men and the women live in separate apartments. The husband is seldom
seen in conversation with his wife, whom he looks upon as absolutely
beneath him. The male and the female children are separated. When they
reach the age of nine or ten years the girls are sent to the women's
apartments; the boys take refuge with the men. The boys must not set
foot upon the territory assigned to the women, and the girls learn that
it is disgraceful to be looked upon by members of the opposite sex; so
they hide at the approach of a boy or a man.
The Corean women have little or no legal standing. They are absolutely
in the power of their husbands, who may not sell them, however, nor
should their lords be _too_ brutal. Percival Lowell, in his _Land of the
Morning Calm_, puts it strongly when he says: "Mentally, morally, and
socially, she (the Corean woman) is a cipher." But there are exceptions.
In fact, we are not to infer that throughout the entire Orient the
subjection of women is universally so complete as it is sometimes
pictured by writers upon the social life of the East. Campbell, in his
_Journey through Corea_, gives the following incident, showing how women
may be very influential at times: "To make matters worse, the head man
upon whom I had relied for assistance in hiring the men I wanted was
absent, but his wife proved a capable substitute and seemed to fill her
husband's place with unquestioned authority. Between bullying and
coaxing, she rapidly pressed twenty reluctant men into service. The
subjection of women, which is probably the covenant of accepted theories
in the East, receives a fresh blow in my mind. Women in these parts of
the world, if the truth were known, fill a higher place and wield a
greater influence than they are credited with." Nor is it to be supposed
that there is no respect shown to the women of Corea. The men give them
at least an outward show of deference. They will step aside to allow a
woman to pass in the street, regardless of her social position, and the
ladies are often addressed in phrases of a most polite character.
Children are taught respect for their mother, though they are enjoined
to give more to the father. When a mother dies, her children are
expected to mourn at least two years; for the father the period is
longer. Someone has said that "there are three classes of Corean women;
first, there are the invisible,--those who are always in their
apartments, or, when out of them, ride in a closed palanquin. Second,
are the visible invisible, who, possessing less wealth, must walk when
they go out upon the streets, and yet are seen only as a mass of
clothing moving before the eye. Third, there are the invisible visible
class, the poor, who are seen, to be sure, but not noticed,--working
women, whom etiquette prevents one from seeing."
The women's apartments do not greatly differ from the zenanas of India.
In the interior of their apartments, screened as far as possible from
publicity, the unmarried women may receive their parents and friends,
with whom they chat and gossip upon matters of common interest, or while
away the hours with games. After marriage, the confinement becomes still
more secure, and the woman is inaccessible. "So strict is the rule,"
says Griffis, "that fathers have on occasions killed their daughters,
husbands, their wives, and wives have committed suicide, when strangers
have touched them even with their fingers." Woe unto the Corean wife who
is not above suspicion in the eyes of her husband.
In the "Hermit Nation" one is accounted a boy until he is married, no
matter what his age may be; but public sentiment prevents a young man
from remaining long without a spouse to enrich, or at least to share,
his life. The woman is a child till she is married, and sometimes long
afterward.
The women of Corea usually marry outside of the village in which they
are brought up. They have nothing whatever to do with the match that is
to be made. Negotiations are carried on by the parents and a middle man.
The bride, indeed, must be silent all through the nuptial ceremony. The
marriage festival and the funeral are the two great events in Corean
social life. When the festivities of the wedding are at an end the bride
is conducted to her husband's home--in a palanquin, if the parties be
well to do; on horseback, if they be poor.
There is but one true, or legal wife, but often many concubines, the
number being determined largely by the wealth of the husband. Children
of the true wife are the legitimate heirs. The other children, though
not disgraced by their position, have no legal standing as regards the
matter of inheritance. Children of concubines, however, may be
legitimized, in case there are no lawful descendants.
The following interesting story, taken from Ballet's _History of the
Church in Corea_, will not only illustrate certain customs in Corea, but
show upon what a low plane the marriage relation moves in the Hermit
Nation: "A noble wished to marry his own daughter and that of his
deceased brother to eligible young men. Both maidens were of the same
age. He wished to wed both well, but especially his own child. With this
idea in view he had already refused some good offers; finally he made a
proposal to a family noted alike for pedigree and riches. After
hesitating for some time which of the maidens he would dispose of first,
he finally decided in favor of his own child. Three days before the
ceremony he learned from the diviner that the young man chosen was
silly, exceedingly ugly and very ignorant. What should he do? He could
not retreat. He had given his word. In such a case the law is
inexorable. On the day of the marriage he appeared in the woman's
apartments and gave orders in the most imperative manner, that his niece
and not his daughter should don the marriage coiffure and the wedding
dress and mount the nuptial platform. His stupefied daughter could not
but acquiesce. The two cousins being about the same height, the
substitution was easy, and the ceremony proceeded according to the usual
forms. The new bridegroom passed the afternoon in the men's apartments,
where he met his supposed father-in-law. What was the amazement of the
old noble to find that far from being stupid and ugly, as depicted by
the diviner, that the young man was good-looking, well formed,
intelligent, highly connected, and amiable in manners. Bitterly
regretting the loss of so accomplished a son-in-law, he determined to
replace the girl. He secretly ordered that instead of his niece, his
daughter should be introduced as the bride. He knew well that the young
man would suspect nothing, for during the salutations the brides are
always so muffled up with dresses and loaded with ornaments that it is
impossible to distinguish their countenance. All happened as the old man
desired. During the two or three days which he passed with the new
family, he congratulated himself upon having so excellent a son-in-law.
