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can, and those who cannot come send servants or provisions. Every
tradesman or _kurumaya_ who has had or who hopes to have the patronage
of the moving household sends a representative to help along the work,
so that there is always a sufficient force to carry the household
belongings into the new home and settle them in place before the day is
over. All these visiting helpers must be fed and provided with tea and
cakes at proper intervals, and the presents of cooked food that pour in
at such times are highly acceptable and of great practical usefulness.
When the long day is ended and the visitors return one by one to their
homes, it is the mistress of the house who must see that every servant
and representative of a business firm receives, neatly done up in white
paper, a present of money properly proportioned to his services, and the
style and circumstances of the family he has been aiding. And when all
are gone, the shutters closed, and the family left alone in their new
home, the little wife must make a list of all who have helped in any way
during the day, and to all, within a short time, make some
acknowledgment of their kindness by either a call or a present. It is
upon the wife, too, that the duty falls of sending to each of the near
neighbors _soba_, a kind of macaroni, as an announcement of the family's
arrival. The number of neighbors to whom this gift is sent is
determined differently according to circumstances. If the house is one
of several in a compound, _soba_ will be sent to all within the gate;
but if the compound is very large, so that the sending to all would be
too great an expense, the five nearest houses will be selected to
receive the gift, or all who draw water from the same well. A very late
fashion in T[=o]ky[=o], but one that is gaining ground because of its
convenience, is to send, not the macaroni itself, but an order on the
nearest restaurant at which that delicacy is sold.

As I have already said, much of a woman's time and thought must be given
to the proper distribution of presents among friends and dependents. The
subject of what to give, when to give, to whom to give, and how to do up
the gift acceptably, is one the thorough understanding of which requires
the study of years. No foreigner can hope to do more than dabble in the
shallows of it. Presents seem to be used more for the purpose of keeping
those persons whose services you may need, or whose enmity you dread,
under a sense o