PREFACE .

IT see m s n ecessary for a new autho r to

ive some excuse for her bo ldness in o ffer
g
i n g to the p ubl ic another volu me upon a
s ubject already so well writte n up as Japan .

I n a eld occupied by Grii s M orse Greey

, , ,

Lowell and Rein what unexplored corner

, ,

ca n a woma n hope to enter ? T hi s is the

question that will be asked and that ac
,

cord i n g ly the author m ust an swe r .

While Japan as a whole has been closely

studied an d w h ile m uch and varied i nfor
,

mation has been gathered about the cou n

try and its p eople one hal f of the pop u
,

lation has be en left entirely u nnoticed ,

passed over with brie f mention or alto ,

gether m isunderstood It is of this neg

.

l ecte d hal f that I have written in the hope

,

that the whole fabri c of Japa nese social

vi PR EFA CE .

life will be better comprehende d when the

women of the country and so the homes
,

that they make are better known and

,

un d erstood.

The reason why Japanese home l i fe is -

so little understood by foreigners even by

,

those who have lived long in Japan is ,

that the Japan e se u n der an app earance of

,

fran kness and candor hides an impene

,

tra bl e reserve i n regard to all those per

sonal concerns which he believes are not
i n the remotest degree the concerns of his
foreig n guest . O nly li fe in the home itsel f
ca n sho w what a Japan ese home m a y be ;

an d only by intimate association such as

-

no foreign man can ever hOpe to gain

with the Japanese ladies themselves can
much he learn ed of the thoughts and daily
lives of t h e best Japanese women .

I have been peculiarly fortunate in hav

ing enjoyed the privilege of long an d inti
mate frie ndship with a n umber of Japa nese
lad ies who h a ve spoken with me as freely
, ,

an d shown the d etails of their lives to me

 PREFA CE . vii

as ope n ly as if boun d by close st ties of k in

,

dred Through them a nd on ly through

.
,

the m I have be en enabled to study li fe

,

fro m t he point of view of the r ened a nd

intelligent Japanese wome n an d have found ,

the study so inte re sti n g and instr uctive

that I have felt i mpelled to offer to oth
e rs some part of what I have received
through the aid of these friends I have .
,

moreover been encouraged in my work

,

by readin g when it was alrea dy more tha n

,

hal f complete d the fol lowin g words fro m

,

G r iis s Mikad o s Empire

The w hole question of t he position of

m
Japanese wo en in hi story social li fe , ,

edu ca tion employments authorship art

, , , ,

marriage concubinage prostitution be ne v

, , ,

olen t labor the ideal s of literature p e pu

, ,

lar supe rstitions etc discloses s uch a , .

wide an d fascinatin g eld of inquiry that

I wonder no one has as yet ente red it .

I n closi ng I shoul d say that this work

,

is by no mea n s entire ly my own It is in .

,

the rst place la rgel y the result of the ih

,
v i ii PREFA CE .

tercha n ge thought through many an d

of

lon g con versation s wi t h Japanese ladies

upon the topics herein treate d It has .

also be en care fully revised and c r iticised ;

a n d m any valuable ad d itions have be en

made to it by M iss Um e Tsuda teacher ,

of English in the Peeresses School i n

T6 ky6 a nd an old and intimate friend

, .

Mi s s Ts uda is at present in this country ,

on a two years leave for purposes of ,

further st udy She has amid her many

.
,

duties as a student at Bryn Mawr Col

lege given m uch time and thought to
,

this work ; and a large part of whatever

value it may pos sess is d ue to her .

I would say too that in the verication

, ,

of dates n ames a n d historical incidents I

, , ,

h ave relie d altogether upon G rifs s

Mi
'

kad o s E mpire

and Rein s J a pan
,

knowing that those two authors represent

the best th a t has been done by foreigners
in the eld of Japanese history .

This work al so owes m uch n ot only to ,

the suggestion s and historical ai d s con

 PR EFA CE . ix

ta i nedin the M ikado s E mpire

but to ,

Mr Grii s hi msel f for his careful readin g

.
,

of my m an uscript an d for his criticisms a nd

,

s uggestions No greate r encouragement

.

ca n be give n to an inexperienced author

t han the help ful criticism of one who has

alread y d istinguished him se l f i n the same
eld of labor ; and for j ust such fr iendly
aid m y warmest thanks are due to Mr .

G riis .

A M B
. . .

Hu m m er, VA , Februa ry, 1891

. .
 CONTENT S .

I . CH IL DH OO D
II . EDUCAT IO N
MAR RIAG E AN D DI voncE
IV .

V . OLD AG E
VI . COUR T LIFE
VI I . L IF E IN CA S TL E AN D Y A S HI KI

WO M EN
SAM UB AI
I X PEA S ANT WO M EN
.

X L IFE IN T H E CITIES
.

XI Dom EsTI c SER VIC E

.

EPIL O G UE
JAPANESE GI RLS AND WOMEN .

CHA PTER I .

CH I L DH OO D .

TO the Japanese baby the begi n nin g of

l ife is not very different from its begi n ning
to babies i n the Western world Its birth .
,

whether it be girl or boy is the cause of

,

m uch rejoicing As boys alone can carry

.

on the family n ame and in herit titles an d

estates they are considered of more im por

,

tance but many a mot her s heart is m ad e

,

gl ad by the addition of a daughter to the

family circle .

As soon as the event takes pl ace a Spe ,

cial messenger is dispatched to noti fy rel

atives a nd intimate friends while formal ,

lette rs of an nouncement are sent to those

less closely related All person s thus noti
.

ed must m ake an early visit to the ne w

comer in order to wel come it into the
,
2 J APAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOMEN .

world and m us t e ither take wit h them or

,

send be fore the m some present Toys .

,

pieces of co tton silk or crepe for the baby s

, ,

dress are regarded as suitable ; and these

m ust be acco m panied by dried sh or eggs ,

for good luck Where eggs are sent they

.
,

ar e neatly arran ged in a co vered box whic h ,

m a y contain th irty forty or e ven one h un , ,

dred eggs l
The baby especi a lly if it be
.
,

the rst one in a family recei ves many ,

presents i n the rst fe w weeks of its li fe ,

and at a certai n ti me pre per a ck nowl e d g

m ent m ust be made a n d ret urn presents

sent Thi s is usually done w he n the baby

.

is th irty days old .

Both baby and m other have a hard time

of it for the rst fe w weeks of its li fe The .

baby is p a ssed from hand to hand fussed ,

over and talked to so m uch by the visitors

,

that come in that it m ust thi nk this world

,

a trying pl a ce The mother too is denied

.
, ,

the rest and quiet she needs and wears ,

1 Al l p rese nts in Ja p a n m ust b e wra pp e d in white

a e
p p ,r a l th ou h
g , e xc ep t for fun erals , this p a p er m us t
ha ve som e wr iting on d
i t, a nd m ust b e tie w ith a p ecul ia r
re d a nd w hite p a p e r s tr ing , i n which is inse rte th e d
noshi , or d d d dd
h it of r ie sh, a intil y fol e in a p ie ce of col
or e d p ap e r, wh ich is a n indisp ensa bl e accom p a ni m e n t of
e ver y p re se n t.
 CHI L H OO D D . 8

hersel f out i n the excite ment of se eing her

friends and the physical exercise of going
,

th rough so far as possible the cerem e

, ,

ni ous bows and saluta tions that etiquette

p rescrib e s .

O n the seventh day the baby receives its

n a me T here is no especial ceremony
1
.

c on necte d wi th this exce pt that t he ch ild s ,

birth is formally registe red together with ,

its name at the district ofce of registra

,

tion and the household keep holiday i n

,

honor of the event A certain kind of rice .

,

cooked with red beans a festival dish ,

denoting good fortune is usually partake n ,

of by the family on this occasion .

The next important event in the baby s

l i fe is the m iya m ar i a ceremony which ,

1 A chil d is rarel y given the na m e of a li ving m em be r

of the fa m il y , or of a ny fr ie nd . The fa th e r
s na m e ,

slig htl y m o die d , is fr e quentl y give n to a son , a nd those

of a nce st ors l ong a go d ea d are som e tim es use d . One
reason b b
for this is p ro a l y the inconve nie nce of sim il a r
na m es in the sam e fa m il y , a nd m i dl e na m es , as a w a y d
of a voi di ng th is di cnl ty , a re unk no wn . The fa th er
usua ll y na m es th e chil d b ut so e
,
m fr ien d or p a tro n of
the fa m il y m ay be as k e d to d o i t . Na m es of be a utif ul
objects in na ture, such as Pl um , Snow , Sunshi n e , Lotos ,
Gol d are , com m onl y use d for girl s , whil e boys of th e
l ower cl asses oft en re j oI ce I n such a p p e l l a ti ons as Ston e ,

Bear , Tige r , etc . To ca l l a ch il d a fte r a p e rs on w oul d

not be consi dered a ny esp ecia l c om p l i m e nt .
4 JAP AN ES E G I RLS AN D WO MEN .

corresponds ro ughly with our ch risten

in g. O n the thirtieth day after birth ,

the baby is tak e n for its rst vi sit to the

te mple . For this visit great prepa ration s
a re m ad e and the baby is dressed in nest
,

sil k or crepe g ayly g ured garments

, ,

made especia lly for the ou U pon i .

y .

the dress appe ars i n vari ous places the

cres t of the family as on all ce remon ial ,

dre sses whether for you n g or ol d for

, ,

every Japanese family has its C T h us f

;

arrayed and accom panied by membe rs of

,

the family the young baby is carried to one

,

of the Shi n to te m ples and there pla ced ,

u nder the prote ction of the patron deity of

the te m ple This god chosen from a great
.
,

n umber of Shinto deities is suppo sed to ,

become the special guardia n of the ch i ld

through li fe Oe ri ng s are made to the
'

g o d an d to the priest and a bles s in g is ,

obtained ; and the baby is thus formally

placed u nder the care of a special deity .

This ce remony over there is u sually a n ,

e ntertain ment o f some kind at the home of

the parents especially if the family be one

,

of h igh rank Friends are in vi ted and if

. ,

there a re any who have not as yet sent

in presents they m ay give them at this
,
 om LDH O OD . 5

It is usually on this day that the family

send to their friends some ack nowl ed g
ment of the presents receiv ed This some .

times consists o f the re d bea n rice suc h ,

a s is prepared for the seventh day ce l e

brati on an d som eti mes of cakes of m ochi

, ,

or rice paste A letter of thanks usually

.

accom pani es the retu r n present I f rice .

is sent it is put i n a handsome lacquere d

,

box the box plac ed on a lacquered tray

, ,

a nd the whole cove red wi th a sq uare of

c repe or silk richly decorated The box

, .
,

the tray and the cover are of co urse re

,

t urn ed a nd cur ious to say the box must

, , ,

be returned unwashed as it would be very ,

unlucky to send it back cl ean A pi ece .

of Japanese paper must he slipped i uto the

box after its co ntents have been re mo ved ,

a nd box a n d tray must be given back j ust ,

as they are to the messenger Sometimes

,
.

a box of eggs or a pe culiar kind of dri ed

,

sh call ed ka tsuobus hi is s e nt with thi s

, ,

present when it is desi red to make an es

,

p eci a l ly h a ndsome re turn When as m any .

as fty or one hu ndred re turn presents

of thi s ki nd are to be sent it is no slight ,

tax on the mistre ss of the house to see

that no one is forgotten and that all is ,
6 APAN ES E GI RLS
J AN D WOMEN .

p roperly done As special messenge rs ar e

.

sent a n umber of men a re someti mes ke pt

,

busy for two or three days .

Afte r a l l these festivities a quiet u ndis , ,

tur be d life begins for the baby a li fe ,

which is neither un pl easant nor u n heal th

ful . It is not jolted rocked or trotte d to
, ,

sleep ; it is allowed to cry i f it chooses ,

wi thout anybody s supposing that the

world will co me to an end because of its

crying ; and its d ress is loose and easily put
o n so that very litt le ti m e is spent in t he
,

tiresome process of dressin g and und ress

ing .Under th ese conditions the baby
thrives and gr ows str ong and fa t ; learn s to
take li fe with some philosophy even at a ,

ve ry early age ; and is not subject to ts

of hyster ical or passionate cryin g brought ,

o n by much jolting or trotting or by the ,

wearisome process of pin nin g buttoning , ,

tying of strin gs and thru sting of arms

,

into tight sleeves .

The Japanese baby s d re ss though not

,

as pre tty as that of our babies is i n many ,

ways m uch more sensible It cons ists of .

as many wide sl eeved straight Silk cot ton

-
, , , ,

o r an nel garments as the se aso n o f the

y ear may require all cut

, a fter ex ac tly
8 JAP AN Es E GI RLS AN D W OM EN .

weathers Wh en it is cold the sister s

.
,

-
ha m i or coat serves as a n ext ra coveri n g
, ,

for the baby as well ; and when the sun is

hot the sister s p arasol keeps off its rays
,

from th e bobbin g bald h e ad L ivin g i n .

p ublic as the
, Japanese babies do t hey ,

soon a cquire an inte lligent intereste d look , ,

and seem to enjoy the ga mes of the elder

children upon whose backs they are ca r
,

ried as m uch as the players t hemselves

, .

Babies of the m iddle classes do not live i n

public i n this way but ride about upon the,

backs of their n urses unt il they are old

enough to toddle by themselves and they ,

a re not so o fte n seen in the streets ; a s

fe w b ut the poorest Japanese eve n i n the ,

large cities are unable to have a pleasant

,

bit of ga rde n in wh ich the children ca n

play and take the air The children of the .

richest families the nobility and the i m

, ,

perial family are never carried about in

,

this way The youn g child is borne i n the

.

ar m s Of an attend a nt wit hi n door s an d ,

without ; but a s t his requires the care of

some one con stantly and prevents the ,

n urse fro m doing anythi ng b ut care for the

child only the richest can afford this

,

l ux ury With the b a by tie d to her back a

.
,
 CH I L DH OOD . 9
'
woman is able to ca re for a child and yet ,

go on wit h her household labors and baby ,

watches over mother s or nurse s shoulder

,

between naps taken at all hours the pro ,

cesses of drawin g water washin g an d ,

cooking rice and all the varied work of t he

,

house Imperial babies are held in the

.

arms of some one nig ht and day fro m the ,

moment of bi rth until they have learned

to walk a custom whic h seems to render
,

the lot of the hig h born in fant less com

-

for ta bl e in so m e ways t han that of the ple

beian child .

The exibility of the knees which is r e ,

quired for com fort in the Japanese met hod

of sittin g is gained i n very early youth by
,

the habit of settin g a baby down with its

knees bent u nder it inste a d of wit h its
,

l egs out straight be fore it as seem s to us ,

the natural way To t he Japanese the

.
,

normal way for a baby t o sit is with its

knees bent u nder it and so at a very early
, ,

age the m uscles and tendon s of the knees

,

are accustomed to what seems to us a most

1
un natural and uncom fortable posture .

1 Tha t the p osi tion of th e Ja p a nese in sittin g is re a ll y

unna tur al a nd unh yg ie ni c , is sh own b y re ce nt m eas ur e

m ents ta k en b y the surg e ons of the Ja p a nese arm y .

10 J APAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOMEN .

Among the lower classe s wh ere there ,

are few bathin g facilities i n the hous es ,

ba bies of a fe w weeks ol d a re o ften taken

to the public bath house and put i nto the

al ly hea wd to a m pa rature of a h un dre d

to a h undre d a nd th Fahrenheit a .
,

tem per at ure tha t mos t fo reigners visitin g

Japan nd a lmost u nbea rable To a ba by s .

delica te skin the rst ba th or two is usu

,

ally a severe tr ial but it soon becomes ac ,

customed to the high tem pe rature an d ,

takes its bath as it does everythin g else

, ,

plac idly and in publi c Born in to a coun .

try where cow s milk is n ever used the

,

Japanese baby is wholly depe ndent upon

Ja p a m d ue l a rge l y to the the l ower

i
n shor tneu of

b e nt at the k nea rests the d s vel op m en t of tha t pa rt of

the body , an d p ro d uces a n act ua l def orm i ty in the whol e

r
p po e r de vel o p m en t o f the l eg) ; b u t a m on g m e r cha nt ,

li te r a r y m en , a n d oth e rs of se denta ry b
ha its, it is m os t

p l a inl y to be The intr od ucti on of cha irs a nd ta bl es ,

see n.

as a necessa r y a dj unct of Ja p a n ese h om e l if e , w oul d

 CH I L H OO D D . 11

its other for milk an d is not weaned

m ,
1

entirely u n til it rea ches the age of three or

four yea rs an d is able to live upon the ordi
,

n ary food of the class to which it belongs .

There is no intermediate stage of brea d

a n d milk oatmea l a n d milk gruel
, or pap , ,

of some kin d ; for the all im portant fa ctor -

milk is absen t from the bill of fare i n ,

a land where there is n either m ilk for

ba nor strong meat for the m that

a re full of age .

In conseque nce part ly of the lack , ,

of p re per n ourish ment after the child is

too old to live wholly upon its mother s

m ilk and partly perhaps because of

, , ,

the poor food that the mot hers even of ,

the higher classes live upon many ba , ,

bies in Japan are aficted with disagree

able skin troubles es pecially of the scalp ,

and face troubles which usually d isa p

,

p ear as soon as t h e child becomes accus

t om e d to the regular food of the adult .

Another con seque nce as I i m agine of the , ,

1 Som et im e s , in th e ol d da y s , r ice wa te r w as g iv e n to
b a bies instea d of m i l k , b ut it was ne a rl y im p os si l e to b
b r ing up a ba b y on thi s a l one . Now both fr esh a nd

con dense d m ilk a re use d , w he re the m oth er s m

ilk is i n
s ui ci ent , b ut onl y in th ose p a r ts of Ja p a n where the
fem ig n inuence is fel t .
12 J APAN ES E G I R LS AN D WOMEN .

l ack of pre per food at the teeth ing period ,

is the early loss of th e child s rst teeth

,

which usually turn black an d d ecay some

ti me be fore the secon d tee th begi n to S how
themselves W ith the exception of these
.

two troubles Japanese ba bies seem healthy

, ,

h earty and happy to an extraordinary de

,

gree an d S how that most of the condi

,

tions of their liv es are wholesome The .

constant out of d oor li fe a nd the health fu l

~ ~

dress serve to m ake up in considerable

measure for the poor food and the Japa ,

nese baby though small a fter the man ner

,

of the race is usually pl um p and of rm

, , ,

hard esh O ne striki n g characteristic of

.

the Japanese baby is that at a very ea rly

,

age it l earns to clin g like a kitten to the

back of whoever carries it so that it is ,

really difcult to d rop it thro ugh careless

n ess for the baby looks out for its own
,

safety like a youn g monkey Th e straps .

that tie it to the back are su fcient for

sa fety ; but the baby from the age o f o ne
,

month is dependent u pon its own e xe r

,

tions to s ecu re a com fortable position a nd ,

-
it soon learn s to ride its bearer wi th con
s id e ra bl e skill inste a d of being merely a
,

bundle tied to the shoulders A ny one .

 CHI L DH OOD . 13

who has ever han dled a Japan ese baby ca n

te stify to the amount of inte l li gence shown
i n t his d irecti on at a very early age ; an d
th is cl in gin g with arms and legs is per ,

haps a valu a ble pa rt of the training which

,

gives to the whole nati on the pec ul ia r

qui ckn ess of moti on an d hardness of
muscle that char ac terize them from child
hood . I t is the agility an d muscul ar
quality that belong to w ild animals that ,

we see something of in the I ndi an but to ,

a more marked degree in the Japanese ,

especi ally of the lower classes .

The Japan ese baby s rst lessons in walk
ing are taken under favorable circum
stances With feet com fortably shod i n the
.

b
soft ta i or mitte n like sock babie s ca n
,
-
,

tu mble a bout as they like with no bu m p ,

nor bruise upon the so ft matted oors of

,

the dwel ling houses There is n o fur a i

.

tur e to fal l again st an d nothing about the

,

room to render falli ng a thin g to be fear ed .

After learning the art of walking in the

house the baby s rst atte mpts out of
,

doors a re ham m red by the sa ri or gta ,

a lig ht straw sandal or small wooden clog

attac h ed to the foot by a strap passing be
tween the toes At the very beginn ing the
.
14 J APA N ES E G I R L S AN D WOMEN .

sandal or cl og is tied to the baby s foot by
bits of string faste n ed around the a nk l e ,

but this provision fo r security is soon d is

carded a ud the baby patte rs along like the
,

grown peo ple hold in g on the gta by the

,

somewh at cumbersome and incon venient

foot ge ar m ust cause m any falls at rst ,

b ut ba by s expe rience in the art of b alan

cing u pon pee ple s backs n ow aids in this

new art of balancing upon the little wooden

clogs Babies of two or three trot about
.

qui te co m fortably in gets that seem to give .

m ost in se cure footin g and older children ,

run ju mp hO p on one foot a n d play all

, , ,

man ner of active games upon heavy clogs

that would wrench our ankles and toes out
of all possibility of usefulness This foot .

ge ar while produci n g an awkward shu f

, ,

i ng ga it has certain advanta ge s over our

,

own especi ally for children whose feet a re

,

gro wing rapidly The gate eve n if out

.
,

grown can never cramp the toes nor com

,

press the ankle s I f the foot is too lon g

.

for the clog the heel laps over behind b ut ,

the t oes do not suffer a nd the use of the ,

st en gthens the an kles by

'

g ta r a ordi n g

n o arti cial aid or support a n d giving to ,

16 J APAN ES E G IR LS AN D WOM EN .

dresses are not as eas ily washed as our own

cambric and annel baby cloth es there is ,

a loss amon g the poorer classes in the mat

ter of cleanliness ; a n d the gorge o us soiled
gown s are n ot as attractive as the more
washable w hite garments i n which our
babies are dressed For model clothin g
.

for a baby I would suggest a combination

,

of the Ja panese style with the foreign ,

easily was hed m aterials a combin atio n

,

that I have seen used in their own fam i

l ies by Japanese ladies educa ted abroad ,

an d on e i n which the objecti ons to the Jap

a n e se style of dress are enti re ly obviated .

The Japanese baby be gins to practice the

accom plishment o f talki ng at a very ea r ly
age for its n ative l an gu a ge is sin gularly
,

happy in easy expressions for ch ildren

an d l ittle babies wi l l be heard chatteri n g

away i n so ft easily spoken word s long be

,

fore they are able to venture alone from

the ir perches on their mothers or n urses

backs A fe w sim ple words expres s much

.
,

and cover all wants I ya expre sse s discon

.

te n t o r disl ike of any kind and is al s o use d

,

for no m a m m a mea ns food ; be be is the

d ress ; ta ta is the sock or house shoe etc

, , .

We nd many of the s a me sounds a s in the

 D
CHI L H OO D . 17

baby lan gua ge of En glish with mea nin gs

,

tot al ly di ffer ent The ba by is not troubled

.

with di cnl t gram ma tical changes for the ,

Japanese l anguage has fe w inections ; and

it is too young to be puzz l ed wi th the i ntri
cacies of the va rious ex pre ssi ons denoti n g ,
'

d ie re nt degrees of po lite ness which are ,

the snare and the des pair of the fo rei gner

studying Japanese .

As our little girl emerges fr om baby

hood she nds the li fe Open in g before her
a bright a nd happy one but one hedged
,

a bout closely by the proprieti es and o ne ,

in which from babyhood to ol d age she

, ,

must ex pect to be always u nder the control

of one of the stronger sex Her position.

wi ll be an honorable and respecte d one

only as she learn s in her youth the lesson
of cheerful obedi e nce o f pleasing man ners
, ,

an d of per sonal clean l iness and neatness .

Her duties m ust be always either within

the house or if she belon gs to the peasant
, ,

class on the farm T here is no caree r or

, .

vocation open to her : she m ust be depen

d e nt always u pon either father husband , ,

or so n a nd her greatest happiness is to be

,

gai ned not by c ul ti vation of the intellect

, ,

but by the early acquisition of the se l f con -

trol whi ch is expecte d of all Japanese wo
men to a n even gre ater deg ree tha n of the
men This sel f-control must consist n ot
.
,

si mply in the conceal ment of al l the out

ward signs oi any d isagreeable e m otion

whether of grief anger or pai n , , but in ,

the assu mpt ion of a chee rfu l smil e an d

agre eable man ner under even the most
di s tre s s ing of circu mstance s The duty of .

sel f restraint is taught to the littl e girl s of

-

the fam ily from the tenderest y e ars ; i t is

the ir grea t moral lesson and is expatiate d
,

upon at all times by their elders The little .

girl must sink hersel f ent irely must give up ,

always to others m us t never show emotion s

,

except such as wi ll be pl e as in g to those

about her : th is is the secret of tr ue polite
n ess a nd must be m astered if the wo m a n
,

wishes to be well thought of a nd to lead a

happy li fe The e ffect of t his tea ching is
.

se en in the attractive but dign ied man ners

of the Japan e se women and even of the
,

very little gi rls They a re not forward n or

.

pushing neither are they awkwardly bas h

,

ful ; th e re is n o sel f consc iousness n e ither

-
,

is the re any lack of sa voi r fa ire a chi ldlike

simplicity i s un ited wi th a woman ly con
sideration for the com fort of those aroun d
 c HI LDH O OD . 19

t hem A Japan ese child seems to be the

.

product of a more pe r fect civilizatio ntha n

our own for it co m es into the world with
,

l ittle of the savagery and barbarian ba d

m an ners that distinguish children in this

cou ntry a nd the rst ten or fte e n years of

,

its li fe do n ot see m to be passed in one lon g

struggle to acquire a coatin g of good man
ners t hat will hel p to render it less obnox
ious in polite society How much of the
.

po liteness of the Japanese is th e result of

tra ining and how m uch is inhe ri te d fro m
,

generations of civilized ancestors it is d ii ,

cult to tell ; but my impression is t hat ,

babi es are born into the world with a good

sta rt in the matter of man ners and th a t the ,

uni for m ly g entle and courteous treatmen t

that they receive from those about them ,

together with the continual verb a l te a ch

ing of the principle of sel f restraint a n d -

thought fulness of others produce with very

,

little di fculty the universally attractive

man ners of the people O ne curiou s thin g
. .

i n a Japanese household is to see the for

m a l itie s that pass bet ween brot hers and

siste rs and the respect paid to age by

,

every m ember of the family The gran d .

father and grandmother come rst of all in

20 J APAN ES E GIRLS AN D WOMEN .

everyt hi n g no one at t ab le m ust b e

,

helped b e fore them in any case ; after t he m

come the father and m other ; a nd lastly ,

the children according to their ages A .

you n ger sister must al ways wait for th e

elder and pay her due respect even i n the ,

matter of walkin g into the room be fore

her The wi s hes and con venie nce of the
.

elder rather than of the younger are to

, ,

b e con sulted in everything a n d this l e s ,

so n must b e learned early by children .

The di fference in years m ay be slight but ,

the elder bor n ha s the rst right in all

-

cases .

O ur little girl s place i n the family is a

pleasant one : she is the pet a nd plaything

of father and elder brothers a n d she is ,

never saluted by any one in the family ex ,

cept her paren ts without the title of r e

,

spect due to her position I f she is the .

e ldest daughter to the servants sh e is 0

,

Jo S a m e literally young lady ; to her own

, ,

brothers and sisters An S a n elder sister

, , .

Should she be one of th e youn ger ones ,

her given na m e preceded by the honor ic

,

0 a nd follow e d by Sa n mea ni n g M is s
, ,

will be the n ame by w hich she will be

called by younger brothers and sisters a nd ,
 CH I LDH OO D . 21

by the servan ts A s she pas ses fro m ba by

.

hood to girlhood and fr o m girt

. , to
wom a nhood she is the object of m uch love
,

a n d care and solicitude ; but she does n ot

gro w up irresp o nsible or u ntra ined to m ee t

the duties which woman hoo d w ill su re ly
brin g to her S he must learn all the d a
.

ties that fall upon the wi fe and mother of

a Japanese household as well as obtai n ,

the instruction in books and mathematics

that is coming to be more a nd more a
necessi ty for t he wome n of Japan She .

m ust take a certain responsibility in the

household ; m ust see that tea is m ade for

the guests who may be received by h e r
paren st i n all but the families of highest
,

rank must serve it hersel f Indee d it is

, .
,

quite the custom in families of the higher

classes should a guest whom it is desired
, ,

to receive with especial honor dine at the ,

house to serve the meal n ot with the

, ,

family but separately for the fathe r a nd

,

his visitor ; a nd it is the d uty of t he wi fe

or daughter o ftener th e latter to wait o n
, ,

them This is in honor of the gue st not

.
,

on account of the lack of servants for there ,

may be any nu mber of them within call or ,

even in the back part of the room ready ,

to re cei ve from the hands of the young girl
what she has remov e d She must t here .
,

fore know the pro per etiquett e of the

,

table how to serve care fully and neatly

, ,

a n d above all have the skill to p l y the sa k

, ,

bottle so t hat the h ouse may keep up its

,

r eputation for hospitality Should gues ts .

arrive in the absence of her parents she ,

m ust receive and entertain them until the

master or mistress of the house return s .

She also fe el s a certain care about the be

havi or of the younger membe rs of th e
family especially in the absence of the
,

pare n ts I n these var ious ways she is

.

trained for takin g upon hersel f t he cares

of a household when t he time comes In .

all but the very wealthiest and most aristo

cratic families the daughters of t he house
,

do a large part of the simple housework .

I n a house with n o furn iture no carpets , ,

n o bric a brac n o mirrors picture frames

- -
, ,

or gl a sses to be cared for no stoves or ,

furnaces no windows to was h a large part

, ,

of t h e cooking to be done outside and n o ,

latest styles t o be imitated in clothi ng the ,

a m ount of wo rk to be done by women is

consid erably di m i ni shed but still there r e
,

m a i ns enoug h to take a good d e al of time .

24 JA PAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOMEN .

ing too to be done alth ough neith er wi th

, , ,

hot water n or soap ; and in the place O f

ironin g the cotto n garments which are
, ,

us ually washed without rippin g must be ,

h ung up On a bamboo pole passed through

the armholes a n d pulled smooth an d
,

straight before they dry ; an d the silk ,

always ripped into breadths be fore wash

in g must be smoothed while we t upon a
,

board which is set in the s un until the silk

is dry .

Then there are the every day dish es

which our Japane se m a iden mu st learn to
prepare The p rO per boilin g O f rice is in
.

itsel f a study The construction Of the va

.

r ious soups which form the staple in the

Japane se bill of fare ; the preparation of

m ochi ,
a kind Of rice do ugh which is ,

prepared at the New Year or to sen d to

,

friends on various fe stival occasions : these

a n d many other bra nch es of the culinary

art m ust be maste red be fore the youn g girl

is prepared to as su me the cares Of m arried
li fe.

But though the little girl s li fe is not

without its d uties a n d respon sibilities it is ,

also not at all lackin g in simple and in no

cent pleasures First amo n g the an nua l
.
 CH I LDH OO D . 25

festivals , a nd
bri n gi ng with it m uch mirth
an d frolic comes the Feast Of the Ne w
,

Year A t this ti me father mother an d

.
, ,

all Older membe rs Of the family lay aside

their work and their dignity and join i n ,

the fun and sports that are characteristic

Of this season Worr ies and anxieties are
.

set as ide with the close Of the year and the ,

rs t beams Of the New Year s su n bring in

a season Of unlimite d joy for the chil

dren For about two weeks the festival
.

lasts and the festal S pirit remains through

,

the whole month pro m pting to fun and

,

a m usements of all kinds Fro m early .

morn in g until bedtime the children wear

their prettiest clothes i n which they play
,

without rebuke G uests come an d go

.
,

bringin g congratulations to the family ,

and O ften gi fts for all The children s

.

stock of toys is thus g rea tl y incre a sed and

the house overows with the good thin gs

Of the season of which m ochi or cake m ad e
, ,

from rice dough prepared always especiall y

,

for this ti me i s one Of the most i m portant

,

articles .

The chi l dren are taken with their pa

rents to make New Year s visits to their

friends a nd to Offer them congratul a tions ,

26 A A N ES E GIR LS
J P AN D WOM EN .

and much they enjoy this as dressed in , ,

their best they ride from house to house

,

in ji m ikis ha s
.

And then durin g the long happy even

, ,

in gs the w hole family includin g even t he

, ,

o l d grand father and grand mother join in ,

me rry gam es ; the servants too are in vi ted , ,

to joi n the family party and without seem , ,

in g forward or out of place en ter i nto ,

t he games with ze st O ne of the favo rite .

games is Hya ku m m is ha literally The

poem s o f a h undred poets It consis ts o f .

two hundred ca rds on each of wh ich is ,

printed either the rst or last hal f of one

of the hundred fa mous Japan ese poems
which give the na m e to the game The .

poems are well known to all J a pan ese of ,

w hate ver sort or condition Al l Japan ese .

poem s a re short conta inin g only thirty

,

t wo syllabl es and have a n atural division

,

into two parts The one hund red cards

.

contai ning the latter hal f of the poems are

dealt and laid out in ro ws face upward , ,

before the players O ne perso n is a p .

1 Jinr ilcisba m r kurum m a sm a l] , l ig ht ca r ria ge , us ua l l y

The j iar i lctd i a

'

th a b m d m which is d r a wn b y a m a n.

is th e com m ones t o f a ll ve hi cl es no w in use in Ja p a n .

for thc r unner who d ra ws the ca rriag e .

 CH I L H OOD D . 27

p ointe d r ea d.e r To h i m are gi ve n the re

m ainin g h u nd re d cards an d he reads the

,

be gin nin gs of the poems i n what e r order

they come fro m the shu fed pack Ski l l .

i n the game consists in reme m berin g

quickly the line followi n g the one re ad ,

and ra pidly fi nding the card on whic h it is

writte n Es pecial l y d oes the player watch
.

his own cards an d i f he nds t here the

,

end of the poe m the begin ning O f whic h

,

has j ust been read he m us t pick it u p be

,

fore a ny one s ees it and l ay it aside If .

so m e one else spies the card rst he se izes

,

it an d gives to the careless player seve ral

card s fr om his own hand Wh oever rst
.

disposes of al l h is cards is the win ner .

The players usually arrange t hemselves in

two li nes dow n the middle of the room a nd ,

the two sides pl ay against each other the ,

game not be ing ended until either one si d e

or the other ha s disposed of all i ts cards .

The game requires great quickness of

thought and of mot ion and is i nv a luab l e
,

in giving to all young people a n educa tion

in the classical poetry of their own n a tion ,

as wel l as bein g a sour ce of great merri

m ent and jollity among you ng and old .

Scattered throughout the y ear a re va

28 JAPANESE GIRLS AN D WOMEN .

r ion s ower festivals when often with h er , ,

w hole fa m ily our little girl visits the

,

famous gardens where the plu m t he ,

cherry the chrysanthem um the iris or

, , ,

the az alea attain their greatest loveliness ,

and spe nds the day out of doors i n aes

thetic e njoyment of the beauties of nature
supp l emented by art An d then there is .

t he feast m ost loved in the whole year the ,

Feast of Dolls when on the third day of t he

,

third month the great r e proof storehouse -

gives forth its treasures Of dolls in a n ,

ol d fami l y m any of them h undreds of years

,

ol d ,
an d for three d ays wit h all their ,

b elon gi n gs of ti ny furnishings i n silver ,

lacquer an d porcel a in they reign supreme

, , ,

arra nged on red covered shelves in the -

nest room of the ho use M ost promi nent .

am on g the d ol l s are the eig ies of the Em

p e r or a n d E mpress in anti que court cos
tu me seated in dign ied calm each on a
, ,

lacquered dais Near them are the gures

.

o f th e ve court musicians in their robes

o f o fce each with his instr ument Be

,
.

s ide these dolls which are always present

,

and form the centra l gures at the feast ,

nu merous others more plebei a n but m ore

, ,

lovable nd p laces on the lower sh elves

, ,
 CH I L DH OO D . 29

and t he array of dolls furn ishings which

is brought out on these occasions is so m e

thi n g marvelous I t was my privilege to
.

be present at the Feast of Dolls in the

house of one of the Tokuga wa da i m ias a ,

house i n which the old forms and cere

m onies were strict l y observed and over ,

whic h the wave of foreign i n novation had

p a s se d so sligh tly that even t h e calendar

still remained unchanged and the feast ,

took pl ace upon the third day of the third

m ont h of the Ol d Japa nese year in stead of ,

on the third day of M arch whic h is the ,

usual ti me for it n ow At t his house .

,

where the dol l s had been accumulating for

hundreds of years ve or s ix broad red
, ,

covered shelves perhaps twenty feet long

,

or more were com pletely lled wit h them

,

and with their belongin gs The E mperor .

and Empress appeared again and again as ,

wel l as the ve court m usicia ns a nd the ,

tiny furn ishings and uten sils were wonder

fully costly and beauti ful Be fore each .

Emperor and E mpress were set an elega nt

lacquered table service tra y bowl s cu ps
, , , ,

sa k pots rice buckets etc all c o m plete

, ,
.
, ,

a n d i n eac h utensil was placed t he a p pro

ia variety ood The sa ke us ed on

p r te of f .
thi s occa sion is a sweet whi te liquor , ,

b rewed espec ially for this feas t as di ffere nt ,

fro m the ordinary sa ke a s sweet cider is

from the hard cider u pon which a m a n

may drink h i m self into a state of intoxica
tion Besides the table se rvi ce everythi ng
.
,

that an i mpe rial doll ca n be expec ted to

need or desi re is placed upon the s helves .

L acque r ed nor im ono or pal anquins ; l ac

,

quered bu l lock ca rts d raw n by bow-le gged

,

black bulls these were the con veya nces

,

of the great in O ld Japan and these i n , ,

min ute reproductions a re pl a c ed upon th e ,

red-covered s helves Tiny si l ver an d bra ss

.

hibac hi or re boxes a re the re wit h the ir

, , ,

accompanyin g to ngs a nd charcoa l bas kets ,

whole kitchens with everything re

,

quir ed for cooki n g the nest of J a pa

n ese feas ts as nely made as i f for a ctual
,

use all the nece ssary toilet apparat us

, ,

combs mirrors ute n sils for blackening the

, ,

teeth for s having the eyebro ws for redden

, ,

ing the lips and w hi te n ing the fa ce a ll ,

-

these things are there to delight the soul s

of all the little girls who may have the O p

p ortun ity to be ho l d them For three days .

the i mperial efg ies are served s um ptu

ousl y at e a ch mea l and the little girls of
,
32 JAPANESE GIR LS AN D WOMEN .

sleeved dresses playin g wit h battledoor or

ball The grace ful rhyth m ic motion of
.
,

their bodies the brig ht upturned eyes the

, ,

laughing faces are set off to perfection by

,

the coloring of their owin g drapery ; a n d

their agility on th e ir high lacquered clogs ,

is a con stant source of wonder and a d

m ira tion to any one who has ever m ade

an effort to walk upon the cl um sy things .

There are dolls too that are not relegated

, ,

to the store house w hen the Feast of D ol l s

is ended b ut wh o are the joy an d com fort
,

of their little mothers durin g the who l e

year ; an d at every kwa n kO ba or bazaar - -

, ,

an endless var iety o f games puzzles pic , ,

tures to be cut out and glued toget her and ,

amuse m ents of all kinds m a y be purchased ,

at extremely l ow rates There is no dearth

.

of ga mes for our little girl an d m any ,

pleasant hours ar e spent in the hou sehold

sitting room with games or con undru ms , ,

or stories or the simple girlish chatter

,

that elicits constant laughter from sheer

youth ful m erriment .

As for fairy tales so dear to the hearts

,

of children in every country the Japanese ,

c h ild has her full share O ften she li stens

.
,

hal f asleep while cuddling under the warm

,
 CH I L DH OO D . 33

quilted cover of the kota tsu in the cold ,

winter eve n in gs to the drowsy voice of the ,

old grandmother or n urse who car ries her ,

away on the win gs of imagin ation to the

wonderful palace of the sea gods or to the ,

h aunts of the te r rible oni monste rs with ,

red distorted faces a nd fearful h orn s

, .

M om ota r o the Peach Boy wit h his won

, ,

d e rful feats i n the con quest of the am , is

her hero u ntil he is supplante d by the
,

m ore real ones of Japanese history .

There are occasional all day visits to the -

t heatre too where seated on the oor i n

, , ,

a box railed off from those adjoining our

, ,

l ittle girl in company with her mother an d

,

sisters enjoys thoug h with paroxys m s of

, ,

horror and fear the heroic historical plays ,

which are now almost all that is le ft of the

h eroic old Japan Here she catches the .

Spirit of passionate loyalty that be l onged

to th ose days forms her ideals of what a ,

noble Japanese woman should be willin g

to do for parents or husband an d comes ,

away taught as she could be by no other ,

1
Kota tsu , a cha rcoa l r e in a b ra z er i or a sm al l r e
l
p a ce i n th e oor , ove r whi ch a woo den fra m e is se t a n d

the wh ol e cove re d by a quilThe fa m il y sit a b out it in

t .

col d weather wi th the quil t dr a w n up ov e r th e fe e t a nd

k nees .
34 JAP AN ESE G IR LS AN D WOMEN .

te achi ng what the S pi rit was that an i

,

m ated her ancestor s what sp irit mus t

,

an imate her should she wish to be a

,

worthy d escendant of the women of Ol d .

A mon g these su rroundin gs, wi th th ese

duti es a nd a m use me nts our little girl ,

grows to woman hood T he un consc ious .

and be auti ful spirit of her childhood is not

driven away at the d awn of womanhood by
though ts of bea m of coming out in s o
,

cie ty of a bri ef ca ree r of ir tation and co n

,

quest an d at the end as ne a ma rriage

, ,

either for love o r money as her imagina ,

ti on can pictu re She tak es no thought

.

for these things hersel f an d her inter ,

cou rse with young men though free an d ,

uncon strained has about it no grain of

,

i rtation or romantic in te re st When the .

time comes for her to m arry her father ,

will have her m eet some eligible young

m a n and both she a n d the youn g man will
,

know when they are brought together

, ,

what is the end i n view and will m ake u p ,

their minds about t he matter But unti l .

that ti me comes the modest Japanese

,

maiden carries on no i rtatious thinks ,

nothin g O f men except as higher beings to

be de ferred to and waited on a nd p reserves ,
 CI H LDH OOD . 35

t he ch ildl ike in nocence of man ner com ,

bi ned with a se rene d ignity under all cir

cum sta nces that is so noticeab l e a tra i t
,

i n the Japane se wo m an fro m c h i l d hood to

old a ge .

