xes simultaneously with the tying-up of
the hair. Two years later, women of forty years or upwards were given
the option of tying up their hair or letting it hang loose, and of
riding astride or side-saddle as they pleased. At the same time, to
both sexes, except on State occasions, liberty of choice was accorded
in the matter of wearing sleeveless jackets fastened in front with
silk cords and tassels, though in the matter of trousers, men had to
gather theirs in at the bottom with a lace. By and by, the tying up
of the hair by women was forbidden in its turn; the wearing of
leggings was sanctioned, and the colours of Court costumes were
strictly determined according to the rank of the wearer red, deep
purple, light purple, dark green, light green, deep grape-colour and
light grape-colour being the order from above downwards.

All this attention to costume is suggestive of much refinement. From
the eighth century even greater care was devoted to the subject. We
find three kinds of habiliments prescribed--full dress (reifuku),
Court dress (chofuku) and uniform (seifuku)--with many minor
distinctions according to the rank of the wearer. Broadly speaking,
the principal garments were a paletot, trousers, and a narrow girdle
tied in front. The sleeves of the paletot were studiously regulated.
A nobleman wore them long enough to cover his hands, and their
width--which in after ages became remarkable--was limited in the Nara
epoch to one foot. The manner of folding the paletot over the breast
seems to have perplexed the legislators for a time. At first they
prescribed that the right should be folded over the left (hidarimae),
but subsequently (719) an Imperial decree ordered that the left
should be laid across the right (migimae), and since that day, nearly
twelve hundred years ago, there has not been any departure from the
latter rule. Court officials carried a baton (shaku), that, too,
being a habit borrowed from China.

FOOD

When the influence of Buddhism became supreme in Court circles, all
taking of life for purposes of food was interdicted. The first
prohibitory decree in that sense was issued by Temmu (673-686), and
the veto was renewed in more peremptory terms by Shomu (724-748),
while the Empress Shotoku (765-770) went so far as to forbid the
keeping of dogs, falcons, or cormorants for hunting or fishing at
Shinto ceremonials. But such vetoes were never effectually enforced.
The great staple of diet was rice, ste