sons displays a paper carp
floating from a flagstaff. If a male child has come to the
establishment during the year the carp is extra large. It is
considered a reproach to any married woman not to have this symbol
flying outside the house on the occasion of this feast. Why the carp
has been selected as a symbol is a matter upon which there is much
difference of opinion. The carp, it is said, is emblematic of the
youth who overcomes all the difficulties that lie in his path during
life, but I confess I rather fail to see what connection there is
between this fish and such an energetic youth. On this day the boys
have dolls representative of Japanese heroes and personages of the
past as well as toy swords and toy armour. On the girls' festival--the
Feast of Dolls--there is no outward and visible display. The fact of a
girl having been born in the family is not considered a matter to be
boasted of. On this feast there is a great display indoors of dolls.
As a matter of fact dolls form a very important part of the heirlooms
of every Japanese family of any importance. When a girl is born a pair
of dolls are procured for her. Dolls are much more seriously treated
than they are in European countries, where they are bought with the
full knowledge that they will quickly be destroyed. In Japan the dolls
are packed away for nearly the whole of the year in the go-down, and
are only produced at this particular festival. I may add that not only
the dolls themselves but furniture for them are largely in request in
Japan, and that this dolls' festival is really a very important
function in the national life.

New Year's festival is the great day of the year in Japan. In this
respect it approximates to our Christmas. Not only the houses but the
streets are decorated, and every town in the land has at this
particular season an unusually festive appearance. At this period
visits are exchanged, and New Year's presents are the correct thing.

On the Bon Matsuri, or All Souls' Day, the Japanese have a custom
somewhat similar to that which obtains in Roman Catholic countries on
the 2nd of November. On the first night of the feast the tombs of the
dead during the past year are adorned with Japanese lanterns. On the
second night the remaining tombs are likewise decorated, while on the
third night it is the custom, although it is now somewhat falling into
desuetude, for the relatives of the dead to launch toy vessels made of
straw laden with