Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, Ernest Schaal, amsibert and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) [Illustration: UMÉ SAN IN THE FIELD OF IRIS] LITTLE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE UMÉ SAN IN JAPAN BY ETTA BLAISDELL McDONALD AND JULIA DALRYMPLE Authors of "Manuel in Mexico," "Raphael in Italy," "Kathleen in Ireland," etc. [Illustration] Illustrated BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1909 _Copyright, 1909_, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. _All rights reserved._ Published September, 1909. Printers S. J. PARKHILL & CO., BOSTON, U. S. A. PREFACE Japan is a paradise of flowers and of treasure-flowers, as the Japanese mothers call their babies. In no other country in the world do they both form so large a part of the daily life of the people. From the first white plum blossom to the last gorgeous chrysanthemum the path of the days is strewn with beautiful blossoms; and from the time of the Dolls' Festival to the New Year's Celebration there is a constant round of simple pleasures for the children. Happy children! who are always laughing and never crying; who are taught filial respect, reverence, and unquestioning obedience, but are surrounded in their homes with an atmosphere of kindness, cheerfulness and loving care. It is true that the New Japan is very different from the Old. Railway trains and electric cars are taking the place of the jinrikisha and kago; modern school-houses, with desks, chairs, blackboards, and the latest methods of teaching are fast replacing the tiny school-room with its matted floors and its lessons learned by rote. But the spirit of the common people is unchanged. The children play the same games and listen to the same delightful tales; and their fathers and mothers hold to their old superstitions, their ancestor-worship and their love of nature.