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Show FJjj ; HcadBuckets Still Make Japanese Shudder WF 1 " FSPITE the fajt that Japan Is wide J awake and progressive, many of the old time customs, especially those Of home and family life change slowly The people of the Interior are very simple and primitive, the style of living In most of the villages is exactly as It was hundreds of years ago. Except In the vicinity of the coast cities a country brldn still decorates her hair with numerous shell nd metal pins, ond her dower Is Incomplete without a set of spln-i.( spln-i.( nlng and weavtnc Implements. They maj never be used, out they must be a part of tho , dowry One article, however. Is never in- ' eluded. It would be considered a ery bad omen to take a flax box on account of Its resemblance to tho kubloke. or head bucket, which whs an essential artlclo in the household house-hold o every warrior of feudal times. Tho kunlokc Is a round, wooden box. entirely en-tirely dlfferont ln shape and make from any other box ln Japan. The bottom, which looks like a flat, wooden plate with a narrow rim. has In the centre n sharp, hardwood spike. The cover Is a wide strip of thin wood curved around a plain top. and It fits olosoly over the rim. hiding it entirely. Although every samurai owned s kubloke, the warlike mission of many of them was. I of course, never fulfilled. But It was de- slrablo. Id those days, to bo ready Unpro- psrednesa Implied a taint of cowardliness, and the mission of the head bucket, although J gruesome was honorable as well ns tragic. At that time s political offender of surou-ral surou-ral rank was not arrested and tried. In- BJ9 stead he received by the hand of n court messenger a most formal .nd courteous note Intimating that It was well understood In court circles that he always would retain the honor of a noble samurai. The samurai knew at once what was meant, and. sending a return message of formal thanks io Uie lord for his honorable generosity, he quietly settled his affairs, bathed washed his hair donned the white death robe and then with all the customary ceremony, he RCcepted the "honorable death" by committing hurl-karl. His head, wrapped ln white paper, was placed In the kubloke. a whlto linen cloth with his crest was laid over the top and It w-as sen'. In the care of a trusted rotnlner to the ccurt. After being seen and Identified Identi-fied It was returned to the family with courteous expressions ot regret and sympathy. sym-pathy. In olden days the head bucket was always kept In a high, narrow closet with sliding doors, close to a certain alcovo that Is considered con-sidered as the place of honor In every Japanese Japa-nese house. Now. however it Is frequently tucked away In a half forgotten corner of the storehouse, store-house, or, as ln some of tho country homes of the northern provinces, put to the practical practi-cal use of holding colls of hemp ready for the twisting nnd spinning that occupy tho servants during the long winter evenings. The head spike makes it especially convenient con-venient for the purpose; there Is In fact, a Hlmllar arrangement In a flax box. It Is that similarity which makes a flax box too suggcsMvo to be included In a dower where only good luck emblems are welcome |