character sufficiently developed to be used as the basis for a guess at
what his qualities as a sovereign may prove to be. "As far as the East
is from the West" have his life and education been from the life and
education of his illustrious father. Instead of the curtained seclusion,
the quiet and calm of the old palace in the old capital, the present
Crown Prince has known from babyhood the sights and sounds of the
stirring city of T[=o]ky[=o]. He has driven in an open carriage or walked
through its streets; he has been to school with boys of his own age,
taking the school work and the drill and the games with the other boys,
learning to know men and things and himself too, in a way in which none
of his ancestors, since the days when they were simply savage chiefs,
have had opportunity of knowing. As he grew toward manhood, his delicate
health required that he leave the school and pursue his studies as his
strength permitted, under masters; but he has retained his love for all
athletic exercises, for dogs and horses and guns and bicycles, and he is
as expert in outdoor sports as any youth of Western training. His mind
is quick and eager, interested especially in foreign ways and thoughts,
and seeking most of all to understand how other people think and feel
and live. Though he has been emancipated to a wonderful degree from the
state and ceremony that surrounded his ancestors, he is nevertheless
impatient of what remains, and would gladly dispense with many forms
that his conservative guardians regard as necessary; and these same
guardians at times find their young eaglet difficult to manage. He has
views and ideas of his own, and acts occasionally upon his own
initiative in a way that fairly scandalizes his advisers. He wishes to
visit his future subjects upon something like equal terms. The rôle of
Son of Heaven seems to him less interesting at times than some smaller
and more human part. When he walks, he wants to lead his own dog, not
have him led by some one else; to stop in the street and watch the
common people at their work; to drop in on his friends in a neighborly
way and see how they live when they are not expecting a visit from
royalty. Provided he does not go too fast or too far, when his turn
comes to ascend the throne, he cannot but make a better emperor for the
intimate personal knowledge that he is seeking and gaining of the lives
and feelings of his people.
The Crown Princess Sada, who has now been for one year in the line of
succession to the present beloved Empress, shows in her training and
character the influence of the new impulse that is driving Japan
forward. The circumstances that led to her selection as the bride of the
Prince are in themselves curious enough to be worth recording. The Kujo
family is one of the five families from which alone can the wife of the
Crown Prince be chosen, and the present Prince Kujo is blessed with many
daughters. Of these, the oldest is about the age of Prince Haru, and at
one time it was hoped that she might be selected as his consort, but at
last that hope was given up, and she was married to another prince. The
second daughter was as bright and charming as the first, but she was
just enough younger than the Prince to make her marriage with him so
dangerous a matter according to all the rules that govern good and bad
luck in Japan, that no hope was entertained for her, and she was
married, when her time came, with no reference to the greatest match
that any Japanese princess can make. The third daughter was six years
younger than the Prince, so much younger that it was thought that he
would be married long before she grew up, so no special care or
attention was given to her. In her babyhood, like most Japanese babies
of high rank, she was sent out into the country to be nursed. Her foster
parents were plain farmer folk, who loved her and cared for her as their
own child. She played bareheaded and barefooted in the sun and wind,
tumbled about, jolly and happy, with the village children, and lived and
grew like a kitten or a puppy rather than like a future empress until
she was old enough for the kindergarten. Then she came back to
T[=o]ky[=o], to her father's house, and from there she attended the
Peeresses' School, going backward and forward every day with her bundle
of books, and taking her share of the work and play with the other
children. In her school-days she was noticeable for her great physical
activity and her hearty enjoyment of the outdoor sports which form so
important a part of the training in Japanese schools for girls at
present; and for her strength of will and character among a class of
students upon whom self-repression amounting almost to self-abnegation
has been inculcated from earliest childhood.
When this little princess reached the age of fifteen, the Crown Prince's
marriage, which had been somewhat deferred on account of his ill-health,
was pressed forward, and to the extreme surprise of her own family, and
of many others as well, the Princess Sada was chosen, largely on account
of her great physical vigor. Then began a great change in her life. From
being one of the lowest and least considered in her family, she was
suddenly raised high above all the rest, even her father addressing her
as a superior. The merry, romping school-girl was transformed in a few
days into the great lady, too grand to associate on equal terms with any
but the imperial family. Small cause was there for wonder if she shrank
from the change and begged that the honor might be bestowed on some one
else. The old free life was gone forever, and she dreaded the heavy
responsibility that was to fall upon her slender shoulders.
The choice was made in August, 1899, and from the moment that the
engagement was entered into, the Princess Sada became an honored guest
in her father's house. She could no longer play with her brothers and
sisters, or take a meal with any member of her own family. A new and
handsome suite of rooms was built for her, her old wardrobe was
discarded and an entirely new one provided for her, all her table
service was new and distinct from that of the rest of the family, and
she was addressed by all as if she were already Empress. Her studies
were not given up, but masters were chosen for her who came to her and
instructed her, with due deference to her high station, in the subjects
that she had been studying at school. So passed the nine months of her
engagement, and on May 8, 1900, she became one of the principals in a
state wedding such as Japan had never before seen. Through all the show
and ceremony she acquitted herself decorously and bravely, and since her
marriage no word save of approval of the young wife has come out from
the palace gates. Her little sisters-in-law, the four small daughters of
the Emperor, enjoy nothing so much as to go and spend the day with her,
for she is so amusing, and her life has been such a busy and happy one,
that she comes like a breath of fresh air into the seclusion of the
Court. Her young husband, too, finds in her congenial society, and his
frail health seems to be daily strengthening with the brightness that
has come into his home.
Great was the joy in the empire when, on April 29, 1901, this happy
union was rendered still happier by the birth of a strong little prince
to carry on the ancient line. By an auspicious coincidence, his birth
came just at the time of the annual boys' feast, or Feast of Flags, and
his naming day was appointed for May 5, the great day of the feast, when
all Japan is decorated with giant carp swinging from tall poles outside
of every house, and swimming vigorously at the ends of their tethers in
the strong spring wind. The carp is to the Japanese mind the emblem of
courage and perseverance, for he swims up the strongest current, leaping
the waterfalls that oppose his progress. The baby was named by his
grandfather, and will have the personal name of Hirohito, and the title
Prince Michi. With this new little prince there are no polite fictions
to maintain, nor conventional relationships to be established. He is the
son of his father's lawful wife, as well as of his father. There is to
be no breaking off of natural ties, and his own mother will nurse and
care for him, a fortune that never falls to the lot of the imperial son
of a _mékaké_. If he lives, he will be a standing argument in favor of
monogamy, even in noble families, and his birth bodes well for family
life throughout the country.
