There he provides not only the delicacies which make up
a Japanese dinner, but hires dancing girls, called geisha, to amuse the
company by their dancing and singing.
A foreigner who is asked to one of these Japanese dinners finds everything
very strange and not a little difficult. At the doors of the tea-house his
boots are taken off, and he marches across the matting, to do his best to
sit on his heels for a few hours. This gives him the cramp, and soon he is
reduced to sitting with his back against the wall and his legs stretched
out before him. He can manage in this way pretty fairly.
There may be a table before him, or there may not. If there is a table, it
will be a tiny affair about a foot high. There will be no tablecloth, no
glasses, no knives and forks, no spoons, and no napkin. He will be expected
to deal with his food with a pair of chopsticks. When these are set
before him, he will see that the two round slips of wood are still joined
together. This is to show that they have never been used before. He breaks
them apart, and wonders how he is going to get his food into his mouth with
two pencils of wood.
The feast begins with tea served by moosmes, who kneel before each
guest. Each wears her most beautiful dress, and is girded with a huge
and brilliant sash. After the tea they bring in pretty little white cakes
made of bean flour and sugar, and flavoured with honey. The next course is
contained in a batch of little dishes, two or three of which are placed
before each guest.
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