The village has as many as six fire engines, which can be moved about either on wheels or on runners according to the weather, and as many look-out ladders and fire-alarm bells. The young men's association has no fewer than half a dozen buildings, the property of the village. Five of them are little more than sheds and seem to be used on wet days as nurseries and playrooms for children. The sixth is the village theatre, playing at which appears to have been abandoned for some years. Travelling players give their shows where they will. The theatre stands in a space encircled by large trees opposite the chief shrine of the village. There is also here a smaller shrine (fox god) and some tombstones. [Illustration: YOUNG MEN'S CLUB ROOM] Before the chief shrine are two large leaden lanterns. At the base of these a considerable strip of metal has been torn away. This unusual destruction by village lads caused me to make enquiry. I found that the boys had merely enlarged a hole made by adults. The destruction had been wrought in order to remove the inscription on the lanterns. It was said that the local donor had meanly omitted to make the customary gift to the shrine to cover the small expense of lighting the lanterns on the occasion of festivals. It was the feeling of the villagers, therefore, that he should not be allowed to blazon his name in connection with a shabby gift. [Illustration: MEMORIAL STONES] There is a ceremony about half a dozen times a year at the chief shrine, which is about a century old. The Shinto priest, who seemed to be a genuine antiquary, was of opinion that the structure inside the shrine might have been built two hundred years ago. In addition to this chief shrine and the small shrine near it, there are two other shrines in the village, one in the temple yard (god of happiness) and the other (horse god) in an open space of its own. [Illustration: ROOF PROTECTED AGAINST STORMS BY STONES] But perhaps the most remarkable thing about the non-material life of this village is the fact that it contains no fewer than 400 carved stones of a more or less religious character. A few are Buddhist; some are memorials to priests or teachers; several bear that representation of a man and a woman facing one another (p. 265) which is one of the oldest mystic emblems; the majority are devoted apparently to the horse god. Every man who loses a horse erects a stone. There are two persons in the village who can carve these stones at a cost of about 2 yen. Some stones which are painted red are dedicated to the fire god. The 400 stones of which I am speaking do not include grave stones. These are seen everywhere, many of them just by the wayside. Nearly every family buries in its own ground. Some burial places with stones of many forms dating back for a long period of years are extremely impressive. At the _Bon_ season the grass on every burying ground is carefully cut.