Rice is, of course, the staple article of diet, “the staff of life” of the Japanese; and yet, in poverty-stricken country districts, this may be a luxury, with barley or millet as the ordinary food. Various vegetables, particularly beans, are much used, fresh or pickled; seaweed, fish, eggs, and nuts are largely eaten; and a sauce, made of beans and wheat, and sold in America as “soy,” is “the universal condiment.” Thin vegetable soups are an important part of their meals, and, as no spoons are used, are drunk with a loud sucking noise, which is a fixed habit in drinking. The principal beverages, even more common than water, are tea and _sake_. The latter, an alcoholic liquor brewed from rice, is taken hot; the former, without milk or sugar, is also taken hot, and is served, not only at meals, but just about all the time. A kettle of hot water is always kept ready at hand, in house or inn, so that tea may be steeped in a moment and procured to drink at any time. It is always set before a guest as soon as he arrives, and is absolutely indispensable in every household. At meal time each person sits on the floor before a small, low table on which his food is placed. They use no knife, fork, or spoon, only chop-sticks; and do not consider it in bad form to eat and drink with loud smacking and sucking sounds. Their food, when served, seems to foreigners more beautiful than palatable; it is “unsatisfying and mawkish.” One who has probably had innumerable experiences during a long residence in Japan says: “After a Japanese dinner you have simultaneously a feeling of fulness and a feeling of having eaten nothing that will do you any good.”[50] Yet, in time foreigners learn to like many parts of a Japanese bill of fare; and when travelling about the country, by carrying with them bread, butter, jam, and canned meats, can get along with rice, eggs, vegetables, and chicken or fish to complete the daily fare. In the summer resorts frequented by foreigners there are always hotels and restaurants where only European cooking is served. With the introduction of Western civilization came wine, ale, beer, etc., which are extensively used by the Japanese. Indeed, we must not fail to take notice of the change that is taking place in the diet of the Japanese. Bread and meat, which were long ago introduced into the diet of the army and the navy, are pretty generally popular; and many other articles of “foreign food” are largely used. It is quite a common custom in well-to-do families to have at least one “foreign meal” per day; and “foreign restaurants,” especially in the large cities, are well patronized. It is said, indeed, that first-class “foreign cooking” is cheaper than first-class “Japanese cooking.” The standard of living has been considerably raised within the past decade.