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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 1906)
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JUNE lO, 1906. Uni(nie Display of Useful Linen Imported to Portland and. n Explained. oQ. 1 WHIP 'I On sot: THE present craze for all forms of Japanese art has brought the Japanese towel to the attention of the American, public and many who have given the customs' and habits of the llttlo brown people no particular attention In tho past are now delighted with the discovery that their napery Is as quaint from a decorative stand point us their pottery and other wares. Mrs. Oliver1 Ellsworth Wood., of Van couver Barracks, has a collection of Japanese towels which Is probably the largest and most complete of any in this country. Colonel Wood was sta tioned in Japan for four years, living there during the Russo-Japanese war, and this long residence gave Mrs. Wood an excellent opportunity to make her collection unusually complete, both as to nunjbers and variety of designs. At the meeting of the T'nltarlan Wom en's Alliance last Wednesday afternoon Mrs. Wood exhibited her prized collec tion and In a delightful informal talk told those present of the significance of the various emblems and cartoons with which the towels are decorated. The towels of Japan are made of soft cotton cloth and are decorated In print ed designs, most of -the emblems used being of legendary or historical sig nificance, although many of them are clever cartoons on events of the day connected with their empire. They are unhemmed and without fringe, and the bright colors with which they are printed bring from the practical Amer ican housewife such expressions as "they will fade" "they will never launder well." But the wise little Jap anese knows his business well and when he manufactures towels to order for everything of that kind Is made to order In Japan he uses dyes that tire known to be absolutely fast, and It Is not unusual to see three or four col ors on one design. All Designs Mean Something. Bright blue is the color used most ex tensively, for the reason that it Is the best dye for laundering, although reds, purples, browns, black, salmons and other pinks are almost as universally used. The cost of a towel Is 3 or 4 cents, according to the design, and sometimes cheaper or more expensive. One can buy them in strips of five, ten or fifteen everything there being sold in fives or multiples of five instead of by the dozen. Lines of them are frequently hung In temples by those who have received some favor from the gods and who take this method of expressing their thankfulness and appre ciation, the design being drawn for the especial occasion by one of the many tow el artists who do a big business in each city. The towel traffic is engaged in by all classes, from coolies to the aristoc racy, and the designs used on them oy all people, from the lowest to the high est, show the charming simplicity of Jap anese character. The Japanese love Utile things If they mean something and prac tically everything in Japan does mean something. The significance attached to the most unimportant objects and the meaning which can be gotten by them from a print or carving of It is in Itself a lesson worthy of emulation by other na tionalities. In addition to beautiful sym bols of flowers, birds, fish and animals, there Is the subtle satire anu broad hu mor of many of their designs to be con sidered, for the Japanese are a humor ous people and love a joke as well as any other nationality. To them the dragon Is the demon of the storm, and they picture the tempest both In air and water as the elements agitated by this monster. The bamboo signifies up rightness and usefulness, while both the pine and stork are symbolic 01 long life, the former generally being spoken of as everlasting youth. New Year's souve nirs usually have designs which include both the pine and stork, the latter sup posed to indicate 1000 years of life. A towel for a New Year's greeting would not be looked on as exactly es thetic in America, but the gaily printed banner-shaped piece of cloth which the Japanese sends his friend or neighbor seems particularly fitting for such an oc casion, and one who did not know that it was a towel would .never dream that it was Intended to dry my lady's face and hands. It would probably take a good deal of training for the average Ameri can citizen to become accustomed .to dry ing himself after his morning tub with black and red stork, a brilliantly colored man-of-war. or the fanciful reproduction of a tal or carp, but the little brown people prefer this' artistic decoration to ihe monotonous plain white of the Amer ican linen, and as to fringe well, what does fringe mean to them If the towel Itself Is absolutely plain, with no emblem of happiness and long life, or of bravery, uprightness, preserverence, or the thou sand and one things they can teach their children? The war with Russia Is well Illustrated In cartoon on the collection owned by Mrs. Wood. A number of them are of special Interest, and show to a nicety the exquisite humor of this clever race. One, which is reproduced here that of the changes of expression of Admiral v.v n s- t3f 5T 'ft s mm . v J ."V - MakarofT's face as he received the news of tho first naval battle, and entitled, "He did not believe that Japan would tight" is as clever a cartoon as one would wish on such a subject. The artiBt makes even the hair tell the tale of charrm and surprise. Another illustrates the plight of the Russian Admirals when Togo captured their fleet while they were ashore at the theater. On one side the Russians are laughing at tho perform ance on the stage, while on the other the Japanese soldiers are laughing at the coup they have employed. "Diver" Mak aroff receiving reports from his ships at the bottom of the sea is cleverly