THE CHILD IN JAPAN
=Women.= Although women have always stood higher in Japan than in any
other oriental country, yet they were much more highly considered in the
early times than in the later times. There was no seclusion, they had a
station in society, they shared in the recreations of their fathers and
husbands, they possessed intellectual and physical vigor, they filled
offices of state and religion; in fact, they ranked alongside of men as
among the best nations of the earth. Among the rulers of Japan there
have been nine empresses, the most noted having been Jingu and who led a
conquering expedition into Corea about 200 A. D., from whence came
letters, religion, and civilization into Japan.
"Of one hundred and twenty-three Japanese sovereigns, nine have been
women. The custodian of the divine regalia is a virgin priestess. The
chief deity in their mythology is a woman. Japanese women, by their wit
and genius, made their native tongue a literary language. In literature,
art, poetry, song, the names of women are among the most brilliant of
those on the long roll of fame and honor on whose brows the Japanese, at
least, have placed the fadeless chaplet of renown. Their memory is still
kept green by recitation, quotation, reading, and inscription on screen,
roll, memorial-stone, wall, fan, cup, and those exquisite works of art
that delight even alien admirers east and west of the Pacific.
"In the records of the Japanese glory, valor, fortitude in affliction,
greatness in the hour of death, filial devotion, wifely affection, in
all the straits of life when codes of honor, morals, and religion are
tested, in the person of their professors, the literature of history and
romance, the every-day routine of fact, teem with instances of the
Japanese woman's power and willingness to share whatever of pain or
sorrow is appointed to man. In the annals of persecution, in the red
roll of martyrs, no names are brighter, no faces gleam more peacefully
amidst the flames, or on the cross of transfixing spears, or on the pyre
of rice-straw, or on the precipice edge, or in the open grave about to
be filled up, than the faces of the Christian Japanese women in the
seventeenth century. Such is the position of woman in Japan in the
past."[106]
In later times woman fell from her high estate and even lost power over
herself, as she came under her father in the home, under her husband
when married, and under her son when widowed. "The introduction of the
Chinese civilization with the Confucian system of moral philosophy, and
of Buddism, and later on the establishment of Feudalism, were
prejudicial to this high position of women. Chinese philosophers seem
not to have had much respect for women; while Buddism regards women as
sinful creatures, a temptation and snare, an obstacle to peace and
holiness. In our feudal system, in the code of Bushido, there was no
reverence for women as in the Western Chivalry."[107] Buddism entered
into Japan in the sixth century of the Christian era and Confucianism
came in some earlier, while Feudalism existed in Japan earlier than in
Europe and continued later, from the fifteenth to the sixteenth
centuries being the time during which the feudal system received its
most perfect development and the _Bushido_, or "The Way of the Samurai,"
was fully elaborated.
The Japanese women had a love for beauty, order and neatness; they were
patient and long-suffering; their hopes lay in their children and they
tended and cared for them as, perhaps, no other nation of women ever
did. They had plenty to keep them busy with their numerous household
duties and the making of their own clothing and that of their children.
Many of them were engaged in the care of silk-worms and in tea-picking.
The country wife was busy in the rice-field, doing her work alongside
her husband and sons, as well as performing the other duties that came
into her country life. "Among the daily tasks of the housewife, one, and
by no means the least of her duties, is to receive, duly acknowledge,
and return in suitable manner, the presents received in the family.
Presents are not confined to special seasons, although upon certain
occasions etiquette is rigid in its requirements in this matter, but
they may be given and received at all times, for the Japanese are
pre-eminently a present-giving nation."[108]
"As regards our standard of beauty.... A woman to be considered
beautiful by us, need not be tall. Height may be divinely imposing, but
not essential to human beauty. With us, about five feet would be
considered the most desirable height, but if one must err, it is
advisable to err by exceeding rather than by falling short of the mark.
The figure should be slender without being bony, the waist long and the
hips narrow. To secure grace, the body should be held slightly forward,
not boldly erect. A very important feature is the neck, which should be
long, white, slender, and gracefully curved. The hair should, of course,
be abundant, long, and perfectly straight, and while no deviation from
black is tolerated, it should not be just black, but should be so glossy
that it seems blue-black. The face should be oval and long, with a
straight nose, which should also be high and narrow. As for the eyes,
opinions are divided, one school of connoisseurs demanding that they
should be large with a double line of the lid, while another school
prefers that the eyes should be long and narrow and slightly slanting
upwards at the outer corner. The color of the eye should always be clear
and deep brown; the lashes thick, long, and curved; the eyebrows black
and distinct, their line long, and well arched; the mouth small; lips
thin, curved, and red; teeth small, regular, and white. The ears must be
evenly curved, with no angle, and in size not too small, for pinched
lobes look poverty-stricken. Large ears, like those of the probable
inhabitants of Mars, lately described by Professor Perrier, if not
exactly beautiful, are believed to be lucky. As for the shape of the
forehead, there are four types. By the one termed 'horned,' we mean that
in which the hair grows to a point in the middle of the forehead and
high at the sides after the fashion called by the Germans
_Geheimraths-Ecke_ or the 'Councillor's corners.' Then there are the
square and the round types; but the forehead most admired is high and
narrow at the top, and obliquely slanting at the sides, suggesting the
outline of our sacred mountain, Fuji. As for the complexion, it should
be fair, with a tint of the rose on the cheek, only, in our parlance, we
would call it cherry-hued."[109]
One of the phases of the life of women in Japan is that of the
dancing-girls, the _geisha_. These are girls obtained when quite young
from poor parents or as orphans and trained in establishments for
entertaining at tea-houses or at private gatherings. They are taught the
old Japanese dances, and other dances, to sing and to play on
instruments, to serve wine, and in other ways to entertain. These are
from ancient times. "The _geisha_ are not necessarily 'bad women,' as
you call them, not any worse professionally than the actresses and
vaudeville artistes of America."[110] Whatever the geisha may be, there
is no question about the _jōrō_, or courtesans, because licensed houses
exist in every part of Japan. Yet this is claimed of rather recent
origin, as in the older times such houses did not exist, and especially
in the villages and towns of the interior, where there were even but few
of such women. The saddest side of these houses is their filling through
filial obedience, the one thing considered most important for Japanese
women. "The Japanese maiden, as pure as the purest Christian virgin,
will, at the command of her father, enter the brothel tomorrow, and
prostitute herself for life. Not a murmur escapes her lips as she thus
filially obeys. To a life she loathes, and to disease, premature old
age, and an early grave, she goes joyfully. The staple of a thousand
novels, plays, and pictures in Japan is written in the life of a girl of
gentle manners and tender heart, who hates her life and would gladly
destroy it, but refrains because her purchase-money has enabled her
father to pay his debts, and she is bound not to injure herself. In the
stews of the great cities of Japan are today, I doubt not, hundreds of
girls who loathe their existence, but must live on in gilded misery
because they are fulfilling all righteousness as summed up in filial
piety."[111]
Old age was not a burden or a fear among the Japanese women, nor was it
something to be ashamed of. Old age was really welcome, and especially
in the last centuries when woman's freedom was taken away and obedience
to the men introduced, for old age brought freedom, as then the mother
became a person of much consideration, to be waited upon and cared for
by children and grandchildren, the burdens of life being turned over to
them. "As she bears all things, endures all things, suffers long, and is
kind, as she serves her mother-in-law, manages her husband's household,
cares for her babies, the thought that cheers and encourages her in her
busy and not too happy life is the thought of the sunny, calm old age,
when she can lay her burdens and cares on younger shoulders, and bask in
the warmth and sunshine which this Indian Summer of her life will bring
to her."[112]
=Marriage.= A young woman in Japan was expected as a matter of course to
marry. Any young woman was not forced to marry any young man, for there
was a certain freedom of choice on her part. Young people were expected
to marry within their rank. In the early times, marriage between a
brother and sister of the same mother was not permitted, but if by the
same father by a different mother they could marry, as they were not
considered related as in the first instance. In these earlier times
marriage was permitted at sixteen in man and thirteen in woman. Marriage
was not a religious affair, and not even a contract between the parties.