The Japanese wo m an is under thi s dis ,

cipl i ne ,a n ished product at the age of

sixte en or eighteen S he is pure sweet ,.
,

a n d amiable w ith g re at power of sel f-c on

,

trol and a knowledge of what to d o upon

,

all occasions The h igher part of her na

.

ture is little developed ; n o great religious

truths have li fted her soul above the worl d
i nto a clearer and higher atmosphere ; but
a s fa r as she goes in regard to all the little
,

thi ngs of daily li fe she is bright industri

, ,

ous sweet tem pered and attractive and

,
-
, ,

prepa red to do well her duty when that ,

duty comes to her as wi fe and mother and

,

m istres s of a household The highest .

principle upon which she is taught to act

is obedience even to the point of violat
,

ing all her nest feminine in stincts at the ,

co m mand of father or hu sband ; and acti ng

under that principle she is c a pable of a n ,

entire sel f abnegation such as fe w wom e n

-

of any race ca n a chieve .

With the close of her childhood the ,

36 J APANESE GIRLS AN D WOMEN .

happiest period in the li fe of a Japanese

woman closes The discipline that sh e
.

has received so fa r repressive a nd constan t

,

as it has often be en has been from kin d ,

and lovin g parents She has freedom to .

,

a certain degree such as is u n k nown to

,

any other cou ntry in A sia I n the hom e .

she is truly loved o ften the pet an d play

,

thin g of the household thoug h n ot r eceiv ,

i n g t h e caresse s and words of ende a r ment

t hat ch ildren i n America expect as a right ,

for love in J a p a n is un d e m on str a ti ve l

But .

just at the ti m e when her mi nd broaden s ,

and the de sire for k n owl e dge and sel f

improve m e nt develops the restraints an d ,

checks upon her become m ore severe H er .

sph ere seems t o grow n arrower di fculties ,

one by one increase and the young girl , ,

wh o sees li fe before her as somethin g

broad and expansive who looks to the ,

future wi th expectant joy becomes in a , ,

fe w years the weary disheartened woman

, , .

1
Kisses a re unk nown , a nd re g a r de d by cons er va t ive

Ja p a ne se as a n a nim a l a nd disgusti ng wa y of exp rem ing

a ffe cti on.
 CH A PTER II .

EDUCATI O N .

So fa r we have S poken only of the domes

tic train ing of a Japanese girl That part .

o f her educatio n that she ga ins through

teachers and schools must be the subj ect
o f a separate c hapter . Japan di ffe rs fro m
m ost O riental countries i n the fac t that

her women are considered worthy of a cer

tain amount of the cul ture that comes fro m
the study of books ; a nd although u nti l ,

recently schools for girls w e re unknown i n

,

the empire nevertheless every woman ex

, ,

cept those of the lower classes received i n ,

struction i n t he ordinary writte n la n g uage ,

while some were well versed in the Chinese

classics an d the poetic art These wit h
.
,

some musical accomplish me nt an acquaint ,

ance with etiquette and the art of a rra ng

ing owers of makin g the cere m o nial tea
, ,

a nd in m any c a ses not only of writi ng a

bea uti ful ha nd but of owe r paintin g as

,
-

well i n the old days m a de up t he whole of

,
38 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOM EN .

an ordinary wom an s education Am on g

.

the lower classes especi a l ly the merchant

,

cl ass instructio n was sometimes given i n

,

the various pantomimic dance s which one

sees m ost frequently prese n ted by p r ofes
sioual d a nci n g gi r ls The art of d ancin g
.

is not usu a lly practiced by women of the

higher classes b ut among t h e daugh ters of
,

the merchan ts speci a l dances were learn ed

for exhibition at home or even at the ,

m a ts ur i or religious fe stival a n d t heir per ,

for m a nce was for the a m usem e nt of s pec

ta to r s a n d not e speci a l ly for the pleasure
,

of the d a n c e rs t hem selve s Th ese dan ces .

are mod est and grace ful b ut fro m the fa ct ,

that they a re al ways le a rned for entertain

i n g an a ud ience howev e r smal l and select
, ,

a n d are most frequently per fo r med by pro

fessiona l dan cers of questionable character ,

the more re ned a n d higher class Japa

n e se do not care especially to have their

daughters learn them .

In the old days little girls were not sent

,

to school but goi n g to the house of a

, ,

private tea ch er received the nece ssary in

,

str uct io n in re a din g a nd writing The

,
.

writin g a n d readi n g at the b e gin n in g ar e ,

taught S imultaneousl y the teacher writin g ,

40 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

it affords l ittle Opportu n ity for the devel

1
O p m e nt of the reasonin g powers The .

The Ja p a nese wr itten l a ng ua g e is a str a nge com bina

1

tion of Chin ese a n d Ja p a nese , t o re a d whi ch a k nowl e dg e

of th e Chin ese cha ra cte rs is n e ce ss ary . Chinese lite ra ture
writt e n in th e Chin ese i de og r a p hs , whi ch of course g ive
no cl ue t o th e soun d , are d re a b y Ja p a nese wi th the
Ja p a nese ren de r ing of the wo ds r , a nd th e Ja p a ne se or e r d
of wor ds i n th e se nte nce . When the re ha ve not bee n
e xa c t e qui va l e nt Ja p a ne se w or ds , a Chi ne se term ha s
com e in to use , so tha t m uch cor rup t Ch in ese is now well
e ngr a fte d into the Ja p a nese l a n ua ge , g both writte n a nd
sp ok e n . I n the form ing of ne w w or ds a nd te chni cal
te rm s Chin e se wor ds a re use d , as the Gree k a nd La ti n
a re here . bb
Th ere is p ro a l y no si m il a r ity in the or ig in

of the b d from
t w o l a ng ua g e s , b ut th e Ja p a ne se orro we

th e Chine se a bout th e sixth cent ur y A D th ir el e v . . e

e l y p l a nne d b ut m ost com p l e x m eth d of e xp ressing

r o

th oug ht in w iti ng The introducti on of th e Ch inese lit

r .

cr a t u s h a s done m u h fo
r Ja p a n a nd t o m a s te this
c r , r

l a ngua g e is one of th e e ss e n ti a l s in the ed uca ti on of e ve ry

b oy . At l east se ve n or e ig ht th ousa n d cha r a cte rs m ust

b e l ea r ne d for da il y use , a n d there a re se ve r al di e r e nt

st yl es of wr iti ng eac h of th e m . For a sc hol a r , tw ice as

m a ny , or e v e n m ore , m us t be m a ste re d in or der to re a d

th e va r ious work s in tha t r ich l ite ra ture .

The Ja p a ne se l a ng ua g e con t a ins a syl l a ba r y of for ty

e ig ht l e tte rs , a n d i n b ook s a nd n e w sp a p e rs for th e com

m on e
p po l e d
is p rin t e , b y t he s i e of the Chines e cha ra c d
te r , t h e d
re n er ing of it , i n th e l e tt e rs of th e fro m , or

Ja p a nese a l p ha b et.

A Ja p a ne se w om an is n ot e xp ect e d to d o m uch in th e
stu dy of Chines e . She w il l , of course , l e a rn a few of th e
m ost c om m on char a ct ers , s uch as a re us e d in l e tt e r-wr it
ing , a nd for the r e st sh e wil l re a d b y th e h el p of the
ka na .
 ED UCA TI O N . 41

years of study that are r equire d for maste r

ing the writte n l a nguag e so as to be a bl e
,

to grasp the thoughts al read y given to the

world leave co mparatively little time for
,

the conductin g of any co ntinuous thought

on one s o wn accou nt an d so we nd i n

Japanes e schola rs whether boys or girls

quickness of app rehension retentive ,

memories industry an d meth od in their

,

study of their lesso ns but not much origi

,

na li ty of thought This res ult co m e s I

.
,

believe from the nature of the writ ten

,

l anguage and the di fcul ties that atte nd

the m a ste ry of it ; as a conseq uence of
wh ich an educate d man or woman he
,

comes si mply a student of other men s

thoughts a nd sayin gs about things in s tead

of bei ng a student of the things themse lves .

M usic i n Japan is an accom plish ment

reserved al mos t e n tirely for women for ,

priests and for blind men

, It se e m s to .

me quite fortunate that the m usical art

is not m ore generally practiced as Japa ,

nese m usic as a rule is fa r from agree

, ,

able to the u ntrained ear of the outside

ba rbm ia n The koto is the pleasantest of
.

the Japa n ese instr uments but probably on ,

account of its large size which makes it ,

42 J APAN ES E G I RL S AN D WOMEN .

in convenien t to k eep in a sm all Japanese

house it is used most amon g the hi gher
,

l
classes from the sa m um i upwards The
,
.

koto is an embryo piano a hori zon tal ,

sound ing board some six feet long u po n

-
, ,

which are stre tched s trings supported by

ivory bridge s It is played by me ans of
.

i vory nge r ti ps tted to the thu mb fore

-
,

nger and middle nge r of eac h han d a nd

, ,

gives forth agreea ble sounds not un l ike ,

those of the harp The player sits be fore .

the i nstrument o n knees and heels in the ,

ordinary Jap a nese attitude and her mo ,

tions are very gr ace ful and pre tty as she

to uches the strin gs o ften supplementing ,

the st rains of the i nstrument with her

voice The te ac hing o f this instrum en t
.

and of the m m isen or Japanese guitar is , ,

al most entirely i n t he hands of blind men ,

who in Japan support t hemselves by the

two p ro fession s o f m usic a nd m as sage ,

al l the bl ind who can not learn the former

, ,

becoming adepts i n the latter pro fe ssio n .

T he a rran gement of owers is taught as

l The sa m erm in the fe u da l tim es were the here dita r y
reta i ne rs of a d a i m id , or fe uda l l ord. The y form ed the

c ha p . viii on Sa m ur a i Wom en .
 ED UCA TI ON . 43

a ne a rt and m uch ti m e m ay be spe nt i n

,

lear n in g h ow by cl ipping bendin g an d

, , ,

xi n g i n its pla ce i n t he vase eac h spray ,

a nd t wi g may be made to look as if act u

ally growi ng for ower arranging is not

,

m e rely to sho w the ower itsel f but i n ,

clud e s the p roper ar range m ent of the

branches t wigs and leaves of plants The
, ,
.

o wer p lays only a s m all p ar t and is not ,

used in decoratio n ex cept on the b ranc h

,

and stem as it is in nature a nd t he a rt ,

consists in the preservation of the natura l

ben d and growt h whe n xed in the vase .

I n every ca se eac h branch h as cer tai n

,

curves which m ust be i n harmony w i th the

,

whole . Bra nche s of pine bamboo and the , ,

o wering plu m are m uch us ed .

Teachers spend m uch time i n showing

proper and i mproper combinations of d if
fere nt owers as well as the arrangemen t
,

of them Many di fferen t styles have co m e

.

up originated by the fa mous te achers who

,

have fo unded various schoo l s of the art ,

an art whic h is u niq ue a nd e xceedingly

popular requiring artistic talent a nd a
,

culti vated eye O ne o fte n sees on goin g

.
,

into t he guest roo m of a Japanese house a ,

vase co ntaining grace fully arranged OW o

44 J APAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOMEN .

ers set in the tokm wm a or ra ised alcove of ,

the room under the solitary ka km ono

,
1

t hat forms the ch ie f orn a ment of the

a partment As these two things the vase
.
,

of owers and the han ging S croll are the ,

only adorn ments it is more n ecessary that

,

the owers should be care fully arran ged ,

than i n our crowded rooms where a vase ,

o f owers m ay easily escape the eye per ,

p l e xe d by the multitude of objects whic h

s urrou n d it .

Th e ceremonial tea m ust not be con

fou n ded wit h the ordinary servi n g of tea
for refresh m en t The proper m akin g and
.
,

servi n g and dri nking of the ceremon ial

,

tea is the most form a l of social Observan ces ,

e ach step in which is prescribed by a ri gid

code of etiqu ette The tea instead of .
,

bei n g the w hole leaf such as is used for ,

o rdinary occasio n s i s a n e green powder

, , .

The in fusion i s made not in a small pot , ,

from which i t i s poured out into cups ,

but i n a bowl i nto w hich the hot wate r is

,

poured from a dipper on to the powdered

tea The m ixture is stirred with a bam
.

boo whisk until i t foams then handed with ,

1 Ka km ono , a h a ng ing s crol l , up on which a p i ctur e is

a in te
p d , or som e p oe m or sentim e nt writte n .
 ED UCA TI ON . 45

m uch ceremony to the guest who takes it ,

with equal ceremony and dri nks it from

the bowl emptyi n g the receptacle a t three
,

gulps Should there be a n umber of guests

.
,

tea is made for each in turn in the order ,

o f their ran k in the same bowl

, For this .

ceremonial tea a spe cial set of utensils is

,

used a l l of antique and severely S imple

,

style The charcoal used for heating t he

.

water is of a peculiar variety ; and the

roo m in w hich the tea is made and served
is built for that S pecial purpose a n d kept ,

sacred for that use This art whic h is .

,

oft e n p a rt of the ed ucation of women of

th e higher classes is taught by reg ular

,

teachers Oft en by gentlewomen who have

,

fal len i n to distressed ci rcumstances I re .

m ember with great vividness a visit paid

to an Ol d lady living n ear a provincial

city of Japan who ha d for years supported
,

hersel f by givi n g lessons in this politest

of a rts .Her little house of the daintiest ,

and n eatest type seemed lled to over

,

owi n g by three foreigners whom She r e ,

ceive d with the courtliest of welcomes At .

the request of m y friend an American lady ,

engaged i n missionary work i n that part Of

the country she gave us a le sson i n the
,
46 APA N ES E GI RLS
J AN D WOM EN .

etiquet te of th e tea cere m ony Every m o .

tion from the bringing in an d arran gin g

,

of the u tensils to t h e nal rinsin g and

wiping of the tea bowl was a ccording to ,

r ules stric tly l a id down a nd the whole ,

ceremony had more the solemnity of a re

lig ious ritual t han the lightness and gayety
of a social occasion .

E tiq uette of all kin ds is not left i n

Japan to chance to be lea rn e d by observa
,

tion and i m i tation of a ny m odel that may

present itsel f b ut is taught regularly by
,

teachers who make a specialty of it Every .

t hing i n the daily li fe h a s i ts rules and the ,

e tiquette teacher has them al l at her ngers

end s . There have been several famous

te achers of etiquette and they have form ed
,

systems wh ich di ffer in minor points while ,

agreeing i n the principal rules The eti .

q u e tte o f bowing the position

, of the body ,

the arms and the head while saluting the

, ,

methods of s h utting and Ope n in g the door ,

risin g and S itting down on the oor the ,

ma n ner of serving a meal or tea are all , , ,

with the min utest detai ls taught to the ,

y oung girl s who I im a gine nd it rather

, , ,

irksome I k no w two young girls of ne w

.

Japa n who nd no thi ng so weari some as

48 J APAN ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

the best possible preparation for ski ll i n all

other arts This is especially t r ue of the
.

art of paintin g which is S imply the next

,

step after writing h as been learned The

, .

paintin g master when he comes to the

,

house brin gs n o design as a model but

, ,

sits down on the oor be fore the little

desk and on a sheet of paper paints with
,

great rapidity the des ign that he wishes

the pupil to com It m ay be si mply t wo
.

o r three blades of grass u pon which the

pupil makes a begin nin g but she is ex ,

p e cted to make her picture w i th exactly

the same n umber of bold st rokes that the
m aster puts into his Again and again .

she blunders her strokes on to a sh e et of

pape r unti l at last when sh eet afte r sheet
, ,

h as been spoiled she begins to see so me

,

semblan ce of the m aster s com i n her ow n

daub She persever es making copy after

.
,

copy unti l s he is able from memory to put

,

u pon the paper at a moment s notice the

three blad es Of grass to her m aster s sati s

fac tion O nly then can she go on to a

.

new com an d only after m any such d e

,

si gns have been com mitted to memory ,

an d the fr ee dashin g stroke n ecessary for

,

Japanese painting has been acquired is ,

 ED UCA TI ON . 49

she allowed to undertake any co m ing fro m

n ature or original designing
,
.

I have dwelt thus fa r only upon the e n

tire ly Japanese ed ucat io n that was per
m i tte d to women under the Ol d r eg i m e .

That it was an effective and re nin g sys

tem a l l can testi fy who h ave m a de the ac
,

q ua intance of any of the charmin g Japa

nese ladies whose schoolin g was n ished
be fore Co m m odore Perry disturbed the re
pose of old Japan As I write the image
.
,

comes before m e of a S weet fa ced brigh t -

,

eyed li ttle gentlewoma n with who m i t was

m y good fortun e to become intimate ly a c

i t d during stay i T k A
'

q ua n e m y n o .

wido w left pen niless with one ch ild to

, ,

support she earned the merest p ittan ce

,

by teachin g sewing at one of the govern

ment schools in TOkyO ; but in a ll the cir
cum sta nces of her li fe n arro w an d busy
,

as it needs m ust be S he proved hersel f a

,

l ady through and through Polite cheer

.
,

ful an intelligent an d cultivated reader

, ,

a thri fty housekeeper a loving and c a re

,

ful mother a true an d help ful fr iend her

, ,

m e m ory is associated with man y of my

p leasantest hours in Japan and Sh e is but ,

one of the many who bear witness to the

50 J APAN ES E G I R LS AN D WOMEN .

culture that might be acq uir ed by women

i n the ol d days .

But the Japan o f ol d is not the Japan

o f t o-d ay and in the school syste m now
,

prevalen t throughout the em p ire girls an d

schools e stabl ished by the various m ission

ary socie ties and then the g over nmen t
,

schools o ered to girls a broad er ed ucation

,

than the ol d inst ruction in Chin ese i n ,

eti quette and in accom plishments Now

, .
,

every mornin g the streets of the citie s an d

,

villages a re alive with boys and girls clat

tering al on g with their books and lunch
,

boxes i n their hand s to the ki ndergar ten

, ,

primary grammar high or n ormal schoo l

, , , .

Every rank in l ife eve ry grad e i n lea rn ing

, ,

may nd its prope r place i n the n ew school

s ystem , a n d the g irls eage rly gr asp their

opportu niti es and S how themselves apt

,

a n d willin g students of the new lea rn ing

By the new syste m at its pre se nt sta ge ,

of development too m uch is expecte d of

,

the Ja pane se boy o r girl The work r e .

quired would be a burden to the quickest

mind The whole of the ol d ed ucation i n
.

Japan ese and Chin e se literature and co m

 ED U CA TI ON . 51

position e u educat ion requirin g be st the
years of a boy s li fe i s given a n d grafte d

,

u pon this our com mon sch ool an d high

,
-

school studies of mathematics geography , ,

histo ry an d natural scie n ce I n addition

,

to these at all higher schools one foreign

, ,

lan guage is requi red a n d often two En g , ,

l ish ran king rst i n the popular esti m a

tion Many a head ache do the poor hard
. ,

workin g students have over the puzzli n g

En gl ish lan guage in whi c h they have to
,

begi n at the wron g end of th e hook and

read across th e page fro m le ft to r ig ht i n ,

stea d of from top to bot to m a n d from right ,

to l eft as is n a tural to the m

, But in spite .

of its hard work the ne w school l ife is

,

cheer ful a nd heal th ful and th e chi l d re n ,

enjoy i t It helps them to be re a l ly chil

.

dren and w hile they a r e youn g to be

, , ,

me rry an d playful not dig n ied and formal

,

little lad ies at all ti m e s Upon the youn g .

girl s the inuence of the sc hools is to

,

m a ke them m ore in d ependent sel f reliant ,

-
,

a n d stro n ger women I n the hou ses o f

.

the h igh e r classe s even now m uc h o f the

, ,

ol d t i m e sy stem of repres s ion is s till i n

-

force . Chil d re n are indeed se e n b ut n ot

heard ,
an d from the time wh e n they
52 J APAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOM EN .

learn to walk they must learn to be polite

and d igni ed At school the more pro
.
,

g r e s si ve feeling of t h e times predomin ates

among the a uthorities and the children ,

are encouraged to u nbend and enjoy the m

selves i n games and frolics as true children ,

should do Much is done for the pleasure

.

of the little ones who o ften enjoy schoo l

,

better than home and declare that they do

,

n o t like holi d ay s .

But the yo un g girl who has nished ,

this pl e a sant school li fe with all its a d ,

vanta ges i s n ot as well tted a s u nder

,

the old sy stem for the d uties a nd trials

o f married li fe unless u nder exceptional
,

circu m sta nces where the h usband chosen

,

has ad vanced id eas To those tea chin g th e

.

youn g g irls of Japan to d a y the problem of

-
,

how to educate the m aright is a deep one ,

and with each n ew ly trained girl sent out

go m a ny hope s mi n gled wit h anxieties i n
, ,

regard to the tra ini ng she ha s had as a

prep a ration for t he new li fe She is a bout to
ente r The few the pioneer s wil l have to
.
, ,

su ffe r for the happine ss a nd good of the

m a ny for the problem o f gra ft ing the n e w
,

on to the old is indeed a di fc ult one to be ,

solved only after m a ny experiments .

 ED UCA TI ON . 53

There are many d ii c ul ti es which l ie i n

the way of the new school s that must be
met s tudi ed an d overcome O ne of the m
, , .

is the one alr eady re ferred to the proble m ,

of how best to combin e the new a n d the

ol d in the school curriculum That the old .

learn in g an d literatu re the ol d po l iten ess

,

and sweetness of man ner must not be ,

given u p or made little of is evident to ,

every righ t-minded student of the matter .

That the newer and broader culture wit h ,

its higher morality its greate r develop

,

ment of the best powers of the mind m us t ,

play a large part in the Japan of the fu

tur e there is not a sh adow of doubt and
, ,

the women m ust not be le ft behind in the

onwa rd movement of the n ation But how .

to give to the young minds the best pro

ducts of the thought of two such distinct
civi liza tions is a que stion that is as yet n u
answe red an d can not be satis factoril y set
,

tl ed until the e ffect Of the new educati on

has begun to show itse l f i n a generation or
so of graduates from the new schools An .

other d ifcul ty is in the m atter of health .

Most of the new School houses are tted-

with seats and d esks such as are foun d

,

in A me rican schools Many of them are

.
 heated by stoves or furna ces The schol ars.

in most cases wea r the Japan ese dres s ,

w hich in w i nter is m ade warm eno ug h to

be worn in rooms havin g no a rticial heat .

Put thi s warm co stu me in to an a rticially

hea te d room an d the result is an over
h eati ng of the body and a subsequent chi ll
,

when the p upil goes with no extra cover

,

i ng i nto the k ee o
,
n ut -o f door air
- From .

t his cause alone arise many col d s and

,

l ung troubl es wh ich can be prevente d

,

wh e n m ore experience has shown how the

co stu mes of the Eas t an d We st can be com
b ined to suit the ne w condi ti ons Another .

part of the health problem lies in the fact

that i n many cases the paren ts do n ot
u nd e rstan d th e p rOpe r care of a growing

girl a m bi tions to excel in her studies I a

,
.

stea d of the regular hours hea lth ful food

, ,

and gentle re straint that a girl needs un der

th ose cir cum stances our l ittle Japanes e
,

maiden is all owed to sit up to any hour O f

t he n i ght or arise at any hour in the
,

morn ing to pre pare her les sons is given

, ,

food Of most ind igestibl e q uality at all

ho u rs of the day between her regular meals ,

an d is frequently u rged to gre ater mental

exertion than her del icate body ca n eu
d ure .
56 J APAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOMEN .

if they could be conducted with the p rOpe r

a d mixture of Eastern and Western learn

in g and man ners do a great deal toward

,

educating that generation The m ission

.

ary schools do much i n this direction but ,

the criticism of the Japanese upo n th e

m an ners of the girls educated in m ission

ary schools is un iversally severe To a .

foreigner wh o has lived al most entirely

a mon g Japanese ladies of pure Japanese

e ducation the man ners of the girls in these

,

sch ools seem brusque an d awkw a rd ; an d

though they are many of them noble

women an d doin g noble work there i s,

r oom for hope that in the future of Japan

th e charm of m an ner which is the distin

g u i sh i n g feature of the Japanese woman
will not be lost by contact with our West
ern S hortness and rough ness A happy
.

mean u ndoubtedly can be reached ; a n d

when it is the women of new Japan will
,

be able to bear a n ot un favorable compari

son wit h the wo m e n of t he old r egi m e .
 CHA PT E R I II .

m a m as AN D DI vonC E .

WH EN the Japanese maide n arrives at

the age of si xteen or thereabo uts she is
, ,

expected as a m a tter of course to marry .

She is usually allowed her choice in regard

to whether she will or will not mar ry a
certai n man but sh e is expected to marry
,

some one and not to take too much ti me

,

i n makin g u p her mind The alternative .

of perpetual spinsterhood is never con sid

ered either by h ersel f or her parents

,
.

Marriage is as much a matter of course

in a woman s li fe as death a nd is n o more

,

to be avoided This being the case our

.
,

youn g woman has only as m uch liberty of

choice accorded to her as is likely to pro
vide against a gre a t a m ount of unhap pi
ness in her married li fe I f she positively
.

dislikes the man who is submi tted to her

for inspection she is seldom forced to
,

m a rry h im b ut no more cordial fe el ing

,

than simple toleration is expected of her

be fore ma rriage .
58 J APAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOMEN .

cou rtship is so m e what after the fol

The
lowi n g manner A young man who n ds .
,

himsel f in a position to m arry S pe a ks to ,

some married friend and a sk s h im to be ,

on the lookout for a beauti ful and a c

1

1
The Ja p a nese st a n a rd d of fe m al e bea uty differs in
m a ny res p e cts fr om our own , so tha t it is a l m ost im p os
si bl e for a fore ig ner vis itin g Ja p a n to com p reh e n d th e

j udg m e nts of th e Ja p a nese in re g a r d to th e bea uty of

t h e ir own w om e n , a n d e ve n m ore im p oss i l e for the n ub

d J p n e e to discove
t ra v el e a a s r th e re as ons for a fore ig n
e s j udg m n t up on e ith e Ja a n ese o fore i n b ea uti e s

r e s
p g r r .

To th e Ja p ne se the i de a l fem al e fac e m us t b e l ong a nd

a ,

na r ow ; th e fore h e a d hi g h a nd na rr ow i n t he m iddl e b ut
r ,

wi de ning a nd l owering a t th e si de s conform ing t th e , o

outl ine of th e bel ove d Fuj i th e m oun ta in th a t Ja p a nese ,

a r t l ove s t o p i ctu e The ha ir s houl d b e stra igh t a nd

r .

g l oss y b l a ck a n d a b sol ut,e l y sm ooth Ja p a nese l a di es .

wh o ha ve th e m i s fortun e to ha ve a ny wa ve or rip p l e

th e ir ha ir , as m a ny of the m d o, are a t a s m uch p a i ns to

str a igh ten it in th e dre ssing as Am e r ica n l a dies a re to
sim ul a te a na tur al curl , wh e n Na ture h as de nied th e m
tha t ch a rm . The e ye s sh oul d b e l ong a nd na rrow , sl a nt

i ng d a t the oute co ne ; a n d the e ye brows

up w a r r r rs

s h oul d b e d e l ica te l in e s hig h bove the e ye itsel f The,

a .

distin tl y a quili n e n ose shoul d b e l ow a t the b idg e the

c r ,

c u ve outw a d b eg inni ng
r r u h l ow e r d ow n th a n up on m c

t h e Ca u as ia n fa ce ; a nd th e e ye sock t S h ul d n ot b e out
c - e o

l i n e d a t a ll e ith e b y th b ow th ch e k o b y the
, r e r , e e , r

n seo I t is th is a tne ss of th e fa ce b ut th e e ye s t h a t
. a o

g ives t h e il dn ess of e x p re ss i n t
m l l y oung p e p l e of o o a o

M ng l ia n typ th t i s n ti a bl e
o o e t a it al w y s in
a s o o ce a r a

th eir p h y siog n om y . Th e m outh o f a n a ris to cr a tic Ja p a s

nese la y d m ust be sm a ll , a nd th e l ip s full a nd re d ; the

 MARRI A GE AN D DI VOR CE . 59

complished maiden who would be willin g ,

to become his wi fe The friend actin g .

,

neck , a consp icuous fea tur e a l wa ys

wh e n the Ja p a nese
dress is w orn , sh oul d be l ong a nd sl e n e r , a nd g ra ce d
ful l y cur ve d . The com p l e x ion sh oul b e l ig h t , d
a cl ea r

ivory -white , with littl e col or i n t he ch ee k s . The bl oom

ing countr y g irl st yl e of bea uty is not d m a ir e d , a nd e ver y

thing , e ve n t o col or in the chee k s , m us t be sac r ice d to

ga in the deli cacy tha t is the sine qua non of th e Ja p a nese

bea uty . The g ure sh oul d b e d
sl e n e r , th e wa is t l ong ,

b ut not e sp e cia l l y sm a ll , a nd th e hip s na rr ow , to secure

the be st effe ct with the Ja p a nese dress The h ea d a nd .

sh oul ders sh oul d b e ca ie d sl ig htl y fo wa r d a nd the

rr r ,

body sh oul d a l so b be nt fo wa d l ig htl y a t the wa ist to

e r r s ,

se cure th e m os t wom a nl y a nd a ris toc ra ti c ca rr ia g e . In

wal k ing , th e st e p sh oul d be sh or t a nd quic k , with the
toes tur ne d in a nd the foot lifte d so sl ig htl y th t e ith er
, a

cl og or sa ndal w ill scuff with e ve y ste p Th is is ne ces r .

sa r y for m ode st y wi th the n ow skirt of th e Ja p a ne se

, a rr

d ress .

Contr ast with this t yp e the fa ir , curl ing h a ir , th e r oun d

bl ue ey es , th e rosy ch e e k s , the ere ct , sl im - wa is te d ,
l a rg e
d
hip p e g ure s of m a ny fore ig n be a ut ie s , th e ra p i d ,

l ong , cl e a n-s te p p ing wa l k , a nd th e a ir of a l m os t m as c ul ine

stre ng th a nd in d ep e n de n ce , w h ich b e l ongs esp e cia ll y to

Eng l is h a nd Am e rica n w om en, a nd on e ca n se e h ow the
Ja p a nese n d l ittl e th a t th e y re c og n iz e as bea uty a m ong

the m . Bl ue e ye s , se t into d eep sock e ts , a nd w ith th e

b idge
r of t he nos e ris i ng as a ba rr ie r b e t we e n th e m ,

p art ae r ce g r ote s que ness to th e fa ce , th a t th e untr a vel e d

Ja p a ne se se l om a m ir e d d
Th e ve r y a ies w il l sc re a m
. b b
wi th h orror at r s t S ig h t of a bl u d l igh t h
e -e y e ,
- a ir e d
fore ig ner , a nd it is onl y a fte r co n s id a bl f
er il i e am a r it y

with such p ersons th a t th e y ca n b e induce d to h w S o a ny

d
thing b ut t he wil e st frig h t in their p re se nce . Fore ig n
 60 J APAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOMEN .

rather as advance agent m a kes a can ,

vas s o f a ll the yo un g m aid e n s of h is a o

quaintance inquiri n g amo n g h is friends ;

,

and nal ly decides that s o and so (M iss - -

Flower let us sa y) wil l be a v e ry good

,

match for his friend Havi n g arri ved at .

t his decision he goes to Mi s s Flower s

,

parents and lays the case of his friend be

fore them Should they a pprove of the
.

s uitor a party is arra nged a t the house

,

of some com m on friend w here the youn g ,

people m a y h a ve a cha nce to m eet each

other a n d decide each upon the other s

m erits S hould t h e yo un g fo l ks nd n o
.

fault with the m atch pre se n ts are ex ,

chan ged a form a l b etrot hal i s en t ered

1
,

into a nd the marri a ge is h ast e ned for

,

ward Al l ar ra n ge m e nts b e t ween the con

.

tracting partie s a re m ad e by go betweens -

,

or seco n d s who hold the m se lve s re sponsi

,

er s wh o h a ve l ive d a g r ea t d e a l a m ong th e Ja p a n e se n d
t h e ir s ta n d d ar s un cons cio us l y ch a ng i ng , a nd se e , t o t h e ir

own s ur
p r ise , t h a t t h e ir c ou n t r y w om e n l ook unga inl y ,

e r ce , a g g re ssiv e , a n d aw k wa r d a m ong th e sm a l l , m il d ,

shr inki ng , a nd g ra c e ful Ja p a nese l a ie s d .

1
Th e p rese n t f r om t h e g r oo m i s u s ua l l y a p i e ce of
ha n ds om e sil k , us e d
for th e obi or gi r l e Th is ta k es th e d .

p l a ce of th e c on v e n tion a l e ng a g e m e n t r ing of Eur op e a nd

Am e ri ca . Fr om th e f a m il y of th e b idr e , sil k , s uch a s is

m a de up i nto m en s

dre ss e s, is se nt .
 MARRI A GE AN D DI VORCE . 61

ble for the success of the marriage and ,

must be concern e d i n the divorce procee d

i n gs should divor ce be come desirabl e or
,

n eces sa ry .

The ma rriage cer emony which see ms to ,

be n e ither r el igio us nor l eg a l in its nature ,

takes pl ace at the house of the groom to ,

whi ch the bride is carri e d ac com pan i e d by

,

her go betwee ns a nd if she be of the

, ,

higher cla sse s by her own con de ntial

,

maid who wi l l se rve her as her perso nal

,

atten dant in the new life in her husband s
house The t ro usse au a nd ho usehold goods
.
,

whi ch the bride is expected to bring with

her are sent be fore
, Th e house hold goods
.

req ui red by custom as a pa rt of the outt

of e ve ry bri de a re as fol lows : A bureau ; a

-box
low desk or table for writi ng ; a work ;
two of the la cquer trays or t ables on which
meal s are served together with everythin g
,

requi red for furnishi n g them even to th e ,

chopsti cks ; an d two or m ore complete sets

of han d some bed fu rn ishings The trous .

sca n wi l l co ntain i f the bride be of a well

,

to d o fam ily dre sses for all seas ons an d

-
, ,

handsome sashes without n umber ; for the

unchan ging fashions of Japan together ,

with t he durable q uality of the dress m ate

62 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

rial make it possible for a wom an at the

, ,

tim e o f her marriage to e nter her h us ,

~

ba n d s house with a supply of clothing that

may las t her throug h her li fetime The .

pa rents of t he bride in givin g up their ,

d aughte r as they do when she marries

, ,

show the estimation in which they have

held her by the beauty and comple teness
o f the trousseau with wh ich they provide

her This is her very own ; and in the

.

event of a d ivorce she brin gs back with

,

her to her father s house the clothin g and

household goods that she carried away a s

a bride .

W ith the bride and her trous seau are

sent a g reat n um ber of pres e n ts from the
fam ily of the bride to the members of the
groom s household Eac h membe r of the

.

fa m ily from the a ged grand father to the

,

youn gest grandchild receives so me remem ,

brance of the occas ion ; and even the se r

vants and retai ners down to the p n rikishu
,

men a nd the bath? in the stables are not

, ,

forgotten by the bride s relatives Beside

.

this present givin g the friends a nd re la

-
,

t ive s of the b ride and groom as i n this ,

country send gi fts to the youn g couple

, ,

o ften some article for use in the ho usehold ,

or c rep e o r silk fo r dre ss e s .

64 JAPAN ES E G I R Ls AN D WOMEN .

of the bride s family a re invited The youn g

.

couple bring wi th them prese n ts from the

groom s family to the bride s i n retur n for

,

the prese nts sent on the wedding day .

The fest iviti es o ften begin early i n the

aftern oon a nd keep up u ntil late at n ight .

A ne din ner is se rved and m usic and ,

dancin g by pro fessional pe rformers or

, ,

some other entertain ment serve to make ,

the time pass pl easantly The bride a p .

pears as hostess w ith her mother enter ,

taining the company and recei ving their ,

con gratulations an d m ust remain to speed

,

the last departin g guest be fore leavin g ,

the pa ternal roof .

Within the cou rse of two or th ree

months the newly married couple are ex
,

p e c te d to give an entertain ment o r series ,

o f en te rtain ments t o their friends as an

, ,

a n nou ncement of the marriage As the .

wedding ceremony is private a nd no notice ,

is given nor are cards se nt out this is

, ,

sometimes the rst intimation t hat is re

ce ive d of the marriage by many o f the

acqu a intances though the news o f a wed

,

di n g usually travels quickly The ente r .

ta in m e nt may be a dinner party given a t ,

home or at some tea house si milar i n

,
-
,
 M ARRI A GE AN D DI VORCE . 65

m any ways to the one given at th e b ride s

home by her pa rents Sometimes it is a.

ga rden party a nd ve ry l ate ly it has be come

,

the fas hion for ofcials and people of high

rank to give a ba ll in foreign style .

Besides the en tertai n men t p resents of ,

red rice or m ochi are sent as a token of

, ,

thanks to all who have remembe red the

youn g couple The se a re arran ge d even
.

more elaborately than the ones sent a fte r

the birth o f a n heir .

The young people ar e not as i n this ,

country expect ed to set up housekeepin g

,

by themselves and establish a new home

, .

Marri ages o fte n take place early i n li fe ,

even be fore the husband has any means of

su pportin g a family ; and as a ma tter of
course a son wi t h his w ife makes his
,

abode with h is pare nts and forms simply ,

a ne w branch of the household .

The only a ct require d to make the mar

ria e legal is the withd rawal of the bride s

g

na me from the l ist of her father s fa mily as
registered by the govern ment and its entry ,

upon the re gister of her h usband s family

.

From that time forward she severs a ll ti es

wi th her father s house save th ose of

,

an d is more closely related by

'

aecti on ,
66 J APAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOMEN .

l aw c ustom to her husban d s relatives

a nd

t han to her own E ve n t h is legal r ecog ni

.

tion of h er marriage is a compara tively

n e w t hing in Japan as is any limitatio n of ,

the right of divorce on the part of t he

husband or extension of that right t o the
,

"
wi fe .

At present i n Japan the marriage rel a

t ion is by no means a permanent one as it ,

is virtually dissoluble at the will of either

party and the condition of public Opinion
,

is such among the l o wer classes that it is

n ot an unknown occ urrence for a m a n to

m arry and divorce severa l wives i n succes

sion ; and for a woman who has been ,

divorced o nce or twice to be willing a nd ,

able to m arry well a second or even a third

time Among the higher classes the
.
,

dread of the scandal and gossip that m ust ,

att a ch the m selves to troubles between m a n

and wi fe serves a s a restraint upon too
,

free use of the power of divorce ; but sti ll ,

1
As ea rl y a s 1 870 an e dict was pu blish e d b y which
o cia l n otice a n d a p p r o ba ti on were m a de ne ce ssa r y p re

l im ina r ie s to e ve r y m a tri m oni a l c ontr a c t . I n th e fol l ow

ing y e a r th e cl a ss -l im ita tions up on f r e e om of d m a rr ia g e

b d
we r e a olish e , a nd tw o yea rs l a te r th e r ig ht of s ui ng f or
a di vorce was conce de d to th e wif e Rein s Jap a n, p

.
 M AR RI A GE AN D DI VORC E . 67

divorces among the higher class es are so

co m mo n no w t hat o ne m ee ts nu me rous
r espectab le a nd res pec ted persons w ho
have at some ti me i n their lives gone
through suc h a n e x peri e nce .

O ne pro vis ion of the law whi ch se rves to

,

make most mo thers en d ure any evi l of

married li fe rather tha n sue for a di vorce ,

is the fact that the c hi ldre n belong to the

father ; a nd no ma tter how unt a perso n
he may be to have the care of them the ,

dis posal of them in case of a divorce rests

a b solutely with hi m A divo rced woman
.

retu rns ch ildless to her father s hous e ;

and many women in consequence of th is

,

law or custo m will do t heir best to keep

,

the fami ly together workin g the more

,

str enuously in thi s directi on the more ,

brutal a nd wort hl ess the husband proves

himse lf to be .

The ancestor worsh ip as found in Japan

,

,

the traci n g of rel ati on shi p i n the male

line onl y an d the generally accepte d be
,

lie f that childre n in he rit their qu al iti e s

from the ir father rath e r than from the
mother make them his ch ildren and not
,

hers T hus we ofte n see ch ildren of noble

.

rank on the father s side b ut igno ble on

,
68 J APAN ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

the mother s in herit the ra nk of their

,

father and not permitte d eve n to reco g

,

n ize their mother as i n any way t heir

equal I f she is plebei an the child ren

.
,

a re not re garded as tainted by it .

I n the case of d ivorce even if the law ,

allowed the mother to keep her ch ildren ,

it would be almost an im possibility for her

to do so She has no means of earning
.

her bread and thei rs for fe w occupations

,

are open to women a nd she is force d to

,

become a dependent on her father or some ,

male relative Whatever they may be

.

willing to d o for her it is quite likely that

,

they would begrudge aid to the children of

an other family with whom custom h ardly
,

recognizes any tie The children are the

.

children of the man whose n ame they bear .

I f the woma n is a favorite daughter it m ay ,

happen that her father will take her a nd

her children under his roo f and su pport ,

them all ; but this i s a ra re exception and ,

only possible when the h usband rst gives

up all clai m to the children .

There comes to my mi nd now a case

illustrating this point which I think I may
,

cite without betrayi ng condence It is .

that of a most attractive young woman

 MA RRI A GE AN D DI VOR CE . 69

who was mar ried to a worthless husband ,

but lived faith fully wit h him for severa l

years and became the mot her of three
,

children The h usban d who seemed at

.
,

rst merely good for not hing becam e

-
,

worse as the years went by drank him ,

sel f out of situatio n after situatio n p ro

cured for him by pow erful relatives and at ,

last became so violent t hat he even beat

h is wi fe an d t hreatened his children a ,

proceeding mo s t u n u sual on the part of

a Japanese husband and father The poor .

wi fe was at last obliged to ee fro m her

husband s house to her mother s takin g

,

her children with her She sued for a di

.

vorce an d ob tained it and is now married

,

agai n ; her youth good look s a nd high

, ,

connections procuring her a very goo d

catch for he r second venture in matri
mony but her children are lost to her ,

a nd belong wholly to their worthless ,

d runke n fat her .