_Page 182._
A pretty, but most shocking sight, if seen through the eyes of some of
these old-fashioned attendants, is the semi-annual _undo kai_, or
exercise day of the Peeresses' School. The large playground is, for
this occasion, surrounded by seats divided off to accommodate invited
guests of various ranks, who spend the day watching the entertainment.
In the most honorable place, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting, sits
the Empress herself, for the education of the daughters of the nobles is
a matter of the liveliest interest to her; and the parents and friends
and teachers of the girls fill up all available seats after the school
itself has been accommodated.
The programme is usually a long one, occupying the greater part of the
morning and afternoon, with an interval for lunch. Most of the ordinary
English field games--tennis, basket-ball, etc.--are played with skill
and vigor, and in addition to these there are races of various kinds,
devised to show, not simply fleetness of foot, but quickness of hand and
wit as well. These races vary from year to year, as the ingenuity of the
directors of the sports may be able to devise new forms of exercise. One
extremely pretty contest is as follows: On the playground between the
starting-point and the goal are set at equal distances four upright
sticks for each runner. Four branches of cherry blossoms and four
bright-colored ribbons for each contestant are laid on the ground at the
starting-point. At the signal, each girl picks up a cherry branch and a
ribbon, and runs to one of the upright sticks, tying the flowers firmly
thereto; then she runs back for a second branch, and so on until all
four have been fastened in place. The race is won by the child who first
reaches the goal leaving behind her four blooming trees where before
there were bare poles. This seems to be the æsthetic Japanese equivalent
for our prosaic potato race. Another contest is after this manner: Along
the course of each runner are laid at certain intervals bright-colored
balls,--a different color for each contestant. The object of the race
is, within a certain time, to pick up all the balls and throw them into
the nearly closed mouth of a great net at the far end of the grounds.
The contest is not decided until the balls have been counted, when the
girl who has succeeded in getting the greatest number of balls of her
color into the net is declared the winner. Another and extremely pretty
race, calling for great steadiness of hand and body, is the running from
one end of the ground to the other with a ball balanced on a battledore.
The Japanese battledore is made of light but hard wood, and is long and
narrow in shape. If one had not seen it done, it would be well-nigh
impossible to believe that any child could carry a ball upon it for more
than a few slow steps: but these children run at a smart trot, keeping
the ball immovable upon its small and smooth surface.
Beside the games and races, there are calisthenic exhibitions, in which
great precision of motion and flexibility of body are manifested. One of
the most graceful and attractive of these is the fan drill shown on this
occasion, when some twenty or thirty girls, with their bright-colored
dresses, long, waving sleeves, and red _hakama_, posture in perfect
rhythm, with fans opened or closed, waving above the head, held before
the face, changed from position to position, with the performers'
changes of attitude, each new figure seemingly more graceful than the
last.
In these and many other ways the nobility of new Japan are being fitted
for the new part that they have to play in the world. No wonder that the
education now given, awakening the mind, toughening the body, arousing
ambition and individuality, is regarded by many of the ultra-conservatives
as a dangerous innovation, and one likely to bring the nobility down to
the level of the common people. Whether this new education is better or
worse than the old, we can hardly tell as yet, but there are no signs of
the immediate breakdown of the old spirit of the nobility, and the
better health and stronger characters of the young women who have
received the modern training promise much for the next generation.
_Page 192._
While this was entirely true in 1890, it is interesting to observe that
after ten years of commercial and industrial progress there are signs
that the embroidered kimono is coming back into fashion. With the growth
of large fortunes and of luxury that has marked the past decade, has
come the custom of providing wedding garments as magnificently
embroidered as were the robes of the daimi[=o]s' ladies, and even the
_montsuki_ or ceremonial dress, which was severely plain in 1890, now
has little delicate embroidery about the bottom. It will not be
surprising if some day, when the present growing commercial and
industrial enterprise has reaped a more abundant harvest, Japan blooms
forth again in the beautiful garments that went out of fashion when the
great political upheaval cut off the revenues of the old nobility.
_Page 209._
At each encroachment of the enemy those of the population who could not
find refuge at once within the inner defenses were driven to choose
between surrender and self-inflicted death. The unconquerable samurai
spirit flamed out in the choice of hundreds of women and children as
well as men, and whole families were wiped out of existence at once,
the little ones, who were too young to understand the proper method of
_hara-kiri_, kneeling calmly with bowed heads for the death-stroke from
father or brother which should free them from the disgrace of defeat.
_Page 223._
That the spirit of the samurai women is still a living force in Japan,
no one can doubt who listens to the stories of what the women did and
bore in the Japan-China war of 1895. The old self-sacrifice and devotion
showed itself throughout the country in deeds of real, if sometimes
mistaken, heroism. Husbands, sons, and brothers were sent out to danger
and death with smiles and cheerful words, by women dependent upon them
for everything in a way that can hardly be understood by Americans. Even
tears of grief for the dear ones offered in the country's cause were
suppressed as disloyal, and women learned with unmoved countenances of
the death of those they loved best, and found the courage to express, in
the first shock of bereavement, their sense of the honor conferred on
the family by the death of one of its members in the cause of his
country.
