diff options
Diffstat (limited to '32449.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 32449.txt | 10083 |
1 files changed, 10083 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/32449.txt b/32449.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2ca5d03 --- /dev/null +++ b/32449.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10083 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Japanese Girls and Women, by Alice Mabel Bacon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Japanese Girls and Women + Revised and Enlarged Edition + +Author: Alice Mabel Bacon + +Release Date: May 20, 2010 [EBook #32449] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JAPANESE GIRLS AND WOMEN *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Transcriber's Note: + + +For the ASCII version of this e-book, letters with a macron over them +have been represented as [=o], and letters with a breve as [)u]. + +Page numbers from the original book have been added to asterisks that +indicate notes in the Appendix (e.g. [*3]) in order to make it easier to +match them to their corresponding notes. Page 61 has two notes: [*61a] +and [*61b]. Footnotes are in the same format, without the asterisks +(e.g. [1], [2]) + +Please see the end of this book for more detailed notes on the text.] + + + + +By Alice M. Bacon + + +IN THE LAND OF THE GODS. 12mo, $1.50. + +JAPANESE GIRLS AND WOMEN. 16mo, $1.25. In Riverside Library for Young +People. 16mo, 75 cents. + +_Holiday Edition._ With 12 full-page Illustrations in color and 43 +outline drawings by Japanese artists. Crown 8vo, gilt top, $4.00. + +A JAPANESE INTERIOR. 16mo, $1.25. In Riverside School Library. 16mo, 60 +cents, _net_. + + HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + BOSTON AND NEW YORK + + + + + JAPANESE GIRLS AND + WOMEN + + BY + + ALICE MABEL BACON + + _REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION_ + + [Illustration] + + BOSTON AND NEW YORK + HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + The Riverside Press Cambridge + + + Copyright, 1891, 1902, + BY ALICE MABEL BACON. + + _All rights reserved._ + + + To + + STEMATZ, THE MARCHIONESS OYAMA, + + IN THE NAME OF OUR GIRLHOOD'S FRIENDSHIP, UNCHANGED AND + UNSHAKEN BY THE CHANGES AND SEPARATIONS OF OUR + MATURER YEARS, + + This Volume + + _IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED_. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. CHILDHOOD 1 + + II. EDUCATION 37 + + III. MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE 57 + + IV. WIFE AND MOTHER 84 + + V. OLD AGE 119 + + VI. COURT LIFE 138 + + VII. LIFE IN CASTLE AND YASHIKI 169 + + VIII. SAMURAI WOMEN 196 + + IX. PEASANT WOMEN 228 + + X. LIFE IN THE CITIES 262 + + XI. DOMESTIC SERVICE 299 + + XII. WITHIN THE HOME 327 + + XIII. TEN YEARS OF PROGRESS 371 + + APPENDIX 423 + + INDEX 473 + + + + +PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION. + + +In offering a revised edition of a book which has been before the public +for more than ten years, there is little to say that has not been said +in the original Preface. The work as published before, however, was +always, to its author's mind, unfinished, for the reason that a chapter +on household customs, which was necessary for the completion of the +plan, had to be omitted because it could not be written in America. + +This defect has now been remedied, and the chapter "Within the Home" +contains the supplementary matter necessary to complete the picture of a +Japanese woman's life. In addition to this a thorough revision has been +made of the whole book, and the subjects discussed in each chapter have +been brought up to date by means of notes in an Appendix. The reader +will find these notes referred to by asterisks in the text. + +Finally, a second supplementary chapter has been added, in which an +effort has been made to analyze present conditions. From its nature, +this chapter is only a rapid survey of the progress of ten years. It is +not easy to write with judgment of conditions actually present. A little +perspective is necessary to make sure that one sees things in their +proper proportions. It is therefore with some hesitation that I offer to +the public the result of two years' experience of the present state of +affairs. If subsequent events show that my observation has been +incorrect, I can only say that what I have written has been the +"Thing-as-I-see-It," and does not lay claim to being the +"Thing-as-It-is." + +In closing, I would thank once more the friends whose names appear in +the previous Preface, and would add to their number the names of Mr. H. +Sakurai and Mr. and Mrs. Seijiro Saito, who have rendered me valuable +aid in gathering material. + + A. M. B. + +NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, + _November, 1902_. + + + + +PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. + + +It seems necessary for a new author to give some excuse for her boldness +in offering to the public another volume upon a subject already so well +written up as Japan. In a field occupied by Griffis, Morse, Greey, +Lowell, and Rein, what unexplored corner can a woman hope to enter? This +is the question that will be asked, and that accordingly the author must +answer. + +While Japan as a whole has been closely studied, and while much and +varied information has been gathered about the country and its people, +one half of the population has been left entirely unnoticed, passed over +with brief mention, or altogether misunderstood. It is of this neglected +half that I have written, in the hope that the whole fabric of Japanese +social life will be better comprehended when the women of the country, +and so the homes that they make, are better known and understood. + +The reason why Japanese home-life is so little understood by foreigners, +even by those who have lived long in Japan, is that the Japanese, under +an appearance of frankness and candor, hides an impenetrable reserve in +regard to all those personal concerns which he believes are not in the +remotest degree the concerns of his foreign guest. Only life in the home +itself can show what a Japanese home may be; and only by intimate +association--such as no foreign man can ever hope to gain--with the +Japanese ladies themselves can much be learned of the thoughts and daily +lives of the best Japanese women. + +I have been peculiarly fortunate in having enjoyed the privilege of long +and intimate friendship with a number of Japanese ladies, who have +spoken with me as freely, and shown the details of their lives to me as +openly, as if bound by closest ties of kindred. Through them, and only +through them, I have been enabled to study life from the point of view +of the refined and intelligent Japanese women, and have found the study +so interesting and instructive that I have felt impelled to offer to +others some part of what I have received through the aid of these +friends. I have, moreover, been encouraged in my work by reading, when +it was already more than half completed, the following words from +Griffis's "Mikado's Empire:"-- + +"The whole question of the position of Japanese women--in history, +social life, education, employments, authorship, art, marriage, +concubinage, prostitution, benevolent labor, the ideals of literature, +popular superstitions, etc.--discloses such a wide and fascinating field +of inquiry that I wonder no one has as yet entered it." + +In closing, I should say that this work is by no means entirely my own. +It is, in the first place, largely the result of the interchange of +thought through many and long conversations with Japanese ladies upon +the topics herein treated. It has also been carefully revised and +criticised; and many valuable additions have been made to it by Miss Ume +Tsuda, teacher of English in the Peeresses' School in T[=o]ky[=o], and +an old and intimate friend. Miss Tsuda is at present in this country, on +a two years' leave, for purposes of further study. She has, amid her +many duties as a student at Bryn Mawr College, given much time and +thought to this work; and a large part of whatever value it may possess +is due to her. + +I would say, too, that in the verification of dates, names, and +historical incidents, I have relied altogether upon Griffis's "Mikado's +Empire" and Rein's "Japan," knowing that those two authors represent the +best that has been done by foreigners in the field of Japanese history. + +This work also owes much, not only to the suggestions and historical +aids contained in the "Mikado's Empire," but to Mr. Griffis himself, +for his careful reading of my manuscript, and for his criticisms and +suggestions. No greater encouragement can be given to an inexperienced +author than the helpful criticism of one who has already distinguished +himself in the same field of labor; and for just such friendly aid my +warmest thanks are due to Mr. Griffis. + + A. M. B. + +HAMPTON, VA., _February, 1891_. + + + + +JAPANESE GIRLS AND WOMEN. + +CHAPTER I. + +CHILDHOOD. + + +To the Japanese baby the beginning of life is not very different from +its beginning to babies in the Western world. Its birth, whether it be +girl or boy, is the cause of much rejoicing. As boys alone can carry on +the family name and inherit titles and estates, they are considered of +more importance, but many parents' hearts are made glad by the addition +of a daughter to the family circle. + +As soon as the event takes place, a special messenger is dispatched to +notify relatives and intimate friends, while formal letters of +announcement are sent to those less closely related. All persons thus +notified must make an early visit to the newcomer, in order to welcome +it into the world, and must either take with them or send before them +some present. Toys, pieces of cotton, silk, or crepe for the baby's +dress are regarded as suitable; and everything must be accompanied by +fish or eggs, for good luck. Where eggs are sent, they are neatly +arranged in a covered box, which may contain thirty, forty, or even one +hundred eggs.[1] The baby, especially if it be the first one in a +family, receives many presents in the first few weeks of its life, and +at a certain time proper acknowledgment must be made and return presents +sent. This is done when the baby is about thirty days old. + +[1] All presents in Japan must be wrapped in white paper, although, +except for funerals, this paper must have some writing on it, and must +be tied with a peculiar red and white paper string, in which is inserted +the _noshi_, or bit of dried fish, daintily folded in a piece of colored +paper, which is an indispensable accompaniment of every present. + +Both baby and mother have a hard time of it for the first few weeks of +its life. The baby is passed from hand to hand, fussed over, and talked +to so much by the visitors that come in, that it must think this world a +trying place. The mother, too, is denied the rest and quiet she needs, +and wears herself out in the excitement of seeing her friends, and the +physical exercise of going through, so far as possible, the ceremonious +bows and salutations that etiquette prescribes. + +Before the seventh day the baby receives its name.[2] There is no +especial ceremony connected with this, but the child's birth must be +formally registered, together with its name, at the district office of +registration, and the household keep holiday in honor of the event. A +certain kind of rice, cooked with red beans, a festival dish denoting +good fortune, is usually partaken of by the family on the seventh day. + +[2] A child is rarely given the name of a living member of the family, +or of any friend. The father's name, slightly modified, is frequently +given to a son, and those of ancestors long ago dead are sometimes used. +One reason for this is probably the inconvenience of similar names in +the same family, and middle names, as a way of avoiding this difficulty, +are unknown. The father usually names the child, but some friend or +patron of the family may be asked to do it. Names of beautiful objects +in nature, such as Plum, Snow, Sunshine, Lotos, Gold, are commonly used +for girls, while boys of the lower classes often rejoice in such +appellations as Stone, Bear, Tiger, etc. To call a child after a person +would not be considered any especial compliment.[*3] + +The next important event in the baby's life is the _miya mairi_, a +ceremony which corresponds roughly with our christening. On the +thirtieth day after birth,[*4] the baby is taken for its first visit to +the temple. For this visit great preparations are made, and the baby is +dressed in finest silk or crepe, gayly figured,--garments made +especially for the occasion. Upon the dress appears in various places +the crest of the family, as on all ceremonial dresses, whether for young +or old, for every Japanese family has its crest. Thus arrayed, and +accompanied by members of the family, the young baby is carried to one +of the Shinto temples, and there placed under the protection of the +patron deity of the temple. This god, chosen from a great number of +Shinto deities, is supposed to become the special guardian of the child +through life. Offerings are made to the god and to the priest, and a +blessing is obtained; and the baby is thus formally placed under the +care of a special deity. This ceremony over, there is usually an +entertainment of some kind at the home of the parents, especially if the +family be one of high rank. Friends are invited, and if there are any +who have not as yet sent in presents, they may give them at this time. + +It is usually on this day that the family send to their friends some +acknowledgment of the presents received. This sometimes consists of the +red bean rice, such as is prepared for the seventh day celebration, and +sometimes of cakes of _mochi_, or rice paste. A letter of thanks usually +accompanies the return present. If rice is sent, it is put in a handsome +lacquered box, the box placed on a lacquered tray, and the whole covered +with a square of crepe or silk, richly decorated. The box, the tray, and +the cover are of course returned, and, curious to say, the box must be +returned unwashed, as it would be very unlucky to send it back clean. A +piece of Japanese paper must be slipped into the box after its contents +have been removed, and box and tray must be given back, just as they +are, to the messenger. Sometimes a box of eggs, or a peculiar kind of +dried fish, called _katsuobushi_, is sent with this present, when it is +desired to make an especially handsome return. When as many as fifty or +one hundred return presents of this kind are to be sent, it is no slight +tax on the mistress of the house to see that no one is forgotten, and +that all is properly done. As special messengers are sent, a number of +men are sometimes kept busy for two or three days. + +After all these festivities, a quiet, undisturbed life begins for the +baby,--a life which is neither unpleasant nor unhealthful. It is not +jolted, rocked, or trotted to sleep; it is allowed to cry if it chooses, +without anybody's supposing that the world will come to an end because +of its crying; and its dress is loose and easily put on, so that very +little time is spent in the tiresome process of dressing and undressing. +Under these conditions the baby thrives and grows strong and fat; learns +to take life with some philosophy, even at a very early age; and is not +subject to fits of hysterical or passionate crying, brought on by much +jolting or trotting, or by the wearisome process of pinning, buttoning, +tying of strings, and thrusting of arms into tight sleeves. + +The Japanese baby's dress, though not as pretty as that of our babies, +is in many ways much more sensible. It consists of as many wide-sleeved, +straight, silk, cotton, or flannel garments as the season of the year +may require,--all cut after nearly the same pattern, and that pattern +the same in shape as the grown-up _kimono_. These garments are fitted, +one inside of the other, before they are put on; then they are laid down +on the floor and the baby is laid into them; a soft belt, attached to +the outer garment or dress, is tied around the waist, and the baby is +dressed without a shriek or a wail, as simply and easily as possible. +The baby's dresses, like those of our babies, are made long enough to +cover the little bare feet; and the sleeves cover the hands as well, so +preventing the unmerciful scratching that most babies give to their +faces, as well as keeping the hands warm and dry. + +Babies of the lower classes, within a few weeks after birth, are carried +about tied upon the back of some member of the family, frequently an +older sister or brother, who is sometimes not more than five or six +years old. The poorer the family, the earlier is the young baby thus put +on some one's back, and one frequently sees babies not more than a month +old, with bobbing heads and blinking eyes, tied by long bands of cloth +to the backs of older brothers or sisters, and living in the streets in +all weathers. When it is cold, the sister's _haori_, or coat, serves as +an extra covering for the baby as well; and when the sun is hot, the +sister's parasol keeps off its rays from the bobbing bald head.[*8] +Living in public, as the Japanese babies do, they soon acquire an +intelligent, interested look, and seem to enjoy the games of the elder +children, upon whose backs they are carried, as much as the players +themselves. Babies of the middle classes do not live in public in this +way, but ride about upon the backs of their nurses until they are old +enough to toddle by themselves, and they are not so often seen in the +streets; as few but the poorest Japanese, even in the large cities, are +unable to have a pleasant bit of garden in which the children can play +and take the air. The children of the richest families, the nobility, +and the imperial family, are never carried about in this way. The young +child is borne in the arms of an attendant, within doors and without; +but as this requires the care of some one constantly, and prevents the +nurse from doing anything but care for the child, only the richest can +afford this luxury. With the baby tied to her back, a woman is able to +care for a child, and yet go on with her household labors, and baby +watches over mother's or nurse's shoulder, between naps taken at all +hours, the processes of drawing water, washing and cooking rice, and all +the varied work of the house. Imperial babies are held in the arms of +some one night and day, from the moment of birth until they have learned +to walk, a custom which seems to render the lot of the high-born infant +less comfortable in some ways than that of the plebeian child. + +The flexibility of the knees, which is required for comfort in the +Japanese method of sitting, is gained in very early youth by the habit +of setting a baby down with its knees bent under it, instead of with its +legs out straight before it, as seems to us the natural way. To the +Japanese, the normal way for a baby to sit is with its knees bent under +it, and so, at a very early age, the muscles and tendons of the knees +are accustomed to what seems to us a most unnatural and uncomfortable +posture.[3] + +[3] That the position of the Japanese in sitting is really unnatural and +unhygienic, is shown by recent measurements taken by the surgeons of the +Japanese army. These measurements prove that the small stature of the +Japanese is due largely to the shortness of the lower limbs, which are +out of proportion to the rest of the body. The sitting from early +childhood upon the legs bent at the knee, arrests the development of +that part of the body, and produces an actual deformity in the whole +nation. This deformity is less noticeable among the peasants, who stand +and walk so much as to secure proper development of the legs; but among +merchants, literary men, and others of sedentary habits, it is most +plainly to be seen. The introduction of chairs and tables, as a +necessary adjunct of Japanese home life, would doubtless in time alter +the physique of the Japanese as a people. + +Among the lower classes, where there are few bathing facilities in the +houses, babies of a few weeks old are often taken to the public bath +house and put into the hot bath. These Japanese baths are usually heated +to a temperature of a hundred to a hundred and twenty Fahrenheit,--a +temperature that most foreigners visiting Japan find almost unbearable. +To a baby's delicate skin, the first bath or two is usually a severe +trial, but it soon becomes accustomed to the high temperature, and takes +its bath, as it does everything else, placidly and in public. Born into +a country where cow's milk is never used, the Japanese baby is wholly +dependent upon its mother for milk,[4] and is not weaned entirely until +it reaches the age of three or four years, and is able to live upon the +ordinary food of the class to which it belongs. There is no intermediate +stage of bread and milk, oatmeal and milk, gruel, or pap of some kind; +for the all-important factor--milk--is absent from the bill of fare, in +a land where there is neither "milk for babes" nor "strong meat for them +that are full of age." + +[4] Sometimes, in the old days, rice water was given to babies instead +of milk, but it was nearly impossible to bring up a baby on this alone. +Now both fresh and condensed milk are used, where the mother's milk is +insufficient, but only in those parts of Japan where the foreign +influence is felt.[*11] + +In consequence, partly, of the lack of proper nourishment after the +child is too old to live wholly upon its mother's milk, and partly, +perhaps, because of the poor food that the mothers, even of the higher +classes, live upon, many babies in Japan are afflicted with disagreeable +skin troubles, especially of the scalp and face,--troubles which usually +disappear as soon as the child becomes accustomed to the regular food of +the adult. Another consequence, as I imagine, of the lack of proper +food at the teething period, is the early loss of the child's first +teeth, which usually turn black and decay some time before the second +teeth begin to show themselves. With the exception of these two +troubles, Japanese babies seem healthy, hearty, and happy to an +extraordinary degree, and show that most of the conditions of their +lives are wholesome. The constant out-of-door life and the healthful +dress serve to make up in considerable measure for the poor food, and +the Japanese baby, though small after the manner of the race, is usually +plump, and of firm, hard flesh. One striking characteristic of the +Japanese baby is, that at a very early age it learns to cling like a +kitten to the back of whoever carries it, so that it is really difficult +to drop it through carelessness, for the baby looks out for its own +safety like a young monkey. The straps that tie it to the back are +sufficient for safety; but the baby, from the age of one month, is +dependent upon its own exertions to secure a comfortable position, and +it soon learns to ride its bearer with considerable skill, instead of +being merely a bundle tied to the shoulders. Any one who has ever +handled a Japanese baby can testify to the amount of intelligence shown +in this direction at a very early age; and this clinging with arms and +legs is, perhaps, a valuable part of the training which gives to the +whole nation the peculiar quickness of motion and hardness of muscle +that characterize them from childhood. It is the agility and muscular +quality that belong to wild animals, that we see something of in the +Indian, but to a more marked degree in the Japanese, especially of the +lower classes. + +The Japanese baby's first lessons in walking are taken under favorable +circumstances. With feet comfortably shod in the soft _tabi_, or +mitten-like sock, babies can tumble about as they like, with no bump nor +bruise, upon the soft matted floors of the dwelling houses. There is no +furniture to fall against, and nothing about the room to render falling +a thing to be feared. After learning the art of walking in the house, +the baby's first attempts out of doors are hampered by the _zori_ or +_geta_,--a light straw sandal or small wooden clog attached to the foot +by a strap passing between the toes. At the very beginning the sandal +or clog is tied to the baby's foot by bits of string fastened around the +ankle, but this provision for security is soon discarded, and the baby +patters along like the grown people, holding on the _geta_ by the strap +passing between the toes. This somewhat cumbersome and inconvenient foot +gear must cause many falls at first, but baby's experience in the art of +balancing upon people's backs now aids in this new art of balancing upon +the little wooden clogs. Babies of two or three trot about quite +comfortably in _geta_ that seem to give most insecure footing, and older +children run, jump, hop on one foot, and play all manner of active games +upon heavy clogs that would wrench our ankles and toes out of all +possibility of usefulness. This foot gear, while producing an awkward, +shuffling gait, has certain advantages over our own, especially for +children whose feet are growing rapidly. The _geta_, even if outgrown, +can never cramp the toes nor compress the ankles. If the foot is too +long for the clog the heel laps over behind, but the toes do not suffer, +and the use of the _geta_ strengthens the ankles by affording no +artificial aid or support, and giving to all the muscles of foot and +leg free play, with the foot in a natural position. The toes of the +Japanese retain their prehensile qualities to a surprising degree, and +are used, not only for grasping the foot gear, but among mechanics +almost like two supplementary hands, to aid in holding the thing worked +upon. Each toe knows its work and does it, and they are not reduced to +the dull uniformity of motion that characterizes the toes of a +leather-shod nation. + +The distinction between the dress of the boy and the girl, that one +notices from childhood, begins in babyhood. A very young baby wears red +and yellow, but soon the boy is dressed in sober colors,--blues, grays, +greens, and browns; while the little girl still wears the most gorgeous +of colors and the largest of patterns in her garments, red being the +predominant hue. The sex, even of a young baby, may be distinguished by +the color of its clothing. White, the garb of mourning in Japan, is +never used for children, but the minutest babies are dressed in +bright-colored garments, and of the same materials--wadded cotton, silk, +or crepe--as those worn by adults of their social grade. As these +dresses are not as easily washed as our own cambric and flannel baby +clothes, there is a loss among the poorer classes in the matter of +cleanliness; and the gorgeous soiled gowns are not as attractive as the +more washable white garments in which our babies are dressed. For model +clothing for a baby, I would suggest a combination of the Japanese style +with the foreign, easily washed materials,--a combination that I have +seen used in their own families by Japanese ladies educated abroad, and +one in which the objections to the Japanese style of dress are entirely +obviated. + +The Japanese baby begins to practice the accomplishment of talking at a +very early age, for its native language is singularly happy in easy +expressions for children; and little babies will be heard chattering +away in soft, easily spoken words long before they are able to venture +alone from their perches on their mothers' or nurses' backs. A few +simple words express much, and cover all wants. _Iya_ expresses +discontent or dislike of any kind, and is also used for "no"; _mam ma_ +means food; _be be_ is the dress; _ta ta_ is the sock, or house shoe, +etc. We find many of the same sounds as in the baby language of +English, with meanings totally different. The baby is not troubled with +difficult grammatical