Japan and Britain After 1859: Creating Cultural Bridges

12 The price of seclusionto reach number twelve, and we know what time it is by where it pointsout around the graduated face in sixty minutes. This figure showstwenty-two minutes past nine. A second hand rotates once a minute, butwe do not mention the second when you check the time.There are no tatami mats in Western-style houses. Instead, theyspread a mat on the floor, then lay a beautiful carpet on it. Their customis to sit on a chair on the carpet. Because they do not sit on the floordirectly it is all right to walk inside the house with shoes on. They placethe doormat at the entrance and wipe their shoes on it. That helps themkeep clean inside the room. When Westerners visit Japan, they sometimesenter a house with their shoes on. It seems to us very rude;however, we should overlook such things.Bed (see fig 1.18) is 3 shaku wide, 6 shaku long. The one for twopersons is even 4 shaku wide. The mattress is filled up with straw, thencotton, and wool. Finally they spread a bleached cotton sheet over it.Figure 1.18 Bed and chamber pot