A few incidents quoted from an article by Miss Umé Tsuda that appeared
in the New York "Independent" in 1895 will give my readers an idea of
the forms that this devotion assumed:--
"One instance comes into my mind of an old lady who sent out cheerfully
and with a smiling face her young and only son, the sole stay of her old
age. Left a widow while young, she had lived a life of much sorrow and
trouble, and had with almost superhuman efforts managed to give her son
an education that would start him in life. It was only a few years ago
that the son had begun to help in the family support, and to be able to
repay to the mother her tender care of him. Her pride in her son and his
young wife was a pleasure to see, and the little home they had together
seemed a safe haven for the coming years of old age. Now, in a moment
all this was changed,--the son must start off for the wars. Yet not for
one instant was a cloud seen on the mother's face, as, smilingly and
cheerfully, she assisted in the preparations for his departure. Not in
public or in secret did one sigh or regret escape her; not even to the
son did a word of anxiety pass her lips. Her face, beaming with joy,
looked with pride on the manly strength of the young soldier as he
started to fight for his country and win honor for himself,--honor which
would surely come to him whether he lived or died.
"Another woman who is well on in years, and whose eldest son is a naval
officer, furnishes an interesting example of mother love. Though never
showing her anxiety on his account, or grief at his danger, she has
taken upon herself, in spite of her old age and by no means vigorous
health, to go on foot every morning to one of the temples and worship
there before daylight, in order to propitiate the gods, that they may
protect her son. She arises at four o'clock in the morning on the
coldest of cold days, washes and purifies herself with ice-cold water,
and then starts out before daylight for her three-mile walk to the
temple. Thus through wind and storm and cold have the faith and love of
this old woman upheld her, and one is happy to add that so far her
prayers have been heard and no harm has come to the one she has called
on her gods to protect.
"A touching story is told of the aged mother of Sakamoto, commander of
the warship Akagi, who was killed in the thickest of the fight during
the great naval battle of the Yellow Sea. Commander Sakamoto left an
aged mother, a wife, and three children. As soon as his death was
officially ascertained, a messenger was dispatched from the naval
department to convey the sad tidings to his family. The communication
was made duly to his wife, and before the messenger had left the house
it reached the ears of the old mother, who, tottering into the room
where the officer was, saluted and greeted him duly, and then, with dry
eyes and a clear voice, said, 'So it seems by your tidings that my son
has been of some service this time.'
"One reads pathetic stories in the newspapers daily in connection with
the war. Not long ago a sad account was given of a young woman, just
past her twentieth year, and only recently married to an army officer.
She had belonged by birth to a military family, and, as befitted the
wife and daughter of a soldier, she resolved, on hearing of the death of
her husband, that she would not survive him, but would follow him to the
great unknown. Sending away her servant on some excuse, she remained
alone in her home, which she put into perfect order. Then she arranged
all her papers, wrote a number of letters, and made her last
preparations for death. She dressed herself in full ceremonial dress as
she had been dressed for her bridal, and seated herself before a large
portrait of her husband. Then, with a short dirk, such as is owned by
every samurai woman, she stabbed herself. In her last letters she gives
as the reason for her death that, having no ties in the world, she would
not survive her husband, but wished to remain faithful to him in death
as she had been in life.
"Many such stories might be cited, but enough has been given to show the
spirit that exists in Japan. With such women and such teachings in
their homes, can it be wondered at that Japan is a brave nation, and
that her soldiers are winning battles? Certainly some of the honor and
credit must be given to these wives and mothers scattered throughout
Japan, who are surely, in some cases, the inspirers of that courage and
spirit which is just now surprising the world."
_Page 239._
Much surprise is evinced by foreigners visiting Japan at the lack of
taste shown by the Japanese in the imitation of foreign styles. And yet,
for these same foreigners, who condemn so patronizingly the Japanese
lack of taste in foreign things, the Japanese manufacture pottery, fans,
scrolls, screens, etc., that are most excruciating to their sense of
beauty, and export them to markets in which they find a ready sale,
their manufacturers wondering, the while, why foreigners want such ugly
things. The fact is that neither civilization has as yet come into any
understanding of the other's æsthetic side, and the sense of beauty of
the one is a sealed book to the other. The Japanese nation, in its
efforts to adopt foreign ways, has been, up to the present time, blindly
imitating, with little or no comprehension of underlying principles. As
a result there is an absolute crudeness in foreign things as attempted
in Japan that grates on the nerves of travelers fresh from the best to
be found in Europe or America.
There are signs, however, that the stage of imitation is past and that
adaptation has begun. Here and there in T[=o]ky[=o] may be seen
buildings in which the solidity of foreign architecture has been grafted
upon the Japanese type. Ten years ago, Japanese men who adopted foreign
dress went about in misfitting garments, soiled linen, untidy shoes, and
hats that had been discarded by the civilization for which they were
made many seasons before they reached Japan. They wore Turkish towels
about their necks and red blankets over their shoulders at the desire of
unscrupulous importers, who persuaded them that towels for neck-cloths
and blankets for overcoats were the latest styles of London and Paris.
To-day one sees no such eccentricities of costume in the purely Japanese
city of T[=o]ky[=o]. Men who wear foreign dress wear it made correctly
in every particular by Japanese tailors, shoemakers, and hatters. The
standard has been attained, for men at least, and in foreign dress as
well as in Japanese, the natural good taste of the people has begun to
assert itself. So it will be in time with other new things adopted. As
no single element of the Chinese civilization secured a permanent
footing in Japan except such as could be adapted, not only to the
national life, but to the national taste as well, so it will be with
European things. All things that are adopted will be adapted, and
whatever is adapted is likely in time to be improved and made more
beautiful by the national instinct for beauty. During the transition,
enormities are omitted and monstrosities are constructed, but when the
standard is at last attained, we may expect that the genius of the race
will triumph over the difficulties that it is now encountering.
Individual Japanese who have lived long in Europe or America show the
same nice discrimination in regard to foreign things that they do in
their Japanese surroundings, and are rarely at fault in their taste.
What is true of the individual now will be true of the nation when
European standards have become common property.
