Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(41) Typical hearth. The screen kept draughts off the guest's back. The head of the house-
hold sat on the rectangular mat, with his wife (on the round mat) opposite the guest. The
roundish block in the foreground is a step at which outside footwear was removed.
Around the fire there would be a few pieces of equipment, such as a trivet and some
pokers, or a pair of iron bars, held like chopsticks, to serve as tongs; and, most character-
istic, the hook suspended over the fire from which hung a kettle or cauldron, adjustable for
height and held in position by a jamming-bar, which was often in the shape of a fish: this
fish was sometimes thought to be the residence of a household god of fire.
Theotherroomsinthehousewoulddependfortheirequipmentuponthecircumstances
of the family. The living room would normally be boarded, with some straw mats or cush-
ionsfortheimportantmembersofthehouseholdtositon.Ifthefamilywasabovethelevel
ofextremepoverty,thewifeofitsheadmighthaveasmallroomofherownwiththickmats
as floor covering: this was softer to sit on, and more comfortable to sleep on. There might
besurvivorsofthegenerationolderthanthefamily-head—stillprobablyastronginfluence,
even though retired from active control of affairs— with a room for themselves; the elder
son and his wife and children might also have a room. In a house preserved in the city of
TakayamainHidaonesuchroomwasmorelikealargecupboardunderthesteeplysloping
roof.Servants wouldsleep wheretheycould.There werenobedsasknowninChina orthe
West; the Japanese slept, and most still do, on mattresses spread on the floor, one per per-