The latter, on his part, showed himself more and more charming, and so
gained the heart of his supposed father-in-law, that in a burst of
confidence, the latter revealed to him all that had happened. He told of
the diviner's report concerning him, and the successive substitutions of
niece for daughter and daughter for niece. The young man was at first
speechless, then recovering his composure said: 'All right! and that is
a very smart trick on your part. But it is clear that both of the young
persons belong to me, and I claim them. Your niece is my lawful wife,
since she has made to me the legal salute, and your daughter, introduced
by yourself into my marriage, has become of right and law my concubine.'
The crafty old man caught in his own net had nothing to answer. The two
young women were conducted to the house of the new husband and master,
and the old noble was jeered by both parties for his folly and his bad
faith."
As in other parts of the Far East, the life of widows is exceedingly
harsh. They may not marry again. Indeed, second marriages are never
looked upon with favor, except among people of the lower classes who
generally disregard the etiquette and ideas which prevail among the
nobles and the rich who imitate them. A widow of high standing is
expected to show grief for her husband not only by weeping over his
death, but by wearing mourning as long as she lives; and children of
widows born after widowhood are looked upon as illegitimate. Often,
however, being debarred from lawful marriage, widows become victims of
lust and violence. If, however, they are determined upon preserving
chastity, they will frequently resort to suicide if their virtue be
threatened. The method of self-slaughter among women is cutting their
throat, or piercing the heart.
Like most women of the world, dress plays no unimportant part in the
Corean woman's life. There is probably no part of her toilet upon which
she bestows more zealous regard than upon her hair. Generally the
natural growth is insufficient to suit her ideals of beauty, and so
false hair is used in profusion. Corean women do not attend the
banquets. These are for men alone.
XIII
UNDER THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS
THE WOMEN OF JAPAN
No woman of the Orient has in recent years enlisted so much of the
world's attention as the woman of Japan. This interest has bordered upon
real fascination. If the comparative alertness of mind has caused the
Japanese men to be called the "Oriental Yankees," the attractiveness of
the women might give them the right to be compared to the "Southern
Beauties." They have been much written about and the world has read of
them with keen appreciation.
Japanese civilization is comparatively modern. The islands owe much to
Corea and China for the development of their letters and the refinement
of their social life. Their alertness of mind and receptivity of
character mark them among all the peoples of the Mongolian stock. This
flexibility of temperament is no less true of the women than of the men,
and it is partly these mental traits which give to the Japanese their
attractiveness.
The women of the several strata of society present marked differences
in Japan, as in other countries. This was more true in the days of
feudalism, when the lines were more rigidly defined than now; though the
influences of the feudal system are still perceptible and will long
endure. But the women of court and castle, the women of the military
class, and the women of the shop and of the soil, with all that was
nationally common, lived a very different order of life. These
differences are inevitable and, of course, abiding.
The chief glory of every Japanese woman is in becoming the mother of
sons. And while daughters are not unwelcome, as is the case among some
Oriental people, yet their birth is never so much the cause of rejoicing
as is the coming of boys into the world. On the occasion of such an
advent, messengers fly, notes are sent by friends, and all friends and
relatives must visit the new arrival in the home. The visitor who brings
his congratulations, must add to them toys, articles of dress, and the
like--besides the dried fish or the eggs for good luck. The poor mother
must well-nigh tax her already weakened strength to the very limit of
physical endurance in receiving visitors and their congratulations. It
is the father, or some chosen friend, who selects the newcomer's name,
and if it be a girl, that of some attractive object in nature is usually
chosen, it not being regarded as specially appropriate or as involving
any compliment to name a child for a friend or loved one. This duty of
naming the child occurs on the seventh day, and on the thirteenth, it is
carried to the temple and placed under the special guardianship of some
deity. After this the little one becomes accustomed to the ordinary
routine of eating, sleeping, and crying. Very soon it may be seen on the
streets and in public places strapped to the back of an older sister, or
it may be a brother; and it is not long before the babies themselves are
interested in the play of the older children, to whose backs they are
securely fastened.
