self.

[Illustration: THE LEMON BRIDGE]

Then, again, let us say a Japanese artist is painting a typical Japanese
river-scene, such a one as inspired many of Mr. Whistler's graceful
Thames etchings--a quaintly formed bridge under whose dim archway a
glimpse of shipping and masses of detail can be seen in the distance. To
a Japanese artist the chief charm and interest of such a scene would lie
in that little view beneath the bridge, and he would begin by drawing
in, line for line, every little mast and funnel just as he sees it,
or rather as he remembers it. The picture slowly expands as it reaches
the margin, ending in the bridge, which forms, as it were, a frame
through which to view the dainty richness of detail of the busy scene
beyond. If you were to arrest this picture at any moment during its
career you would find that it formed a perfect whole, every line
balancing the other; whereas, according to our methods, if we were to
draw the bridge first, timidly suggesting the distance and leaving the
detail and all the fine lines to be put in afterwards, as so many
artists do, the picture until it was completed would appear spotty and
uneven. And even when finished there would be no balance, for we neither
understand nor realise the importance of that quality without which no
work of art can be perfect.

The Japanese methods of drawing and painting are entirely opposed to our
Western methods, and in order to give a slight insight into the works of
the Japanese painters I must describe these methods as minutely and as
clearly as is possible. To begin with, the size of an ordinary picture
is two feet by four and a half long, and as a rule three times as much
space is left at the top as at the bottom of the picture. The brushes
consist of a series of round ones; they are flat-ended and vary greatly
in breadth, being named after the character of work they are fitted for.
Straw brushes are sometimes used for coarse work. The silk that they
paint upon is prepared in the following manner. First the edges of the
wooden frame are pasted and the silk is rolled loosely over, great care
being taken to keep the grain of the silk level. The surface of the silk
is prepared with alum and size, the proportion of which is about an
egg-spoonful of alum to a small tea-cupful of size. The size is boiled
and strained and diluted with water, and the alum is added over the
fire; it is again strained, and is then ready for use. Finally, it is