illus trated by a single file of fish coming up from the deep, reports In hands. Many designs indicating the victory of the Japanese are used on these towels, the Japanese flag being shown and the Russians scampering away. The carp is significant of perseverance strength and all that is desirable in man- if " 1 ' 1 1 " - 0 MM &O0 or feres' "or t5 hood, and it is used exclusively as the jayraboi of Boys' day, which falls on the third day of the third month of each year. The carp, overcoming all obstacles, swims upstream, even Jumping waterfalls to reach its spawning bed at the top, and this principle is drilled into the boys of Japan from boyhood. On Boys' day all cities are profusely decorated with carp made of paper or silk, the gills distended fo that they fill with air and look very natural. Great strings of them are hupg in front of every residence and Japan -Hi' V Hi aid s3 frJU looks as though it had been suddenly transplanted to the bottom of the sea. The towel picturing the famous wrestlers will interest many from the unusual size of the combatants. Wrestlers are chosen there because of their size and tendency 9 K or- I i 9 : k It m It-" ' . NX.. to flesh, and having been selected for the honor, they are literally stunted with food, that they may grow to great size. If they please any member of the royalty in their exhibitions, they are presented with richly embroidered aprons, trophies great- 1 ly desired by them. "They look more like pin cushions tumbling about than ! wrestlers," said Mrs. Wood In describing ' this design. There are many beautiful souvenirs of : the Osaka Exposition In the collection, ! among these being one of the great ; bronze bell of Osaka, which was made of popular subscriptions of gold, silver and I copper coin, and which Is the largest bell In the world, made in a single casting. mm ft m SHOJT GOO t-.ii: : -t -TO ' V- ' The legend ot the frog and bumblebee Is given on one. signifying that no matter how stable and substantial one may be a very little thing can often upset that sta bility. Many specimens of family crests are used on towels, like the Eng lish coat of arms, being chosen for their significance. Others are beautiful with wisteria, cherry blossoms, iris, dragon flies. One has a lion and a peony, sym- bollc of strength and perseverance. A calender Is an odd affair, having such a mixture or variety of designs that a for eigner is quite at a loss to understand what It all means. "The Song of the Soldiers" is depicted by a cannon sur rounded by gunnera, while another Inter esting design contains a Samurai helmet and sword, lightning and clouds and cher ry blossoms, the latter Indicating young soldiery. Eight beautiful screens of Toklo are reproduced on one towel, while an other la a gorgeously colored affair, con taining a print of Katokiyo Masa, an an cient Japanese warrier, who conquered Corea in the l"th century. He is sur rounded by thunder and lightning. The floral pieces are most admired, especially the chrysanthemums. Iris, wisteria and . cherry designs. The triumphant review of the Japanese armies and navy by Field Marshal Marquis Oyama. Admiral Togo and officers is represented by a cherry blossom souvenir. It is told that the first syllables of the 1 I names of three Russian officers, Alexieff, Kuropatkin and Makaroff, form a Jap anese word which means devil. "A-Ku-Ma," it would be pronounced, and It was used freely during the war in referring to the Russians, but after one of these Admirals died an honorable death it was never heard in public or seen in print again. The Japanese are polite even un der the most strenuous circumstances. The satirical and humorous emblems, while popular with the masses, are not as generally so as those pertaining to the legendary and historical events of the em pire. As stated before, everything means . 1 X3- somethlng to the Japanese, and as a rule that meaning is something beautiful. There is seldom more than one snow storm during the Winter, and It has be come a great custom to make the trip to the famous avenue of cherry trees at Mu kopfna to see the snow on the cherry trees" this being considered a very beau tiful sight. A scene of this kind is de picted on one of the towels. Winter on the Sumida River and other beautiful scenes are also in great favor. Mrs. Wood considers one of the most unique things observed in Japan the shad ows seen on the paper screens which form the little houses in which the natives live. After the lights are lit in the evening, and before the wooden shutters are put up for the night, the silhouettes on the screens give an idea of the family life and are quaint almost to the point of be ing grotesque. "And when It comes time to put up the shutters." she said, "one never heard such a clatter. for there are hundreds of thousands going up at one time In a city of such large population as Tokio." Every occasion of any public Interest or importance is the signal for the appear ance of new towels, with new designs, and they are eagerly purchased as souve nirs and for general household use. Those which Mrs. Wood brought home with her are purchased in various parts of the province and represent many gala events. Some of them are daintily hemstitched by her little Japanese maid, but the ma jority of them remain as purchased, with unfinished edges. The Great Uncertainty. Mi-Landburith Wilson In New York Sunt Mondaj-. planted ry and melons On this peacefulest of ocenes. But the seeds, ignoring- ab. Came up manglewort and) beans. Tuesday, planted Hoa Thief Jimmy On the very plainest proof; Boys allowed that be would surely Be an imp with cloven boor. Wednesday, planted Deacon Jackson; r arson flggered out all rlrht He would purely be an angel With some wings t lily white. Now I've got a little notion And a startling thought it brings 'Sooting Jimmy and the Deacon Mix like other planted thingsT