LADY IN JAPAN

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 101, 1 May 1930, Page 9

LADY IN JAPAN

VISIT TO A FARM

NIGHT OF HOSPITALITY

By Elisabeth Hoyt. (Copy tight.) Eaiu, rain, rain. Torrents! I arrived at the station early, and sat by the ear window, looking forth at the floods pouring down on the city of Tokio. Japan was fascinating, but the unending rain had made it a bit of a dis appointmen .In the first place, 1 my self was dripping with moisture all the time, iv spite of my raincoat, and over shoes, and my beautiful oiled-paper am brella. In the second place, through the clouds of continually descending wet, I had not once caught a glimpse of holy Fuji, the marvellous mountain that dominates the landscapes of Japan But now 1 was hoping for better luck, for I was going into rhe country, to the very foot of Fujisan itself. My Japanese- friend A) Inul scfiircfl for mo an invitation to visit, the home of friends of hers who lived on a farm in the province of Shizoka, in the shadow of Mount Fuji. The train ivent through a region of small farms where every inch was cultivated' to produce mulberry leaves for silkworms, or human food, chiefly vegetables and rice. There are relativoly few cattle or other farm animals in Japan, so I saw no fields of corn, oats, rye, or wheat. Instead there were many small gardens, each with a "few rows of beans, cucumbers, squashes, and radishes, and ' perhaps a bed of buckwheat. Not one weed was to be seen. Under the Japanese, system of intense cultivation every plant is given individual attention and stimulated to its very best. The little wooden houses were weathered to a delicate brown, but their roofs were often green with moss and grass. They had no large lawns,' and often there were only a few square feet of yard shaded by the eaves; but even this did not go. to waste. I had had no conception '■ of such economy of land. In ■the tiniest spot would be placed a dwarfed tree six: inches High, an ornamental plant, and perhaps a pint- basin sunk in the earth with a goldfish in it. A house lot as large as fifteen feet square would probably have at least one tall tree; which would, of course, have to wait until it rose above the roof before it could send out any branches. The Japanese people love trees and flowers, and everywhere 1 saw the familiar faces of dahlias, cosmos, morning glories, portulacas, and geraniums. THE RICKSHA. At the railway station near the farm Ai was waiting for me with two rickshas. It was my first ride in a ricksha, for in Tokio and Yokohama the taxi has already largely supplanted the ancient, man-drawn vehicle. These little two-wheeled, rubber-tired carriages are very comfortable to ride in, bu one feels sorry for the coolie, who never stops running, though the perspiration soaks his garments and falls in big drops from his brow. Good luck was certainly following me, for the rain was stopping. A park near the station was full of laughing mothers and children, who, Ai said, were "laughing the rain away." We travelled a winding road up and over many hills. All around us and above us were the jagged peaks of other hills and mountains, for Japan is volcanic and the hills have not had time to take the smooth and rounded forms they have in older countries. 1 had never seen a landscape so wild and picturesque. In the lowlands of the stream beds men were working with Korean bulls, amon 0 tho rico plants and the lotus. But wjiat interested me most was the patchwork cultivation of the steep hillsides. It was exactly like ~ a quilt I used to see on my grandmother's bed— a quilt in different shades of green and yellow, made of squares and tr.iangles, rectangles, and diamonds and stars. "Ah, see! There is our housel" cried Ai. A RECEPTION. We -were coming to a thatched cottage, like so many of the farm houses we had passed. It stood on a bank a little above a rice bed, and there were neat stacks of rice straw about it. Our hostess was coming down the road to geet us,'and we'smiled and bowed, but she did not speak to,Ai until we had taken off our shoes and actually entered the house. According to the Japanese, the proper place for personal introductions and greetings is in tho sanctuary of the home. While our-hostess was asking Ai if I had found my journey comfortable, my eyes were taking in the little house. It seemed to bo all one room, except for a bit of kitchen in the rear. Everything was as neat as wax. ' A subdued light entered through white paper windows in fragile outside walls which could be slid away, in warm and sunny weather, turning the house into the garden. -The floor was covered with matting, there was a low chest of drawers and a mirror in one corner, and in an alcove a painting of storks—a kakemono—with a little pine tree growing in a pot beneath it. Such was the entire furniture, of the room. Now our hostess, Sume-san, bowing deeply' again, disappeared in the kitchen and returned with two brass basins of warm water. She then drew out sliding screens and divided the room so that Ai and I should have a private place. While we were washing, Sume ; san brought us first mats to kneel upon, then a little brazier to warm the room, and then another little brazier with a tea pot upon it, from which she poured delicate tea. into delicate cups. We -tall knelt upon the mats and drank our tea in silence, . with shy Smiles to one another. "Sume-san says sorry she can not make you better," said Ai. "They live too simple for distinguished guest." SHOWING US ROUND. Sume-san next-showed us her chickens, three Ehode Island Red hens, a pair of bantams, and one duck, living in a neat little house made of rice straw. In all Japan I saw no big flocks of poultry, but many farmers had half a dozen hens or ducks, enoagh to supply eggs for the family. "Sumesan sorry for one lonely wife duck," said Ai. "Husband' duck die. All time sad now." While we were talking a neighbour came up theroad, her baby asleep upon her back, with his round dark downy head .nodding against her shoulder. She bowed to us deeply and tried to wake the baby so tjiat he might see the strange visitor from across the ocean. But Japanese babies regulate their nap ■ times themselves, , according to the needs of nature, wherever they may ; happen to be; and they keep to their ■ own schedules. : ' It was getting dark when we reentered the house, again carefully removing our shoes outside the door. To my great surprise, Sume-san turned on an electric light. :Ai explained that it was not in all farm houses yet, but electric power in Japan was the cheapest in the ■frorld, because of the hundreds of swift-flowing mountain streams. She led me to tho door and we looked across the' valley and up 3 hillsides where myriads of electric i street lights were beginning to twinkle along country roads. ! Sume-san in tho meantime- was cooking our supper.- The little house had no chimney, and all the cooking and heating, too, was done!,on tiny movable charcoal stoves or braziers. On one stove- the rice was.steaming,.on anoth-

