

incense

is

not

Buddhist shrines have placed before them lamps of

or hanging

lamps, while in front of the Shin-to shrine 15

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

226

candles of vegetable

pottery called

wax

kawarake

In unglazed, hand-made

are burned. oil

burned, which

is

shape, with long narrow necks, are used

dokkuri, — miki

being the

and tokkuri the name

may

clap their

also used for

For offerings of wine, oval bottles

food-offerings.

one

is

name

;

peculiar

.of

these are called

B

dki-

of the wine offered to the gods,

In front of these shrines

of a sake bottle.

often see the inmates of the house

bow

their heads,

hands, and then, rubbing the palms together in an

much

imploring gesture, pray with

one often sees the shrine

too,

shops

shrine

the

expensive

;

and

and more wealthy

larger

the

I

In shops,

this domestic altar.

have observed, every house has

in

So far as

earnestness.

a

often

In a famous

affair.

shop in Tokio

is

is

very silk-

a large model of

a Shin-to temple suspended by iron

from the beams above.

rods

front of terns.

hang two big metal

it

It struck

me

In lan-

that this dis-

play of piety was rather ostentatious,

and paralleled similar displays sometimes Fig. 215/

classes the household shrine

superstitions

;

injustice.

and

it

was

in this sup-

may

be doing

the intelligent

men having outgrown

as a rule less informed

— made

of those attending public worship.

The sketch here given

of a Buddhist household shrine

215) was seen in a house of the most squalid character. various vessels were

made

these

interesting to observe that in Japan,

as elsewhere, the women — being

up the majority

Among

;

seems to be provided for the female

family only, the

the

of

home

at

position, however, I

Household Shrine.

an

members

seen

filled

with boiled

of a special kind of rice,

rice,

(fig.

The

with loaves of moclii

and a number

of unripe peaches.

BIRDS' NESTS IN HOUSES.

On

227

the lower shelf, in the right-hand corner, are seen a sweet

potato and a radish propped up on four legs, looking like toy

Whether

deer or beasts of some kind.

of children or represented the horses

work

this indicated the

upon which the gods could

take a ride, was not ascertained.

A

household shrine to which the children pay voluntary and

natural devotion are the birds' nests built within the house. is

common

a

thing, not only in the country but in large cities

like Tokio, for a species of swallow,

from the European in

be most

hardly to be distinguished

species, to build its nest in the house,

an out-of-the-way

may

place,

engaged,

actively

216. — Swallows'

Nests

— not

but in the room where the family or

in Private House.

shop fronting the

the

in

street,

with

traffic

going on.

very

Fig.

It

all its

common

busy

The

occurrence

of these

birds' nests in

houses

another of the

is

many

evidences of

gentle

ways

the

of this peo-

ple,

and

ness

shown by them

the

of

kindto

animals.

When

a bird builds

promptly secured beneath

The presence

be soiled.

nest in the house, a

its

it,

so that the

little

mats below

of the bird in the house

is

shelf

is

shall not

regarded as

a good omen, and the children take great pleasure in watching the

young

construction

much more

more exposed

many birds

the nest and the final rearing of the

I noticed that

birds.

house were

of

of these

positions.

many

of the nests built within the

elaborately

From

made than

the symmetrical

those built

way

in

in

which

were constructed, one might almost imagine the

had become imbued with some

of the art instincts of the

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS

228

216

Fig.

people.

appearance of a group of these

illustrates the

birds' nests in a house.

It

would be an affectation

made

sion to be

it

of

is

private

and in

often

a

and especially

great discomfort.

source of

allu-

From

attention.

public house.

in the

In the better class

houses in Japan, however, there are less annoyance

infinitely less

many

workman's

artistic

house,

the

in

position

its

the

of

were no

false delicacy

which in the Japanese house often

to the privy,

share

a

receives

of

houses

danger from this source than are experienced the

of

country the privy

is

wealthy in our great

cities.

box-like

affair

usually

a

little

In

the

removed

from the house, the entrance closed half way up by a swinging door.

j^fj|||||

,,.

s:

/

^

,

,

-

•..-".

house

«'ity

In the the

of

t

better class

it is

the

one corner of usually

house,

at

at

the end of the ve-

randah, and

some-

times there are two at diagonal corners,

as Tig. 217.

among many

is

curious supersti-

—a

trace possibly of the Chinese

The privy generally has two compartments,

shui.

one having a wooden or porcelain urinal called asagaowa, as

morning 219).

spruce,

glory,

to

attached to the position of the privy in

relation to the house,

(fig.

reference

the plans will show.

