The men shaved the front and crown of the head, leaving a sort of tuft on top; the boy's head was shaved in different ways, but at fifteen the boy's hair was dressed exactly like a mature man, because then he attained his majority. Among the women the hair was worn long but arranged differently for a married woman than a young girl, and, too, the married women removed the hair of the eyebrows. The infant was free from swathing; at three its clothes was bound at the waist with a girdle. At seven or later the boy of noble birth wore a short sword in his girdle which at fifteen, when he became a man, he would exchange for the two swords of the samurai. =Regulations.= During the two hundred and fifty years--sixteenth-nineteenth centuries--when Japan was cut off from all outside people, the strictest economy was necessary for the nation to be able to care for itself. To this end regulations were laid down to which the different classes had to adhere closely. These were binding and must have proved irksome, yet they preserved the nation. It seems well to give some of the regulations here. "The following are examples, first, of the rules applying to the _bungen_ (station in life) of a farmer of seventy-five to one hundred _koku_ ($375 to $500), and, second, to that of a common farm-laborer: I. For a Farmer of 100 _Koku_. 1. Such a farmer may build a house whose length is ten _ken_ (about sixty feet), but there must be no parlor (_zashiki_), and the roof must not be tiled. If the householder wishes to tile the roof, to protect it against fires, he must first get permission. 2. On the occasion of a marriage of a son or daughter, the gifts of the householder must be limited to the following: Two _nagamochi_ (a chest used for bed-clothes). One _tansu_ (a chest of drawers). One _tsuzura_ (a vine used in basket making). One _hasami-bako_ (a case for scissors). A _yuinō obi_ (a present, usually the sash called _obi_, exchanged at the time of the wedding). One _sensu_ (a fan). One _taru_ (a vessel containing wine). _Surume_ (a kind of fish). _Kobu_ (a kind of seaweed). _Tai_ (a kind of fish, used on occasions of ceremony). 3. The viands on the wedding-day must be as follows: (1) _Zōni-zuimono_ (a kind of soup). (2) The things placed on the _honzen_ (a small table): (a) in the _hira_ (one of the dishes), _namasu_ (a kind of fish); (b) in the _choku_ (the other dish), something roasted or broiled. (3) _Hikimono_ (viands taken home by each guest): (a) _suimono_ (soup), two kinds; (b) _torimono_ (a liquid), two kinds; (c) _hikigashi_ (a kind of cake). These three kinds altogether must not make more than a small amount. 4. The family must never wear silk clothes. If a son or a daughter is to marry a person whose station allows the use of silk, the householder must request him not to use it on the occasion of the wedding.