A Japanese BoyA Japanese Boy by Himself is an essay written by Shukichi Shigemi when he was a student attending medical school at Yale University in 1889. It was written in English and published by a company in Connecticut, U.S.A. The description of just a common boy's daily life in a countryside contributed to cross-cultural understanding between the two countries at an early stage after the end of the Japanese isolation policy. His book sold well that he could pay for education with this publication to become a qualified doctor. |
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Common terms and phrases
Aunt Otsuné Aunty bamboo bath beans blood will tell boiled boys brother Buddhist cakes called Chinese chips chopsticks Chrysanthemum cook copy-books corner dancing Daruma drum earthen eyes fancy father fish floor flowers friends gentle Gladness Goddess gorin hand happy hard head heart holidays Imabari india ink Japan Japanese kakemonoes katsuwo Kioto kitchen kite kotatsu Kwannon ladies lanterns light look ment mochi morning mother mountain ness night Osaka painted paper parquet party penmanship play prayers priest quilt rice round saké samisen scene Shinto Shintoism shoyu shrine side sisters stand stick stone story street string sweet sweet tea taiko Tanabata taste teacher temple theatre things tion took towel town tsuzumi turn uncle vessel wall wash whole wood wooden yard young
Popular passages
Page 105 - rice-flour cakes wrapped in the leaves of a species of oak called kashiwa" at the Boys' Festival; and sake on almost all occasions, " with a spray of peach blossom inserted in the bottle" at the Girls
Page 120 - In the temple kitchen the cook has boiled gallons and gallons of it, and from the dawn that functionary is prepared for the hubbub and the hard task of dispensing it expeditiously to the throng.
Page 113 - The delegate delivers the oral message with profound respect and formality, bowing low to the ground before the ancestral tombstones as in an august presence.
Page 119 - ... whence he came, pointing to heaven, and what his mission on earth was. His exact words are recorded in the Buddhist's scriptures.
Page 26 - The fact is that the Japanese language has not been systematized; should one attempt it he would find it a tremendous task.
Page 114 - reception fire." The spirits are next requested to alight carefully at the high home altar so as not to bruise their shanks. In Japan each house has a sacred closet wherein are enshrined images, ancestral tablets, charms and amulets, where cake and oranges, flowers and incense are offered, and before which the family commemorate the days of their ancestors' death. This elevated place is called the
Page 119 - April, in every temple a bronze basin is placed before the altar ; in the center of the basin stands a bronze image of the Infant Shaka...