. The mikado's empire. fans, likeother articles of art and handiwork, will be made by tens of thou- * These evening seances^ though intermitted during the hot weather, were con-tinued until I left Fukui. THE LAST TEAR OF FEUDALISM. 519 sands of independent workers all over the country. The Fukuiansmake fans of all sorts, and for all purposes: of water-proof paper fordipping in water — a sort of vaporizer for making extra coolness onthe face by evaporation; of stout paper for grain-winnows, charcoalfire-blowers, or for dust-pans; double-winged fans, for the judges atwrestling - matches; gorgeou
. The mikado's empire. fans, likeother articles of art and handiwork, will be made by tens of thou- * These evening seances^ though intermitted during the hot weather, were con-tinued until I left Fukui. THE LAST TEAR OF FEUDALISM. 519 sands of independent workers all over the country. The Fukuiansmake fans of all sorts, and for all purposes: of water-proof paper fordipping in water — a sort of vaporizer for making extra coolness onthe face by evaporation; of stout paper for grain-winnows, charcoalfire-blowers, or for dust-pans; double-winged fans, for the judges atwrestling - matches; gorgeous colored and gilt fans for the dancing-girl, who makes one a part of herself in her graceful motion andclassic pose; for the juggler, who will make a butterfly of paper flut-ter up the edge of a sword. The splitting of the bamboo, the foldingor pasting of the paper by the girls, the artists work, the finishing andpacking, are all done before my eyes. The manifold uses and etiquetteof the fan I am gradually Kioto Fan-makers. I find a rack of silver hooks or a tubular fan-holder in every house,in which are several of these implements of refreshment, which are atonce offered to the visitor on his arrival. I have received a stack offans inscribed with poetry, congratulations, or with maps, statisticaltables, pictures of famous places, classic quotations, or useful informa-tion of varied nature. Many depict life, manners, architecture, etc.,in Yokohama and in Europe. They are thus the educators of thepublic. Many of the Fukui gentlemen have collections of fans withfamous inscriptions or autographs, or pictures from noted artists. Ascholar or author, in giving a party to his literary friends, has a num- 520 TKE MIKADOS EMPIRE. ber of ogi ready for adornment; and people often exchange fans aswe do photograplis. When I go into a strange house, especially inmy trips to villages where the foreigner creates a sensation, I spendthe whole evening writing in English on fans for
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Keywords: ., bookauthorgriffisw, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookyear1894
