The child is placed facing the point of the compass which is auspicious for that year, and the sponsor, if the child be a boy, takes the scissors and gives three snips at the hair on the left temple, three on the right, and three in the centre.  He then takes the piece of cotton wool and spreads it over the child’s head, from the forehead, so as to make it hang down behind his neck, and he places the bit of dried fish or seaweed and the seven straws at the bottom of the piece of cotton wool, attaching them to the wool, and ties them in two loops, like a man’s hair, with a piece of paper string; he then makes a woman’s knot with two pieces of string.  The ceremony of drinking wine is the same as that gone through at the weaning.  If the child is a girl, a lady acts as sponsor; the hair-cutting is begun from the right temple instead of from the left.  There is no difference in the rest of the ceremony.

On the fifth day of the eleventh month of the child’s fourth year he is invested with the hakama, or loose trousers worn by the Samurai.  On this occasion again a sponsor is called in.  The child receives from the sponsor a dress of ceremony, on which are embroidered storks and tortoises (emblems of longevity—­the stork is said to live a thousand years, the tortoise ten thousand), fir-trees (which, being evergreen, and not changing their colour, are emblematic of an unchangingly virtuous heart), and bamboos (emblematic of an upright and straight mind).  The child is placed upright on a chequer-board, facing the auspicious point of the compass, and invested with the dress of ceremony.  It also receives a sham sword and dirk.  The usual ceremony of drinking wine is observed.

NOTE.—­In order to understand the following ceremony, it is necessary to recollect that the child at three years of age is allowed to grow its hair in three patches.  By degrees the hair is allowed to grow, the crown alone being shaved, and a forelock left.  At ten or eleven years of age the boy’s head is dressed like a man’s, with the exception of this forelock.

The ceremony of cutting off the forelock used in old days to include the ceremony of putting on the noble’s cap; but as this has gone out of fashion, there is no need to treat of it.

Any time after the youth has reached the age of fifteen, according to the cleverness and ability which he shows, a lucky day is chosen for this most important ceremony, after which the boy takes his place amongst full-grown men.  A person of virtuous character is chosen as sponsor or “cap-father.”  Although the man’s real name (that name which is only known to his intimate relations and friends, not the one by which he usually goes in society) is usually determined before this date, if it be not so, he receives his real name from his sponsor on this day.  In old days there used to be a previous ceremony of cutting the hair off the forehead in a straight line, so as to make two angles:  up to this time the youth wore long sleeves like a woman, and from that day he wore short sleeves.  This was called the “half cutting.”  The poorer classes have a habit of shortening the sleeves before this period; but that is contrary to all rule, and is an evil custom.