_Page 242._
In the remote mountain regions, where the majesty and uncertainty of the
great natural forces impress themselves constantly upon the minds of the
peasantry, one finds a simple nature worship, and a desire to propitiate
all the unseen powers, that is not so evident in the daily life of the
dwellers in more populous and progressive parts of the country. As the
mountains close in about the road that runs up from the plains below, a
great stone, on which is deeply carved "To the God of the Mountains,"
calls the attention of the traveler to the fact that the supernatural is
a recognized power among the mountaineers. In such regions one finds
the stated offerings at the shrines which stand near the wayside kept
constantly renewed. Nearly every house is protected by some slip of
paper pasted above the door, a charm obtained by toilsome pilgrimage to
some noted temple. Behind or near the village temple one may see rude
wigwams of straw, each sheltering a _gohei_,[45]--witnesses to the vows
of devotees who hope, sooner or later, to erect small wooden shrines and
so win favor from the unknown rulers of human destinies. In places where
pack-horses form a large part of the wealth of the people, stones to the
horses' spirits are erected, and the halters of all the horses that die
are left upon these stones. Prayers, too, are offered to the guardian
spirits of the living horses, before stones on which are carved
sometimes the image of a horse bearing a _gohei_ on his back, sometimes
a rough figure of the horse-headed Kwannon. To such stones or shrines
are brought horses suffering from sickness of any kind, and the hand is
rubbed first on the stone and then on the part of the animal supposed to
be affected. In one district, when a horse epidemic broke out, its rapid
spread was attributed by the authorities to this custom, and all persons
were warned of the danger, with what effect in breaking up the ancient
habit the newspaper reports failed to say. It is in such regions as this
that the _oni_ and the _tengu_[46] still live in the every-day thought
of the people; it is here, too, that the old custom of offering flowers
and fruit to the spirits of the dead at the midsummer festival is most
conscientiously kept up. All possible spirits are included in these
offerings, so that even by the roadside one finds bunches of flowers set
up in the clefts of the rock, to the spirits of travelers who have died
on the way.
[45] _Gohei_, a piece of white paper, cut and folded in a peculiar
manner, one of the sacred symbols of the Shint[=o] faith.
[46] _Tengu_, a winged, long-nosed or beak-mouthed monster, supposed to
inhabit the mountain regions of Japan. It was from a _tengu_ that
Yoshitsune, one of the greatest of Japanese heroes, learned to fence,
and so became a swordsman of almost miraculous expertness. _Oni_, a
demon or goblin.
In one little mountain resort, far from the railroad but in touch with
the outside world through the hundreds of visitors that seek its hot
baths during the summer, it was my good fortune to spend a few weeks
recently. Our walks were rather limited in variety, as the village lay
in an almost inaccessible mountain valley through which a carefully
engineered road ran along the edge of the river gorge. About half a mile
out of the village, close to the road and overhanging the waters of the
river at a spot where the rocks were so worn and carved by the rushing
torrent as to have gained the appropriate title of the "Screen Rocks,"
was a little shop and a tea-house. It was a pleasant resting-place after
a warm and dusty walk, and almost daily we would halt there for a cup of
tea and a slice of _yokan_, or bean marmalade, before returning to our
rooms in the hotel. The managers of the place were an old man and his
wife, who divided their labor between the shop and the tea-house. The
old man was an artist in roots. His life was devoted to searching out
grotesquely shaped roots on the forest-covered hills, and whittling,
turning, and trimming them into the semblance of animal or human forms.
_Tengu_ and goblins, long-legged birds and short-legged beasts, all
manner of weird products of his imagination and his handiwork, peopled
the interior of the little shop, and he was always ready to welcome us
and show us his latest work, with the pride of an artist in his
masterpiece.
His wife, a cheery old woman, attended to the tea-house, and as soon as
we had seated ourselves, bustled about to bring us cool water from the
spring that bubbled out of the rocks across the road, and to set before
us the tiny cups of straw-colored tea and the delicious slices of
_yokan_ which we soon learned was the specialty of the place. She was
glad to have a little gossip as we sipped and nibbled, telling us many
interesting bits of folklore about the immediate locality. It was from
her that we learned that the pinnacle of rock that dominated the village
was built by _tengu_ long ago, though now they were all gone from the
woods, for she had looked for them often at night when she went out to
shut the house, but she had never seen one,--and even the monkeys were
becoming scarce. She it was, too, who sent us to look for the mysterious
draught of cold air that crossed the road near the base of the great
rock, colder on hot days than on cool ones, and at all times
astonishing,--the "Tengu's Wind Hole." We learned through her about the
snakes to be found in the woods, and of the wonderful tonic virtues of
the _mamushi_ (the one poisonous snake of Japan), if caught and bottled
with a sufficient quantity of _saké_. The _saké_ may be renewed again
and again, and the longer the snake has been bottled the more medicinal
does it become, so that one _mamushi_ may, if used perseveringly,
medicate several casks of _saké_. We had opportunity later to verify her
statements, for we found at a small grocery store, where we stopped to
add a few delicacies to our somewhat scanty bill of fare, two snakes,
neatly coiled in quart bottles and pickled in _saké_, one of which could
be obtained for the sum of seventy-five sen, though the other, who in
his rage at being bottled had buried his fangs in his own body,
commanded a higher price because of his courage. We did not feel in
need of a tonic that day, so left the _mamushi_ on the grocery shelves,
but it is probable that their disintegrating remains are being
industriously quaffed to-day by some elderly Japanese whose failing
strength demands an unfailing remedy.
When our little friend had learned of our interest in snakes, she was on
the lookout for snake stories of all kinds. One day she stopped us as we
came by rather later than usual, hurrying home before a threatening
shower, to tell us that we ought to have come a little sooner, for the
great black snake who was the messenger of the god that lived on the
mountain had just been by, and we might have been interested to see him.
She had seen him before, herself, so he was no novelty to her, but she
was sure that the matter would interest us. Poor little old lady, with
her kindly face and pleasant ways, and her friendly cracked voice. Her
firm belief in all the uncanny and supernatural things that wiser people
have outgrown brought us face to face with the childhood of our race,
and drew us into sympathy with a phase of culture in which all nature is
wrapped in inscrutable mystery.
_Page 264._
Each year that passes sees a few more stores adopting the habit of fixed
prices, not to be altered by haggling.