It was rather a giving away of the girl to the man who was to be her
husband and to his family, so that the bride's person and property
passed completely under the control of the husband and his family.
At one time, according to one authority, when a youth had fixed his
affections upon a maiden of suitable condition, he disclosed his passion
by attaching a branch of a certain shrub (the _Celastrus alatus_) to the
house of the damsel's parents. If this emblem of his passion was
neglected, it implied that his suit was rejected; if accepted, so was
the lover; and should the young lady wish to express reciprocal
tenderness, she forthwith blackened her teeth, though she must not pluck
out her eyebrows until after the wedding.[113] In other times, the
affair was arranged by a go-between. A young man would get a married
friend to help him select a bride, to make his wants known to the girl
and her family, and to arrange a meeting between the young people at the
home of a mutual friend, where they could decide the matter. Again the
matter may have been arranged by the families, it might be a long time
in advance, so that the young people did not have much to do with it.
When the matter was decided on, then presents were exchanged, the young
man usually sending a piece of handsome silk, used for the _obi_ or
girdle, which corresponded to the engagement-ring of Europe and America,
but sometimes the young man sent other presents, and because of which a
handsome daughter was considered rather an addition to the fortune of a
family. A formal betrothal was then entered into, and a lucky day found
for the wedding.
Just before the wedding, generally on the morning of the wedding-day,
the bride's trousseau and the household goods, which the bride was
expected to take with her, were sent to the house of the bridegroom.
These varied according with the rank and position and wealth of the
bride's family. The trousseau would contain dresses for all seasons and
sashes of all kinds, and since fashion unchanged a woman might enter her
husband's home with a supply of clothing that could last her through a
lifetime.
As in old times the wedding ceremony occurred in the afternoon, toward
noon there was a bridal procession from the bride's home to the home of
the bridegroom. The bride was seated in a palanquin, clothed and veiled
in white, escorted by two bridesmaids, and accompanied by relatives,
neighbors, and friends, the men all in their dress of ceremony and the
women in their gayest robes. When the procession reached the
bridegroom's home, the bride was escorted by the bridesmaids into the
room of state, where sat the bridegroom in the post of honor, surrounded
by parents and nearest relatives.
When the real ceremony was performed there were present the bridegroom
and his parents, the bride and her parents, a few of the most intimate
relatives or friends, and the cupbearers, perhaps not over a dozen
people in all. There was no religious ceremony, no words were spoken, no
promises, no vows, no prayer. When all was ready, the wedding-cup, a
two-spouted cup, was filled by a young girl with native wine (_saké_)
and presented to the mouths of the bride and groom alternately, till all
was drank by them, being a symbol as husband and wife of the equal
sharing of their joys and sorrows of married life. Then the young couple
arose and offered cups of _saké_ to their parents, after which the bride
removed her veil, and the ceremony was ended. Then the wedding-guests,
who had been in other rooms during the ceremony, joined the
wedding-party and all partook of a feast prepared for the occasion, with
the mirth and joy that usually accompany weddings among all peoples and
in all times.
On the third day after the wedding, the newly-married couple were
expected to make a visit to the bride's family. The bride's family
prepared a dinner for the occasion, with music and dancing by
professional performers, and other entertainment. A large number of the
relatives and friends were invited and the bride appeared as hostess
with her mother. Within the course of two or three months, the newly
married couple were expected to entertain either in their own home, the
home of the bridegroom's parents, or at a tea-house.
"There are wedded couples who labor and save heroically for years, in
order to pay the expenses of their marriage festival. There is one
rather amusing custom, however, whereby this expense may be avoided. A
couple of respectable people have a daughter, who is acquainted with a
good young fellow who would be an excellent husband for her, except that
he lacks the necessary means to give her the customary wedding-presents
and keep a free table for a week, for the two families. The parents,
coming home from the bath one fine evening, do not find their daughter
at home. They inquire in the neighborhood; nobody has seen her, but all
the neighbors offer their services in assisting to find her. The parents
accept the offer, and the procession, constantly increasing in numbers,
passes from street to street, until it reaches the dwelling of the
lover. The latter, protected by his closed screens, in vain pretends to
be deaf; he is at last obliged to yield to the demands of the crowd. He
opens the door, and the lost daughter, in tears, throws herself at the
feet of her parents, who threaten her with their malediction.
"Then, the tender-hearted neighbors, moved by the scene, intercede; the
mother relents; the father, remains haughty and inexorable; the
intercession of the neighbors increases in eloquence, and the young man
promises to be the most faithful of sons-in-law. Finally, the resistance
of the father is overcome; he pardons his daughter, pardons the lover,
and calls the latter his son. All at once, as if by magic, cups of saké
circulate among the crowd; everyone takes his or her place on the
matting of the room; the two outlaws are seated in the midst of the
circle, drink their bowl of saké together, the marriage is proclaimed in
the presence of a sufficient number of witnesses, and the police
officer enters it upon his list the next morning."[114]
There is another side of Japanese marriage, where the young man enters
the home of the bride. If in a family there was no son to inherit the
name and no son was adopted, upon the eldest daughter's coming of age,
her family would seek some young man who would be willing to marry the
daughter and give up his own name and take that of the family. The young
men were usually attracted to such a marriage because thereby they could
inherit wealth or rank or both, but sometimes such was entered upon
solely on account of the attractiveness of the young lady.
It is a question whether polygamy in itself ever existed in Japan, but
there is no question about concubinage, as it began at an early time,
for the Emperor was allowed twelve supplementary wives and the nobles
(samurai) two. It seems from the earliest there was one legal wife, and
whatever the other women were they were subservient to her. But
concubinage did not prevail very much among the middle and lower
classes, and with the upper classes only with the wealthier members.
These concubines were kept in the home unless the legal wife was strong
enough to keep them out, when they were furnished separate dwellings.
They were ever a discordant element in the life of the family. Since
both Shintoism and Confucianism called for ancestral worship, where
there were no offspring by the legal wife, this might call for
concubinage to raise up children, and sometimes where there was no heir,
the wife might for that cause urge the husband to take a handmaid to
raise up sons to preserve the ancestral line. If the child of a
concubine was adopted into the family, it was taken from the mother and
she became no more to it than any other of the servants and had no more
to do with it than they did.
