thrown on the grass. Salt was similarly thrown on the grass before
every contest. The idea is that salt is a purifier. It signifies, like
the handshake of our boxers, that the feelings of the combatants are
cleansed from malice.

Most of the events were single combats, but there were two meetings in
which a man confronted a couple of assailants. The contests I recall
were spear _v_. spear, spear _v_. sword, sword _v_. long billhook,
spear _v_. the short Japanese sickle and a chain, spear _v_. paper
umbrella and sword, pole _v_. wooden sword, pole _v_. pole, and long
billhook _v_. fan and sword. The weapons were sharp enough to inflict
serious wounds if a false move should be made or there should be a
momentary lack of self-control. The flashing steel gave an impression
of imminent danger. There was also the feeling aroused in the
spectators by the way in which the combatants sought to gain advantage
over one another by fierce snarls, stamping on the ground and
appalling gestures. The neck veins of the fighters swelled and their
faces flamed with mock defiance. Their agility in escaping descending
blades was amazing. But the _ki-ai_ player's dexterity is famous. It
is his boast that with his sword he could cut a straw on a friend's
head. I noticed that no women were present at the "spirit meeting."

More than once I found that my landlord host was accustomed to make a
circuit of his village once or twice a week in order to see how things
were going with his tenants. Public-spirited landlords were working
for their people by means of co-operation, lectures and prizes, the
distribution of leaflets and the giving of from 2-1/2 to 7-1/2 per
cent. discount in rent when good rice was produced. The rural
philanthropist in Japan sees himself as the father of his village.[32]
The Japanese word for landlord is "land master" and for tenant "son