changes, for the Japanese language has few +inflections; and it is too young to be puzzled with the intricacies of +the various expressions denoting different degrees of politeness, which +are the snare and the despair of the foreigner studying Japanese. + +As our little girl emerges from babyhood she finds the life opening +before her a bright and happy one, but one hedged about closely by the +proprieties, and one in which, from babyhood to old age, she must expect +to be always under the control of one of the stronger sex. Her position +will be an honorable and respected one only as she learns in her youth +the lesson of cheerful obedience, of pleasing manners, and of personal +cleanliness and neatness. Her duties must be always either within the +house, or, if she belongs to the peasant class, on the farm. There is no +career or vocation open to her: she must be dependent always upon either +father, husband, or son, and her greatest happiness is to be gained, not +by cultivation of the intellect, but by the early acquisition of the +self-control which is expected of all Japanese women to an even greater +degree than of the men. This self-control must consist, not simply in +the concealment of all the outward signs of any disagreeable +emotion,--whether of grief, anger, or pain,--but in the assumption of a +cheerful smile and agreeable manner under even the most distressing of +circumstances. The duty of self-restraint is taught to the little girls +of the family from the tenderest years; it is their great moral lesson, +and is expatiated upon at all times by their elders. The little girl +must sink herself entirely, must give up always to others, must never +show emotions except such as will be pleasing to those about her: this +is the secret of true politeness, and must be mastered if the woman +wishes to be well thought of and to lead a happy life. The effect of +this teaching is seen in the attractive but dignified manners of the +Japanese women, and even of the very little girls. They are not forward +nor pushing, neither are they awkwardly bashful; there is no +self-consciousness, neither is there any lack of _savoir faire_; a +childlike simplicity is united with a womanly consideration for the +comfort of those around them. A Japanese child seems to be the product +of a more perfect civilization than our own, for it comes into the world +with little of the savagery and barbarian bad manners that distinguish +children in this country, and the first ten or fifteen years of its life +do not seem to be passed in one long struggle to acquire a coating of +good manners that will help to render it less obnoxious in polite +society. How much of the politeness of the Japanese is the result of +training, and how much is inherited from generations of civilized +ancestors, it is difficult to tell; but my impression is, that babies +are born into the world with a good start in the matter of manners, and +that the uniformly gentle and courteous treatment that they receive from +those about them, together with the continual verbal teaching of the +principle of self-restraint and thoughtfulness of others, produce with +very little difficulty the universally attractive manners of the people. +One curious thing in a Japanese household is to see the formalities that +pass between brothers and sisters, and the respect paid to age by every +member of the family. The grandfather and grandmother come first of all +in everything,--no one at table must be helped before them in any case; +after them come the father and mother; and lastly, the children +according to their ages. A younger sister must always wait for the elder +and pay her due respect, even in the matter of walking into the room +before her. The wishes and convenience of the elder, rather than of the +younger, are to be consulted in everything, and this lesson must be +learned early by children. The difference in years may be slight, but +the elder-born has the first right in all cases. + +Our little girl's place in the family is a pleasant one: she is the pet +and plaything of father and elder brothers, and she is never saluted by +any one in the family, except her parents, without the title of respect +due to her position. If she is the eldest daughter, to the servants she +is _O J[=o] Sama_, literally, young lady; to her own brothers and sisters, +_Ne San_, elder sister. Should she be one of the younger ones, her given +name, preceded by the honorific _O_ and followed by _San_, meaning Miss, +will be the name by which she will be called by younger brothers and +sisters, and by the servants. As she passes from babyhood to girlhood, +and from girlhood to womanhood, she is the object of much love and care +and solicitude; but she does not grow up irresponsible or untrained to +meet the duties which womanhood will surely bring to her. She must learn +all the duties that fall upon the wife and mother of a Japanese +household, as well as obtain the instruction in books and mathematics +that is coming to be more and more a necessity for the women of Japan. +She must take a certain responsibility in the household; must see that +tea is made for the guests who may be received by her parents,--in all +but the families of highest rank, must serve it herself. Indeed, it is +quite the custom in families of the higher classes, should a guest, whom +it is desired to receive with especial honor, dine at the house, to +serve the meal, not with the family, but separately for the father and +his visitor; and it is the duty of the wife or daughter, oftener the +latter, to wait on them. This is in honor of the guest, not on account +of the lack of servants, for there may be any number of them within +call, or even in the back part of the room, ready to receive from the +hands of the young girl what she has removed. She must, therefore, know +the proper etiquette of the table, how to serve carefully and neatly, +and, above all, have the skill to ply the _sake_ bottle, so that the +house may keep up its reputation for hospitality. Should guests arrive +in the absence of her parents, she must receive and entertain them until +the master or mistress of the house returns. She also feels a certain +care about the behavior of the younger members of the family, especially +in the absence of the parents. In these various ways she is trained for +taking upon herself the cares of a household when the time comes. In all +but the very wealthiest and most aristocratic families, the daughters of +the house do a large part of the simple housework. In a house with no +furniture, no carpets, no bric-a-brac, no mirrors, picture frames or +glasses to be cared for, no stoves or furnaces, no windows to wash, a +large part of the cooking to be done outside, and no latest styles to be +imitated in clothing, the amount of work to be done by women is +considerably diminished, but still there remains enough to take a good +deal of time. Every morning there are the beds to be rolled up and +stored away in the closet, the mosquito nets to be taken down, the rooms +to be swept, dusted, and aired before breakfast. Besides this, there is +the washing and polishing of the _engawa_, or piazza, which runs around +the outside of a Japanese house between the _shoji_, or paper screens +that serve as windows, and the _amado_, or sliding shutters, that are +closed only at night, or during heavy, driving rains. Breakfast is to be +cooked and served, dishes to be washed (in cold water); and then perhaps +there is marketing to be done, either at shops outside or from the +vendors of fish and vegetables who bring their huge baskets of +provisions to the door; but after these duties are performed, it is +possible to sit down quietly to the day's work of sewing, studying, or +whatever else may suit the taste or necessities of the housewife. Of +sewing there is always a good deal to be done, for many Japanese dresses +must be taken to pieces whenever they are washed, and are turned, dyed, +and made over again and again, so long as there is a shred of the +original material left to work upon. There is washing, too, to be done, +although neither with hot water nor soap; and in the place of ironing, +the cotton garments, which are usually washed without ripping, must be +hung up on a bamboo pole passed through the armholes, and pulled smooth +and straight before they dry; and the silk, always ripped into breadths +before washing, must be smoothed while wet upon a board which is set in +the sun until the silk is dry. + +Then there are the every day dishes which our Japanese maiden must learn +to prepare. The proper boiling of rice is in itself a study. The +construction of the various soups which form the staple in the Japanese +bill of fare; the preparation of _mochi_, a kind of rice dough, which is +prepared at the New Year, or to send to friends on various festival +occasions: these and many other branches of the culinary art must be +mastered before the young girl is prepared to assume the cares of +married life. + +But though the little girl's life is not without its duties and +responsibilities, it is also not at all lacking in simple and innocent +pleasures.[*24] First among the annual festivals, and bringing with it +much mirth and frolic, comes the Feast of the New Year. At this time +father, mother, and all older members of the family lay aside their work +and their dignity, and join in the fun and sports that are +characteristic of this season. Worries and anxieties are set aside with +the close of the year, and the first beams of the New Year's sun bring +in a season of unlimited joy for the children. For about one week the +festival lasts, and the festal spirit remains through the whole month, +prompting to fun and amusements of all kinds. From early morning until +bedtime the children wear their prettiest clothes, in which they play +without rebuke. Guests come and go, bringing congratulations to the +family, and often gifts for all. The children's stock of toys is thus +greatly increased, and the house overflows with the good things of the +season, of which _mochi_, or cake made from rice dough, prepared always +especially for this time, is one of the most important articles. + +The children are taken with their parents to make New Year's visits to +their friends and to offer them congratulations, and much they enjoy +this, as, dressed in their best, they ride from house to house in +_jinrikishas_.[5] + +[5] _Jinrikisha_, or _kuruma_, a small, light carriage, usually with a +broad top, which is drawn by a man. The _jinrikisha_ is the commonest of +all vehicles now in use in Japan. _Jinrikisha_-man and _kurumaya_ are +terms commonly used for the runner who draws the carriage. + +And then, during the long, happy evenings, the whole family, including +even the old grandfather and grandmother, join in merry games; the +servants, too, are invited to join the family party, and, without +seeming forward or out of place, enter into the games with zest. One of +the favorite games is "_Hyaku nin isshu_," literally "The poems of a +hundred poets." It consists of two hundred cards, on each of which is +printed either the first or last half of one of the hundred famous +Japanese poems which give the name to the game. The poems are well known +to all Japanese, of whatever sort or condition. All Japanese poems are +short, containing only thirty-one syllables, and have a natural division +into two parts. The one hundred cards containing the latter halves of +the poems are dealt and laid out in rows, face upward, before the +players. One person is appointed reader. To him are given the remaining +hundred cards, and he reads the beginnings of the poems in whatever +order they come from the shuffled pack. Skill in the game consists in +remembering quickly the line following the one read, and rapidly finding +the card on which it is written. Especially does the player watch his +own cards, and if he finds there the end of the poem, the beginning of +which has just been read, he must pick it up before any one sees it and +lay it aside. If some one else spies the card first, he seizes it and +gives to the careless player several cards from his own hand. Whoever +first disposes of all his cards is the winner. The players usually +arrange themselves in two lines down the middle of the room, and the two +sides play against each other, the game not being ended until either one +side or the other has disposed of all its cards. The game requires great +quickness of thought and of motion, and is invaluable in giving to all +young people an education in the classical poetry of their own nation, +as well as being a source of great merriment and jollity among young and +old. + +Scattered throughout the year are various flower festivals, when, often +with her whole family, our little girl visits the famous gardens where +the plum, the cherry, the chrysanthemum, the iris, or the azalea attain +their greatest loveliness, and spends the day out of doors in aesthetic +enjoyment of the beauties of nature supplemented by art. And then there +is the feast most loved in the whole year, the Feast of Dolls, when on +the third day of the third month the great fire-proof storehouse gives +forth its treasures of dolls,--in an old family, many of them hundreds +of years old,--and for three days, with all their belongings of tiny +furnishings in silver, lacquer, and porcelain, they reign supreme, +arranged on red-covered shelves in the finest room of the house. Most +prominent among the dolls are the effigies of the Emperor and Empress in +antique court costume, seated in dignified calm, each on a lacquered +dais. Near them are the figures of the five court musicians in their +robes of office, each with his instrument. Beside these dolls, which are +always present and form the central figures at the feast, numerous +others, more plebeian, but more lovable, find places on the lower +shelves, and the array of dolls' furnishings which is brought out on +these occasions is something marvelous. It was my privilege to be +present at the Feast of Dolls in the house of one of the _Tokugawa +daimi[=o]s_, a house in which the old forms and ceremonies were strictly +observed, and over which the wave of foreign innovation had passed so +slightly that even the calendar still remained unchanged, and the feast +took place upon the third day of the third month of the old Japanese +year, instead of on the third day of March, which is the usual time for +it now. At this house, where the dolls had been accumulating for +hundreds of years, five or six broad, red-covered shelves, perhaps +twenty feet long or more, were completely filled with them and with +their belongings. The Emperor and Empress appeared again and again, as +well as the five court musicians, and the tiny furnishings and utensils +were wonderfully costly and beautiful. Before each Emperor and Empress +was set an elegant lacquered table service,--tray, bowls, cups, _sake_ +pots, rice buckets, etc., all complete; and in each utensil was placed +the appropriate variety of food. The _sake_ used on this occasion is a +sweet, white liquor, brewed especially for this feast, as different from +the ordinary _sake_ as sweet cider is from the hard cider upon which a +man may drink himself into a state of intoxication.[*30] Besides the +table service, everything that an imperial doll can be expected to need +or desire is placed upon the shelves. Lacquered _norimono_, or +palanquins; lacquered bullock carts, drawn by bow-legged black +bulls,--these were the conveyances of the great in Old Japan, and these, +in minute reproductions, are placed upon the red-covered shelves. Tiny +silver and brass _hibachi_, or fire boxes, are there, with their +accompanying tongs and charcoal baskets,--whole kitchens, with +everything required for cooking the finest of Japanese feasts, as finely +made as if for actual use; all the necessary toilet apparatus,--combs, +mirrors, utensils for blackening the teeth, for shaving the eyebrows, +for reddening the lips and whitening the face,--all these things are +there to delight the souls of all the little girls who may have the +opportunity to behold them. For three days the imperial effigies are +served sumptuously at each meal, and the little girls of the family +take pleasure in serving their imperial majesties; but when the feast +ends, the dolls and their belongings are packed away in their boxes, and +lodged in the fire-proof warehouse for another year. + +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.[*31] + +Beside the regular feasts at stated seasons, our little girl has a great +variety of toys and games, some belonging to particular seasons, some +played at any time during the year. At the New Year the popular +out-of-door games are battledoor and shuttlecock, and ball. There is no +prettier sight, to my mind, than a group of little girls in their +many-colored wide-sleeved dresses playing with battledoor or ball. The +graceful, rhythmic motion of their bodies, the bright upturned eyes, the +laughing faces, are set off to perfection by the coloring of their +flowing drapery; and their agility on their high, lacquered clogs is a +constant source of wonder and admiration to any one who has ever made an +effort to walk upon the clumsy things. There are dolls, too, that are +not relegated to the storehouse when the Feast of Dolls is ended, but +who are the joy and comfort of their little mothers during the whole +year; and at every _kwan-ko-ba_, or bazaar, an endless variety of games, +puzzles, pictures to be cut out and glued together, and amusements of +all kinds, may be purchased at extremely low rates. There is no dearth +of games for our little girl, and many pleasant hours are spent in the +household sitting room with games, or conundrums, or stories, or the +simple girlish chatter that elicits constant laughter from sheer +youthful merriment. + +As for fairy tales, so dear to the hearts of children in every country, +the Japanese child has her full share. Often she listens, half asleep, +while cuddling under the warm quilted cover of the _kotatsu_,[6] in the +cold winter evenings, to the drowsy voice of the old grandmother or +nurse, who carries her away on the wings of imagination to the wonderful +palace of the sea gods, or to the haunts of the terrible _oni_, monsters +with red, distorted faces and fearful horns. Momotaro, the Peach Boy, +with his wonderful feats in the conquest of the _oni_, is her hero, +until he is supplanted by the more real ones of Japanese history. + +[6] _Kotatsu_, a charcoal fire in a brazier or a small fireplace in the +floor, over which a wooden frame is set and the whole covered by a +quilt. The family sit about it in cold weather with the quilt drawn up +over the feet and knees. + +There are occasional all-day visits to the theatre, too, where, seated +on the floor in a box, railed off from those adjoining, our little girl, +in company with her mother and sisters, enjoys, though with paroxysms of +horror and fear, the heroic historical plays which are now almost all +that is left of the heroic old Japan. Here she catches the spirit of +passionate loyalty that belonged to those days, forms her ideals of what +a noble Japanese woman should be willing to do for parents or husband, +and comes away taught, as she could be by no other teaching, what the +spirit was that animated her ancestors,--what spirit must animate her, +should she wish to be a worthy descendant of the women of old. + +Among these surroundings, with these duties and amusements, our little +girl grows to womanhood. The unconscious and beautiful spirit of her +childhood is not driven away at the dawn of womanhood by thoughts of +beaux, of coming out in society, of a brief career of flirtation and +conquest, and at the end as fine a marriage, either for love or money, +as her imagination can picture. She takes no thought for these things +herself, and her intercourse with young men, though free and +unconstrained, has about it no grain of flirtation or romantic interest. +When the time comes for her to marry, her father will have her meet some +eligible young man, and both she and the young man will know, when they +are brought together, what is the end in view, and will make up their +minds about the matter. But until that time comes, the modest Japanese +maiden carries on no flirtations, thinks little of men except as higher +beings to be deferred to and waited on, and preserves the childlike +innocence of manner, combined with a serene dignity under all +circumstances, that is so noticeable a trait in the Japanese woman from +childhood to old age. + +The Japanese woman is, under this discipline, a finished product at the +age of sixteen or eighteen. She is pure, sweet, and amiable, with great +power of self-control, and a knowledge of what to do upon all occasions. +The higher part of her nature is little developed; no great religious +truths have lifted her soul above the world into a clearer and higher +atmosphere; but as far as she goes, in regard to all the little things +of daily life, she is bright, industrious, sweet-tempered, and +attractive, and prepared to do well her duty, when that duty comes to +her, as wife and mother and mistress of a household. The highest +principle upon which she is taught to act is obedience, even to the +point of violating all her finest feminine instincts, at the command of +father or husband; and acting under that principle, she is capable of an +entire self-abnegation such as few women of any race can achieve. + +With the close of her childhood, the happiest period in the life of a +Japanese woman closes. The discipline that she has received so far, +repressive and constant as it has often been, has been from kind and +loving parents. She has freedom, to a certain degree, such as is unknown +to any other country in Asia. In the home she is truly loved, often the +pet and plaything of the household, though not receiving the caresses +and words of endearment that children in America expect as a right, for +love in Japan is undemonstrative.[7] But just at the time when her mind +broadens, and the desire for knowledge and self-improvement develops, +the restraints and checks upon her become more severe. Her sphere seems +to grow narrower, difficulties one by one increase, and the young girl, +who sees life before her as something broad and expansive, who looks to +the future with expectant joy, may become, in a few years, the weary, +disheartened woman. + +[7] Kisses are unknown, and regarded by conservative Japanese as an +animal and disgusting way of expressing affection. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +EDUCATION. + + +So far we have spoken only of the domestic training of a Japanese girl. +That part of her education that she gains through teachers and schools +must be the subject of a separate chapter. Japan differs from most +Oriental countries in the fact that her women are considered worthy of a +certain amount of the culture that comes from the study of books; and +although, until recently, schools for girls were unknown in the empire, +nevertheless every woman, except those of the lower classes, received +instruction in the ordinary written language, while some were well +versed in the Chinese classics and the poetic art. These, with some +musical accomplishment, an acquaintance with etiquette and the arts of +arranging flowers, of making the ceremonial tea, and in many cases not +only of writing a beautiful hand, but of flower-painting as well, in the +old days made up the whole of an ordinary woman's education. Among the +lower classes, especially the merchant class, instruction was sometimes +given in the various pantomimic dances which one sees most frequently +presented by professional dancing girls. The art of dancing is not +usually practiced by women of the higher classes, but among the +daughters of the merchants special dances were learned for exhibition at +home, or even at the _matsuri_ or religious festival, and their +performance was for the amusement of spectators, and not especially for +the pleasure of the dancers themselves. These dances are modest and +graceful, but from the fact that they are always learned for +entertaining an audience, however small and select, and are most +frequently performed by professional dancers of questionable character, +the more refined and higher class Japanese do not care especially to +have their daughters learn them. + +In the old days, little girls were not sent to school, but, going to the +house of a private teacher, received the necessary instruction in +reading, and writing. The writing and reading at the beginning, are +taught simultaneously, the teacher writing a letter upon a sheet of +paper and telling the scholar its name, and the scholar writing it over +and over until, by the time she has acquired the necessary skill in +writing it, both name and form are indelibly imprinted upon her memory. +To write, with a brush dipped in India ink, upon soft paper, the hand +entirely without support, is an art that seldom can be acquired by a +grown person, but when learned in childhood it gives great deftness in +whatever other art may be subsequently studied. This is perhaps the +reason why the Japanese value a good handwriting more highly than any +other accomplishment, for it denotes a manual dexterity that is the +secret of success in all the arts, and one who writes the Chinese +characters well and rapidly can quickly learn to do anything else with +the fingers. + +The fault that one finds with the Japanese system--a fault that lies +deeper than the mere methods of teaching, and has its root in the +ideographic character of the written language--is that, while it +cultivates the memory and powers of observation to a remarkable extent, +and while it gives great skill in the use of the fingers, it affords +little opportunity for the development of the reasoning powers.[8] The +years of study that are required for mastering the written language, so +as to be able to grasp the thoughts already given to the world, leave +comparatively little time for the conducting of any continuous thought +on one's own account, and so we find in Japanese scholars--whether boys +or girls--quickness of apprehension, retentive memories, industry and +method in their study of their lessons, but not much originality of +thought. This result comes, I believe, from the nature of the written +language and the difficulties that attend the mastery of it; as a +consequence of which, an educated man or woman becomes simply a student +of other men's thoughts and sayings about things instead of being a +student of the things themselves. + +[8] The Japanese written language is a strange combination of Chinese +and Japanese, to read which a knowledge of the Chinese characters is +necessary. Chinese literature written in the Chinese ideographs, which +of course give no clue to the sound, are read by Japanese with the +Japanese rendering of the words, and the Japanese order of words in the +sentence. When there have not been exact equivalent Japanese words, a +Chinese term has come into use, so that much corrupt Chinese is now well +engrafted into the Japanese language, both written and spoken. In the +forming of new words and technical terms Chinese words are used, as the +Greek and Latin are here. There is probably no similarity in the origin +of the two languages, but the Japanese borrowed from the Chinese about +the sixth century A. D. their cleverly planned but most complex method +of expressing thought in writing. The introduction of the Chinese +literature has done much for Japan, and to master this language is one +of the essentials in the education of every boy. At least seven or eight +thousand characters must be learned for daily use, and there are several +different styles of writing each of them. For a scholar, twice as many, +or even more, must be mastered in order to read the various works in +that rich literature. + +The Japanese language contains a syllabary of forty-eight letters, and +in books and newspapers for the common people is printed, by the side of +the Chinese character, the rendering of it, in the letters of the +_kana_, or Japanese alphabet.