It
is practically indestructible, and will wear for ever. All the poor as
well as the rich people here use it, and have used it for centuries,
instead of china and glass, for cups, saucers, dishes, bowls, which
would need to be often washed in the hottest of water. It is said that
the modern Japanese have lost the art of lacquer making; and as an
illustration I was told that many beautiful articles of lacquer, old
and new, had been sent from this country to the Vienna Exhibition in
1873, but the price put on them was so exorbitant that few were sold,
and nearly all had to be sent back to Japan. Just as the ship with
these things on board reached the Gulf of Yeddo, she struck on a rock
and sank in shallow water. A month or two ago a successful attempt was
made to raise her, and to recover the cargo, when it was found that
the new lacquer had been reduced to a state of pulp, while the old was
not in the least damaged. I tell you the tale as it was told to me.
After a long day's shopping, we went to dine, in real Japanese
fashion, at a Japanese tea-house. The establishment was kept by a very
pleasant woman, who received us at the door, and who herself removed
our exceedingly dirty boots before allowing us to step on to her clean
mats. This was all very well, as far as it went; but she might as well
have supplied us with some substitute for the objectionable articles,
for it was a bitterly cold night, and the highly polished wood
passages and steep staircase felt very cold to our shoeless feet.
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