'Interior of Privy.

A tion

a

it is

— the

;

its

Fung-

— the

first

the latter form being

supposed, to resemble the flower of the " "

word

literally

The wooden ones

meaning

morning face

are often filled with branches of

which are frequently replenished.

The inner compart-

229

PRIVIES.

Fig. 218.

—Privy

of Inn in Hachi-ishi Village, Nikko.

ment has a rectangular opening cut better class of privies this

is

in

the

provided with

floor,

and

m

the

a cover having a

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

230

long wooden

The wood-work about

handle.

opening

this

is

Straw sandals or wooden clogs are often

sometimes lacquered.

provided to be worn in this place.

The

interior of

these apartments

usually simple, though

is

Much

sometimes presenting marvels of cabinet-work.

and

skill

are often displayed in the approaches and exterior finish

taste

of these places.

Fig.

217 shows the interior of a common

218

Fig.

illustrates

appearance

the

form

one

of

in

planking

the

in

an

inn at

The

Nikko.

near

Hachi-ishi,

of privy.

front

sketch shows the verandah this, at right angles,

the

of ;

from

runs a nar-

row platform, having

for its bor-

der the natural trunk of a tree the corner of a seen at the

composed thin is

little

left

;

cupboard

the ceiling

to

the

is

of

wood, and below

strips of

The open-

a dado of bamboo.

ing

made

matting

of

;

is

first

apartment

is

framed by a twisted grape-vine, while other sticks in their natural

condition

another one

is

by a swinging door Fig. 219.

— Privy

is

connected with a

Merchant's House in Asakusa.

the

under the kitchen

diminutive

screen fence

is

stairs.

shingles built,

the

;

closed

and this

usually the only place in the

house where one finds a hinged door, except, perhaps,

closet

up

Beyond the arched

frame-work.

opening

make

The

already

roof

alluded

is

on the

tall

covered thickly with

to

Outside

a

a few plants neatly trained below,

little

and

PRIVIES. a typical privy of the better class

is

231

The wooden trough

shown.

standing on four legs and holding a bucket of water and a washbasin

is

guests.

evidently an addition

As one

many

convenience

of

foreign

let

studies

him

In Fig. 219

is

this

sketch,

made

at

all

justice

recall

similar

in

The door was a

an inn in a country

Christendom

shown the privy beautiful

of

conveniences

in

!

a merchant in Asakusa,

example

of

cabinet-work,

Interior of a Privy in Asakusa.

Fig. 220.

with designs inlaid with wood of different of this place (fig.

as

the universal accompaniment of this place.

is

of the country villages of

Tokio.

the

The chodzu-bachi with towel rack suspended above,

already described,

village,

for

was

220)

colors.

The

also beautifully finished

interior

and

scru-

pulously clean.

The barrel,

receptacle or

convenient

in

a large access

every few days by

the

earthen vessel, to

it

an

privy consists of a half of

from the

men who have

oil

sunk in the ground, with outside.

This

their regular

is

emptied

routes

;

and

as an illustration of the value of this material for agricultural

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

232

purposes,

was

I

that

told

Hiroshima in

in

the poorer tenement houses,

if

same room no rent was charged and importance

value

panese

ment

farmer,

of

Indeed,

!

material

this

who depends

entirely

if

is

of

room

three persons occupied a

together the sewage paid the rent of one, and the

renting

the

five

occupied

the

immense

so great to the

upon

for the

it

Ja-

enrich-

of his soil, that in the country personal conveniences for

travellers are

always arranged by the side of the road, in the

shape of buckets or half-barrels sunk in the ground.