O f t he lack of permanence i n the m a r

r ia e rel a tion a m on g t he lo wer cla sses the
g ,

d o m estic change s of one of my serv a nts i n

To ky o afford an amu si n g illu stra tion The .

man who m I h a d hired in the doubl e

,

capacity of jinri kisha man a nd betta o r

groom was a stron g faith ful pleasant
, , ,

faced fellow recently come to T o ky o from

,

the cou n try I inquired when I en gaged

.
,

him whether he had a w ife as I wan ted

, ,

some one who could remain i n his room i n

the stable in ca re o f the horse when he
was pullin g me about in the jm r ikis ha He .

replied that he had a wi fe but she was now ,

at Utsunomiya the co untry town fro m ,

which he had come but he would send for ,

her at once an d she would be in To ky o i n

,

the course of a wee k or two Two or th ree .

weeks passed and n o wi fe appea red so I ,

inquired of my cook a nd hea d servant

what had become of Ya sa ku s wi fe He
.

replied with a twinkle in his eye that she

, ,

h a d found work in Utsunomiya and did not

wi sh to come A week more pas se d and
.
,

sti ll n o wi fe an d further inqui ries elicited

,

fro m the cook th e i n forma tion that Y a sa k u

had divorce d her for disobedience and was ,

o n the lookout for a n ew and more docile

hel pmate His rst thought wa s of the

.

maidservant of the Japanese family who

lived in the s a me house with m e a b roa d ,

faced r ed checked country girl of a very

,
-
,

low grade of inte llige nce He gave this .

up however becau s e he thought it would

, ,
 The day chose n for the marri a ge was
rainy and though Y a sa k u spe nt all his
, ,

ti me i n goin g to trains n o bridal party

,

appe a red ; a n d he came home at night d is

con solate to smoke his good night pipe
,
-

over his solitary hiba chi He was n o

.
,

doubt an gry as well as discon so late for he

, ,

sat down an d pen n ed a seve re letter to h is

father in whi c h he said that i f the bride
, ,

did not appear o n the ne xt day counted

lucky for a wedding (no Japan e se woul d
be married o n an u nlucky day ) they co ul d ,

send her ba ck to her father s house for he

,

would none of her This let te r did its

.

work for on the next lucky day about te n

, ,

days later the bride appeared and Yasa k u

, ,

was given two days of hol iday o n the agree

ment that he should not be ma rried agai n
while he remain ed in my service O n the .

evening of the second day the bride came ,

i n to pay me her respects and crouch ing , ,

on her hands and knees be fore me liter ,

ally trembled n nd e r the excitement of her

rst introd uction to a foreigner S he was .

a girl of rather unattractive exte rior fa t ,

and heavy and rather older t ha n Y a sa k u

,

had bargained for I i magine ; at any rate

, ,

from the fi rst he seemed dissatis fied with

,
 MA RRI A G E AN D DI VORCE . 73

his pig in a poke a nd a ft er a couple of

,

months se nt her home to her pa re nts and ,

was a ll ready to start out aga in in the ho m e

of better luck nex t time .

Here is a nother in stance from the wo ,

man s side Upon one occasi on when I

.
,

was visi ti n g a Japa n ese lady of high rank

who kept a re tin ue of se rvants the we ,

m a n who ca me in wi th the tea bowed and

smiled u pon me as if gr eeti n g me after s

long absence As I w as in and out of the
.

hou se n early every day I was a little sur

,

prised at this demonstration which was ,

qui t e d iffe rent from the formal how that

is given by the servant to her mistress s

guest upon ordin ary occasion s W hen she .

went out my friend said You see 0 Kiku ,

has come back As I did not know that
.

the woman had bee n away the news of ,

her retu rn did not affect me grea tly until

I lea rned the history o f her departure It .

seem ed that about a month be fore she had ,

l eft her m istress s house to be married ;

and the day be fore my visit she had quietly

pre sente d hersel f and announced that she
,

had come back i f they would take her in

,
.

My friend had asked her what had hap

pen ed whether she had fo und her hus
,
74 J P A A N ES E G I R LS AN D WOM EN .

band unkind No her h usband was very

.
,

nice very kind and good but his mother

, ,

was simply unbeara ble ; she made her work

so hard that she actually had no time t o

rest at all S he ha d k nown be fore her

.

m a rriage that her proposed mother in -la w

was a h rd task mist re ss but her h usban d
a -
,

had p romised that h is mother should live

with hi s older bro ther an d they should ,

have the ir housekeeping quite i ndependen t

a n d separate As the mother was then
.

l ivi ng wi th her older son it seemed un ,

l ikely that she wou l d care to move a nd ,

O Kik u San had married o n that supposi

tion But it see med that the wife of the
.

older brother was both lazy and bad te m -

pe red and the ne w wi fe o f the yo unger

,

brother soon proved hersel f industrious

and good natured A s the mothe r s mai n
- .

thought was to go where she would get

the most com fort and waitin g u pon she ,

m oved from the elder son s house to that

o f her younger so n and began leading her ,

new daughte r i n-l a w such a li fe that she

-

soon gave u p the effort to live with her

husband s ued for a divorce obta ined it
, , ,

and was back i n her ol d pl a ce all in a ,

month s time from the date of her m ar

ri ng e .
 MARRI A GE AN D DI VORCE . 75

But our readers m ust n ot suppose fro m ,

the vario us incidents given t hat fe w ,

h appy marri a ges ta ke place in Japan or ,

that in every ra nk of l ife divorce is of

, ,

every day occ urrence

- O n the contrary
.
,

t here s eems cause for won d er not t hat ,

there are so many divorce s b ut that there ,

ar e so many happy marriages with wives ,

and h usbands devote d an d fait hful For a .

nobleman i n the olden tim es to divorce his

wi fe wo ul d have ca used suc h a scan da l a n d
talk t hat it rarely occurred I f the w ife .

were disliked he need h ave little or no th

,

ing to do wit h her their rooms t heir , ,

meals and t heir attenda nce being entirely

,

separate b ut he rarely took away fro m her

,

the name of wi fe e m pty as it m ight be

, .

She us ually would be fro m so m e other

noble house and great tro uble wo uld arise
,

betwee n the fa m ilies i f he attempted to

divorce her The sa m ur a i also with t he
.
,

same loyalty which they displayed for their

lords were loyal to their wives a nd many
, ,

a nove l h a s been written or play ac ted , ,

showin g the devotion of h usban d and wi fe .

Th e qu iet undemon stra ti ve love though

, ,

very di fferent fro m the ra vings of a lover

i n t he nineteenth century novel is per hap s ,

truer to li fe .
76 JA PAN ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

Among the me rchants and lower clas ses

there has bee n and is a much lower stand, ,

a rd of mora lity but the fe w years which ,

have passe d since the Re volution of 1 868

a re not a fair sam ple o f what Japan has

been Noblemen sa nm ra i and merc h an ts

. , ,

have had m uch to undergo in the great

changes an d a s is the case i n al l such
, ,

tran sition periods ol d custo ms and re ,

s t ra in ts and ol d standard s of morali ty

, ,

have been broken down and have not bee n

re placed There i s no doubt that men
.

h ave run to excesses of all sorts a nd di ,

vor ce s have bee n much more frequent of

late yea rs .

O ur little Japanese maiden knows when ,

she blacken s her teeth dons her weddin g ,

dress a n d starts on her bridal journ ey to

,

her husband s house that upon her good

,

behavior alone depe nd her chan ce s of a

happy li fe S he is to be hence forth the
.

p roperty of a m a n of whom she proba bly

k nows little and wh o has the power at
, ,

a ny wh im to send her back to her father s

,

house in disgrace deprived of her children , ,

with nothing to live for or h O pe for ex ,

cept that some man will overlook the dis

grace Of her divorce and by marryin g her ,

 MARRI AG E AN D DI VORCE . 77

give her the only Opportunity that a Jap

anese woman ca n have of a home other
t ha n that o f a ser vant o r dependent That .

th ese evil s wil l be remedied i n time the re ,

see ms little reas on to do ubt but j ust now

,

the va rious cooks who a re en gage d in bre w

ing the brot h of t he new civi lization a re
d isa greed in rega rd to the con d i ments t e
quired for its pro per avorin g The con .

ser va ti ves wish to avor st rongly with the

subjection an d depe ndence of women be ,

lieving that only by that mean s ca n fem i

nine virtue be preserved The yo unger
.

m en of foreign ed ucation would drop into

, ,

the boil in g pot the avor of culture and

broa d er outlook ; for by this m ean s they
hope to secu re happier homes for a l l and ,

better mothers for their child ren The .

missiona ries an d native Christians be l i e ve

that when the whole mixture is well i m
,

p g
re n a te d with practi cal Christ ianity the ,

desired result will be ac hieved All are .

agreed on this point that a stron g public

,

Opi nion is necessary be fore improved leg

is l a tio n can produce much effect ; and
so for the p re sent legislation remains i n
, ,

the bac k g round until the time shall come

,

whe n it can be used in the right way .

78 J APANESE GI R LS AN D WOMEN .

Letus exam ine the two re medies sug

gested by the re fo r mers a nd see w hat
,

e ffect has been prod uced by each so far ,

an d what m ay be ex pected of them in t he

futu re .Ta king ed ucatio n rst what are ,

the effects prod uced so fa r by ed ucating

women to a point above the ol d Japa n e se
standard ? I n m a ny happy homes to day -
,

we nd husban ds educa ted abroa d a nd ,

kn o win g somet hin g of the home l ife of

foreign lan d s who have so ught out wi ves
,

of broad intellectual culture and who make,

them friends and condante not simply ,

housekeepers and head servants I n such

-
.

homes the wi fe h as freedom not such as ,

is enjoyed by A merica n women perhaps , ,

but equal to that of most Eu ro pean women .

I n such homes love an d equality r ule and ,

th e power of the m other i h -law grows weak

-
.

To her is p a id due res pec t but she se ldom

,

has the despoti c control which o ften mak es

the begin ning of married li fe hard to the
Japa nese wi fe These homes are sending
.

out h e al thy inuences that a re daily hav

in g their e ffect and raising the positio n Of

,

women in Japan .

But for the youn g girl whose mind has

been broadened by the new education an d ,
80 JAPAN ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

p l a in duty al ways lay in the path o f i m

p l ici t obedience to her superiors and who
,

n ever for one moment con sidered obedience

to the di ctates of her own reason and

con science as an obli gation higher than
de fere nce to the wi s hes of husba n d a nd
pa rents Education without further ame
.
,

l iora tion of the ir lot as wives and mothers ,

can but re sult i n making the women dis

contente d a n d unhappy i u many cases
,

inju rin g their health by worry over the

consta nt petty disappointments and ham ed

des ires of their lives .

Thi s to supercial observers wo ul d seem

a step backward rather t ha n forward and ,

it is to this ca use that the present reaction

against fem ale educati on may be t raced .

The rst generation or two of educa ted

women must endure m uch for the sake of
those who come after an d by many this
,

vi carious s ue ri n g is m isunderstood a nd
'

di staste on the part of educated girls for

marriage as it n ow exists in J a pan is t e
, ,

garded as one of the sure signs that ed uca

ti on is a failu re W ithout some chan ge
.

in the positio n: of wi fe and mother this ,

feeling will grow into absol ute re pugn a nce ,

i f women continue to be educated a fter the

Weste rn fash ion .
 MA RRI AG E AN D DI VOR CE . 81

The second remedy that is suggested is

Christianity a remedy which is eve n now
,

a t work W herever one nds in Japan a

.

Christian home there one nds the wi fe

,

a n d mother occupyin g the pos ition t hat

s he occu ies all over Christen dom T h

p e .

Christ ian man in choo s ing his wi fe feels

, ,

that it is not an ordinary contract whic h ,

may be dissolved at a ny ti me at the will of

the contrac tin g parties but that it is a
,

union for li fe Consequently in making

.
,

his choice he is more care ful take s more ,

ti m e a nd thinks more of the personal

,

qualities of the woman he is about to

marry Thus the chances are better at
.

the beginnin g for the establishment of a .

happy ho m e a nd such ho m es for m ce ntres

,

of inuence throughout the length and

breadth Of the l a nd t o day Chri stianity

- .

in the future wi l l do much to moul d public

sentiment in t he right way and ca n be ,

truste d as a force that is sure to gro w in

ti m e to be a mighty po wer in the councils
of th e natio n .

O ne more reme dy might be sugge sted ,

as a preli m inary to proper legislation or a ,

necessary accompaniment Of it and that ,

is the Openi ng of new aven ues of employ

,
82 J APA N ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

ment for women a n d espec ially for women

,

of the cultivated classes To -day ma rriage

.
,

no matter how di s taste ful is the only Open

,

ing for a woman ; for she can do nothing for

her own support an d can not require her
,

father to support her after she h as reac hed

a marriageable age As new ways o f se l f
.

support pre sent themselves a nd a woman ,

may look forward to making a single li fe

tolerable by her own labor the intelligent ,

girls of the middle class will no longe r

accept marriage as inevitable but will only ,

marry when the su itor can o ffer a good

home k indness aection an d secu rity i n

, , ,

th e tenure of these blessin gs SO fa r .

,

there is litt le em ployment for women ex ,

ce pt as teachers ; but even this chan ge i n

the conditi on O f thin gs is forming a class ,

as yet small but incr easin g yearly of

, ,

women who enjoy a li fe of indepe ndence ,

though accompanied by much hard work ,

more th a n the pre se nt li fe of a Japanese

m a rried woman I n this class we nd
.

some of the most inte lligent and respe cted

o f the women of new Japa n ; an d the
growth of this class is one of the su rest
sign s that the present state of the laws
an d customs concerning marriage an d
 MARRI AGE AN D DI VOR CE . 83

d ivorce is so unsatisfac tory to the women

that it must eventually be remedie d if the ,

educated and intelligent of the m en care

to take for their wives and for the mo
,

t h ers of their children any but the less

,

educated and less intelligent of the wome n

o f t heir own nation
.
 CHA PT E R I V

W I FE AN D M OTH ER .

TH E young wi fe when she ente rs her

,

husband s ho m e is not as in our own coun

, ,

try e nter i ug upon a new li fe as mistress of

,

a hou se wi th ab solute co n trol over all Of

,

her littl e d o m a in Should her hu s band s

.

pare nts be livi ng she becomes al most as

,

their ser vant a nd even her husband is un

,

able to d e fe n d her fro m the ex a ctions of

her moth e r i n law should this new relative
- -
,

be inclined to m ake ful l use of the power

give n her by cu stom Happy is the girl .

who se husband h as no parents Her com .

fort i n li fe is m a terially i ncreased by her

h u sband s loss for instead of having to

, ,

s e rve two masters she wi l l then have to

,

serve only one and that one more kind

,

a n d t ho ught ful o f her stren gth a n d com

fort than the mother in l a w - -

.

I n J a pa n the ide a of a wi fe s duty to h e r

h u sba n d includes n o thought of compau

ion s h ip on ter m s of equality The wi fe is .
 WH E AN D M O TH ER

. 85

si mply the housekeeper the hea d of the ,

establ ish ment to be honored by the ser

,

vants because she is the one who is nearest

to th e master but not for one moment to
,

be regarded as t he master s equal

She .

govern s and directs the household if it be ,

a l a rge one a nd her position is one of muc h

,

ca re and responsi bility ; but she is not the

i ntimate frien d o f her h usband is i n no ,

sense his condante or adviser except in ,

t rivial affairs Of the household She a p .

pears rarely with h im i n public is ex ,

p ec t e d al ways to wait upo n hi m and save

hi m ste ps a nd m ust bear all t hin gs fro m
,

him with smiling face and agreeable man

ners even to the receivi ng wit h Ope n ar m s
,

into the household some other woman ,

whom she knows to bear the relation of

concubi ne to her own husband .

In return for this she has i f she be of

, ,

the higher classes much respect and honor

,

fro m t hose beneath her She has i n .

,

m a ny cases the real though o ften i ncon

siderate affection of her h usband I f sh e .

be the m other of children she i s doubly ,

honored a nd if she be endowed with a good

,

temper good man ners and tact she ca n

, , ,

render her position not only agreeable to

hersel f but one of great use ful ness to
,

those about her It li es with her alone to

.

make the home a pleasant one or to m ake ,

it unpleasant N oth in g is expected of the

.

h usband in this direction ; he may do as he

like s with his Own an d no one will blame
,

him ; but i f his home is not happy even ,

th rough his own folly or bad tem per the ,

blame will fall upon his wi fe who should ,

by managemen t d o whatever is n ecessary

to supply the deciencies ca u sed by her
hu s band s shortcom ings

I n all thin gs
.

t he husba nd goes rst the wife s e con d

, .

I f the husband d re w his fa n or his h a n d

kerchie f the wi fe picks it up The husb a nd
.

is se rved rst the wi fe a fte rw ar d s an d so

, , ,

on through the cou ntles s m i n ut im of daily

Iife
. It is not the id ea of the strong m an
consi dering the weak woman savin g her ,

exertion guardin g and de ferring to her ;

,

but it is the less im portant waiting upon

the more im portant the serv a nt de ferrin g
,

to her maste r .

But though the present pos ition O f a

Japane se wife is that of a dependent who
owes all she has to her protector and for ,

whom she is bound to do all she can i n

return the dependence is in many cases a
,
88 J APAN ESE S AN D
OB I - WOMEN .

the advantage th a t when her mother-in

,

law dies or retires she becomes the m is

,

tress of the ho use an d the head lady of the

fam ily a position for which her apprentice
,

sh ip to the Old lady has proba bly exception

ally wel l tted her .

Next to her pa rents in law her duty is

- -
,

to her husband S he must hersel f render

.

to him the litt le ser vic es that a Eu rope an

expects of his valet She must not onl y
.

take care of his clothing but must bring it

,

to hi m a nd help him put it on and must ,

put away with care whatever he has taken

Off ; and she o ften takes pride i n doin g

with her own han ds many acts of service

which might be le ft to servan ts and which ,

are n ot actually demanded of her unless ,

she has no one un der her to do them I n .

the poorer families all the washing sew ,

ing a nd mending that is requi red is always

,

done by the wi fe ; and even the E mpress

hersel f is not exem pt from these duties of
personal service but m ust wait u pon her
,

husban d in various ways .

When the earliest be ams of the sun

shine i n at the cracks of the dark wooden
sh utters which surround the house at
n ight the young wi fe in the fam ily softly
,
 WI FE AN D MO TH ER . 89

arises pu ts out the feeble light of the

,

Im don
which has burned al l n ight a nd
. , ,

quietly Open i ng one of the sliding doors ,

ad m its enoug h li ght to make her own

toil et She d resses h astily only putti ng a
.
,

fe w touches her e and there to her elaborate

co i ure which she has not taken down fo r

2
her night s rest Next she goe s to a ro use

.

the se rvants if they are not alread y up , ,

an d wi th them prepa re s the modest break

fast Wh en the l ittl e l acq uer tables with
.
,

rice bowls plates a nd chopsticks are ar

, ,

ran ged in place she goes so ftly to see ,

whether her par ents a nd husband are

awake a nd if they have hot water char
, ,

coal re and whatever else they may need

,

for their toilet Then with her own hands .

,

1 The a a d cn is th e sta nd in g Ia m p , incl oee d in a pa p er

ca se , use d as a ni ght la m p in a ll Ja pa nese h ouse s .

Until the introd uction of k m oene l a m m the a a d on waa

th e onl y light in Ja p a neee housee
us e d The li ght is p ro .

da ood by a pi th wic k oa ti ng in a ca n cer of vege t a l e . b

The p il l ow us ed b y l a d ies is m e rel y a wood en rest for

the hea d , tha t s upp or ts the ne c k , l e a ving the el a bora te
hea d d ress un dis tur b e d . The ha ir is d ressed b y a p ro
M ona ] ha ir -d re sser , who com es to the house once in
two or three d a ys I n w m e p a rte of Ja p a m ae in KiOto,
.

where the ha ir is eve n m ore el a b or a t el y d r eesed tha n in

T6ky 6, it is m uc h l ess fr eque ntl y a rrang ed . The p roces s
n ices two houm at l eas t .
90 J APA N ES E GI R LS AN D WOMEN .

or with the help O f the servan ts she slides ,

back the wooden shutters Opening the ,

whole ho use to the fre sh mornin g air a nd

sun li ght It is she also who di re cts the
.
, ,

washin g and wipin g of the poli sh e d oors ,

and the foldin g an d putting away Of the

bedd in g so that a ll is in readiness be fore
,

the morn in g meal .

When breakfas t is over the husban d ,

starts for his place of business an d the li t ,

tle wi fe is i n waiting to send hi m off with

her sweetest sm ile and her low e st how ,

a fter having seen that his foot gear -

,

whether sandal clog or shoe is at the,

door ready for hi m to put on his u mbrella , ,

book or bundle at hand an d his kura m a

, ,

waitin g for him .

Certa inly a Japan ese m a n is lucky in

h aving all the little thing s in his li fe a t
te nded to by h is thoughtful wife a good , ,

considerate care ful body ser vant al ways

,
-
,

o n hand to bear fo r hi m the trii n g wor

ries and care s There is no wonder that

.

there are no bachelors in Japan To some .

degree I am sure the men appreciate

, ,

t hese atte ntions ; for they ofte n become

much in love with their sweet helpful ,

wives though they do not share with them

,
92 J APA N ES E G I RLS AN D WOM EN .

distance and nearly a lways unexpectedly

, ,

whose entertain ment devolves on the w ife .

O win g to the great distances in many of

the cities an d the d i culti es t ha t used to
,

atte nd going fro m place to place it has ,

become a custom not to make frequent

visits but lon g ones at lon g intervals A
,
.

gues t O ften stays se veral hour s re main in g ,

to lunch or dinn er as the case may be and

, , ,

should the di stan ce be grea t may spend ,

the n ight SO rigid a re the requirements

.

of Japanese hospitality that n o guest is

ever al lowed to l eave a house without hav

i ng be en pressed to partake of food if it ,

be only tea and cake Even trad esmen or.

m es se n gers who come to the house m ust

be Offe red tea an d if carpen ters garden

, ,

ers or work men of any ki nd are employed

,

about the hou se tea m ust be se r v ed in the

,

m iddle of the afte rn oon with a light lunch ,

and tea sent o ut to them often during thei r

day s work I f a gu e st arrives in j arr ikisha

.
,

n ot only the guest but the Jrnr ikisha m e n

,

must be su pplied with refresh ments All .

th es e thin gs i n volve much thought a nd

ca re on the part of the lady of the house .

In the homes of rich and inuentia l men

of wide acquaintance there is a gre at deal
,
 WI FE AN D MO TH ER . 93

g oing on to make a pleasa nt variety fo r

the ladies of the household even al though ,

the variety i nvolves extra work and re s pon

si bil ity
. The m istress Of such a house
hold se es a nd b ea rs a gre at deal Of li fe ;
a nd her position re quires no little wisdo m

and tac t even whe re the house wi fe has

,

the as sist an ce of good serv a nts capable as , ,

m any are Of sharing not only the work

, ,

but the respon si bili ty as well Clever wiv es .

i n such homes see an d lea rn m uch i n ,

an indirect wa y O f the out side worl d in

,

which the men live ; a nd may becom e if ,

they poss es s the nat ural capabiliti es for

t he work wise advi se r s an d sympath iz ers
,

wit h thei r husbands i n many things fa r

beyond th ei r ordinary eld O f acti on An .

i ntelligent w oman with a str ong will has

, ,

O ft en been unseen and unkn o wn a mighty

, ,

inuence in Japan That her pow er for .

good or bad outside of her in uence as

,

wife an d mother is a recogn ized fact is

, ,

seen i n the circumstance that in novels

and plays women are frequently brought i n

as factors in politi cal plots and organ ized

rebell ions as wel l as i n acts of private re
,

ven ge.

Stil l the li fe Of the average woman is a

quiet with little to interrupt the m o
o ne ,

n oto ny O f her days wi t h their never e nding -

round of duti e s ; and to the most secluded

homes on ly an occasional guest comes to
enliven the d ull hours The pri ncipal oc
.
~

e upa tion of the wife outside of her ho us e

,

ke ep i ng a ud the little duties of pe rson al

serv ice to husband a nd parents is n ee dle ,

work Every Japa nese wom a u (e xcepti n g

.

thos e of the highest rank ) knows how to

sew and makes not only he r own gar
,

ments an d th ose of her chil dren but he r ,

h usba n d s as well Sewi n g is one of the

.

e ssentials in the educa ti on of a J a panese

girl and from childhood the cut tin g and

,

puttin g together of crepe silk an d cotto n

, ,

is a fam ili ar occu patio n to her Thoug h .

Ja p anw e g arments see m very simple cus ,

to m requires that each sti tch and se am be

p l aced in j u st such a way ; an d this way is
something of s taak to lea rn To the nu .

in i tia te d foreigner the general effect of the

,

loose ly wo rn ki m ono is the same whether ,

the garment be well or ill made ; but the

ski l lful seamstres s ca n easi ly discover that
this seam is not turned j ust as it should
be Or that those stitches a re too long or
,

too short or carel es sly o r unevenly set

, .
96 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

must be given frequently and as the l eas t ,

dam pness m ight be fatal ea ch lea f in case , ,

o f rainy weather is care fully wiped

, The n .
,

too the di fferent ages o f the worms m ust

,

be considered in pre parin g their food ; as ,

for the youn g worms the leaves sho uld be ,

cut up w hile for the Older ones it is be tter

,

to se rve them whole W hen nal ly the

.
, ,

b uzzing no ise of the crunching leaves has

ceased and the last wor m has put hi m
,

se l f to sleep in h is precious white cocoon ,

the work Of the ladies is ended ; for the

cocoons are sent to women e spec ially
skilled in the work by them to be spu n,

off a nd the thread afterwards woven i nto

,

the desired fabric W hen at last the silk

.
,

woven a nd dyed is returned to the lad ies

,

by whose care the worms were nourished

un til thei r work was done it is shown ,

wi th great pride as the product of the

year s labor and i f given as a pre sent wil l

,

be highly prized by the recipient .

Among the daily tasks of the housewi fe ,

on e ,
and by no means the least Of her
duties is to receive duly acknowledge an d
, , ,

re turn in sui table man ner the presen ts ,

received i n the fam il y Presents a re not .

conned to S peci a l seasons a lthough u pon ,

 WH E AN D MO TH ER

. 97

certai n occasions etiquette is rigid in its

require ments i n this matter but they may ,

be given an d rece iv e d at all t i mes for the ,

Japanese are pre eminently a present -giv

ing nati on For every prese nt received
.
,

sooner or later a p roper retu r n must be

,

se nt appropriate to the seas on and to the

,

rank of the receiver a nd neatly arran ged ,

i n the m anner that eti quette pre scribes .

Presents are not n ecessarily elaborate ;

callers brin g fru it of the season cake or , ,

any delicacy a nd a visit to a si ck pe rso n

,

m ust be accompanied by something appro

p r ia te C
.hildren visitin g i n the family are
always given toys an d for this purpose a ,

stock is kept on hand The presen t gi vin g .

-

culminates at the close of the year when ,

all friends and acquaintances exchange

g i f
t s o f more or less value accordin g to ,

their fee l ings and means Should there be .

any one w ho has been especially kind and

to whom return should be made this 18 the ,

time to do so .

Trad esmen send presen ts to their pa

trons scholars to teachers
, patients to ,

the ir physician s an d i n short it is the

, , ,

ti me w hen al l Obli gations and debts are

paid OH in one way or another O n the
, .
98 A
J PAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

seventh day of the seventh m onth there is ,

another ge neral interchan ge O f pre se nts ,

although not so univer sal as at the New

Year It can easi ly be imagined that a ll
.

this pre sent givin g enta ils much care es

-
,

p ec ia ll y in families o f inu e nce ; and it

must be atte nded to per sonally by the wife ,

who in the sec ret recesses of her store

,

ro om skill fully m anages to rearran ge the

,

gifts rec eived so that those n ot ne eded in

,

the house may be sent not back to their ,

givers but to some place where a present

,

is due The passin g ou of the presents is

.
-

an economy not of co urse acknowledged ,

but frequently practiced even i n the be st

famili es as it saves m uch of the otherwi se
,

ruinous expense of this custom .

As time pas ses by occasion al visits a re ,

paid by the young wi fe to her own parents

or to other rela tives A t stated ti mes too
.
, ,

she a n d othe rs of the family wi ll vi sit

, ,

the tombs of her husband s an cestors or of

,

her own pare nts i f they a re no longer liv

,

ing to make oeri n gs and prayers at the

'

grav es to place fre sh branches of the

,

sa ka ki before the tomb s an d to see that ,

1
Sa ka ki , the Cl eyera Jap onica , a sacre d pl a nt e m
bl em a ti c of p urity, a nd m uch use d a t fun e ra ls a nd in
the d eco ra ti on of g ra ves .
1 00 J APAN ES E GI R LS AN D WOMEN .

ence is always direct and personal No .

thick walls and long p a ssageways separate

the n ursery from the grown people s apart

men ts but the thin paper partiti ons make

,

it possible for the mother tA) k now a l

ways what her children are doin g an d ,

w hether they are good and gentle with

their n u rses or i rritable and passionate
, .

The children never leave the house nor ,

return to it without going to their I no

,

t her s room and there m aking the little

,

bows and repeat ing the customa ry phrases

us ed upon such occasions I n the same .

way when t he mother goes o ut all the

, ,

servants an d the children e sco rt her to

the door ; and when her atte ndant shouts
0 which is the si g na l of her re
turn children and servants haste n to the
,

gate to greet her and do w hat they can

,

to hel p h er from her conveyance and make

her home-comin g pleasant a nd restful .

The father h a s little to do with the

tra inin g of his child ren which is le ft al
,

most entirely to the mother and except , ,

f or the interference of the mother i a law - -

,

she has her own way in their training ,

until they are lon g past childhood The .

ch ildren are taught to look to the father

 WI FE AN D M O TH ER . 1 01

as the head a nd to respect a nd Obey hi m

,

a s the o ne to who m a ll must de fer ; but

.

the mother comes next al most as high in ,

their estimation and if n ot so much feared, ,

and respected certainly enjoys a larger

,

share of thei r love .

The Japanese mother s life is one Of

perfect devotio n to her children ; she is

t heir willing slave Her days are spent .

i n caring for them her evenin gs in watch ,

i ng over them ; an d she spare s nei ther

ti me nor tr ouble in doin g anyth in g for
their comfort and pleasure I n Si ckness 1
.
,

i n health day and n ight the little ones

, ,

are her one thought ; and from the home

of the noble to the hu mble cot o f the

peasant thi s te nder moth er love may be

,
-

seen in al l its di fferent phase s The Japa .

nese woman has so fe w on whom to lavish

'

her a ection so little to live for beside her

,

children and no hopes i n the futu re ex

,
ce pt
th rough them that it is no wonder that
,

Since the introd uction of the fom igu syst em of m edi

cine m d n m uing , the Ja p a ne ee re a l ise so acntel y the l a ck

o f con veniences a nd a
pp l ia nce s f o r nu rsi ng the si ck i n

the ir own hom es , tha t cases of se ve re or eve n serious ill

ness a re usua ll
y se n t hosp ita ls, whe re the in va li ds ca n
to
ha ve the oom for ts tha t eve n the wea l th y Ja p a ne se hom ec
she devotes her li fe to their ca re an d ser
vice deeming the drudgery that custo m
,

require s of her for the m the easiest of

a l l her duties Eve n with plenty of ser
.

van ts the mother performs for her chi l

,

dre n n early all the duties often delegate d

to n urses i n th is country .Mother and
babe are ra rely sepa rated n ight or da y
, ,

durin g the rst fe w years of the baby s

li fe an d the mother denies herse l f any

,

entertain ment or journey from home when

the baby can not accom pany her To g ive .

the husband any share in the baby work -

would be an un heard -of thing and a d is

,

grace to the wi fe ; for in public and in

private the baby is the mother s sole

charge an d the husban d is never asked

,

to si t up al l night with a s ick baby or ,

to mind it in any way at al l Nothin g

.

in all one s study of Japanese l i fe see ms

more beauti ful an d admir able than the

i nuence of the mother over her child ren ,

nu inuence that is gentle and a l l per -

vading bringing out all that is sweete st

,

a n d noblest in the feminine character and ,

affording the one al most un li mited op por

t unity of a Japan ese woman s life The

.

l ot of a childless wi fe in Japan is a sad

1 04 JAPAN ES E GIR LS AN D WOM EN .

usually the w ife becom e s of the h usban d s

.

When there are daughters but no sons i n

a fam ily to in herit the n ame one of three ,

thin gs may happen a son may be adopted

early in li fe and grow u p as heir ; or he .

may be adopte d with the idea of m arryi n g

one of the daughters ; or again no one , ,

m ay ha ve bee n form ally adopte d but on the ,

eldest daughter s com ing to a marriagea ble

age her family a n d friends see k for her a

,

y os hi i that
,
is to say some man ,(usually a
youn ger son ) who i s will ing a nd able to
give up his family name an d by marry , ,

in g the daughter become a member of

,

her family and heir to the name He .

cuts 0 3 all ti es from his own fa mily and ,

becomes a member of hers and the young ,

couple are expected to live with her pa

ren ts In th is case the tables are turn ed
.
,

an d it is he who has to dread the mother

i n law ; it is his tu r n to have to please his
-

new relatives and to do all he can to be

agreeable He too may be sent away an d
.
, ,

divorced by the all powerful parents if he

-
,

does n ot please ; an d such divorces are not

uncom mon O f cou rse i n such marriages
.
, ,

the woman has the grea ter power and the ,

man has to rememb e r wha t he owes her ;

 WI FE AN D MO THER . 1 05

and tho ugh the woman yields to him obedi

ently in al l respects it is an obedience not,

demanded by the husband as under other ,

circu mstances .I n such marriages the

children bel ong to the family whose n ame
th ey hea r so that i n case of divo rce they
,

remain in the wi fe s family unle ss some

,

special arrange ment is mad e about them .

It may be wondered why young men

ever care to enter a family as yos hii There .

is only one answer it is the att raction

,

of w ea lth and rank very rar ely that o f the

,

d a ughte r herse l f I n the houses of rich

.

M a id s without sons yos hii a re very com ,

mon a nd there are many youn ger son s o f

,

the nobil ity themselves of high birth but

, ,

without prospects who are glad enough to

,

be come great lord s In feudal times the .

,

n umber of m m m i families was limi ted .

Seve ral sons of o ne fam ily could not estab

l ish di fferent sa m ura i families but al l but ,

the eldes t son if they formed separate

,

h ouses must enroll themselves amon g the

,

ranks of the com mon pe ople Hence the .

youn ger sons were o ften adopted in to other

sam dra i fam ilies as yos hi i whe re it was d e ,

si re d to secure a su ccession to a name that

m ust otherwise die out Since the Res to .

1 06 JAPAN ES E G rRL s AN D WOMEN .

ration and the breakin g down of the old

,

clas s di stincti ons young men care more

,

for independence tha n for their rank as

sa m ura i ; and it is now quite d i cul t to

nd yos hn to enter sa m ura i families un less ,

it be because of the attrac tiveness an d

beauty of the youn g lad y he rsel f Many a .

young girl who could easily make a good

m arri a ge with some suitable husband co ul d ,

she enter his family is now obliged to take

,

some in ferior m a n as y os hii because fe w ,

m e n in these days are willing to ch a n ge

thei r names give u p their indepe ndence

, ,

and t ake upon the mse lves the support of

aged parents-i n law ; for th is also is ex
-

p e cte d o f the yo s hi i u nless the

,
family that
he enters is a wealthy one .

From this custom of yosl m and its e ffect ,

u pon the wi fe s positi on we see that i n

, ,

cer tain cases Japan e se women are treated

,

as equal with men It is not because o f

.

their sex that they a re looked down upo n

and held i n subjection but it is becau se of
,

their al most un iversal dependence of posi

tion T he men have the right of i n he ri
.

tan ce the educ t on

,
a i h a bits o f sel f relia nce
-
,

and are the bread Wi nners Wherever the

-
.

tabl es are turn ed an d the m e n are depen

,
1 08 J APAN ES E G I R LS AN D WOMEN .

littl e farther above his wi fe The peasant

.

and his w ife work side by side in the el d ,

put their shoulders to the same wheel ea t ,

to gether in the same room at the same ,

time an d whichever of them happens to

,

be the st ronger in character governs the

house without regard to se x There is no
, .

great gul f xed between the m and there ,

is frequently a co n sideration for the wi fe

shown by husbands of the lower class that ,

is not unlike what we see in our own coun

try. I remember the ca se of a ym rikis ha
man employed by a friend of m ine in T6
ky o who was m uc h laughed at by h is
,

friends because he actual ly used to spend

some of hi s leisure moments in drawing
the water requi red for his hou sehold from
a well some d istan ce away and carryin g ,

the heavy bucket s to the hou se in order ,

to save the strength of h is little delicate ,

wi fe That cases o f such devotion are rare

is no doubt t r ue but that they occur
,

shows that there is here and there a recog

n iti on of the claims that femin ine weak

ness has u pon masculine stre n gth .

A frequent sight i n the morning i n ,

T6 ky6 is a cart heavily laden with wood

, ,

charcoa l or some other country pro duce

, ,
 M E AN D M O THER . 1 09

crea kin g slowly alon g the streets p ro ,

pelled by a farmer an d his family Some .

times o ne will see an ol d man his son a nd , ,

his son s wi fe with a baby on her ba ck a l l

,

pushin g or pullin g wi th m ight an d m a in ;

the wom an wi th tuck ed up skirts and tight
-

tting blue tr ouse rs a blue towel envelop

i ng h er head only to be distin guished
,

from the m e n by her smaller si ze and the

baby ti ed to her back But when even
.

ing co mes and the load of produce has

,

bee n dispose d of the woman an d baby are

,

seen seated u pon the cart w hile the two

,

men pull it back to their home in som e

n eighborin g vi l lage Here again is the
.
, ,

recognition of the law that governs the

posi tion of woman i n th is country the ,

theo ry not of i n ferior pos ition but of

, ,

inferior stren gth ; an d the sight of the

women riding back i n the em pty carts at
n ight, drawn by their husbands is the ,

thing that strikes a student of Japan ese

domestic life a s neares t to the customs of
our own civi lization i n rega rd to the rela

tions of husbands and wiv es .

Throughout the country d istricts where ,

the women ha ve a large share i n the labor

that is direct ly pr od uctive of w eal th where ,
1 10 APA N ES E GI RLS
J AN D WOMEN .

they not only work i n the rice elds pick ,

the tea crop s gather the harve sts and

, ,

help draw them to market but where they ,

have their own productive industries such ,

a s caring for the si l kworms and spin,

n ing an d weaving both silk and cotton

, ,

we nd the conventional distance between

the sexes much di m inished by the i m por
t a nt chara cter of feminine labor ; but in
the cities and amo ng the classes who are
,

largely either indirect producers or non

producers the only la bor of the women i s
,

t hat personal service which we account as

menial It is for this reason perhaps that
.
, ,

the gap widens as we go upward in so

ci e ty and between the sa m e social levels
,

as we go cityward .

The wi fe of the countryman though she ,

may work hard e r a nd grow old e a rlier i s ,

more free and i ndependent t ha n her city

si st er ; an d the wi fe of the peasant push ,

i ng her prod uce to market is in so m e ways

,

ha ppi e r a n d more co nsidered than the wi fe

of t he noble who m ust spend her li fe
,

a m ong her l a dies i n waiting in th e secl u

- -
,

sion of h er great house with its beauti ful

gard e n the plaything of her hu sband in
,

h is l e isure hours b ut n ever h is e qual or

, ,

the S har er of his c a re s or of his thou g hts .

1 12 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

from ever introduci ng a rival u nder the

same roo f I n this way the prac tice is
.

made better than the theo ry .

N ot so with the more helpless wi fe of

the nobleman for wealth and leis u re make
,

temptation greater for the husband She .

submits unquesti on in gly to the c usto m re

quiri n g that the wife treat these women
with all civi l ity Their chi ldren she may
.

ev e n have to ad m it as he r own The lot of .

the m lra ke herse l f is rendered the les s e n

'

du rable from the American poi nt of view

, ,

by the fact that should the father of her

,

child decide to make it his heir the mother ,

is thence forth no more to it than any other

o f the servants o f the house hold For i n .

stan ce suppose a hitherto childless noble is

,

presente d with a son by one of his concu

bines a nd he dec id es by legal ad option to
,

make that son his heir : the ch ild at its b irth ,

o r as soon a fte rwards as is practica ble is ,

taken from its mother and placed in other

hands a nd the mother never sees her own
,

child unti l on the thirtieth day a fter its

,

birth she goes wi t h the other servan ts of

,

the house hold to pa y her respects to her

youn g m a ste r I f it were not fo r the habit
.

o f abject obedi en ce to parents which Japa

 WI PE AN D M O TH ER . 1 13

nese custo m has exalte d into the one femi

nine virtue fe w women could be foun d of
,

respectable famil ies who would take a posi

tion so devoid of either honor or satisfac
ti on of any kin d as that of m ka k That .

th ese positi ons are not sought after m ust be

said to the hon or of Japanese woman hood
, .

A n obleman may obtai n sa m ura i women

for hi s 0 m ka k ( li terally honorable
,

concubines) but they are never respected

,

by their own class for tak in g such positions .

In the same way the m ka k of sa m m a i '

are usually from the him in No woma n .

who has any chance of a better lot will ever

take the u nen viable pos ition of m ka k .

A law which has rece ntly been prom ul

ga ted strikes a t the root of this evil and if , ,

en fo rced will in course of ti me go far to

,

ward exti rpating it Hen ceforth in Japan

.
,

no chi ld of a concubine or of adoption fro m

,

a ny so urce can in herit a noble ti tle

, The .

hei r to the throne mu st herea fter be the

son not only of the E mperor but of the
, ,

Empress or the succession passe s to some

,

collateral bra nch of the family This law .

does not apply to Prince Haru the present ,

heir to the throne as although he is not

, ,

the son of the E mpress he was legally

,
1 14 A A
J P N ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

adopte d be fore the promulgation of the

law ; but should he d ie it will apply to a ll ,

future heirs .