During feudalism in Japan, the legal status of women was very low. They
had no legal rights and their evidence was not admitted in a court of
justice. The husband had unlimited power of divorce, but under no
circumstances could a wife demand to be separated from her husband, but
she had to abide his will. A great reason for a wife suffering much and
not leaving her husband was that the children belonged to him and in
case of a separation their disposal rested absolutely with him.
"Seven causes for justifiable divorce are laid down in the classics of
Confucius, which are the basis of legal morals in Japan as in China, or
as those of Justinian are with us. The wife may be divorced:
1. If she be disobedient to her parents-in-law. (After marriage, in her
husband's home, his parents become hers in a far more significant sense
than among us.)
2. If she be barren. (If the husband loves his childless wife, he keeps
and supports her.)
3. If she be lewd or licentious. (She must not be given to loose talk or
wine. It is not proper for her even to write a letter to any other man.)
4. If she be jealous (of other women's clothes, or children, or
especially of her husband).
5. If she have a loathsome or contagious disease. (If dearly beloved,
she may be kept in a separate room and cared for.)
6. If she steal.
7. If she talk too much.
"It is needless to say that the seventh and last reason is the one
frequently availed of, or pretended. The Japanese think it is a good
rule that works but one way. The husband is not divorced from the wife
for these equal reasons. Of course, woman in Japan, by her tact, tongue,
graces, and charms, is able to rule her husband generally by means
invisible to the outer world, but none the less potent. Though man holds
the sword, the pen, and divorce, and glories in his power, yet woman, by
her finer strength, in hut as in palace hall, rules her lord."[115]
=The Mother's Memorial.= "A sight not often met with in the cities, but
in the suburbs and country places frequent as the cause of it requires,
is the _nagaré kanjō_ (flowing invocation). A piece of cotton cloth is
suspended by its four corners to stakes set in the ground near a brook,
rivulet, or, if in the city, at the side of the water-course which
fronts the houses of the better classes. Behind it rises a higher,
lath-like board, notched several times near the top, and inscribed with
a brief legend. Resting on the cloth at the brookside, or, if in the
city, in a pail of water, is a wooden dipper. Perhaps upon the four
corners, in the upright bamboo, may be set bouquets of flowers. A
careless stranger may not notice the odd thing, but a little study of
its parts reveals the symbolism of death. The tall lath tablet is the
same as that set behind graves and tombs. The ominous Sanskrit letters
betoken death. Even the flowers in their bloom call to mind the tributes
of affectionate remembrance which loving survivors set in the sockets of
the monuments in the grave-yards. On the cloth is written a name such as
is given to persons after death, and the prayer, '_Namu miō, hō ren ge
kiō_' (Glory to the salvation-bringing Scriptures). Waiting long enough,
perchance but a few minutes, there may be seen a passer-by who pauses,
and, devoutly offering a prayer with the aid of his rosary, reverently
dips a ladleful of water, pours it upon the cloth, and waits patiently
until it has strained through, before moving on.
"All this, when the significance is understood, is very touching. It is
the story of vicarious suffering, of sorrow from the brink of joy, of
one dying that another may live. It tells of mother-love and mother-woe.
It is a mute appeal to every passer-by, by the love of Heaven, to
shorten the penalties of a soul in pain.
"The Japanese (Buddhists) believe that all calamity is the result of sin
either in this or a previous state of existence. The mother who dies in
childbed suffers, by such a death, for some awful transgression, it may
be in a cycle of existence long since passed. For it she must leave her
new-born infant, in the full raptures of mother-joy, and sink into the
darkness of Hades, to wallow in a lake of blood. There must she groan
and suffer until the 'flowing invocation' ceases, by the wearing-out of
the symbolic cloth. When this is so utterly worn that the water no
longer drains, but falls through at once, the freed spirit of the
mother, purged of her sin, rises to resurrection among the exalted
beings of a higher cycle of existence. Devout men, as they pass by,
reverently pour a ladleful of water. Women, especially those who have
felt mother-pains, and who rejoice in life and loving offspring, repeat
the expiatory act with deeper feeling; but the depths of sympathy are
fathomed only by those who, being mothers, are yet bereaved. Yet, as in
the presence of nature's awful glories the reverent gazer is shocked by
the noisy importunity of the beggar, so before this sad and touching
memorial the proofs of sordid priestcraft chill the warm sympathy which
the sight even from the heart of an alien, might evoke.
"The cotton cloth inscribed with the prayer and the name of the
deceased, to be efficacious, can be purchased only at the temples. I
have been told, and it is no secret, that rich people are able to secure
a napkin which, when stretched but a few days, will rupture, and let the
water pass through at once. The poor man can get only the stoutest and
most closely woven fabric. The limit of purgatorial penance is thus
fixed by warp and woof, and warp and woof are gauged by money. The rich
man's napkin is scraped thin in the middle. Nevertheless, the poor
mother secures a richer tribute of sympathy from her humble people; for
in Japan, as in other lands, poverty has many children, while wealth
mourns for heirs; and in the lowly walks of life are more pitiful women
who have felt the woe and the joy of motherhood than in the mansions of
the rich."[116]
=Dress.= The ordinary dress of both sexes in Japan in the older times
was quite similar but differed in color and texture. It consisted of a
number of loose, wide gowns worn over each other, fastened at the waist
with a girdle. The family arms were woven or worked into the back and
breast of the outer garment. The sleeves of the garments were wide and
long. Within doors the feet were bare or covered with socks and outdoors
clogs of straw, matting, or wood were worn, kept on the feet by an
upright pin or button held between the two large toes.
The men shaved the front and crown of the head, leaving a sort of tuft
on top; the boy's head was shaved in different ways, but at fifteen the
boy's hair was dressed exactly like a mature man, because then he
attained his majority. Among the women the hair was worn long but
arranged differently for a married woman than a young girl, and, too,
the married women removed the hair of the eyebrows.
The infant was free from swathing; at three its clothes was bound at the
waist with a girdle. At seven or later the boy of noble birth wore a
short sword in his girdle which at fifteen, when he became a man, he
would exchange for the two swords of the samurai.
=Regulations.= During the two hundred and fifty
years--sixteenth-nineteenth centuries--when Japan was cut off from all
outside people, the strictest economy was necessary for the nation to be
able to care for itself. To this end regulations were laid down to which
the different classes had to adhere closely. These were binding and must
have proved irksome, yet they preserved the nation. It seems well to
give some of the regulations here.
"The following are examples, first, of the rules applying to the
_bungen_ (station in life) of a farmer of seventy-five to one hundred
_koku_ ($375 to $500), and, second, to that of a common farm-laborer:
I. For a Farmer of 100 _Koku_.
1. Such a farmer may build a house whose length is ten _ken_ (about
sixty feet), but there must be no parlor (_zashiki_), and the roof must
not be tiled. If the householder wishes to tile the roof, to protect it
against fires, he must first get permission.
2. On the occasion of a marriage of a son or daughter, the gifts of the
householder must be limited to the following:
Two _nagamochi_ (a chest used for bed-clothes).
One _tansu_ (a chest of drawers).
One _tsuzura_ (a vine used in basket making).
One _hasami-bako_ (a case for scissors).
A _yuinō obi_ (a present, usually the sash called _obi_, exchanged
at the time of the wedding).
One _sensu_ (a fan).
One _taru_ (a vessel containing wine).
_Surume_ (a kind of fish).