As our little girl emerges from babyhood she finds the life opening
before her a bright and happy one, but one hedged about by proprieties,
and one in which from babyhood to old age, she must expect to be always
under the control of one of the stronger sex. Her position will be an
honored and respected one only as she learns in her youth the lesson of
cheerful obedience, of pleasing manners, and of personal cleanliness and
neatness. Her duties must always be either within the house, or, if she
belongs to the peasant class, on the farm. There is no career or
vocation open to her: she must be always dependent upon either father,
husband, or son, and her greatest happiness is to be gained not by the
cultivation of the intellect, but by the early acquisition of the
self-control which is expected of all Japanese women to even a greater
degree than of the men. This self-control must consist not simply in the
concealment of all outward signs of any disagreeable emotion,--whether
of grief, anger, or pain,--but in the assumption of a cheerful smile and
an agreeable manner under even the most distressing circumstance. The
duty of self-restraint is taught to the little girls of the family from
the tenderest years; it is their great moral lesson and is expatiated
upon at all times by their elders. The little girl must sink herself
entirely, must give up always to others, must never show emotions except
such as will be pleasing to others about her; this is the secret of true
politeness and must be mastered if the woman wishes to be well thought
of and to lead a happy life. The effect of this teaching is seen in the
attractive, but dignified manners of the Japanese women,--even of the
very little girls. They are not forward or pushing, neither are they
awkwardly bashful; there is no self-consciousness, neither is there any
lack of _savoir faire_; a childlike simplicity is united with a womanly
consideration for the comfort of those around them. A Japanese child
seems to come into the world with little savagery and barbarian bad
manners, and the first ten or fifteen years of its life do not seem to
be passed in one long struggle to acquire a coating of good manners that
will help to render it less obnoxious in polite society. How much of the
politeness of the Japanese is inherited from generations of civilized
ancestors, it is difficult to tell; but my impression is that babies are
born into the world with a good start in the matter of manners, and that
the uniformly gentle and courteous treatment they receive from those
about them, together with the continual verbal teaching of the principle
of self-restraint and thoughtfulness of others, produce with very little
difficulty the irresistibly attractive manners of the people.
One curious thing in a Japanese household is to see the formalities that
pass between brothers and sisters, and the respect paid to age by every
member of the family. The grandmother and grandfather come first of all
in everything--no one at table must be helped before them in any case;
after them come father and mother; and lastly, the children according to
their ages. A young sister must always wait for the elder and pay her
due respect, even in the matter of walking into the room before her. The
wishes and convenience of the elder, rather than of the younger, are to
be consulted in everything, and this lesson must be learned early by
children. The difference in years may be slight, but the elder born has
the first right in all cases. Etiquette, procedure, and self-control
among the Japanese girls are the most important of the influences
shaping a Japanese woman's life.
Considerable respect is shown to the girl of the family by her
brothers. The native and conventional politeness of the Japanese shows
itself even in the names by which the children address one another. The
parents may leave off the appellatives of respect, but brothers,
sisters, and servants must treat the young lady with dignity, especially
if she be the eldest daughter.
What preparation does the Japanese girl have for her position in the
social fabric of her people? Fortunately for her, there is some effort
made to fit her for her future duties. Quite early the daughter of a
household begins to feel the responsibilities of home cares. Even those
families which are able to provide ample domestic service will give to
the daughter of the household the duty of making the tea and of serving
it to the guests with her own hands. This is regarded as of greater
honor to the visitor than if a servant had performed the task. The
eldest girl of the family must learn to act in the place of the parents,
should a visitor appear in their absence, or when the younger children
need the care and oversight of an elder. In such matters as sweeping the
rooms, preparing the meals, washing the dishes, purchasing viands, and
sewing, the Japanese girl finds ample scope for a practical education to
make her ready for the exactions of the life of a housekeeper when she
herself shall become a wife and mother.
Besides these practical duties in which the girl is early trained,
there is education in simpler mathematics and, to a degree, in
literature and the art of poetry. She is expected to be familiar with
the classical poetry of her country, more particularly the choice short
poems, which are well known to both young and old Japanese. Education,
in the stricter sense of the term, is on the increase among the girls of
Japan, as well as among the boys and young men. Besides native schools,
schools for the education of Japanese girls have been established by
missionaries from Christian countries. And even higher education is
making rapid strides, as is seen in the Kobe College for Women. But the
advance of the state or public education during the past decade or more
renders the foreign schools less necessary; and the private teacher, to
whom the girls of the better families were formerly invariably sent, is
gradually yielding to the larger school. And it may be said that to-day
the girls are provided for, educationally, equally with the boys. Japan
has made wonderful strides in educational matters, being receptive of
new ideas concerning the common schools; but there are adjustments that
must be made to the social ideals and customs of the people, because of
the rise of the new education. Among these there is probably none more
difficult and perplexing than that which grows out of the need of
adapting the old ideas of early marriage for the daughter of a family to
the growing demands and the enlarged opportunities for female education.