That public opinion is movin g in the

right direction is shown by the fac t th at
the young men of the higher c lasses do
not care to marry the daughters of m lca k
'

be they ever so legally adopted by their

own fat hers When the girls born of s uch
.

u nions become a drug i n the ma tri mon ial

market and the boys a re unable to k eep
,

up the succession the m ka k wi l l go out

of fashion an d the r eal wi fe will once more

,

as sume her proper i mportance l

.

Upon th e 1 1 th day of February 1 889 , ,

the day on which the E mperor by hi s own ,

not i n giving a con sti tution to the people ,

li mi ted his own power for the sake of p ut

ting his nation upon a level with the m ost
civili zed nations of the earth he at the ,

l I t in w or th whil e to m e ntion in this connecti ou the

noteworth y 9 6 0 1 m ad e b y the Wom
an s Christian Tem
p em ce Union of Ja pa n in cnlling the a tt entiou of the
b
p u lic to this custom , and in am us ing p u bli c sentim ent

in fa vor of l eg isl a tion ag a im t not onl y thi s system , b ut

a gainst the lice nse d houses of p rosti tuti on . Thoug h
there ha s not y t
e bee n a ny p m tica l resul t, m uch disens
sio n has e nsue d i n t he ne wsp a p e rs a nd m a g a z ines, l ee
t ures ha ve be en given , a nd m uc h stro ng feeling a rous e .d
 1 16 J APA N ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

i n her practices in this matter is gre atly

to her credit ; but that she is fa r behin d
the ci vili z ed nations of E urope and A mer
ica not only in prac tice but i n theory is a
, ,

fact that is incontesta ble and a fact tha t , ,

u nless ch an ged m ust sooner or later be a ,

i
stumbl ng block in the path of her progress
-

toward the high est civilization of which she

1
is capable T he E uropean practice can not
.

be g rafted upon the Asiatic theory but the ,

change i n the home m us t be a radical one ,

to secure permanent good re sults As lon g .

as the wife has n o rights which the b us

ban d is bouud to respect no great advan ce ,

l Ma ny of the th ink ing m en of

Ja pa n, thongh full y
reoog nin ng the inj usti ce of the p res e nt p ositio n of wom a n
'

in societ y , a nd the necessity of reform in the m a rr inge

a nd d i vorce l nws , re fuse to see the im p orta nce of a ny

m ove m e nt to cha n ge them . Their exc use is , tha t s uch

p o wer in the ha nds o f the h us ba nd over h is wife m ight be

a bused , b ut tha t in fa ct it is not . Wrongs a nd in j us tice
a re ra re, th e y ar gue , a nd k ind tau trnent , a ffect i on, a nd

eve n res p e ct for the wife is th e g e neral r ul e ; a nd tha t

the k ee pin g of the p ower in the ha n s of th e h us a n is d b d
bette r tha n g iving too m uch free d m t o wom en who a re o

wi thout e d uca ti on These m e n wish to wa it until ever y

.

wom a n is e d uca te d be fo e a c ting in a ref rm m vem ent

,
r o o ,

wh il e m a ny conse r va tives opp ose the ne w s ys tem of ed u

ca tio n for girl s as m a kin g them un wom a nl y .B etwee n

th ese tw o p a rt ies , the few who rea ll y wish for a cha nge
ar e ut terl y una l e to act b .
 WI FE AN D M O TH ER . 1 17

can be made for hu man nature is too

,

m ean an d selsh t o give in all cases to

those who are entirely un protected by law ,

an d entirely u n able to protect themselves ,

those things w hi c h the m oral n ature de

clares to be their due I n the old sl a ve
.

times in the South many of the negroes

,

w e r e better fe d b etter c a red for a nd hap

, ,

pier th a n they are to day but they were

-

n everth e le s s a t the mercy of men wh o

too o ften th oug h t o nly of themselve s a nd ,

n ot of t he h um a n bodi e s a nd souls over

which th ey ha d unli m ite d po wer It was a .

con d ition of th i ng s th a t c ould n ot be pre

ve n ted b v ed uca ti n g th e m a ste rs so a s to
ind uce t h e m to be ki nd to their slav e s ; it
wa s a cond iti o n th a t wa s wrong i n theory ,

and so could n ot be righted i n practice I n .

the sa m e way the po s ition of the Japanese

wi fe i s wro ng i n th e ory and ca n never be
,

righted u n til l egi sl a tion has given t o her

right s whi ch it still denies Education wil l .

but a ggr a vat e the trouble to a point beyon d

end ura nce The gi vi n g to the wi fe power
.

to obtai n a divorce wi l l not hel p m uch but ,

simply t en d to we a ken still further the

m arriage ti e . N ot hing ca n h e l p surely
an d perm a nently but the growth of a soun d
1 18 J APAN ES E GI RL S AN D WOMEN .

public Opinion in regard to the position of

,

the wi fe that will sooner or later have

, , ,

its eect upon the laws of the country

'

Legislation once effected all the rest will

,

come and the wife sec ure in her home an d

, ,

her children will be at the point where

,

her ne w ed ucation can be of use to her

i n the administration of her domestic a f
fairs an d the training of her children ;
an d where she will nally become the
friend and compa nion of her hu sband in ,

stead of his mere waitress seamstress an d

, ,

housekeeper the plaything of his leisure

,

moments too ofte n the victi m of his cu

,

p r ices .
1 2 0 JAPAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

youn ger than her real age or hesitates to

,

tell with entire frankness the n umber of

years that have pas sed over her head .

The reaso n for this lies at least in part

, ,

in the fact that every woman looks forward

to the period O f Ol d age as the time when
she will attain freedom from her li fe long -

service to those abo ut her will be in the

,

position of a dviser Of her sons and directo r

,

of her daughters i n law

- - will be a person
of m uch consideration i n the fam ily privi ,

l eg e d to amuse h e rsel f in va r ious ways to ,

spe a k her own m i nd on most subject s and ,

to he waited upon a n d cared for by chil

dren an d gran dchildren in return for her
,

long years Of faith ful service in the house

hold Sho uld h er sight and other bodily
.

powers remain good she w ill doubtless

,

perform many light tasks for the general

good will seldom sit idle by hersel f but
, ,

will help about th e sewin g and men ding ,

the m a rk e ti ng shoppi n g housework an d

, , ,

care of th e b a bies tell stories to her gran d

,

ch ildre n after their lesson s are learned ,

give the be net of her ye a rs of experience

to the young people who are still bearing
the heat and burden of the day a n d by her , ,

prayers and visits to the temple at stated

 O LD A GE. 12 1

s easo n s w ill secure the favor of the gods

,

for the whole family as wel l as make her ,

own pre parations for entry into the great

u nknown toward w hich she is rapidly dri ft
in g. Is there wonder that the young
wi fe steering her course with di fculty
,

among the many shoa ls and whirlpools of

early marri ed l i fe looks forward with eu
,

ti ci pa tion to the period of comparative rest

and security that comes at the end of th e
voyage P As she bears all thin gs endures
7
,

al l things suffers lon g and is kind as she

, , ,

serv es her mother in -law manages her -

,

h us band s household ca re s for her babies

, ,

the thought that cheers and encourages

her i n her busy a nd n ot too happy li fe is
the thought of the su n ny ca l m of ol d age ,

w hen she ca n lay her burdens and ca res

on youn ger shoulders and bask in the ,

warmth and sun shi ne which this Ind ian

Su m mer of her l i fe will b ring to her .

I n the code of morals of the Japanese ,

obedience to father h usband or son is ex

, ,

alted into the chie f womanly virtue but ,

the Obed ience an d re spe ct of children bot h ,

male and female to their paren ts also oc

, ,

cupic a a p ro m inent position in their ethical

system Hence i n this latter st age of a
.
,
12 2 JA PAN ES E O w LS AN D WOMEN .

woman s career the obedien ce expected of

,

her is ofte n onl y nom inal an d in any case ,

is not so absolute an d unques ti onin g as

that of the early period ; a nd the consid
cration and respect that a son is bound to
s how to h is mother n ecessitates a care of
her com fort and a consultation of her
,

wis hes that rend ers her positi on one of

,

m uch grea ter fr eedo m than can be oh

ta ined by any wom a n earlier in life She .

has besides reached an age when she is

, ,

n ot expecte d to re m ain at home and she ,

m ay go out in to the streets to the thea tr e , ,

or other shows w ithout the leas t res trai nt

,

or fear of losi ng her dign ity .

A Japanese woman loses her bea uty early .

At thirty ve her fre sh color is usually e n

-

ti re ly gone her eyes have begu n to sink a

,
'
l ittle in th eir sockets her youth ful round ,

ne ss and sy mmetry of g ure have given

place to a n a bsolute lean ness her abundan t ,

blac k hair has gro wn thin and much care ,

and an xiety have gi ven her face a pathetic

expression of quiet endurance O ne scl .

d om sees a face that indicates a so ure d

tem per or a c ross disposition but the li n e s ,

that show themselves as the years go by

are lin es that i n di cate su fferin g an d dis
124 J APAN ES E GI R LS AN D WOMEN .

relatives nd in ol d age a pl easa nter l ot

,

than that of youth Many such Ol d ladies

.

I have met whose short h a ir or shaven

,

heads proclai m to a l l who see them that

the so rrow Of widowhood has taken fro m
them the joy that falls to other women ,

but whose cheerful wri nkled faces an d

,

happy childl ike ways have given one a feel

,

ing of pleasure that the sorrow is past an d ,

peace an d rest have come to their declin

ing years Fullli n g what little house
.

hold ta sks they can respe cted and sel f ,

re specti ng members of the household the ,

0 Eu Sun or Au nty is not fa r removed i n

'

, ,

the honor and affection of the ch ildre n

fr om the 0 D6 Sun or G rand ma but both
, ,

alike nd a peace fu l shelter in the homes

of those nearest and deares t to them .

O ne of the happiest Old lad ies I have

ever seen was one who had had a rough
and stormy li fe The mother o f m a ny
.

children most of whom had died i n i n

,

fancy she was a t last le ft childless and a

,

widow I n her ch ildre n s death the last

.

tie that bo und her to her husband s fam ily

was br oken and rather than be a burden

, ,

to them she made her home for many

,

years with her own you nger brother tak ,

 OLD AG E . 12 5

ing up a gai n the many ca res and duties of

a mother s li fe i n sharin g wi th the mother

the bri n gin g up of a large family of chil

dren O ne by one from the old est to the
.
,

younge s t eac h has l e arned to love the old

,

aunty to be lulled asl eep on her back an d

, ,

to g o to her i n tro uble when mother s

h a nd s we re too fu l l o f work
. Many the .

cares s received the drives and wal ks en

,

joyed in her com pa ny the toys and can ,

dies th a t came out un expecte d ly from the

depths of mysterio us d rawers to com fort ,

m a ny an hour of ch ildi sh grie f That wa s .

years a go and the ol d aunty s hard ti mes

,

are n early over Hale an d hearty at three

.

score years and ten she has seen these

,

children grow up one by one unti l now ,

some have gone to new homes of thei r

own . H er bent form a nd wri nkled face
are ever welcome to her ch ildren her s ,

by the right of y ears Of pati ent care an d

toil for them They now i n their turn
.
, ,

enjoy giving her pleasure and return to ,

her al l the love she has lavished u po n

them It is a joy to see her childlike
.

pride and conden ce i n the m all and to ,

know that they have lled the plac e le ft

vaca nt by the dead with whom had died
al l her ho r
n s of earthl y happiness .
 The Old women of Japan how th ei r,

wi there d face s bent frames an d shrun ken

, , ,

yell ow hands a bide i n one s memory O ne

seldom sees among them what we woul d

cal l bea uty fo r the al most un iversal shr ink
,

in g with age that takes place am on g the

Japanese covers the face with m ul titud i
n ous wrinkles and produces the e ffect of a
,

withered r usset apple ; for the skin wh ich ,

i n y outh is usu ally brighten ed by red

cheeks an d glossy black hai r i n ol d age , ,

when color leaves cheek and h air has a ,

curiously yellow and parchment- like look .

But with all their wrinkles and ugli ness ,

there is a peculi ar charm about the Old

women of Japan .

I n Tkyo when the grass grows lon g

,

u pon your lawn an d you se nd to the gar

,

d e ue r to come an d cut it no boy with ,

pate nt lawn -mower nor stalwart country

,

m a n with scyt he a n d sickle answers your ,

su m mons but some morn in g you awake to

,

nd your lawn covered with Old wo m en .

The m uch washed cotton garm ents are

-

fad ed to a light blue the exact match of

,

the light blue cotton tow els in which their

hea ds are swath ed an d on hands an d
,

k n ees each armed with an enormous pa ir

,
1 28 JA PANESE Ow L S AN D WOMEN .

from ho us e to hous e gain ing a mise rable ,

pitta nce by thei r weird m u s ic they seem ,

the embodiment of all that is hope le s s an d

broken hea rted W hat they are or whence
- .

they come I kn o w not but they always re

, ,

m in d me of the grasshoppe r i n the fa bl e ,

who danced an d san g through the brie f

s u m mer to come wailing and wretched
, , ,

seeking aid fro m h er thri ftier neighbor

when at last the winter clo sed in upon her .

As o ne rides about the streets one o ften ,

see s a li ttle white-haired old woman trot

,

tin g about with a yoke over her shoulders

from which are suspended two s winging
bas kets lled wi t h fresh vege tables The
, .

fact that her ha ir is sti l l grow in g to its

n atural len gth shows that she is still a wife

and not a widow ; her worn and patch ed

blue cotton clothes bl eac hed light fro m ,

much washing show that extreme poverty,

is her lot in l i fe ; and as she hobbles along

with the gait peculiar to those who carry a
yoke my thoughts are busy with her home
, ,

which though poor and small is doubtless

, ,

cl ean a nd com fortable but my eye fol lows ,

her th roug h the city s crowd where la

,

borer soldier st udent and high o cia l

, , ,

jostle each other by the way Suddenly I

.
 OLD AG E . 12 9

see her pa u se be fore the gate way of a tem

ple She sets her b urden down a nd there
.
,

in the m idst o f the bustl i ng th ron g wi t h ,

bowed he a d folded hands and moving lips

, , ,

she invokes her g od snatchin g this m o

,

ment fro m her busy li fe to se ek a bless ing

for herse l f a nd her dear ones The thron g .

moves busily on maki ng a little eddy

,

around the burde n she has laid down but ,

p ayin g no lace d to the de vout little gure

standing there ; then in a m oment the
prayer is nish ed ; she stoops picks u p her ,

yoke balances it on her should e rs an d

, ,

moves on with the crowd to do her share,

while her stren gth l a sts and to be cared

,

for te nderly I do ubt n ot by children and

, ,

children s child ren when her work is done

.

Another picture comes to me too a pic , ,

tur e of one wh ose memory is an inspiring

thought to the many who have the honor

to call her mother A stately ol d lad y
.
,

le ft a widow many years a go be fore the ,

recent ch a n ges had wro ught havoc prepar

a tory to further pro gr ess she seemed a l
,

ways to me the model o f a mother of the

ol d school . Hersel f a woman of thorough
clas sical education he r exam ple and tea ch
,

i ng were to both sons and daughters a con

stan t inspiration ; and in her old age she
found herse lf the honored head of a fa mily
well kn own in the arts of war and peace ,

a goodly company of son s an d daughte rs ,

every o ne of them he irs of her S p irit and

of h er intellect Though con servative her
.

self an d always cl i n ging to the old cus

,

to ms she put n o block in the path of her

,

child ren s progress and her ne charac ter

, ,

heroic spirit and stanch loyal ty to what

,

she believed were worth mo re to her c hil

d ren than anyt hing else could have been .

Tried by war by siege, by banish ment by

, ,

dan ger and s ufferi n gs of al l kinds to her

,

was given at las t an ol d age of prosperity

among chi ldren of whom she might w e ll
be proud Kee ping her physical vigor to
.

the end and dying a t last after an ill ness

, ,

of only two days her spirit passed out into

,

the great unknown ready to meet its d an

,

gers as bravely as she had met those of

e arth o r to enjoy its rest a s swee tly and
,

apprec iatively as she had enjoyed that of

her ol d age in the hou se of her oldest so n .

My acquaintan ce with her was limi te d by

our lac k of com mon lan gu age but was a
,

most ad miring a nd apprec iative one on my

side ; an d I es tee m it one of the chief
 13 2 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

bier then bowing agai n retired to their

, , ,

places Slowly and solemnly from the tal l

.
,

soldier son his hair already stre a ked with

,

gray to the two year old gran dchild a ll

,
- -
,

paid this last token of re spect to a noble

spirit ; a nd after the relatives the guests ,

each in the order of rank or nearness to

the deceased stepped forward an d per
,

formed the same ceremony before leavin g

the roo m W h a t the mean ing of the ri te
.

was I did n ot know whether a worship of

, ,

stran ge gods or no ; but to m e as I per ,

form e d the act it only sign ied the honor

,

in which I held t he memory of a heroic

woman wh o had done well her part in the
world accordi n g to the light that G od had
given her .

Japa nese art loves to picture th e old wo

m a n with her kindly wrinkled face leavi n g
, ,

out n o wrinkle of the m all but givin g with ,

equal truth fu l n e ss the charm of expression

that one nds in them L ong l ife is de .

s ire d by all as pas sion a te l y as b ancient

y
H e bre w poet a n d ps a lmi st a n d with good ,

re a so n for o nly by long li fe ca n a woman a t

,

t a in the gr e a te st ho n or a nd ha p pine s s W e .

o fte n excl a i m in imp a ti e n ce a t the thought

of t he weak n ess and dependence of old
 OLD A GE . 1 33

age and pray that we may die i n the full

,

n ess of our powers be fore the decay of ad

,

va nci ng ye a r s has made us a burden upo n

o ur frie n d s But in Japan depende nce is

.
,

the lot of wo m a n a nd the dependence of

,

old age is that w hic h is most respected

a n d considered An a ged parent is never
.

a b urd e n is tre at ed by all wit h the greatest

,

l ov e and ten derne ss ; an d if ti m es are hard ,

a nd food a nd ot h er co m forts are scarce the ,

children a s a matter of course deprive

, ,

them sel ves a nd their child re n to give un

grudg ingly to their old fa the r a nd mother .

Faults t here are m a ny in th e Japa nese

social sy stem b ut ingra titude to parents
, ,

or di s respect to the aged mus t not be ,

named a m o ng the m ; a nd Young Am erica

m a y l e ar n a salut a ry lesso n by the study of

the place that old people occupy in the

home .

It is not o nly for the women of Japan ,

but for the m e n as well that old age is a ,

time of p e a ce an d h a ppiness W hen a man .

re a che s the age of fty or thereabouts ,

ofte n whil e app a re ntly i n the heig ht of his

vigor he give s up his work or bu siness an d
,

retire s l e aving all the property an d income

,

to the care of his eldest son upon who m ,

1 34 APAN ES E G I RL S
J AN D WOMEN .

he becom e s enti rely depen dent for his sup

port This support is never begrud ge d
1
.

hi m for the ca re o f parents by the ir chil

,

dren is as m uch a matter o f course i n

Japan as the care of children by those who
give them birth A man thus rarely m a kes
.

provi si on for the future and looks wit h ,

scorn on fore i g n customs whi ch see m to

betoken a fear le st in ol d age un grateful , ,

child ren may n eglect their parents an d

cast them aside The fee ling so stron g in
.
,

Ame rica that dependen ce is of itsel f i rk

,

some and a thin g to be dread ed is a l ,

togeth e r s tran ge to the Japa ne se m ind .

The married so n doe s not ca re to take his

wi fe to a new and i n depe ndent home of his
o wn and to support her and her children by
,

h is own labor or on his own in come but he ,

tak es her to his fa ther s h ouse a nd th inks

,

it no shame that his fam ily l ive u pon h is

pare nts But in retu rn when the parents
.
,

wish to retire fro m active li fe th e son takes ,

upon him sel f ung rudgingly the bu rden of

1 I t is this of
cus tom g o ing into ea r l y r e ti re m e nt tha t
m a de
it p oss i l e for b b
the no les in ol d ti m e s to k ee p the
Em peror a l wa ys a chil d . The r ul ing Em p er or w oul d be
ind uce d to r eti re fr om th e thr one at the a g e o f sixte eu or

twe nty ; th us m a k ing room for som e ba by , w ho woul d be

in hin tum tho p npp e t of hiu a m bi tio us oo ur tiem .
1 36 JAPAN ES E G m t s AN D WOMEN .

1
ble worker The go ia kyo of J a pa n is glad
.

enough to lay down early i n li fe the cares

o f the world to have a few ye a rs of cal m
,

a nd peac e u ndisturbed by responsibilities

,

or cares for outside matters I f he be a n .

artist o r a poet he may u ninterrupted , , ,

S pend hi s days with hi s beloved art I f he .

is fond of the ceremonial tea he has whole ,

aft ern oons that he may devote to t hi s $ 8

t hetic re pe at ; and even if he has none of

these higher tastes he wil l always have ,

congenial friends who are ready to share

the s ak bottle to join in a quiet smoke o ver
,

the hiba chi or to play the deep-engro ssing

,

game of go or s hogi the Japane se ches s

, , .

To the Japanese m ind to be in the co m ,

pan y of a fe w kindred souls to spend the ,

l ong hours of a su m mer s aft ernoon at the

ce remon ial tea pa rty sippin g tea and con ,

versing in a leisurely m an ner on va rious

subjects is an enjoyment second to none
,
.

A cultivated Japane se of the old times must

re ceive an education tting him especially
G o I nkyo S a m e is th e ti tl e be l ong ing t i
o a r e t re d ol d

g e n tl e m a n or old la d y . I nkyo is the na m e of the h o use or

s uite of f or h th e ti tl e
, a nd
room s eet a pa rt sn c a e rson
p
i tsel f is m a de up of this w or d with the Chi nese h onor ic
go a nd the t itl e S a m e, the sa m e a s S a n, ul e d in ad dress
ing al l p erl onl oxoep t inf er iors .
 O LD AG E
. 137

for such pursuits At these meetings of

.

friends artistically o r poetically inclin ed

, ,

the ti me is spe nt in m akin g poems and ex

chan ging wit tily turned sentiments to be ,

read com mented on and res ponded to ; or

, ,

i n the maki ng of drawin gs with a fe w bold ,

strokes of the brush in illustration of some ,

subj ect give n out S uch enjoyments as

.

these the Japan ese believe can not be a p

, ,

p re c ia te d or even understood by the p ra c

tical rush ahead A merican the prod uct of

,
-
,

the wonderful but m ate rial ci viliz a tio n of

the West .

Thus amid enjoy men ts an d easy labors

,

sui te d to their closing years the elder ,

cou ple spen d their days wi th the youn g

people cared for an d protected by them
, .

Sometimes there wi ll be a separa te suite

of rooms provided fo r the m ; someti mes a

little house away fro m the il oi of the

household and sepa rate d from the m ai n

,

building by a well-kept little gard en I n .

any case as lon g as they live they wil l

,

S pend their days i n quiet and peace a n d it

is to this haven the ia kyo that all Japa

, ,

n ese look forward as to the ti me when ,

they may carry out their own inclinations

and tas tes with an i ncome provided for the
rest o f their days .
 CH A PT E R VI .

TH E co urt of the E mperor was in the ,

ea rly ages of Jap a n th e centre of whatev er

,

culture an d re nement the country coul d

boast and the em pe rors themselves took
,

an active part i n the promo tio n of civiliz a

ti on The earliest history of Japan is so
.

wrapped in the m ist s of legen d and tra di

ti on that only he re and there do we get
gli mps es of heroic gures lead e rs in ,

those early days De migods they seem ch il

.
,

d ren of H e aven receiving from H eaven by

,

specia l reve l ation the wis do m or stren gth

by means of which they conquered t he ir
enemi es or gave to their subjects new arts
,

and be tter laws The tradi t ional empe rors

.
,

the early descendants of the great Jim m u

Tenno see m to have been merely conquer
l
,

The a a neee cl a i m for the ir pr es ent Em p e ror dire ct

desce nt from Jim m u Te nno , th e Son of the Gods ; a nd
i t in for thin re ason tha t th e Em p e ra is s up p oee d to
-
be
divine , end the re presenta ti ve of th e gode on the ea r th.
1 40 APA N ES E GIR LS
J AN D WOMEN .

of Corea, who alone am ong the nine female

,

rulers of Japan has made an era in the

,

n ational history S he see ms to have been

.

from the begin nin g like Jea n ne D Arc a

, ,

b ea re r of divine voi ces ; and thr ough h er

was conveyed to her un beli evin g husban d
a divi ne com mand to take shi p an d s a il
,

westward to the conquest of an un k nown

land Her h usband questioned the a uthe n
.

tic ity of the mes sage took the earthly an d

,

practical vi ew that as there was no land

,

to be seen in the westward there coul d be ,

no land there an d re fused to organ i ze any

,

expedition in fulll ment of the com mand ;

but for his unbelief wa s ste m ly told that he
should n ever see the land but that h is wi fe
,

should conquer it for the son whom she

should bear after the father s death This
.

message from the gods was fullled The .

E m peror died i n battle shortly after and ,

the E mpre ss afte r suppres sing the rebel

,

lion in which her hu sband had been killed ,

proceeded to organ i ze an expedi tion for the

conquest of the un kn own lan d beyon d the
western sea By a s m any signs as those
.

required by G ideon to ass ure h imsel f of his

divine mission the Empress tested the cal l
,

that had come to her but at las t sa tised

, ,
 C O UR T LI FE . 14 1

that the voi ces were from H ea ven she gave ,

he r orders for the collecti on of ows a nd

the building of a navy I quote from G riis
.

the i nspirin g words wi th which she a d

dressed her gen eral s The sa fety or de
st ructi on of our count ry de pends upon this
en terpri se I intrust the details to you
. . .

It wi l l be yo ur fault i f they are not carried

out. I am a woman a n d yo u ng I shall .

d isguise myself as a m an a nd u nd e rtake ,

this ga llant expedition trusti n g to the ,

gods an d to my tr0 0 ps and capta ins We .

sh al l acquire a wealthy country The gl ory .

i s you rs if we succeed ; i f we fail the guilt

, ,

an d disgrac e shall be m ine What won .

der tha t her captains respond ed to suc h a n

appeal an d that the work of recruit in g an d
,

shipbuilding began with a w ill ! It was a

long preparation that was re quired so me
ti mes to the impatient woman it seem ed nu
, ,

n ece ssarily slow but by con tin ual prayer

and o fferings she appealed to the gods for
aid ; and at last all was re ady an d the brave ,

array of shi ps se t sail for the unk nown

shore the E mpress fe eling within her the
,

n e w inspira tion o f hO pe for her babe as yet

un born Hea ven sm i led upo n them fro m

.

the start The clearest of skies the most

. ,
142 J APA N ES E GIR L S AN D WOMEN .

favoring breezes the smoothes t o f sea s

of , ,

favo red the god sent ex pedition ; a nd t rad i

-

ti o n say s that even t he shes s warm ed in

shoals about their he e l s and carri e d the m ,

o n to th e ir des r ed haven The eet

i ra n .

safely ac ross to southern Cores but instead ,

o f nding battl e s and struggles awaitin g

them the king of the country met them on

,

the be ach to receive an d tender allegian ce to

the inv aders whose u nexpec ted appe arance
,

from the unexplo red East had l ed the na

ti ve s to beli e ve that their gods had for
s aken them The ex pedition return ed lade n
.

with vast wealth no t the spoil of battle

, ,

but the pea ce ful tribute of a blood less vic

tory ; and from that ti me forward Japan ,

th ro ugh Corea and late r by direct contact

,

with China its el f bega n to rece ive and as

,

sim ilate the civilization arts and religion s, ,

of Chi na . Thus th rough a woman Japan

received the start alon g the line of prog
ress which made her what she is tod ay ,

fo r the se quel of Jin g u Kogti s Corea n ex

pediti on was the i ntroduction of al most

eve rythin g which we re gard as peculiar
to civilized countries Wi th chara cte ri s tic
.

belittling of the woman an d exalting o f

the man the whole m a rti al care e r of the
,
al on g which the savages still mad e raids
i nto the territory w hich the Japa ne s e had
wres ted fro m them and which it required
,

a stron g a r m and a quick hand to guard

for the de fense of the people But the
.

E m pe ror gradual ly gave up the personal

leadership in war and passe d the duty of
,

de fending the nation into the ha nd s of one

or another o f the great noble families .The
nobles were not by any means slow tc sec
'

the advan tage to be gained for themselves

by the possession of t he m ilitary power in
an age when m ight made right even more
,

than it does to-day an d when force used

, ,

judiciously and with proper de ference to

the prejudices of the people could be made
,

to give to its possesso r po wer even o ver

the Em peror hi msel f A nd so g ra dual ly
.
,

i n the pursuit of the new culture an d the

ne w religion the em perors withdrew th e m
,

selves more and more into se clusion and ,

the cou rt became a little world in i tsel f ,

a cen tre o f culture and renement into

which fe w excitements of war or politics

ever came While the great nobl e s wr an
.

gled for the posse ssion of the po wer ,

schemed and fought an d turned the nation

u ps ide down ; while the heroes of the coun
 CO U RT LI FE . 14 5

try rose lived fought a nd died

, ,
the E m
, ,

pe t or amid his ladies and his courtiers his

, ,

priests and h is literary men spe nt his li fe ,

in a world of his own ; thinking more of

this pair of bright eyes that new an d ,

charming poem the other witty sayi ng

,

o f those about hi m than of the king

,

d o m that he ruled by divi ne right ; and

re ti ring after ten years or so of puppet
,

kinghood from the seclusion of his court

,

to the deepe r secl us ion of some B ud d his t

monastery .

Within the sac red precincts of the court ,

m uch time was given to such g ames an d

pasti mes as were not too rude or n oisy
for the renement that the new culture
brought wi th it Polo football huntin g
.
, ,

with falcons archery etc were exercises

, , .
,

not u nworthy of even the most rened of

gentlemen and certain noble families wer e
,

trained h e reditarily i n the execution of cer

tain stately antique dances many of the m
, ,

of Chines e or Corean origin The l a dies .

,

in trailin g garments and with o wing hair ,

reachin g often below the knees played a ,

n ot inconspicuous part not only because o f,

t heir beau ty an d grace but for their quick

,

ness of wit their learning in the c l assics

, ,
146 J APAN ES E ow LS AN D WOMEN .

their skil l i n repartee an d thei r quai nt ,

fa ncies which they embodied in p oetic

,

form l
.

Much atte ntion was gi ven to that har

m ony of art with nature that the Japa nese
tas te m a k es the sine qua non o f a ll true
artistic e ort The gorgeou sly e m b roid

ered gowns must cha n ge wi th the chau

ging season so that the che rry succeeds
,

the plu m the wista ria the cherry and so on

, ,

th rough the whole calendar of owers u pon ,

the silken robes of the court as regularly ,

as i n the garden that gra ces the palace

grounds A nd so with the con fecti onery
.
,

which in Japa n is ma de in dainty imita

tion of owe rs and fruits The chrysa n .

the m um blo oms in sugar no earli er tha n

h m dm m wm m e l m g civ wm d m e

Mid d l e AM m uch a t te n o n w as given b y b oth m e n a nd

w om en to p oet r y, a nd m a n y O f the cl nm ice of Ja pa nese

l ite ra ture a re th e work s of wom en . Am ong thes e dis
ting uis h ed wr it ers ca n b e m e nti on e d Murasa ki Shik i bu,
Se is h b Na g o n, a nd Iaeno Ta iy u, a ll cour t l a ies in the
'

d
tim e of th e Em p e ror I c hijii (a o ut 1000 A b The court .

a t tha t ti m e was the ce ntre of l ea r ni ng, a nd m uch e ncour

a gem en t wa s give n b y the Em pe ror to literar y pursuits ,

th e cul tiva ti on of p oe tr y , a nd m us i c The Em p er or ga th
.

e re d a round him ta l e nte d m e n a nd w om en, b ut th e grea t

wor ks tha t re m a in ar e, ch a ng e to any , m os t l y theoe o f
1 48 JAPANESE C I RL S AN D WOMEN .

al most out of exi sten ce by the i n trod uction

of Chin ese lea rn ing through Ch in e se let

ters the women of Japan n ot only in their

, ,

homes and con versation but in the poetry ,

an d l ighter literature of the country pre ,

served a stra in of pu re and grace ful Jap

ane se and produced some of the standard
,

works of a distinctly n ational literatu re .

Favor at court M ay as in the olden ,

times is the reward not of mere rank

, , ,

beauty and g race of person but must be

, ,

obtained through the same in te ll ectual e n

dowments polished by years of ed uca tion
, ,

that made so many women famous in the

m e d iaaval his to ry of Japan Many co urt .

lad ies have read m uch of th eir national

lite rat ure so that they are able to a pp re
,

ciate the bonm ots which contain allus ions

i n many cases to ol d poems or plays on ,

words ; and are able to write and pres ent

to others at ttin g ti mes those grace ful
, ,

but u ntranslatable turns o f phrase which

form the bulk of Japan ese poetry 1
Even

The cour t l a dies in im m e dia t conta c t with the Em

e

p e ro r a nd Em p ress a re se l ec te d f th da ughters f
rom e o

the no bl es . Onl y in the p r es ent reig n ha ve a few sa m u

ra i wom en rise n to h igh p ositi ons a t cour t on account of
 C O U T LI FER . 14 9

in this busy era of M ij i the Empe ror and ,

l

hi s co urt keep up the old ti me cu s to ms

-
,

an d strive to promote a love of the beauti

ful poetry of Japa n At ea ch New Yea r
.

some subj ect appropriate to the ti me is

chosen an d publi cly anno un ced Ifoe m s .

may be writte n upon th is subject by any

one i n the whole r eal m and may be se nt ,

to the palace be fore a ce rtain date x e d as

the time for closing the list of com petitors .

All th e poe ms th us sent a re examined by

com petent judges w ho se l ect the best ve
,

a nd se nd them to the E mperor an honor ,

more d e sire d by the write rs than the most

favorable of reviews or the largest of s mol
um e n ts are desired by American poets .

Ma ny of the other poems are published in

the news papers It is interesting to note
.

that many of the pro minent men and wo

men of the cou ntry are known as com
p e tito rs
, an d that m any of the court ladies
join i n the contest .

There a re also at the pa lace frequent

, ,

m eetin gs of the poets a nd lovers of poetry

1 Maj ; (Enligh te ned Rul e ) is the nam e of the era tha t
began with th e p rese nt M paror s accession to the throne

.

The -
you A . D . 1890 is the twe nty -thir d year of hi eiji , a nd
15 0 A A
J P N ES E G IR LS AN D WOMEN .

con necte d with the court At these meet .

in gs poems are composed for the enter

ta i nm e nt of the Em peror and E mpress as ,

well as for the amuse ment of the poets

themselve s .

I n the sch ool recently establ is he d for the

dau ghters of the nobles u nder the charge ,

of the i mperia l house hold m uch attentio n ,

is gi ve n to the work of thoroughly ground

in g th e schola rs in the J a pa ne sc lan guage
and literature and also to mak in g them
,

ski l l ful i n the art of com posing poet ry At

the head of the sch ool in t he highe st posi

,

tion held by any woman i n the employ of

the govern men t is a former court lady
, ,

who is second to n one i n the k in gd om not ,

only in her knowl edge of a l l that belon gs

to court eti quette but in her study of the
,

history and literature of her own people ,

and in her skill in th e composition of thes e

dai n ty poem s A year or two ago when
.
,

o ne of the scholars i n the school died after

a br ie f declin e her sch ool mates teachers

, , ,

a n d school friends wr ote poem s upon her

death which they sent to the bere aved

,

parents .

It is di fcult for any Japanese much ,

mo re so for a forei gner to pen e trate into

,
1 52 J APAN ES E GIR LS AN D WOMEN .

qui si te there is little i n this simplicity

,

to denote the abode of royalty

. It seems .

that t heir majesties t houg h outwardly con

,

forming to many European customs an d ,

to th e European m an ner of dress prefer ,

to live in Japanese ways on matted not , ,

carpeted oors r eposing on them rather

,

than on chairs a nd beds .

Their apartments are not large ; each

'

s uite co n s isting of three rooms Open ing

out of each other the Em p ress s room s

,

being slightly smaller tha n the Emper

or s an d those of the young Prince Haru

, ,

the heir apparent again a little smaller

, .

The young prince has a residence of his

o wn an d it is onl y on his visits that he
,

occupies his apartments i n his father s

pal a ce There are also room s for the Em

.

press d owager to occupy on her occasional

visits Al l of these apartments are quite
.

close together in one part of the pal ace ,

and a r e con n ected by hal ls ; but the pri

vate rooms of the court l a dies are in an
entirely separate place q uite re m oved a nd
, ,

only con nected with the m a in buildin g

by a long n a rro w p a ssa ge wa y r un n ing
, ,

through the garden Th e re i n the rooms

.
,

assigned to them each one ha s her own

,
 C O UR T LE E . 1 53

private establish ment where she stays

,

when she is not on d uty in attendance o n

the E mperor an d E m press Eac h lady has
.

her own servants and sometimes a youn ger

,

sister or a dependent may be li ving there

with her thoug h they a re entirely sepa
,

rate from the court and the li fe there and ,

must never be seen in any of the other

parts of the buildin g In th ese rooms
.
,

which are like little homes in themselves ,

cookin g and housekeepin g are done e u ,

tir el y i n depen dent of the other parts of

th e great palace ; a nd the tradesmen nd
their way through some back gate to these
little es tablish men ts supplyin g them with
,

all the n ecessari es of li fe as well as the

,

lux uries .

A court lady is a person age of distin o

ti on and lives in comparative ease and
,

luxury with plenty of servants to do al l

,

the necessary work Besi des her salary

.
,

which of course varies with the rank and

the duti es performed but is always liberal
,

enough to cover the necessary ex penses of

dre ss the court lady re ceives many presents
,

from the Em peror and Empress which ,

ma ke her pos ition o ne of much luxu ry .

The etiquette of the im perial house hold

is very com plicated a nd very strict th ough ,

many of the formal ities of the olden ti m es

have bee n given up The court lad ie s are
.

model s of conse rvatism I n order to be .

trained for the life there an d its d uti es ,

they usually ente r the court w hile m ere

childre n of ten or eleven a nd serve a p ,

prenticeship to th e older members In .

the rigid secl usion of the palace they are

strictly al m ost seve rely brought up a nd
, , ,

trained in all the details of court etiquette .

Cut off from a ll outs ide inuenc e s whi l e

young the li ttle court m aidens a re ta ught
,

to go thro ugh an en d l e ss roun d of fa n

m a l itie s wh ich they a r e made to think
indispensa ble T hese detail s of etiquette
.

extend not only to al l that concerns the

i m perial household but to c urious cus,

to m s among themselves an d in regard to ,

their own habi ts Many of these id eas

.

have co me down from one generation to

another within the narrow limits of the
,

court so that the li fe t here is a curious

,

world in itse l f a n d v e ry unlike that in

,

ordi nary Japanese homes .

But am on g all the l a dies of Japan to

day ,
charming in tellectu a l re ned a nd
, , ,

l ovely as m any of them are the re is no ,

1 56 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

p e ror ctual power an d the leading part

to a

i n the govern me nt Reared amid the deep .

a n d s chol arly seclusion of th e old court at

Kyoto the you n g Empre ss foun d hersel f

,

occupyin g a position very di fferent from

that for which she had been educated a ,

position the duties and respo n sibilities of

which grow more m ulti farious as the years
go by Instead of a li fe of rigid secl usion
.
,

unseeing an d unseen the E mpress has had ,

to go forth into the world n d ing there ,

the pl easures a s wel l a s the d uties of actual

leade r ship W ith the removal of the court
.

to Tokyo a n d th e reappearance of the E m

,

p e r or i n ,bodi l y form be fore his people , ,

there cam e n e w Opportunities for the E m

press and n obly has she u sed them From
,
.

the ti me when in 1 8 7 1 she gave audience, ,

to the ve little girls of the s a murai class

who were just setti n g forth on a journey
to America there to study a nd t them
,

sel ve s to play a part in the J a pan of th e

future on through t wenty ye a r s of ch a nge
,

p re ss th e fore ign ers wh e n Com m o d ore Pe rr y was n eg o

ti nting i n re g a r d to t r e a ti e s . Th e Sh og un h el d th e d a im i os
i n for ce d su bj e ction , a su bj e c ti on th a t w as sh a k e n in
1 8 62 , a nd b l a st in th e y e a r 1 8 68 , wh e n , b y th e
ro k e n a t

fa l l of th e Sh og una te , the Em p e r or was re store t o d ir e ct d

p ower over his p eop l e .
 CO UR T LI FE . 157

and progress the E mpres s Haru Xc has

,

done all that lay within h e r power to a d

vance the women of her country M any .

stories are a oat which show the lovable

ch aracter of the woman an d which have ,
'

given her a n abidin g p l ace i n the aec

tions of the people .

Some years a go w hen the castle i n

,

To ky o was burned an d the E mperor and

,

E mpress were obliged to take refuge in an

old dai mi o s house a place entirely l ac k in g

in l uxuries and consi derably out of repair ,

some one expressed to her the grie f that

a l l her people felt that she should have to
,

put u p with so many i ncon veniences Her .

respon se was a grace ful little poem in ,

whi ch she said th a t it mattered little how

she was situated as lon g as she was sure
,

of a home in the hearts of her people .

That home which re can never con sume

, ,

she has undoubtedl y m ade for herself .

Upon another occasion when Pri nce Iwa ,

k ura one of the leaders of Japan in the

,

ea rly days of the crisis through which the

country is still pa ssin g lay dyin g at his
, ,

home the E mpress sent hi m word that

,

she was coming to visit hi m T he prince .

,

afraid that he cou ld not do honor to such

1 58 APAN ES E GI RLS
J AN D WOMEN .

a guest sent her word back that he wa s

,

very ill a nd unable to make proper prepa

,

r ation to entertai n an Empress To t hi s .

the E mpress replied that he need m ake no

preparations for her for she was coming
, ,

n ot as a n Empress but as the daughter of

,

Ichij o his old frien d and colleag ue a nd as

, ,

s uch he could receive her And then set .

,

ting aside imperial state a nd etiquette she ,

vi s ited the dying statesman and bright ,

ened his last hours wit h the thought of

how lovely a woman stood as an exampl e
before the women of his be loved co untry .

