![LITTLE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE UMÉ SAN IN JAPAN BY ETTA BLAISDELL McDONALD AND JULIA DALRYMPLE Authors of "Manuel in Mexico," "Raphael in Italy," "Kathleen in Ireland," etc. [Illustration] Illustrated BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1909](https://oldbook.b-cdn.net/kitaplar/6/pg58378-h/images/i_titlepage.png "LITTLE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE UMÉ SAN IN JAPAN BY ETTA BLAISDELL McDONALD AND JULIA DALRYMPLE Authors of \"Manuel in Mexico,\" \"Raphael in Italy,\" \"Kathleen in Ireland,\" etc. [Illustration] Illustrated BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1909")
Copyright, 1909,
By Little, Brown, and Company.
All rights reserved.
Published September, 1909.
Printers
S. J. Parkhill & Co., Boston, U. S. A.
PREFACE
Japan is a paradise of flowers and of treasure-flowers,as the Japanese mothers call their babies.In no other country in the world do they both formso large a part of the daily life of the people. Fromthe first white plum blossom to the last gorgeouschrysanthemum the path of the days is strewnwith beautiful blossoms; and from the time of theDolls' Festival to the New Year's Celebration thereis a constant round of simple pleasures for the children.
Happy children! who are always laughing andnever crying; who are taught filial respect, reverence,and unquestioning obedience, but are surroundedin their homes with an atmosphere of kindness,cheerfulness and loving care.
It is true that the New Japan is very differentfrom the Old. Railway trains and electric cars aretaking the place of the jinrikisha and kago; modernschool-houses, with desks, chairs, blackboards, andthe latest methods of teaching are fast replacing thetiny school-room with its matted floors and its lessonslearned by rote. But the spirit of the commonpeople is unchanged. The children play thesame games and listen to the same delightful tales;and their fathers and mothers hold to their oldsuperstitions, their ancestor-worship and their loveof nature.
This story is a picture of the simple life of aJapanese family. To follow little Umé San throughthe year, to play with her dolls on the days of theDolls' Festival, to go with her to the parks to admirethe cherry blossoms or chrysanthemums andjoin the crowds who are celebrating these joyousseasons, to feed the goldfishes and doves in thetemple gardens, to buy toys and gifts in the streetsof shops, and to welcome the New Year withfestivity and merrymaking, is to catch a glimpseof the rare charm and spirit that pervade life inthis "Land of the Rising Sun."
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Little Miss Plum Blossom1
II. Umé's Birthday...