er fish, and on a third a sort of soup to which Sume-san was adding seaweed. Sea-weeds of various kinds form a considerable part of the Japanese diet. At supper time lye knelt on mats, and Sume-san put before each of us a table about eight inches high, on which were two beautiful ■ re* lacquer bowls with cover? to keep the contents warm. All this time I had not once seen our host, and I now ventured to inquire for him. Ai explained that he had gone away because he had business in ' town; but she added demurely .chat he > was a very shy man and had probably i found his business convenient. "He ;s afraid of new educated women like you and me," she said. "But if he ■ go away he does uot see, and so still can be happy." 1 wanted to help with the cleaning up after supper, but Ai would not even • suggest it to Sume-san. "Shameful to make guest work," said Ai. . GOOD-NIGHT AND GOOD-BYE. | From a closet behind a folding < screen, Sume-san drew -out our beds, for each of us two thick quilts; we 1 were to sleep on the floor between them. A piece of white cotton cloth had been • sewn to each quilt as a sheet. There ' were two small wooden rolls for pillows, and for each of us a kimono nightgown and a pair of straw sandals. ! And then Sume-san hung above the 1 quilts her chief treasure, which bad 1 been a part of her wedding outfit, a _ marvellous mosquito net of green silk c with red crepe hangings. Opening from the kitchen was a bathr tub of unpainte'd wood about four feet square. Sume-San had filled it with ' water to serve for us all, and as 1 was 1 the chief guest I was invited to bathe » first. It is a custom among the Japan- ' ese to clean their bodies thoroughly r with soap before they enter the bath at i, all, so the tub bath is chiefly for comfc fort and relaxation. ; 1 was just falling to sleep in peace : beneath the green mosquito net, when 1 the floor and > walls began to shake and 1 there was a rumbling as though the mountain side was descending upon us. ■ This continued for two minutes. Ai • could hardly believe it was my first ex- • perienee of an earthquake, for in Japan ' it is not uncommon to have several in ° the course of a week. The Japanese i people rejoice in little earthquakes for ■ they release the forces which otherwise i would accumulate and finally spend i themselves in some great disaster. How I hated to see the rickshaw comi ing, to take us away next day! Sume- . San wsis sorry, too, and thero were tears i in her eyes, when, in accordance with '■ the Japanese custom, she made her gifts s to her departing guests. We went down into the valley, but . at the' bend of the road the coolies stopl ped and motioned to us to look back. •It was at, last revealing itself—the ; dream of poets, the despair of artists and the love of all the Japanese. The clouds had parted and above the humble little house rose the divine Fuji, the world's most glorious jiountain. crowa- " ed m radiant white.