He stores them away in a special building, and
a servant runs and fetches whatever may be wanted. When the article has
served its purpose, it is taken back again.
This building is called a godown. It is built of cement, is painted black,
and bears the owner's monogram in a huge white design. It is considered
to be fireproof, though it is not always so, and is meant to preserve the
family treasures in case of one of the frequent fires. It may be stored
with a great variety of furniture and ornaments, but very few see the light
at one time.
The Japanese does not fill his house with all the decorations he may own,
and live with them constantly. If he has a number of beautiful porcelain
jars and vases, he has one out at one time, another at another. A certain
vase goes with a certain screen, and every time a change is made, the
daughters of the house receive new lessons in the art of placing the
articles and decking them with flowers and boughs of blossom in order to
gain the most beautiful effect. If a visitor be present in the house, the
guest-chamber will be decorated afresh every day, each design showing some
new and unexpected beauty in screen, or flower-decked vase, or painted
kakemono. There is one vase which is always carefully supplied with
freshly-cut boughs or flowers. This is the vase which stands before the
tokonoma. The tokonoma is a very quaint feature of a Japanese house. It
means a place in which to lay a bed, and, in theory, is a guest-chamber in
which to lodge the Mikado, the Japanese Emperor.
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