We passed an island on which I was told there were a dozen houses.  When a death occurs a beacon fire is made and a priest on the mainland conducts a funeral ceremony.  By the custom of the island it is forbidden to increase the number of the houses, so presumably several families live together.  In the mountain communities of the mainland, where the number of houses is also restricted, it is usual for only the eldest brother to be allowed to marry.  The children of younger brothers are brought up in the families of their mothers.

We passed at one of the fishing hamlets the wreck of a Russian cruiser which came ashore after the battle of Tsushima.  Two boat derricks from the cruiser served as gate posts at the entrance of the school playground.

A familiar sight on a country road is the itinerant medicine vendor.  He or his employer believes in pushing business by means of an impressive outfit.  One typical cure-all seller, who had his medicines in a shiny bag slung over his shoulders, wore yellow shoes, cotton drawers, a frock coat, a peaked cap with three gold stripes, and a mysterious badge.  On his hands he had white cotton gloves and as he walked he played a concertina.  A common practice is to leave with housewives a bag of medicines without charge.  Next year another call is made, when the pills and what not which have been used are paid for and a new bag is exchanged for the old one.

The use of dogs to help to draw kuruma is forbidden in some prefectures, but in three stages of our journey in Shimane we had the aid of robust dogs.  During this period, however, I saw, attached to kuruma we passed, three dogs which did not seem up to their work.  Dogs suffer when used for draught purposes because their chests are not adapted for pulling and because the pads of their feet get tender.  The animals we had were treated well.  Each kuruma had a cord, with a hook at the end, attached to it; and this hook was slipped into a ring on the dog’s harness.  The dogs were released when we went downhill and usually on the level.  Several times during each run, when we came to a stream or a pond or even a ditch, the dogs were released for a bathe.  They invariably leapt into the water, drank moderately, and then, if the water was too shallow for swimming, sat down in it and then lay down.  Sometimes a dog temporarily at liberty would find on his own account a small water hole, and it was comical to see him taking a sitz bath in it.  When the sun was hot a dog would sometimes be retained on his cord when not pulling in order that he might trot along in the shade below the kuruma.  The dog of the kuruma following mine usually managed when pulling to take advantage of the shade thrown by my vehicle.  A kurumaya told me that he had given 8 yen for his dog.  Dogs were sometimes sold for from 10 to 15 yen.  The difficulty was to get a dog that had good feet and would pull.  The dogs I saw were all mongrels with sometimes a retriever, bloodhound or Great Dane strain.