Judging by our standards

of

modesty

in

regard to these

matters there would appear to be no evidence of delicacy

them

the Japanese respecting

should

say that there

modesty,

—a

feeling

is

;

or, to

among

be more just, perhaps

among them no

affectation of

I

false

which seems to have developed among the

English-speaking people more exclusively, and

among some

of

them

as

often

be

such ridiculous heights

to

fraught with grave consequences.

would seem as

of

absurdity

But among the Japanese

the publicity given by

if

them

ing of this important fertilizer had dulled their part,

privacy

if

million

of

cities

—

inhabitants

as in Tokio, this

for

material

is

farms outside, the vessels in which

the

all sensitiveness 1

matter would be impossible when

in

long cylindrical buckets borne by

men and

example

is

is

it

—

on

Indeed,

of

carried off it

it

to the collect-

ever existed, concerning this matter.

this

in

sidered that

a

it

to

con-

nearly

daily to

conveyed being

horses.

If sensitive

persons are offended by these conditions, they must admit that

it may be interesting to mention the various names applied to by the Japanese, with a free translation of the same as given me by Mr. A. S. Mihara: Setsu-in, "snow-hide;" Chodzu-ba, "place to wash hands" (the chodzu-bachi, Benjo and Yo-ba, a convenience for washing the hands, being always near the privy) " place for business " Ko-Tca, " back-frame." Habakari is a very common name for this place the word Yen-riyo, though not applied to this place, has the same meaning, 1

In this counection

the privy

;

;

—

;

it

implies reserve.

These words with

their

meanings certainly indicate a great degree of refinement and

delicacy in the terms applied to the privy.

PRIVIES.

233

the secret of sewage disposal has been effectually solved by the

Japanese for centuries, so that nothing goes to waste. equal importance, too,

is

it

of

that of that class of diseases which

scourge our communities as a result of in

And

our ineffectual efforts

disposing of sewage, the Japanese happily

know but

little.

In that country there are no deep vaults with long accumulations

contaminating the ground, or underground pipes con-

ducting sewage to shallow bays and inlets, there to fester and vitiate the air

On supply

the is

into rivers

and spread sickness and death.

other hand

must be admitted that their water

very seriously affected by this sewage being washed

and wells from the

and the scourge

of

cholera,

desolating shadow over to the

it

many

rice-fields

where

it is

deposited

which almost yearly spreads of their

southern towns,

is

its

due

almost universal cultivation of the laud by irrigation

methods

;

and the consequent distribution

these surface avenues renders

supply from contamination.

it

of

sewage through

impossible to protect the water

CHAPTER

V.

ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES. Vestibule and Hall.

T

N

— Verandah and Balcony. — Amado. — To-buktjro. — Chodzubachi. — Gateways. — Fences.

the study of the house-architecture of Japan, as compared

with that of America,

it

is

curious to observe the relative

degree of importance given to similar features by the two peoples.

With us

commonest house

the

definite front-door,

in the city or country will

have a

and almost always one with some embellish-

ments, in the shape of heavy panels, ornate brackets and braces supporting some sort of a covering above, and steps approaching

it

equally pretentious

in the ordinary Japanese house,

;

the contrary, this entrance

is,

as

we

shall see, often,

With

always, of the most indefinite character. hall or front-entry stairs

house,

— and

may

this portion

gracefully curving special attention

rail,

though not again, the

be seen immediately on entering the

has some display in the baluster and

and

in the better class of houses receives

from the architect

in Japan, however,

;

house be of two stories the stairway rarely

us,

on

is

if

the

never in sight, and

more than a stout and precipitous

step-ladder.

On

is

the

other hand, the ridge of the roof, which in Japan almost invariably forms the most picturesque feature of the house exterior, is

with us nothing more than the line of junction of the plainest

rain-shed

made

;

though in great

to decorate this lofty

cast-iron design,

tural

which

is

edifices

feeble attempts

and conspicuous

line

have been

by an inverted

not only absolutely useless as a struc-

feature, but, so far as the design

is

concerned, might be

ENTRANCES.