[*40] + +A Japanese woman is not expected to do much in the study of Chinese. She +will, of course, learn a few of the most common characters, such as are +used in letter-writing, and for the rest she will read by the help of +the _kana_. + +Music in Japan is an accomplishment reserved almost entirely for women, +for priests, and for blind men. It seems to me quite fortunate that the +musical art is not more generally practiced, as Japanese music, as a +rule, is far from agreeable to the untrained ear of the outside +barbarian.[*41] The _koto_ is the pleasantest of the Japanese +instruments, but probably on account of its large size, which makes it +inconvenient to keep in a small Japanese house, it is used most among +the higher classes, from the _samurai_[9] upwards. The _koto_ is an +embryo piano, a horizontal sounding-board, some six feet long, upon +which are stretched strings supported by ivory bridges. It is played by +means of ivory finger-tips fitted to the thumb, forefinger, and middle +finger of the right hand, and gives forth agreeable sounds, not unlike +those of the harp. The player sits before the _koto_ on knees and heels, +in the ordinary Japanese attitude, and her motions are very graceful and +pretty as she touches the strings, often supplementing the strains of +the instrument with her voice. The teaching of this instrument and of +the _samisen_, or Japanese guitar, is almost entirely in the hands of +blind men, who in Japan support themselves by the two professions of +music and massage,--all the blind, who cannot learn the former, becoming +adepts in the latter profession. + +[9] The _samurai_ in the feudal times were the hereditary retainers of a +_daimi[=o]_, or feudal lord. They formed the military and literary class. +For further information, see chap. viii., on _Samurai Women_. + +The arrangement of flowers is taught as a fine art, and much time may +be spent in learning how, by clipping, bending, and fixing in its place +in the vase, each spray and twig may be made to look as if actually +growing, for flower arranging is not merely to show the flower itself, +but includes the proper arrangement of the branches, twigs, and leaves +of plants. The flower plays only a small part, and is not used in +decoration, except on the branch and stem as it is in nature, and the +art consists in the preservation of the natural bend and growth when +fixed in the vase. In every case, each branch has certain curves, which +must be in harmony with the whole. Branches of pine, bamboo, and the +flowering plum are much used. + +Teachers spend much time in showing proper and improper combinations of +different flowers, as well as the arrangement of them. Many different +styles have come up, originated by the famous teachers who have founded +various schools of the art,--an art which is unique and exceedingly +popular, requiring artistic talent and a cultivated eye. One often sees, +on going into the guest room of a Japanese house, a vase containing +gracefully arranged flowers set in the _tokonoma_, or raised alcove of +the room, under the solitary _kakemono_[10] that forms the chief +ornament of the apartment. As these two things, the vase of flowers and +the hanging scroll, are the only adornments, it is more necessary that +the flowers should be carefully arranged, than in our crowded rooms, +where a vase of flowers may easily escape the eye, perplexed by the +multitude of objects which surround it. + +[10] _Kakemono_, a hanging scroll, upon which a picture is painted, or +some poem or sentiment written. + +The ceremonial tea must not be confounded with the ordinary serving of +tea for refreshment. The proper making, and serving, and drinking of the +ceremonial tea is the most formal of social observances, each step in +which is prescribed by a rigid code of etiquette. The tea, instead of +being the whole leaf, such as is used for ordinary occasions, is a fine, +green powder. The infusion is made, not in a small pot, from which it is +poured out into cups, but in a bowl, into which the hot water is poured +from a dipper on to the powdered tea. The mixture is stirred with a +bamboo whisk until it foams, then handed with much ceremony to the +guest, who takes it with equal ceremony and drinks it from the bowl, +emptying the receptacle at three gulps. Should there be a number of +guests, tea is made for each in turn, in the order of their rank, in the +same bowl. For this ceremonial tea, a special set of utensils is used, +all of antique and severely simple style. The charcoal used for heating +the water is of a peculiar variety; and the room in which the tea is +made and served is built for that special purpose, and kept sacred for +that use. This art, which is often part of the education of women of the +higher classes, is taught by regular teachers, often by gentlewomen who +have fallen into distressed circumstances.[*45] I remember with great +vividness a visit paid to an old lady living near a provincial city of +Japan, who had for years supported herself by giving lessons in this +politest of arts. Her little house, of the daintiest and neatest type, +seemed filled to overflowing by three foreigners, whom she received with +the courtliest of welcomes. At the request of my friend, an American +lady engaged in missionary work in that part of the country, she gave us +a lesson in the etiquette of the tea ceremony. Every motion, from the +bringing in and arranging of the utensils to the final rinsing and +wiping of the tea bowl, was according to rules strictly laid down, and +the whole ceremony had more the solemnity of a religious ritual than the +lightness and gayety of a social occasion. + +Etiquette of all kinds is not left in Japan to chance, to be learned by +observation and imitation of any model that may present itself, but is +taught regularly by teachers who make a specialty of it. Everything in +the daily life has its rules, and the etiquette teacher has them all at +her fingers' ends. There have been several famous teachers of etiquette, +and they have formed systems which differ in minor points, while +agreeing in the principal rules. The etiquette of bowing, the position +of the body, the arms, and the head while saluting, the methods of +shutting and opening the door, rising and sitting down on the floor, the +manner of serving a meal, or tea, are all, with the minutest details, +taught to the young girls, who, I imagine, find it rather irksome. I +know two young girls of new Japan who find nothing so wearisome as +their etiquette lesson, and would gladly be excused from it. I have +heard them, after their teacher had left, slyly make fun of her stiff +and formal manners. Such people as she will, I fear, soon belong only to +the past, though it still remains to be seen how much of European +manners will be engrafted on the old formalities of Japanese life. It +is, perhaps, because of this regular teaching in the ways of polite +society, that the Japanese girl seems never at a loss, even under +unusual circumstances, but bears herself with self-possession in places +where young girls in America would be embarrassed and awkward. + +But the Japanese are rapidly finding out that this busy nineteenth +century gives little time for learning how to shut and open doors in the +politest manner, and indeed such things under the newly established +school system are now relegated entirely to the girls' schools, the boys +having no lessons in etiquette. + +The method of teaching flower-painting is so interesting that I must +speak of it before I leave the subject of accomplishments. I have said +that the acquisition of skill in writing the Chinese characters was the +best possible preparation for skill in all other arts. This is +especially true of the art of painting, which is simply the next step, +after writing has been learned. The painting master, when he comes to +the house, brings no design as a model, but sits down on the floor +before the little desk, and on a sheet of paper paints with great +rapidity the design that he wishes the pupil to copy. It may be simply +two or three blades of grass upon which the pupil makes a beginning, but +she is expected to make her picture with exactly the same number of bold +strokes that the master puts into his. Again and again she blunders her +strokes on to a sheet of paper, until at last, when sheet after sheet +has been spoiled, she begins to see some semblance of the master's copy +in her own daub. She perseveres, making copy after copy, until she is +able from memory to put upon the paper at a moment's notice the three +blades of grass to her master's satisfaction. Only then can she go on to +a new copy, and only after many such designs have been committed to +memory, and the free, dashing stroke necessary for Japanese painting has +been acquired, is she allowed to undertake any copying from nature, or +original designing.[*49] + +I have dwelt thus far only upon the entirely Japanese education that was +permitted to women under the old regime. That it was an effective and +refining system, all can testify who have made the acquaintance of any +of the charming Japanese ladies whose schooling was finished before +Commodore Perry disturbed the repose of old Japan. As I write, the image +comes before me of a sweet-faced, bright-eyed little gentlewoman with +whom it was my good fortune to become intimately acquainted during my +stay in T[=o]ky[=o]. A widow, left penniless, with one child to support, +she earned the merest pittance by teaching sewing at one of the +government schools in T[=o]ky[=o]; but in all the circumstances of her +life, narrow and busy as it needs must be, she proved herself a lady +through and through. Polite, cheerful, an intelligent and cultivated +reader, a thrifty housekeeper, a loving and careful mother, a true and +helpful friend, her memory is associated with many of my pleasantest +hours in Japan, and she is but one of the many who bear witness to the +culture that might be acquired by women in the old days. + +But the Japan of old is not the Japan of to-day, and in the school +system now prevalent throughout the empire girls and boys are equally +provided for. First the schools established by the various missionary +societies, and then the government schools, offered to girls a broader +education than the old instruction in Chinese, in etiquette, and in +accomplishments. Now, every morning, the streets of the cities and +villages are alive with boys and girls clattering along, with their +books and lunch boxes in their hands, to the kindergarten, primary, +grammar, high, or normal school. Every rank in life, every grade in +learning, may find its proper place in the new school system, and the +girls eagerly grasp their opportunities, and show themselves apt and +willing students of the new learning offered to them. + +By the new system, at its present stage of development, too much is +expected of the Japanese boy or girl. The work required would be a +burden to the quickest mind. The whole of the old education in Japanese +and Chinese literature and composition--an education requiring the best +years of a boy's life--is given, and grafted upon this, our +common-school and high-school studies of mathematics, geography, +history, and natural science. In addition to these, at all higher +schools, one foreign language is required, and often two, English +ranking first in the popular estimation. Many a headache do the poor, +hard-working students have over the puzzling English language, in which +they have to begin at the wrong end of the book and read across the page +from left to right, instead of from top to bottom, and from right to +left, as is natural to them. But in spite of its hard work, the new +school life is cheerful and healthful, and the children enjoy it. It +helps them to be really children, and, while they are young, to be merry +and playful, not dignified and formal little ladies at all times. Upon +the young girls, the influence of the schools is to make them more +independent, self-reliant, and stronger women. In the houses of the +higher classes, even now, much of the old-time system of repression is +still in force. Children are indeed "seen but not heard," and from the +time when they learn to walk they must learn to be polite and +dignified. At school, the more progressive feeling of the times +predominates among the authorities, and the children are encouraged to +unbend and enjoy themselves in games and frolics, as true children +should do. Much is done for the pleasure of the little ones, who often +enjoy school better than home, and declare that they do not like +holidays.[*52] + +But the young girl, who has finished this pleasant school life, with all +its advantages, is not as well fitted as under the old system for the +duties and trials of married life, unless under exceptional +circumstances, where the husband chosen has advanced ideas. To those +teaching the young girls of Japan to-day, the problem of how to educate +them aright is a deep one, and with each newly trained girl sent out go +many hopes, mingled with anxieties, in regard to the training she has +had as a preparation for the new life she is about to enter. The few, +the pioneers, will have to suffer for the happiness and good of the +many, for the problem of grafting the new on to the old is indeed a +difficult one, to be solved only after many experiments. + +There are many difficulties which lie in the way of the new schools +that must be met, studied, and overcome. One of them is the one already +referred to, the problem of how best to combine the new and the old in +the school curriculum. That the old learning and literature, the old +politeness and sweetness of manner, must not be given up or made little +of, is evident to every right-minded student of the matter. That the +newer and broader culture, with its higher morality, its greater +development of the best powers of the mind, must play a large part in +the Japan of the future, there is not a shadow of doubt, and the women +must not be left behind in the onward movement of the nation. But how to +give to the young minds the best products of the thought of two such +distinct civilizations is a question that is as yet unanswered, and +cannot be satisfactorily settled until the effect of the new education +has begun to show itself in a generation or so of graduates from the new +schools. Another difficulty is in the matter of health. Most of the new +school-houses are fitted with seats and desks, such as are found in +American schools. Many of them are heated by stoves or furnaces. The +scholars in most cases wear the Japanese dress, which in winter is made +warm enough to be worn in rooms having no artificial heat. Put this warm +costume into an artificially heated room and the result is an +over-heating of the body, and a subsequent chill when the pupil goes, +with no extra covering, into the keen out-of-door air. From this cause +alone, arise many colds and lung troubles, which can be prevented when +more experience has shown how the costumes of the East and West can be +combined to suit the new conditions. Another part of the health problem +lies in the fact that in many cases the parents do not understand the +proper care of a growing girl, ambitious to excel in her studies. +Instead of the regular hours, healthful food, and gentle restraint that +a girl needs under those circumstances, our little Japanese maiden is +allowed to sit up to any hour of the night, or arise at any hour in the +morning, to prepare her lessons, is given food of most indigestible +quality at all hours of the day between her regular meals, and is +frequently urged to greater mental exertion than her delicate body can +endure. + +Another difficulty, in fitting the new school system into the customs +of the people, lies in the early age at which marriages are contracted. +Before the girl has finished her school course, her parents begin to +wonder whether there is not danger of her being left on their hands +altogether, if they do not hand her over to the first eligible young man +who presents himself. Sometimes the girl makes a brave fight, and +remains in school until her course is finished; more often she succumbs +and is married off, bids a weeping farewell to her teachers and +schoolmates, and leaves the school, to become a wife at sixteen, a +mother at eighteen, and an old woman at thirty. In some cases, the +breaking down of a girl's health may be traced to threats on the part of +her parents that, if she does not take a certain rank in her studies, +she will be taken from school and married off.[*55] + +These are difficulties that may be overcome when a generation has been +educated who can, as parents, avoid the mistakes that now endanger the +health of a Japanese school-girl. In the mean time, boarding schools, +that can attend to matters of health and hygiene among the girls, +would, if they could be conducted with the proper admixture of Eastern +and Western learning and manners, do a great deal toward educating that +generation. The missionary schools do much in this direction, but the +criticism of the Japanese upon the manners of the girls educated in +missionary schools is universally severe. To a foreigner who has lived +almost entirely among Japanese ladies of pure Japanese education, the +manners of the girls in these schools seem brusque and awkward; and +though they are many of them noble women and doing noble work, there is +room for hope that in the future of Japan the charm of manner which is +the distinguishing feature of the Japanese woman will not be lost by +contact with our Western shortness and roughness. A happy mean +undoubtedly can be reached; and when it is, the women of new Japan will +be able to bear a not unfavorable comparison with the women of the old +regime. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. + + +When the Japanese maiden arrives at the age of sixteen, or thereabouts, +she is expected as a matter of course to marry. She is usually allowed +her choice in regard to whether she will or will not marry a certain +man, but she is expected to marry some one, and not to take too much +time in making up her mind. The alternative of perpetual spinsterhood is +never considered, either by herself or her parents. Marriage is as much +a matter of course in a woman's life as death, and is no more to be +avoided. This being the case, our young woman has only as much liberty +of choice accorded to her as is likely to provide against a great amount +of unhappiness in her married life. If she positively objects to the man +who is proposed to her, she is seldom forced to marry him, but no more +cordial feeling than simple toleration is expected of her before +marriage. + +The courtship is somewhat after the following manner. A young man, who +finds himself in a position to marry, speaks to some married friend, and +asks him to be on the lookout for a beautiful[11] and accomplished +maiden, who would be willing to become his wife. The friend, acting +rather as advance agent, makes a canvass of all the young maidens of his +acquaintance, inquiring among his friends; and finally decides that +so-and-so (Miss Flower, let us say) will be a very good match for his +friend. Having arrived at this decision, he goes to Miss Flower's +parents and lays the case of his friend before them. Should they approve +of the suitor, a party is arranged at the house of some common friend, +where the young people may have a chance to meet each other and decide +each upon the other's merits. Should the young folks find no fault with +the match, presents are exchanged,[12] a formal betrothal is entered +into, and the marriage is hastened forward. All arrangements between the +contracting parties are made by go-betweens, or seconds, who hold +themselves responsible for the success of the marriage, and must be +concerned in the divorce proceedings, should divorce become desirable or +necessary. + +[11] The Japanese standard of female beauty differs in many respects +from our own, so that it is almost impossible for a foreigner visiting +Japan to comprehend the judgments of the Japanese in regard to the +beauty of their own women, and even more impossible for the untraveled +Japanese to discover the reasons for a foreigner's judgments upon either +Japanese or foreign beauties. To the Japanese, the ideal female face +must be long and narrow; the forehead high and narrow in the middle, but +widening and lowering at the sides, conforming to the outline of the +beloved Fuji, the mountain that Japanese art loves to picture. The hair +should be straight and glossy black, and absolutely smooth. Japanese +ladies who have the misfortune to have any wave or ripple in their hair, +as many of them do, are at as much pains to straighten it in the +dressing as American ladies are to simulate a natural curl, when Nature +has denied them that charm. The eyes should be long and narrow, slanting +upward at the outer corners; and the eyebrows should be delicate lines, +high above the eye itself. The distinctly aquiline nose should be low at +the bridge, the curve outward beginning much lower down than upon the +Caucasian face; and the eye-socket should not be outlined at all, either +by the brow, the cheek, or by the nose. It is this flatness of the face +about the eyes that gives the mildness of expression to all young people +of Mongolian type that is so noticeable a trait always in their +physiognomy. The mouth of an aristocratic Japanese lady must be small, +and the lips full and red; the neck, a conspicuous feature always when +the Japanese dress is worn, should be long and slender, and gracefully +curved. The complexion should be light,--a clear ivory-white, with +little color in the cheeks. The blooming country girl style of beauty is +not admired, and everything, even to color in the cheeks, must be +sacrificed to gain the delicacy that is the _sine qua non_ of the +Japanese beauty. The figure should be slender, the waist long, but not +especially small, and the hips narrow, to secure the best effect with +the Japanese dress. The head and shoulders should be carried slightly +forward, and the body should also be bent forward slightly at the waist, +to secure the most womanly and aristocratic carriage. In walking, the +step should be short and quick, with the toes turned in, and the foot +lifted so slightly that either clog or sandal will scuff with every +step. This is necessary for modesty, with the narrow skirt of the +Japanese dress. + +Contrast with this type the fair, curling hair, the round blue eyes, the +rosy cheeks, the erect, slim-waisted, large-hipped figures of many +foreign beauties,--the rapid, long, clean-stepping walk, and the air of +almost masculine strength and independence, which belongs especially to +English and American women,--and one can see how the Japanese find +little that they recognize as beauty among them. Blue eyes, set into +deep sockets, and with the bridge of the nose rising as a barrier +between them, impart a fierce grotesqueness to the face, that the +untraveled Japanese seldom admire. The very babies will scream with +horror at first sight of a blue-eyed, light-haired foreigner, and it is +only after considerable familiarity with such persons that they can be +induced to show anything but the wildest fright in their presence. +Foreigners who have lived a great deal among the Japanese find their +standards unconsciously changing, and see, to their own surprise, that +their countrywomen look ungainly, fierce, aggressive, and awkward among +the small, mild, shrinking, and graceful Japanese ladies. + +[12] The present from the groom is usually a piece of handsome silk, +used for the _obi_ or girdle. This takes the place of the conventional +engagement ring of Europe and America.[*60] From the family of the +bride, silk, such as is made up into men's dresses, is sent. + +The marriage ceremony, which seems to be neither religious nor legal in +its nature,[*61a] takes place at the house of the groom, to which the +bride is carried, accompanied by her go-betweens, and, if she be of the +higher classes, by her own confidential maid, who will serve her as her +personal attendant in the new life in her husband's house. The trousseau +and household goods, which the bride is expected to bring with her, are +sent before.[*61b] The household goods required by custom as a part of +the outfit of every bride are as follows: A bureau; a low desk or table +for writing; a work-box; two of the lacquer trays or tables on which +meals are served, together with everything required for furnishing them, +even to the chopsticks; and two or more complete sets of handsome bed +furnishings. The trousseau will contain, if the bride be of a well-to-do +family, dresses for all seasons, and handsome sashes without number; for +the unchanging fashions of Japan, together with the durable quality of +the dress material, make it possible for a woman, at the time of her +marriage, to enter her husband's house with a supply of clothing that +may last her through her lifetime. The parents of the bride, in giving +up their daughter, as they do when she marries, show the estimation in +which they have held her by the beauty and completeness of the trousseau +with which they provide her. This is her very own; and in the event of a +divorce, she brings back with her to her father's house the clothing and +household goods that she carried away as a bride. + +With the bride and her trousseau are sent a great number of presents +from the family of the bride to the members of the groom's household. +Each member of the family, from the aged grandfather to the youngest +grandchild, receives some remembrance of the occasion; and even the +servants and retainers, down to the _jinrikisha_ men, and the _bett[=o]_ +in the stables, are not forgotten by the bride's relatives. Beside this +present-giving, the friends and relatives of the bride and groom, as in +this country, send gifts to the young couple, often some article for use +in the household, or crepe or silk for dresses. + +In old times, the wedding took place in the afternoon, but it is now +usually celebrated in the evening. The ceremony consists merely in a +formal drinking of the native wine (_sake_) from a two-spouted cup, +which is presented to the mouths of the bride and groom alternately. +This drinking from one cup is a symbol of the equal sharing of the joys +and sorrows of married life. At the ceremony no one is present but the +bride and bridegroom, their go-betweens, and a young girl, whose duty it +is to present the cup to the lips of the contracting parties. When this +is over, the wedding guests, who have been assembled in the next room +during the ceremony, join the wedding party, a grand feast is spread, +and much merriment ensues.[13] + +[13] Many women still blacken their teeth after marriage, after the +manner universal in the past; but this custom is, fortunately, rapidly +going out of fashion. + +On the third day after the wedding, the newly married couple are +expected to make a visit to the bride's family, and for this great +preparations are made. A large party is usually given by the bride's +parents, either in the afternoon or evening, in honor of this occasion, +to which the friends of the bride's family are invited. The young +couple bring with them presents from the groom's family to the bride's, +in return for the presents sent on the wedding day.