_Kobu_ (a kind of seaweed).
_Tai_ (a kind of fish, used on occasions of ceremony).
3. The viands on the wedding-day must be as follows:
(1) _Zōni-zuimono_ (a kind of soup).
(2) The things placed on the _honzen_ (a small table): (a) in the _hira_
(one of the dishes), _namasu_ (a kind of fish); (b) in the _choku_ (the
other dish), something roasted or broiled.
(3) _Hikimono_ (viands taken home by each guest): (a) _suimono_ (soup),
two kinds; (b) _torimono_ (a liquid), two kinds; (c) _hikigashi_ (a kind
of cake). These three kinds altogether must not make more than a small
amount.
4. The family must never wear silk clothes. If a son or a daughter is to
marry a person whose station allows the use of silk, the householder
must request him not to use it on the occasion of the wedding.
5. No guests should be invited other than relations of the family,
_ko-bun_ (people who are under obligations to the householder for
kindness received, and stand in the place of children), and a few of
the most intimate friends. But this rule refers only to the day of the
wedding.
6. At a wedding or New Year's call, the use of _jū_ (lacquer boxes,
containing confectionery, given as presents) is forbidden.
7. When a member of the family makes a visit to a relation or elsewhere,
he should not carry valuable presents. When he is visiting a sick
friend, he may take anything which happens to be at hand.
8. When there is death (_fukō_), and people come to the house on visits
of condolence, no wine should be offered.
9. At a funeral (_butsuji_) wine should not be offered to the persons
who follow to the grave.
10. On such occasions, the viands should be of five kinds only; but
there should be no wine. If wine is offered, it should be given in
soup-cups, not in wine-cups, nor should _tori-zakana_ (a dish served
only with wine) be prepared.
11. On the occasion of the birth of a first child (_Uizan_), the
presents from the grandparents should be as follows only:
A cotton garment.
One set (four boxes) of jū.
One _taru_.
Viands.
From the other relations only small money-presents, if any should be
sent.
2. When the child is taken to the _mura_ (village) temple (the occasion
called _miya-mairi_), _jū_ may be offered to the grandparents, but not
to others.
13. At the time of _hatsu-bina_ (girls' festival), and _hatsu-nobori_
(boys' festival), grandparents and other relations should not present
_hina_ and _nobori_ (dolls and flags), the whole family should present a
single _kami-nobori_ (paper-flag) and two _yari_ (spears), and relatives
may also make small money-presents.
II. For the _Bungen_ of a Farm-laborer.
1. The house may be five and a half _ken_ (about thirty-two feet) in
length, and the roof should be of straw or bamboo thatch.
2. The presents at a wedding may be:
One _tsu zura_ (a vine used in basket making).
_Nagamochi_ (chests) are forbidden.
3. At entertainments, one _hira_ (dish) and one soup may be offered, but
not in cups.
4. The collar and sleeve ends of the clothes may be ornamented with
silk, and an _obi_ (belt) of silk or silk crêpe may be worn, but not in
public.
5. Hair ornaments should consist of _norihiki_ and _motoi_, and nothing
more.
6. Footwear should be _narazōri_ (sandals made at Nara) not _setta_
(sandals of iron and leather). Women are to wear bamboo-thonged sandals
ordinarily, but at occasions of ceremony sandals with cotton thongs; men
should wear only bamboo-thonged sandals on all occasions.
7. At the time of _Uizan_ (birth of first child) the grandparents may
send two _jū_ (set of confectionery boxes), and money for rice and fish;
other relations should send only money for fish.
8. At the time of _hatsu-nobori_, the grandparents may present a _yari_
(spear), and at the time of _hatsu-bina_ a _kami-bina_ (paper doll), or
_tsuchi-ningyo_ (earthen doll).
"Accompanying these specific regulations, made with careful reference to
each man's station in life, there were also general rules to meet
unspecified contingencies. For example, only in case of absolute
necessity could an umbrella be used by the ordinary laborer. He must
usually content himself with the protection of a straw raincoat. Another
provision related to costly articles which a family might happen to
have. Special permission was necessary to make use of them, and no
articles of luxury were to be used if on hand."[117]
=The Care of Children.= The birth of a child among the Japanese was a
cause of rejoicing, a boy being somewhat more welcome than a girl. At
the birth of a child, a special messenger was sent to notify relatives
and intimate friends, who must soon visit the baby and take it presents,
and especially so if it was the first in the family. Yet infanticide was
not uncommon, for poverty sometimes decided against the infant, and this
also might be true of a child born maimed or deformed. "In old days,
when the new-born child was laid at the father's feet, the father could
refuse to take it, and the child was then exposed to die in a
bamboo-grove. The custom exists no longer; I doubt whether it ever
prevailed to any very great extent, but it has left behind it a very
picturesque reminder. If parents have lost a child by death, they often,
not perhaps unnaturally, look upon their loss as the visitation of an
angry Heaven, which must need be propitiated by the free-will offering
up of the next born child. So when the next child is born it is taken to
the bamboo-grove and left by its parents. The exposure is, however,
nothing very serious; a friend of the family is waiting round the corner
for the weeping parents to abandon their infant, and a few minutes
afterwards he comes in, quite as if it were by accident, and tells the
bereaved couple that he has just picked up a fine, handsome baby boy (or
girl), which he hopes they will take and rear. Thus the anger of Heaven
has been, figuratively at least, averted, and the baby is known in after
life by the word sute ('abandoned') prefixed to his personal name. He is
known as _sutejiro_ or _sutesaburo_, as the case may be ('the abandoned
second son' or 'the abandoned third')."[118]
The baby's dress was loose and easily put on, so it was soon dressed.
The dresses were made like the _kimono_ of the mother, being
wide-sleeved and straight, silk, cotton, or flannel, as the season
demanded, and long enough to cover the feet and hands. Red and yellow
were the colors of the young baby's dress, and if a girl high colors
prevailed later, but a boy's clothing became subdued in color. Near the
one hundredth day of the child's life, long dresses were left off and
also about the same time it was weaned. The baby's head was kept shaved
bald until it was three years of age, when only a part of it was shaved;
it might all be shaved but a tuft on top, or tufts at the side, or bare
on top and encircling the head at the sides, just as the mother might
wish. "There is no limit set to the whimsical mother's taste in this
matter of tonsorial landscape gardening."[119]
Since the Japanese sat on the floor with their legs under them, the baby
was placed on the floor with its knees bent under it, which trained it
to the right way of sitting. The baby in learning to walk did not have
chairs and the like to bump against and fall over and it had soft-matted
floors to bump down upon without injury. It was quite noteworthy if the
baby of his own accord should walk before its first birthday, and
_mochi_ (rice pastry) was made to celebrate the auspicious event. When
the baby went outdoors, then its feet were hampered by sandals or clogs
fastened to the feet by straps passing between the toes, but he soon
learned to use them all right, so that babies of two or three could get
around all right in these clogs. One good thing, these clogs did not
bind the children's feet, but let them grow naturally. These clogs left
the toes of the Japanese children free and thus they retained some of
their prehensive powers so that in adult life the feet were still used
somewhat for holding and grasping. It would seem that the baby learned
to talk some earlier than in other countries, as the Japanese language
is conducive for such since it abounds in expressions easy for children.
