| Show japan ITS SOCIAL HABITS etc A correspondent respond ent of odthe the new york daily times writing from the U S sloop susquehanna at si moa moda mentions some interesting facts in relation to the japanese ile he says the harbor of simoda one of the ports agreed upon for trade with americans is merely an indentation of no very great extent 7 of the coast of ciphon there 11 I 1 9 not room for half balf a st dozen vessels to lie in sali sall safety ety it has an open exposure to the southward and westward and its facilities a as a coal depot for steamers from chima to california Califern Califor niu nii it are said to be inferior to the bomin islands it is however one of the most picturesque sp spills its in the world hills rise on all hides sides with wih intervening valleys stretching to the wa waters edge and here and there a rock roex rears itself upon a salient point or directly from the bay on some seme of these rocks small white cott cottares cottages azes cling to the sides shaded by the foliage of overhanging tre trees ea the town of simoda is situated on a creek emptying em paying into the harbor the streets are wide and the houses are generally oboe of one story these thebe are divided into rooms by what a sailor would call a shi shifting ing bulkhead that is the hause may be he composed of but one large largo apartment and partitions can be put up VI TOWing it into I 1 at 0 a number of small chambers so that the inside of the same will present a very di different merent Terent appearance in the day time and at night hialit simoda does not appear well calculated uin ui upon n the whole for a place of trade and it can never become an active commercial town neither i is s it a manufacturing town as it was represented to be by the japanese while negolia negotiating i tin with commodore perry thia this added to tig the e fact that the harbor is a bid one will make it appear evident that the japanese commissioners got the better of na as in it the thi treaty as far as this place is is concerned the surrounding country wherever nature will permit it I 1 is highly cultivated the valley of the creek i s b road broad and well tilled yielding rice corn and maize the ears produced by the last are very small smail bein being 9 not more than from two to four inches in length sweet potatoes and the eggplant egg plant are also rais rals raised in great abundance there are no horses about simoda and bullocks are made to supply their places provisions with the exception ot of eggs and vegetable vegetables a cannot be obtained here the shark shak and bonito are the only large fish found in the harbor one ot of the later species supplied to a portion of the as poisoned all who ate of it no one died though several of the crew were se ee piously ri ogi ill lil abday 6 r thio thia this ficht must course feed upon the copper den der binks banks which are ere known to be very numerous here small fish are plentiful and they seem to form almost alm aim ottha mhd only article of food of the inhabitants besides rice beauty is rare in simoda and there seems to be very few lew of the higher classes residing there some pretty girls girs were seen but the married women in japan disfigure themselves by blacking their teeth with fine betel nut and shaving their eyebrows this is done that no one inky may be tempted by their beauty I 1 after marriage an unnecessary precaution fo for r like all woman who mature early they fail rapidly the grissim mora morality lity and disgusting immodesty among the lower order of the people exceeds everything of the kind to be met with in any other part of the world the laboring classes are half or entirely naked all the time weather permitting of course women may be seen bathing in the etis eti in in front of their own doors in an entire state of nudity and there are two bath houses at simo da where the sexes bathe indiscriminately disregarding alg arding entirely all decency and throwing the fashionable frequenters of rockaway and newport quite into the shade the dress of the women of japan is by no means to be commended either f for or its elegance gracefulness or propriety 1 lety it consists separately of body and skirt both of which are open the former falls from the shoulders at times partially exposing th h bust bast in front or on the side the latter is is very narrow and drawn tightly lightly around the waist and hips leaving an opening at the tha bide side only about half doubling this thia confinement of the hips added to the sandals that are worn rendering the gait in walking extremely awkward the hair however is arranged in the most artistic style which if f it could ba be onee once seen by a parisian coiffe coiffeur ur would doubtlessly supersede the chinois chenois Chi nois imperatrice or any other most in vogue in their houses gard gara gardens ens streets and persons the japanese are cleanly concubinage is common in japan besides a wife who is is always the mistress of the family every man who can afford it seems to have from one to five or six concubines depending u upon on his means or inclination who are bought fit from oui out their parents while young these creatures do not of course either black their theli teeth or shave their eyebrows and are often quite comely they are made to perform the duties of maid servants eer and are frequently through jealousy very cruelly treated at Si simoda rnoda i this class appeared to admire the foreigners very much muen and were in consequence often ordered out of their acht s there are a number of nf temples near and attached to each is a graveyard at one of these situated near a village there is a place iet tet apart for americans here dr hamilton was buried bing laid by the side of two others who died on the second visit of the ships there do not appear to be any tombs with mounds over them scattered about the con country in japan as in china but the japanese bury within an enclosure generally if not always in the vicinity of a tempie each grave has its iti appropriate stone as with us and by nany many of them are evergreens ever greens set in caces or joints of bamboo containing water which seem teem to be tho tha immor talles of the japanese cups cupa of areah fresh water are also set by the graves and to these thero birds of dazzling plumage and delightful song gong come and drink the graves of the americans americana were not teril terii |