[*64] + +The festivities often begin early in the afternoon and keep up until +late at night. A fine dinner is served, and music and dancing, by +professional performers, or some other entertainment, serve to make the +time pass pleasantly. The bride appears as hostess with her mother, +entertaining the company, and receiving their congratulations, and must +remain to speed the last departing guest, before leaving the paternal +roof. + +Within the course of two or three months, the newly married couple are +expected to give an entertainment, or series of entertainments, to their +friends, as an announcement of the marriage. As the wedding ceremony is +private, and no notice is given, nor are cards sent out, this is +sometimes the first intimation that is received of the marriage by many +of the acquaintances, though the news of a wedding usually travels +quickly. The entertainment may be a dinner party, given at home, or at +some tea-house, similar in many ways to the one given at the bride's +home by her parents. Sometimes it is a garden party, and very lately it +has become the fashion for officials and people of high rank to give a +ball in foreign style. + +Besides the entertainment, presents of red rice, or _mochi_, are sent as +a token of thanks to all who have remembered the young couple. These are +arranged even more elaborately than the ones sent after the birth of an +heir. + +The young people are not, as in this country, expected to set up +housekeeping by themselves, and establish a new home. Marriages often +take place early in life, even before the husband has any means of +supporting a family; and as a matter of course, a son with his wife +makes his abode with his parents, and forms simply a new branch of the +household. + +The only act required to make the marriage legal is the withdrawal of +the bride's name from the list of her father's family as registered by +the government, and its entry upon the register of her husband's family. +From that time forward she severs all ties with her father's house, save +those of affection, and is more closely related by law and custom to +her husband's relatives than to her own. Even this legal recognition of +her marriage is a comparatively new thing in Japan, as is any limitation +of the right of divorce on the part of the husband, or extension of that +right to the wife.[14] + +[14] "As early as 1870 an edict was published by which official notice +and approbation were made necessary preliminaries to every matrimonial +contract. In the following year the class-limitations upon freedom of +marriage were abolished, and two years later the right of suing for a +divorce was conceded to the wife."--Rein's _Japan_, p. 425. + +At present in Japan the marriage relation is by no means a permanent +one, as it is virtually dissoluble at the will of either party, and the +condition of public opinion is such among the lower classes that it is +not an unknown occurrence for a man to marry and divorce several wives +in succession; and for a woman, who has been divorced once or twice, to +be willing and able to marry well a second or even a third time. Among +the higher classes, the dread of the scandal and gossip, that must +attach themselves to troubles between man and wife, serves as a +restraint upon too free use of the power of divorce; but still, +divorces among the higher classes are so common now that one meets +numerous respectable and respected persons who have at some time in +their lives gone through such an experience. + +One provision of the law, which serves to make most mothers endure any +evil of married life rather than sue for a divorce, is the fact that the +children belong to the father; and no matter how unfit a person he may +be to have the care of them, the disposal of them in case of a divorce +rests absolutely with him. A divorced woman returns childless to her +father's house; and many women, in consequence of this law or custom, +will do their best to keep the family together, working the more +strenuously in this direction, the more brutal and worthless the husband +proves himself to be. + +The ancestor worship, as found in Japan, the tracing of relationship in +the male line only, and the generally accepted belief that children +inherit their qualities from their father rather than from the mother, +make them his children and not hers. Thus we often see children of noble +rank on the father's side, but ignoble on the mother's, inherit the +rank of their father, and not permitted even to recognize their mother +as in any way their equal. If she is plebeian, the children are not +regarded as tainted by it. + +In the case of divorce, even if the law allowed the mother to keep her +children, it would be almost an impossibility for her to do so. She has +no means of earning her bread and theirs, for few occupations are open +to women, and she is forced to become a dependent on her father, or some +male relative. Whatever they may be willing to do for her, it is quite +likely that they would begrudge aid to the children of another family, +with whom custom hardly recognizes any tie. The children are the +children of the man whose name they bear. If the woman is a favorite +daughter, it may happen that her father will take her and her children +under his roof, and support them all; but this is a rare exception, and +only possible when the husband first gives up all claim to the children. + +There comes to my mind now a case illustrating this point, which I think +I may cite without betraying confidence. It is that of a most attractive +young woman who was married to a worthless husband, but lived +faithfully with him for several years, and became the mother of three +children. The husband, who seemed at first merely good-for-nothing, +became worse as the years went by, drank himself out of situation after +situation procured for him by powerful relatives, and at last became so +violent that he even beat his wife and threatened his children, a +proceeding most unusual on the part of a Japanese husband and father. +The poor wife was at last obliged to flee from her husband's house to +her mother's, taking her children with her. She sued for a divorce and +obtained it, and is now married again; her youth, good looks, and high +connections procuring her a very good catch for her second venture in +matrimony; but her children are lost to her, and belong wholly to their +worthless, drunken father. + +Of the lack of permanence in the marriage relation among the lower +classes, the domestic changes of one of my servants in T[=o]ky[=o] +afford an amusing illustration. The man, whom I had hired in the double +capacity of _jinrikisha_ man and _bett[=o]_ or groom, was a strong, +faithful, pleasant-faced fellow, recently come to T[=o]ky[=o] from the +country. I inquired, when I engaged him, whether he had a wife, as I +wanted some one who could remain in his room in the stable in care of +the horse when he was pulling me about in the _jinrikisha_. He replied +that he had a wife, but she was now at Utsunomiya, the country town from +which he had come, but he would send for her at once, and she would be +in T[=o]ky[=o] in the course of a week or two. Two or three weeks passed +and no wife appeared, so I inquired of my cook and head servant what had +become of Yasaku's wife. He replied, with a twinkle in his eye, that she +had found work in Utsunomiya and did not wish to come. A week more +passed, and still no wife, and further inquiries elicited from the cook +the information that Yasaku had divorced her for disobedience, and was +on the lookout for a new and more docile helpmate. His first thought was +of the maidservant of the Japanese family who lived in the same house +with me, a broad-faced, red-cheeked country girl, of a very low grade of +intelligence. He gave this up, however, because he thought it would not +be polite to put my friends to inconvenience by taking away their +servant. His next effort was by negotiation through a T[=o]ky[=o] +friend; but apparently Yasaku's country manners were not to the taste of +the T[=o]ky[=o] damsels, for he met with no success, and was at last +driven to write to his father in Utsunomiya asking him to select him a +wife and bring her down to T[=o]ky[=o]. + +The selection took a week or two, and at last my maid told me that +Yasaku's wife was coming by the next morning's train. A look into the +_bett[=o]'s_ quarters in the stable showed great preparations for the +bride. The mats, new-covered with nice straw matting, were white and +clean; the _shoji_ were mended with new paper; the walls covered with +bright-colored pictures; and various new domestic conveniences had +nearly bankrupted Yasaku, in spite of his large salary of ten dollars a +month. He had ordered a fine feast at a neighboring tea house, had had +cards printed with his own name in English and Japanese, and had +altogether been to such great expense that he had had to put his winter +clothes in pawn to secure the necessary money. + +The day chosen for the marriage was rainy, and, though Yasaku spent all +his time in going to trains, no bridal party appeared; and he came home +at night disconsolate, to smoke his good-night pipe over his solitary +_hibachi_. He was, no doubt, angry as well as disconsolate, for he sat +down and penned a severe letter to his father, in which he said that, if +the bride did not appear on the next day counted lucky for a wedding (no +Japanese would be married on an unlucky day), they could send her back +to her father's house, for he would none of her. This letter did its +work, for on the next lucky day, about ten days later, the bride +appeared, and Yasaku was given two days of holiday on the agreement that +he should not be married again while he remained in my service. On the +evening of the second day, the bride came in to pay me her respects, +and, crouching on her hands and knees before me, literally trembled +under the excitement of her first introduction to a foreigner. She was a +girl of rather unattractive exterior, fat and heavy, and rather older +than Yasaku had bargained for, I imagine; at any rate, from the first, +he seemed dissatisfied with his "pig in a poke," and after a couple of +months sent her home to her parents, and was all ready to start out +again in the hope of better luck next time. + +Here is another instance, from the woman's side. Upon one occasion, when +I was visiting a Japanese lady of high rank who kept a retinue of +servants, the woman who came in with the tea bowed and smiled upon me as +if greeting me after a long absence. As I was in and out of the house +nearly every day, I was a little surprised at this demonstration, which +was quite different from the formal bow that is given by the servant to +her mistress's guest upon ordinary occasions. When she went out my +friend said, "You see O Kiku has come back." As I did not know that the +woman had been away, the news of her return did not affect me greatly +until I learned the history of her departure. It seemed that about a +month before, she had left her mistress's house to be married; and the +day before my visit she had quietly presented herself, and announced +that she had come back, if they would take her in. My friend had asked +her what had happened,--whether she had found her husband unkind. No, +her husband was very nice, very kind and good, but his mother was simply +unbearable; she made her work so hard that she actually had no time to +rest at all. She had known before her marriage that her proposed +mother-in-law was a hard task-mistress, but her husband had promised +that his mother should live with his older brother, and they should have +their housekeeping quite independent and separate. As the mother was +then living with her older son, it seemed unlikely that she would care +to move, and O Kiku San had married on that supposition. But it seemed +that the wife of the older brother was both lazy and bad-tempered, and +the new wife of the younger brother soon proved herself industrious and +good-natured. As the mother's main thought was to go where she would get +the most comfort and waiting upon, she moved from the elder son's house +to that of her younger son, and began leading her new daughter-in-law +such a life that she soon gave up the effort to live with her husband, +sued for a divorce, obtained it, and was back in her old place, all in a +month's time from the date of her marriage. + +But our readers must not suppose, from the various incidents given, +that few happy marriages take place in Japan, or that, in every rank of +life, divorce is of every-day occurrence. On the contrary, there seems +cause for wonder, not that there are so many divorces, but that there +are so many happy marriages, with wives and husbands devoted and +faithful. For a nobleman in the olden times to divorce his wife would +have caused such a scandal and talk that it rarely occurred. If the wife +were disliked, he need have little or nothing to do with her, their +rooms, their meals, and their attendance being entirely separate, but he +rarely took away from her the name of wife, empty as it might be. She +usually would be from some other noble house, and great trouble would +arise between the families if he attempted to divorce her. The _samurai_ +also, with the same loyalty which they displayed for their lords, were +loyal to their wives, and many a novel has been written, or play acted, +showing the devotion of husband and wife. The quiet, undemonstrative +love, though very different from the ravings of a lover in the +nineteenth century novel, is perhaps truer to life. + +Among the merchants and lower classes there has been, and is, a much +lower standard of morality, but the few years which have passed since +the Revolution of 1868 are not a fair sample of what Japan has been. +Noblemen, _samurai_, and merchants have had much to undergo in the great +changes, and, as is the case in all such transition periods, old customs +and restraints, and old standards of morality, have been broken down and +have not been replaced. There is no doubt that men have run to excesses +of all sorts, and divorces have been much more frequent of late +years.[*76] + +Our little Japanese maiden knows, when she blackens her teeth, dons her +wedding dress, and starts on her bridal journey to her husband's house, +that upon her good behavior alone depend her chances of a happy life. +She is to be henceforth the property of a man of whom she probably knows +little, and who has the power, at any whim, to send her back to her +father's house in disgrace, deprived of her children, with nothing to +live for or hope for, except that some man will overlook the disgrace of +her divorce, and by marrying her give her the only opportunity that a +Japanese woman can have of a home other than that of a servant or +dependent. That these evils will be remedied in time, there seems little +reason to doubt, but just now the various cooks who are engaged in +brewing the broth of the new civilization are disagreed in regard to the +condiments required for its proper flavoring. The conservatives wish to +flavor strongly with the subjection and dependence of women, believing +that only by that means can feminine virtue be preserved. The younger +men, of foreign education, would drop into the boiling pot the flavor of +culture and broader outlook; for by this means they hope to secure +happier homes for all, and better mothers for their children. The +missionaries and native Christians believe that, when the whole mixture +is well impregnated with practical Christianity, the desired result will +be achieved. All are agreed on this point, that a strong public opinion +is necessary before improved legislation can produce much effect; and +so, for the present, legislation remains in the background, until the +time shall come when it can be used in the right way. + +Let us examine the two remedies suggested by the reformers, and see +what effect has been produced by each so far, and what may be expected +of them in the future. Taking education first, what are the effects +produced so far by educating women to a point above the old Japanese +standard? In many happy homes to-day, we find husbands educated abroad, +and knowing something of the home life of foreign lands, who have sought +out wives of broad intellectual culture, and who make them friends and +confidants, not simply housekeepers and head-servants. In such homes the +wife has freedom, not such as is enjoyed by American women, perhaps, but +equal to that of most European women. In such homes love and equality +rule, and the power of the mother-in-law grows weak. To her is paid due +respect, but she seldom has the despotic control which often makes the +beginning of married life hard to the Japanese wife. These homes are +sending out healthy influences that are daily having their effect, and +raising the position of women in Japan. + +But for the young girl whose mind has been broadened by the new +education, and who marries, as the majority of Japanese girls must, not +in accordance with her own wishes, but in obedience to the will of her +parents, a hard life is in store. A woman's education, under the old +regime, was one that fitted her well for the position that she was to +occupy. The higher courses of study only serve to make her kick against +the pricks, and render herself miserable where she might before have +been happy. With mind and character developed by education, she may be +obliged to enter the home of her husband's family, to be perhaps one +among many members under the same roof. In the training of her own +children, in the care of her own health and theirs, her wishes and +judgment must often yield to the prejudices of those above her, under +whose authority she is, and it may not be until many years have passed +that she will be in a position to influence in any measure the lives of +those nearest and dearest to her. Then, too, her life must be passed +entirely within the home, with no opportunities to meet or to mingle +with the great world of which she has read and studied. Surely her lot +is harder than that of the woman of the olden time, whose plain duty +always lay in the path of implicit obedience to her superiors, and who +never for one moment considered obedience to the dictates of her own +reason and conscience as an obligation higher than deference to the +wishes of husband and parents. Education, without further amelioration +of their lot as wives and mothers, can but result in making the women +discontented and unhappy,--in many cases injuring their health by worry +over the constant petty disappointments and baffled desires of their +lives. + +This to superficial observers would seem a step backward rather than +forward, and it is to this cause that the present reaction against +female education may be traced. The first generation or two of educated +women must endure much for the sake of those who come after, and by many +this vicarious suffering is misunderstood, and distaste on the part of +educated girls for marriage, as it now exists in Japan, is regarded as +one of the sure signs that education is a failure. Without some change +in the position of wife and mother, this feeling will grow into absolute +repugnance, if women continue to be educated after the Western fashion. + +The second remedy that is suggested is Christianity, a remedy which is +even now at work. Wherever one finds in Japan a Christian home, there +one finds the wife and mother occupying the position that she occupies +all over Christendom. The Christian man, in choosing his wife, feels +that it is not an ordinary contract, which may be dissolved at any time +at the will of the contracting parties, but that it is a union for life. +Consequently, in making his choice he is more careful, takes more time, +and thinks more of the personal qualities of the woman he is about to +marry. Thus the chances are better at the beginning for the +establishment of a happy home, and such homes form centres of influence +throughout the length and breadth of the land to-day. Christianity in +the future will do much to mould public sentiment in the right way, and +can be trusted as a force that is sure to grow in time to be a mighty +power in the councils of the nation. + +One more remedy might be suggested, as a preliminary to proper +legislation, or a necessary accompaniment of it, and that is, the +opening of new avenues of employment for women, and especially for +women of the cultivated classes. To-day marriage, no matter how +distasteful, is the only opening for a woman; for she can do nothing for +her own support, and cannot require her father to support her after she +has reached a marriageable age. As new ways of self-support present +themselves, and a woman may look forward to making a single life +tolerable by her own labor, the intelligent girls of the middle class +will no longer accept marriage as inevitable, but will only marry when +the suitor can offer a good home, kindness, affection, and security in +the tenure of these blessings. So far, there is little employment for +women, except as teachers; but even this change in the condition of +things is forming a class, as yet small, but increasing yearly, of women +who enjoy a life of independence, though accompanied by much hard work, +more than the present life of a Japanese married woman. In this class we +find some of the most intelligent and respected of the women of new +Japan; and the growth of this class is one of the surest signs that the +present state of the laws and customs concerning marriage and divorce +is so unsatisfactory to the women that it must eventually be remedied, +if the educated and intelligent of the men care to take for their wives, +and for the mothers of their children, any but the less educated and +less intelligent of the women of their own nation. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +WIFE AND MOTHER.[*84] + + +The young wife, when she enters her husband's home, is not, as in our +own country, entering upon a new life as mistress of a house, with +absolute control over all of her little domain. Should her husband's +parents be living, she becomes almost as their servant, and even her +husband is unable to defend her from the exactions of her mother-in-law, +should this new relative be inclined to make full use of the power given +her by custom. Happy is the girl whose husband has no parents. Her +comfort in life is materially increased by her husband's loss, for, +instead of having to serve two masters, she will then have to serve only +one, and that one more kind and thoughtful of her strength and comfort +than the mother-in-law. + +In Japan the idea of a wife's duty to her husband includes no thought of +companionship on terms of equality. The wife is simply the housekeeper, +the head of the establishment, to be honored by the servants because she +is the one who is nearest to the master, but not for one moment to be +regarded as the master's equal. She governs and directs the household, +if it be a large one, and her position is one of much care and +responsibility; but she is not the intimate friend of her husband, is in +no sense his confidante or adviser, except in trivial affairs of the +household. She appears rarely with him in public, is expected always to +wait upon him and save him steps, and must bear all things from him with +smiling face and agreeable manners, even to the receiving with open arms +into the household some other woman, whom she knows to bear the relation +of concubine to her own husband. + +In return for this, she has, if she be of the higher classes, much +respect and honor from those beneath her. She has, in many cases the +real though often inconsiderate affection of her husband. If she be the +mother of children, she is doubly honored, and if she be endowed with a +good temper, good manners, and tact, she can render her position not +only agreeable to herself, but one of great usefulness to those about +her. It lies with her alone to make the home a pleasant one, or to make +it unpleasant. Nothing is expected of the husband in this direction; he +may do as he likes with his own, and no one will blame him; but if his +home is not happy, even through his own folly or bad temper, the blame +will fall upon his wife, who should by management do whatever is +necessary to supply the deficiencies caused by her husband's +shortcomings. In all things the husband goes first, the wife second. If +the husband drops his fan or his handkerchief the wife picks it up. The +husband is served first, the wife afterwards, and so on through the +countless minutiae of daily life. It is not the idea of the strong man +considering the weak woman, saving her exertion, guarding and deferring +to her; but it is the less important waiting upon the more important, +the servant deferring to her master. + +But though the present position of a Japanese wife is that of a +dependent who owes all she has to her protector, and for whom she is +bound to do all she can in return, the dependence is in many cases a +happy one. The wife's position, especially if she be the mother of +children, is often pleasant, and her chief joy and pride lies in the +proper conduct of her house and the training of her children. The +service of her parents-in-law, however, must remain her first duty +during their lifetime. She must make it her care to see that they are +waited upon and served with what they like at meals, that their clothes +are carefully and nicely made, and that countless little attentions are +heaped upon them. As long as her mother-in-law lives, the latter is the +real ruler of the house; and though in many cases the elder lady prefers +freedom from responsibility to the personal superintendence of the +details of housekeeping, she will not hesitate to require of her +daughter-in-law that the house be kept to her satisfaction. If the +maiden's lot is to be the first daughter-in-law in a large family, she +becomes simply the one of the family from whom the most drudgery is +expected, who obtains the fewest favors, and who is expected to have +always the pleasantest of tempers under circumstances not altogether +conducive to repose of spirit. The wife of the oldest son has, however, +the advantage that, when her mother-in-law dies or retires, she becomes +the mistress of the house and the head lady of the family, a position +for which her apprenticeship to the old lady has probably exceptionally +well fitted her. + +Next to her parents-in-law, her duty is to her husband. She must herself +render to him the little services that a European expects of his valet. +She must not only take care of his clothing, but must bring it to him +and help him put it on, and must put away with care whatever he has +taken off; and she often takes pride in doing with her own hands many +acts of service which might be left to servants, and which are not +actually demanded of her, unless she has no one under her to do them. In +the poorer families all the washing, sewing, and mending that is +required is always done by the wife; and even the Empress herself is not +exempt from these duties of personal service, but must wait upon her +husband in various ways. + +When the earliest beams of the sun shine in at the cracks of the dark +wooden shutters which surround the house at night, the young wife in the +family softly arises, puts out the feeble light of the _andon_,[15] +which has burned all night, and, quietly opening one of the sliding +doors, admits enough light to make her own toilet. She dresses hastily, +only putting a few touches here and there to her elaborate coiffure, +which she has not taken down for her night's rest.