r, they had decorative designs repousse or
chiselled, and sometimes they took the shape of a metal receptacle
inserted in a case of finely grained or richly lacquered wood.
Another important warming utensil was the kotatsu, a latticed wooden
frame enclosing a brazier and covered by a quilt. Lanterns were also
employed. They consisted of a candle fixed in a skeleton frame on
which an envelope of thin paper was stretched. Their introduction was
quickly followed by that of a kind of match which took the form of a
thin piece of wood tipped with sulphur.

DIET

The military class did not allow themselves to be influenced by any
religious scruples in their choice of viands. They ate everything
except the flesh of oxen or horses. In serving meals, tables of
Chinese form ceased altogether to be used, edibles being placed on a
tray which stood about four inches high. These trays and cups, and
the bowls and plates ranged on them, showed great refinement, rich
lacquer, silver, and gold being freely used in aristocratic
dwellings.

AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY

Agriculture was, of course, greatly interrupted by the long
continuance of military campaigns; but, on the other hand, it
received every encouragement from the Minamoto and the Hojo. The most
important incident of the era in this context was the introduction of
the tea-shrub from China in 1191. As for industrial pursuits, signal
progress took place in the art of tempering steel. The Japanese
swordsmith forged the most trenchant weapon ever produced by any
nation. The ceramic industry, also, underwent great development from
the thirteenth century onwards. It may be said to have owed its
artistic beginning to Kato Shirozaemon Kagemasa, who visited China at
that time, and "learned the art of applying glaze to pottery biscuit,
a feat not previously achieved in Japan." Another profession carried
to high excellence was the sculpturing of Buddhist images. This
reached its acme in a celebrated bronze Buddha which was set up at
Kamakura, in 1252, and which remains to this day "one of the most
majestic creations of art in any country."

SUMPTUARY EDICTS

The laws enacted by the Hojo regents bear ample testimony to their
desire of enforcing frugality. In the middle of the thirteenth
century, they went so far as to interdict the brewing of sake
throughout the empire, and another ordinance vetoed the serving of
cakes at meals. Such interdicts could not possibly be strictly
enforced