Note 163 — Chapter XXX

“Though it may sound extraordinary to talk of a soldier with a fan, yet the use of that article is so general in Japan that no respectable man is to be seen without one. These fans are a foot long, and sometimes serve for parasols; at others instead of memorandum books. They are adorned with paintings of landscapes, birds, flowers, or ingenious sentences. The etiquette to be observed in regard to the fan requires profound study and close attention.”—Titsingh. “At feasts and ceremonies the fan is always stuck in the girdle, on the left hand, behind the sabre, with the handle downward.”—Thunberg. [See paper on “Japanese Fans,” in vol. ii of the Transactions and Proceedings of the Japan Society, London.—Edr.]