[16] Next she goes to +arouse the servants, if they are not already up, and with them prepares +the modest breakfast. When the little lacquer tables, with rice bowls, +plates, and chopsticks are arranged in place, she goes softly to see +whether her parents and husband are awake, and if they have hot water, +charcoal fire, and whatever else they may need for their toilet. Then +with her own hands, or with the help of the servants, she slides back +the wooden shutters, opening the whole house to the fresh morning air +and sunlight. It is she, also, who directs the washing and wiping of the +polished floors, and the folding and putting away of the bedding, so +that all is in readiness before the morning meal. + +[15] The _andon_ is the standing lamp, inclosed in a paper case, used as +a night lamp in all Japanese houses. Until the introduction of kerosene +lamps, the _andon_ was the only light used in Japanese houses. The light +is produced by a pith wick floating in a saucer of vegetable oil. + +[16] The pillow used by ladies is merely a wooden rest for the head, +that supports the neck, leaving the elaborate head-dress undisturbed. +The hair is dressed by a professional hair-dresser, who comes to the +house once in two or three days. In some parts of Japan, as in Ki[=o]to, +where the hair is even more elaborately dressed than in T[=o]ky[=o], it is +much less frequently arranged. The process takes two hours at least. + +When breakfast is over, the husband starts for his place of business, +and the little wife is in waiting to send him off with her sweetest +smile and her lowest bow, after having seen that his foot-gear--whether +sandal, clog, or shoe--is at the door ready for him to put on, his +umbrella, book, or bundle at hand, and his _kuruma_ waiting for him. + +Certainly a Japanese man is lucky in having all the little things in his +life attended to by his thoughtful wife,--a good, considerate, careful +body-servant, always on hand to bear for him the trifling worries and +cares. There is no wonder that there are no bachelors in Japan. To some +degree, I am sure, the men appreciate these attentions; for they often +become much in love with their sweet, helpful wives, though they do not +share with them the greater things of life, the ambitions and the hopes +of men. + +The husband started on his daily rounds, the wife settles down to the +work of the house. Her sphere is within her home, and though, unlike +other Asiatic women, she goes without restraint alone through the +streets, she does not concern herself with the great world, nor is she +occupied with such a round of social duties as fill the lives of society +women in this country. Yet she is not barred out from all intercourse +with the outer world, for there are sometimes great dinner parties, +given perhaps at home, when she must appear as hostess, side by side +with her husband, and share with him the duty of entertaining the +guests. There are, besides, smaller gatherings of friends of her +husband, when she must see that the proper refreshments are served, if +they be only the omnipresent tea and cake. She may, perhaps, join in the +number and listen to the conversation; but if there are no ladies, she +will probably not appear, except to attend to the wants of her guests. +There are also lady visitors--friends and relatives--who come to make +calls, oftentimes from a distance, and nearly always unexpectedly, +whose entertainment devolves on the wife. Owing to the great distances +in many of the cities, and the difficulties that used to attend going +from place to place, it has become a custom not to make frequent visits, +but long ones at long intervals. A guest often stays several hours, +remaining to lunch or dinner, as the case may be, and, should the +distance be great, may spend the night. So rigid are the requirements of +Japanese hospitality that no guest is ever allowed to leave a house +without having been pressed to partake of food, if it be only tea and +cake. Even tradesmen or messengers who come to the house must be offered +tea, and if carpenters, gardeners, or workmen of any kind are employed +about the house, tea must be served in the middle of the afternoon with +a light lunch, and tea sent out to them often during their day's work. +If a guest arrives in _jinrikisha_, not only the guest, but the +_jinrikisha_ men must be supplied with refreshments. All these things +involve much thought and care on the part of the lady of the house. + +In the homes of rich and influential men of wide acquaintance, there is +a great deal going on to make a pleasant variety for the ladies of the +household, even although the variety involves extra work and +responsibility. The mistress of such a household sees and hears a great +deal of life; and her position requires no little wisdom and tact, even +where the housewife has the assistance of good servants, capable, as +many are, of sharing not only the work, but the responsibility as well. +Clever wives in such homes see and learn much, in an indirect way, of +the outside world in which the men live; and may become, if they possess +the natural capabilities for the work, wise advisers and sympathizers +with their husbands in many things far beyond their ordinary field of +action. An intelligent woman, with a strong will, has often been, unseen +and unknown, a mighty influence in Japan. That her power for good or +bad, outside of her influence as wife and mother, is a recognized fact, +is seen in the circumstance that in novels and plays women are +frequently brought in as factors in political plots and organized +rebellions, as well as in acts of private revenge. + +Still the life of the average woman is a quiet one, with little to +interrupt the monotony of her days with their never-ending round of +duties; and to the most secluded homes only an occasional guest comes to +enliven the dull hours. The principal occupation of the wife, outside of +her housekeeping and the little duties of personal service to husband +and parents, is needle-work. Every Japanese woman (excepting those of +the highest rank) knows how to sew, and makes not only her own garments +and those of her children, but her husband's as well. Sewing is one of +the essentials in the education of a Japanese girl, and from childhood +the cutting and putting together of crepe, silk, and cotton is a +familiar occupation to her. Though Japanese garments seem very simple, +custom requires that each stitch and seam be placed in just such a way; +and this way is something of a task to learn. To the uninitiated +foreigner, the general effect of the loosely worn _kimono_ is the same, +whether the garment be well or ill made; but the skillful seamstress can +easily discover that this seam is not turned just as it should be, or +that those stitches are too long or too short, or carelessly or unevenly +set. + +Fancy work[17] or embroidery is not done in the house, the gorgeous +embroidered Japanese robes being the product of professional workmen. +Instead of the endless fancy work with silks, crewels, or worsteds, over +which so many American ladies spend their leisure hours, many of the +Japanese ladies, even of the highest rank, devote much time to the +cultivation of the silkworm. In country homes, and in the great cities +as well, wherever spacious grounds afford room for the growth of +mulberry trees, silkworms are raised and watched with care; an +employment giving much pleasure to those engaged in it. + +[17] The one exception to this statement, so far as I know, is the +species of silk mosaic made by the ladies in the _daimi[=o]s'_ houses. +(See chap. vii.) + +It is difficult for any one who has not experimented in this direction +to realize how tender these little spinners are. If a strong breeze blow +upon them, they are likely to suffer for it, and the least change in the +atmosphere must be guarded against. For forty days they must be +carefully watched, and the great, shallow, bamboo basket trays +containing them changed almost daily. New leaves for their food must be +given frequently, and as the least dampness might be fatal, each leaf, +in case of rainy weather, is carefully wiped. Then, too, the different +ages of the worms must be considered in preparing their food; as, for +the young worms, the leaves should be cut up, while for the older ones +it is better to serve them whole. When, finally, the buzzing noise of +the crunching leaves has ceased, and the last worm has put himself to +sleep in his precious white cocoon, the work of the ladies is ended; for +the cocoons are sent to women especially skilled in the work, by them to +be spun off, and the thread afterwards woven into the desired fabric. +When at last the silk, woven and dyed, is returned to the ladies by +whose care the worms were nourished until their work was done, it is +shown with great pride as the product of the year's labor, and if given +as a present will be highly prized by the recipient. + +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 preeminently a present-giving nation. +For every present received, sooner or later, a proper return must be +sent, appropriate to the season and to the rank of the receiver, and +neatly arranged in the manner that etiquette prescribes. Presents are +not necessarily elaborate; callers bring fruit of the season, cake, or +any delicacy, and a visit to a sick person must be accompanied by +something appropriate. Children visiting in the family are always given +toys, and for this purpose a stock is kept on hand. The present-giving +culminates at the close of the year, when all friends and acquaintances +exchange gifts of more or less value, according to their feelings and +means. Should there be any one who has been especially kind, and to whom +return should be made, this is the time to do so. + +Tradesmen send presents to their patrons, scholars to teachers, patients +to their physicians, and, in short, it is the time when all obligations +and debts are paid off, in one way or another. On the seventh day of +the seventh month, there is another general interchange of presents, +although not so universal as at the New Year. It can easily be imagined +that all this present-giving entails much care, especially in families +of influence; and it must be attended to personally by the wife, who, in +the secret recesses of her storeroom, skillfully manages to rearrange +the gifts received, so that those not needed in the house may be sent, +not back to their givers, but to some place where a present is due. The +passing-on of the presents is an economy not of course acknowledged, but +frequently practiced even in the best families, as it saves much of the +otherwise ruinous expense of this custom. + +As time passes by, occasional visits are paid by the young wife to her +own parents or to other relatives. At stated times, too, she, and others +of the family, will visit the tombs of her husband's ancestors, or of +her own parents, if they are no longer living, to make offerings and +prayers at the graves, to place fresh branches of the _sakaki_[18] +before the tombs, and to see that the priests in charge of the cemetery +have attended to all the little things which the Japanese believe to be +required by the spirits of the dead. Even these visits are often looked +forward to as enlivening the monotony of the humdrum home life. +Sometimes all the members of the family go together on a pleasure +excursion, spending the day out of doors, in beautiful gardens, when +some one of the much-loved flowers of the nation is in its glory; and +the little wife may join in this pleasure with the rest, but more often +she is the one who remains at home to keep the house in the absence of +others. The theatre, too, a source of great amusement to Japanese +ladies, is often a pleasure reserved for a time later in life. + +[18] _Sakaki_, the _Cleyera Japonica_, a sacred plant emblematic of +purity, and much used at funerals and in the decoration of graves. + +The Japanese mother takes great delight and comfort in her children, and +her constant thought and care is the right direction of their habits and +manners. She seems to govern them entirely by gentle admonition, and the +severest chiding that is given them is always in a pleasant voice, and +accompanied by a smiling face. No matter how many servants there may be, +the mother's influence is always direct and personal. No thick walls +and long passageways separate the nursery from the grown people's +apartments, but the thin paper partitions make it possible for the +mother to know always what her children are doing, and whether they are +good and gentle with their nurses, or irritable and passionate. The +children never leave the house, nor return to it, without going to their +mother's room, and there making the little bows and repeating the +customary phrases used upon such occasions. In the same way, when the +mother goes out, all the servants and the children escort her to the +door; and when her attendant shouts "_O kaeri_," which is the signal of +her return, children and servants hasten to the gate to greet her, and +do what they can to help her from her conveyance and make her +home-coming pleasant and restful. + +The father has little to do with the training of his children, which is +left almost entirely to the mother, and, except for the interference of +the mother-in-law, she has her own way in their training, until they are +long past childhood. The children are taught to look to the father as +the head, and to respect and obey him as the one to whom all must defer; +but the mother comes next, almost as high in their estimation, and, if +not so much feared and respected, certainly enjoys a larger share of +their love. + +The Japanese mother's life is one of perfect devotion to her children; +she is their willing slave. Her days are spent in caring for them, her +evenings in watching over them; and she spares neither time nor trouble +in doing anything for their comfort and pleasure. In sickness,[19] in +health, day and night, the little ones are her one thought; and from the +home of the noble to the humble cot of the peasant, this tender +mother-love may be seen in all its different phases. The Japanese woman +has so few on whom to lavish her affection, so little to live for beside +her children, and no hopes in the future except through them, that it is +no wonder that she devotes her life to their care and service, deeming +the drudgery that custom requires of her for them the easiest of all her +duties. Even with plenty of servants, the mother performs for her +children nearly all the duties often delegated to nurses in this +country. Mother and babe are rarely separated, night or day, during the +first few years of the baby's life, and the mother denies herself any +entertainment or journey from home when the baby cannot accompany her. +To give the husband any share in the baby-work would be an unheard-of +thing, and a disgrace to the wife; for in public and in private the baby +is the mother's sole charge, and the husband is never asked to sit up +all night with a sick baby, or to mind it in any way at all. Nothing in +all one's study of Japanese life seems more beautiful and admirable than +the influence of the mother over her children,--an influence that is +gentle and all-pervading, bringing out all that is sweetest and noblest +in the feminine character, and affording the one almost unlimited +opportunity of a Japanese woman's life. The lot of a childless wife in +Japan is a sad one. Not only is she denied the hopes and the pleasures +of a mother in her children, but she is an object of pity to her +friends, and well does she know that Confucius has laid down the law +that a man is justified in divorcing a childless wife. All feel that +through her, innocent though she is, the line has ceased; that her duty +is unfulfilled; and that, though the name be given to adopted sons, +there is no heir of the blood. A man rarely sends away his wife solely +with this excuse, but children are the strongest of the ties which bind +together husband and wife, and the childless wife is far less sure of +pleasing her husband. In many cases she tries to make good her +deficiencies by her care of adopted children; in them she often finds +the love which fills the void in her heart and home, and she receives +from them in after-life the respect and care which is the crown of old +age. + +[19] Since the introduction of the foreign system of medicine and +nursing, the Japanese realize so acutely the lack of conveniences and +appliances for nursing the sick in their own homes, that cases of severe +or even serious illness are usually sent to hospitals, where the +invalids can have the comforts that even the wealthy Japanese homes +cannot furnish. + +We have hitherto spoken of married life when the wife is received into +her husband's home. Another interesting side of Japanese marriage is +when a man enters the wife's family, taking her name and becoming +entirely one of her family, as usually the wife becomes of the +husband's. When there are daughters but no sons in a family to inherit +the name, one of three things may happen: a son may be adopted early in +life and grow up as heir; or he may be adopted with the idea of marrying +one of the daughters; or, again, no one may have been formally adopted, +but on the eldest daughter's coming to a marriageable age, her family +and friends seek for her a _y[=o]shi_, that is to say, some man (usually a +younger son) who is willing and able to give up his family name, and, by +marrying the daughter, become a member of her family and heir to the +name. He cuts off all ties from his own family, and becomes a member of +hers, and the young couple are expected to live with her parents. In +this case the tables are turned, and it is he who has to dread the +mother-in-law; it is his turn to have to please his new relatives and to +do all he can to be agreeable. He, too, may be sent away and divorced by +the all-powerful parents, if he does not please; and such divorces are +not uncommon. Of course, in such marriages, the woman has the greater +power, and the man has to remember what he owes her; and though the +woman yields to him obediently in all respects, it is an obedience not +demanded by the husband, as under other circumstances. In such marriages +the children belong to the family whose name they bear, so that in case +of divorce they remain in the wife's family, unless some special +arrangement is made about them. + +It may be wondered why young men ever care to enter a family as +_y[=o]shi_. There is only one answer,--it is the attraction of wealth +and rank, very rarely that of the daughter herself. In the houses of +rich _daimi[=o]s_ without sons, _y[=o]shi_ are very common, and there +are many younger sons of the nobility, themselves of high birth, but +without prospects, who are glad enough to become great lords. In feudal +times, the number of _samurai_ families was limited. Several sons of one +family could not establish different _samurai_ families, but all but the +eldest son, if they formed separate houses, must enroll themselves among +the ranks of the common people. Hence the younger sons were often +adopted into other _samurai_ families as _y[=o]shi_, where it was +desired to secure a succession to a name that must otherwise die out. +Since the Restoration, and the breaking down of the old class +distinctions, young men care more for independence than for their rank +as _samurai_; and it is now quite difficult to find _y[=o]shi_ to enter +_samurai_ families, unless it be because of the attractiveness and +beauty of the young lady herself. Many a young girl who could easily +make a good marriage with some suitable husband, could she enter his +family, is now obliged to take some inferior man as _y[=o]shi_, because +few men in these days are willing to change their names, give up their +independence, and take upon themselves the support of aged +parents-in-law; for this also is expected of the _y[=o]shi_, unless the +family that he enters is a wealthy one. + +From this custom of _y[=o]shi_, and its effect upon the wife's position, +we see that, in certain cases, Japanese women are treated as equal with +men. It is not because of their sex that they are looked down upon and +held in subjection, but it is because of their almost universal +dependence of position. The men have the right of inheritance, the +education, habits of self-reliance, and are the bread-winners. Wherever +the tables are turned, and the men are dependents of the women, and +even where the women are independent of the men,--there we find the +relations of men to women vastly changed. The women of Japan must know +how to do some definite work in the world beyond the work of the home, +so that their position will not be one of entire dependence upon father, +husband, or son. If fathers divided their estates between sons and +daughters alike, and women were given, before the law, right to hold +property in their own names, much would be accomplished towards securing +them in their positions as wives and mothers; and divorce, the great +evil of Japanese home life to-day, would become simply a last resort to +preserve the purity of the home, as it is in most civilized countries +now. + +The difference between the women of the lower and those of the higher +classes, in the matter of equality with their husbands, is quite +noticeable. The wife of the peasant or merchant is much nearer to her +husband's level than is the wife of the Emperor. Apparently, each step +in the social scale is a little higher for the man than it is for the +woman, and lifts him a little farther above his wife. The peasant and +his wife work side by side in the field, put their shoulders to the same +wheel, eat together in the same room, at the same time, and whichever of +them happens to be the stronger in character governs the house, without +regard to sex. There is no great gulf fixed between them, and there is +frequently a consideration for the wife shown by husbands of the lower +class, that is not unlike what we see in our own country. I remember the +case of a _jinrikisha_ man employed by a friend of mine in T[=o]ky[=o], +who was much laughed at by his friends because he actually used to spend +some of his leisure moments in drawing the water required for his +household from a well some distance away, and carrying the heavy buckets +to the house, in order to save the strength of his little, delicate +wife. That cases of such devotion are rare is no doubt true, but that +they occur shows that there is here and there a recognition of the +claims that feminine weakness has upon masculine strength. + +A frequent sight in the morning, in T[=o]ky[=o], is a cart heavily laden +with wood, charcoal, or some other country produce, creaking slowly +along the streets, propelled by a farmer and his family. Sometimes one +will see an old man, his son, and his son's wife with a baby on her +back, all pushing or pulling with might and main; the woman with +tucked-up skirts and tight-fitting blue trousers, a blue towel +enveloping her head,--only to be distinguished from the men by her +smaller size and the baby tied to her back. But when evening comes, and +the load of produce has been disposed of, the woman and baby are seen +seated upon the cart, while the two men pull it back to their home in +some neighboring village. Here, again, is the recognition of the law +that governs the position of woman in this country,--the theory, not of +inferior position, but of inferior strength; and the sight of the women +riding back in the empty carts at night, drawn by their husbands, is the +thing that strikes a student of Japanese domestic life as nearest to the +customs of our own civilization in regard to the relations of husbands +and wives. + +Throughout the country districts, where the women have a large share in +the labor that is directly productive of wealth, where they not only +work in the rice fields, pick the tea crops, gather the harvests, and +help draw them to market, but where they have their own productive +industries, such as caring for the silkworms, and spinning, and weaving +both silk and cotton, we find the conventional distance between the +sexes much diminished by the important character of feminine labor; but +in the cities, and among the classes who are largely either indirect +producers or non-producers, the only labor of the women is that personal +service which we account as menial. It is for this reason, perhaps, that +the gap widens as we go upward in society, and between the same social +levels as we go cityward. + +The wife of the countryman, though she may work harder and grow old +earlier, is more free and independent than her city sister; and the wife +of the peasant, pushing her produce to market, is in some ways happier +and more considered than the wife of the noble, who must spend her life +among her ladies-in-waiting, in the seclusion of her great house with +its beautiful garden, the plaything of her husband in his leisure hours, +but never his equal, or the sharer of his cares or of his thoughts. + +One of the causes which must be mentioned as contributing to the +lowering of the wife's position, among the higher and more wealthy +classes, lies in the system of concubinage which custom allows, and the +law until quite recently has not discouraged. From the Emperor, who was, +by the old Chinese code of morals, allowed twelve supplementary wives, +to the _samurai_, who are permitted two, the men of the higher classes +are allowed to introduce into their families these _mekake_, who, while +beneath the wife in position, are frequently more beloved by the husband +than the wife herself. It must be said, however, to the credit of many +husbands, that in spite of this privilege, which custom allows, there +are many men of the old school who are faithful to one wife, and never +introduce this discordant element into the household. Even should he +keep _mekake_, it is often unknown to the wife, and she is placed in a +separate establishment of her own. And in spite of the code of morals +requiring submission in any case on the part of the woman, there are +many wives of the _samurai_ and lower classes who have enough spirit and +wit to prevent their husbands from ever introducing a rival under the +same roof. In this way the practice is made better than the theory. + +Not so with the more helpless wife of the nobleman, for wealth and +leisure make temptation greater for the husband. She submits +unquestioningly to the custom requiring that the wife treat these women +with all civility. Their children she may even have to adopt as her own. +The lot of the _mekake_ herself is rendered the less endurable, from the +American point of view, by the fact that, should the father of her child +decide to make it his heir, the mother is thenceforth no more to it than +any other of the servants of the household. For instance, suppose a +hitherto childless noble is presented with a son by one of his +concubines, and he decides by legal adoption to make that son his heir: +the child at its birth, or as soon afterwards as is practicable, is +taken from its mother and placed in other hands, and the mother never +sees her own child until, on the thirtieth day after its birth, she goes +with the other servants of the household to pay her respects to her +young master. If it were not for the habit of abject obedience to +parents which Japanese custom has exalted into the one feminine virtue, +few women could be found of respectable families who would take a +position so devoid of either honor or satisfaction of any kind as that +of _mekake_. That these positions are not sought after must be said, to +the honor of Japanese womanhood. A nobleman may obtain _samurai_ women +for his "_O mekake_" (literally, honorable concubines), but they are +never respected by their own class for taking such positions. In the +same way the _mekake_ of _samurai_ are usually from the _heimin_. No +woman who has any chance of a better lot will ever take the unenviable +position of _mekake_. + +A law which has recently been promulgated strikes at the root of this +evil, and, if enforced, will in course of time go far toward extirpating +it. Henceforth in Japan, no child of a concubine, or of adoption from +any source, can inherit a noble title. The heir to the throne must +hereafter be the son, not only of the Emperor, but of the Empress, or +the succession passes to some collateral branch of the family. This law +does not apply to Prince Haru, the present heir to the throne, as, +although he is not the son of the Empress, he was legally adopted +before the promulgation of the law; but should he die, it will apply to +all future heirs. + +That public opinion is moving in the right direction is shown by the +fact that the young men of the higher classes do not care to marry the +daughters of _mekake_, be they ever so legally adopted by their own +fathers. When the girls born of such unions become a drug in the +matrimonial market, and the boys are unable to keep up the succession, +the _mekake_ will go out of fashion, and the real wife will once more +assume her proper importance.