IN THE NARA EPOCH
receptacles of Chinese céladon; wrote with camel's hair brushes having bamboo handles, and placed them upon rests of prettily carved coral; employed plates of nephrite to rub down sticks of Chinese ink; sat upon the cushioned floor to read or write, placing the book or paper on a low lectern of wood finely grained or ornamented with lacquer; set up flowers in slender, long-necked vases of bronze with a purple patina; used for pillow a silk-covered bolster stuffed with cotton and having designs embroidered in low relief; carried long, straight, two-edged swords attached to the girdle by strings (not thrust into it, as afterwards became the fashion); kept their writing materials in boxes of coloured or gold lacquer; saw their faces reflected in mirrors of polished metal, having the back repoussé and chiselled in elaborate designs; kept their mirrors in cases lined with brocaded silk; girdled themselves with narrow leather belts, ornamented with plaques of silver or jade and fastened by means of buckles exactly similar to those used in Europe or America to-day; and played on flutes made of bamboo wood. In short, the Shoso-in relics introduce us to a people imbued with a strong taste for the refinements of civilisation, but not yet possessed of artistic and technical skill sufficient to supply their own wants.
In this Nara epoch a legislative attempt was made to restrain all illicit intercourse between the sexes, but it does not appear that the slightest
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