"JAPAN," according to an Edwardian travel book in my possession, "is subject to greater extremes of heat and cold than England.
While not unhealthy for Englishmen with sound constitutions who are temperate in food and drink and profit, by the abundant facilities afforded them for outdoor exercise, it is trying to those of weak nerves and to the intemperate.
The same publication is a mine of other information. The Japanese tea company, for example is a "ritual as formal and exquisite as the classical ballet, performed according to strict rules with utensils that are often treasured works of art".
Using a wooden dipper, the tea master scoops hot water into a small bowl into which has already spooned a special kind of green tea. He whips the mixture to a froth and decorously passes it to the first guest who bows to the others, takes exactly three sips and passes the bowl to his neighbour after cleaning the rim with a silk cloth.
The ritual is intended, we are told, "to cleanse the senses so that the mind itself is rid of all defilements". But the primary objective of this Oriental surf, to borrow a phrase from browsers of the Internet, was to delve into the mysteries of Japanese chronology.
It turns out to be very similar to our own the years months and weeks are of the same length and begin on the same days as those of the Gregorian calendar, the weekdays being Nichiyobi, (Sun-day), Getsuyobi (Moon-day), Kayobi (Fire-day), Suiyobi (Water-day), Mokuyobi (Wood-day), Kinyjbi (Metal-day) and Doyobi (Earth-day).
The months, however, are not named as ours are, being known simply as First Month, Second Month and so on.
The main difference, however, lies in the numbering of the years. The Japanese practice bars some resemblance to the old British system of "regnal years", where events were referred to the beginning of the reign of the current monarch.
The year 4 Hen. VIII by this reckoning, for example, lasted from April 22nd, 1512, to April 21st 1513, Henry having succeed to the English throne on April 22nd, 1509.
The Japanese system is based on epochs associated with the accession of an emperor. The three most recent, associated with reigns of Emperors Yoshihito, Hirohito and the present Akihito, are Taisho, which began on August 1st, 1912, Showa from December 26th, 1926, to January 7th, 1989, and Heisei which began on January 8th, 1989.
Today therefore is Kinyobi, the 14th of the Sixth Month of Ueisei 8.