Japan and the Japanese

442 JAPAN. A. D. 17751776.
nge of seven years, whatever the relationship, there is no mourn-
ing.
The great dignitaries must wear mourning for the Siogun ; all
officers, civil and military, for their princes; and whoever derives
his subsistence from another must mourn for him as for a father.
Pupils also must mourn for their teacher, education being esteemed
equivalent to a livelihood. The sons of a mother, repudiated by her
husband and expelled from his house, mourn for her as if dead.
In case of persons holding office, who die suddenly without pre-
viously having resigned in favor of their heirs, it is not unusual to
bury them, the
night
after their death, in a private manner. The
death, though whispered about, is not officially announced. The
heir, who dresses and acts as usual, notifies the authorities that his
father is sick and wishes to resign. Having obtained the succes-
sion, he soon after announces his father's death, and the formal
funeral and mourning then take place.
The honors paid to deceased parents do not terminate with the
mourning. Every month, on the day of the ancestor's decease, for
fifty, or even for a hundred years, food, sweetmeats and fruit, are set
before the ifay. One hundred days after the decease of a father or
mother, an entertainment is to be given to all the intimate friends,
including the priest who presided
at the funeral. This is to be
repeated a year from the death ; and again on the third, seventh,
thirteenth, twenty-fifth, thirty-third, fiftieth, hundredth, and hun-
dred and fiftieth anniversary, and so on, as long as the family
exists. To secure the due payment to themselves of funeral hon-
ors, those who have no sons of their own adopt one. If any acci-
dent, fortunate or disastrous, happens to the family, it is formally
communicated to the ifays, such as the birth of a child, a safe
return from a journey, &c. In case of floods or fires, the ifays
must be saved in preference to everything else, their loss being
regarded as the greatest of misfortunes.
The fifteenth day of the seventh Japanese month is a festival,
devoted to the honor of parents and ancestors. Every Japanese,
whose parents are still
living, considers this a happy day. People
regale themselves and their children with fish. Married sons and
daughters, or adopted sons, send presents to their parents. On the
evening of the 13th, the ifays are taken from their cases, and a