3. At entertainments, one hira (dish) and one soup may be offered, but not in cups.
4. The collar and sleeve ends of the clothes may be ornamented with silk, and an obi (belt) of silk or silk crêpe may be worn, but not in public.
5. Hair ornaments should consist of norihiki and motoi, and nothing more.
6. Footwear should be narazōri (sandals made at Nara) not setta (sandals of iron and leather). Women are to wear bamboo-thonged sandals ordinarily, but at occasions of ceremony sandals with cotton thongs; men should wear only bamboo-thonged sandals on all occasions.
7. At the time of Uizan (birth of first child) the grandparents may send two jū (set of confectionery boxes), and money for rice and fish; other relations should send only money for fish.
8. At the time of hatsu-nobori, the grandparents may present a yari (spear), and at the time of hatsu-bina a kami-bina (paper doll), or tsuchi-ningyo (earthen doll).
"Accompanying these specific regulations, made with careful reference to each man's station in life, there were also general rules to meet unspecified contingencies. For example, only in case of absolute necessity could an umbrella be used by the ordinary laborer. He must usually content himself with the protection of a straw raincoat. Another provision related to costly articles which a family might happen to have. Special permission was necessary to make use of them, and no articles of luxury were to be used if on hand."[117]
The Care of Children.
The baby's dress was loose and easily put on, so it was soon dressed. The dresses were made like the kimono of the mother, being wide-sleeved and straight, silk, cotton, or flannel, as the season demanded, and long enough to cover the feet and hands. Red and yellow were the colors of the young baby's dress, and if a girl high colors prevailed later, but a boy's clothing became subdued in color. Near the one hundredth day of the child's life, long dresses were left off and also about the same time it was weaned. The baby's head was kept shaved bald until it was three years of age, when only a part of it was shaved; it might all be shaved but a tuft on top, or tufts at the side, or bare on top and encircling the head at the sides, just as the mother might wish. "There is no limit set to the whimsical mother's taste in this matter of tonsorial landscape gardening."[119]
Since the Japanese sat on the floor with their legs under them, the baby was placed on the floor with its knees bent under it, which trained it to the right way of sitting. The baby in learning to walk did not have chairs and the like to bump against and fall over and it had soft-matted floors to bump down upon without injury. It was quite noteworthy if the baby of his own accord should walk before its first birthday, and mochi (rice pastry) was made to celebrate the auspicious event. When the baby went outdoors, then its feet were hampered by sandals or clogs fastened to the feet by straps passing between the toes, but he soon learned to use them all right, so that babies of two or three could get around all right in these clogs. One good thing, these clogs did not bind the children's feet, but let them grow naturally. These clogs left the toes of the Japanese children free and thus they retained some of their prehensive powers so that in adult life the feet were still used somewhat for holding and grasping. It would seem that the baby learned to talk some earlier than in other countries, as the Japanese language is conducive for such since it abounds in expressions easy for children.