235

equally appropriate for the edge of a tawdry valentine or the

ornamental fringe which comes in a Malaga raisin-box.

Accustomed as we

and a certain pretentious architectural display,

rail

some such

to conceive of a house without to

a front-door with steps and

are, then, to

often look in vain for such indications. their houses, is

and even

may

make

one

;

—a

houses

this

which

of

sort

entrance

may

back-door on the

by means

the outer edge of its raised floor eaves,

of

and between

or

two

of

trance.

side.

or he

In

other

matted area,

small

a

of

boundary near the

front

this

some distance within the mother

earth.

single planks running the

width

and the

steps, consisting of

is

sill

the floor

the room, lead from the earth to the

this point

way

enter the house by

no respect from the other rooms save that

in

differs

we

class of

salutations on the verandah,

his

is

common

In the

pass into the house by an ill-defined

kitchen,

One

house, however,

more importance, the entrance

in those of

often vaguely defined

the garden and

distinctive characters

ordinary Japanese

the

In

portal.

its

it is difficult

is

The

floor.

roof

at

be a gable, as more specially marking the en-

may

These indefinite entrances, however, belong only to the

and lower

houses of what

may

though even

houses of the middle classes well-marked en-

trances,

in

inclined to doubt the

the ordinary houses the entrance defined.

As a

is

often

number

of rooms,

ordinary type

;

more or

less

and though

I

me where

the

vaguely in

my

two houses, consisting

and representing dwellings

far above the

have consulted a number of Japan-

ese friends in regard to these plans, to tell

statement that in

curious proof of this, however, I have

possession Japanese architects' plans of of a

classes,

and even entrances of some pretensions, are not uncom-

Some may be

mon.

be called the middle

none of them have been able

main entrance

is,

or ought to be

In a better class of houses the entrance

is

in the

form

of

a wide projecting porch, with special gable roof, having elabo-

236

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

rately carved

wood-work about

wide as the porch

itself.

its

The

running at right angles with the

floor

the floor beyond by

means

Fig. 221.

From

of one or

— Main

consists

which

sill,

modate the amado, or storm-doors.

opening being as

front, the

is

wide planks

of

grooved to accom-

this floor

two

steps,

one reaches

— the

edge of

Entrance to House.

the floor near the steps being grooved to accommodate the shoji.

The back

partition of this hall is a

side sliding screens lead to the

permanent one.

A

rooms within.

On

either

dado of wood

runs about the sides of the vestibule, while the wall above plastered.

ornament

A

low screen, called a

of the hall

;

and

tsui-tate,

is

is

usually the sole

in olden times there

hung on the

wall behind the tsui-tate curious long-handled weapons, which

now

are seen only as

museum

specimens.

This screen has no

VESTIBULE AND HALL. folds

;

the

frame

is

237

lacquered, and

thick and

the transverse

feet are ponderous and also lacquered.

In some houses the floor of the vestibule,

is

composed of plank

&

;

hall, as

well as that of the

and the polish of the steps

€

Tsui-tate

Tliree-Mat Floor

&i

Shdji

Step Step

1'htnk Fluor

Entrance. Fig. 222.

and

floor is of

rated

screen

— Plan

of Vestibule and Haxl.

such exquisite ivory smoothness that the deco-

and fusuma are

quiet expanse of water.

reflected

Even here no

as

from a shaded and

special display is

beyond the porch-like projection and gable roof boundaries of this entrance.

made

of the external

JAPANESE HOMES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

238

would seem

It

as

if

the fitting architecture of this important

had been transferred

portal

doors, bolts, bars,

and

though oftentimes

fictitious,

beams and

tiles,

all

;

to the gateway, for in the solidity

fig;.

man is

is

is

on pages

figured

and

221

gateways a conspicuous,

shown

in the

canopy of

supported by equally massive posts.

Fig. 223.

In

is

— ponderous hinged-

— Shoe-closet.

shown a view 5l