=Naming Children.= On the seventh day, some authors say the thirteenth,
the child received its name, at which time very little ceremony took
place; at seven years of age this name gave way to another name; which
occurred again upon reaching his majority at fifteen. When he married he
received another name; again he was given a new name if he took office;
another new name came if promoted; and, finally, after death, he
received his last name, which was engraved upon his tomb.
=Carrying Children.= The babies were carried upon the back of some
member of the family, quite often an older brother or sister and
sometimes these were not over five or six years of age. The baby was
tied upon the back of the one carrying it, face front, head and feet
out, and even in quite cold weather. The babies soon learned to hold on
and thus they looked out for themselves so as not to be dropped by the
one carrying them. "The mother bears the bairns, but the children carry
them. Each preceding child, as it grows older, must lug the succeeding
baby on its back till able to stand. The rearing of a Japanese poor
family is a perpetual game of leap-frog."[120]
=Adoption and Inheritance.= There was a great desire, especially in
feudal times, to have a male heir to keep up the ancestral line, which
otherwise would be a disgrace to the family. There being no male heir,
it might be that a son would be adopted in early life to grow up as the
heir, or he might be adopted with the idea of his marrying one of the
daughters later, or there might be no formal adoption but a young man
would marry a daughter and give up his own name and take that of the
family and thus become the heir. The childless wife, if not divorced,
would often care for the adopted child as if her own, which care would
be reciprocated by the adopted son in her old age. In feudal times, in
case a man should die leaving no children, either natural or adopted,
his death was concealed till the lord gave permission for him to adopt a
son, and not till then was his death announced, for otherwise the lands
escheated to the lord.
=Power and Duty of Father.= As in Rome, the family was the unit in
feudal times in Japan, and the head of the family held complete power.
He had the full control of the persons and property of his children and
he could do with them as he chose, only being held back by that most
binding of all laws--custom. Yet, as he had great power, so had he great
responsibilities, as he was responsible to the state for the doings of
his family.
=Amusements.= Old Japan was a realm of sports. It was a nation of
players. There seemed not to have been any distinct line of demarcation
between the amusements of the children and those of the adults. The
grown-up people entered with zest into games which were in many cases
the same and in many others similar to the games of the young people.
There were numerous holidays and festivals, on which days the whole
nation of people seemed to give themselves over to the toy-sellers and
showmen and story-tellers and musicians and games and plays--to a time
of general enjoyment. Perhaps there was never any other people or
country in the entire world at any time that took as much interest in
the pleasures of their children as did the old Japanese.
When the evenings were pleasant they were spent out-of-doors, and on
pleasant moonlight evenings almost the entire population of a town would
be on its streets. At other times the evenings would be spent in the
home, the entire family being together, including the grandparents and
even the servants. Sometimes the father would tell stories of Japanese
history and of folk-lore, sometimes they would play chess and checkers,
but the greatest time was spent with cards. One such game was known as
"The poems of a hundred poets." On one card was written the half of one
hundred famous Japanese poems and the other half on another card, half
of these cards being distributed among the players and the other half
being given to a reader. The reader would call off the half of one poem
and the one having the other half would call back and this would
continue till all the cards were matched. There was dancing of evenings,
usually by the young women, sometimes by the men, but, perhaps, never by
men and women together. In some places of moonlight nights the young
people would dance all night in the streets or open places near the
castle-gates.
"Among the ghostly games intended to test the courage of, or perhaps to
frighten, children, are two plays called, respectively, 'Hiyaku
Monogatari' and 'Kon-daméshi,' or the 'One Hundred Stories' and
'Soul-examination.' In the former play a company of boys and girls
assemble round the hibachi, while they, or an adult, an aged person or a
servant, usually relate ghost-stories, or tales calculated to straighten
the hair and make the blood crawl. In a distant dark room, a lamp (the
usual dish of oil), with a wick of one hundred strands or piths, is set.
At the conclusion of each story, the children in turn must go to the
dark room and remove a strand of the wick. As the lamp burns down low,
the room becomes gloomy and dark, and the last boy, it is said, always
sees a demon, a huge face, or something terrible. In the 'Kon-daméshi,'
or 'Soul-examination,' a number of boys, during the day plant some flags
in different parts of a graveyard, under a lonely tree, or by a haunted
hillside. At night, they meet together, and tell stories about ghosts,
goblins, devils, etc.; and at the conclusion of each tale, when the
imagination is wrought up, the hair begins to rise and the marrow to
curdle, the boys, one at a time, must go out in the dark and bring back
the flags, until all are brought in."[121]
The children had plenty to see to keep them amused. There were visits to
the theaters, sometimes the performances lasted all day, in which were
displayed the doings of historical peoples and lore heroes. There were
all kinds of gymnastic feats and juggling of various kinds. "At the fair
at Asakusa, in addition to the performances of jugglers of all kinds,
there are collections of animals which have been taught to perform
tricks--bears of Yezo, spaniels which are valuable in proportion to
their ugliness, educated monkeys and goats. Birds and fish are also
displayed in great quantities. But the most astonishing patience is
manifested by an old Corean boatman, who has trained a dozen tortoises,
large and small, employing no other means to direct them than his songs
and a small metal drum. They march in line, execute various evolutions,
and conclude by climbing upon a low table, the larger ones forming, of
their own accord, a bridge for the smaller, to whom the feat would
otherwise be impossible. When they have all mounted, they dispose
themselves in three or four piles like so many plates."[122]
Among the leading amusements were the Festivals. These were of frequent
occurrence and of the greatest diversity, so that the young people had
plenty to amuse them. There were five great annual Festivals, which were
the Festival of the New Year, the Festival of the Dolls, the Festival of
the Banners, the Feast of Lanterns, and the Feast of Chrysanthemums.
The New Year Festival occurred on the first day of the first month of
the old Japanese year. At this time congratulations and presents were
much given and taken. This was a time for pleasure and all the members
of the family laid aside their work and their dignity and entered into
the fun and the sport that characterized this festival.
The Festival of the Dolls occurred on the third day of the third month.
This day was especially devoted to the girls, and to them it was the
greatest day of the year. All the dolls belonging to the family were
brought out and which had been accumulating in some families for
hundreds of years. When a daughter was born in a home, two images of
wood or enameled clay were bought for her, with which she played, and
when she was married she took them to her new home and kept them for her
children, as well as any other dolls she might have. "The Tokugawa
collection, of which I have spoken, is remarkably full and costly, for
it has been making for hundreds of years in one of the younger branches
of a family which for two and a half centuries was possessed of almost
imperial power, and lived in more than imperial luxury; but there are
few households so poor that they do not from year to year accumulate a
little store of toys wherewith to celebrate the feast, and, whether the
toys are many or few, the feast is the event of the year in the lives of
the little girls of Japan."[123]
On the fifth day of the fifth month was celebrated the Festival of the
Banners, which was celebrated in honor of the boys, and it was to them
the greatest day in the year. On this day all kinds of military toys
were displayed, such as heroes, warriors, generals, soldiers, etc. Also
there were flags, streamers, banners, etc. A set of these toys was
bought for every son born in the family. So as with the display of
dolls, in old Japanese families the display on the Feast of Banners was
very great. About the houses and on poles in the yards were hung long
paper pennons of every color, banners with coats of arms, and also
attached to a pole by a string was a paper fish, hollow so that as the
wind filled it out it would flop its tail and fins in a most natural
way. This paper fish was to show that a son had been born during the
year or that there were sons in the family.
