Sketches of Japanese Manners and Customs (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press)

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Jacob Mortimer Wier Silver was a Lieutenant in the Light Infantry, attached to the British Battalion of Royal Marines for service in Japan. During the years 1864-1865 he collected material for his book Sketches of Japanese Manners and Customs which he published in 1867. "The first feature of Japanese life that prominently presents itself to the notice of the stranger, is the number of festivals and holidays held in honour of the various deities, warriors, and sages, or in accordance with some ancient custom of the county, which is as paramount an authority as the most stringent of its laws. Of these festivals, the 'Oki-don-tako, ' or 'Great Holiday, ' which takes place about Christmas, and lasts a fortnight, is the most important. Previous to its celebration, it is customary with the people to settle accounts, and amicably adjust any quarrels or estrangements that may happen to exist, and they evince the same spirit that actuates Christian nations at this season, by a general interchange of presents and complimentary visits with their friends and acquaintance. So anxious are the merchants to take this opportunity of settling with their creditors, that, when the dealers have deficiencies to make up, articles are frequently pressed on foreign residents at the Treaty Ports at prices previously refused.