[20] + +[20] It is worth while to mention in this connection the noteworthy +efforts made by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Japan in +calling the attention of the public to this custom, and in arousing +public sentiment in favor of legislation against not only this system, +but against the licensed houses of prostitution. Though there has not +yet been any practical result, much discussion has ensued in the +newspapers and magazines, lectures have been given, and much strong +feeling aroused, which may, before long, produce radical change. + +Upon the 11th day of February, 1889, the day on which the Emperor, by +his own act in giving a constitution to the people, limited his own +power for the sake of putting his nation upon a level with the most +civilized nations of the earth, he at the same time, and for the first +time, publicly placed his wife upon his own level. In an imperial +progress made through the streets of T[=o]ky[=o], the Emperor and +Empress, for the first time in the history of Japan, rode together in +the imperial coach.[*115] Until then, the Emperor, attended by his chief +gentlemen-in-waiting and his guards, had always headed the procession, +while the Empress must follow at a distance with her own attendants. +That this act on the part of the Emperor signifies the beginning of a +new and better era for the women of Japan, we cannot but hope; for until +the position of the wife and mother in Japan is improved and made +secure, little permanence can be expected in the progress of the nation +toward what is best and highest in the Western civilization. Better +laws, broader education for the women, a change in public opinion on the +subject, caused by the study, by the men educated abroad, of the homes +of Europe and America,--these are the forces which alone can bring the +women of Japan up to that place in the home which their intellectual and +moral qualities fit them to fill. That Japan is infinitely ahead of +other Oriental countries in her practices in this matter is greatly to +her credit; but that she is far behind the civilized nations of Europe +and America, not only in practice but in theory, is a fact that is +incontestable, and a fact that, unless changed, must sooner or later be +a stumbling-block in the path of her progress toward the highest +civilization of which she is capable.[21] The European practice cannot +be grafted upon the Asiatic theory, but the change in the home must be a +radical one, to secure permanent good results. As long as the wife has +no rights which the husband is bound to respect, no great advance can +be made, for human nature is too mean and selfish to give in all cases +to those who are entirely unprotected by law, and entirely unable to +protect themselves, those things which the moral nature declares to be +their due. In the old slave times in the South, many of the negroes were +better fed, better cared for, and happier than they are to-day; but they +were nevertheless at the mercy of men who too often thought only of +themselves, and not of the human bodies and souls over which they had +unlimited power. It was a condition of things that could not be +prevented by educating the masters so as to induce them to be kind to +their slaves; it was a condition that was wrong in theory, and so could +not be righted in practice. In the same way the position of the Japanese +wife is wrong in theory, and can never be righted until legislation has +given to her rights which it still denies. Education will but aggravate +the trouble to a point beyond endurance. The giving to the wife power to +obtain a divorce will not help much, but simply tend to weaken still +further the marriage tie. Nothing can help surely and permanently but +the growth of a sound public opinion, in regard to the position of the +wife, that will, sooner or later, have its effect upon the laws of the +country. Legislation once effected, all the rest will come, and the +wife, secure in her home and her children, will be at the point where +her new education can be of use to her in the administration of her +domestic affairs and the training of her children; and where she will +finally become the friend and companion of her husband, instead of his +mere waitress, seamstress, and housekeeper,--the plaything of his +leisure moments, too often the victim of his caprices. + +[21] Many of the thinking men of Japan, though fully recognizing the +injustice of the present position of woman in society, and the necessity +of reform in the marriage and divorce laws, refuse to see the importance +of any movement to change them. Their excuse is, that such power in the +hands of the husband over his wife might be abused, but that in fact it +is not. Wrongs and injustice are rare, they argue, and kind treatment, +affection, and even respect for the wife is the general rule; and that +the keeping of the power in the hands of the husband is better than +giving too much freedom to women who are without education. These men +wish to wait until every woman is educated, before acting in a reform +movement, while many conservatives oppose the new system of education +for girls as making them unwomanly. Between these two parties, the few +who really wish for a change are utterly unable to act. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +OLD AGE. + + +No Japanese woman is ashamed to show that she is getting along in years, +but all take pains that every detail of the dress and coiffure shall +show the full age of the wearer. The baby girl is dressed in the +brightest of colors and the largest of patterns, and looks like a gay +butterfly or tropical bird. As she grows older, colors become quieter, +figures smaller, stripes narrower, until in old age she becomes a little +gray moth or plain-colored sparrow. By the sophisticated eye, a woman's +age can be told with considerable accuracy by the various little things +about her costume,[22] and no woman cares to appear younger than her +real age, or hesitates to tell with entire frankness the number of years +that have passed over her head. + +[22] Children wear their hair on top of their heads while very young, +and the manner of arranging it is one of the distinctive marks of the +age of the child. The _marumage_, the style of headdress of married +ladies, consisting of a large puff of hair on the top of the head, +diminishes in size with the age of the wearer until, at sixty or +seventy, it is not more than a few inches in width. The number, size, +and variety of ornamental hairpins, and the tortoise-shell comb worn in +front, all vary with the age. + +The reason for this lies, at least in part, in the fact that every woman +looks forward to the period of old age as the time when she will attain +freedom from her life-long service to those about her,--will be in the +position of adviser of her sons, and director of her daughters-in-law; +will be a person of much consideration in the family, privileged to +amuse herself in various ways, to speak her own mind on most subjects, +and to be waited upon and cared for by children and grandchildren, in +return for her long years of faithful service in the household. Should +her sight and other bodily powers remain good, she will doubtless +perform many light tasks for the general good, will seldom sit idle by +herself, but will help about the sewing and mending, the marketing, +shopping, housework, and care of the babies, tell stories to her +grandchildren after their lessons are learned, give the benefit of her +years of experience to the young people who are still bearing the heat +and burden of the day, and, by her prayers and visits to the temple at +stated seasons, will secure the favor of the gods for the whole family, +as well as make her own preparations for entry into the great unknown +toward which she is rapidly drifting. Is there wonder that the young +wife, steering her course with difficulty among the many shoals and +whirlpools of early married life, looks forward with anticipation to the +period of comparative rest and security that comes at the end of the +voyage? 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 +of 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. + +In the code of morals of the Japanese, obedience to father, husband, or +son is exalted into the chief womanly virtue, but the obedience and +respect of children, both male and female, to their parents, also +occupies a prominent position in their ethical system. Hence, in this +latter stage of a woman's career, the obedience expected of her is +often only nominal, and in any case is not so absolute and unquestioning +as that of the early period; and the consideration and respect that a +son is bound to show to his mother necessitates a care of her comfort, +and a consultation of her wishes, that renders her position one of much +greater freedom than can be obtained by any woman earlier in life. She +has, besides, reached an age when she is not expected to remain at home, +and she may go out into the streets, to the theatre, or other shows, +without the least restraint or fear of losing her dignity. + +A Japanese woman loses her beauty early. At thirty-five her fresh color +is usually entirely gone, her eyes have begun to sink a little in their +sockets, her youthful roundness and symmetry of figure have given place +to an absolute leanness, her abundant black hair has grown thin, and +much care and anxiety have given her face a pathetic expression of quiet +endurance. One seldom sees a face that indicates a soured temper or a +cross disposition, but the lines that show themselves as the years go by +are lines that indicate suffering and disappointment, patiently and +sweetly borne. The lips never forget to smile; the voice remains always +cheerful and sympathetic, never grows peevish and worried, as is too +often the case with overworked or disappointed women in this country. +But youth with its hopeful outlook, its plans and its ambitions, gives +way to age with its peaceful waiting for the end, with only a brief +struggle for its place; and the woman of thirty-five is just at the +point when she has bid good-by to her youth, and, having little to hope +for in her middle life, is doing her work faithfully, and looking +forward to an old age of privilege and authority, the mistress of her +son's house, and the ruler of the little domain of home. + +But I have spoken so far only of those happy women whose sons grow to +maturity, and who manage to evade the dangerous reefs of divorce upon +which so many lives are shipwrecked. What becomes of the hundreds who +have no children to rise up and call them blessed, but who have in old +age to live as dependents upon their brothers or nephews? Even these, +who in this country often lead hard and unrewarded lives of toil among +their happier relatives, find in old age a pleasanter lot than that of +youth. Many such old ladies I have met, whose short hair or shaven heads +proclaim to all who see them that the sorrow of widowhood has taken from +them the joy that falls to other women, but whose cheerful, wrinkled +faces and happy, childlike ways have given one a feeling of pleasure +that the sorrow is past, and peace and rest have come to their declining +years. Fulfilling what little household tasks they can, respected and +self-respecting members of the household, the _O B[)a] San_, or Aunty, +is not far removed in the honor and affection of the children from the +_O B[=a] San_, or Grandma, but both alike find a peaceful shelter in the +homes of those nearest and dearest to them. + +One of the happiest old ladies I have ever seen was one who had had a +rough and stormy life. The mother of many children, most of whom had +died in infancy, she was at last left childless and a widow. In her +children's death the last tie that bound her to her husband's family was +broken, and, rather than be a burden to them, she made her home for many +years with her own younger brother, taking up again the many cares and +duties of a mother's life in sharing with the mother the bringing up of +a large family of children. One by one, from the oldest to the youngest, +each has learned to love the old aunty, to be lulled asleep on her back, +and to go to her in trouble when mother's hands were too full of work. +Many the caress received, the drives and walks enjoyed in her company, +the toys and candies that came out unexpectedly from the depths of +mysterious drawers, to comfort many an hour of childish grief. That was +years ago, and the old aunty's hard times are nearly over. Hale and +hearty at three-score years and ten, she has seen these children grow up +one by one, until now some have gone to new homes of their own. Her bent +form and wrinkled face are ever welcome to her children,--hers by the +right of years of patient care and toil for them. They now, in their +turn, enjoy giving her pleasure, and return to her all the love she has +lavished upon them. It is a joy to see her childlike pride and +confidence in them all, and to know that they have filled the place left +vacant by the dead with whom had died all her hopes of earthly +happiness. + +The old women of Japan,--how their withered faces, bent frames, and +shrunken, yellow hands abide in one's memory! One seldom sees among them +what we would call beauty, for the almost universal shrinking with age +that takes place among the Japanese covers the face with multitudinous +wrinkles, and produces the effect of a withered russet apple; for the +skin, which in youth is usually brightened by red cheeks and glossy +black hair, in old age, when color leaves cheek and hair, has a +curiously yellow and parchment-like look. But with all their wrinkles +and ugliness, there is a peculiar charm about the old women of Japan. + +In T[=o]ky[=o], when the grass grows long upon your lawn, and you send +to the gardener to come and cut it, no boy with patent lawn-mower, nor +stalwart countryman with scythe and sickle, answers your summons, but +some morning you awake to find your lawn covered with old women. The +much-washed cotton garments are faded to a light blue, the exact match +of the light blue cotton towels in which their heads are swathed, and on +hands and knees, each armed with an enormous pair of shears, the old +ladies clip and chatter cheerfully all day long, until the lawn is as +smooth as velvet under their careful cutting. An occasional rest under a +tree, for pipes and tea, is the time for much cheerful talk and gossip; +but the work, though done slowly and with due attention to the comfort +of the worker, is well done, and certainly accomplished as rapidly as +any one could expect of laborers who earn only from eight to twelve +cents a day. Another employment for this same class of laborers is the +picking of moss and grass from the crevices of the great walls that +inclose the moats and embankments of the capital. Mounted on little +ladders, they pick and scrape with knives until the wall is clear and +fresh, with no insidious growth to push the great uncemented stones out +of their places. + +In contrast with these humble but cheerful toilers may be mentioned +another class of women, often met with in the great cities. Dressed in +rags and with covered heads and faces, they wander about the streets +playing the _samisen_ outside the latticed windows, and singing with +cracked voices some wailing melody. As they go from house to house, +gaining a miserable pittance by their weird music, they seem the +embodiment of all that is hopeless and broken-hearted. What they are or +whence they come, I know not, but they always remind me of the +grasshopper in the fable, who danced and sang through the brief summer, +to come, wailing and wretched, seeking aid from her thriftier neighbor +when at last the winter closed in upon her. + +As one rides about the streets, one often sees a little, white-haired +old woman trotting about with a yoke over her shoulders from which are +suspended two swinging baskets, filled with fresh vegetables. The fact +that her hair is still growing to its natural length shows that she is +still a wife and not a widow; her worn and patched blue cotton clothes, +bleached light from much washing, show that extreme poverty is her lot +in life; and as she hobbles along with the gait peculiar to those who +carry a yoke, my thoughts are busy with her home, which, though poor and +small, is doubtless clean and comfortable, but my eye follows her +through the city's crowd, where laborer, soldier, student, and high +official jostle each other by the way. Suddenly I see her pause before +the gateway of a temple. She sets her burden down, and there in the +midst of the bustling throng, with bowed head, folded hands, and moving +lips, she invokes her god, snatching this moment from her busy life to +seek a blessing for herself and her dear ones. The throng moves busily +on, making a little eddy around the burden she has laid down, but paying +no heed to the devout little figure standing there; then in a moment the +prayer is finished; she stoops, picks up her yoke, balances it on her +shoulders, and moves on with the crowd, to do her share while her +strength lasts, and to be cared for tenderly, I doubt not, by children +and children's children when her work is done. + +Another picture comes to me, too, a picture of one whose memory is an +inspiring thought to the many who have the honor to call her "mother." A +stately old lady, left a widow many years ago, before the recent changes +had wrought havoc preparatory to further progress, she seemed always to +me the model of a mother of the old school. Herself a woman of thorough +classical education, her example and teaching were to both sons and +daughters a constant inspiration; and in her old age she found herself +the honored head of a family well known in the arts of war and peace, a +goodly company of sons and daughters, every one of them heirs of her +spirit and of her intellect. Though conservative herself, and always +clinging to the old customs, she put no block in the path of her +children's progress, and her fine character, heroic spirit, and stanch +loyalty to what she believed were worth more to her children than +anything else could have been. Tried by war, by siege, by banishment, by +danger and sufferings of all kinds, to her was given at last an old age +of prosperity among children of whom she might well be proud. Keeping +her physical vigor to the end, and dying at last, after an illness of +only two days, her spirit passed out into the great unknown, ready to +meet its dangers as bravely as she had met those of earth, or to enjoy +its rest as sweetly and appreciatively as she had enjoyed that of her +old age in the house of her oldest son. + +My acquaintance with her was limited by our lack of common language, but +was a most admiring and appreciative one on my side; and I esteem it one +of the chief honors of my stay in Japan, that upon my last meeting with +her, two weeks before her death, she gave me her wrinkled but still +beautiful and delicately shaped hand at parting,--a deference to foreign +customs that she only paid upon special occasions. + +Two weeks later, amid such rain as Japanese skies know all too well how +to let fall, I attended her funeral at the cemetery of Aoyama. The +cemetery chapel was crowded, but a place was reserved for me, on account +of special ties that bound me to the family, just behind the long line +of white-robed mourners. In the Buddhist faith she had lived, and by the +Buddhist ceremonial she was buried,--the chanted ritual, the gorgeously +robed priests, and the heavy smell of incense in the air reminding one +of a Roman Catholic ceremony. The white wooden coffin was placed upon a +bier at the entrance to the chapel, and when the priests had done their +work, and the ecclesiastical ceremony was over, the relatives arose, one +by one, walked over to the coffin, bowed low before it, and placed a +grain of incense upon the little censer that stood on a table before +the bier, then, bowing again, retired to their places. Slowly and +solemnly, from the tall soldier son, his hair already streaked with +gray, to the two-year-old grandchild, all paid this last token of +respect to a noble spirit; and after the relatives the guests, each in +the order of rank or nearness to the deceased, stepped forward and +performed the same ceremony before leaving the room. What the meaning of +the rite was, I did not know, whether a worship of strange gods or no; +but to me, as I performed the act, it only signified the honor in which +I held the memory of a heroic woman who had done well her part in the +world according to the light that God had given her. + +Japanese art loves to picture the old woman with her kindly, wrinkled +face, leaving out no wrinkle of them all, but giving with equal +truthfulness the charm of expression that one finds in them. Long life +is desired by all as passionately as by ancient Hebrew poet and +psalmist, and with good reason, for only by long life can a woman attain +the greatest honor and happiness. We often exclaim in impatience at the +thought of the weakness and dependence of old age, and pray that we may +die in the fullness of our powers, before the decay of advancing years +has made us a burden upon our friends. But in Japan, dependence is the +lot of woman, and the dependence of old age is that which is most +respected and considered. An aged parent is never a burden, is treated +by all with the greatest love and tenderness; and if times are hard, and +food and other comforts are scarce, the children, as a matter of course, +deprive themselves and their children to give ungrudgingly to their old +father and mother. Faults there are many in the Japanese social system, +but ingratitude to parents, or disrespect to the aged, must not be named +among them; and Young America may learn a salutary lesson by the study +of the place that old people occupy in the home. + +It is not only for the women of Japan, but for the men as well, that old +age is a time of peace and happiness. When a man reaches the age of +fifty or thereabouts, often while apparently in the height of his vigor, +he gives up his work or business and retires, leaving all the property +and income to the care of his eldest son, upon whom he becomes entirely +dependent for his support.[23] This support is never begrudged him, for +the care of parents by their children is as much a matter of course in +Japan as the care of children by those who give them birth. A man thus +rarely makes provision for the future, and looks with scorn on foreign +customs which seem to betoken a fear lest, in old age, ungrateful +children may neglect their parents and cast them aside. The feeling, so +strong in America, that dependence is of itself irksome and a thing to +be dreaded, is altogether strange to the Japanese mind. The married son +does not care to take his wife to a new and independent home of his own, +and to support her and her children by his own labor or on his own +income, but he takes her to his father's house, and thinks it no shame +that his family live upon his parents. But in return, when the parents +wish to retire from active life, the son takes upon himself ungrudgingly +the burden of their support, and the bread of dependence is never +bitter to the parents' lips, for it is given freely. To the time-honored +European belief, that a young man must be independent and enterprising +in early life in order to lay by for old age, the Japanese will answer +that children in Japan are taught to love their parents rather than ease +and luxury, and that care for the future is not the necessity that it is +in Europe and America, where money is above everything else,--even +filial love. This habit of thought may account for the utter want of +provision for the future, and the disregard for things pertaining to the +accumulation of wealth, which often strikes curiously the foreigner in +Japan. A Japanese considers his provision for the future made when he +has brought up and educated for usefulness a large family of children. +He invests his capital in their support and education, secure of +bountiful returns in their gratitude and care for his old age. It is +hard for the men of old Japan to understand the rush and struggle for +riches in America,--a struggle that too often leaves not a pause for +rest or quiet pleasure until sickness or death overtakes the +indefatigable worker. The _go inkyo_[24] of Japan is glad enough to lay +down early in life the cares of the world, to have a few years of calm +and peace, undisturbed by responsibilities or cares for outside matters. +If he be an artist or a poet, he may, uninterrupted, spend his days with +his beloved art. If he is fond of the ceremonial tea, he has whole +afternoons that he may devote to this aesthetic repast; and even if he +has none of these higher tastes, he will always have congenial friends +who are ready to share the _sake_ bottle, to join in a quiet smoke over +the _hibachi_, or to play the deep-engrossing game of _go_, or _shogi_, +the Japanese chess. To the Japanese mind, to be in the company of a few +kindred souls, to spend the long hours of a summer's afternoon at the +ceremonial tea party, sipping tea and conversing in a leisurely manner +on various subjects, is an enjoyment second to none. A cultivated +Japanese of the old times must receive an education fitting him +especially for such pursuits. At these meetings of friends, +artistically or poetically inclined, the time is spent in making poems +and exchanging wittily turned sentiments, to be read, commented on, and +responded to; or in the making of drawings, with a few bold strokes of +the brush, in illustration of some subject given out. Such enjoyments as +these, the Japanese believe, cannot be appreciated or even understood by +the practical, rush-ahead American, the product of the wonderful but +material civilization of the West. + +[23] It is this custom of going into early retirement that made it +possible for the nobles in old times to keep the Emperor always a child. +The ruling Emperor would be induced to retire from the throne at the age +of sixteen or twenty; thus making room for some baby, who would be in +his turn the puppet of his ambitious courtiers. + +[24] _Go Inkyo Sama_ is the title belonging to a retired old gentleman +or old lady. _Inkyo_ is the name of the house or suite of rooms set +apart for such a person, and the title itself is made up of this word +with the Chinese honorific _go_ and the title _Sama_, the same as _San_, +used in addressing all persons except inferiors. + +Thus, amid enjoyments and easy labors suited to their closing years, the +elder couple spend their days with the young people, cared for and +protected by them. Sometimes there will be a separate suite of rooms +provided for them; sometimes a little house away from the noises of the +household, and separated from the main building by a well-kept little +garden. In any case, as long as they live they will spend their days in +quiet and peace; and it is to this haven, the _inkyo_, that all Japanese +look forward, as to the time when they may carry out their own +inclinations and tastes with an income provided for the rest of their +days.