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IF THERE WERE to be an eighth wonder of the world, the Japanese scaffold would be the unanimous choice of ogling servicemen. It is a weird structure. It is not made of spiked lumber. It is made of poles, which are tied together with straw ropes.

When erecting the scaffold, Japanese workmen are an interesting sight. They scurry to and fro with bunches of long straw rope dangling from their waists like tails. And up on the scaffold the men seem to be caught in a wooden and rectangular spider web.

Japanese scaffolds never rise too high because Japan is a land of low buildings. Frequent earth-quaking experiences rule out towering skyscrapers. Slight earthy tremors are a common occurrence. The serviceman meets the first shakee-shakee with a lump in his throat; the second with a heroic stance; and the third with the complete indifference of a native.

However, he is not indifferent about Japanese scaffolds. He finds them constructively intoxicating. And back home he sets them up for the house.

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