_Page 282._
On another occasion the good offices of the fortune-teller were sought
concerning a marriage, and the powerful arranger of human destinies
discovered that though everything else was favorable, the bride
contracted for was to come from a quarter quite opposed to the luck of
the bridegroom. This was no laughing matter, as the bride was of a noble
family and the breaking of the engagement would be attended with much
talk and trouble on both sides; but, on the other hand, the family of
the bridegroom dared not face the danger so mysteriously prophesied by
the fortune-teller. In this predicament, there was nothing to do but to
pull the wool over the eyes of the gods as best they might. For this
purpose the bride with all her belongings was sent the day before the
wedding from her father's house to that of an uncle living in another
part of the city, and on the morning of the wedding-day she came to her
husband from a quarter quite favorable to his fortunes. It seems quite
probable that the gods were taken in by this somewhat transparent
subterfuge, for no serious evil has befallen the young couple in three
years of married life.
_Page 317._
To the American mind this method of terminating relations is always
irritating and frequently embarrassing, but in Japan any discomfort is
to be endured rather than the slightest suspicion of bad manners. If the
foreign visitor is trying to learn to be a good Japanese, she must
submit patiently when the servant solemnly engaged fails to appear at
the appointed hour, sending a letter instead to say that she is ill; or
when the woman upon whom she is depending to travel with her the next
day to the country receives a telegram calling her to the bedside of a
mythical son, and departs, bag and baggage, at a moment's notice,
leaving her quondam mistress to shift for herself as best she may.
_Page 318._
Among the many changes that have come over Japan in the transition from
feudalism to the conditions of modern life, there is none that Japanese
ladies regard with greater regret than the change in the servant
question. As the years go by and new employments open to women, it
becomes increasingly difficult to engage and keep servants of the
old-time, faithful, intelligent sort. Notwithstanding increased pay, and
the still existing conditions of considerate treatment, comfortable
homes, and light work, it is hard to fill places vacated, even in noble
households: and there is almost as much shaking of heads and despondent
talk over the servant question in Japan to-day as there is in America.
_Page 322._
It is interesting to note that it is to the quickness and courage of a
jinrikisha man who interposed between him and his would-be assassin that
the present Czar of Russia owes his escape from death at Otsu, near
Ky[=o]t[=o], in 1891.
EPILOGUE.
My task is ended. One half of Japan, with its virtues and its frailties,
its privileges and its wrongs, has been brought, so far as my pen can
bring it, within the knowledge of the American public. If, through this
work, one person setting forth for the Land of the Rising Sun goes
better prepared to comprehend the thoughts, the needs, and the virtues
of the noble, gentle, self-sacrificing women who make up one half the
population of the Island Empire, my labor will not have been in vain.
INDEX.
Adoption, 103, 112, 187.
Agility of Japanese, 13.
Ai, love, 415.
Amado, sliding wooden shutters used to inclose a Japanese house at
night, 23.
Amulets, 329.
Andon, a standing lamp inclosed in a paper case, 89.
Ané San, or Né San, elder sister (_San_ the honorific), a title used by
the younger children in a family in speaking to their eldest sister, 20.
Aoyama, 131.
Apprentices, 309, 310.
Art in common things, 237-239, 462, 463.
Artisans, 235-239, 270.
Babies, 1-17;
bathing, 10;
conditions of life, 6, 7;
dress, 6, 15;
food, 10, 11;
imperial babies, 8, 9;
learning to talk, 16;
learning to walk, 13, 14;
of lower classes, 7;
of middle classes, 8;
of nobility, 8;
skin troubles, 11;
teething, 12;
tied to the back, 7, 8, 12.
Baby carriages, 424.
Baths, public, 10.
Beauty, Japanese standard of, 58; early loss of, 122.
Bé bé, a child's word for dress, 16.
Bed, the Empress's, 446.
Betrothal, 60.
Bett[=o], a groom or footman who cares for the horse in the stable and
runs ahead of it on the road, 62, 71, 311, 316, 319.
Bible, circulation of, in Japan, 412-414.
Birth, 1.
Boys, amusements of, 362-370.
Breakfast, 89.
Brothels. _See_ J[=o]roya.
Buddha's birthday, 365.
Buddhism, 168, 240;
affected by Christianity, 417-421;
introduction of, 143-145.
Buddhist funerals, 131, 132, 347.
Buddhist nuns, 155.
Buddhist priest, story of a, 418-421.
Building, 333-335.
Butsudan, the household shrine
used by Buddhists, 323.
Castles, 151, 157, 169, 171, 173, 174, 185, 186, 192.
Chadai, literally "tea money," the fee given at an inn, 251-253.
Cherry blossoms, 28, 146, 166, 176, 177, 191, 295, 296.
Childhood. _See_ Girlhood.
Children, intellectual characteristics of Japanese, 41;
Japanese compared with American, 19.
Chinese characters, 40.
Chinese civilization introduced, 142.
Chinese code of morals, 103, 111.
Christian ideas, progress of, 402-421.
Christianity, 77, 81, 168, 206, 207.
Christians, Japanese, 404.
Chrysanthemum, 166, 296-298.
Civilization, new, 77.
Clubs, women's, 391.
Concubinage, 85, 111.
Confectionery, 146.
Confucius, 103, 168.
Constitution, promulgation of the, 114, 276.
Corea, conquest of, 139-143.
Country and city, 278, 279.
Court, after conquest of Corea, 143-146;
amusements of, 145;
costumes, 146;
in early times, 138, 139;
ladies, 145, 148, 152-154;
life, 138-168;
of daimi[=o], 171;
of Sh[=o]gun, 170, 171;
removal to T[=o]ky[=o], 156.
Courtship, 58.
Crown Prince's wedding, the, 434, 442-445, 449-453.
Crucifixion, 199, 234.
Daikoku, the money god, 332.
Dai jobu, "Safe," "All right," 320.
Daimi[=o], a member of the landed nobility under the feudal system,
169-195;
his castles, 169;
his courts, 17;
his daughters, 175, 177, 180, 182-184, 191, 192-195;
his journeys to Yedo, 171-173;
his retainers, 169, 171, 173, 175, 177-179, 181, 183, 185, 186;
his wife, 175, 177, 182, 192-195;
seclusion of, 172-174.
Dancing, 38, 287, 288.
Dancing girls. _See_ Géisha.
Dango Zaka, 296.
Dashi, a float used in festival processions, 275-278, 366-369.