Many of the charities and schools of ne w

Japa n are un der the Empress s specia l

patronage ; an d this does not mean simply

that she allows her name to be used i n
con nection with them b ut it me a ns that ,

she thinks of them studies them as ks

, ,

questions about the m and even practices

,

little economies that she may have the

mo re money to give to them There is a .

charity hospital in Toky o havin g i n con nec ,

tio n wit h it a training school for nurses ,

that is one of the special objects of her

care L ast year she gave to it at the
.
,

end of the ye a r the savi ngs fro m her own

,

p riva t e a llowance and conc

, e r ning this act
1 60 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D W OMEN .

Majesty s be nevolence is however m ore

, ,

than usually strikin g Since the foundin g

.

of the T6 ky6 Charity Hospital where so ,

m any poor wome n and children are trea ted ,

the Empress has watc hed the institution

closely has be st owed on it patronage of the
,

m ost active and help ful chara cte r and h as ,

contributed handsomely to its funds Littl e .

by little the hospita l grew exte ndin g its ,

S ph e re of action and enlarging its minis

tr a tions until the n eed of more cap a ciou s

,

premises a need familiar to such under

taki n gs be gan to be stron gly felt The .

E mpress k nowing this cast ab out for som e

, ,

means of assisting this project To prac .

tice st rict economy in her own person al

expenses an d to devote whatever money
,

might thus be saved from her yearly in

come to the aid of the hospital appears ,

to have suggested i tsel f to her Majesty

as the most feas ible method of procedure .

The re s ult is that a s um of

, yen 90 ,

sen and 8 rin has j ust been h a nded over

,

to D r Ta kagi the chi e f pro m oter and

.
,

m ai n stay of the hospital by Vi scount ,

K a g a wa on e of h e r M aje sty s cha m ber

,

lai n s. There is s om ethi n g picture sq ue

about these sen and rin They represent .
 C O UR T LI FE . 161

an ac count mi nutely and faith fully kept

between her M ajesty s unavoidable expenses

a nd the benevolent im p ulse that constantly

urged her to curtail them S uch gracio us

.

acts of sterl ing effort com ma n d admiratio n

a nd l ove .

Not very long ago on one of her visi t s to

,

the hospital the E mpress visited the chil

,

dren s ward an d took with her toys w h ich

, ,

she gave with her own hand to eac h child

there W hen we consider t hat this hos
.

pital is free to the poorest and lowest per

son i h T6 ky6 and that t wenty years ago the

persons of the Em peror a nd E mpress were

so sacred in the eyes of the people that no
one b ut the highest nobles and the near

ofcials of t he co urt co uld come i nto their

presence that eve n these high n obles
,

were received at co urt by the E m peror at

a distance of many feet and his fa ce even ,

the n could not be seen whe n we th ink of

,

all th is we can begin to appreciate what

,

the E mpress Haru Ko has done i n br id g

ing the distance between hersel f and her
people so that the poorest child of a beg
gar may receive a gi ft from her hand I n .

the co untry pl aces to this day there a re ,

p e asa nts who ye t b e lieve t hat no one c a n

1 62 JAPAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

l ook on the sacred face of the E mperor

an d live .

The school for the daughte rs of the

nobles to which I have be fore re ferred i s
, ,

an institution whose wel fare the E mpress

has very closely at heart for she sees the ,

n eed of rightly combin ing the new a nd the

old in the education of the young girls

who will so soon be lling places in the
co urt At the Open ing of the school the
.

E mpress was present and hersel f made a ,

speech to the scholars ; and her visits at ,

intervals of one or two months S ho w her ,

contin ued int e re st in the work that she

h a s beg un Upon all st a te occasions the

.
,

scholars standin g with bo wed heads as if

,

in prayer sing a little son g written for

,

them by the E mpress her sel f ; and at the

gra d uati ng exercises the speeches an d a d
,

d resse s are listened to by her with the pro

found e st int e rest The best specimens of
.

poetry pai n ti ng and compo sition done by

, ,

the sch ol a rs a r e se nt to the pal ace for her

in s pection and som e of these are kept by
,

her i n her own private room s W h e n she .

vi sits the class rooms she doe s not sim ply

-
,

pass i n and pa ss out a gai n a s i f doing a ,

formal d uty but sits for h a l f a n h our or so

,
1 64 APAN ES E GI RLS
J AN D WOMEN .

al ways end with some choice toy or gi ft ,

which the child takes h ome and keeps

a mong her most val ued treasures in r e

m e m b r a nce of her i mperial hostess In .

this way the Em press relieves the l onel i

ness of the great palace where the sou n d ,

of childish voices is seldom heard for th e ,

Empe ror s childre n are brought up in sep

arate establish ments and only pay occa ,

sioual visits to the palace until they hav e ,

passed early ch ildhood l .

The present li fe of the Empress is not

very di fferent from that of E uropean roy
al ty Her carriage and escort are fre
.

quently met with in the streets of Toky o

as she goes or return s on one of her n u

m e r ous visits of c e remony or b e ne ce nce .

Policemen keep back the crowds of peo

ple who always gather to see the imperial
carriage an d stand respect fully but with
, ,

o ut de m on stration while the horse men ,

carrying the imperi a l insign ia followed ,

1 The Em p eror s ch il dr e n a re p l ac e d , from bir th , in

the care of som e n obl e or hi g h of cia l , wh o becom es the

g ua rdia n f th e chil d C t in p n a e pp inte d as

o . er a e rso s r a o

a ttend n ts a nd th e ch il d wi th i ts e ti n ue l iv es i n th e e s
a , r

t bl i h en t f the g ua d i n wh is upp se d to ex e cise

a s m o r a , o s o r

h is j udg nt a n d
m e xp e ie nce i n th e p h ysica l a nd m e ntal
e r

tra ini ng of th e chil d .

 C O UR T LI FE . 1 65

closely by the ca rr ia ges of the Empress

a n d her atte ndan ts pa ss by The ofcia l
,
.

G azette an noun ce s al most da i l v vis it s by

the E m peror Em pre s s or ot her mem bers
, ,

of the i m pe ria l fa m il y t o d ie re nt place s of

'

inte rest sometime s to va r ious

,
pa la ce s
in di fferent pa rts o f Tk G a t other times ,

to schools char ita ble in s tituti o n s or er b i

,

bitions as we l l as occa sional vis i ts to the

,

homes of high o fc ial s or noble s for whic h ,

great prepara ti o n s are mad e by those who

have the honor of enterta in ing their Ma
je s ties .

Amon g the am usements w ithin t h e pal

ace ground s one l a te ly i ntrod uced a nd at
, ,

present in h igh favor is that of horse bac k ,

ridin g an ex e rcise h ithe rto un k nown to

,

the ladies of Japan The Empress a nd her .

ladies are sa id to be very fon d of this ac

tive ex e rci se an amu semen t forming a
,

str iking co ntras t to the quiet of former

years .

The groun d s about the pal aces in T6ky6

are m ost bea uti fully laid out and c ul tivated ,

but not i n th a t artici a l man n e r with reg ,

ular o we r bed s and trees at certai n equal

distanc e s which is seen so o ften in the
,

highly cultivated gr oun ds of the rich i n

l 66 JAPANESE G I RL S A N D WOMEN .

this country The landscape gardening of

.

J a pan keeps u nch an ged the wildne ss a nd

beauty of nature and i m itates it closely
, .

The fam ous owers ho wever are in the

, , ,

imperi a l g a rde n s chan ged by art an d cul

,

ti va te d to their h i ghest per fection bloo m ,

ing each se ason for the enjoyment of the

m embers of the court E specially is atten
.

tion given to the cultiv a tion of the impe

rial ower of Japan the chrysanthemu m ;
,

a nd some d ay in November when this ,

o we r is in its perfection th e ga tes of the,

Aka sa k a pa l a ce a r e thro wn o pen to in vited

gu e st s who a re re ceiv e d in person by the
,

Em p e ror a nd Em press Here the rarest

.

S peci e s of this favorite ower a n d the odd ,

est colors and sh apes the results of much

,

care and c ultivation a re exhi bited in spa-

,
i

cions beds s h a ded by temporary roo fs of

,

bamboo twigs and decorated with the i m

perial a gs This is the great ch rysanth s
.

m um party of the E mperor and another ,

of s i m i l ar ch a r a cter is give n i n the sprin g

u nder the owe r l aden bo ughs of the cherry

-

trees .

In these various ways the Em pre ss shows

hersel f to h e r p e opl e a ,g r a ci ou s an d

l ovely g ure th o ugh d i st a n t a s she needs

, ,
1 68 APAN ES E Ow Ls
J AN D WOMEN .

E ach marks the begin n ing of a new e ra ,

the rst of the era of civi lizatio n an d

,

morality fo un d ed upon the teachin gs of

Buddha a nd Con fucius ; the second of the
,

civiliza tion and morality that have sprung

from the teach i n gs of Christ . B uddhis m
and Con fucianism were elevating and civ
il iz ing b ut failed to place the women of
,

Japan upon even as high a plane as they

had occupied in the old ba rb a ric ti mes To
.

Ch ristian ity they m ust look for t he security

and h a ppiness which it has never failed to
give to the wives an d mothers of all Chri s
tian nations .
 CHAP TE R VI I .

LI FE I N CAS T L E AN D Y AS H I KI 1 .

TH Eseclusion of the Emperors an d t he

gathering of the reins of govern ment into
the ha nds of S ho gun s was a grad u a l pro
'

ce ss begin n i ng not lo ng after the intro

,

duction of Chi n e se ci viliz a tion and con ,

tin ni n g to grow until I yya sii the founder ,

of the Tokugawa dy n a sty t hrough his code ,

of laws took from the E m peror the las t

,

ve stige of real po wer and per fected th e ,

feudal system wh ich m a i n tained t h e swa y

1 Ya shiki , or sp r e a d out- h ouse , was the na m e g iven to

d u d
s city re si de nce a nd

the p a l a ce g a nd a i i o ro n fs o a m ,

a l so t o th e b a k s occ up ie d b y h is re ta ine
a rr c both i n rs ,

city a n d unt y
co I n th e city th e ba rr ack s of the s m u a i
r . a r

were b uil t as a h l l w squa re in th e ce ntre of which stood

o o ,

the p l a ce n d g oun ds f the i l d a nd th is w h ol e p l ace

a a r o r or ,

l t owns the d a im i s

w as th e d a im i6

s y a shi ci . I n th e ca s tl e

p a l a ce a nd g a r d e ns s too d w ithin th e cas tl e incl osure , sur

roun d d by
e a t wh il
a m o th e y hilci s f th sa m u i we re
, e as o e ra

p l a c e d w ith ut t h
o e m a t T h y i n tu n w e
o s e
.
p a a te d e r re r

f m th e b usi ss p a rt f t h e vill a g e
ro ne e tim s by a
o so m e

se cond o thi d m oa t
r rBy li f in ca s tl e a nd y hiki we
. e as

m ean th e l ife of th e d a im i o, whe th er in city or countr y.

1 70 JA PA N ES E GIR LS AN D WOMEN .

of h is house for two hu ndred a n d fty years

of peace .

The E mperor s court with its l iterary

,

and azsthetic quiet its si mplicity of li fe an d

,

com plexity of etiquette was the centre of ,

the culture and art of Japan but never ,

the centre of luxury After the growth of .

the Tokugawa po wer had secured for that

h ouse and its retainers great hereditary
possessions the E mperor s co urt was a
,

m ere shadow in the presence of the m a g

n ice nce i n which the Tokugawas and th e

daimi o s chose to live The wealth of the

country was in the h ands of those who

h eld the real po wer an d th e Em peror ,

was dependent for his su pport u pon his

great vassal who held the land collected
, ,

the taxes made the laws and gave to his

, ,

m aster whatever seemed necessary for his

maintenance in the si m ple style of the old

days keeping for hi msel f and for his re
,

t a i ne r s enough to make Yedo the Tok u ,

gawa capital the centre of a luxury far

,

surpassing anything e ver seen at the E m

p e r or s own court

W hi l e the k u g .the ,

old i mperial nobility form erly the govern ,

or s of the province s under the Emperors ,

lived in resp ectable but o fte n ex treme pov

1 72 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

l ived alon g the roads by which they m ust

travel The time and style of each jo urney
.

for each daimi o were rigidly pre scribed in

the laws of I ym itsii a s well as the be ,

havior of the country people who m igh t

m eet the procession movin g towards Yedo ,

or r eturni n g therefrom W hen some nob l e .

,

or any member of his family was to pass ,

t hrough a certain section of the country ,

great preparation s were made beforehan d .

Not only was trafc stopped along the

r oute but every door and windo w had to
,

b e closed By no m eans was any one to

.

sh ow hi msel f or to look in any way upon

,

the pas sing procession To do so was to .

comm it a profane deed p un ishable by a ,

ne . A mon g ot h er thin gs no cooking was ,

allowed on that day All the food m ust be .

prepared the day before as the air was ,

supposed to become polluted by the smoke

from th e res Thus thro ugh c rowded
.

cities full an d busy with li fe the dai m i o

, ,

i n h i s curtai ned pala n quin with n umerous ,

reti n ue wo uld pass by ; but wh e rever he

,

approached the place would be as de serted

,

a n d silent as if pl ague stricke n It is -

.

hard l y n eces sary to add that these jo ur

n eys attended with so m uch ceremony an d
,
 LI FE I N CA S TL E AN D YA S HI KI . 1 73

i ncon venience to the people were not as ,

frequent as the trips now taken at a mo ,

ment s notice from one city to another

, ,

by these very sa me m en .

O ne sto ry current in To ky o shows the

n a rrowi n g ee ct of such seclusion A
'

noble who had traveled into Yedo across ,

o ne of the large bridges b uilt over the

Snm id a River remarked one day to hi s
,

companions that he was gre atl y d isa p

pointed ou seeing that bridge Fr om the .

pictures he said
,
wh ich I have seen the
, ,

bridge see med al ive with people the centre ,

of li fe and activity but the artists must ex

,

aggerate for not a soul was on the bridge

,

when I passed by .

The cast le of the Sh o gun in Yedo wit h

'

its moats a nd forti cations a nd its ne ,

house and great hum was re prod uced on a

,

small scale I n the ca stles scattered throug h

the country ; and as in Yedo the yas hikis
of the daimios stood next to the i nner

m oat of the castle that th e retainers m ight

,

be ready to de fend their lord at his earlie st

ba l l so i n the provinces the yas hi kis of the
,

s amu rai occu pied a si milar position about

the daimi o s castle

.

It is curious to see that as the ShOg un ,

1 74 JA PAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOM EN .

took away the military and tem poral power

of the Emperor making of hi m only a ,

g ure head wit h out real power so to a

-
, ,

certain degree t he dai mi 6 gave up little by

, ,

little the personal control of his own prov

,

i nce the power falling into the hands of

,

ambitio ns sam urai who became the coun ,

cil ors of their lord The samurai were .

t he learned class and the m ilitary class ;

t hey were and are the li fe of Japan ; an d
it is no wonder that the nobles protec ted ,

and shielded from the world an d growing ,

up without m uch education sho uld have ,

chan ged in the course of cent uries fro m

strong brave warriors into the delicate ef
, ,

feminate lux ury l oving nobles of the pres

,
-

ent day Upon the loyalty and wisdom of

.

the sa m ura i often upon some one man of

,

undoubted ability res ted the greatness of ,

the province an d the prospe rity of the mas

ter s h o use

.

The li fe of the ladies in these daim i o s

hou ses is still a livin g memory to many of

the older women of Japan ; but it is a mem
ory only a nd has given pl ace to a di fferent
,

state of thi n gs The Emperor occupies .

the castl e of the S ho g un to day a nd every -

,

daimi o s castle th roug h out the co untry is

176 J APAN ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

nu merous atte ndants they Slowly wal k e d

,

through the bamboo groves or u nder the

bloom laden boughs of the plum or cherry
-

trees forming their views of l i fe its pleas

, ,

ure s its re sponsibilities and its m ean ing

, , ,

within the n arrow limits of the daimi o s

yash i ki .

The ir mornin gs were passed in the

adornin g of their own pers ons an d i n the ,

elaborate d ressin g of their l uxuriant hair ;

the aftern oons were spen t in the tea cere
in writi ng poetry or the execution
'

I n on
y , ,

of a sort of S ilk mosaic that is a favorite

variety of fancy work still amon g the ladies

of Japan .

A story is told of one of the Toku gawa

prin cesse s that illustrate s the amusemen ts
of the Sh o gun s daughters and the pai ns

,

that were taken to grati fy their wishes ,

however u nreas on able The cherry - trees .

of the castle garden s of Tokya are noted

for thei r beauty when in bloom during the

m onth of April It is said that once a
.

daughter of t he Tokugawa hou se express ed

a wi sh to give a garden party amid th e
blossoming cherry trees in the month-

of D ecember a nd ,
nothin g would do but
that her wishes m ust be carried out Her .
 L I FE I N C A S TLE AN D Y A sm m . 1 77

retainers accordingly sum moned to their

aid skill ful a rtice rs w ho from pink an d
,

white tissue paper produced myriads of

cherry blossoms so natural that they could
,

hardly be distin g ui sh e d from the re al ones .

These they fastened u pon the trees in j ust

such places as the real owers wo uld have
chosen to occupy and the happy princess
,

gave her garden party in December under

the pink mist of cherry blooms .

The chil d ren of a d a im i s wi fe occupied

her attention but little They were placed.

i n the charge of care ful atten dants an d the ,

mother though allowed to see them w hen

,

she wish ed was depriv ed of the pl ea sure of

,

constant intercou rse with them a nd had ,

none of the mother s cares which form so

large a part of li fe to an ordinary Japanese

woman .

W hen we know that the ave rage Japa

ne se girl is brought u p strictly by her own
mother and tho roughly drilled in obedi
,

ence a nd in al l that is prOpe r as regards

etiquette and the duties of woman we can ,

im agi ne the n arrowness of the ed ucation

o f the daimi o s poor little daughter sur

,

rounded fro m early chi ldhood with n u

, ,

m ero us attendants of the strictest sort to ,

178 J P A A N ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

teach her all t ha t is proper accordin g to

the highest and se verest standards So m e .

times by the w hi m or the indulge nce of

,

parents or th rou gh exceptional circu m

,

stances iu her surroundin gs a sam urai s

,

daughter became more independen t more ,

sel f rel iant or better educate d than oth

-
, ,

ers of her ran k ; but such opportun ities

n ever came to the more ca re fully reare d

noble s daughter

.

From her earliest childhood she was ,

addressed in the politest and most formal

wa y so that she could not help acqui r
,

ing polite man ners and speech She was .

ta ught etiquette above all thin gs so that ,

no rude acti on or speech would disgrace

her ran k ; and that she should give due
reverence to her superiors courte sy to
,

equals and poli te condescension to in feri

,

ors S he was taught especially to S how

.

kindness to the fam ilies under the rule of

her father and was early told of the n oble s
,

duty to protect and love his retainers as ,

a father loves and prote cts his child ren .

From childhood presents were mad e i n

,

her name to those aro und her ofte n wi th,

out her previous k nowl edge o r per m i ssion ,

and from them she would recei ve pro fuse

1 80 JAPAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

co n versing S ipping tea and partaking of

, ,

sweetmeats until th eir noble pupil was

,

r eady to rec eive them Hospitality t e

.

quired that the teacher be o ffered a meal

after the lesson and th is meal etiquette
,

would not permit hi m to re fuse so that ,

both teacher and pupil m ust spen d much

ti me waiti n g for e ach ot her and for t he
lesson .

P ursued in this leisurely way the edu ,

cation of the n oble s daughter could not

a dvance very rapidly and it us ually e nded

,

with an extrem ely early marriage an d the

girl wi fe would sometimes p l ay with her
doll in the new home until the living baby
took its place to the you n g mother .

The sam urai women who in one position

,

or an other were close atten d ants on these

n oble ladies ,
performi n g for them every
act of service were o ften women of more
,

than averag e i ntelligence and educatio n .

From ch ildh ood to old a g e the noble lad ies ,

w e r e n ever wi th out on e or more of the se

m ai d s of ho n or cl ose at h a n d to help or
,

advi se Some entered the service in the

.

lower po sitions for on l y a s hort period ,

le a ving sooner or later to be married ; for

continued service i n a daimi o s h o u seho l d
m m t a n gle life Ma ny of th em re
si .

m a in e d i n the pa l ac e a ll their da ys l ea d in
, g
l ives of de voti on to t heir m istress ; the
com fort a n d ea se of w h ich hard ly com pen

sa te d for th e e n d l e ss for m a li ti es a n d the

m onoto nous se clusion .

Even the less res ponsible a nd mo re m e

n ia l po siti on s we re n ot look ed down upon ,

a n d the higher o fces i n the house h o l d

were excee d ingly honora ble Wh en once

'
.
,

in a long while a day s leave of abse nce

,

was grante d to one of these gent l ewome n ,

and load ed with presents sent by the d a i

,

mi o s l a dy she went on her visit to her

home she was receiv ed as a g reatly hon

,

ored membe r of her own family The re .

spect which was paid to he r knowledge of

etiquette and dress was never les se n ed
because of the menial services she m ight
have performed for those of n oble blood .

The lady who was the head attendan t,

a n d those in the higher positions had a ,

grea t de a l of pow e r and in ue nce i n mat

te rs th a t c onc e rned th eir m i stress a n d t he
h ouse hol d ; ju st a s the m a l e re t a in e rs de
cid e d for th e pri nc e a n d i n their own
,

way m any of the affairs of the province

,
.

The few conservative old ladies the last ,

1 82 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

relics of the n umerous retai ners th a t once

ll ed the castle w ho still remai n fa ith ful
,

i n attendance in the homes now deprived

of the gr andeur of the olden tim es look ,

with horror upon the in novati ons of the

prese nt day and sigh for the glory of ol d
,

Japan It is on ly upo n compulsi on that

.

they give up many of the now useless for

m a l ities a nd resign th e
,
mselves to seein g
their on ce so honored lor ds jostle elbow to
elbow wi th the com mon citizen .

I shall never forget the ho rro r of one

old lad y attendant on a noble s daughter

o f high rank just enterin g the peere ss

,

school when it was told her tha t each stu

,

dent must carry in her own bundle of books

a nd arran ge them hers el f an d that the a t
,

te nd a nts were n ot al lowed in the class

room The poor ol d lady was doubtless
.

in di gnant at the thou ght that her nobl e

born m istr es s should have to perform even
so slight a task as the arran ging of her

own desk unaided .

I n the d a i m is hou ses there was l ittle

of the culture or wit that graced the more

aristocratic secl usion of Ky o to and none ,

of the d uties and responsibilities that be

l onged to the samurai women so that the ,

three centu ries of training They are lac k
.

ing in force in ambition in cl earness of

, ,

thought among a n ation abou nding in

,

those qualities ; but the n ation al charac

te rist ics of digni ty charmin g man ners
, ,

a quick se n se of honor and indomi table

,

pride of race and nation co mb in ed with

,

a personal mod esty al most deprecati ng in

i ts hu mility th e se are foun d among the
,

daughters of the n obl es developed to their

highest extent With the qualities of gen
.

tl e ne s s and delicacy possessed by these la

dies w hich make them Shrink from rough
,

con tact with the outer world there are ,

m in gled the stronger qual ities of bravery

a nd physical coura ge A daimi o s wi fe
.
,

as be tted the wi fe of a warrior an d the

daughter of lon g generations of brave men ,

never shra nk from facin g dan ger a nd death

when necessary ; an d considered the tak ing
of her own li fe an honorable a n d eas y e s

cape from being captured by her enemy .

Two or three little ripples from the past

broke into my li fe i n T6ky6 giv in g a little
,

insight into those old fe ud a l times and the ,

customs that were com mon then but that ,

are now gone forever A story was told

.

me in Japan by a lad y who had hersel f as ,

 LI FE I N A S TLE
C AN D Y AS R I RI . 1 85

a child witnessed the events narrate d It

, .

ill ust rates the respon sib ility felt by the re

ta ine rs for their lord and his house A .

daimi 6 fell into disgrace with the Sh6gun ,

and was banished to his own capital ,

a castle town several days jou rney from

Yedo , as a pun ish ment for some o ffen se .

The ca stle gate s we re closed a n d no co m ,

m un ica tion with the outer world allowed .

D uri ng this period of disgrac e i t happened ,

that the n oble fell ill and di ed q uite sud

,

d e nl y be fore his pu nish ment was ended .

H is death u nder such circu mstan ces was

the most terrible th i n g that could be fall
either hi mse l f or his fam ily as his funera l
,

m ust be without the o rdinary tokens of re

spect and his tombstone in stead of bear,

in g tribute to his virtu es and the favor in

,

w hich he had been held by his lord must ,

be si mply the monument of his dis grace .

This being the case the ret ainers felt that

,

thes e evils must be averted at any cost .

Knowin g that the S hag un s an ger was

probably not so grea t as to make hi m wish

to brin g etern al disgrace to their dead
lord they at once decid e d to sen d a mes
,

sen ger to the Sh o gu n beggin g for pard on

,

on the plea of desperate illne ss and ask ,

1 86 J APA N ES E G m LS AN D WOMEN .

i ng the re storation of his favor be fore the

approach of death The death was no t
.

an nounced but the oor of the room i n

,

which the man had died was li fted up an d ,

the body let down to the gro und beneath ;

and throug h all the town it was an nounced
that the d a i m ifi was hopelessly il l Forty
.

days pa sse d before the Sh o gu n sent to the

retainers the token that the disgrace was
removed and durin g all tho se fo rty days
, ,

in castle and ba rrac k a nd vil l age the c

,

tion of the d ai m ic s illn e ss was kept u p

.

A s soon as the messe n gers return ed the ,

body was drawn up again thro ugh the oor

a nd placed on the bed ; a nd all the re

ta ine rs from the leas t unto the grea test

, ,

were sum mon ed into the room to congra tu

late their master u po n his rest oration to
favor . O ne by one they ente red the dar k
e ned room prostrated themselves be fo re
,

the corpse an d uttered the formal words

,

o f con gra tul ation Then when all even to

.
,

the littl e girl who grown to woman hood

, ,

told m e the story had bee n through the

,

horrible ceremony it was annou nced that

,

the m a ste r wa s dead that he had died

,

i m mediate ly afte r the return of the mes

se nge r with the goo d tidi ngs of pardon .
n ese lady who kn ew the i nte rest th at I
,

took in seein g an d procurin g the ol d -fash

ioned embroidere d ki m onos which are n ow ,

enti rely out of style i n Japan a nd which ,

can only be obtained at second hand c l oth -

i ng store s or at private sale My frien d

,
.

said that she had j ust been sh ow n an as

sortment of ol d garments which were of
fe re d at private sale by the heirs of a lady ,

recently d ece a sed wh o h ad on ce been a

,

maid of honor in a dai mi o s house The

.

cl othes were still i n the ho use and were ,

brought in in a great basket for my ia

, ,

specti on. Very beauti ful garments the y

were of si l k crepe an d linen embroidered
, , , ,

elabor ately and in ext remely good ord er

, .

Many of them see med not to have bee n

worn at all but had bee n kept folded a w
,
ay
for years and only brought out when a t
,

tin g occasion came round at the pro per

seaso n of the year As we turned ov er the
.

beauti ful fabrics a black b roM cl oth gar

,

m ent at the botto m o f the basket aroused

my curiosi ty and I pulled it out and held

,

it up for closer inspe cti on A curious gar .

ment it was bound with white and with a

, ,

great white cres t app lique on the m iddle of

the back Curious whi te stripe s gave the
.
c oat a military look a n d it seemed appro
,

p ri a te rather to t he ward r obe of some two

sworded warrior tha n to that of a gentle
woman of the ol d type To th e question
.
,

H ow did such a coat come to be in such a

place ? the older lady of the com pany
one to whom the old days were sti ll the

natural o rder a nd the new custo m s an ex

oti c growth explai ned that the garment
right fully belon ged i n the wardrobe of any
lad y in waiti ng in a dai mi o s house for it
- -

,

was made to w ear i n case of re or attack

when the men we re away and the wome n
,

wer e expected to gua r d the premises . Fur

ther search amon g the relics of the pa st
brought to light the rest of the co stume :
silk ha ka m a or full kil ted trousers ; a sti ff
, ,

m anlike black silk ca p bound with a white

ba nd ; an d a spear cover of broadcloth with ,

a grea t white m e at upon it li ke the one on

,

the broa dcloth coat These m ade up the

.

un iform which m ust be don ned in tim e of

n eed by the l a dies of the palace or the
castle for the de fense of their lord s pro p
,

e rty
. They had been folded away for twenty
y ears amon g the embroidered robes to ,

come to light at last for the purpose of

s howi ng to a forei gner a phas e of the ol d
li fe tha t wa s so m uc h a m a tta of course to

to t he m eve n to m en tion it to a stra nger .

The e ld e r la dy of t he ho use wa s wond er

fully a muse d a t my interes t in t hes e mute

pre hend why I was willin g to e xp end the

sum of one doll a r for the sa ke of ga inin g
p oss es sio n of a se t of ga rm e n ts fo r whi c h I
could ha ve n o possi ble use The unifor m .

had p r oba bly neve r been worn i n actua l

warfa re but it s own er had been trai ne d
,

in the use of the lo ng ha ndle d spea r the

-
,

cover of whic h she had kept store d away

all thes e years ; an d had re ga rde d her se l f
as l iable to be call e d into ac tion at any

time as one of the ho me guard wh e n the ,

m ale re taine rs of h er lord were in the eld .

There a re in the shops of To ky o to day -

h undreds of col ored prints ill ust rating the

S plendor of the Sh6 gun a te ; for the ne

clothes the pagean ts the show and diaplay

, ,

that end ed with the fall of the hou se of

Toku gawa are still dear to the popular
,

m ind I n these on e S ees reprod uced in

.
,

more than their ori gin al bril l iancy of color

ing the daimi o s with thei r tr ain s of un i
, ,

form ed re taine rs proce ed ing in sta tely pa

,
table and m ixi n g m ed icines to secure the
,

health a nd strength of both mother an d

The fal l of the S h o gunate a nd the abo,

liti on of castle an d y ashiki have made a

,

r adical chan ge in the fashions o f d re ss in

Japa n O ne see s no lon ger the beautifu l

.

em broi dered robes except upon the stage

, ,

for the abolition of the great l e is u re cl as s

has put the owere d kim ono out of fas hion .

There are n o courts s m al l and great, scat

,

to red all through the country where the ,

l ad i es m ust be dre ssed in chan gin g styles

for the chan gi n g seasons an d w here the
,

embroideri es that i mita te most clos ely the

natu ral owers are sur e of a market .

When one asks as every foreigner is l ikely

,

to as k the Japan ese ladi es of one s ac

,

quaintance Why have you given up t he
,

beauti ful embroideries and gorge ous col

ors that you us ed to wear ? the answer

always is There are n o dai mi o s houses
,

now And this is regarded as a s u ci en t

ex planation of the chan ge .

I have in my possession to day two dainty

-

bits of the sil k mos aic work be fore men

tioned the work of the si xteen -year-ol d
,

wife of one of the p roudest and mos t cou

se rva tive the pre sent generation of no
of

bles A dainty little creat ure she was

.
'

with a face upon w h ich her two years of

wi fehood a nd one year of motherhood had
le ft no tra ce of care L iving am id her
.

host of ladies and women servants most of ,

them older and wi ser than herself ; having

no care a nd n o amusements save the eas y
task of keepin g hersel f pretty a nd wel l
d ressed and the am use ment of watching
,

her baby grow and hearin g the chance

,

rumors tha t might co me to her from the

great new world into w hich her h usband
daily went but with which she hersel f
,

never mingled her days were one pleas

,

ant monotonous round unawakening ali ke

, ,

either to soul or in te llec t Into this li fe of

.

remoteness from all that belon gs to the

new era i magine the excitemen t prod uced
,

by the advent of a foreign lad y with an ,

ed ucated dog whose wonder fu l in telligence

,

had been already related to her by one of

her own ladies iu-waiting I shall always
- .

believe that my in vitation i nto that e xclu

sive house was d ue largely to the reports
of my d o g carried to its pm pr ietors by one
,

of the lady servitors w ho had see n hi m per

form upon one occasion Ce rtain it is that

.
the rst words of the litt le lady of the
h ouse to me wer e a qu estion a bout the dog ;
and her last act of polite ness to our party
was a warm embrace of the ha ndsom e
co ll ie who had given un impeachable evi
,

dence that he u nderstood a grea t deal of

E nglish , a tongue which the d a i mi o h im
sel f was pd ufull y lea rn in g The dainty .

child w
- i fe with both arms b uried i n the
'

h eavy ru of the ast on ished dog is a pic

ture that comes to me o ften and t hat ,

brin gs up most pa theti cally the monotony

of an exis te nce into which so s m all a thin g

ca n bring so m uch The l ifelike blac k an d

.

whi te sil k puppy the creeping baby do l l

,

fro m Ky o to the sil k mosaic box a n d chop

,

stick case ,the work of my lady s del i

cate n gers are most agreeabl e rem ind

,

ers of the kin dness an d sweetnes s of the

li ttl e wife whose sixteen summers have
,

been spent amon g the surroundin gs of

thirty years a go and who l ives like the
, ,

enchanted prin cess of the fairy tales ,

wr appe d about by a spel l which sepa rate s

f
her rom the bustlin g world of to day The .

prod uct of the past the daugh ter of the

,

l ast of the Sh o gun s she dwell s in her

,

e nchanted house among the re lics of a

,
 CH APTE R VI II .

SAM URAI W OM EN .

SAM UR AI was the name g iven to the

military class among the Japanese a ,

class intermediate between the Emperor

an d his nob les and the great m ass of the
com mon people who were engaged in a gri
culture mechanical arts or trade Upon
, ,
.

the samurai rested the defen se of the

cou ntry fro m enemies at ho m e or a broad ,

as well as the preservation of literature

and learnin g an d the condu ct of all oi
,

cia l b us i n e s s
. At th e ti me of the fal l of
feudal i s m t h ere were amon g the thirty
, ,

four m il lions o f Japanese ab out two mil ,

l ion s amurai ; a n d in this class in the ,

bro a de st sen se of the word must be in ,

c l u d e d the d a i m io s a s well as their two

,

s wor d e d ret a i n ers

. But a s the greater
a m o n g the s a m ur a i w e re di stin guished by

sp e ci a l cl a ss n a m e s th e word a s com m only

,

us ed a nd a s u sed throughout th is work

, ,
 SAM UR AI Wou N . 1 97

applies to the m ilitary cl a ss who served ,

the Shd gun and the dai mi o s an d w ho ,

were supported by yearly allowance s from

the treasuries of their lords T hese form .

a distin ct class actuated by motives q ui te

,

different fr om those of the lower classes ,

and lli n g a gr eat pl ac e in the history of

the country As the nobility th rough long
.
,

i n heritance of power and wealth beca me ,

w eak in body and m ind t he samurai gre w ,

to be more and more not on ly the sword

, , ,

but the b rain of Japan ; a nd to-day the

great work of bringing the country out of
the middle ages into the n ineteent h cen
tury is being pe rform ed by the samu rai
more tha n by any ot her cl ass .

What it may be ask ed a re the traits of

, ,

the sam urai whic h d istinguish them an d ,

m ake the m such honored types of the per

fee t Japan e se gentleman so that to li ve an d,

die worthy the nam e of sam urai wa s the

highest ambiti on of the soldier ? The se

m urai s duty may be expressed in one word ,

loya l ty loyalty to his lord and master and
, ,

loyalty to his country loyalty so tr ue and

,

d eep that for it all h um a n ties , hopes an d ,

'

a ec tions wi fe , chil d ren and home must

, , ,

be sa criced if nec essa ry Those who have .

1 98 J P A AN ES E Ow LS AN D WOMEN .

l
read the tale of The Loyal Bo nin a

a story which has been so wel l told by M it

ford D ickens an d G res y tha t many read
, ,

ers m ust be already familiar with it will

remember that the head councilor and
reta iner O ishi in his deep desi re for t e
, ,

ven ge for hi s lord s unj ust death divorces

,

his wi fe an d se n d s off his children that they ,

m a y n ot distract hi s thoughts from hi s

plans ; and performs his famous act of re

ven ge without once seein g h is wi fe only ,

lettin g her k now at his dea th his faith ful

ness to her and the true ca use of his see m
i ng cruelty And the wi fe fa r from feel
.
,

in g wronged by such an act only glories in ,

the loyalty of her husband who th re w aside ,

everything to fulll his one grea t duty ,

even though she herself was his unhappy

victim .

T he true sam urai is always brave never ,

'

fearing death or s ue r ing in any form .

L i fe and d e ath are alike to him if no dis ,

~

gr ace is attac hed to his name .

An incident comes in to my mind which

3 Rdnin was the term a pp li e d to a sa m ur a i wh o ha d
l os t his m a s te r , a nd o we d no fe u da l a ll eg ia nce to a ny

d a im i . The e xa ct m ea ni ng of th e wor d is wa ve-m a n,

signifying one w h o wa n ders to a nd fr o without p ur p ose ,
l ik e a wa ve driven by the wind .
2 00 JAPAN ES E GIR LS AN D WOMEN .

that they m u st surrender for the forces a re,

to o strong for them He seemingly con

.

se nts to this an d led down to the wate r s

, ,

edge he sees across the moat his wi fe a nd

,

child who gr eet hi m wit h demonstration s

,

of joy To her he waves his han d ; then

.
,

bravely and loudly so that it m ay be hea rd

,

by friend a nd foe he shouts out the true

,

tidin gs W ait for rein forcement at a ny

,

cost for the besiegers are we a k and will

,

soon have to give up At these word s
.

h is en raged enemies seize h i m and put

him to a death of horrible tort ure but he ,

smiles in their fa ces a s he tells them the

s weetness Of such a sacri ce for his mas

ter. Japanese history abou nds with heroic

d eeds of blood di splayin g the indomitabl e
courage of the samurai In the reading of .

the m we are Often remi n ded of the Spar

,

ta n spirit O f warfare a n d s a m urai women

,

are in some w a y s very like those S partan

m others wh o wo uld r a ther die than see

their sons b ra n d e d a s cow a rds .

The i m pli cit ob ed ience w hich sam u rai

ga ve their lord s whe n c on i cti n g with
,

fe elings of loy a lty to th e ir c oun tr y O fte n ,

prod uced two Opp osi n g fo rce s w h i ch h a d

to be overcome When the dai m i o gave
.
 S AM UBAI WOMEN .
201

orders that the k eener-si ghted reta iner felt

would not be for the good of the house ,

he had e ither to dis obey his lord or ac t ,

against his fee ling of loyalty Divided be .

twee n the two duties the samurai would ,

usually do as he thought right for his

country or h is lord di s obeying his m as ,

ter s o rders ; write a con fes si on of his real

moti ves ; and save h is name from disgrace

by co m m itti n g suicide By this not he .

woul d ato ne for his di sobed ien ce a nd his ,

loyalty would never be question ed .

The now abolis hed custom of ha r a ki r i -

,

or the vol untary takin g of one s li fe to

avoid disgrace an d blot out entirely o r ,

partially the stain on an honorable name ,

is a curious custom which has come down

from Old times The ancient heroes stabbed .

themselves as cal mly as they di d the ir ene

m ics and women a s well as men knew
,

how to use the short sword wor n always

1

l
The sa m ura i a l wa ys wom t wo swor ds , a long one for
g hting on l y, a u d a short one for d e fense whe n p om ihl e ,
for ha m kin

b ut, aa s l a st resort , -
The sword is the em
.

bl e m of the sa m ura i sp ir it , a n d as such is resp ecte d an d

honore d . A sa m urai to ok pr id e in k e ep ing his sword s as

aha r p a nd sh ining aa m p os si b l e . He was ue ver see n

wit hout the tw o s w or ds , b ut the l onge r one he re m ove d

a ud l e ft at the frout d oor whe n he e nter ed the h ous e of a

frie n d . To use a swor d b ad l y , to ha r m or injure it , or to

st ep over it , was consi dere d a n insul t to the owner .
at the side of the sam u rai his last a nd ,

e asy escape from shame fu l death .

The young men of this class as well as ,

their masters the d a imi o s were early i n

, ,

structed i n the method of this sel f-stab

bing so that it might be cleanly and eas
,

il y done for a bloody and unseemly death

,

would not re dound to the honor Of the

suicide The fatal cut was not instants
.

'

neous i n its e e ct and there was al ways ,

opportunity for that display of coura ge

- that show of disregard for dea th or
pain which was ex pected of the brave
m an .

The ha m kir i was of cou rse a las t resort

-
,

but it was an honorable death The vulga r .

criminal m ust be put to d eath by the hands

of others but the nobler samurai who
, ,

never cares to su rvive disgrace was con ,

d e m ned to ho ra kir i i f found guilty of ac

-

ti ons worthy Of death Not to be allowe d .

to d o this but to be executed in the com

,

m on way was a d ouble disgrace to a samu

,

rai Even to this day when c rimes such

.
,

as the as sass ination of a minister O f state

are committed in the mistaken belief that,

the act is for the good O f the country the ,

idea on the part of the as sassin is never to

is ooded with s m al l ofc ial s and yet the ,

samurai now is obliged to lay down his

sword and devote his time to the once
d es pised trades and to learn how i mpor
,

tant are the arts of peace co mpa red wit h

those of war .

The dislike of anything sugges tive Of

trade or barter o f services and action s

sprin gin g not fro m duty and fro m the

,

heart but from the desire f gai n

,
o h as
strongly ti nted many little cus toms of the
day o ften m is unde rstood and misconstru ed
,

by foreigners I n ol d Japan ex perience

.
,

and knowled ge could n ot be boug ht and

sold P hysicians did not charge for thei r
.

se rvices but on the contra ry would dec l ine

,

to name or even receive a co mpensatio n

from those in their own cl an Patients .
,

on their side w ere too proud to ac cept

,

se rvices free and would send to the phy

,

s ic ia n s not as pay exactly but more as

, ,

a gi ft or a token of gratitude a su m ,

O f m o ney wh ich va r ied ac cording to the

means of the giver as well as to the ,

amount of service received D ai mi o s did .

n ot send to as k a teac h e r how m uch an

hour his ti me was worth and then ar ran ge,

the lessons accordi n gly ; the te acher was

 SAM UR AI WOMEN . 205

not i nsulte d by being expected to ba rter

his kn owl edge for so much lthy lucre ,

but was m e rel y asked whether his time

and convenience would allow of his taking
extr a teachin g The request was made
.
,

not as a matte r of give an d take but a ,

favor to be granted D ue com pen sation

.
,

however would never fail to be m ade

, of ,

th is the teacher could be sure but no ,

agreement was ever consi d ered neces sary .

