They have no stoves. Instead of stoves they have boxes lined with brass. In these boxes they burn charcoal to heat their rooms. But they do not cook their food in these brass boxes. They cook in little ovens made of clay. When it rains in Japan the people look very funny. The men wear rain coats made of rice straw. They also have big straw hats and paper umbrellas. [Illustration: A Rain Coat.] They wear blocks, three inches high, fastened to the soles of their shoes. These keep their feet dry. So on a rainy day everybody looks three inches taller. In Japan they do not wear shoes in the house. When they go into their houses they take them off. Their shoes are made of wood or straw. Some of the people have shoes with gold braid. [Illustration: Japanese Shoes.] Perhaps you would like to know how they dress in Japan. Boys and girls dress very much alike. Both wear long gowns, like skirts, of blue or gray cotton or silk. These gowns are open at the neck. A sash is worn around the waist. The girls tie their sashes in a bow at the back. The children of Japan are very strange looking, not at all like you. They are like the Chinese. Their skin is yellow, and their eyes are slanted. Their hair is black and straight. You will wish to know what they eat in Japan. The food is much the same as in China. They eat a great deal of rice. They have fish, and they drink tea. They use chopsticks in eating, as the people in China do. The people in Japan are very fond of flowers. Every house has a garden around it. The boys and girls walk and play in these gardens. [Illustration: Interior of a Japanese House.] Boys and girls in Japan have many nice toys. One of their toys is a little oven with real fire in it. Peddlers go round with these ovens and with sweet dough to bake in them. For five cents the boys and girls can get the use of an oven, and dough enough to bake little cakes. They often make cakes shaped like animals. The peddler makes the letters of the alphabet in dough. Then he bakes them in the oven for the boys and girls. With these cake letters they often learn their a, b, c. The boys in Japan, like the boys in China, are very fond of kites. But in Japan they have fighting kites. They mix broken fine glass with glue, and rub it on their kite strings. When the strings become dry they are hard and sharp. Then the boys fly their kites. One boy tries to cross and cut the string of another boy's kite with the string of his own. The boy who cuts down a kite gets it as his prize. In Japan they have a day like our Flag Day. On this day the boys have toy soldiers with swords and guns. They form these soldiers into armies, and have battles. Then the parents and teachers tell the boys about the great soldiers of their country, and the great battles they fought.