The Japanese girl has better opportunity to experience the pleasurable
side of life than have girls of most Oriental lands. Her recreations are
more numerous and varied. Among them are the annual festivals, such as
the Japanese New Year, the several flower fetes, and, above all, the
Feast of Dolls, which has been thus interestingly described: "The feast
most loved in all the year is the Feast of Dolls, when on the third day
of the third month the great fireproof storehouse gives forth its
treasures of dolls--in an old family, many of them hundreds of years
old--and for three days, with all their belongings of tiny furnishings
in silver lacquer and porcelain, they reign supreme, arranged on
red-covered shelves in the finest room in the house. Most prominent
among the dolls are the effigies of the Emperor and Empress in antique
court costume, seated in dignified calm, each on a lacquered dais. Near
them are the figures of the five court musicians, in their robes of
office, each with his instrument. Besides these dolls, which are always
present and form the central figures of the feast, numerous others more
plebeian, but more lovable, find places on the lower shelves, and the
array of dolls' furnishings which is brought out on these occasions is
something marvellous. Before Emperor and Empress is set an elegant
lacquered service, tray, bowls, cups, _sake_ pots, rice buckets, etc.,
all complete, and in each utensil is placed the appropriate variety of
food. Fine silver and brass _hibachi_, or fire-boxes, are there with
their accompanying tongs and charcoal baskets--whole kitchens, with
everything required for cooking the finest of Japanese feasts, as finely
made as if for actual use; all the necessary toilet apparatus--combs,
mirrors, utensils for blackening the teeth, for shaving the eyebrows,
for reddening the lips and whitening the face--all these are there to
delight the souls of all the little girls who may have the opportunity
to behold them. For three days the imperial effigies are served
sumptuously at each meal, and the little girls of the family take
pleasure in serving the imperial majesties; but when the feast ends, the
dolls and their belongings are packed away in their boxes, and lodged in
the fireproof warehouse for another year."
Besides the special festivals and holidays, there is opportunity all
the year round for the little girls to play their merry games of ball
and battledoor and shuttlecock, which they do with keen delight and with
much grace of movement. The tales of wonder which are told them are a
perpetual source of pleasure; for they have their _Jack, the Giant
Killer_, in _Momotaro, the Peach Boy_, with his wondrous conquests, and
many other tales to kindle their youthful imaginations. Among these are
the early ancestral exploits, which tend to keep alive love of country.
The Japanese girl may be seen occasionally in the theatre, seated on the
floor with her mother and sisters, taking into her memory impressions of
heroism and self-sacrifice, through the historical dramas which present
the early experiences of patriotism and passion which characterized the
fathers of old. Thus, the Japanese girl grows up to womanhood and is a
finished product five or six years earlier than is an English or
American girl. At sixteen or eighteen she is regarded as quite ready
herself to take up the active duties of life.
The preparation given to the girls of Japan has been justly criticised
in that, while furnishing the future woman with remarkable powers of
observation and of memory, with much tactfulness and aesthetic taste,
with deftness and agility of the fingers, there is little to strengthen
the powers of reason and to cultivate the religious and spiritual side
of the nature. Music is almost the sole possession of women, and many of
them play the _koto_ (a stringed instrument with horizontal sounding
boards, not unlike the piano in principle) and the _samisen_, or
"Japanese guitar," with great grace of touch and manner, but with little
music, as adjudged by the Occidental ear;--however, standards differ.
So, too, the artistic arrangement of flowers is an art much loved by the
women of Japan. Their education and their daily occupation tend to
cultivate the emotional at the expense of the intellectual side of life.
Hence, much refinement but less strength, and the best and cleverest
women of Japan, therefore, are attractive rather than admirable.
The diminutive size of the Japanese women, their pretty hands and feet,
their taste in ornamenting shapely bodies, give them a personal
attractiveness rarely surpassed. To what an extent the lowness of
stature among the Japanese is to be attributed to their habits cannot be
determined. It is the shortness of the lower limbs that is chiefly at
fault; and the habit, early contracted, of sitting upon the legs bent
horizontally at the knee, instead of vertically, inevitably arrests the
development of the lower limbs.
The Japanese women have luxuriant, straight, black hair. The wavy hair
which Western women prize so highly is not beautiful in the eyes of the
ladies of Japan. Curly hair is to them positively ugly. They spend much
care upon the arrangement of their tresses, and their mode of
hairdressing is elaborate. Even the women of the poorer classes will
visit the hairdressers. The locks are first treated with a preparation
of oil, and then done up in the conventional style so familiar to all
from pictures of Japanese women. This is expected with many to remain
intact for six or eight days.