o'clock. But the hours were never all of exactly the same length, except at the equinoxes. In summer those of the night were shorter, in winter those of the day. This was because no method of obtaining an average was used, sunrise and sunset being always called six o clock throughout the year. Why, it will be asked, did they count the hours backwards? A case of Japanese topsy-turvydom, we suppose. But then why, as there were six hours, not count from six to one, instead of beginning at so arbitrary a number as nine? The reason is this: three preliminary strokes were always struck, in order to warn people that the hour was about to be sounded. Hence if the numbers one, two, and three had been used to denote any of the actual hours, confusion might have arisen between them and the preliminary strokes,—a confusion analogous to that which, in our own still imperfect method of striking the hour, leaves us in doubt whether the single stroke we hear be half-past twelve, one o'clock, half-past one, or any other of the numerous half-hours. Old-fashioned clocks, arranged on the system just described, are still sometimes exposed for sale in the curio-shops. They were imitated, with the necessary modifications, from Dutch models, but never passed into general use.
The week was not known to Old Japan, nor was there any popular division roughly corresponding to it. Early in the present reign, however, there was introduced what was called the Ichi-Roku, a holiday on all the ones and sixes of the month. But this arrangement did not last long. Itself imitated from our Sunday, the copy soon gave way to the original. Sunday is now kept as a day of rest from official work, and of recreation. Even the modern English Saturday half-holiday has made its way into Japan. Sunday being in vulgar parlance Dontaku,[1] Saturday is called (in equally vulgar parlance) Han-don, that is, "half-Sunday," while Wednesday is Naka-don, or "mid[-way between] Sunday[s]."
- ↑ A corruption of the Dutch Zandag.