The Feast of Lanterns occurred on the seventh day of the seventh month.
On this occasion the whole city or town was decorated with lanterns. In
some places little girls would go in crowds through the streets and sing
with all their might while swinging paper lanterns.
"The fifth festival takes place on the ninth day of the ninth month, and
is called the Feast of Chrysanthemums. At all the family repasts during
the day, the leaves of chrysanthemum flowers are scattered over the cups
of tea and saké. It is believed that the libations prepared in this
manner have the power of prolonging life. The citizen of Tokio would
consider that he was wanting in his duty as a good husband and father,
if he should partake sparingly of this specific."[124]
That children enjoyed themselves and that they were helped to enjoy
themselves was well shown in the abundance of toys and toy-shops and
many holidays on which to display them. The streets of the towns and
cities were full of toy-shops, where every kind of toys imaginable could
be found. Too, toys, and especially the religious varieties, were
displayed for sale about the temples on feast days. There were images of
the various gods and of implements and appliances used about the
temples. There were on the streets toys of all kinds of animals, of
wrestlers and acrobats, of soldiers, etc., etc. Dolls were one of the
strongest features of toy-makers and toy-sellers. "Here let me tell you
something you certainly never heard of before in relation to Japanese
dolls,--not the tiny O-Hina-San I was just speaking about, but the
beautiful life-sized dolls representing children of two or three years
old; real toy-babes which, although far more cheaply and simply
constructed than our finer kinds of Western dolls, become, under the
handling of a Japanese girl, infinitely more interesting. Such dolls are
well dressed, and look so life-like,--little slanting eyes, shaven
pates, smiles, and all!--that as seen from a short distance the best
eyes might be deceived by them. Therefore, in those stock photographs of
Japanese life, of which so many thousands are sold in the open ports,
the conventional baby on the mother's back is most successfully
represented by a doll. Even the camera does not betray the substitution.
And if you see such a doll, though held, quite close to you, being made
by a Japanese mother to reach out its hands, to move its little bare
feet, and to turn its head, you would be almost afraid to venture a
heavy wager that it was only a doll. Even after having closely examined
the thing, you would still, I fancy, feel a little nervous at being left
alone with it, so perfect the delusion of that expert handling.
"Now there is a belief that some dolls do actually become alive.
"Formerly the belief was less rare than it is now. Certain dolls were
spoken of with reverence worthy of the Kami, and their owners were
envied folk. Such a doll was treated like a real son or daughter: it was
regularly served with food; it had a bed, and plenty of nice clothes,
and a name. If in the semblance of a girl, it was O-Toku-San; if in that
of a boy, Tokutarō-San. It was thought that the doll would become angry
and cry if neglected, and that any ill-treatment of it would bring
ill-fortune to the house. And, moreover, it was believed to possess
supernatural powers of a very high order.
"In the family of one Sengoku, a samurai of Matsue, there was a
Tokutarō-San which had a local reputation scarcely inferior to that of
Kishibojin,--she to whom Japanese wives pray for offspring. And
childless couples used to borrow that doll, and keep it for a
time,--ministering unto it,--and furnish it with new clothes before
gratefully returning it to its owners. And all who did so, I am assured,
became parents, according to their heart's desire. 'Sengoku's doll had a
soul.' There is even a legend that once, when the house caught fire, the
Tokutarō-San ran out safely into the garden of its own accord!
"The idea about such a doll seems to be this: The new doll is only a
doll. But a doll which is preserved for a great many years in one
family, and is loved and played with by generations of children,
gradually acquires a soul."[125]
There was an abundance of outdoor sports among the Japanese children.
Beginning with the New Year there came the great game with the girls of
battledore and shuttlecock. The girls made a beautiful sight, of which,
no doubt, they were aware. With their gayest dresses, hair arranged in a
most pleasing way, faces powdered and lips painted, the graceful,
rhythmic motion of their bodies, their bright eyes and laughing faces,
all combined to make them and their sport a most attractive scene.
Kite-flying was about as great an amusement in Japan as in China. All
kinds and sizes of kites were used. Some represented birds, others men,
and yet others monsters. Kite-fights were of frequent occurrence. A part
of the kite-string was smeared with glue and then sprinkled with
powdered glass, which prepared it for sawing another kite-string in two,
thus causing it to fall and become the property of the one sawing the
string. To make the fight the more realistic, at the top of the frame of
the kite was set a piece of whalebone, which in vibrating in the wind
made the most blood-curdling howls. Also contests in tops were held, in
which it was the aim to damage one another's tops and stop the spinning.
There was leaping and running and jumping and wrestling and slinging.
They played blind-man's-buff, prisoner's base, and pussy wants a corner,
but in these last two instead of the officer and Puss, the oni, or
devil, was the chief performer. They had stilts and handled them so well
as to play games on them and run races. Where there was snow and ice,
the Japanese children coasted, built snow-forts, fought battles with
snow-balls, and the like. They made snow-men in the likeness of Daruma,
a follower of Buddha, who lost his legs by paralysis and decay from long
meditation and prayer in a squatting position.
The Japanese children in their plays imitated their elders, just as
children everywhere do. Playing the doctor was one of the great
imitative plays of the younger children, and there were dinners and
tea-parties and weddings and funerals. One of the great amusements of
the Japanese was wrestling-matches and the children imitated these with
much precision, as they would stamp their feet, eat their salt, rinse
their mouths, slap their knees, and then clinch and tug till one or the
other was victor. "Another game which was very popular was called the
'Genji and Heiké.' These are the names of the celebrated rival clans, or
families, Minamoto and Taira. The boys of a town, district, or school
ranged themselves into two parties, each with flags. Those of the Heiké
were red, those of the Genji white. Sometimes every boy had a flag, and
the object of the contest, which was begun at the tap of a drum, was to
seize the flags of the enemy. The party securing the greatest number of
flags won the victory. In other cases, the flags were fastened on the
back of each contestant, who was armed with a bamboo for a sword, and
who had fastened, on a pad over his head, a flat, round piece of
earthenware, so that a party of them looked not unlike the faculty of a
college. Often these parties of boys numbered several hundred, and were
marshalled in squadrons, as in a battle. At the given signal, the battle
commenced, the object being to break the earthen dish on the head of the
enemy. The contest was usually very exciting. Whoever had his earthen
disk demolished had to retire from the field. The party having the
greatest number of broken disks, representative of cloven skulls, was
declared the loser. This game has been forbidden by the Government as
being too severe and cruel. Boys were often injured in it."[126]
=Lore.= The lore of Japan is as rich as that of other countries. Only a
few of the things concerning children can be given.
"Japanese papas, who find, as other fathers do, how much it costs to
raise a large family, will not let an infant, or even a young child,
look in a mirror (and thus see a child exactly like itself, making
apparent twins); for if he does, the anxious parent supposes the child,
when grown up and married, will have twins.
"Children are told that if they tell a lie, an _oni_, or an imp, called
the _tengu_, will pull out their tongues.