Wi t h th is feeling yet rema in ing in Ja

pan
, this dis like of contracts and exac t ,

charges for pro fe ssi o nal services we ca n ,

i magine the inward disgust of the samurai

at the busi n ess-l ike habits of the foreign
ers with whom he h as to deal O n the .

other hand his fee l in gs are not appreciated

,

by the fore igner an d his action s clash with

,

the E uropean and A merican ideas of in

depe ndence and sel f-respect I n Japan a .

present of money is more honorable tha n

pay w hereas in A merica pa y is much more
,

honorable than a present .

The samurai of to-day is rapidly im bib

in g new ideas and is learnin g to see the
,

world fro m a Western point of vie w ; but

his thoughts an d acti on s are still moulded
on the ideas of ol d Japan and it wi ll be a
,
2 06 J APAN ES E G IR LS AN D WOMEN .

long time be fore the loyal faith ful but, ,

proud spirit of the sam urai will die out .

The pride of clan is now chan ged to pride

of race loyalty to feudal chie f has become
loyalty to the E m peror as sov ereign ; a nd
the ol d t ra its of character exist under the
European costumes of to day as unde r-
,

the owing robes of the two sworded t e -

ta i ne r .

It is this same spirit of loyalty that

has made it hard for Christian ity to get a
foothold i n Jap a n T he E mpe ror was the
repre sentative of the gods of Japan To .

embrace a new religion seemed a deserti on

o f hi m a n d the following of the strange
,

go ds of the foreigner The work of the

.

Catholic missionari es which ended so d is

a st rousl y i n 1 63 7 has le ft the i mp ression

that a Chri stian is bound to offer alle

g ia ne e to the P ope in much the sa m e
way as the E mperor now receives it from
his people ; and the bittern ess of suc h
a thought has made m any re fuse to h ear
what Christianity really is S uch words as
.

King and Lord they have understood

as referring to te m poral things and it ,

has taken years to u ndo this prejudice ; a

feeling in no way surprising when we
2 08 APAN ES E
J AN D WOMEN .

m a n s rst duty in a l l ranks of soci ety is

obedience ; hut sacri ce of se lf i n howe ver ,

horrible a way was a duty most cheerfully

,

an d willi ngly perfor m ed when by such sac ,

r ice father husba nd or s on might be

, ,

the better able to full l his duty tow a rd s

h is feudal superior T he women in the .

d a i m ias castles who were taught fenc ing

,

drilled and uni formed a nd rel ie d upo n ,

to de fend the castle i n ca s e of n ee d were ,

women of this class women whose hus

,

bands a nd father s were soldiers and in ,

whose veins ra n the blood of generation s

of ghti ng ancesto rs G entle fe m in in e
.
, ,

delicate as they were there was a possibil ,

ity of martial p rowess about them when

the n eed for it came ; and the long ed u
cation in obed ien ce and loyalty did not
fail to prod uce the de sired results Death .
,

and ignominy worse tha n death could be ,

met bravely but disgrace in volving loss of

,

honor to husband or feudal lord was the

o n e thin g that m ust be avoided at all haz
ards It was my good fortune many years
.
,

a g o to make the acquaintance of a little

,

Japa nese girl who had lived in the m idst

of the si ege o f Wakamatsu the city i n ,

which the S h o gun s forces made their last

 M UM WOMEN . 209

s tand for their lord an d the system tha t

he represented As the Em peror s forces
.

march ed u pon the ca stle town moat after ,

m ea t was taken un ti l at l a st men women

, , ,

and children took refuge within the ci ta del

itse lf to defe nd it until the l ast gasp The .

bombs of the besiege rs fel l cras hing i nto

the cas tle precincts killing the wo m en as
,

they worked at whate ver they could do in

aid of the d efenders ; an d even the little
girls ran back an d forth , amid the rai n of
bu ll e ts and bal ls ca rrying cartridges which
, ,

the women w e re m ak i n g within the castle ,

to the men who were defending the walls .

Were n t you afraid P we asked the del i

ca te c hild when she to ld us of her own shar e

,

in the defense . No was the answer A
, .

s m all but dan gerous sword of the nest ,

Japa nese stee l was shown us as the sword

,

that she wore in her belt d urin g all those

days of war an d tum ult Why did you
.

wear the sword ? we asked So that I
.

would have it if I was taken prisoner .

What would you have done with it P was

the next question for we could not believe
,

that a child of e ight would und e rtake to

defend h erself against armed soldiers with
that little sword I would have ki ll ed
.
2 10 J APAN ES E G I R LS AN D WOMEN .

myse l f was the an swer with a ash of

, ,

the eye that showed her quite capa ble of

com m i tti ng the act i n case of need .

I n the olden times when the spirit of

,

warfare was strong and j ustice but sca nti ly

ad m in istered reven ge for personal insul t
, ,

or fo r the death of father or lord fell upon ,

the children or the re tainers Someti mes

, .

the bloody deed h as fallen to the l ot of a

woman to some weak and feeble girl who
, , ,

in m a ny a tale has braved al l the d ifcul

,

ties that beset a woman s path devoted her

,

li fe to an act of ven geance and with the , ,

courage of a man has o ften succes s fully

,

consu m mated her revenge .

O ne of the tales of old J a pan an d a fa ,

vor ite subject of theatrical repre se ntation ,

is the death and revenge of a l ad y in a d ai

m i o s palace O noy a daughter of the

.
,

peo ple child of a merchant has by chance

, ,

risen to the position of lady -in waiting to a -

dai mi o s wi fe

a thing so uncom mon that
,

it has roused the jealousy of the other

ladies who are of the samurai class I wa
, .

fuji one of the highest a nd p roudes t ladies

,

at the court takes pa ins on every occa

,

sion to in sult and torment the poor unof ,

fending C a oy e whom she can not bear to

,
21 2 JAPAN Es E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

whil e listening to the talk of her servan t ,

ha s mad e up her m ind that only o ne th in g

can blot out her disgra ce and that is to ,

com mit suicide S he hastily pen s a fare

.

wel l to her family for the deed must not ,

be delay ed an d sen ds wi th the letter the

,

token of her disgra ce I wa fuji s sa ndal ,

,

which she has kept 0 Ba r n is se nt on .

this errand an d unconsci ous of the i ll

, ,

news she is bea r in g she sta rts out O n , .

the way the ominous croak of the raven s

, ,

who are makin g a dis mal n ois e , a p re

sage of ill luck

- frightens the observan t
,

0 Ba rn A little further on the strap

.
,

of her clog breaks a sti l l more alarm,

i ng sign Thoro ughly frightened 0 Ba rn

.
,

turn s bac k an d re ac hes her mistress room

,

i n ti me to nd that the fatal deed is done ,

and her mistress is dying 0 Ba rn is .

heart broken learn s the whole truth an d

-
, ,

vows ven geance on the en emy of her loved

m istress .

0 Ba r n unlike C a oye is thoroughly

, ,

trained in fencing An occasion arises .

when she retur ns to I wa fuji in public the

malicious blow and with the same sandal
, ,

which she has kept as a sign of her re

ven ge . She then challenges I wa fuji in ,
 s AM UEAI WOMEN . 13

behalf of the dead to a trial in fe ncing

, .

The haughty I wa fuj i is forced to accept ,

a nd is t ho ro ughly de feated a nd shamed

be fore the spe c ta tors The whole trut h is

.

now m a de kn o wn a nd t he d a im ib who ad

, ,

mires an d appreciates the spirit of 0 Ba r n ,

se nds for her a nd raises her fro m her low

,

po s i tion to l l the pos t of her dead mis

tress .

These stories show the spirit of the

samurai wo m en ; they can s uffe r deat h
bravely even joy fully at their own h a nds
, ,

or the han ds of husband or father to avoid ,

or wipe out any disgrace which they re

gard as a loss of hon or ; but they will as
b ravely and patiently subject themselves to
a li fe of shame and ignominy worse than ,

death for t he sake of gaining for husband

,

o r father the means o f carrying out a feudal

obligation There is a pathetic sce ne i n

.
,

o ne of the most famo us of the Japan ese h is

tor ica l d ramas i n which one seems to get

,

the moral perspective o f the ideal Japanes e

woman a s o ne can not get it in any other
,

way The play is found ed o n the s tory of

.

The Loyal Rani ns re ferred to in the be
,

gin ning of this chapter The loyal r o nin s .

are plotting to aven ge the d e at h o f the ir

ma ster upon the dai mi o wh ose cupid ity
and inj ustice have brought it about As .

there is dan ger of disloyalty even in their

own ranks O ishi, the leader of the dead
,

d a i m iO s reta iners displ a ys great caution

,

in the sel e ction f his fellow con spirators

o -
,

and practices every arti ce to secure a h

solute secrecy for his plans O ne youn g .

man who was in disgrace with h is lord at

,

the ti me of his death applies to be ad ,

m itte d w ithin the circle of conspirators ;

but as it is suspected that he may not be

tr ue to the cause a payment in money is
,

exac ted from hi m as a pled ge of hi s honor

able intentions I t is thus m ade his rst
.

d uty to redeem h is honor from all suspicion

by the payment o f the money in order ,

that he may perform his feudal obligation

o f aven gi ng the death of his lord But the .

young m a n is poor ; he has married a poor

girl and has ag reed to support not only his
,

wi fe but her old pare n ts as well and the

, ,

payment is im possible for hi m I n this .

emerge ncy his wife at the suggestion o f

, ,

her parents proposes as the only way to

, , ,

sell hersel f for a t erm of two yea rs to

, ,

the proprietor of a house of pleasure that ,

she may by th is v ile servitude enable he r

2 16 J APA N ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

her husband The Japanese both m en

.
,

and women knowi ng this story and m any

,

others si milar in charac ter can see as we , ,

can not from our point of view t hat even if , ,

the body be d e led there is no d e l e m en t

,

of the so ul for the woman is ful lling h er

,

high est duty in sacricing all even her ,

dearest possession for the honor of her

,

husba nd It is a climax of sel f abnegation

.
-

that brings nothing but honor to the so ul

of her who r e a ches it Japan ese women
.

who read this story feel profound pity for

the poor wi fe an d a horror of a sacrice
,

that binds her to a li fe whi ch outwardly ,

to the Japanes e mind even is the lowest ,

depth a woman ever reach es But they do .

not despise her for the ac t ; nor would they

re fuse to receive her even were she to a p

pear ia l i vi ng form to day in any Japanese
-

home wher e thanks to happier fortun es

, , ,

such sac rices a re not demanded Just .

at this point is the di ffe rence of moral

perspective that foreign ers visitin g Japan
nd so hard to understand a nd that leads ,

many who have lived in the count ry the

,

longest to beli eve that there is no modesty

,

and pu rity a mon g Japanese women It is .

this tha t makes it possible fo r the viles t

 S AM UEAI WOMEN . 21 7

of stories and those that have the leas t

,

foundation i n fact to nd easy belief among

,

foreign ers even if they be told a bout the

,

pure st most high mi nded and mo st honor

,
-
,

able of Japa nese women O ur maidens as .

,

they grow to woman hood are taught that ,

anythin g is better than pe rsonal dishonor ,

and their maidenly in stincts side with the

teaching With us a virtuo us woman does
.
,

not m ean a brave a h eroic an unselsh or

, , ,

sel f sacri ci ng woman but mean s simply

-
,

o ne who k e eps hersel f from personal di s

honor Chastity is the supreme v i rtue for

.

a woman all other vi rtues are se condary

com pared wi th it Th is is our poin t of
.

vi ew and the whole perspecti ve is arran ged

,

with that virtue i n the foreground D is .

m is s this for a moment and consider the ,

m oral trainin g Of the Japanese m a iden .

Fro m earliest youth u ntil she reach e s ma

t urity she is constantly taught that o bed i
,

en ce and loyalty a re the supreme vi rtu es ,

which must be preserved even at the sacri

ce of all other a nd le sser virt ues S he is .

told that for the g ood of father or husband

she must be willing to m eet any dan ge r ,

endure any dishonor perpetra te any cri me , ,

gi ve u p any treasure S he mu st consider .

that nothing be lon gin g solely to hersel f is
of a n y im porta nce com pa re d with the go od

of her m as ter her family or her coun try

, , .

P lace t his thought o f obedi ence a n d loyalty ,

to the po i nt o f absolu te sel f-abnegation in ,

the fore ground an d your pe rspective is a l

,

ter ed the other vi rtues occ upying places of

,

varyi n g importan ce Because a Japan e se

.

woman will someti mes sac rice her pe rson al

v irtue for the sake of father or husband ,

does it fo l low that all Japan ese women a re

un chaste and impure ? In many cases th is
sacrice is the nobl est that she believes
pos sible and she goes to it as she would
, ,

g o to death in any d re a d ful form for those ,

w hom she loves an d to whom she o wes the

,

du ty of obedience The Japanese m ai den

.

grows to woman hood no less pu re a nd

modest than our own girls but our girls ,

are never call e d upon to sacrice their mod

e sty for the sake of t hose whom they love

be st ; nor is it expe cted of any woman in

this country that she exis t solely for the
good of some one el se in whatever way he ,

chooses to use her d uri n g all the years of

,

her li fe Let us take this d ifference i nto

.

o ur thought i n form in g our j udgment and ,

let us ra ther seek the causes that u nderlie

2 20 JAP AN Es E GIRLS AN D WOMEN .

such n o timidity or m orti ca tion or fear

, , ,

o f ridicule will prevent the performan c e

of it . A case comes to my mind now o f

a youn g girl of sixteen w ho m ade public ,

co n fes sion be fore her schoo lmates of short

com in gs of which none of them k new fo r ,

the sake of easing her troubled con scien ce

and warnin g her schoolmates against si m i
lar errors The circu mstances were as fol
.

lows : The young girl had recently lost her

grandmother a mo st loving an d affec ti on
,

ate ol d lady who h ad taken the pl ac e o f

,

a mother to the child from her earliest

infan cy I n a somewhat un happy home
.
,

the love of the ol d grandmother was th e

on e bright spot ; a n d when she was taken

away the poor lon ely child s memory re

, ,

called all of her own shortcomin gs to this

beloved friend ; a nd too late to make amend
,

ment to the ol d l ady hersel f she dwelt ,

o n her own u nduti fulness and decided that ,

she m ust by some m eans do pe nance or ,

make atonement for her fault She might .

,

i f she m a de a con fession be fore her school

mates warn them against similar mistakes ;
,

and accordin gly she prepared for the lite r ,

ary society in which the girls took what

part they chose a l ong con fession written
, ,
 sA M UEA1 WOMEN . 22 1

in poeti ca l style an d read it be fore her

,

schoolmate s an d teachers It was a te r .

rible ordeal as one could see by the blush

,

ing M e and breaking voice Often choked ,

with sobs and when at the conclusion she

urg ed her friends to behave in such a way
to thei r dear ones that they n eed never
s ue r what she had had to end ure since
'

her grand mother s death there was not a

,

dry eye in the room a nd many of the girls

,

were sobbin g aloud It was a curious ex

.

piation a nd a touchin g one but one not i n ,

the least excepti onal or u ncharacteristic of

the S pirit of duty that actuate s the best
women of the sam urai class .

Here is another i nst a n ce which ill us

t rates this sense of duty a nd desire of ,

atoning for p a st m istakes or si ns At the .

ti me of the overthro w of the feudal sys

te m,
the samurai bred to loyalty to their
,

o wn feudal superiors as their highest duty ,

fou nd themselves ran ged on di ffe rent si des

in the struggle accord ing to the position s
,

i n which their lord s pl aced the mse lves At .

the end of the st r uggle those who had ,

followed their dai m io s to the eld i n de ,

fe a se of the S h o gun ate found that they

,

had been ghting against the Em peror the ,

2 22 JAPAN E s E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

So n of Heaven h imself who had at l ast ,

emerged from the se cl us ion of cen tur ies to

gover n his own em p ire Th us the sup .

porters of the Sh o gunate w hile absolutely ,

loy a l to thei r d a i m icis had been disloya l to

'

the h igher power of the E m pero r ; a nd

had put themselves in the po sition of trai
tors to the ir country There wa s a co ni ct
.

o f pri ncipl e s there somewhat sim ilar to

that w hich took place i n our Civil War ,

w hen in the South he who was true to hi s

, ,

S tate became a traitor to h is coun try an d ,

he who was true to his country became

a traitor to his State Two l ad i e s of the
.

nest samurai type had with absolute loy ,

alty to a lost cause aided by every me an s

,

i n th e ir power in the de fense of the city of

Wakamatsu a gainst the victo rious forces
of the Em peror . They had held on to the
bitter end an d had been ban ished wi th
, ,

others of their family and cl a n to a remote ,

province for some years after the en d of

,

the war I n 1 8 77 eleven years a fter the

.
,

close of the Wa r of the Rest oration 9 re ,

.

bel l ion broke out i n the so uth which re

quired a considerable expenditure of blood
and money for its suppression W hen the .

n ew war began these two ladies pre sented

,
2 24 JAPAN Es E G LRLs AN D WOMEN .

ladies ia waiti ng at the court of th e d a i

- -

mi 6 or the S hOg un they cultivated the art s ,

and ac complish ments required for t h eir

position and veiled the martial S pirit t h at
,

d welt within the m u nder an exte rior as

fem inine as g r ac ious as cultivated a n d
, ,

charming as that of any lad ie s of E uro pe

,

or A meric a TO d a y i n the new Japan -

,

w here the samurai ha ve no lon ger thei r

yearly a llowan ce from their lords an d their
feudal duties but scatte red th rough th e
, ,

whole nation are en gaged in all the arts

,

an d trades and are in fusin g the ol d spirit

,

into the new li fe what are the women ,

doing ? A s the govern ment of the land

to day lies in the hands of the samurai
-

men u nder the E mperor so the progr ess ,

of the women the new id eas of work for

,

women are i n the hands of the samu rai

,

women led by the Em press W herever

,
.

there is progress among the women wh er ,

ever they are lookin g about for new op por

tun iti e s entering n e w occupation s e l e va t
, ,

ing the home Openin g hospitals ind us , ,

t rial schools asylu ms there you will nd

, ,

the lead ing spi rits always of the samurai

class I n the re cent chan ges some of this
.
,

class have risen above their former sta te

 S AM UE A1 WOMEN . 225

an d joined the ranks of the nob ility ; a nd

th e re the prese nc e o f the sam urai sp irit i n
fu ses new li fe into the aristocra cy So too .
, ,

the chan ges that have raised some have

lower ed others and the samurai is now to
,

be found i n the formerly despise d occ a

ti on s of trad e and industry among the ,

me rchants the farmers the shermen the

, , ,

artisans and the domestic servants But

,
.

wherever his lot is ca st the old train ing , ,

the old ideals the ol d pride of family still

, ,

keep him separate from his prese nt rank ,

and i nstead of pulli n g hi m down to the

,

leve l of those abou t hi m te nd to raise tha t

,

level by the example of honor and i nte l l i

g en c e that he se ts The chan
. ged fo rtunes
were not met without a murmur M ost of .

the outrage s the reactionary movemen ts

, ,

the riots and i nam matory speeches and

writin gs that characte rized the long period
,

of disquiet followi n g the Restoration came ,

from men o f this class who saw their sup

,

port taken from them leavin g them nu ,

able to dig and asham e d to beg But the .

greater part of them went sturdily to work ,

i n govern ment pos iti on s if they could ge t

them in the army on the police force on
, , ,

the farm in the shop at trades at service

, , , ,
2 26 A A
J P N ES E OLELs AN D WOM EN .

even to the hu mble work of wheelin g a

J m kis ha if other
, ho nes t occ upation coul d

not be found ; and the women shared

pa

tie ntly and bravely the ch an ged fortunes of

the men do in g whatever they cou l d towar d
,

be ttering them Th e samu rai w omen to .

day are eager ly working into the position s

of te achers interpreters t rain e d n urse s
, , ,

an d whatever other place s there are whic h

may be honorably occu pied by women Th e .

girls sch ools both govern ment and pr i
,

vate nd many of their pupils amon g th e

,

samurai class ; an d their de ference an d

obedience to their teachers and superi ors ,

their ambiti on and k een sen se of honor i n

th e school room sh ow the inue n ce of the
-
,

samurai feeling over new Japan To the .

samurai women belon gs the task a nd

they have already begu n to perform it

of establis h ing u pon a b roader an d s u re r

foundation the position of women in their

o wn country They a s the m ost intel
.
,

l ig e nt will be the rst to perceive the

,

remedy for present evil s and wi ll i f I , ,

mistake not move heaven and earth at

, ,

some time in the n ear future to have th a t ,

remedy appli e d to their own case M ost of .

them read the literature of the day som e ,

 CHA PT E R I X .

PEASANT W OM EN .

TH E
great he rmin class incl ud es n ot
on l y the peasants of Japan but al s o th e ,

arti s ans and merchants ; artisans r anki n g

be low farmers a n d merchants below art i ,

san s iu the social structure It i nclud e s

, .

the w hole of the com mon people except ,

such as were i n former times altogethe r

be low the level of respecta bility the em ,

and Ma in 1
outc as t s who lived by beg
,

g ing slaughtering
,
an imals caring for dea d ,

bodies ta n n ing skins a n d other employ

, ,

ments whic h rendered them u nclea n a c

cording to the old n otion s From very .

earl y times the a gricultural cl ass has been

sharpl y divided from the samurai or mil i
1
Th e l a ws a ga inst th e ta a nd hinin, m a k ing of th em
a di s tin ct , un cl e a n cl a ss , a n d b dding
fo r i th e ir in te rm at

r ia g e w it h a ny of th e h ig h e r cl as se s , h a ve re ce ntl y be en
a b ol is he d . Th e re is no w no ra n k di sti nction of a ny

p ra c tical val ue , e xce p t th a t b e t we e n bl e a nd

no c om m o n

p e op l e . H eim in a nd sam ur a i a r e n ow indi sc im r in a te l y

m ing l e d .
 PE J S J N T WOMEN . 22 9

tary Here and there one from the peas

.

a ut ry mounts by force of his pe rsonal quali

ties into the high er ra nk s for there is no
,

cas te system that prevents the pas sing

fro m one cla ss into another only a clas s
,

prej udice that serves very nearly th e same

p ur pose in kee ping sa m urai and h eimin in
,

th e ir places that the race prej udice i n this

,

co untry serves in con n in g the negroes ,

North an d South to certain po sition s an d

,

occupations The rst divi sion o f the m ili

.

tary from the pe a sa nt rv occurred in the

eighth century and since then the pe cul iar
,

circumstance s of eac h class have ten ded to

produce quite di fferent characteristics in
persons o riginal ly of the same stock To .

the soldier class have fallen learn ing skill ,

in a rms and horsemansh ip Opportun ities ,

to rise to places of honor a nd power l ives ,

free from sord id care i n re gard to the

daily rice and in wh ic h noble id e as of duty
,

and loyal ty can spri ng up and bear fruit in

heroic deed s To the pe as ant til l ing his
.
,

litt le ri ce e l d year a fte r year have come

-
,

t he heavy burdens o f taxation ; the grind

i ng toil for a mere pittance of food for
himse l f and his family the patient bearing
of all things impo sed by his superiors with ,
2 80 APAN ES E GI RLS
J AN D WOMEN .

little hOpe of gain for h imsel f w h ate v er ,

chan ge the fortunes of war may brin g to

tho se above hi m in the social sca l e I s .

there won d er that as the years have g o n e

,

by his w its h a ve grown heavy under h i s

,

daily drudgery ; t hat he k nows little a n d

u nderstands le ss of the cha n g es that a r e

taking place in h is native land that h e i s

easily moved by o nly one thing and th a t ,

the failure of his crops or the shorte n i n g

,

of his returns fro m his land by heavie r

tax a tion ? Thi s is tr ue of the him iu as a
class : they a r e conservative fearin g th a t
,

c ha n ge will but tend to m a ke harder a l ot

tha t is none too easy ; and though pea ce
able and gentl e u su a lly th ey may be moved
,

to blind acts of riot and blood s hed by any

political chan ge that seems likely to pro
duce heavie r taxation or even by a failu re
,

o f t h eir crops when they see themselves

,

and their families starvin g while the mili

ta ry and ofcia l cl asses have enough an d
to S p a re But though a s a class the far m
.
, ,

ers are ignora nt a n d he a v y t hey a r e sel

d om entire ly illit e ra te ; a n d ev e ryw here ,

th roughou t the cou ntry on e nd s m e n be

,

lo n g i ng to this cl a ss wh o a r e well e d ucated

a n d h a v e ri s e n to po sition s o f m u ch r e
23 2 J A PAN ES E G IRLS AN D WOMEN .

t he n turns to the vassals of the Sh o gu n ,

and charges them with being tyran n ica l ,

rapacious a nd l ow-minded
, Sa m u ra i .
,

he conti nues samu rai a re n el y at ti re d

, ,

but how contem pti ble they look in the ey e s

o f thos e peasants who know h ow to be con

ten ted wi th what they have l

Further on in the same memorial h e ,

poin ts out what he re gards as a grave m is

take i n the policy of the 8 h o gun A de .

cre e had j ust bee n issued prohibi ting t he

peasantry from exercis in g them se lves w ith
sword play and fro m wearing swords Of
-
, .

this he says : Perh a ps this decr ee m ay

have be e n issued on the supposi tion tha t
Japan is natu rally i mpregn able and de
fended ou all sides But when she receives .

i nsult from a fo reign country it may be ,

.

come ne cessa ry to call on the militia An d .

who knows th a t men o f extraordinary m ili

l
tary gen ius like Toyotom i wi ll not a gain
, ,

appear among the lower classes P

Toyotom i Hideyoshi , a p ea sa n t b oy , rose from th e

p oeit ion of a g ro om t o b e tb e ae t ua l r ul er o f Ja pa n d n r
ing the Middl e Age s . H e it w a s who in 1 587 im ue d a

decree of ba nishm e nt a g a inst the Chr ist ia n m issiona rie s

in Ja p a n . He is ca l l e d Fa xiba m the writi ngs of th ese

m issiona r ies , a nd m Ja p a n he to freq ue ntl y sp o ke n of a s

Taik o Sa m e, a t itl e no t a na m e ; b e t a ti tl e M
. ce d
in

a l on e , re fe rs a l wa ys to him . For furth e r accou nt of his

 PEA S AN T WOM EN . 2 33

He en ds h is memorial with thi s warn

in
S ho d the Sh o gun s court and the

g : ul ,

military class i n ge neral pe rsist in the ,

present oppressive way of govern ment H ea ,

ven will visit this l and with still greater

calamities . I f this ci rcumstance is not
clearly kept i n view the con sequen ce may
,

be civil disturbance I there fore beseech

.
, ,

that the i nstructions of the glorious foun

der of the dynasty be acted upon ; that
simplicity and frugality be made the guid
in g principle of admin istration ; a nd that
a general amnesty be proclai med thereby ,

complyin g with the will of Heaven and pla

catin g the people Should these h umble
.

sugges tion s of mine be acted upon pro ,

spe ctive calamities will y be fore the light

of virtue . W hether th e country is to be

sa fe or not depends upo n whether the ad
m inistration is carried o n with mercy or

n ot
. Wh at I pray for is that the co un try ,

may enjoy peace and tranquillity that the ,

h a rvest may be plenti ful and that the peo ,

ple may be happy and prosperous .

O ne is able to see by this rather t e

,

m arkable document th at the peasant s of

,

Ja pan though frequently al most crushed

,

by the heavy burdens of ta xatio n do not , ,

2 34 JA PAN Es E G IR LS AN D WOMEN .

even in the m ost gri ndi n g pov e rty l ose ,

enti rely that indepe ndence of thought a nd

of action whic h is characte ri s ti c of th ei r

n ation They d o not consider thems elve s

.

as a servile class nor their mil itary ru l ers

,

as beyond cr i ti cis m or reproach but are ,

ready to speak boldly for their rights wh en ~

ever an Op portun ity occ urs The re is a .

patheti c story told in Mitford s Tales of
,

O ld Japan of a peasan t the head m an of

, ,
-

his village who goes to Yedo to prese n t

,

to the Sh o gun a compl aint on behal f of ,

his fellow villagers of the exto r tio n s a n d

-
,

exactions of his daimi o He is u nable to .

g e t any o ne to pre sent his memorial to th e

Sh og un so at l ast he stOp s the great lo rd s

,

pa lanquin in the street a n act in it se lf

,

pu nishable with dea th and thrus ts th e

,

pa per forci bly into his hand The pe ti tio n .

is read and his fellow -vi llagers saved fro m

,

further Oppression but the head man for ,

-
,

his daring is condemned by his own da i

,

mi o to s uffer death by crucixio n a fate ,

which he m eets with the same heroi sm

with which he dared everyth ing to save his
fe llows from su fferi ng .

The pe asant though ignorant and op

,

p r es s e d,has n ot los t his m a nhood ; has n o t

2 36 J APAN ES E o w ns AN D Wom .

beauty in form and color are stil l in sti n ct

with li fe The Japan ese arti san wo rk s
.

with pati ent to il a nd with the ski l l a n d

,

ori ginality of the artist to produce so m e

,

thing that shall be individual and his own ;

n ot simply to make after a pattern
, so m e ,

utensil or ornament for which he care s

noth ing so long a s a purc haser can be
,

found for it or an em ployer ca n be ind uce d

,

to pay him money for maki ng it It seem s .

a s eas y for the Japanese to make thin g s

pre tty and in good taste even when t hey

,

are chea p an d on ly u sed by the poore r

people as it is fo r American mill s an d
,

workers to turn out endless varieties of a t

te mpts a t decoration all so hideous that
,

a poor person must be content either to be ,

surrounded by the worst possible taste or ,

to purchase only such furn ishings a nd

utensil s as are entirely without decorati on

of any ki nd Chea p and

. n asty have
come to be almost synonymous words with
us for the reaso n that taste in decoration
,

is so rare that it com mands a monopoly

price a nd ca n onl y be proc ur ed by the
,

wealthy In J a pan this is not the case

.
,

for the cheapest of thin gs may be found in

grace ful and a rtisti c designs ind eed can
,
 P EAS AN T WOMEN . 23 7

hard ly be found in any designs that are n ot

grac e ful a nd artistic ; an d th e poorest a nd
com monest of the people may have about
them the little thin gs that go to cultivate
the aestheti c part of hu man nature It .

was n ot the costly art of Japan that inter

ested me the most although t hat is of
, ,

course the most won derful p roo f of the

,

capac ity and patien ce of indivi duals among

thi s h ei min class : but it was the com mon ,

cheap every-d ay art that mee ts one at

,

every turn ; the love for the be aut iful in ,

both n ature an d art that belong s to the

,

com mon coolie as well as to the nobleman .

The cheap prints the bl ue an d white tow

,

els the com mon tea cu ps a nd pots the

, ,

great iron kettles i n use over the re i n

the fa r mhouse k tchen
i all these a re
,

thin gs as pretty and ta ste ful in their way

as the rich crepes the silver in ce n se burn
,

er s the delicate porcelain and the elegant

, ,

lacquer that ll the sto rehou se of the d a i

mi 6 a nd they show much more conclu
,

s ive l y than these costlier things the un i ,

versal sen se of beauty among the people .

The artisan works at his home helped ,

less ofte n by hired laborers than by his

own ch il d r en who learn the tra de of their
,
238 APAN ES E G I RLS
J AN D WOMEN .

father ; a nd his hou se though small 18

, ,

clean a nd taste ful with its so ft mats i ts

, ,

dainty tea s er vice its li ttle ha nging scro l l

,

upon the walls an d its vase of grace ful ly

,

arran ged owers i n the corner ; for ow

ers even i n wi n ter an d in the great city o f
,

To ky o are so cheap that they are neve r

,

beyond the rea c h of the poorest I n hom es .

that seem to the fo reign mind u tte r ly

lacking in the co m forts and even the ne
ces s itie s o f life one nds the few furn ish
,

i ngs and utensils beauti ful in sha pe a nd

decoration ; and the money t hat in th is
country must be spent in beds tables and , ,

chairs can be use d for the purchase of

ka km m ws owers and vases a n d for va
, , ,

rio ns gra tica tions of the aesthe tic ta ste .

Hence it is that t he Japanese labo rer who ,

lives o n a daily wa ge which would reduce

a n American or Eu ropean to the verge of

starvation nds both ti me and money for

,

t he culti vation of that se nse of beauty

which is too o fte n crushed completely out
o f the lower class es by the b urdens of th is

n inetee nth century civilization which t hey

bear u pon their shoulders To the Ja p
.

anese the li fe is more tha n me at it is
, ,

beauty as well ; a nd this lo ve of beauty ha s

they wi l l be pe r fectly i ndependent an d a sk ,

no m a n for their daily rati ons .

Although th e re is much poverty the re ,

a re fe w or n o beggars i n Japan for bot h ,

strong and weak nd each some occu pa

tion that brin gs the li tt le pittan ce require d

to keep soul and body toge ther and giv e s ,

to all enough to make them light-hearted ,

ch eerful an d even happy From the ric h

, .

farmer whose many a cres yield enough to

,

provide for a home of l uxury quite as ne

as the city homes to the poor li ttle ven de r
,

of sticks of can dy around whose store th e

,

children ock like bees with their rin an d

se n all seem independent con tente d an d
, , ,

satised with their l ot in life .

The religious belie fs of ol d Japan are

stro n ger to-day among the country peopl e
than among the dwellers in cities And .

they are still willing to give of their sub

st ance for the aid of the dyi ng faiths to
which they cling and to unde rtake to il
,

some pilgri mages to obtain some longed

for blessing from the gods whom they

serve . A great Buddhist temple is bein g
buil t in Ky o to to d a y from the lo fty ceil
'

-
,

ing of which han gs a striking proo f of the

devotion of some of the pe asa nt women
 P EASAN T WOM EN . 241

to the Buddhist faith The whole tem

.

ple with its i m mense curved roo f its vast

, ,

proportions a nd i ts ma rvelous wood carv

,

in gs has bee n built by o fferi n gs of labor

, ,

money and materials m ade by the faith ful

, .

The great timbers were given a nd brought

to the spot by the cou ntry men ; and the
women wishing to have so me part i n the
,

s ac r ed work cut off their abundant hair

, ,

a beauty perhaps more prized by the Ja p

anese women tha n by those of ot her cou n
tries and from the material th us obtai ne d
,

th e y twisted im men se cables to be used i n ,

i l ra wi n g the timbers fro m the mo un tain s

to the si te of the te mple The gr eat blac k
.

cables hang i n the u n nished temple to

day a S ign of the devoti on of the women
,

who spa red not their ch ie f ornament in the

service of the gods in whom they still be
li eve A nd a close scrutiny of these touch
.

ing offerin gs shows that the glossy blac k

locks of the young women a re mingled
with the w hite hai rs of those who by this ,

sacrice hO pe to make sure of a quick and

,

e asy depart ure from a li fe alread y near its

close .

Al l alon g the Taka i d a the great road

,

from To ky o to Ky o to in the neighborhood

,
of some holy place or in the d istrict arou nd
,

the gre at and sa c red Fuji the moun ta i n so

,

much be loved and honore d in Ja pa nese ar t ,

will be see n bands of pilgri ms slowly walk

in g alon g the road their worn a nd soiled
,

wh ite garme n ts te l ling of m any d ays weary

m arch The ir la rge hats shield t hem fro m

.

the s un an d the rain and the pieces of ,

mattin g slun g ov e r t heir backs serve them

for beds to sleep on when they take shelter
,

for the n ight in rude h uts The way up t he

.

great mountai n of F uji is lined with th es e

pilgri ms ; for to attai n its su m mit an d ,

worshi p there the risin g sun is believed ,

to be the means of obtaining some special

bl essi n g A mong the se religious devotees
.
,

in costumes not unlike th ose of the me n ,

und er the same large hat a nd coarse m a t

ting ol d women o ften are seen their age d
, ,

faces belyin g their a pparent vigor o f body ,

as they walk along th rough m iles and mil e s

of country jingling their bells and holdin g
,

their rosaries u ntil they reach the shrine ,

where they may a sk some spe cial blessing

for their homes or fulll some vow al ready
,

ma de .

Journeying throu gh rural Japan one is ,

i mpres se d by the i m portant part played by

24 4 JAP AN ES E G un s AN D WOMEN .

women they are showing no evid ence of

,

the shrinking away wi th the ad van ce of

o l d age that is ch aracteristi c of most of

their countrywomen W ith thei r t u ck ed

.

up kim onos an d bl ue cotto n tro users they ,

st ride up a nd down the mountai n carryi ng ,

the heavi est and m os t un wieldy of burd e n s

as li ghtly a nd easily as the ordinary wom an
carri es her baby My rst a cquai n ta nc e
.

with them was durin g a camping e xpe di

tion u pon the sacre d mounta in I myse l f.

was carri ed up the ascent by two small ,

nearly naked nely tattooed an d m om

, .

scarred men ; but my baggage co nsisti ng ,

of two closely packed ham pe rs as large as

ordin a ry steamer t r u nks wa s li fted lightly

,

to the heads of these feminine porte rs and , ,

po ised on little straw pads carried easily

,

u p the narrow trail made doubly d iic ul t

,

by l ow-hanging branches to the camp a

, , ,

distance of th ree or four mi les From .

among these women of Yas e o n account ,

o f their remarkable physical development ,

have been chosen frequently the n urses for

the im pe rial in fan ts ; an honor which the
Y a s vill a gers d uly appreciate and whic h
,

makes them bear themselves proudly amon g

their l e ss favored neigh bors .
 PEAS AN T wow . 245

I n other parts of the co untry in the ,

n e igh borhood of Nikk i for in stance the , ,

care of the horses mild little pack mares

,
-

that do much of the burden bearing in -

th ose m ountains is mainly in the hands of

,

the women At Nikk o when we woul d hire

.
,

ponies for a two days expedition to Y u

moto a l ittle elderly woman was the pe r

, ,

son wi th whom o ur bargains were made ;

and a close bargainer she proved to be tak ,

in g every advantage that lay in her power .

W hen the ca ravan was rea dy to start we ,

found that though eac h saddle-horse h ad

,

a male g roo m in attendance the pack ,

ponies on which our bagga ge was carried

were led by pretty little country girls o f
twelve or fou rte en their bright black eyes
,

a n d red ch eeks contrasting pleas a ntly with

the blue handkerchie fs that adorned their

h e ads ; the ir slender li mbs encase d i n blue
c otton and only their red sashes giving any
,

hint of the fact that they belonged to the

we aker sex As we jo urneyed u p the rough
.

moun tai n road s the little girls kept alon g

,

easily wi th the rest of the pa rty ; leading

their mee k shock head ed beasts u p the s li p
,
-

pery l og steps and passing an occasional

,

greeting with so me returnin g pack t rain .

,
in which the soft black eyes and bits of
red abo ut the costu me of the littl e groom s
showed th a t they too were moun ta in m ai d
, ,

ens returning fresh an d happy after a two

,

days tramp t hrough the rocky pa sses

.

I n the d istri cts where the si lkworm is

raised and the silk spun and woven the
, ,

women play a most i mporta nt part i n t hi s

productive i nd ust ry The care of the .

worms a nd of the cocoons falls en tire ly

u pon the women as well as the spin n in g
,

of the si lk and the weaving of the clot h .

It is al most sa fe to say that th is larges t

and m ost producti ve industry of Japan is
in the hands of the women ; and it is to
their care and s kill that the silk prod uct
of the isl ands is due In the silk dis tric ts
.

o ne nds the woman on te rms of equality

with the man for she is an im portan t fact o r

,

i n the wealth producing power of the fa m

-

il y and is thus able to m ake hersel f fel t

,

as she can not when her work is in fer ior to

that of the men As a farmer as a groom
.
, ,

o r as a porter a woman is and must remai n

,

an in ferior but i n the care of the sil k

,

worms and all the tas ks that belong to s il k

,

culture sh e is the equal of the stron ger

,

sex .
24 8 JA PAN ES E G I R LS AN D WOMEN .

we had te l e graph ed for rooms was already

ll ed to overowing by a daimi 6 and his
s uite . N ot a roo m could be obtained an d ,

we were at last oblige d to walk some dis

tance for we h ad dismissed o ur tired jin
,

r ikis ha men to a h otel i n the vill a ge o f

, ,

which we knew nothin g What wit h fa .

ti gue and di sappoint m ent we were not p re

,

p ared to vi ew the un known hotel in a very

rosy light ; a nd w hen our guide pointed to
a small gate leadin g into a minute dam p ,

courtyard we were quite convince d th a t

,

the hard ships of travel in Japan were n ow

about to be gin ; but disappointment gav e
way to hope when we were met at the
,

door by a buxom landlad y whose smil e ,

was in itsel f a re freshment Although we .

had little i n the way of lan guage in co m

m on ,
she made us feel at home at on ce ,

to ok us to her best room sent her bloom ,

in g and prettil y dressed daughters to brin g

us tea and whatever other refresh ments

the mysterious appetite of a forei gner

m ight require and altogether behav ed to
,

ward us in such motherly fashion th a t fa ~

tigue and gloom departe d forth with leav ,

in g us re freshed and cheer ful Soon we .

be ga n to feel rested an d our kind friend

, ,
 P EAS A N T WO MEN . 24 9

seei ng this took us upon a to ur around the

,

h ouse in which room after room spotless

, , ,

empty wi th shining woodwork and so ftest

,

of mats showed the good housekeeping of

,

o ur hos tess A li ttle garden i n the ce ntre

.

of the house with dwar f trees,

moss-cov ,

e red stones an d r un n ing water gave it an

, ,

air of 0 0 0 1a on t he bot July day that wa s

al most deceptive ; and the spotless wash
room with its great stone sink its polished
, ,

brass basins its stone well c urb hal f in

,
-
,

a nd hal f out of the house was cool and ,

clean and re freshin g merely to look at A .

two days stay i n this hotel showed that the

landlady was the maste r of the house Her .

husband was abo ut the house constantly as ,

were one or two other men but they all ,

worked under the direction of the energetic

head of affai rs She it was who man aged
.

everything from the c ooki ng of the meals

,

i n the kitchen to the ll ing an d heating of

the great bath tub into which the guests
-

were in vited to enter every afternoon one ,

a fter the other in the o rder of their ran k

, .

