Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(75)Variousbrooms.Thebamboopoleswithleavesstillonwereusedin“springcleaning,”
and brooms with triangular heads for floors.
Onrisingthewomenwouldrollupthebeddingandputitawayintothedeepcupboards
built for the purpose (
74
)
.
On fine days the bedding would be aired in the sun; this airing
was done as frequently as possible, because at some seasons of the year the humidity and
warmth is such in Japan that unless the greatest care is taken molds proliferate. The straw
matswouldberegularlycleanedbybeingbrushedoffwithbrooms(
75
)
,
andthewoodwork
of the floors rubbed over with a damp cloth: the effect of this treatment over a period of
timewastoimpartadullsheen,resemblingatfirstglancetheshinegivenbypolishingwith
wax; in fact no polish and no paint were used in Japan at this time.
Once a year there was a general house-cleaning, called the “soot-sweeping,” when all
the mats that covered the floor were taken out into the garden or street and beaten; bamboo
poleswithpliabletwigswereusedasbroomstodislodgethedustandsootfromtheceilings
andfittings.Itistypicalofthesocietyofthetimethatthis“spring-cleaning”wasnotsaidto
be for any aesthetic or hygienic reasons, but for a semi-religious one, so that the New Year
could be embarked upon with a home that had been swept clear of the defilement of dirt.
The date for this event was fixed; in the first decades of the Tukugawa period it was laid
down as the twentieth day of the twelfth month, but when the third Shogun, Iemitsu, died
on this day, which thus became unsuitable for such a ritual, it was moved to the thirteenth
of the same month. There were local and periodic variations, but the normal practice was
to adhere to this date.