"If a boy rests a gun on top of his head, he will grow no taller.
Children must not carry any kind of basket on their heads, nor must they
ever measure their own height.
"Children are told if they strike anything with their chopsticks while
at their meals, they will be struck dumb.
"When a maimed or deformed child is born, people say that its parents or
ancestors committed some great sin.
"In Japan, as with us, each baby is the most remarkable child ever
seen, and wondrous are the legends rehearsed concerning each one; but it
is a great day in a Japanese home when the baby, of his own accord,
walks before his first birthday, and mochi (rice pastry) must be made to
celebrate the auspicious event.
"Young girls do not like to pour tea or hot water into a cup of
_kawaméshi_ (red rice), lest their wedding-night should be rainy.
"Little boys, tempted to devour too much candy, are frightened, not with
prophecies of pain or threats of nauseous medicines, but by the fear of
a hideous worm that will surely be produced by indulgence in
sweets."[127]
A peculiar superstition was in connection with the sacred trees, which
were found quite numerous in both city and country. The patron gods of
these trees were thought to inflict great injury upon those who might
desecrate the trees. Believing this, sometimes a young woman whose
affections had been stirred and then set aside used these sacred trees
as a means of avenging herself. Making a rude image of straw to
represent her former lover, at the "hour of the ox," two o'clock in the
morning, she carried this straw man to one of these trees. Having on her
feet the high clogs, worn in Japan, her hair disheveled, dressed in a
loose flowing white night-dress, carrying in her hand nails and hammer,
she proceeded to the tree and crucified on it the straw image of her
lover. Then she beseeched the gods to whom the tree was dedicated to
bring down affliction and even death upon him who mutilated the tree.
These visits were repeated and the same things gone over till her
recreant lover sickened and died. It is not told whether this always
occurred or not.
"The wonderful story of 'Raiko and the Oni' is one of the most famous in
the collection of Japanese grandmothers. Its power to open the mouths
and distend the oblique eyes of the youngsters long after bedtime, is
unlimited. I have before me a little stitched book of seven leaves,
which I bought among a lot of two dozen or more in one of the colored
print and book shops in Tōkio. It is four inches long and three wide. On
the gaudy cover, which is printed in seven colors, is a picture of
Raiko, the hero, in helmet and armor, grasping in both hands the
faithful sword with which he slays the ghoul whose frightful face
glowers above him. The _hiragana_ text and wood-cuts within the covers
are greatly worn, showing that many thousand copies have been printed
from the original and oft-retouched face of the cherry-wood blocks. The
story, thus illustrated with fourteen engravings, is as follows:
"A long time ago, when the mikado's power had slipped away into the
hands of his regents, the guard at Kiōto was neglected. There was a
rumor in the city that _oni_, or demons, frequented the streets late at
night, and carried off people bodily. The most dreaded place was at the
Ra-jō gate, at the southwestern entrance to the palace. Hither Watanabé,
by order of Raiko, the chief captain of the guard, started one night,
well armed. Wearily waiting for some hours, he became drowsy, and
finally fell asleep. Seizing his opportunity, the wary demon put out his
arm from behind the gate-post, caught Watanabé by the neck, and began to
drag him up in the air. Watanabé awoke, and in an instant seized the imp
by the wrist, and, drawing his sword, lopped the oni's arm off, who then
leaped onto the cloud, howling with pain. In the morning Watanabé
returned and laid the trophy at his master's feet. It is said that an
oni's limb will not unite again if kept apart from the stump for a week.
Watanabé put the hairy arm in a strong stone box, wreathed with twisted
rice straw, and watched it day and night, lest the oni should recover
it. One night a feeble knock was heard at his door, and to his challenge
his old aunt's voice replied. Of course, he let the old woman in. She
praised her nephew's exploit, and begged him to let her see it. Being
thus pressed, as he thought, by his old aunty, he slid the lid aside.
'This is my arm,' cried the old hag, as she flew westward into the sky,
changing her form into a tusked and hairy demon. Tracing the oni's
course, Raiko and four companions, disguised as _komusō_ (wandering
priests), reached the pathless mountain Oyé, in Tango, which they
climbed. They found a beautiful young girl washing a bloody garment.
From her they learned the path to the oni's cave, and that the demons
eat the men, and save the pretty damsels alive. Approaching, they saw a
demon cook carving a human body, to make soup of. Entering the cave,
they saw _Shu ten dōji_, a hideous tusked monster, with long red hair,
sitting on a pile of silken cushions, with about a hundred retainers
around him, at a feast. Steaming dishes were brought in, full of human
limbs, cooked in every style. The young damsels had to serve the demons,
who quaffed saké out of human skulls. Raiko and his band pretended to
join in the orgies, and amused the demons by a dance, after which they
presented them with a bottle of saké which had been mixed with a
narcotic. The chief drank a skullful and gave to his retainers. Soon all
the demons were asleep, and a thunder-storm of snores succeeded. Then
Raiko and his men threw off their disguise, drew sword, and cut off
their heads, till the cave flowed blood like a river. The neck of the
chief demon was wider than Raiko's sword, but the blade miraculously
lengthened, and Raiko cut the monster's head off at one sweep. They then
destroyed the treasure, released all the prisoners, and returned to
Kiōto in triumph, exposing the huge head along the streets."[128]
=Religion.= Before the introduction of Christianity into Japan, there
were but three religions: Shintoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. The
first is native to Japan and the other two are importations. Shintoism
teaches nature and ancestor worship, cleanliness, and purity. As is the
nature of the Japanese, so this native religion has some merrymaking in
it. Confucianism teaches implicit obedience to those who are in power,
as emperor, parent, and teacher. Buddhism is somewhat similar to
Christianity in making its followers kind to those in lower life, as,
the poor, and animals. "In a word, 'Shintoism furnishes the object of
worship, Confucianism offers the rules of life, and Buddhism supplies
the way of future salvation.'"[129]
There is no doubt that all three of these religions had much to do in
moulding the character of the young in Japan, for in nearly every house
of the reigning class were the books or emblems or symbols or idols of
these three religions.
The school children had a god all to themselves, who was supposed to aid
them in their study. This god was called "Ten-jin," or "Heavenly Man."
As the boy desired to become a scholar, learned in the Chinese
characters and an excellent penman, so he prayed to Ten-jin to help him
in all these.
=Suicide.= The Japanese did not fear death nor dread the consequences of
a future world, so that suicide was not looked upon as in Europe and
America today. "As for the young lovers of whom I speak, they have a
strange faith which effaces mysteries for them. They turn to the
darkness with infinite trust. If they are too unhappy to endure
existence, the fault is not another's, nor yet the world's; it is their
own; it is _innen_, the result of errors in a previous life. If they can
never hope to be united in this world, it is only because in some former
birth they broke their promise to wed, or were otherwise cruel to each
other. But they believe likewise that by dying together they will find
themselves at once united in another world. Sometimes they make a little
banquet for themselves, write very strange letters to parents and
friends, mix something bitter with their rice-wine, and go to sleep
forever. Sometimes they select a more ancient and more honored method:
the lover first slays his beloved with a single sword stroke, and then
pierces his own throat. Sometimes with the girl's long crape-silk
under-girdle (_koshi-obi_) they bind themselves fast together, face to
face, and so embracing leap into some deep lake or stream."[130]
"Bravery has always been the chief ideal of Japanese character. What
beauty meant to the Greeks, and right to the Romans, and purity to the
Hebrews of old, bravery has meant to Japan."[131] In older Japan one of
the bravest deeds was that of taking one's own life when there was a
need. Thus arose the practice of _seppuku_ (belly-cutting) or
_hara-kiri_, the more common term. This act was performed by cutting
across through one's bowels. This brought into practice the wearing of
two swords, a long one for enemies and a short one for the wearer's own
body. The young men were taught how to perform this deed upon themselves
and they were so impressed that when the time came for its performance
they were able to meet death without a tremor and with perfect
composure. The young women were taught the equivalent duty of _jigai_,
which was the piercing of the throat with a dagger so that a single cut
would sever the arteries.
