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Show I J Decorative Possibilities of JapaHeSC Aft ilfl "S"T Ik only natural to expect a people flfl ft who "ve on such ambrosial fare as Jfl H lotus blossoms, who rise at dawn f ftflj to do homage to the morning glory. 199 who stcal out at tlie "wee sma' " hour of 3 and stand on temple bridges aKA -j 1" the center of a sacred lake to see the P?.frl " ' lotua bud snap open In all their glo- f f rlous beauty, to express In their mato- afj. rial belongings tholr Intense love of na- Hk t.-. ture. Such a people are the Japanese, Wt . who arc fighting the Russians so brave- BE, : ly. It is Interesting to know that these BV oriental Islanders, who seem to have a fcV special faculty for using the sixth sense Hi in culling the best Ideas from other na- BB tions and adapting them to eastern fl i conditions, have In their land a di3dple BJ of William Morris, that great modern BB . exponent of Interior decorative art- A flfl ' veritable garden spot of Tokyo Is Nemo B I Park, the estate of Kakasu Okakura. an flf I authority on the fine arts who Is called Bj J j the "Morris of Japan." B' . I In this park are forty houses, occu- BE. j pled by a group of arthjts, who form a R'i school called by Its founder. Mr. Oka- BVj , kura, the hall of arts. These students H are working out beautiful new expres- H. slona of art in furniture, fabrics and Wk ceramics. Their chief alms are In wood fl strength with plain, artistic outlines; !"M in textiles and pottery a soft brilliance lit Ti'lth an undertone of color. Mj In our own homes what travesties are IK often seen of ao called Japanese fur- II'! nlshlngs! These artistic little people -,if j have given us a wealth of art objects l; which we heedlessly jumble Into a '.fW' v meaningless maas and elegantly speak II ' Uf of the result as an "oriental" or a "Jap- I j anese" room. As a matter of fact, the a I real Japanese home Is conspicuously i lacking In Interior decoration, and in lj construction is the simplest 'thing In j the world. It is usually all on one floor, 1 and the leas pretentious houses are S. merely a roof supported by four posts, jl the number of bedrooms depending iS upon the needs of the family. The - rooms are divided hy two rows of pa- m per shutters in grooves. The Inner ones W ' when pushed back give the Interior a M kind of vestibule train effect. There Wf are no passages In these houses, and ML when a door In wanted all that is nec- Js" casary 1b to slide back the nearest panel, ut What joy to the hygienic housewife a h I Japanese bedroom must be. with its J8 I easily cleaned, adjustable walls that ps'j . aiay be exposed to the light and air by W j ( Hltpplng them alonj a groove, matting Sys which is replenished when the slightest furnace for boiling wateV, teapot, cups of some rare old Hizen and a tea canister. can-ister. Woven rush mats on which to set the tea outllt are Indispensable ac-pessorles ac-pessorles of the function. There must also be a metal utensil for heating the tea over the lire before It is put in the water. Tho tea must be powdered. It Is put Into a bowl, and hoi water is poured on It from a miniature wooden dipper. The mixture Is stirred with a wisp of split bamboo until it foams. If a "tea" i SCENES IN A JAPANESE LADY'S HOME. a complete Japanese tea making apparatus, appa-ratus, which comes In a neat wooden case. When open It displays a tiny hostess has tiny tables of lacquer placed before each guest and seats them on oriental cushions a hint of the cast is brought Into the more prosaic serving of tho cup that cheers. Dainty cushions for this function are of heavy black ralln appliqued with cloth and rllk to represent the faces of almond eyed maidens. While the vogue of Japanese decoration, decora-tion, which the war in the east has intensified, in-tensified, is still hanging over us some ambitious lKstess will be inspired to not only serve tea in Jap fashion, but in a room rich In the trappings of the orient. Such a room "would be ideal clone In the following manner: Tho walls should be hung with a plain, soft gray paper, and about three feet from the celling " Such a room "would be ideal clone in '' j'IOW ws should bit soiled and a bed which is put in a closet during the day! Several tea tables a foot high and a charcoal stove the only concession to the damp, cold winter weather constitute con-stitute the furnishings of this sleeping apartment. 2very house has its corner' cor-ner' sacred to the emperor, and it is here that the art treasures are displayed. display-ed. -Over the raised dais, which Is often covered with a handsome rug or bit of artistic fabric. Is the kakanoma, or sacred sa-cred picture. A set of vases and a Japanese Jap-anese dwarf tree are the other ornaments. orna-ments. In the Japanese arrangement of flowers flow-ers there is a significance which is always al-ways obsei-ved. Forexample. at a wedding wed-ding red and white blossoms arc used as decorations, the red flower being masculine In floral gender and the white feminine. The Japanese embroideries, em-broideries, especially the work done on kimonos and tea cloths, are particularly particular-ly lovely with their flights of birds, cherry blossom designs and dragon patterns. If one desires to be very oriental ori-ental in serving tea one must purchase h of : spz3 i formed are painted cherry blossoms. ALTAR ROOn I which lend a flowery suggestion which there should be a picture molding of teakwood or ebony. In the frieze thus formed are painted cherry blossoms, which lend a flowery suggestion which is truly Japanese and charming. The hanging at the doorways Is of French gray upholstery silk embroidered In realistic cherry blossoms. Panels on the wall are lightly framed in ebony and painted with cherry blossoms and flights of birds of exquisite coloring. A pearly light is radiated through the tea room by means of cherry Japanese silk curtains draped over a sliver tissue, which combination produces a peculiarly pecul-iarly beautiful effect. The Ideal tea room should boast a large low win-dow win-dow which will serve as a charming background for a couch, a concession to western habits the occupants of the apartment will enjoy. Over this large window is placed a grlllwork of bamboo in Jananese deslcn. Between the crlaaR and the grill Is fluted cherry colored silk, while on tho wicker couch velvet pillows of cherry toning into a dull shade of red are artistically arranged. In front of one end of the couch, on a low teakwood tabourot, Is placed a pot of artificial chery blossoms. A two leaved screen painted with those motif flowers on white silk set in a narrow ebony frame stands at the head of the couch, and a Japanese goatskin lies in front of the seat. A light that falls to do duty except to beautify the room comes from a rich, red silk lantern hung from a shelf. In ceremonious Japan knots play an Important part in tho etiquette. There are certain prescribed ways of tying up presents when sending them for special occasions, and ,even the strings around a tea caddy or sword bag have their particular kink. A deadly insult may be conveyed in twisted ploces of cord or silk, so It behooves tho stranger -within the gates to post himself. During tho thirty years' peace armor was made of a series of elaborate knots and worn as an ornament for parade and not as a panoply of war. This ancient an-cient armor is to be found .moRtly in old baronial castles and In the temples, where also are kept the finest examples of Japanese art. Luck ha3 Indeed como to the collector who is fortunate enough to be able to obtain a piece of this suit of mall. A favorite decdrative scheme of the Japanese is to drape fancifully tied knots having tassels on the ends around lacquered cabinets, and small tables are threaded In and out with heavy cord knotted on the shelves and tops of the tables. Examples of this knot work are the objeots of the curio hunter's search ju3t at present. A suggestion of the docoratlve art of tho mikado's realm In a -western home is delightful, but a room filled with tawdry fans, lanterns, lan-terns, shoes and swords is an abomination abomina-tion and a direot insult to these artistic people. A well known authority on interior decoration says, "It is as much of a marvel for a woman without training to croate a good interior as for an amateur am-ateur in music to compose a flno opera." op-era." The very abundance of beautiful things often makes the appropriate object ob-ject a matter for serious consideration. EDITH LAWRENCE. |