There are no greater opportunities for studying manners and customs than festivals and other annually-recurring holiday events, one or other of which falls almost every day. Japan is. indeed a land of festivals, and the spirit of old Japan will ancient dramatic arts, of which the most popular are the Kabuki or classical play, the "Noh" or lyrical drama, and the Ningyo Shibai or puppet drama. The "Noh" dance. the solemn lyrical drama, consisting of music, dancing and recitationg, treats chiefly of historical events. The puppet drama is, so to speak, a synthetic art, combining manipulation of puppets, reciting of choruses and the playing of the accompaniment. As to cinemas and revues, they are ubiquitous and as modern as the West can offer. There are also cafes, bars, tea-houses and dance-halls of the best kinds.
Deservedly famous are Japan's geisha-dances, which are often given in entertainments at banquets and other social functions. The graceful postures, combined with the enchanting stage scenery, will not be easily forgotten if seen but once.
Japan abounds in those social and sporting events on which the average tourist is so keen. The Meiji Shrine Stadium and Koshien Stadium, the one in Tokyo and the other near Osaka—each capable of accommo dating 60,000 spectators—are numbered among the largest sports grounds in the East. Japanese wrestling, or sumo, is an old national game; judo, the gentle art of self defence, is universally practised among youths as good physical exercise; very popular, too, is Japanese fencing (kondo). Horse-racing, another popular sport in in Tokyo and Nara, the Municipal Museum in Kyoto, and the Meiji Shrine Picture Gallery in Tokyo. The first three contain centuries-old treasures, and the last a collection of pictures by famous contemporary painters in memory of the late Emperor Meiji. For those who desire to see present-day art objects the Government Art Exhibition held in Tokyo every autumn should not be missed.
Among the diverse artistic products are cloisonne, damascene, bronze, carved ivory, Satsuma and other porcelains, colour prints, screens, fans, umbrellas, dolls, etc., and, most important of all, silk and silk products.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.