COSTUME.                         217
hues of silk and brocade, the faultless costume being matched by the simple manners and musical voices of the wearers."1 Little children are put into the brightest of colours, and on a holiday it is a pretty sight to see them toddling along at their mother's side.
Ladies wear very little jewellery, but occasionally a handsome clasp or slide holds the ribbon that confines the obi (sash), and the brocades for kimonos and obis are often very rich. Sometimes they cost as much as 200 yen. The costume must be very comfortable, especially in hot weather, when they wear tabi reaching to the ankle, with one division for the big toe.
Zori, sandals with thick straw soles and ornamental straps, are worn out of doors in summer; and geta, high wooden clogs, in wet weather keep the wearers
1 ' Things Japanese,' Chamberlain.