The Japanese are fond of dramatic representations, and have special buildings for their performances. Captain Golownin describes the theatre in Matsmai, the capital city of the island of Yesso, as "a large and pretty high building. At the back is the stage, which, as with us, has a raised floor. From the stage to the front wall, where the entrance is situated, two rows of seats are placed for the spectators. In the middle, where we have the pit, there is a vacant space in which straw mats are laid down for the spectators. As this space is much lower than the stage, those in front do not intercept the view from those behind. There is no orchestra, either because the Japanese perform no music in their theatres, or because the musicians are reckoned among the actors." The place for the orchestra was probably at the back of the stage, as in the Chinese theatre. Captain Golownin visited the building only in the day-time, and when the house was empty, the permission to see a piece performed having been refused to him by the government of the capital. "Opposite the stage, where in our theatres are the Emperor's box and the galleries, there are only a bare wall and the door for the entrance. There were no ornaments in the interior; the walls were not even painted. The dresses and decorations are kept in a separate building. The subjects of their plays are chiefly memorable events in Japanese history; but they have also other representations which are of a comic nature, and which serve to amuse the public."[105] Moreover, the Japanese have annual religious festivals in which scenic representations take place, and which are very popular. The dramas usually commemorate the deeds of ancient heroes or a myth; some have for their subject a fanciful love-story; and some are especially designed to enforce a certain moral precept. According to Siebold and Fisher, many of the Japanese plays are very instructive and moral. They are often so constructed that not more than two actors appear on the stage during a scene. There are no actresses, the female characters being represented by boys. It is not unusual for the actors to pass through the pit on their way to the stage, in order to give the audience an opportunity to admire their appearance and costume as closely as possible. Such dramatic music of extra-European countries as has been derived from Europe does not come within the scope of our present inquiry. It happens, however, not unfrequently that the European music is to some extent modified, by being interspersed with national tunes of the extra-European country into which it has been introduced, or by being performed in a peculiar manner. Whenever this is the case, it deserves the special attention of the student of national music.