O n the second night of my stay at a late ,

hour when I supposed that the whole

,

house had retired to rest I crept so ftly out

,

of my room to try to soothe the plaintive

25 0 J APAN ES E G I RL S AN D WOMEN .

wails my d og who was compla i nin g bit

of ,

te r l y that he was made to slee p in the

wood cellar instead of in his mis tre ss s
-

room as his habit h ad always been As I

, .

stole q uietly alon g fearing lest I should

,

arouse the sleepin g house I heard the i a ,

quirin g voice of my l andlady sound fro m

the bath room the door of which stood
-
,

wide Open Afraid that she would think

.

me in m ischie f if I did not show mysel f I ,

went to the door to nd her a fte r h e r

, ,

family was s a fely st owed away for the n ight ,

tak ing her ca se i n the gre at tub of hot

wa te r and so preparin g hersel f for a sou nd
, ,

i f short night s sleep
, She accepted my
.

m urm ured I na (dog) as an excuse an d ,

graciously dismissed me with a smile an d ,

I re tur ned to my room feeling safe under

the vigilant care that seemed to guard
the house bv night as well as by day I .

have seen many Japanese hotels an d many

care ful landladies since but no one amon g ,

the m all has made such an i mpre ssion as

my pleasant hostess at Nara .

Not only hotels but little tea houses a ll

,
-

th rough Japan form Openings for the bu s i

,

n ess abilities o f wom e n both in cm t ,

and city Where ver you go no matter how

.
,
25 2 A A
J P N ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

resting places a fe w cents for eac h perso n

-
,

is s u fcien t to leave o n the waiter with the

em pty cu ps o f te a for which l e a d and grate
,

ful thanks will he shouted o ut to the t e

ti ri ng pa rty .

I n the reg ular inn the cha da i amoun ts

1
,
.

to se ve ra l do l lars, for a party rema in i ng

any ti me an d it is su pposed to pay for al l
,

the extra services a nd a ttent ion bes towed

o n gues ts by the poli te host a n d hostes s

a nd the servants in attendance The cha .

da i done up n eatly i n pa per with the word s

, ,

On cha rio t w ritten on it is given with a s ,

m uch formality as a ny prese nt i n Japa n .

T he guest claps his hands to sum mon th e

m aid When it is heard for the thin pa
.
,
.

p e r walls o f a Jap a n ese house let through

every noise voices from all sides will s hoo t
,
"
o ut He or Hui which means that you
,

h ave been heard an d u nderstood , Pres .

ently a maid will so ft ly Open your door ,

a nd with h e ad l ow down will ask w h a t

you wish You tell her to su m mon the

.

Ci a d a i ig li te r a ll y, m one y for tea, a nd is eqniva p

l m nt to our po to the v a ite rs a nd p or te u a t hote h The .

chad a i va rlu wi th the wea l t h a nd u nk of tho g nm mo

d ura tion of the st ay a nd the a tt en tion wh ich ha s b een
.

besto wed . On io the hooor ic p l aced hef m tho word in

 P EAS AN T WOMEN . 253

lan dlord I n a few mo m e nts he appears

.
,

and you push the cha d a i to him mak ,

ing some conventional sel f depre ciatin g -

speech as ,
You have done a great deal
,

for our co m fort and we wish to give you ,

this chad a i though it is only a trie
, .

The landlord with eve ry ex pre ssi on of sur

,

prise will bow dow n to the gro und wi th

,

thanks raisin g the small pa kage to his

,
c

head in token of accep tance and gratitude ,

a nd wi l l m urmur in l o w tones how l ittle

he ha s done for the com fort of his guests ;

and then the sel f-depre c iation and formal
,

words o f t hanks on his s ide bei ng ended ,

he will nally go dow n stairs to see ho w

m uch he has gotten But whether more .
,

or l ess than he had ex pected nothing but ,

extreme gratitude a n d politeness appears

o n his face as he pre sents a fa n co nfec ,

t ione ry or some trie as a return for t he

, ,

cha da i a nd speeds the parti ng guests with

,

h is lowes t bo w and kindliest smile a ft e r ,

havin g see n to every want that could be

at tend ed to .

O nce at Nikk a I starte d with a friend

, ,

for a morn ing walk to a place d e scri be d in

the guide book The day was hot and the
- .

g uide-book hazy and we lost the road to ,

the place for whic h we had set out but ,

found ours e lves at l a st in a beau tiful gar

den with a pre tty l a ke in its centre a li t
, ,

tl e red lacquered shri ne re e cted i n the

-

l ake a nd a tea house hospitably Open at

,
-

one side The teakettle was boiling over

.

the little charcoal re ; melons eggs an d , ,

vario us unknown comestibles were on the

li ttle cou nter ; but no voice bade a s wel
come as we approac hed and when we sat
,

down on the edge o f the piaz z a we could ,

see no o ne within the house W e waite d

.
,

however for the day was hot an d time is

, ,

not worth m uch in rural Japan P retty .

soon a small wizened gure made its a p

,

p ea ra nce i n the distance hurryin

, g and
talkin g excitedly as it came n ear enou g h
to se e two foreign lad ies seated upon the
piazza Many bows and pro fuse apologies
.

were m ade by the little old woman who ,

see med to be the solita ry occ upant of the

pretty gard en and who had for the mo
,

ment deserted her post to do the day s mar

keting in the neigh boring village The .

apologi es having bee n smilingly received ,

the ol d lady set herse l f to the tas k of

mak ing her guests com fo rtable Firs t she .

brought two tu mblers of water cold as ice , ,

256 APAN ES E
J OLRL S AN D WOMEN .

pears of her to have given the col ic to a n

ele phant O ne day after her visit to me
.
, ,

as I was s itting upon the matted and roo fe d

square that served me for a room my eye ,

wandered idly toward the bathing beac h ,

a nd ,
under the slight shel ter wh ere the
bathers were i n the habit of d e positi n g
their sandals an d towels I spied the well ,

known yoke and fruit ba skets as well as a ,

small heap of blue cotton garments that I

knew to be the clothing of the littl e fru it
vender She ha d evid e ntly taken a mo
.

ment when trade was sl a ck to enjoy a dip

in the soft blue su m mer sea Hardly ha d
, , .

I made up m y m in d as to the meaning of

the fru it baskets a nd the clo thi n g when ,

our little friend hersel f emerged from the

sea and S itting dow n on a bench pro
, ,

cee d ed to rub hersel f off with the smal l

b ut art istic a lly d e corated blue towel that

every peasa nt in Japan has always with
hi m however lacking he may be i n a l l
,

other appurtenances of the toilet A s she .

s a t there placidly rubbing away a friend

, ,

of the Opposite sex made his appearance

on the scene I watched to see what she

.

wo uld do for t h e J a p a ne se code of eti

,

q u e t te is quite di ffe r e n t fro m ours in such

 P EA S AN T WOMEN . 25 7

a predicament She contin ued her em

.

ployment unt il he was quite close sho wi ng ,

no un seemly haste but contin uing h er pol

,

is hing off in the same le is ure ly man ner in

which she had begun it ; then at the proper
moment she rose fro m her seat bowed ,

profoundly and smilingly exchanged the

,

g reetin gs pre per fo r the occasion both ,

pa rties apparently unconscious of any lack

i n the toilet of the lad y The male frien d
.

then passed on about his business ; the lit

tle woman completed her toilet wi thout
further i nte rrupti ons shouldered her yoke
, ,

a n d jogge d ch eerfully on to her home i n

the little village a coupl e of miles away

, .

As one travels through ru ral Japan i n

sum mer and sees the hal f naked men we-
,

men and children that po ur out from every

,

village on one s route and surround the

kur um a at every stoppin g place one some ,

ti mes wonders whether there is in the

country any real ci vi lizati on whether th ese
,

hal f-naked pe ople are not more savage than

civi li zed ; but when one nds everywhere
good hotels scrupulo us clea n liness i n al l
,

the appointments of to il et an d ta ble polite ,

and careful service honest and willing per

,

form a nce of labor bargained for together ,

25 8 A
J PAN ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN

with the gen tl e st and pl easante st of m a n

ners even o n the part o f the gap in g crowd
,

th a t shut o ut light an d air from th e trav

eling foreigner who re sts for a m o m en t at
the village inn on e is fo rced to re consi de r
,

a j udgment formed only upon one pe culi p

a ri ty o f the nati onal life and to co nclude ,

that there is certa inly a high type of c ivi li

z a tio n i n Japan though di ffering in m any
,

i mpor tant particulars from our o wn A .

care ful study o f the Japan ese ideas of de

ce ncy and fr equent conv er satio n wi th r e
,

ned and i nte ll ige nt Japanes e ladies up on

this subject has led me to the followin g
,

conclusion Accordin g to the Japan ese

.

standard any exposure of the person that

,

is merely incidental to health clean li nes s , ,

o r convenience in doi ng necessary work ,

is per fectly m odes t an d allowable ; but a n

ex posure no matter how slight that is
, ,

sim ply for S how is in the high e st de gre e

,

indelicate I n illu stratio n of the rst part

.

of this concl usion I would re fer to the

,

ope n bath houses the n ak ed labo rers the

-
, ,

exposure of the lower li mbs in wet wea the r

by the turning u p of the ki m m w the e n ,

t ir el y n ude condition o f the country chi] .

dren in sum mer and the very slight cloth

,
26 0 J APAN ES E GI R LS AN D WOMEN .

plain e d and we ca n d o ju stice to our Jap

,

anese sister in a matter in re gard to w hic h

she is too o ften cruelly m isj udged .

There seems no doubt at all that amon g

the peasantry of Japa n one nds the we
m e n who have the most fr e edom and i nde

p e nd e n ce A mon g this
. class a l l through ,

the country the women though hard

, ,

worked a nd possessing few com forts lead ,

lives of intelligent independent labor a nd

, ,

have in the family positions as respected

and honored as those held by women i n
A merica Their lives are fuller an d hap
.

pier than those of the women of the higher

classes for they are themsel ves bread win
,
-

n ers , contributing a n im porta nt part of

the family reven ue and they a re obeyed ,

an d respected accordingly The Ja pan e se .

lady at her marriage lays aside her i a

, ,

dependent exi stence to become the subor

d i na te and servant o f her husband an d
pare nts ia law and her face as the years
- -
, ,

g o by shows
, how m uch she has given u p ,

how com plete ly she h as sac riced hersel f

to those about her The Japanc as peasant
.

wom a n when she marries works side by

, ,

side with her husband nds li fe full of ,

interest outs ide of the si mple household

 PEA S AN T WOMEN . 261

work , a nd ,as the years go by her face

,

s hows more individuality m ore pleasure in

,

li fe l ess su ffering an d disappointment than

, ,

that of her wealthier and l ess hard workin g -

s iste r
.
 CHA PTE R X .

u r n I N T H E CI T I ES .

TH E great cities of Japan a ord remark

able Opportun iti e s for seein g the l ife of the

com mon peo ple for the little houses an d
,

sh e ps with their Open fronts reveal the

, ,

n e tra l ia i n a way n ot known in our more

p e

secl uded homes The employment of the

.

m er chant bein g formerly the lowes t of re

specta bl e callin gs o ne does not nd even

,

yet i n Japan many great stores or a very

high standard of bu siness morality for the ,

busin ess of the country was le ft i n the

hands of those who were too stu pid or too
u nambitious to raise themselves above that
social class Hence English and Ameri
.

can merchants who only see Japan from

,

the business side continually spe ak of the

,

Japanese as dishones t tricky and a lto

, ,

gether u n reliable and greatly pre fer to

,

dea l with the Chin ese who have much of

,

the business virtue that is chara cteristic

of the English as a n ation O nly wit hi n a
.
2 64 J APAN ES E G I R LS AN D WOMEN .

them trad e is a warfa re between buyer

,

an d seller in which every man m ust take

,

all possi ble advantage for himsel f and it ,

is the lookout of the other p a rty if he is

cheated .

In To ky o the grea te st and most mod ern

,

iz ed of the cities of the empire the sh e ps ,

are not the large city s tores that one sees

in European and A merican cities but little ,

Open fronted rooms on the ed ge o f which

-
,

one sits to make one s purchases w hile the

,

proprietor smiles a nd bows and dickers ;

settin g his price by the style of his cus
to m e r s d re ss o r her apparent ign oran ce

,

o f the val ue of the desired article Some .

fe w l arge dry goods stores there a re whe re

-
,

price s are set an d dickerin g is n a n cees

sary and in the k wa ukoba or bazaars one , ,

m ay buy al most anything nee ded by Japa

nese of al l classes from house furn ishings,

to fore ign hats at prices plainly marked

,

u pon them and from which there is no

,

variation But one s im pression o f the

.

state of trade in Japan is that it is stil l ,

in a very primitive and u ndeveloped condi

tion an d is surprisi ngly behin d the other
,

parts of Japanese civilization .

The shopping of the ladies of the large

 M E I N TH E CI TI ES . 2 65

yus hikis and wealthy families is done

of

mostly i n t he home for all the stores are

willing at any ti me on receiving a n order
, ,

to send up a clerk wit h a ba le of c repes ,

si l ks and cottons tied to his back a nd fro

, ,

quently tower ing high above his head as

he walks making hi m look l ike the pro
,

ve rbia l ant with a grai n of wheat He .

se ts his grea t b undl e care fully down on

the oor O pens the enormo us fa r cwhiki or
, ,

bundle handkerchie f i n whic h it is envel

,

oped and takes out ro l l after rol l of s ilk or

,

chi ntz neatly done up in paper or ye l low

,

cotto n With inni te pati ence he waits

.
,

while the merits of ea ch piece are ex

a m ined and discussed and if none of his
,
.

stock proves satis factory he is wi l ling to

,

come again with a new set of wares k now ,

ing that in the end purchases wil l be mad e

s um cie nt to co ver a ll his trouble .

The l ess aristocratic people are content

to go to the stores themselves ; a nd the
busines s str ee ts of a Japanese city such as ,

the G inza in To ky o are full of women

, ,

youn g and old as well as merry child ren

, ,

who enjoy the li fe a nd bustle of the stores .

L ike all things else i n Japan shoppin g ,

takes plenty of time At M itsui s the

'

.
,
266 A A
J P N ES E GI RL S AN D W OM EN .

si l k in Tokya will

l arges t store one see

cro wds of cle rks si tt ing upon the ma tted

oors ea ch with his com bos or addi ng
, ,

m a chi ne by his si d e ; and in n um era bl e

,

sm a ll boy s who r ush to a nd fro carryi n g

, ,
'

arm ful s of fa brics to the d ie re nt cle rks ,

or pick in g up the sa m e fa b ric s after t he

cust om e r who has ca lled for them has d e
pa rted The sto re appe ars to the foreign
.
,

eye to be simply a roofed and matte d pl a t

,

form u pon w hich both c l erks and cus to m e rs

si t . T h is plat form is screen ed from the
street by dark blue cotto n curta i ns or awn .

ings hung from the l ow projecti n g ca ves

of the hea vy roof A s the c usto mers .

take their se ats eith er on the ed ge of the

,

plat form or if they have come on an ex

, ,

te nde d shopp ing bout u pon the st raw m a t ,

of the platform i ts e l f a small boy appears ,

with tea for the party ; an obsequious cl e rk

gree ts them with the customary sa luta
tions of welcome p ushes the charcoal bra ,
~

z i cr to wa rd them th at they may smoke , ,

o r warm their hands be fore procee ding to ,

bus iness and then waits e xpectantly for

,

the n ame of the goods that h is custom e rs

desire to see When this is given the
.
,

work be gins ; the littl e boys are su m moned ,

268 JAPAN ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

loud shouts from the whole sta ff of clerks

and small boys outcries so sudden so
, ,

si m ultaneous and so stentorian that she

, ,

can not rid hersel f of the idea that so me

th in g terrible is happening every ti me that
they occur She soon lea rns however that
.
, ,

these man ife stations of energy are but

the way in which the Japan ese merch a n t
speeds the departin g purchaser and that ,

the apparently inarticulate shouts are but

the formal ph rase Thanks for your co n
,

tinned favors which is repeated in a loud
,

tone by every employee in the store when

ever a customer departs W hen she her .

sel f is a t last ready to leave a chorus of ,

yells arises this time for her benet ; and a s

,

sh e skips into the j in r ikisha a nd is whirled

aw a y she hears conti nued the busy hu m

,

of voices ,
the cl utte r ing of aerobam the ,

thumping of the ba re feet of the heavily

l aden boys and the loud shouts of than ks
,

with which departin g guest s are honored .

There is less pomp an d circumstance

about the smaller store s for all the goods
,

are within easy reac h a nd the shops for

,

household utensils and chinaware seem to

have n early the whole stock in trade pil ed
up in front or even in the street itse lf
,
.
 LI FE I N TH E CI TI ES . 269

Many such littl e plac es are the homes of

the peo ple who keep them A nd at the .

back a re rooms which se rve for dwelling

,

rooms Ope ning upon well k e pt garden s

,
- .

The whole work of the store is o ft en a t

tended to by the proprietor as sisted by his
,

wi fe a nd fami ly and perhaps o ne or two

,

apprentices Each of the workers in turn

.
, ,

takes an occasional holiday for there is ,

n o day in the Japanese calendar when the

shops a re a l l closed ; and even New Year s

Day the great festi val of the year n ds

, ,

most of the store s Ope n Yet the dwellers

.

in th ese little hom es livin g almost in the

,

street and in the midst of the hust le and

,

crowd a nd dust of T o ky o have still time

,

to enjoy their holidays and their little g ar

dens and have more pleasure an d less hard
,

work than thos e u nder si milar circu m

stances i n our own country .

The stran ger visiting any of the great

Japanese cities is surprised by the lack of
larg e stores and man u factori es an d o ften
,

wonders where the beauti ful lacquer work

and porcelains are m a de an d where t he
,

gay silks and crepes are woven There .

are no large establish ments where such

thin gs are turn ed out by wh olesale The .
27 0 J APAN ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

delicate vases the bronzes a n d the sil ks

, ,

are often made i n hu mblest hom es the ,

work of one or two laborers with rud es t

tools . T here are n o grea t m an u facto ri es
to be seen an d the bane o f so m any cities
, ,

the pol lu tin g factory smoke never ris e s ,

over the citi es of Japan The hard co n .

,

n ing factory life with its never-cea sin g

,

roar of m achinery bewildering the minds

,

and intellects of the men who come u nder

its deadening i nuen ces until they beco me
'

scarce ly more tha n machines themselves ,

is a thi ng as yet al most unknown in Japan .

The l ife of the jinr ikisha m a n even hard ,

an d com fortl ess as it may see m to run a l l

day l ike a horse through the crowded city
stree ts is one that keeps hi m in the fresh
,

air un der the Open sky a nd quickens his

, ,

powers both of body an d mind To the .

poor in Japan e se cities is never den ied the

fresh air and sun shine green trees and,

grass ; a n d the beauti ful parks and garden s

are found everywhere for the enjoyment of
,

even the meanest and l o west .

O n certain days in the month in d iffer ,

e nt se cti ons of the city are held night fes

,

ti va l s near te mples and many shopkee p rs

,
e

take the opportunity to erect temporary

27 2 APA N ES E G I RLS
J AN D wm IEN .

again ; but as the evening passes pric es go ,

lower a nd lower fo r the d i stances that t he

,

plants have bee n brought a r e gre at a nd ,

the la bor of loading up and ca rry ing bac k

the hea vy pots is a w ea ry one an d when ,

the last custo mer has depa rted the m er

chan ts must work late into the ni ght to
g e t their ware s sa fely home agai n .

But beside the ower sho ws there are ,

l on g rows of booths which with the m a ny

, ,

visitors who t hrong the stre ets make a gay ,

a nd lively scene 8 0 dense is the c rowd

.

that it is with di fculty o ne can push

through on foot or i n p nr ikisha The .

darkness is illumin ated by torches wh ose ,

wei rd ames are and s moke in the wi nd ,

and shine down upon the little sheds whi ch

line both sides of the road a nd conta i n ,

so temptin g a display of cheap toys an d

trinkets that not only the child re n but ,

their elders a re att racted by them So m e

,
.

of the booths are devoted to dolls ; other s

to toys of various kind s ; s till oth ers to

birds in cage s goldsh i u globes queer
, ,

ch irpin g insects in wicker ba s kets pretty ,

ornaments for the hair fa ns candi es a nd

, , ,

cakes of all sorts roas ted bean s an d pea

,

n uts and other things too n umerous to

,
 LI FE Ev TH E CI TI ES . 2 73

mention The long line of stalls ends with

.

booths or tents in which shows of dan

, ,

ci ng j ugglery educated animals and mon

, , ,

s t ros itie s natural o r articial

,
may be seen ,

for the moderate ad mis s ion fee of two

sen. Each of th ese shows is well ad ve r
t ise d by the beatin g of dr ums by the shout ,

ing of doorkeepers by wonder ful pictu re s ,

on the outside to entice the passer by or -

,

even by an occasional brie f li fting o f the

curtains which veil the scen e from the
crowd without j ust lon g enough to a f ,

ford a tantalizing glim pse of the wonders

within G re at is the fascination to the
.

children i n all these th ings a nd the little ,

feet are never weary until the last booth

is passed and the quiet of neighborin g
,

stree ts lighte d only by wandering lan

,

terns strikes the home re turn ing party by

,
-

its contrast with the light and noise of the

festi val The suppos ed obj ect of the expe
.

dition the visit to the temple has occupied

, ,

but a sm a ll share o f time and attention ,

and the little hands are lled with the

amusin g toys an d t r ie s bought and the ,

little minds with the merry sights seen .

Nor are those who remain at home forgot

ten but the pleasure seekers who vi sit the
,
-
2 74 J APAN ES E G I R LS AN D WOMEN .

fair carry away with them little gifts for

e ach member Of the fam ily a n d the 0 m i ,

age or present given o n the return is a

'

, ,

regular inst itution O f Japanese home li fe 1

.

By ten o clock when the crowds have

,

dispers ed and the purchasers have all gon e

home and gone to be d the busy booth k eep ,
-

ers take down thei r stalls pa ck up their ,

ware s and disappear leavi ng no trace of the

, ,

n igh t s gayeties to greet the morn ing sun

.

Beside these evening shows which oc ,

cur monthly O r o ftener there are a lso great ,

festivals o f the va r ious gods some cele ,

b ra te d an nually others at i ntervals o f some

,

years These m a tsu r i las t for several days

.
,

and during that ti me the quarter of the

city in wh ich they occur see ms entirely
given over to festivity The streets a re .

gayly de corate d with a gs and bright Ia n ,

t rns all alike in design and color are
e .

hu ng in rows from the low caves of the

ho uses Young bamboo-trees set along the
.

street and decorate d with bits of bri ght

,
-

colore d ti s sue paper are a frequent a nd e f ,

O m ia gbe giv e n, not onl y on the re turn from

m ust

a n e ve ni ng of p l ea s ure b ut al s o o n the re t ur n fr om a ou r j
ne y or pl ea s ure tr ip of a n y k in d
As a rul e , the l onger.

th e a bse n ce , the ne r a nd m ore costl y m us t b e the pr e

2 76 A A
J P N ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

dancing girls are hire d to march in t he

-

m o ts ur i procession o r to da n ce upon th e
,

lo fty da shi At th e time O f the festivi ti es

.

w hich accompan ied the prom ulgation of

the Co n st itution th ree days of jol l ica ti on
,

were held in To ky o days of s uch un iversal

,

fun and frolic that it will be known a mon g

the com mon people to all succ ee ding ge n
,

e ra tio ns as the Em peror s big

,

Every quarter of the city vied with every

other in the production Of go rgeous da shi ,

an d the st reets were gay with every con

ce i va bl e variety of deco ration from the lit ,

tle r ed -an d white pape r lantern s that even

-
,

the poorest hun g be fore their houses to ,

the gre at evergreen arches set with elec ,

tric lights with wh ich the great business

,

stree ts were spann ed thickly from end to

end A n evening walk through one Of
.

these thorough fares was a sight to be r e

membered for a li fetime The m agnice nt
.

das hi represented all manner of quaint

conceits . A great bivalve d rawn by y ell

.

ing cro ds which halted occas ionally

w
0 pen ed and displayed betw ee n its shells

a group of beauti fully dressed girls who ,

danced one of the pan tomi mic dances of

the country accom panied by the twan ging
,
 LI FE IN TH E CI TI ES . 2 77

melodies of the sa m isen Then slowly th e .

great s hell closed once more the shout ,

ing crowds seized hold of the straining

ropes and th e great bivalve with its fai r
,

freight was d r a wn s lowly alon g through the

gayly illu minated streets Ji m m u Ten n o .

and other heroes of Japane se legend or his

to ry e ach upo n its lo fty platfor m a white
, ,

e lephant and countless other subjects were

,

repre sented i n the festival cars sent forth

by a l l the districts of the city to celebrate
the great event .

Upon such festival occasions the shOp

keeper does not put up his shutte rs a nd
leave his pl ac e of busine ss but the Ope n ,

shop fro nts add much to the gay appea r

-

ance of the street There are n o signs of .

bu sine ss about but the oor of the shop is

,

covered wit h bright red blankets ; m a g ni -

cent gilded screens form an i m posing back

ground to the little room ; a nd sea ted on
the oor are the sho pkeeper his family , ,

and guests eati n g d rinking tea a nd sm ok

, , ,

i ng as cosily as if all the world and his

,

w i fe were not gazing upon the gay and

h o m e like interior Someti m es compan ies
.

o f d a ncers or other entertain men t s fur

,

n is h e d by the wea lthier shopkeepers w ill ,

2 7 8 JAPA N ES E G I RLS AN D WOMEN .

att ract gapin g crowds wh o watch and block

,

the street unti l the advance guard o f so m e

approaching do shi scatters them for a mo
me nt.

I n Japan as i n other parts of the world

, ,

the country pe ople a re rather looked do wn

upon by the dwellers i n the city for thei r
slowness of in tellect dowdiness of dre ss
, ,

and boorish nes s of man ners ; while the

country people make fun of the fads an d
fash ions O f the city and rejoice th a t they
,

are not them s elves the slaves of novel ty ,

and espe cially o f the foreign innovations

that play so prominent a part in Japanese

ci ty li fe to day
-
. The frog in the well

knows not the g reat ocean is the sn ub ,

with which the Japan es e cock ney sets down

Farmer Rice-Field s expression s Of Opinion

while the conservative countryman laughs

at the foreign a ecta t ions of the To ky o man
'

and returns to his villa ge with tales of the

cookery of the capital : so extravagant is
i t that sugar is used in everything ; it is
even ru mored that the Toki te s p ut suga r
'

in their tea .

But while the cou nt ry laughs and won

ders at the city nevertheless in Japan as
, ,

elsewhere there is a constant crowding o f

,
dres ser may make a handsome livi n g ; i n
deed she does so well that it is proverbia l
,

among the Japanese that a hair dress er s -

husband has nothin g to do Though pro .

fess ional tai l o rs are most ly m e n many wo ,

m e n earn a small pittance in takin g i n

se wing and in gi vin g sewin g lessons ; an d
as instructors in the ceremonial tea eti ,

q ue tte ,
music pai
,
nting and ower
, ar
rangement many wo men of the Old sch ool
,

a re able to ea rn an independen ce though ,

n one of the se occu pati ons are con n ed to

the women alone .

The busi n ess of hote l keeping we have

-

referred to in a previous chapte r an d it ,

is a well known fact that un l ess a hotel

-

kee per has a capable wi fe his busines s wil l

,

not succee d A t present all over Toky o

.
, ,

small restaurants where food is se rved in

,

the foreign style a re sprin gin g up and

, ,

these are usu a lly conducted by a m a n an d

his wi fe who have at some time se rved as
cook and waitre ss i n a fo reign family an d ,

who conduct the business cooperatively and

o n te rms of good fello wship and equality
- .

I n these little eating hou ses where a well

-
,

cook ed fore i g n din ner of from thre e to six

courses is served for the moderate su m of
 LI FE I N TH E CI TI ES . 281

thi rty or forty cents the man usually does

,

the cooki ng the woman the serving a nd

,

handlin g of the money u ntil the time ar ,

rives when the pro ts of the business are

sufcient to j usti fy the hiring of more help .

When this time co mes the labor is re ,

di stributed the woman frequently takin g

,

u pon hersel f the recepti on of the guests

and the keeping of the accounts while the ,

hired help waits on the tables .

O ne i mportant calling i n the eyes of ,

many persons espec ially those of the lower

,

cl asses is that O f fortu ne te lling ; and

,
-

these guides in all matters of l ife both ,

great and small are to be found i n every

,

section o f the city They are consulted on

.

every i m porta nt step by believin g ones of

all clas ses An impending marriage a n
.
,

illness the l oss of any valuable article a

, ,

journey about to be takeu these are all ,

subjec ts for the fortu ne teller He tells the

-
.

ri ght day o f marriage an d says whether

,

the fates of the two parties will combin e

well ; gives clues to the cau ses of sudden
illness and in formation as to what h as
,

become of lost arti cles and whether they

,

will be recove red or not Warned thus by .

the fortun e teller against evils that may

ha ppe n , m a ny in ge nious e xp e die n ts a re

m one d tm to u oid the ill fo reto l d .

A nn a a nd hi s fa m ily we re a bout to
m o ve om
'
t he ir resid e n ce to a not he r pa r t
of the city . The y se n t to know if thc
fa tes were p ro pitious to the cha uge for a ll

the fa m ily . The da y m d yw of bi rth of

hunte d up the va rious sig ns and sen t word ,

t ha t the dire ct ion of the new ho me was

e xce l le n t for the good l uc k of t he fa m i l y

as a whol e , a nd the m ove a ood one foa

g
'

ea c h m em ber of it e xce pt one of the sons ;

the next yea r the sam e m ove would be ba d
for the fa ther As the family could not
.

wa it two ye ars before m oving it was d e ,

ci ded tha t the ch an ge of resi d e nce shou l d

be m d e a t once but tha t the 8 0 m should

,

l ive wi th his un cle un til the n ext yea r .

The uncle s ho me was howe v er inc oa

, ,

ve n ie ntl y remote a n d so the youn g m an

,

stayed as a vi s itor at his fath er s house for

the re mai n ing m on ths of the yea r a fte r ,

which he became on ce more a mem ber of

the house hold Th us the inconvenien ce
.

a n d the evi l were both a voided .

A nother sto ry com es to my mi nd no w of

a dear o ld lady the Go I nkyo Same of a
,
The other was the spirit of a horse th a t
h a d once belonged in the family a nd that,

a fte r death reve n ged i t sel f u pon its forme r

m aste rs for the hard service wherewith

it h ad been made to serve Th e only wa y

i n which these two powers could be a p
p e a se d wo u ld be by nding the well a n,d
re moving the obstructions that choked it ,

a n d by erectin g an image of th e horse and

o e r in g to it cakes and other m ea t offer

'
-

i ngs . The fortune teller hinte d moreover

-
, ,

t hat for a con siderati on he might be able

to a fford m ate rial aid i n the search for the
well .

A t this in form a tion Go I nk yo Sama was

m uch pe rturbe d ,
for fu rther aid for her
a ficte d family seemed to require the use

of m oney ,
and of that com mod ity she had
very little be in g m ainly dependent upon
,

h e r brother for support . She returned to

h er h ome a nd consulted the servants u pon
th e matte r ; but though they quite agreed
with her th at somethin g should be done ,

they had little capi tal to i nvest in the en

te r pr i se s s uggeste d by the fortune teller
- .

At last the old l a dy we n t to her brother

, ,

but h e o nly laug hed at h e r well m e an t a t

-

tempts to h e lp h is family a nd re fused to

,
 LIFE uv TH E czr w s . 285

give her money for such a purpose She .

retired disco uraged but urged by the ser

, ,

vants she d ecided to make a last appeal

, ,

this ti me to her siste r-in-law who must ,

surely be moved by the evil that was threat

cuing hers el f and her child ren Taking .

some of the head servants with her she ,

went to her sister and presented the case .

Th is was her last resort and she clung to

,

her forlorn hOpe longer than many would

have done the servants adding their argu
,

m ents to her i mpassioned appe als only to ,

nd out a fte r all that the stead fast sister

could not be moved an d that she w
, ould
not propitiate the horse s sp irit or allow

,

m oney to be used for such a purpose S he .

gave it up then and sat down to await the

,

fate of her doomed hou se doubtless won ,

deri ng much an d sigh ing o ften over the

foolis h skeptic is m of her near relatives ,

and wish in g that the rationalistic tenden

cies of the time would take a less dange r
ous form than the negl e ctin g of the plainest

pre cautions for li fe an d health The fate .

h as not yet come and now at last G o I n

,

k yo Sama seems to have re sign ed herself

to the belie f that it has been av e rted from
the heads of the dear on e s by a power nu
k nown to the fortune te ller - .
286 J APA N ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

B side these ca ll in gs there a re o th er

e
,

employments which are not regarded as

wholly respectable by either J a pa nese or
foreigners The gisha ya or es tabli sh
.
,

ments where dan c in g girls are train ed an d -

,

let out by the day or evening to tea houses -

or priv a te parties a re usually m anag ed by

,

women . At th ese es tablish m e nts l ittle

gir ls a re taken sometimes by con tract with
,

the ir parents sometimes adopted by the

,

propri etors of the ho use a nd fro m very ,

early youth a re trained not only in the ar t

of dancing but are taught s in ging an d
,

sunrise w pl ayi ng all the etiquette of serv

,

ing and enterta in in g guests an d whatever ,

el se goe s to make a girl charming to the

opposite se x When tho roughly taught ,

they form a val ua ble investment and well ,

repay the labor s pent upon t hem for a ,

popu lar geisha com mands a good price

everywhe re and has her ti me over crowded
,

w ith en gagements A Japanese enterta in .

ment is hardl y regarded as compl ete wi th

o ut g is ha s in attendance and their dan ,

cing mu sic and graceful service at supper

, ,

fo rm a ch a rming addition to an eveni ng

o m e ut at a tea house It is th e se
of e n d y - .

g e is hns t o
,
o, who at m a ts ur i ar e hired to
288 J APA N ES E G I RLS AN D wow .

the supper room and ply their tem po rary

-

employers with the sa ke bottle laughin g ,

and jesting the while unti l the re is litt l e

,

wonder if the youn g men at the ente rta in

ment d rink more than is good fo r them ,

and leave the tea house at last tho roughly

-

tipsy and enslaved by the brig ht eyes an d

,

merry wits of some of the Hebes who have

beguiled them th rough the eveni n g .

Th e geishas un fortunately t hough fa ir , ,

are fra il I n their syste m of education

.
,

man ners stan d higher than morals an d ,

m any a geisha gladly leaves the dancing in

the te a houses to become the concubine of

some wea lthy Japanese or fore igner th ink ,

i ng n one the worse of hersel f for such a

bus iness arran ge ment a nd going chee r
,

fully back to her regular work sh outd ,

her contract be un expectedly ended The .

geisha is not necessarily bad but there is ,

i n her li fe m uch temptation to evil an d ,

little stimulus to do right so that where , ,

one lives blameless many go wrong a nd

, ,

d rop below the margin of respectability a l

together Yet so fas cinati ng bright and
.
, ,

l ively are these geishas that many of the m

have been taken by men of good posi
tion as wives and are now the h eads of
,
 LI FE I N TH E CI TI ES . 28 9

the mo st re spectable homes Without .

true educa tion or morals but trained ,

thoroughly i n a ll the arts and accomplish

m ents that pl ease witty quick at re pa r
, ,

tee p retty and always well dre ssed

, ,
the ,

geisha has prov ed a formidable ri val for

the demure quiet m aiden of good family
, ,

who can only give her husband a n nus nl

lied name silent obedience and faith ful
, ,

service all her li fe The fre edom of the

.

present a ge as shown in the chapter on

,

Marriage an d D ivorce an d as seen in ,

the choice of s uch w ives h as pre sented ,

this great problem to the thinking women

of Japan . I f the wiv e s of the leaders i n
Japan are to come from among such a
class of women somethin g m ust be done
, ,

and done quickly for the sake of the future

,

of Japan ; either to raise the standard s of

the men in regard to women or to chan ge ,

the old syste m of ed ucation for girls A .

liberal educati on an d more freedom in

,

early li fe for women has been sugges ted , ,

and is now bein g t ried but the pro blem of ,

the geisha an d her fascination is a deep

o ne in Japan .

Below the geisha in respectability stands

the j o ro or lice nsed prostitute Every
,
.
city in J a pan has i ts disreputa ble quarter ,

whe re the va rious j ar a ya or lice n sed h ous es

'

of pro stitution are si t uated ,

The s a pe rvi .

sio n that the gov e rn ment exerci ses ov e r

t h es e places is extre mely rigid ; the effort
is made by licensin g and re gulating the m
, ,

to minimize the e vi ls that m ust o w fro m

th e m The proprietors of the jr oya do
'

e v e rything i n thei r power to make their

hou se s gro unds an d em ployees attracti ve
, , ,

and to the un sus pecting forei g ner this

, ,

portion of the city seems o ften the ple a s

untes t and mo s t res pectable A j ars n ee d .

n e ver be tak e n for a respectable woman ,

for her d re ss is d istinctive and a stay of ,

a short ti me i n Japan is l ong enough to

teac h e ven the most obt use that the obi or ,

sa s h ti ed in fro nt i nste ad o f behi nd is one

, ,

o f the bad ge : of shame But though the .

occupa tion of the j o ro is altogether isre p

d
'

n tabl e though the pros titute quarter is

,

the s pot to which the police tu r n for i n

lh r nm tion in re ga rd to cri mi nals an d law
l noa ke rs a sort of a trap in to whic h soone r

, ,

or l a te r the o ffender a gainst the law is

,

s ure to fall Japanese pu bl ic opinion

, ,

though re cog nizin g the ev il a s a great o ne ,

doe s no t look u pon the pro fessional pros ti

2 92 APA N ES E GI RLS
J AN D WOMEN .

tion m ust nd its m ate rials where it ca n .

These j r ya give employment to tho u

' '

sands of women throughout t he country ,

but in few ca ses do the women seek th a t

e mployment and more Openin gs in reS pec
,

table directions together with a chan ge i n

,

public Opinion securin g to every woman

the right to her own person would ten d to ,

di mi ni s h the nu mbe r of victi ms that these

in stitutions yearly draw in to their devour
ing current .

I n nocent a nd reputable am usements are

m any and v a ried in the cities We have .

already m entioned incidentally the thea

tre as one of the favorite diversions of the
people ; and though it has never been t e
garded as a very rened amusement it has ,

d one a n d is doing m uch for the educa

tion of the lo wer classe s i n the hi story an d
S pirit of former times Re gular pl a ys were
.

n e ver per fo r m ed in the pre sence of th e

E m peror a nd h i s court or th e Sh o gun a n d

,

h is nobl e s but the N o d an c e wa s the only

,

d ra m a tic amu sem e n t of the nobility This .

N O i s an a ncient Japan e se th ea trical per

for m a nce more perha p s li k e the G re ek
, , ,

dra m a than a nythi n g i n o ur m od e rn li fe .

Al l th e moveme nts of the a c tor s are meas

 LI FE I N TH E CI TI ES . 2 93

ured and conventionalized spe ech is a poet ,

ical recitative the costum es are sti an d

'

antiq ue m asks a re m uch used and a chorus

, ,

seated upon the stage chants audible co m

men ts upon the various situations This .

alone the most ancient and cl as sical of

,

Japanese theat rical performance s is con ,

sid ere d worthy of the attentio n of the E m

p ero r and the nobility an d takes the place

,

with them of the more vulgar an d realistic

plays whic h delight co m mon people .

The regular theatre preserves in m any

ways the li fe an d costumes of Ol d Japan ,

an d the details of d ress and scener y are

most care fully studied The actors a re usu.

ally men though the re are women t h ea

,

tres in which all the parts are pe rformed

by women I n n o case are the rd l es taken
.

by both sexes upon one stage As the per .

form a nces last all day fro m te n or el eve n,

i n the forenoon u nti l eight or n in e in the

even in g going to the theatre mea ns mu ch
,

more than a fe w hours of entertain ment

after the day s work is over A lunch an d

.

din ner with inn umerable light edibles be

,

tween go to make up the usual bill of fare

,

for a d ay at the play and tea houses in the

-
,

n eighborhood of the theatr e provide the

 n ece ss ary meal s a room to take th e m i n a
, ,
'

resti ng place betwee n the a cts and w hat

-
,

ever te a cak es and ot her re fresh m en ts

, ,

may be ordered These latter eatabl e s a re

.

ser ved by the atten dan ts f the tea house

o -

i n the thea tre boxes while the play is in

progress an d the p l aygoers eat and smoke
,

all day l ong th rough roa rin g farce or gori

es t tr aged y .