[*137] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +COURT LIFE. + + +The court of the Emperor was, in the early ages of Japan, the centre of +whatever culture and refinement the country could boast, and the +emperors themselves took an active part in the promotion of +civilization. The earliest history of Japan is so wrapped in the mists +of legend and tradition that only here and there do we get glimpses of +heroic figures,--leaders in those early days. Demigods they seem, +children of Heaven, receiving from Heaven by special revelation the +wisdom or strength by means of which they conquered their enemies, or +gave to their subjects new arts and better laws. The traditional +emperors, the early descendants of the great Jimmu Tenno,[25] seem to +have been merely conquering chieftains, who by virtue of their descent +were regarded as divine, but who lived the simple, hardy life of the +savage king, surrounded by wives and concubines, done homage to by armed +retainers and subject chiefs, but living in rude huts, and moving in and +out among the soldiers, not in the least retired into the mysterious +solitude which in later days enveloped the Son of the Gods. The first +emperors ruled not only by divine right, but by personal force and +valor; and the stories of the valiant deeds of these early rulers kept +strong the faith of the people in the divine qualities of the imperial +house during the hundreds of years when the Emperor was a mere puppet in +the hands of ambitious and powerful nobles. + +[25] The Japanese claim for their present Emperor direct descent from +Jimmu Tenno, the Son of the Gods; and it is for this reason that the +Emperor is supposed to be divine, and the representative of the gods on +the earth. The dynasty, for about twenty-five hundred years since Jimmu +Tenno, has never been broken. It must, however, be said in connection +with this statement, that the Japanese family is a much looser +organization than that known to our Western civilization, on account of +the customs of concubinage and adoption, and that descent through family +lines is not necessarily actual descent by blood. + +Towards the end of this legendary period, a figure comes into view that +for heroic qualities cannot be excelled in the annals of any +nation,--Jingo K[=o]g[=o], the conqueror of Corea, who alone, among the +nine female rulers of Japan, has made an era in the national history. +She seems to have been from the beginning, like Jeanne D'Arc, a hearer +of divine voices; and through her was conveyed to her unbelieving +husband a divine command, to take ship and sail westward to the conquest +of an unknown land. Her husband questioned the authenticity of the +message, took the earthly and practical view that, as there was no land +to be seen in the westward, there could be no land there, and refused to +organize any expedition in fulfillment of the command; but for his +unbelief was sternly told that he should never see the land, but that +his wife should conquer it for the son whom she should bear after the +father's death. This message from the gods was fulfilled. The Emperor +died in battle shortly after, and the Empress, after suppressing the +rebellion in which her husband had been killed, proceeded to organize an +expedition for the conquest of the unknown land beyond the western sea. +By as many signs as those required by Gideon to assure himself of his +divine mission, the Empress tested the call that had come to her, but at +last, satisfied that the voices were from Heaven, she gave her orders +for the collection of troops and the building of a navy. I quote from +Griffis the inspiring words with which she addressed her generals: "The +safety or destruction of our country depends upon this enterprise. I +intrust the details to you. It will be your fault if they are not +carried out. I am a woman and young. I shall disguise myself as a man, +and undertake this gallant expedition, trusting to the gods and to my +troops and captains. We shall acquire a wealthy country. The glory is +yours, if we succeed; if we fail, the guilt and disgrace shall be mine." +What wonder that her captains responded to such an appeal, and that the +work of recruiting and shipbuilding began with a will! It was a long +preparation that was required--sometimes, to the impatient woman, it +seemed unnecessarily slow--but by continual prayer and offerings she +appealed to the gods for aid; and at last all was ready, and the brave +array of ships set sail for the unknown shore, the Empress feeling +within her the new inspiration of hope for her babe as yet unborn. +Heaven smiled upon them from the start. The clearest of skies, the most +favoring of breezes, the smoothest of seas, favored the god-sent +expedition; and tradition says that even the fishes swarmed in shoals +about their keels, and carried them on to their desired haven. The fleet +ran safely across to southern Corea, but instead of finding battles and +struggles awaiting them, the king of the country met them on the beach +to receive and tender allegiance to the invaders, whose unexpected +appearance from the unexplored East had led the natives to believe that +their gods had forsaken them. The expedition returned laden with vast +wealth, not the spoil of battle, but the peaceful tribute of a bloodless +victory; and from that time forward Japan, through Corea, and later by +direct contact with China itself, began to receive and assimilate the +civilization, arts, and religions of China. Thus through a woman Japan +received the start along the line of progress which made her what she is +to-day, for the sequel of Jingo K[=o]g[=o]'s Corean expedition was the +introduction of almost everything which we regard as peculiar to +civilized countries. With characteristic belittling of the woman and +exalting of the man, the whole martial career of the Empress is +ascribed to the influence of her son as yet unborn,--a son who by his +valor and prowess has secured for his deified spirit the position of God +of War in the Japanese pantheon. We should say that pre-natal influences +and heredity produced the heroic son; the Japanese reason from the other +end, and show that all the noble qualities of the mother were produced +by the influence of the unborn babe. + +With the introduction of literature, art, and Buddhism, a change took +place in the relations of the court to the people. About the Emperor's +throne there gathered not only soldiers and governors, but the learned, +the accomplished, the witty, the artistic, who found in the Emperor and +the court nobles munificent patrons by whom they were supported, and +before whom they laid whatever pearls they were able to produce. The new +culture sought not the clash of arms and the shout of soldiers, but the +quiet and refinement of palaces and gardens far removed from the noise +and clamor of the world. And while emperors sought to encourage the new +learning and civilization, and to soften the warlike qualities of the +people about them, there was a frontier along which the savages still +made raids into the territory which the Japanese had wrested from them, +and which it required a strong arm and a quick hand to guard for the +defense of the people. But the Emperor gradually gave up the personal +leadership in war, and passed the duty of defending the nation into the +hands of one or another of the great noble families. The nobles were not +by any means slow to see the advantage to be gained for themselves by +the possession of the military power in an age when might made right, +even more than it does to-day, and when force, used judiciously and with +proper deference to the prejudices of the people, could be made to give +to its possessor power even over the Emperor himself. And so gradually, +in the pursuit of the new culture and the new religion, the emperors +withdrew themselves more and more into seclusion, and the court became a +little world in itself,--a centre of culture and refinement into which +few excitements of war or politics ever came. While the great nobles +wrangled for the possession of the power, schemed and fought and turned +the nation upside down; while the heroes of the country rose, lived, +fought, and died,--the Emperor, amid his ladies and his courtiers, his +priests and his literary men, spent his life in a world of his own; +thinking more of this pair of bright eyes, that new and charming poem, +the other witty saying of those about him, than of the kingdom that he +ruled by divine right; and retiring, after ten years or so of puppet +kinghood, from the seclusion of his court to the deeper seclusion of +some Buddhist monastery. + +Within the sacred precincts of the court, much time was given to such +games and pastimes as were not too rude or noisy for the refinement that +the new culture brought with it. Polo, football, hunting with falcons, +archery, etc., were exercises not unworthy of even the most refined of +gentlemen, and certain noble families were trained hereditarily in the +execution of certain stately, antique dances, many of them of Chinese or +Corean origin. The ladies, in trailing garments and with flowing hair, +reaching often below the knees, played a not inconspicuous part, not +only because of their beauty and grace, but for their quickness of wit, +their learning in the classics, their skill in repartee, and their +quaint fancies, which they embodied in poetic form.[26] + +[26] In ancient times, before the long civil wars of the Middle Ages, +much attention was given by both men and women to poetry, and many of +the classics of Japanese literature are the works of women. Among these +distinguished writers can be mentioned Murasaki Shikibu, Seish[=o] Nagon, +and Iseno Taiyu, all court ladies in the time of the Emperor Ichij[=o] +(about 1000 A. D.). The court at that time was the centre of learning, +and much encouragement was given by the Emperor to literary pursuits, +the cultivation of poetry, and music. The Emperor gathered around him +talented men and women, but the great works that remain are, strange to +say, mostly those of women. + +Much attention was given to that harmony of art with nature that the +Japanese taste makes the _sine qua non_ of all true artistic effort. The +gorgeously embroidered gowns must change with the changing season, so +that the cherry succeeds the plum, the wistaria the cherry, and so on +through the whole calendar of flowers, upon the silken robes of the +court, as regularly as in the garden that graces the palace grounds. And +so with the confectionery, which in Japan is made in dainty imitation of +flowers and fruits. The chrysanthemum blooms in sugar no earlier than +on its own stalk; the little golden orange, with its dark green leaves, +is on the confectioner's list in winter, when the real orange is yellow +on its tree. The very decorations of the palace must be changed with the +changing of the months; and _kakemono_ and vase are alternately stored +in the _kura_ and brought out to decorate the room, according as their +designs seem in harmony with the mood of Nature. This effort to +harmonize Nature and Art is seen to-day, not only in the splendid +furnishings of the court, but all through the decorative art of Japan. +In every house the decorations are changed to suit the changing seasons. + +Through the years when Japan was adopting the civilization of China, a +danger threatened the nation,--the same danger that threatens it to-day: +it was the danger lest the adoption of so much that was foreign should +result in a servile copying of all that was not Japanese, and lest the +introduction of literature, art, and numerous hitherto unknown luxuries +should take from the people their independence, patriotism, and +manliness. But this result was happily avoided; and at a time when the +language was in danger of being swept almost out of existence by the +introduction of Chinese learning through Chinese letters, the women of +Japan, not only in their homes and conversation, but in the poetry and +lighter literature of the country, preserved a strain of pure and +graceful Japanese, and produced some of the standard works of a +distinctly national literature. Favor at court to-day, as in the olden +times, is the reward, not of mere rank, beauty, and grace of person, but +must be obtained through the same intellectual endowments, polished by +years of education, that made so many women famous in the mediaeval +history of Japan. Many court ladies have read much of their national +literature, so that they are able to appreciate the _bonmots_ which +contain allusions in many cases to old poems, or plays on words; and are +able to write and present to others, at fitting times, those graceful +but untranslatable turns of phrase which form the bulk of Japanese +poetry.[27] Even in this busy era of Meiji,[28] the Emperor and his +court keep up the old-time customs, and strive to promote a love of the +beautiful poetry of Japan. At each New Year some subject appropriate to +the time is chosen and publicly announced. Poems may be written upon +this subject by any one in the whole realm, and may be sent to the +palace before a certain date fixed as the time for closing the list of +competitors. All the poems thus sent are examined by competent judges, +who select the best five and send them to the Emperor, an honor more +desired by the writers than the most favorable of reviews or the largest +of emoluments are desired by American poets. Many of the other poems are +published in the newspapers. It is interesting to note that many of the +prominent men and women of the country are known as competitors, and +that many of the court ladies join in the contest. + +[27] The court ladies in immediate contact with the Emperor and Empress +are selected from the daughters of the nobles. Only in the present reign +have a few samurai women risen to high positions at court on account of +special talents. + +[28] _Meiji_ (Enlightened Rule) is the name of the era that began with +the present Emperor's accession to the throne. The year A. D. 1890 is +the twenty-third year of Meiji, and would be so designated in all +Japanese dates. + +There are also, at the palace, frequent meetings of the poets and lovers +of poetry connected with the court. At these meetings poems are +composed for the entertainment of the Emperor and Empress, as well as +for the amusement of the poets themselves. + +In the school recently established for the daughters of the nobles, +under the charge of the imperial household, much attention is given to +the work of thoroughly grounding the scholars in the Japanese language +and literature, and also to making them skillful in the art of composing +poetry. At the head of the school, in the highest position held by any +woman in the employ of the government, is a former court lady, who is +second to none in the kingdom, not only in her knowledge of all that +belongs to court etiquette, but in her study of the history and +literature of her own people, and in her skill in the composition of +these dainty poems. A year or two ago, when one of the scholars in the +school died after a brief decline, her schoolmates, teachers, and school +friends wrote poems upon her death, which they sent to the bereaved +parents. + +It is difficult for any Japanese, much more so for a foreigner, to +penetrate into the seclusion of the palace and see anything of the life +there, except what is shown to the public in the occasional +entertainments given at court, such as formal receptions and dinner +parties. In 1889, the new palace, built on the site of the old Tokugawa +Castle, burnt seventeen years ago, was finally completed; and it was my +privilege to see, before the removal of the court, not only the grand +reception rooms, throne-room, and dining-room, but also the private +apartments of the Emperor and Empress. The palace is built in Japanese +style, surrounded by the old castle moats, but there are many foreign +additions to the palace and grounds. It is heated and lighted in foreign +style, and the larger rooms are all furnished after the magnificent +manner of European palaces; while the lacquer work, carvings, and +gorgeous paneled ceilings remind one of the finest of Japanese temples. +The private apartments of the Emperor and Empress are, on the other +hand, most simple, and in thorough Japanese style; and though the +woodwork and polished floors of the corridors are very beautiful, the +paintings and lacquer work most exquisite, there is little in this +simplicity to denote the abode of royalty. It seems that their +majesties, though outwardly conforming to many European customs, and to +the European manner of dress, prefer to live in Japanese ways, on +matted, not carpeted floors, reposing on them rather than on chairs and +bedsteads.[*152] + +Their apartments are not large; each suite consisting of three rooms +opening out of each other, the Empress's rooms being slightly smaller +than the Emperor's, and those of the young Prince Haru, the heir +apparent, again a little smaller. The young prince has a residence of +his own, and it is only on his visits that he occupies his apartments in +his father's palace. There are also rooms for the Empress dowager to +occupy on her occasional visits. All of these apartments are quite close +together in one part of the palace, and are connected by halls; but the +private rooms of the court ladies are in an entirely separate place, +quite removed, and only connected with the main building by a long, +narrow passageway, running through the garden. There, in the rooms +assigned to them, each one has her own private establishment, where she +stays when she is not on duty in attendance on the Emperor and Empress. +Each lady has her own servants, and sometimes a younger sister or a +dependent may be living there with her, though they are entirely +separate from the court and the life there, and must never be seen in +any of the other parts of the building. In these rooms, which are like +little homes in themselves, cooking and housekeeping are done, entirely +independent of the other parts of the great palace; and the tradesmen +find their way through some back gate to these little establishments, +supplying them with all the necessaries of life, as well as the +luxuries. + +A court lady is a personage of distinction, and lives in comparative +ease and luxury, with plenty of servants to do all the necessary work. +Besides her salary, which of course varies with the rank and the duties +performed, but is always liberal enough to cover the necessary expenses +of dress, the court lady receives many presents from the Emperor and +Empress, which make her position one of much luxury. + +The etiquette of the imperial household is very complicated and very +strict, though many of the formalities of the olden times have been +given up. The court ladies are models of conservatism. In order to be +trained for the life there and its duties, they usually enter the court +while mere children of ten or eleven, and serve apprenticeship to the +older members. In the rigid seclusion of the palace they are strictly, +almost severely, brought up, and trained in all the details of court +etiquette. Cut off from all outside influences while young, the little +court maidens are taught to go through an endless round of formalities +which they are made to think indispensable. These details of etiquette +extend not only to all that concerns the imperial household, but to +curious customs among themselves, and in regard to their own habits. +Many of these ideas have come down from one generation to another, +within the narrow limits of the court, so that the life there is a +curious world in itself, and very unlike that in ordinary Japanese +homes. + +But among all the ladies of Japan to-day,--charming, intellectual, +refined, and lovely as many of them are,--there is no one nobler, more +accomplished, more beautiful in life and character, than the Empress +herself. The Emperor of Japan, though he may have many concubines, may +have but one wife, and she must be chosen out of one of the five highest +noble families.[29] Haru Ko, of the noble family of Ichij[=o], became +Empress in the year 1868, one year after her husband, then a boy of +seventeen, had ascended the throne, and the very year of the overthrow +of the Sh[=o]gunate,[30] and the restoration of the Emperor to actual +power and the leading part in the government. Reared amid the deep and +scholarly seclusion of the old court at Ky[=o]to, the young Empress +found herself occupying a position very different from that for which +she had been educated,--a position the duties and responsibilities of +which grow more multifarious as the years go by. Instead of a life of +rigid seclusion, unseeing and unseen, the Empress has had to go forth +into the world, finding there the pleasures as well as the duties of +actual leadership. With the removal of the court to T[=o]ky[=o], and the +reappearance of the Emperor, in bodily form, before his people, there +came new opportunities for the Empress, and nobly has she used them. +From the time when, in 1871, she gave audience to the five little girls +of the samurai class who were just setting forth on a journey to +America, there to study and fit themselves to play a part in the Japan +of the future, on through twenty years of change and progress, the +Empress Haru Ko has done all that lay within her power to advance the +women of her country.[*157] Many stories are afloat which show the +lovable character of the woman, and which have given her an abiding +place in the affections of the people. + +[29] The Empresses of Japan are not chosen from any branch of the +imperial family, but from among the daughters of the five of the great +_kuge_, or court nobles, who are next in rank to the imperial princes. +The choice usually rests with the Emperor or his advisers, and would be +naturally given to the most worthy, whether in beauty or accomplishments. +No doubt one reason why the Empress is regarded as far below the Emperor +is, that she is not of royal blood, but one of the subjects of the +Empire. In the old times, the daughters of the Emperor could never +marry, as all men were far beneath them in rank. These usually devoted +their lives to religion, and as Shint[=o] priestesses or Buddhist nuns +dwelt in the retirement of temple courts or the seclusion of cloisters. + +[30] Tokugawa Sh[=o]guns were the military rulers of the Tokugawa +family, who held the power in Japan for a period of two hundred and +fifty years. They are better known to Americans, perhaps, under the +title of _Tycoon_ (Great Prince), a name assumed, or rather revived, to +impress the foreigners when Commodore Perry was negotiating in regard to +treaties. The Sh[=o]gun held the daimi[=o]s in forced subjection,--a +subjection that was shaken in 1862, and broken at last in the year 1868, +when, by the fall of the Sh[=o]gunate, the Emperor was restored to +direct power over his people. + +Some years ago, when the castle in T[=o]ky[=o] was burned, and the +Emperor and Empress were obliged to take refuge in an old daimi[=o]'s +house, a place entirely lacking in luxuries and considerably out of +repair, some one expressed to her the grief that all her people felt, +that she should have to put up with so many inconveniences. Her response +was a graceful little poem, in which she said that the narrowness of her +abode would not limit her love for her people, and that for them she +would endeavor to explore wisely the unlimited fields of knowledge. + +Upon another occasion, when Prince Iwakura, one of the leaders of Japan +in the early days of the crisis through which the country is still +passing, lay dying at his home, the Empress sent him word that she was +coming to visit him. The prince, afraid that he could not do honor to +such a guest, sent her word back that he was very ill, and unable to +make proper preparation to entertain an Empress. To this the Empress +replied that he need make no preparations for her, for she was coming, +not as an Empress, but as the daughter of Ichij[=o], his old friend and +colleague, and as such he could receive her. And then, setting aside +imperial state and etiquette, she visited the dying statesman, and +brightened his last hours with the thought of how lovely a woman stood +as an example before the women of his beloved country. + +Many of the charities and schools of new Japan are under the Empress's +special patronage; and this does not mean simply that she allows her +name to be used in connection with them, but it means that she thinks of +them, studies them, asks questions about them, and even practices little +economies that she may have the more money to give to them. There is a +charity hospital in T[=o]ky[=o], having in connection with it a training +school for nurses, that is one of the special objects of her care. Last +year she gave to it, at the end of the year, the savings from her own +private allowance, and concerning this act an editorial from the "Japan +Mail" speaks as follows:-- + +"The life of the Empress of Japan is an unvarying routine of faithful +duty-doing and earnest charity. The public, indeed, hears with a certain +listless indifference, engendered by habit, that her Majesty has visited +this school, or gone round the wards at that hospital. Such incidents +all seem to fall naturally into the routine of the imperial day's work. +Yet to the Empress the weariness of long hours spent in classrooms or in +laboratories, or by the beds of the sick, must soon become quite +intolerable did she not contrive, out of the goodness of her heart, to +retain a keen and kindly interest in everything that concerns the +welfare of her subjects. That her Majesty does feel this interest, and +that it grows rather than diminishes as the years go by, every one knows +who has been present on any of the innumerable occasions when the +promoters of some charity or the directors of some educational +institution have presented, with merciless precision, all the petty +details of their projects or organizations for the examination of the +imperial lady. The latest evidence of her Majesty's benevolence is, +however, more than usually striking. Since the founding of the T[=o]ky[=o] +Charity Hospital, where so many poor women and children are treated, the +Empress has watched the institution closely, has bestowed on it +patronage of the most active and helpful character, and has contributed +handsomely to its funds. Little by little the hospital grew, extending +its sphere of action and enlarging its ministrations, until the need of +more capacious premises--a need familiar to such undertakings--began to +be strongly felt. The Empress, knowing this, cast about for some means +of assisting this project. To practice strict economy in her own +personal expenses, and to devote whatever money might thus be saved from +her yearly income to the aid of the hospital, appears to have suggested +itself to her Majesty as the most feasible method of procedure. The +result is, that a sum of 8,446 yen, 90 sen, and 8 rin has just been +handed over to Dr. Takagi, the chief promoter and mainstay of the +hospital, by Viscount Kagawa, one of her Majesty's chamberlains. There +is something picturesque about these sen and rin. They represent an +account minutely and faithfully kept between her Majesty's unavoidable +expenses and the benevolent impulse that constantly urged her to curtail +them. Such gracious acts of sterling effort command admiration and +love." + +Not very long ago, on one of her visits to the hospital, the Empress +visited the children's ward, and took with her toys, which she gave with +her own hand to each child there. When we consider that this hospital is +free to the poorest and lowest person in T[=o]ky[=o], and that twenty +years ago the persons of the Emperor and Empress were so sacred in the +eyes of the people that no one but the highest nobles and the near +officials of the court could come into their presence,--that even these +high nobles were received at court by the Emperor at a distance of many +feet, and his face even then could not be seen,--when we think of all +this, we can begin to appreciate what the Empress Haru has done in +bridging the distance between herself and her people so that the poorest +child of a beggar may receive a gift from her hand. In the country +places to this day, there are peasants who yet believe that no one can +look on the sacred face of the Emperor and live. + +The school for the daughters of the nobles, to which I have before +referred, is an institution whose welfare the Empress has very closely +at heart, for she sees the need of rightly combining the new and the old +in the education of the young girls who will so soon be filling places +in the court. At the opening of the school the Empress was present, and +herself made a speech to the scholars; and her visits, at intervals of +one or two months, show her continued interest in the work that she has +begun. Upon all state occasions, the scholars, standing with bowed heads +as if in prayer, sing a little song written for them by the Empress +herself; and at the graduating exercises, the speeches and addresses are +listened to by her with the profoundest interest. The best specimens of +poetry, painting, and composition done by the scholars are sent to the +palace for her inspection, and some of these are kept by her in her own +private rooms. When she visits the class-rooms, she does not simply pass +in and pass out again, as if doing a formal duty, but sits for half an +hour or so listening intently, and watching the faces of the scholars +as they recite. In sewing and cooking classes (for the daughters of the +nobles are taught to sew and cook), she sometimes speaks to the +scholars, asking them questions. Upon one occasion she observed a young +princess, a newcomer in the school, working somewhat awkwardly with +needle and thimble. "The first time, Princess, is it not?" said the +Empress, smiling, and the embarrassed Princess was obliged to confess +that this was her first experience with those domestic implements. + +Sometimes in her leisure hours--and they are rare in her busy life--the +Empress amuses herself by receiving the little daughters of some +imperial prince or nobleman, or even the children of some of the high +officials. In the kindness of her heart, she takes great pleasure in +seeing and talking to these little ones, some of whom are intensely awed +by being in the presence of the Empress, while others, in their +innocence, ignorant of all etiquette, prattle away unrestrainedly, to +the great entertainment of the court ladies as well as of the Empress +herself. These visits always end with some choice toy or gift, which +the child takes home and keeps among her most valued treasures in +remembrance of her imperial hostess. In this way the Empress relieves +the loneliness of the great palace, where the sound of childish voices +is seldom heard, for the Emperor's children are brought up in separate +establishments, and only pay occasional visits to the palace, until they +have passed early childhood.