Days, lucky and unlucky, 331.
Decency, Japanese standard of, 255-260.
Deformity, caused by position in sitting, 9.
Diet, changes in, 424.
Divorce, among lower classes, 66, 69, 73;
among higher classes, 66, 68;
effect of recent legislation on, 374, 439;
new laws, 438, 439;
right to children in case of, 67, 105, 439.
Dolls, Feast of, 28-31, 428-430;
origin of, 428;
present meaning of, 430.
Dress, baby, 6, 15;
court, 145, 146;
in daimi[=o]s' houses, 187, 192;
military, of samurai women, 188;
of lower classes, 126-128;
of pilgrims, 243;
present tendencies, 457;
showing age of wearer, 119.
Education, higher, a doubtful help, 79;
effect on home life, 77;
producing repugnance to marriage, 80.
Education of daimi[=o]'s daughter, 177-180.
Education of girls, 37-56;
action and reaction in, 433, 434;
difficulties in new system, 52-56;
fault in Japanese system, 39;
in old times, 37.
Embroidered robes, 95, 146, 188, 192, 456.
Emperor, 111, 114, 134, 151-153, 155-157, 161, 164-166, 292.
Emperors, after introduction of Chinese civilization, 143-145;
children of, 164;
daughters of, 155;
early retirement of, 134;
in early times, 138;
seclusion of, 143-145, 155, 156, 161, 169.
Empress, 88, 115, 140, 150-168.
Empress, Dowager, 152.
Engawa, the piazza that runs around a Japanese house, 23.
Etiquette, court, 153;
in daimi[=o]s' houses, 177-179;
in the home, 19, 20;
instruction in, 46, 47;
of leaving service, 316, 317;
towards servants, 304, 305.
Factory workers, women, 399 _note_.
Fairy tales, 32.
Family, organization of, 139, 439-442.
Fancy work, 95.
Father's relation to children, 100.
Feast of Flags, 363, 364;
of Lanterns, 358-362;
of the Dead, 358-362;
of Dolls, 28-31, 428-430.
Festivals, of flowers, 27, 99, 295-297;
of the New Year, 25, 349-358;
temple, 270-278, 364-370.
Feudal system, 169.
Feudal times, pictures of, 190-192;
stories of, 184-187.
Firemen, 335, 338, 339.
Flirtation, unknown to Japanese girls, 34.
Flower arrangement, 42.
Flower painting, 47, 432.
Flower shows, 270-272.
Fortune-telling, 281-285, 331-333, 470.
Fuji, 58, 242.
Fukuzawa, his book on the woman question, 387-391;
his will, 345.
Funeral customs, 131, 132, 339-349.
Furushiki, a square of cloth used for wrapping up a bundle, 354.
Games, battledore and shuttlecock, 31, 32;
at court, 145;
go, 136;
hyaku nin isshu, 26, 27;
shogi, 136.
Géisha, a professional dancing and singing girl, 286-289.
Géisha ya, an establishment where géishas may be hired, 286.
Géta, a wooden clog, 13, 14.
Ginza, 265.
Girlhood, 17-34.
Gohei, a piece of white paper folded and cut in a peculiar manner, one
of the sacred symbols of the Shint[=o] faith, 464.
Hakama, the kilt-pleated trousers that formed a part of the dress of
every Japanese gentleman, also the skirt worn by school-girls over the
kimono, 433, 456.
Haori, a coat of cotton, silk, or crêpe, worn over the kimono, 8.
Hara-kiri, suicide by stabbing in the abdomen, 201, 202.
Haru, Prince, 113, 152, 442-444, 446-452.
Haru, Empress, 155-168.
Héimin, the class of farmers, artisans, and merchants, 203, 228, 229;
class characteristics of, 229-240, 464-468.
Hibachi, a brazier for burning charcoal, 30, 72, 136, 307.
Hidéyoshi. _See_ Toyotomi.
Hinin, a class of paupers, 228.
Hiyéi Zan, 243.
Holidays, 269.
Hotel-keepers, 280, 281.
Hotels, 247-250.
Household duties, training for, 21.
Household worship, 328.
Hyaku nin isshu, "Poems of a Hundred Poets," the name of a game, 26.
Inkyo, a place of retirement, the home of a person who has retired from
active life, 136.
Instruction, in etiquette, 46;
in flower arranging, 42;
in music, 41, 431;
in painting, 47, 432;
in reading and writing, 38;
in tea ceremony, 44.
Inu, a dog, 250.
Isé, 231.
Iwafuji, 210-213.
Iwakura, Prince, 157.
Iya, a child's word, denoting dislike or negation, 16.
Iyémits[)u], 171, 172.
Iyéyas[)u], 169.
Japan-China war, 458-462.
Japanese language, 16, 40, 179.
Japanese literature, 147-150.
Jimmu Tenno, 138.
Jin, benevolence, 415.
Jingo K[=o]g[=o], 139-143, 147.
Jinrikisha, a light carriage drawn by one or more men, and which will
hold one or two persons, 26, 70, 92, 268, 272, 320, 321.
Jinrikisha man, 26, 62, 69, 92, 108, 270, 279, 299, 316, 319-324, 473.
Jishi, mercy, 415.
J[=o]r[=o], a prostitute, 289-292, 406-411.
J[=o]roya, a house of prostitution, 290-292, 406-411.
Kaibara's "Great Learning of Women," 387, 389, 391.
Kakémono, a hanging scroll, 44, 147, 238.
Kaméido, 296.
Kami-dana, "god-shelf," the household shrine used by Shint[=o]
worshippers, 328.
Kana, Japanese phonetic characters, 40 _note_, 430.
Katsuobushi, a kind of dried fish, 5.
Kimono, a long gown with wide sleeves and open in front, worn by
Japanese of all classes, 7, 94, 188, 192, 287.
Kisses, 36.
Knees, flexibility of, 9.
Kotatsu, a charcoal fire in a brazier or small fireplace in the floor,
over which a wooden frame is set, and the whole covered by a quilt, 33.
Koto, a musical instrument, 42.
Kugé, the court nobility, 155, 170.
Kura, a fire-proof storehouse, 147, 171, 173.
