Transcribe
Translate
Travel writings by Drewelowe, 1920s
Page 5
More information
digital collection
archival collection guide
transcription tips
5 - as a temple apart. (no [illegible]) At this entrance a notice is posted in a conspicuous manner to the effect that all visitors are required to remove their footwear before they enter the sacred [precients?] of the temple. This apparently harmless request seems to have a political as well as a religious significance. As a usual thing when visiting a temple in the Orient, it is customary to remove the shoes and walk about in stocking-feet. Sometimes, as we found in numerable instances, slip-covers were provided which slipped over our shoes and were then fastened. These eliminated the necessity for removing our footwear. The custom of removing shoes seems to contain and element of deference to the gods, but it may have grown out of a practical need. In Japan especially, the floors of the temples of oftentimes highly lacquered and polished and the Japanese matting which sometimes covers the floors is spotlessly clean. The floors could not be kept in this beautiful condition if many shod feet passed over the surface.
Saving...
prev
next
5 - as a temple apart. (no [illegible]) At this entrance a notice is posted in a conspicuous manner to the effect that all visitors are required to remove their footwear before they enter the sacred [precients?] of the temple. This apparently harmless request seems to have a political as well as a religious significance. As a usual thing when visiting a temple in the Orient, it is customary to remove the shoes and walk about in stocking-feet. Sometimes, as we found in numerable instances, slip-covers were provided which slipped over our shoes and were then fastened. These eliminated the necessity for removing our footwear. The custom of removing shoes seems to contain and element of deference to the gods, but it may have grown out of a practical need. In Japan especially, the floors of the temples of oftentimes highly lacquered and polished and the Japanese matting which sometimes covers the floors is spotlessly clean. The floors could not be kept in this beautiful condition if many shod feet passed over the surface.
Iowa Women’s Lives: Letters and Diaries
sidebar
