ABSTRACT
When the climate of a country is marked by considerable variations, a delineation of these will p~obably find a place in its Art; and this is the case with Japan. There are few things which occasion more surprise amongst people whQ look through any collection of Japanese pictures than the scenes which represent the natives either floundering in the snow, or clad almost in Adam's garb owing to the heat. It occurs to few foreigners that Japan has any such extremes of temperature a glance, however, at a chart of the world shows that the upper portion of the country lies within a temperature b8J!,d which includes Iceland and Canada, and the lower within one which touches the upper portions of Africa. Its size is not sufficient to account for this; such an exceptional state of things is brought about by monsoons and an equatorial current. The clothing of the inhabitants evidences these variations, for whilst in summer hardly any clothing is worn amongst the lower orders by either sex, in the winter thick but light garments padded with cotton wool are universal. Winter must be a trying time to the ill-fed peasant; his condition varies but little even now from what it did a. thousand years ago, when the following lines were written :-
Our illustration (No.7) shows a wayside inn in winter. Trees, roof, even the umbrellas, are thickly coated with snow which accumulates to a great depth. Within will be seen four persons comforting themselves with the feeble heat given out by the hibachi or brazier. The engraving (No.8) illustrates at once a winter scene and' ]'ilial Piety.' It is curious
No. 7.-The Oountry in Winter. Altel' Hokusai.