Kuruma, a wheeled vehicle of any kind, used as synonymous with
jinrikisha.
Kurumaya, one who pulls a kuruma. _See_ Jinrikisha man.
Kurushima, 203.
Ky[=o]t[=o], 156, 171, 240, 241.
Ladies, court, 145, 148, 152-154;
of daimi[=o]s' families, 175-180, 182-184.
Loyalty, 33, 75, 197, 206-208, 217, 302-304.
Mam ma, a baby's word for rice or food, 16.
Mamushi, a poisonous snake, 467, 468.
Manners of children, 18.
Manzai, exorcists who drive devils out of the houses at New Year's time,
357.
Marriage, 57-83;
ceremony, 61, 63, 435, 436;
feast, 63;
festivities after, 63, 64, 437;
guests, 63;
presents, 62, 435;
registration, 65;
to y[=o]shi, 104;
trousseau, 61, 436.
Marumagé, a style of arranging the hair of married ladies, 119.
Matsuri, a festival, usually in honor of some god, 274-278, 366-370.
Matsuri, Shobu, feast of flags, 363, 364.
Méiji (Enlightened Rule), the name of the era that began with the
accession of the present Emperor in 1868, 149.
Mékaké, a concubine, 111-114.
Men, old, dependence of, 133;
amusements of, 136.
Merchants, 262-269, 469.
Military service of women, 188-190, 208, 223.
Missionary schools, 56.
Miya mairi, the presentation of the child at the temple when it is a
month old. The term is also used to describe the visits to the temple at
the ages of three, five, and seven, 3-6, 425-427.
Mochi, a kind of rice dumpling, 4, 24, 25, 65, 352, 353.
Momotaro, 33.
Mon, a family crest, 366.
Montsuki, a kimono bearing the crest of the wearer, 457.
Morality, standards of, 76.
Mother, her relation to her children, 99-102.
Mother-in-law, 84, 87;
O Kiku's, 74.
Moving, 335-337.
Muk[=o]jima, 191, 295.
Music, 41, 42, 430-432.
Names, 3, 423.
Nara, 247.
Né San. _See_ Ané San.
New Year, preparation for, 349-356;
festival of, 25-27, 356-358.
Nikk[=o], 231, 245.
No, a pantomimic dance, 292, 293.
Norimono, a palanquin, 30.
Noshi, a bit of dried fish, usually folded in colored paper, given with
a present for good luck, 2.
Nurses, trained, 398.
Nursing the sick, 101.
O, an honorific used before many nouns, and before most names of women,
20.
O B[=a] San, grandmother, 124.
O B[)a] San, aunt, 124.
Obi, a girdle or sash, 60, 435.
O Bon, the feast of the dead, 358-362.
Occupations, of the blind, 42;
of the court, 143-150;
of the daimi[=o]s' ladies, 175-180;
of the Empress, 156-160;
of old people, 120-122, 124-128, 136;
of samurai women, 223, 224;
of servants, 299, 304, 306, 308-315, 318;
of women, 85-103, 108-110, 242-256, 279-292, 306, 307, 310-318,
397-402;
of young girls, 21-34, 38-47.
O Haru, 211-213.
Oishi, 198, 214.
Oji, 296.
O J[=o] Sama, young lady, 20.
O kaeri, "Honorable return," a greeting shouted by the attendant upon
the master's or mistress's return to the house, 100, 315.
O Kaio, 324-326.
O Kiku's marriage and divorce, 73, 74.
Okuma, Count, 203;
his speech on education, 382.
Old age, privileges of, 120, 122, 123;
provision for, 134.
Old men, 133, 136.
O miyagé, a present given on returning from a journey or pleasure
excursion, 274.
Oni, a devil or goblin, 33, 466.
Onoyé, 210, 213.
Palace, new, 151-153.
Parents, duties to, 134;
respect for, 133;
disadvantages in Japanese system, 445.
Parents-in-law, 84, 87.
Peasant women, 108, 240-261.
Peasantry, 228-240.
Philanthropic efforts, 415-417, 418-421.
Physical culture in schools, 433, 453-456.
Physicians' fees, 204.
Pilgrims, 241, 242.
Pillow, 89.
Pleasure excursions, 99.
"Poems of a hundred poets," 26.
Poetry, 26, 148-150.
Presents, 96;
after a wedding, 65;
at betrothal, 60, 435;
at miya mairi, 4;
at New Year's, 353-355;
at O Bon, 358;
at weddings, 62;
how wrapped, 2;
in honor of a birth, 1;
of eggs, 2, 5;
of money, 204, 205;
on returning from a journey, 274;
to servants, 311, 315.
Prisoners' Home in T[=o]ky[=o], 413.
Prostitutes. _See_ J[=o]r[=o].
Prostitution, houses of. _See_ J[=o]roya.
Purity of Japanese women, 216-219.
Reading of women, 385-387.
Red Cross Society, 398, 416.
Religion of peasantry, 464-466.
Retirement from business, 133.
Retirement of Emperors, 134.
Revenge, 198, 210-214.
Revolution of 1868, 76, 221.
Rice, red bean, 3, 5, 65.
Rin, one tenth of a sen, or about one half mill, 240.
R[=o]nin, a samurai who had lost his master and owed no allegiance to any
daimi[=o], 198, 213.
Sada, Princess, 449-453.
Sakaki, the Cleyera Japonica, 98.
Saké, wine made from rice, 22, 63, 136, 296;
white, 29.
Salvation Army's attack on j[=o]roya, 408-411.
Sama, or San, an honorific placed after names, equivalent to Mr., Mrs.,
or Miss, 20, 73, 124, 136, 232, 283, 284, 304.
Samisen, a musical instrument, 42, 127, 277, 286.
Samurai, the military class, 42, 75, 76, 105, 169, 174, 175, 180,
196-227, 232, 263, 302, 303, 307, 319;
character of, 197-207.
Samurai girls in school, 226.
Samurai women, character of, 207-223, 458-460;
present work, 223-327.
Satsuma rebellion, 222.
School system, 50, 378-381;
object of, 379;
statistics of, 380.
