sensibly abstains from the attempt. He who craves a little food eats it, but is careful to eat only that food that appeals to his temporarily degenerate appetite. It is rarely necessary for the Japanese fast to last longer than twentyfour or thirty-six hours. By that time the stomach is in condition for resumption of its normal work. A seven days'—or a forty days'—fast would be looked upon in Japan as merely a dietetic feat, and not as anything that could be expected to promote health.
Exercise, in all the forms that are taught in jiu-jitsu, plays naturally an important part in the reduction of obesity. Yet, as has been discovered by seekers after reduction in weight in this country, exercise alone will not bring the desired result. Exercise followed by immediate bathing—and the cooler the bath the better—has been found to be trebly more valuable than exercise without bathing. The samurai claim that exercise is of very little value unless it is followed by that immediate cleansing of the skin which carries away the waste matter that is exuded through the good offices of exercise.