=Work.= The children were taught to work. The girl was instructed in
household duties and the care of children. She was taught how to receive
and entertain guests, how to take care of the rooms and furniture, how
to cook and prepare and serve the dishes, how to do the marketing, how
to sew, and all such duties, so that when she should enter a home of her
own she would know how to perform the duties of wife and mother.
The apprenticeship system was used in Japan. The boy had to serve a
long apprenticeship with no pay, or but little pay, although his needs
of food, clothing, and lodging were attended to. Somewhat akin to this
was the entering of boys into the homes of those of distinction and
education. The young men performed the services required about the home
and they were cared for by the ones having them in charge and given
instruction in the things needed by them for the future.
=Education.= In the early times of Japan there seems to be nothing to
prove that children received any education other than domestic training,
and the higher classes had a training in the implements of warfare.
Later, schools grew up and children of both sexes and of all ranks
attended the lower schools and those of higher rank went on into schools
of a higher grade. In the eighth century of the Christian era, a
university was established at the capital and branch schools in the
several provinces. In the university instruction was given in Chinese
literature, history, law, music, medicine, mathematics, and astronomy
and astrology. Students were sent to China along with the Japanese
ambassadors to that country and some of these students remained for a
number of years to complete their studies.
The art of writing was brought into Japan from Korea in A. D. 284.
Previous to this it would appear that the Japanese had no way of
recording events, as books and writing were unknown. Writing was at
first with the Chinese characters, which were used to represent Japanese
words. Later a system was devised whereby only parts of the Chinese
characters were used for writing and a syllabry was formed.
In the university mentioned above, "the training of the students in
medicine chiefly consisted in making them familiar with the methods
which prevailed in China. The properties of medicinal plants, the
variations of the pulse in health and disease and in the changing
seasons, and the anatomy of the human body were the chief subjects of
study. The human cadaver was never dissected, but a knowledge of anatomy
was obtained from diagrams which were wholly hypothetical. In early
times medical officers were appointed to experiment with medicines upon
monkeys, and also to dissect the bodies of monkeys. From these
dissections, as well as from the printed diagrams of Chinese books the
imperfect knowledge which they had reached was derived. It was not till
1771 that Sugita Genpaku and several other Japanese scholars had an
opportunity to dissect the body of a criminal, and by personal
observation found the utter falsity of the Chinese diagrams on which
they had hitherto relied, and the correctness of the Dutch books, which
they had, contrary to the laws of the country, learned to read."[132]
A large part of the education of the young samurai was of a military
order. He was well trained to ride a horse, to shoot a bow, and to
handle the spear and the sword. The _hara-kiri_ was an especial part of
this training. "They are instructed as to the proper mode of performing
this act, the ceremonies that should accompany it, varying with the
occasion, and according as it is done publicly or privately, and under
what circumstances a well-bred man should feel himself obliged thus to
destroy himself."[133]
The girls were taught needlework, music, the arranging of flowers, etc.
They were instructed in household duties and the things needed by a wife
and mother. Some girls received higher education, becoming able to
understand the Chinese characters used by the Japanese, and they were
especially well learned in the history of their country. "Plutarch tells
us that the ambition of a Spartan woman was to be the wife of a great
man and the mother of illustrious sons. _Bushido_ set no lower ideal
before our maidens; their whole bringing up was in accordance with this
view. They were instructed in many martial practices for the sake of
self-defense, that they might safeguard their person and their children;
in the art of committing suicide, that in case no alternative opened to
save them from disgrace, they might end their lives in due order and in
comely fashion."[134] There were a number of books, which appeared from
time to time, upon the education of the girl, till a library arose which
were often bound in one volume.
"If the reader will imagine a volume composed of the Bible, 'Ladies'
Letter-writer,' 'Guide to Etiquette,' 'The Young Ladies' Own Book,'
Hannah More's works, Miss Strickland's 'Queens of England,' a work on
household economy, and an almanac, he will obtain some idea of the
contents of the _Bunko_, or 'Japanese Lady's Library.' With text and
illustrations, the volume is very large; but if translated and printed
in brevier with the cuts, it would not probably occupy more space than
one of our largest monthly magazines. The books composing it, in their
order of importance, are the _Ōnna Dai Gakŭ_ ('Women's Great
Learning'--the moral duties of woman, founded on the Chinese classics);
_Ōnna Shō Gakŭ_ ('Woman's Small Learning'--introduction to the above);
_Ōnna Niwa no Oshiyé_ ('Woman's Household Instruction'--duties relating
to furniture, dress, reception of guests, and all the minutiae of indoor
life, both daily and ceremonial); _Ōnna Imagawa_ ('Moral Lessons' in
paragraphs); _Ōnna Yō bunshō_ ('Lady's Letter-writer'); _Nijiu-shi Ko_
('Twenty-four Children'--stories about model children in China). Besides
these works of importance, there are _Hiyaku Nin Isshiu_--a collection
of one hundred poems from as many poets, written in the old Yamato
dialect, and learned in every household, and perpetually repeated with
passionate fondness by old and young; a collection of lives of model
women; household lore; almanac learning; rules and examples to secure
perfect agreement between man and wife; and a vast and detailed array of
other knowledge of various sorts, both useful and ornamental to a
Japanese maiden, wife, widow, or mother. This book is studied, not only
by the higher classes, but by the daughters in almost every respectable
family throughout the country. It is read and reread, and committed to
memory, until it becomes to the Japanese woman what the Bible is to the
inmate of those homes in the West in which the Bible is the first, and
last, and often the only book."[135]
LITERATURE
1. ----, Manners and customs of the Japanese. _Family library_, No. 142
(1841).
2. Bacon, Alice Mabel, Japanese girls and women.
3. Griffis, William Elliott, Japan in history, folk lore, and art.
4. Griffis, William Elliott, The Mikado's empire.
5. Gulick, Sidney L., Evolution of the Japanese.
6. Hearn, Lafcadio, Glimpses of unfamiliar Japan.
7. Kikuchi, Baron Dairoku, Japanese education.
8. Knapp, Arthur May, Feudal and modern Japan.
9. Lloyd, Arthur, Every-day Japan.
10. Lombard, Frank Alanson, Pre-Meiji education in Japan.
11. Mitford, A. B., Tales of Old Japan.
12. Murray, David, Japan.
13. Nitobé, Inazo, The Japanese nation.
14. Scherer, James A. B., Young Japan.
15. Taylor, Bayard, Japan in our day.