“The shops succeed each other without any regular order as to their contents, those of the same sort not being arranged together, as is often the case in China. The finer wares are usually kept in drawers, so that, unless one is well acquainted with the place, he cannot easily find the goods he seeks. The eaves of the houses project about four feet from the front and are not over eight feet from the ground; the porch thus made furnishes a covered place for arranging crockery, fruits, etc., for sale, trays of trinkets on a movable stall, baskets of grain, or other coarse articles, to attract buyers. The entrance is on one side, and the path leads directly through to the rear. The wooden shutters of shops are all removed in the daytime, and the paper windows closed, or thrust aside, according to the weather. On a pleasant day the doors are open, and in lieu of the windows a screen is hung midway so as to conceal the shopman and his customer from observation, while those goods placed on the stand are still under his eye. A case, with latticed or wire doors, to contain the fine articles of earthen ware, a framework, with hooks and shelves, to suspend iron utensils or wooden ware, or a movable case of drawers, to hold silks, fine lackered ware, or similar goods, constitute nearly all the furniture of the shops. Apothecaries’ shops are hung with gilded signs and paper placards, setting forth the variety and virtues of their medicines, some of which are described as brought from Europe. The partition which separates the shop from the dwelling is sometimes closed, but more usually open; and a customer has, generally speaking, as much to do with the mistress as the master of the establishment. When he enters, his straw sandals are always left on the ground as he steps on the mats and squats down to look at the goods, which are then spread out on the floor. A foreigner has need of some thoughtfulness in this particular, as it is an annoyance to a Japanese to have his mats soiled by dirty feet, or broken through by coarse shoes. [Illustration: SCENE IN THE HARBOR OF URAGA]