School, Girls', for Higher English, 383-385;
Mr. Naruse's Female University, 381-383.
Schools, missionary, 56.
Self-possession of Japanese girls, 47.
Self-sacrifice, 214-219.
Sen, one hundredth part of a yen, value about five mills, 240, 273, 298.
Servants, characteristics of, 209-302;
duties of, 302-315;
in employ of foreigners, 299-302;
number employed, 310, 311;
position of, 302-310;
wages, 311.
Sewing, 23, 94.
Shir[=o]zaké, a sweet white saké used at the feast of dolls, 427.
Shogi, Japanese chess, 136.
Sh[=o]gun, or Tycoon, the Viceroy or so-called temporal ruler of Japan
under the feudal system, 155, 169, 171, 173, 176, 185, 186, 191, 194,
197, 208, 224, 231-234, 292;
daughter of, 176, 194.
Sh[=o]gunate, 155, 190, 192, 221, 222.
Shoji, sliding windows covered with white paper, 23, 71.
Shopping, 264-268.
Sho-séi, a student, 308.
Silk mosaic, 95, 192.
Silkworms, 95, 246.
Soba, a kind of macaroni made of buckwheat, 336.
Soroban, an abacus, 266-268.
Sumida River, 173, 295.
Tabi, a mitten-like sock, 13.
Ta ta, a baby's word for sock or tabi, 16.
Taiko Sama. _See_ Toyotomi.
Tea, 91, 92;
ceremonial, 44, 136, 176, 432.
Tea-gardens, 247.
Tea-houses, 250-255.
Teachers, pay of, 204;
women as, 398.
Teaching. _See_ Instruction.
Teeth, blackened after marriage, 63.
Temple, 4, 120, 129, 240.
Tengu, a monster in Japanese folklore, 466, 468.
Theatre, 33, 99, 292-294.
Titles used in families, 20.
Toes, prehensile, 15.
Toilet apparatus, 30.
T[=o]kaid[=o], 241.
Tokonoma, the raised alcove in a Japanese room, 44.
Tokugawa, 29, 151, 155, 231.
T[=o]ky[=o], 49, 69-71, 108, 115.
T[=o]ky[=o] Mail, 231.
Tombs, 98.
Toyotomi Hidéyoshi, 232.
Training-schools for nurses, 158, 398.
Trousseau, 61, 436.
Tsuda, Miss Umé, viii, 458.
Utsunomiya, 70, 71.
Uyéno Park, 296.
Virtue, Japanese and Western ideas of, 215-219.
Visits, after marriage, 63;
in honor of a birth, 1, 2;
New Year's, 25;
to a house of mourning, 340;
to parents, 98;
to tombs, 98, 359.
Voice in singing, 430-432.
Wakamatsu, 208, 222, 457.
Wedding. _See_ Marriage.
Widows, childless, 123.
Wife, childless, 102;
duties of, 85-99;
in great houses, 92;
relation to husband, 84;
relation to parents-in-law, 84;
social relations, 91.
Woman question, new feeling about, 371-373.
Women, general reading of, 386;
in the city, 279-298;
new openings for, 397-402;
occupations of, 85-103, 108-110, 242-256, 279-292, 306, 307, 310-318,
397-402;
position of, 17-22, 35, 36, 57, 65-68, 76-88, 90, 91, 93, 99-118,
120-124, 132, 133, 139, 143, 145, 146, 148, 168, 189, 190, 208,
216-219, 223-227, 242-247, 260, 261, 279, 292, 298, 306, 318, 371-378,
438-440;
property rights of, 374-378;
publications for, 385-391;
purity of, 216-219;
the new woman in old surroundings, 392-397.
Women, old, appearance of, 119;
examples of, 124, 126-129, 467-469;
in Japanese pictures, 132.
Written language, proposed reforms in, 430.
Yamato Daké, 215.
Yasaku, 324;
marriage and divorce of, 69-73.
Yasé, 243, 244.
Yashiki, a daimi[=o]'s mansion and grounds, 169, 171, 173, 311, 313.
Yedo. _See_ T[=o]ky[=o].
Y[=o]shi, an adopted son, 104.
Yoshiwara, a district in T[=o]ky[=o] given over to disreputable houses,
409.
Zodiac, Chinese signs of the, 331.
Zori, a straw sandal, 13.
[Transcriber's Note:
Except where index entries and the body of the text did not match,
irregularities in hyphenation (e.g. kwankoba and kwan-ko-ba), italics,
and spellings (e.g. vendors and venders) have not been changed. Except
where noted below, inconsistent accents (e.g. j[=o]roya vs.
j[=o]r[=o]ya) have been retained.
The following corrections and changes were made:
p. 120: marumage to marumagé (The _marumagé_, the style of headdress of
married ladies)
p. 175: daimios' to daimi[=o]s' (and daimi[=o]s' houses)
p. 351: kakemonos to kakémonos (the kakémonos and curios)
p. 383: Meiji to Méiji (thirty-fourth year of Méiji)
p. 427: miyage to miyagé (the _o miyagé_ to be purchased)
p. 429: accents added to Sh[=o]guns, Sh[=o]gun's, and Sh[=o]gunate
p. 428: shirozaké to shir[=o]zaké (The _shir[=o]zaké_ (white _saké_))
p. 437: oufit to outfit (But this outfit)
p. 440: heimin to héimin (_héimin_, or plebeian)
p. 473: Bé-bé to Bé bé (Index entry)
p. 475: Index entry for "Girlhood, 17-34." added (Index entry
"Childhood. _See_ Girlhood." originally pointed to non-existent entry)
p. 475: Iyemits[)u] to Iyémits[)u] (Index entry)
p. 475: Iyeyas[)u] to Iyéyas[)u] (Index entry)
p. 476: fireproof to fire-proof (Index: Kura, a fire-proof storehouse)
p. 476: Jo to J[=o] (Index: O J[=o] Sama, young lady)
p. 477: Onouyé to Onoyé (Index entry)
p. 478: folk-lore to folklore (Index: Tengu, a monster in Japanese
folklore)]
End of Project Gutenberg's Japanese Girls and Women, by Alice Mabel Bacon