S imilar to the th eatre i n m any ways a re

the public halls where profes sional sto ry
,

te llers the ha na sln lm n ight afte r n ight

'

, , ,

relate lon g stories to crowded audiences as ,

powerfully and vi vidly as the bes t train ed

elocutionist Each gesture and each mod
.
,

ul a tio n of the voice is studi ed as ca re

,

fully as are those of the actors Many charm .

in g tales are told of old J a pan and ev e n ,

Weste rn stories have found their way to

these assemblies A lon g story is O ften
.

continued from n igh t to night u ntil n

i ehed Un fortunately the cl a ss of people
.
,

who patronize these places is l ow and the ,

moral tone of some of the stori es is pitch ed

accordingly ; but the best of the sto ry -tell
ers those who have talent and reputa
tion are o ften i n vite d to come to ente r
tain ments given at private houses to amuse ,
qui ck sa l e for fr uit con fecti on ery a nd lig h t , ,

l un ches S a kc is ofte n too free ly imbi be d

by t he m e m m a k e rs whose ushed fa ce s ,

sh ow whe n re t ur ning homew a rd how th e i r

, ,

d a y was spen t There is m uch qui et e n .

of the l ovely bl osso m s h

jyo m e n t too , ,
t e ,

b roa d ca lm river and the ga yly dress ed

, ,

c rowds H undreds a nd thou sands of vi si t

.

or s crowd to the subur ba n places ab ou t

Tok yo to Uy eno P ark f or its cherry a n d
,

a h blossom s Kam eido l o r the plum a n d

p e c ,

wist a ria Oji for its famous maple tre es

,
-
,

a nd many others e a ch n ote d for some spe ,

cia l beauty D ango ! aka h as its own pe

.

cul ia r attraction the famous chrysa nth e ,

m um dolls Th ese ingenious gures a re

.

arranged so as to form tableaux sce n es ,

fro m hi story or ction well k n ow n to all

the people T hey are Of li fe size and the
.
,

fa ces hands and feet are made of some

, ,

com position and closely resemble l i fe in

,

ev e ry d e tail But the curious thi n g in

.

th e se ta blea ux is that the scenery whether ,

it be th e representation of a waterfall rocks , ,

or b us h e s the anim a ls an d the dresse s of

, ,

the g ure s a re m a d e e ntire ly of chry s s a

the m n m t wi g s l e a v e s a n d ow e r s not c ut
, , ,

a nd wo ve n i n a s at t he r st gl a nce t hey ,
 LI FE I N THE CI TI ES . 297

seem to be ,
so closely a re the leaves and

owers bound toget her to make the a t

sur ace of d ifferent objects
f but al ive an d ,

growing on the pl a n ts It is imposs ible .

to tell where the roots a nd ste ms are hid

den for nothing is vi sible but (for ex
,

am p le ) the w hite spray an d gre en ish shad

ows of a waterfal l or the pa rti co lored g
,
-

ures in a young gir l s d ress But sho uld

.
,

it be the visitor s good fortune to watc h the

repai ring of one of these lifelike images he ,

will nd that the entire body is a frame

woven of split ba mboo within whi ch the ,

plants are placed their roots packed i n

,

damp earth an d bound about with straw ,

while their leaves and owers are pulled

th rough the basket fra me and woven into
whatsoever pattern the arti stic eye and
ski ll ful n ge rs of the ga rdener m a y select .

A roo f of matting shields each g rou p fro m

the s un by day and a slight spri nkling
,

every night serv es to kee p the plan ts fresh

for nearly a month and the owers co n
,

tin ue their blooming d uring that time as ,

cal mly as if in perfectly natu ral positions .

Each of the gardeners of the neighborhood

h a s his own little show containin g several
,

tableaux the entrance to which is guarded

,
by an gate kee per who shouts out
otli c io us -
,

the merits o f his pa rticular groups of g

ures and forces h is show b ills u pon the
,
-

passer-by i n the hOpe of securing the two

,

sen admi ssion fee which is required for

e ach exhibit .

A nd so am id the shopping the fes ti vals

, , ,

the amuse ments of the great cities the ,

women n d the ir l ives varied in many ways .

Their holidays from home duties are S pent

amid these enjoyments ; and if they have
not the out-O f door employments the lon g
-
,

walks up the mo un tain s the days spent in

,

te a picking in harv estin g in all the v a ried

-
, ,

work that comes to the country wo m an ,

the dwelle rs in the city have n o l a ck of

sights and sounds to am use an d inter est
them and would not often care to exchange
,

thei r lot for the fr eer and hardier l ife of

Am erica n hou sewi fe who has bee n accu s
,

to m e d i n her o w n co untry to be t he head

of every deta il of household work leavi n g ,

to her servan ts only the mechanical labo r

of the hands S he begins by showing her
.

O riental help the work to be done and ,

just the way in which she is accustom ed to

ha ving it done at home and the chanc es ,

are about one in a hund red th a t he r serva nt

wi ll carry out her instructions I n the .

n inety n ine other cases h e wi ll accom pli sh

-
,

the desir ed result but by means totally dif

,

fe re nt from those to which the American

housek eeper is accustomed I f the house .

wi fe is one of the worryi ng kind who ca res ,

a s much abo ut the way in which the thing

is do ne as about the accom plished result ,

the chances are th at she wil l wea r herself

out in a fruitless endeavor to m ake h er

servants do th in gs in her own way a nd ,

wi ll when she re turn s to A merica assure

, ,

o u that Japan ese servants are the m ost

y
idle stu pid an d alto geth er worthless lo t
, ,

that it was ever her ba d fortun e to have

to do with . But o n the other hand if t he ,

lady of the house is one who is wi lling to

give general o rders a nd then sit down and
,

wait until the work is done be fore criticis

 DOMES TI C s s a VI CE . 3 01

i ng it she wi ll nd that by some mea ns or

,

other the work will be accomplished and

her desi re wil l be carried out provided on ly ,

that her se rvants see a reason for getting

the th ing do ne And as she nds that
.

her dom estics wi ll take respons i bility upon

the m selves a nd will work not only with
, ,

thei r ha nd s but with the will and intellect

,

in her service she soon yields to thei r p ro

,

teeting an d thought ful care for hersel f a nd

h er interests and w hen she return s to
, ,

A merica is loud i n her praises of the com

,

p e te n ce a n d devotion o f her Japanese ser

vants Even in the treaty ports where
.
,

contact with forei gne rs has given to the

Japane se attendants the silent an d t e
pressed air that we regard as the standard
man ner for a se rvant they have n ot re ,

sign e d the ir right of pri vate j udgment but , ,

if faithful and hones t se ek the best good,

of their employer even if h is best good

,

in volv es di sobed ience of his o rders This .

characte ristic of the Japanese se rvant is

aggravated when he is i n the employment
of foreigners for the si m ple reason that he
,

is apt to regard the fore igner as a species

of imbe cil e who m ust be car ed for tenderly
,

b ec au se he is quite inco m pete nt to care for

h im se l f,but wh ose fa ncies m ust n ot be
too m uch regarded Of the re l a ti o ns of
.

fore ig n employe rs an d Japa nes e se r va n ts

muc h mig ht be said but our business is
,

wit h the position of the se rva n ts in a Ja p

a n ese hou sehold .

Un der the old feudal syste m the ser va n ts

,

of every family were its heredi ta ry re ta i n

ers and fro m generation to ge ne r ation d e

,

sired no higher lot tha n personal se r vi ce

in the family to whi c h they belonged The .

principle of l oyalty to the family interes ts

wa s t he leadi n g pri n ciple in the lives of th e
servan ts just as loyalty to the d ai m i was
,

the highest duty of the sa m urai L on g .

and intimate knowledge of the fam ily his

tory and traits of chara cter rendered it p os
s ible for the retainer to w o rk in telligently

for his master an d do i n d e pe nd e ntly for

,

h im many things without orders The ser .

vant in many cases kne w his master an d

his master s interes ts as well as the master

him sel f or even better and m ust a ct by

, ,

the l ight of h is own knowledge in case s

where his master wa s ignorant or misin
for m ed O ne ca n e a sily see h ow ties of
.

good fellow ship a nd sy m p a thy wo uld arise

-

between masters an d serva nts how a com ,

3 04 J P A A N ES E G IRLS AN D WOMEN .

pendent merchant or artisa n As the for .

mer feud al syste m is yet withi n the mem

ory of many of the pre sent ge nerati on ,

a nd its feelin gs still al ive in J a pan m uch ,

of the old sentiment remains ev e n wit h ,

the merely hire d d omesti cs i n a househo l d

of the present day T he servant by h is
.
,

own m aster is a ddre sse d by name with no

, ,

title of res pect, is tr eated as an in ferior ,

a nd spoken to in the lan guage used towar d

in feriors ; but to al l others he is a pe rsou

to be t reated with res pect to be bowe d ,

to pro fou ndly addressed by the title Sa n,

,

and spoken to in the politest of langu a ge .

Y ou make a call upon a Japanese house

hold and the se rvant who admits you wil l
,

expect to exchan ge the formal sa lutati ou s

with you When you are ushered into
.

the reception room should the lady of the

-
,

house be absen t the head se rvants will no t

,

o nl y serve you with tea and re freshme nts

and oe r you hospital ities in their mistress s

'

n ame but m a y i f n o one else be there sit

, , ,

with you in the parlor entertainin g you ,

with con versation u n til the return of the

hoste ss The se rvants of the house hold are
.

by no mean s ignored socially as they are ,

wi th us but are al ways recognized an d sa

,
 D OMES TI C S ER VI C E
. 805

l uted by visitors as they pass in to and out

of the room , and are fr ee to join in the con
versation of thei r ba tte rs should they see ,

any place where it is poss ible that they may

sh ed light on the subj ect discussed But .

though given th is l iberty of speech treated ,

with much considerati on and havin g some ,

ti mes muc h res pon sibility serva nts do n ot

,

forget the ir plac es i n the house hold and ,

do not see m to be bold or out of place I n .

deed the man n ers of some of them would

,

seem to any one but a J a pan ese to denote

, ,

a lack of pre per sel f res pect

- a n exce ss of ,
'

h um ility or an a ecta ti on of it
, .

I n expla ining to my scholars who were ,

readin g L itt le Lord Fau ntl eroy i n En g

lish a passage where a footman is s pok e n
,

o f as havi ng nearly disgrace d himsel f by

laughing at some qu a int saying of the young

lord my l ittle peeresses were amazed be yond
,

measure to learn that in Euro pe a n d A mer

ica a servant is expected never to show any
interest in or knowledge of the conversa
, ,

tio n of his bette rs never to speak unless

,

addressed an d never to smile under any

,

circu mstan ce s D oubtl ess in their shr ewd

.
,

little brai ns they formed their Opinion of

,

a ci vil ization i mpos in g such ba rbarous t e

stra ints upon one class of persons .
806 JA PAN ES E C I ELs AN D WOMEN .

The women servants in a family a re i n

p ositio n more like the sel f respect i n g ol-
d ,

fashioned Ne w En gland hel p than th ey

a re like the modern girl They d o no t
.

work all day while the mistress sits i n th e

parlor doing nothin g a nd then when their
, ,

day s work is d one go out an xio us to for

, ,

get ia the soci ety of their friends th e

, ,

drudgery wh ich only the n ecessity for self .

support and the high wages to he earn e d

re nder tolerable As has be en expl a ined
.

i n a previous chapter the mistre ss of th e

,

h o se
u b e she princ e ss or peasant is
hersel f the head se rvant and only gives u p ,

to her hel pers the part o f the labor which

she has not the time or stren gth to per
form .Ce rtain men ial duties tow a rd h er
h usba nd and child ren every Japan ese wi fe
,

and mother must do hersel f and would ,

scorn to delegate to any other woman ex

ce pt in case of absolute n ece ssity Thu s .

there is not that gap be tween m ist ress a nd

m a id that exists i n o ur days among the

women of this country The servants work .

with the ir m istress hel ping h er in every

,

possible way and are trea ted as re sponsi ble

,

m embers of the hou sehold if not of the ,

fam ily itsel f .

or skill in any a rt or profession are hel d i n
great deman d am ong the Japanese a n d a
prominent poet scholar physician or p ro
, , ,

fessiona l m a n of any kin d is often asked by

a nxio us parents to take their so ns u n de r

his own roo f so that they may be un d e r

,

his inuence and receive the benets of

,

stay in such an honora ble house The pa .

rents who thus send their ch ildren m a y

n ot be of low rank at all but ar e u s ually ,

n ot su fciently well to do to spend m uch

- -

m oney in the education of their chil dre n .

T he position th at such boys occupy i n

the household is a curious one They a r e .

cal led S ho sei meanin g stude nts and st u

-
, ,

de nts they usually are S pending all thei r ,

leisure moments and their even i ngs i n

study They a re n ever treated as in fe
.

riors except i n a g e and experience ; they

,

may or may not eat with the family a nd ,

are always ad d ressed wi t h respect On .

the other hand they always feel the m

,

selves to be depen den ts a n d m ust be will ,

ing without wages to work in any c a pa city

about the h ouse for th e sake of picki ng up
,

what crumb s of knowle d ge may fa ll to th e m

from their master s ta ble Service is not

.

absolutely demanded of the m but they a r e ,

 DOM ES TI C S ER VI CE . 3 09

expected to do what will pay for thei r

board a nd do not regard men ial work as
,

belo w them performing cheerfu l ly a l l tha t

,

the master m a y req uire of them .

I n this way a m a n of moderate mean s

,

ca n h elp alon g many poor young men in

whom he may feel interested a nd in re ,

turn be save d expen s e about his h ousehold

wo rk ; and the s tuden ts w hile always con
,

s id era te l y tre a te d a r e able withou t grea t

,

expense to study o fte n even to p repa re

,

for college or get a start in one O f t he

,

pro fessions for they have many lei s ure

,

moments to devote to their books M a ny .

prominent men of the present day h a ve

been students of thi s clas s a nd are n o w i n
,

t heir turn helping th e younger genera ti o n .

The boys that one sees in shops or wit h , ,

work men of all kinds helpin g in m a ny ,

little ways are not hirelings but a ppre n

, ,

tice s who hope some day to hold j ust a s

,

good positions as their maste rs and expect ,

to k no w as m uc h if not a gre a t d ea l m ore

, .

At the sh o p or in the h o me they n ot only ,

h e l p i n the trades or occupations they a re

lear n in g but are willing to do any kind o f
,

m enial work for their mas ter or his fa m

ily in return for w ha t they receive fro m

h im ; th ey do not pay for th ei r board
for
nor for what they are taught E ven whe n
.

the age of ed ucation is already p a st grown ,

men and women are willing to leave qui te

i ndependent pos itions to shine with t e
ect ed glory as se rvan ts of persons of h igh

ra nk or distinction The servant is n ot
.

grea ter than his master in Japan ; but i f

the master is great the servant is consid
,

era bly greater than the m a n without a

mast er .

I n a country like Japan where one ,

nds but fe w we a l thy pe ople there may be

,

c a u se for wo nd e r at the large h ouseholds ,

where th e re are s o many se rvan ts Ther e .

will he o fte n a s many as te n or m ore ser

vants in a h o me where i n other ways lux
, ,

ury and w ea lth are not displayed In the .

a im,
or the part o f the ho use where the

lad y of the house sta y s are foun d h e r own

,

maid and women who help in the work

,

about the house sew i n their leisu re m o

,

ments an d are the higher servants of th e

,

fa mily ; there a re a l s o the childre n s a t

te nd a nts oft e n o ne fo r each child as wel l

, ,

as the waiting wom e n for the G o I nky o

Sam a . In the kitchen are the cooks an d
t heir ass ist ants the lower servants a nd usu
, ,
 greater pay The family too in many cases
.
, ,

a re used t o having pl enty o f hands to do

the work ; the ladies are much less in d e

pendent and li fe has more form alities an d
,

r ed tape i n Japan than in America A .

grea t deal of the shopping is done by ser

vants who are sent out on errands a n d
,

o ften do i m portant bu si n ess Maid s ac .

com pany th e ir m is tresses to ma ke vi s its

servants g o with parties to the theatr e to ,

picnics or o n jo urneys and th e se expedi

, ,

tions are as heartily enjoyed by them as by

their masters I t is expected especial ly o f
.
,

ladies and persons of high ran k that the ,

detai l s of the journ ey the bargai ning wi th

,

coolies the hirin g of vehicles a nd payi ng

, ,

of bill s be l e ft in charge of some manser

,

vant who is entirely responsible an d who

, ,

makes all the bargains arran ge s the j ou r

,

ney for his em ployer and tak e s charge of

,

everyt h ing even to the amount of fees

,

give n along the way .

Perhaps the highest positi ons of servi ce

no w position s honorable an ywh ere in
Japan a re held by those who remain of

the ol d re tainers of dai mi o s a n d who ,

r egulate the hou seholds of the nob les .

S uch m e n must have good educa tion an d ,

 D OMES TI C S EE VI C E
. 31 3

good judgment ; for m uch is le ft in their

hands and they are usually gentlemen
, ,

who would be known as such anywhere .

They are the ste wards of the household ,

the secretaries of their mas te rs ; keep al l

accounts for which they are res ponsible
, ,

and attend to the minor affairs of etiquette ,

the latter no triin g duty in a noble s

home It is they who accompany the no

.

bl es o their journ eys

n regulate ad vise
, , ,

and attend to the litt le a a irs of l ife of

which the mast er m ay be ign orant an d

cares not to l earn Th ey are the l ast of
.

the crowds of feudal reta iners who once ,

lled castle an d ya shiki and are now scat

,

te red t hroughout the length and brea dth

o f the kingdom .

The higher servants in the house hold

m ust be always more or less trained in eti

q u e tte , and are expected to look n e a t a nd

tidy ; to serve guests with tea and refre sh
'

ments without any orders to that ee ct ;

,

and to use their judgment in little house

hold a a irs and thus help the lady of the
'

house They are usually clever with thei r

.

n ge rs and can sew n eatly W hen their

,
.

m istre s s goes out they assist her to d ress ,

a nd only a fe w words from her will be

3 14 JAP N ES E A GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

n ecessary for th em to have everythin g i n

readiness fro m ,
her sash and dress to a l l
the little belongings of a l ady s costu m e
.

Many a bright quick servant is found wh o

,

will un der stand and guess her mistres s s

wants without be in g told eac h de tail a nd ,

t hese n ot only serve with their hands b ut ,

think for their employers .

Much less is expected of the lower ser

va n ts who belong to the kitchen and have
, ,

l es s to do with the family in general a n d ,

little or n o personal contact wit h thei r

m as te rs . T hey perform their round of d u
ties with little re s ponsibility and are re ,

g a r d ed as much lower in the socia l scal e

of serva nts of which we have seen there

,

are many degrees .

T he little gozew ta ki or rice cook wh o

-
, ,

works a l l day in t he kitchen may be a fa t , ,

re d c h ecked frowsy haired country girl

-
,
-
,

p a t i e nt
,
h a rd -working an d humble -minded
, ,

wi ll ing to pother about a ll day with her

ket tl es a nd pa ns a nd S it up h al f the night
,

ove r her own sewing or the study of the ,

oll e n un f am ili a r a rt of reading a n d writ

i ng ; b ut e n ti re ly nna cqua i uted with the

d e ta il s o f e ti qu ette a k nowl e dge of which
,

is a n eces s i ty to the higher servants ,

 816 JAPAN ES E GIRLS AN D WOM EN .

to her for the gift and also askin g h e r to

,

thank the g iver This of course is a l

.
, ,

ways done for a g i ft to a servant i s a s

,

m uch of a favor to the m istress as a pres

e nt to a child is to its mother .

When a servant wi shes to leave a fam ily ,

sh e ra re ly goe s to her mistress and sta te s

that s he is d issatised with her positio n ,

a nd th a t so me be tte r chance has be en o f

fe red her Such a natural excuse never

.

occu rs to the Japanese servant unless h e ,

be a j in n lns ha man or betto who may n ot

kn ow how to d o be tter ; for it is a very

r ud e wa v o f lea vi n g service The high .

m ind ed m aid will proceed ve ry differentl y .

A fe w d nvs l ea ve of absence to v i sit hom e

will be a s k ed a nd usually grante d for Ja p ,

a ne se s e r va nts ne ve r have any settle d ti m e

to ta k e h o li d ay At the end o f the give n

.

ti m e t he mi s t res s will be g in to wonder

wha t ha s beco me o f the gi rl who has failed ,

to r tn r n ; a nd the lady will m ake u p her

o

m i nd s he will not let her go ag a i n so read

i ly
. Just whe n s he has a s harp reproo f
rem l v a m es s e ng e r or l e tter w ill a rrive
. ,

with s o m e g o od e x c u se co uc h e d in m o s t
,

li t a nd h um bl e t er m s S ome t ime s it
p o o .

wil l be th a t s he ha s fou nd hersel f too w eak

 D OMES TI C S ER VI CE . 3 17

for se rvice or that work at h ome or the

, ,

illness of some member of the family d e ,

tains her so th at s he is not able to come

,

back at present The excuse is under

.

stood and accepte d as nal and another ,

servant is sought for a n d obtained After .

several weeks h a ve passed v ery likely afte r ,

enterin g a new place the ol d servant will ,

t urn up some day express her thanks for

,

all past kindnesses an d regrets at not r e

turning in time wil l take her pay an d her
,

bu ndles and d isappear forever

, .

Even when servants come on trial for a

fe w days they often go a way nominally to
,

fetch their belon gi n gs or m ake arran ge ,

m en ts to return but the lady of the house

,

does not kno w w h eth er the woman is sat

i s e d or not I f sh e is n ot her refusal is
.
,

always brought by a third person I f the .

mistress on her side doe s not wish to hire

, ,

th e girl sh e will n ot tell h er so to her

,

face but will send word at this ti me to pre

,

ve nt her comi ng S uch is th e etiquette i n

.

these matters of mistress and maid .

O nly by a m ultiplicity of details is it

possible to give m uch idea of th e positio n
of servants i n a Japanese house and even ,

then the result arrived a t is that the posi

tions of what we would cal l do m estic se r
vants vary so grea tly in honor and r esp on

s i bility t hat it is al m ost i m possible to dr a w

a ny ge neral conclusions upon this subje c t .

We ha ve see n that there is no d isti n c t

se rvile cl a ss in Japan a nd that a perso n s

,

soci a l s ta tus is not al te red by the fa ct t h a t

he serves i n a meni a l capac ity provid e d ,

t hat se rvice be of one above him in rank

a nd not be lo w hi m This is l a rgely th e
.

res ul t of the gra ding of socie ty upon oth e r

l ines t h a n th ose on which our soci al d is

t inctious a re found ed a nd p a rtly the resul t
,

of the fa ct t h at women of whatever clas s , ,

a r se rv a nts so fa r a s person s of the O ppo

e

s ite se x in th eir own class are conce r n ed .

The wom e of a pn J a n to d a y form the great

-

se r vi le cl a ss a nd,
as they are also th e
,

wive s a nd m oth e rs of those whom they

se rve the v a re tr ea ted
,
of course , wi th a
,

ce rtai n conside ra t io n a nd respect never

i v n to a m e re servant ; a nd th rough
g e

t he m a l l d om esti c se rvice is elevated

, .

There a r two e mp l oy m ents which I

e

hm e m e nti oned a mong t hose of do m estic

s e rm nts bee a nse th ey wo ul d be so classed

b y us b ut whi c h i n J a pa n rank a m ong

,

the trad es . The j inr ikis ha man and the

3 20 JAPAN ES E G I R LS AN D WOMEN .

passen ger u p the steepest an d most slip

pery o f bills and never to h eed hi m if he
,

expresses a de s ire to walk in order to sa ve

his man I have h ad my ha m m a gu stoutly
.

'

re fuse again an d agai n my oers to walk

, ,

up a steep hill even when th e sn ow was

,

so so ft and slippery u nder his bare feet

that he fell three ti mes in m aki n g the

ascent
. Da i jobu (sa fe ) would be h is

smilin g respon se to all my protestati on s ;

-
and once in a jim ikisha the pa sse n ge r is
, ,

en tirely at the mercy of his man in all

matte rs of ge tting into and out of the ve
hicl e . But though the jinrikisha m a n is ,

for the ti me bein g the autocrat an d con ,

tro lling power over his pas senge r a nd ,

though he will n ot obey the be hes ts of h is

em ployer except so fa r as they seem rea
,

son able and i n accordance with the best

interes ts of all concerned he constit utes ,

him sel f the protec tor an d assistant the ,

advi ser a n d coun selor of h im whom he ,

ser ves and gives his best thought a n d i a

,

tel l ige nce as wel l as his speed an d stren gth

, ,

to the service i n which he is en g aged I f .

he thinks it safe he will tear like an n u

,

broken colt through the business porti on s

o f the city knockin g bundles out of the
,
 D OMES TI C S EE VI CE . 321

hands of foot passengers or even hit ting ,

the way farers the m selve s in a erce das h

through their midst laughi ng gayly at ,

their prote sts and at threats of wrat h to

,

come fro m his helpless passenger ; but

should hint of insul t or inj ury against ku
m m a,
passenger or passenge r s dog fal l
,

upon h is ears he wi l l dro p the jinr ikis ha

,

shafts and administe r condign punish m e nt

,

to the offe nder unchecked by thoug hts of

,

the ever-present police or by a ny terrors ,

that his e m ploy e r m ay hold over his head .

I n no o ther country i n the world perh a ps , ,

ca n a lady pl a ce more entire con dence i n

the honor an d loyal ty of her servant than

she can in Japan in her Icum m a ya whet her ,

he be he r priva te serva nt or o ne fro m a ,

respectable s tand He m ay not do what.

she bids h im but that is q ui te a secondary

,

m atter He will st udy her interests ; wi l l

.

remember he r likes a nd dislikes ; will tak e

a me ntal in ventory of t he va rious accesso:
ries or bundles th a t she carries with h e r ,

and will never p e r m i t her to l o se or forget

o ne of t he m ; wi ll r un his legs off i n her

service and de fend her a nd her property

,

vali a nt ly i n case of need O f course as .

,

in all clas se s t here a r e diffe re nt grades ,

322 J PAN ES E C I ELS AN D
A WOM EN .

there are ym n kis ha men who seem u

so

have sunk so low i n their callin g that th e y

have lost al l feeling of loyalty to their e m ~

ployer and onl y care selshly for the pit

,

tance they gain Such men are oft e n

.

fou n d i n the treaty ports eage rly see kin g ,

for the rich foreigner fro m whom th ey ,

can get an extra fee and whom they r e

,

g ard a s outside o f their code o f m ora l s ,

and hence as their n atural prey Trav .

clers an d even residents of Japan ha ve

, ,

o ften complained of such treatm e nt ; an d

it is on ly after long stay in Japa n amon g ,

the Japanes e themsel v es that one ca n tel l,

what a jinr ikis ha man is capable of .

I f you employ o ne ka m wa ya for any

length of time you come to have a rea l
,

affecti on for h im on account of his loyal ,

faith ful cheerfu l service such as we se l

, ,

dom nd in this cou ntry except when ia

spired by personal feel ing Wh en you have .

hi dden m iles and m iles by n ight and by,

day th rough rain and sleet an d hottest

,

sunshine behind a m a n who has used

,

every power of body and mind in your se r

vice you can not but h ave a stron g feelin g
,

of affection toward him and of pride i n,

him as well It is so mething the feelin g

.
3 24 J APAN ES E GI RLS AN D WOMEN .

more and more boldly from the fadi ng

background both the gures of fai thful
, ,

se rvants O ne Y us aku the kum m a y a a

.
, , ,

very Herc ules who could k eep close to a ,

pair of coach horses through m iles of city

s treets and who never sue red mortal jive
'

r ikisha man to pass him My champion .

i n all times of dan ger an d al arm but a ,

very au toc rat in all minor m atters hi s ,

cheery face his broad sho ulders wi th t heir

,

blue draperi es his jolly boyis h voice a n d , , ,

his d ainty delicate hands come be fore me

,

as I write and I won der to what fo rtunate

,

person he is now givi ng the intel l igent ser

vice that he once gave so whol e heartedly
to me The other 0 Kaio my maid h er
.
, , ,

plain little face wit h its u pturned eyes , ,

growing as the days went by absolute ly

, ,

beauti ful i n the l ight of pu re goodness

that beamed from it A Japanese Chri s .

tian with al l the Christian vi rtues Well d e

,

ve l o pe d she became to me not only a good

,

se rvant d o ing her work with con scientious

,

d e lity but a sym pathetic fri e nd to whom

, ,

I turned for help in ti me of n eed ; a n d

whom I le ft when I returne d to America
, ,

with a sincere sorrow i n m y heart at part

in g wi th o ne who had grown to ll so l arge
 D OMES TI C S EE VI CE . 325

a p l ac e i n my though t s Her lit

. t le hal f ,

shy hal f motherly ways toward her big for

,
-

ei gn mistress had a charm all their own .

Her pride and delight over my progress in

the language ; her patient eorts to make
'

me understand new words or to under ,

stand my uncouth foreign idioms ; her joy ,

whe n at l a st I reached the point where a

story told by her lips could be compre

h end ed a nd enjoyed gave a conti nual e u

,

coura g e m e n t in a ta sk too o ften comple tely

d i sheartening .

D u ring the last su m mer of my stay in

Japan cutting loose fro m all forei gn ers
,

a nd foreign associations I traveled alone

,

with her through the heart of the country ,

stopping only at Japanese hotels and car ,

ryi n g with me no supplies to eke out the

s imple Japanese fare Through oods and

.

typ hoon s we journeyed Long days of

.

scorching heat or dri vin g rain in no way

ab ated her cheerfulness or lessened her d e

,

s ire to do all th a t she could for my aid and

com fort . N ot one sad look nor impatient

word sho wed a a w in her perfec t m m per ;
a nd if she privately m ade up her mind

that I was crazy she never by word or look

,

g a ve a hint o f her thought J i n r iki

.sh a
men grumbl ed and ga ve out ; hote l-kee pers
res en ted the presen ce of my dog or p re ,

good te mper and tac t never failed her ,

Diicul ties w ere sm ooth ed away bill s were

compro m ised an d r ed uced ; the dog slept
secure ly by m y si de on a m d blanket in th e
best rooms of the best hotels ; a nd O Kaio
smil ed told her qua int stories amused m e
, ,

and m inistered to m e, as if I were her on e

ow ect i n l ife, though husband and chiL

dren were far away in di stant Tkyo a nd
,

her m oth er s
h ea r t yearned for her l ittl e
3 30 HVDEX .

Dancing, 38 , 287 , 288 Fancy work , 3

W
. .

Da nc girl s Bee Geinha P " rel a tion to chil d re n,

'

. .

0 ak a , 296 .

Festi val s d oll s , 28 ; of o w

: of

pr oces sions, 27 5 -278 e rs, 27 . 99, 295 -297 ; of t h e

J
.

Decen cy a pa nese st and ard of, D0 year , 25 ; tem p l e , 27 0

;
,

2 55 2 30 . 27
Feud a l syatem , 169 .

Divorce , am ong l owe r cl a sses, 66, 192 ; st ories of, 184 -187
g g
.

69, 73 ; a on h i he r cl au se,
m
66, 68 ; ri h t of, gr ante d t o g
w om en , 66 ; ri h t t o ch ild ren g
in case of, 67 , 105
f
.

Doll s, ea st of, 28-3 1

bb
.

Dre ss , a y , 6, 15 ; m 145 , Fortune -t ell ing , 281- 285

g
.

146 ; i rl s , 15 ; h i

53
Fuji ,
h ouse s, 187 , 192 ; m il itary , of Fi m eral n r vice .

sam ur a i wom e n , 188 ; of

cl asses , 1 26, of p il

osi,
Ed uca tion gi l of r s , 37 -56 ; d im

Geish a ,
ul ti
c i ce w n ne sy ste m , 52 56
f ul t i J p
a n a a none syst em 39
i n ol d ti p 37 m es
,
wh ere gei h s as m ay be hire d ,
Ed u ti high bf
.

ca on , e r, d ou t ul
3
h l p 7 9 ; ff t
e e ec on h om e l i e , f G ta , ood an cl og 13, 14
77 p du i g
, .

ro c n repugna nce t o
m a rria ge , 80
Ed ucation of da im i b s d a u h ter,

g Haor i , a coat of cotton, sk , or
177 180 -
p worn ovem
'
the kim ono,
gr
a e,
b
.

Et oid e red as, 146 , 188,

pg
ro es,
i Ha rap k iri , suicid e by sta bbing in
E p
m e r or , -1 53 , th e abd om en ,
155 H u X 155
ar 168 c
E p ft H m Pi
.

m e r ors, a int rod uct i on of

er ar 1 13r n ce , 15 2
Hei i th l
.
,
C hin ese ci vil i z at ion , 143 -145 ; ass of

m ag
m n,
ng
e
c hil d ren of, 1 64 ; d a u h te rs g ti
ar sans, a m erc
,

of, 155 , ea rl y r e t irem e nt of, 228 , 229 .

13 4 ; i n ear l t im e s , 138 se

H im in , cl ass characteristics of,
e l us ion of, 43 -145 , 155 , 1 56 ,
Hi b hi b i f bu ing
ac a raz er or rn
Em p
,
re ss , 140 , 150- 168 c h l 30 7 2 136 307
a rcoa
Em p Hid ey hi S T y t i
.
, , , , .

re ss d owa ge r , 152 os ee o o om
p Hi i f p up
. . .

w e, th e i az z a tha t l
n n , a c a ss o 228 a ers,
Jp
.

nt a a a n e se h ouse , 23 Hiy i ! 243 an ,

E H l id y 269
. .

t ique tte , cou rt 1 53 ; in d a im i oe

o a s,
H t l 24 7 250
, .

h ouses , 177 - 1 79 ; in t h e h om e , o e s, -

HtlR p
.

19, 20 ; inst ruction in , 46 , 4 7 ; o e - ee e rs ,

of l ea vi n g se r vi ce , 3 16, 3 17 H h l d d uti t i i g f
2u
o se o es, ra n n or ,
t owa rd s se r va nts , 304 , 305
By k u i i h u P
.

a n n f s oe m s o a
y hu d d p t
,

Fa ir ta l es , 32 n re th f oe s, e nam e o a
g g
.

Fam il y , or a niz ation of, 13 9 . 26

am e , .
3 32 HVDEX .

Eoshh a bit of d r ied sh , usuall y

f ol d e d

2
g th k bi th
21 $
.

N ursin e sic 101 a r 2 , 5 ; of eggs ,

g
.
, ,

m one y , 4, 5 on re turn i n .

0 h onoric use d e ore m a ny

an bf f
rom a j on t he
b b
,

n ouns , a nd efore m ost nam es thirti e t h d a y a te r irt h , 5 ; to

of wom e n , 20 ser va n ts, 3 1 1 , 3 15
g P J
. .

0 Ba Sa n, ra nd m oth er , 124 . r ost itutes See 5 r5 . .

0 BKSa n a unt , 124 Prost ituti on, hous es of, 1 14, 214,
g
.

Obi , a i rd le or sa sh , 60
p b
.

Occ u a t ions of t he l ind , 42 ; of 216

t he court , 143 166 ;

of t he d annie s l a d i es , 175
180 of the m ress , 156 E 166 ; p Ret i rem ent rom b us ineu , 13 3f
p p
.

of old p eo l e , 1 36 , 1 20 - 122
, Re ti re m e nt of em erors, 13 4 .

124 - 128 ; of old sa m ura i wo Re ve nge , 198 , 2 10-2 14 .

m en , 22 3, 22 4 ; of se r v a nts , Re vol ut ion of 1868 , 76, 221 .

299, 304, 306 , 30 8 - 3 15 , 3 18 ; of Rice , red been , 3 , 5 , 65

Rm , one te nth of a sen, or about
.

wom e n , 108 - 110 , 85 - 103 , 2 42

256, 279 292, 306, 3 18 ; of il l , m o

on e m .

rl s , 21-34 , 3 8 4 7 R5 nin , a wh o h a s l ost

sam ura i
2
.

0 a re , 1 1 2 13 . his m aste r a nd owes no a ll e

O is h i , 198 , 2 14 .
gia nce to a ny d a im i5 ,
O ji, 296
J
.

S oung l ad y , 20 Sa Cl ey e r a
gs
0 J '
i ki ,
x th e

o a m a a p om ca ,
o a p ri , k n ora b l e r e t ur n , a

g re e ting s h oute d t h e a t te n

by Sa k e, w ine m ad e f rom rice , 22,
d a nt , upo n t h e m a st e r s or w hite , 29
p
.

m istre ss s re t urn to th e h ouse ,

S
Sa m a , or a n , a n h onoric l aced
100 , 3 15 a te rf nam e s , equiva l e nt to
O Ka io , 3 24
.

326 Mr , Mr s , or Miss ,
k
. . .

0 Ki u s m a rr iag e a nd d ivorce ,

7 3 , 74 Sa m is e n , a m us ica l instr um en t ,
p
.

O l d age , ri vi l e g es of, 1 20 , 122 , 4 2 , 127 , 277 , 286

p y
.

123 ; r ovis ion for , 134 . Sa m ura i , th e m il it ar cl a ss, 42 ,

Ol d m e n , 133 , 136 7 5 , 7 6, 105 , 169 , 17 4 , 175 , 1 80
p
.

O m is ge , a re se nt gi ve n on re 196 - 227 , 23 2 , 2 63 , 302 , 303 , 307

t ur ni ng r om a f
journey or 3 19 ; cha rac te r of, 197- 2 07
p
l e as ure e x cur s ion , 274 s pi r it of, 199 , 205
b
. .

O n i , a d e vil o r go l i n, 33 Sa m ura i g1rl s in sch ool , 226

y
. .

Oue e, 2 10 2 13 Sam ura i w om en , cha rac te r of,

p k
.

20 7 - 223 re se nt w or of, 223

Pa l ac e , ne w , 15 1 - 153
P p b ll i
.

a r e nt s d ut ie s to , 134 ; re s e ct Sa ts um a re e on , th e , 222
y
.

fo r , 1 3 3 Sch ool s ste m th e , 50

iii Pee re ss 8
. .
,

P l w , 84 , 87
a re n t s - - a
Sc h ool , t h e

,
.

Pe a s a n t w om e n , 10 8 , 240 26 1 .

l
e us zm try , 2 23 -240 c h oe l e, m is s iona l
p gp gi l
.
,
Ph y s io ia n s fee s , 20 4
e l f- osse ss ion of a a nese r s,
i i
.

P l g r m s , 24 1, 2 4 2 47
Se l f-sac r i ce , 2 14
. .

Pil l o w , 8 9 2 19
p
. .

Pl e a s ur e e xc urs ion s , 99 Se n , on e h und re d th a rt of a

P p b
.

oe m s o f a h und r e d oe ts , 26 y e n , va l ue a out one ce nt , 2 40,

Poe t
.

ry , 2 6, 14 8 - 150 . 27 3 , 2 98 .
 HVDEX 3 33

Serv ants, characte risti cs of, 299 T oy otom i H id y oshi ,

302 -3 15 ; in Tra in in g
-sch ool for n urse s, 158
em p
uti e s
f
l oy of or e igne rs, 299 302 ;
of,
.

n um b
e r em p
l oy ed , 3 10 , 3 11 ; Utsun om i ya , 70 , 71
g Uy en o Pa r , 296 k
.

os ti on of, 302-3 10 wa es of,

gi

.

8 awm g , 23 , 94 . Virtue , J p nd W t n
a a nese a es er
Shin to, id eas o , f 215 2 19
Jp ft i g
.

Sh ogi , a a nese ch ess , 136 Visi ts , a e r m arr a e , 63 ; in

Ty bi t h 1 2 ; N w
.

Sh 5g un , th e coon , th e Vice h on or o a r f e
p 25 ; t p
, ,

r oy , or se -ca l l ed te m ora l r ul er Y ea r s , o a r en s, t 98 ; t o
of Jp
a a n und e r t h e e ud al sy s f b
t om s of a nce stors , 98 .

te m , 155 , 1 69 ,
191 , 1 94, 224 , Wa ka m a ts u, 208 , 222
W ed ding Se e Marria ge
.

23 1 234 , 292 ; d a ughte r of, . .

17 6 1 94 W id ows , ch il dl e ss , 123
f
. .

Sh 5gunate , 155 , 222 W i e , ch ild l ess , 102 ; d utie s of,

g
.

Sh oji , sl idi n g wind ows covered 85 - 99 ; in r e a t h ouse s , 92 ;

pp
with a e r , 23 , 7 1 re l a ti on t o h us an d , 84 ; re b
pp
Sh o in g , 264
.

268 l a tion t o par e nt s-in-l a w, 84 ;

i
.

Sh o-sei , a stud ent , 308 soci a l r el a t on s , 91

k T p
. .

Sil -m osa ic , 95 , 192 W om a n s Ch r istia n e m erance

k
.

Sil w orm s , Uni on , 114

b b y
.

Sor o a n, a n a a cus , 266-268 Wom en , in th e cit , 279-298

p
.

S um id a Rive r , 173 , 295 oc c u a ti ons of, 85 103 , 108

p
.

1 10 , 24 2 256 , 306, 3 18 osi tion

of, 17 - 22 , 35 , 36 , 57 , 65 -68 , 7 6
bb
Ta ta, a a y s word for sock or
88 , 90 , 91 , 93 , 99-1 18, 1 20 124 ,
b
ta i , 16 13 2 , 133 , 139 , 143 , 145 , 14 6 , 14 8,
T k T
.

a i o Sa m a See oy otom i 168 , 189 , 190 , 208 , 2 1 6-2 19 , 223

T 227 , 24 2
. .

9 l 92 ; cere m oni al , 44 , 136, 247 , 260 , 261 , 279 , 292 ,

f
e
76 13 , 306, 3 18 ; ur ity of, 216 p
Tea-gard ens, 24 7 313
pp
.

Tea -h ouse s , 250 - 255 W om e n , ol d , a e a ra n ce of, 1 19 ,

T p
.

each e r s p a y , 204

122 , 124 , 1 26 ; e xam l e s of,
T Jp
.

e ac hin g Se e I nst ruction 1 24 , 126- 129 ; in a a ne se p ic

T b k f g
. .

ee th , l ac e ned a t er m a rri a e , tur es, 13 2 .

63
T p
.

em le, 4, Y a m a to Dak , 2 15
g
.

Th e a tre , 33 , 99, 292- 294 Y asa k u, 32 4 ; m arria e and di

T f
.

itl es use d 1n am i l ie s, 20 vorce

T p
.

oe s, re h e n sil e , 1 5 Y ase, 24 3 , 244

T pp k
Y ash i i , a d a im i 5 s m a nsion and
. .

oil e t a a ra t us , 30 .

T5 k a i d 5 , 24 1 un d s , 169 , 1 7 1 , 1 73 , 3 1 1 ,
Tk g
.

o on om a , t h e r ai se d al cove in
aJp a a n ese r oom , 44 Y ed o Se e T5h y 5
Tk p
. . .

o ug a w a , 29 , 1 5 1 , 155 , 23 1 Y oshii , an ad o te d 104

. son , .

T5 k y 5 , 4 9 , 69 7 1 , 108 , 115 . Y um ot o, 245 .

T5h y 5 M a il , 23 1

b
.

Tom s , visi ts to, 98 . ! ori, a stra w sand a l , 13.

Th e En gl ish a nd Fo re i gn Ph ilo sop hi ca l
Libra ry Each .8 vc , gi l t top T h e fo l vol um e .

lowing vol um es a re d e vote d to Eas tern th ough t :

1 6 S e l e ctions from
. th e Kora n B Ed wa rd .

W il lia m La ne N e w Ed ition, revise a nd e n .

la rge d by S ta nl ey La ne Pool e .

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