[31] + +[31] The Emperor's children are placed, from birth, in the care of some +noble or high official, who becomes the guardian of the child. Certain +persons are appointed as attendants, and the child with its retinue +lives in the establishment of the guardian, who is supposed to exercise +his judgment and experience in the physical and mental training of the +child. + +The present life of the Empress is not very different from that of +European royalty. Her carriage and escort are frequently met with in the +streets of T[=o]ky[=o] as she goes or returns on one of her numerous +visits of ceremony or beneficence. Policemen keep back the crowds of +people who always gather to see the imperial carriage, and stand +respectfully, but without demonstration, while the horsemen carrying the +imperial insignia, followed closely by the carriages of the Empress and +her attendants, pass by. The official Gazette announces almost daily +visits by the Emperor, Empress, or other members of the imperial family, +to different places of interest,--sometimes to various palaces in +different parts of T[=o]ky[=o], at other times to schools, charitable +institutions or exhibitions, as well as occasional visits to the homes +of high officials or nobles, for which great preparations are made by +those who have the honor of entertaining their Majesties. + +Among the amusements within the palace grounds, one lately introduced, +and at present in high favor, is that of horseback-riding, an exercise +hitherto unknown to the ladies of Japan. The Empress and her ladies are +said to be very fond of this active exercise,--an amusement forming a +striking contrast to the quiet of former years. + +The grounds about the palaces in T[=o]ky[=o] are most beautifully laid +out and cultivated, but not in that artificial manner, with regular +flower beds and trees at certain equal distances, which is seen so often +in the highly cultivated grounds of the rich in this country. The +landscape gardening of Japan keeps unchanged the wildness and beauty of +nature, and imitates it closely. The famous flowers, however, are, in +the imperial gardens, changed by art and cultivated to their highest +perfection, blooming each season for the enjoyment of the members of the +court. Especially is attention given to the cultivation of the imperial +flower of Japan, the chrysanthemum; and some day in November, when this +flower is in its perfection, the gates of the Akasaka palace are thrown +open to invited guests, who are received in person by the Emperor and +Empress. Here the rarest species of this favorite flower, and the oddest +colors and shapes, the results of much care and cultivation, are +exhibited in spacious beds, shaded by temporary roofs of bamboo twigs +and decorated with the imperial flags. This is the great chrysanthemum +party of the Emperor, and another of similar character is given in the +spring under the flower-laden boughs of the cherry trees. + +In these various ways the Empress shows herself to her people,--a +gracious and lovely figure, though distant, as she needs must be, from +common, every-day life. Only by glimpses do the people know her, but +those glimpses reveal enough to excite the warmest admiration, the most +tender love. Childless herself, destined to see a child not her own, +although her husband's, heir to the throne, the Empress devotes her +lonely and not too happy life to the actual, personal study of the wants +of daughters of her people, and side by side with Jingo,[32] the +majestic but shadowy Empress of the past, should be enshrined in the +hearts of the women of Japan the memory of Haru Ko, the leader of her +countrywomen into that freer and happier life that is opening to them. + +[32] Jingo K[=o]g[=o], like many of the heroic, half mythical figures of +other nations, has suffered somewhat under the assaults of the modern +historical criticism. Many of the best Japanese historians deny that she +conquered Corea; some go so far as to doubt whether she had right to the +title of Empress; all are sure that much of romance has gathered about +the figure of this brave woman; but to the mass of the Japanese to-day, +she is still an actual historic reality, and she represents to them in +feminine form the Spirit of Japan. Whether she conquered Corea or no, +she remains the prominent female figure upon the border line where the +old barbaric life merges into the newer civilization, just as the +present Empress, Haru Ko, stands upon the border line between the +Eastern and the Western modes of thought and life. + +Each marks the beginning of a new era,--the first, of the era of +civilization and morality founded upon the teachings of Buddha and +Confucius; the second, of the civilization and morality that have sprung +from the teachings of Christ. Buddhism and Confucianism were elevating +and civilizing, but failed to place the women of Japan upon even as high +a plane as they had occupied in the old barbaric times. To Christianity +they must look for the security and happiness which it has never failed +to give to the wives and mothers of all Christian nations.[*168] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +LIFE IN CASTLE AND YASHIKI.[33] + + +The seclusion of the Emperors and the gathering of the reins of +government into the hands of Sh[=o]guns was a gradual process, beginning +not long after the introduction of Chinese civilization, and continuing +to grow until Iyeyas[)u], the founder of the Tokugawa dynasty, through his +code of laws, took from the Emperor the last vestige of real power, and +perfected the feudal system which maintained the sway of his house for +two hundred and fifty years of peace. + +[33] _Yashiki_, or spread-out house, was the name given to the palace +and grounds of a daimi[=o]'s city residence, and also to the barracks +occupied by his retainers, both in city and country. In the city the +barracks of the samurai were built as a hollow square, in the centre of +which stood the palace and grounds of their lord, and this whole place +was the daimi[=o]'s _yashiki_. In the castle towns the daimi[=o]'s +palace and gardens stood within the castle inclosure, surrounded by a +moat, while the _yashikis_ of the samurai were placed without the moat. +They in turn were separated from the business part of the village +sometimes by a second or third moat. By life in castle and _yashiki_ we +mean the life of the daimi[=o], whether in city or country. + +The Emperor's court, with its literary and aesthetic quiet, its +simplicity of life and complexity of etiquette, was the centre of the +culture and art of Japan, but never the centre of luxury. After the +growth of the Tokugawa power had secured for that house and its +retainers great hereditary possessions, the Emperor's court was a mere +shadow in the presence of the magnificence in which the Tokugawas and +the daimi[=o]s chose to live. The wealth of the country was in the hands +of those who held the real power, and the Emperor was dependent for his +support upon his great vassal, who held the land, collected the taxes, +made the laws, and gave to his master whatever seemed necessary for his +maintenance in the simple style of the old days, keeping for himself and +for his retainers enough to make Yedo, the Tokugawa capital, the centre +of a luxury far surpassing anything ever seen at the Emperor's own +court. While the _kuge_, the old imperial nobility, formerly the +governors of the provinces under the Emperors, lived in respectable but +often extreme poverty at Ky[=o]to, the landed nobility, or daimi[=o]s, +brought, after many struggles, under the sway of the Tokugawas, built +for themselves palaces and pleasure gardens in the moated city of Yedo. +At Yedo with its castle, its gardens, its _yashikis_, and its +fortifications, was established a new court, more luxurious, but less +artistic and cultivated, than the old court of Ky[=o]to. In the various +provinces, too, at every castle town, a little court arose about the +castle, and the daimi[=o] became not only the feudal chief, but the +patron of literature and art among his people, as the years went by +filling his _kura_ with choice works of art, in lacquer, bronze, silver, +and pottery, to be brought out on special occasions. These nobles, under +a law of Iyemits[)u], the third of the Tokugawa line, were compelled to +spend half of each year at the city of the Sh[=o]guns; and each had his +_yashiki_, or large house and garden, in the city. At this house, his +family must reside permanently, as hostages for the loyalty of their +lord while away. The annual journeys to and from Yedo were events not +only in the lives of the daimi[=o]s and their trains of retainers, but +in the lives of the country people who lived along the roads by which +they must travel. The time and style of each journey for each daimi[=o] +were rigidly prescribed in the laws of Iyemits[)u], as well as the +behavior of the country people who might meet the procession moving +towards Yedo, or returning therefrom. When some noble, or any member of +his family, was to pass through a certain section of the country, great +preparations were made beforehand. Not only was traffic stopped along +the route, but every door and window had to be closed. By no means was +any one to show himself, or to look in any way upon the passing +procession. To do so was to commit a profane deed, punishable by a fine. +Among other things, no cooking was allowed on that day. All the food +must be prepared the day before, as the air was supposed to become +polluted by the smoke from the fires. Thus through crowded cities, full +and busy with life, the daimi[=o] in his curtained palanquin, with +numerous retinue, would pass by; but wherever he approached, the place +would be as deserted and silent as if plague-stricken. It is hardly +necessary to add that these journeys, attended with so much ceremony +and inconvenience to the people, were not as frequent as the trips now +taken, at a moment's notice, from one city to another, by these very +same men. + +One story current in T[=o]ky[=o] shows the narrowing effect of such +seclusion. A noble who had traveled into Yedo, across one of the large +bridges built over the Sumida River, remarked one day to his companions +that he was greatly disappointed on seeing that bridge. "From the +pictures," he said, "which I have seen, the bridge seemed alive with +people, the centre of life and activity, but the artists must +exaggerate, for not a soul was on the bridge when I passed by." + +The castle of the Sh[=o]gun in Yedo, with its moats and fortifications, +and its fine house and great _kura_, was reproduced on a small scale in +the castles scattered through the country; and as in Yedo the _yashikis_ +of the daimi[=o]s stood next to the inner moat of the castle, that the +retainers might be ready to defend their lord at his earliest call, so +in the provinces the _yashikis_ of the samurai occupied a similar +position about the daimi[=o]'s castle. + +It is curious to see that, as the Sh[=o]gun took away the military and +temporal power of the Emperor, making of him only a figure-head without +real power, so, to a certain degree, the daimi[=o] gave up, little by +little, the personal control of his own province, the power falling into +the hands of ambitious samurai, who became the councilors of their lord. +The samurai were the learned class and the military class; they were and +are the life of Japan; and it is no wonder that the nobles, protected +and shielded from the world, and growing up without much education, +should have changed in the course of centuries from strong, brave +warriors into the delicate, effeminate, luxury-loving nobles of the +present day. Upon the loyalty and wisdom of the samurai, often upon some +one man of undoubted ability, rested the greatness of the province and +the prosperity of the master's house. + +The life of the ladies in these daimi[=o]s' houses is still a living +memory to many of the older women of Japan; but it is a memory only, and +has given place to a different state of things. The Emperor occupies the +castle of the Sh[=o]gun to-day, and every daimi[=o]'s castle throughout +the country is in the hands of the imperial government. The old +pleasure gardens of the nobles are turned into arsenals, schools, public +parks, and other improvements of the new era. But here and there one +finds some conservative family of nobles still keeping up in some +measure the customs of former times; and daimi[=o]s' houses there are +still in T[=o]ky[=o], though stripped of power and of retainers, where +life goes on in many ways much as it did in the old days. In such a +house as this, one finds ladies-in-waiting, of the samurai rank, who +serve her ladyship--the daimi[=o]'s wife--in all personal service. In +the old days, the daughters of the samurai were eager for the training +in etiquette, and in all that belongs to nice housekeeping, that might +be obtained by a few years of apprenticeship in a daimi[=o]'s house, and +gladly assumed the most menial positions for the sake of the education +and reputation to be gained by such training. + +The wife and daughters of a daimi[=o] led the quietest of lives, rarely +passing beyond the four great walls that inclose the palace with its +grounds. They saw the changes of the seasons in the flowers that bloomed +in their lovely gardens, when, followed by numerous attendants, they +slowly walked through the bamboo groves or under the bloom-laden boughs +of the plum or cherry trees, forming their views of life, its pleasures, +its responsibilities, and its meaning, within the narrow limits of the +daimi[=o]'s _yashiki_. + +Their mornings were passed in the adorning of their own persons, and in +the elaborate dressing of their luxuriant hair; the afternoons were +spent in the tea ceremony, in writing poetry, or the execution of a sort +of silk mosaic that is a favorite variety of fancy work still among the +ladies of Japan. + +A story is told of one of the Tokugawa princesses that illustrates the +amusements of the Sh[=o]gun's daughters, and the pains that were taken +to gratify their wishes, however unreasonable. The cherry-trees of the +castle gardens of T[=o]ky[=o] are noted for their beauty when in bloom +during the month of April. It is said that once a daughter of the +Tokugawa house expressed a wish to give a garden party amid the +blossoming cherry-trees in the month of December, and nothing would do +but that her wishes must be carried out. Her retainers accordingly +summoned to their aid skillful artificers, who from pink and white +tissue paper produced myriads of cherry blossoms, so natural that they +could hardly be distinguished from the real ones. These they fastened +upon the trees in just such places as the real flowers would have chosen +to occupy, and the happy princess gave her garden party in December +under the pink mist of cherry blooms. + +The children of a daimi[=o]'s wife occupied her attention but little. +They were placed in the charge of careful attendants, and the mother, +though allowed to see them when she wished, was deprived of the pleasure +of constant intercourse with them, and had none of the mother's cares +which form so large a part of life to an ordinary Japanese woman. + +When we know that the average Japanese girl is brought up strictly by +her own mother, and thoroughly drilled in obedience and in all that is +proper as regards etiquette and the duties of woman, we can imagine the +narrowness of the education of the daimi[=o]'s poor little daughter, +surrounded, from early childhood, with numerous attendants of the +strictest sort, to teach her all that is proper according to the +highest and severest standards. Sometimes, by the whim or the indulgence +of parents, or through exceptional circumstances in her surroundings, a +samurai's daughter became more independent, more self-reliant, or better +educated, than others of her rank; but such opportunities never came to +the more carefully reared noble's daughter. + +From her earliest childhood, she was addressed in the politest and most +formal way, so that she could not help acquiring polite manners and +speech. She was taught etiquette above all things, so that no rude +action or speech would disgrace her rank; and that she should give due +reverence to her superiors, courtesy to equals, and polite condescension +to inferiors. She was taught especially to show kindness to the families +under the rule of her father, and was early told of the noble's duty to +protect and love his retainers, as a father loves and protects his +children. From childhood, presents were made in her name to those around +her, often without her previous knowledge or permission, and from them +she would receive profuse thanks,--lessons in the delights of +beneficence which could not fail to make their impression on the child +princess. Even to inferiors she used the polite language,[34] and never +the rude, brusque speech of men, or the careless phrases and expressions +of the lower classes. + +[34] The Japanese language is full of expressions showing different +shades of meaning in the politeness or respect implied. There are words +and expressions which superiors in rank use to inferiors, or _vice +versa_, and others used among equals. Some phrases belong especially to +the language of the high-born, just as there are common expressions of +the people. Some verbs in this extremely complex language must be +altered in their termination according to the degree of honor in which +the subject of the action is held in the speaker's mind. + +The education of the daimi[=o]'s daughter was conducted entirely at +home.[35] Instead of going out to masters for instruction, she was +taught by some one in the household,--one of her father's retainers, or +perhaps a member of her own private retinue. Teachers for certain +branches came from outside, and these were not expected to give the +lesson within a certain time and hurry away, but they would remain, +conversing, sipping tea, and partaking of sweetmeats, until their noble +pupil was ready to receive them. Hospitality required that the teacher +be offered a meal after the lesson, and this meal etiquette would not +permit him to refuse, so that both teacher and pupil must spend much +time waiting for each other and for the lesson. + +[35] The establishment of the peeress' school, mentioned in the last +chapter, is a great innovation upon the old-time ways of many of the +aristocratic families. + +Pursued in this leisurely way, the education of the noble's daughter +could not advance very rapidly, and it usually ended with an extremely +early marriage; and the girl wife would sometimes play with her doll in +the new home until the living baby took its place to the young mother. + +The samurai women, who in one position or another were close attendants +on these noble ladies, performing for them every act of service, were +often women of more than average intelligence and education. From +childhood to old age, the noble ladies were never without one or more of +these maids of honor, close at hand to help or advise. Some entered the +service in the lower positions for only a short period, leaving sooner +or later to be married; for continued service in a daimi[=o]'s household +meant a single life. Many of them remained in the palace all their days, +leading lives of devotion to their mistress; the comfort and ease of +which hardly compensated for the endless formalities and the monotonous +seclusion. + +Even the less responsible and more menial positions were not looked down +upon, and the higher offices in the household were exceedingly +honorable. When, once in a long while, a day's leave of absence was +granted to one of these gentlewomen, and, loaded with presents sent by +the daimi[=o]'s lady, she went on her visit to her home, she was received +as a greatly honored member of her own family. The respect which was +paid to her knowledge of etiquette and dress was never lessened because +of the menial services she might have performed for those of noble +blood. + +The lady who was the head attendant, and those in the higher positions, +had a great deal of power and influence in matters that concerned their +mistress and the household; just as the male retainers decided for the +prince, and in their own way, many of the affairs of the province. The +few conservative old ladies, the last relics of the numerous retainers +that once filled the castle, who still remain faithful in attendance in +the homes now deprived of the grandeur of the olden times, look with +horror upon the innovations of the present day, and sigh for the glory +of old Japan. It is only upon compulsion that they give up many of the +now useless formalities, and resign themselves to seeing their once so +honored lords jostle elbow to elbow with the common citizen. + +I shall never forget the horror of one old lady, attendant on a noble's +daughter of high rank, just entering the peeress' school, when it was +told her that each student must carry in her own bundle of books and +arrange them herself, and that the attendants were not allowed in the +classroom. The poor old lady was doubtless indignant at the thought that +her noble-born mistress should have to perform even so slight a task as +the arranging of her own desk unaided.[*182] + +In the daimi[=o]s' houses there was little of the culture or wit that +graced the more aristocratic seclusion of Ky[=o]to, and none of the +duties and responsibilities that belonged to the samurai women, so that +the life of the daimi[=o]'s lady was perhaps more purposeless, and less +stimulating to the noble qualities, than the lives of any other of the +women of Japan. Surrounded by endless restrictions of etiquette, lacking +both the stimulus that comes from physical toil and that to be derived +from intellectual exertion, the ladies of this class of the nobility +simply vegetated. There is little wonder that the nobles degenerated +both mentally and physically during the years when the Tokugawas held +sway; for there was absolutely nothing in the lives of the women to fit +them to be the wives and mothers of strong men. Delicate, dainty, +refined, dexterous in all manner of little things but helpless to act +for themselves,--ladies to the inmost core of their beings, with +instincts of honor and of _noblesse oblige_ appearing in them from +earliest childhood,--the years of seclusion, of deference from hundreds +of retainers, of constant instruction in the duties as well as the +dignities of their position, have produced an abiding effect upon the +minds of the women of this aristocracy, and to-day even the youngest and +smallest of them have the virtues as well as the failings produced by +nearly three centuries of training. They are lacking in force, in +ambition, in clearness of thought, among a nation abounding in those +qualities; but the national characteristics of dignity, charming +manners, a quick sense of honor, and indomitable pride of race and +nation, combined with a personal modesty almost deprecating in its +humility,--these are found among the daughters of the nobles developed +to their highest extent. With the qualities of gentleness and delicacy +possessed by these ladies, which make them shrink from rough contact +with the outer world, there are mingled the stronger qualities of moral +and physical courage. A daimi[=o]'s wife, as befitted the wife of a +warrior and the daughter of long generations of brave men, never shrank +from facing danger and death when necessary; and considered the taking +of her own life an honorable and easy escape from being captured by her +enemy. + +Two or three little ripples from the past broke into my life in +T[=o]ky[=o], giving a little insight into those old feudal times, and +the customs that were common then, but that are now gone forever. A +story was told me in Japan by a lady who had herself, as a child, +witnessed the events narrated. It illustrates the responsibility felt by +the retainers for their lord and his house. A daimi[=o] fell into +disgrace with the Sh[=o]gun, and was banished to his own capital,--a +castle town several days' journey from Yedo,--as a punishment for some +offense. The castle gates were closed, and no communication with the +outer world allowed. During this period of disgrace, it happened that +the noble fell ill, and died quite suddenly before his punishment was +ended. His death under such circumstances was the most terrible thing +that could befall either himself or his family, as his funeral must be +without the ordinary tokens of respect; and his tombstone, instead of +bearing tribute to his virtues, and the favor in which he had been held +by his lord, must be simply the monument of his disgrace. This being the +case, the retainers felt that these evils must be averted at any cost. +Knowing that the Sh[=o]gun's anger was probably not so great as to make +him wish to bring eternal disgrace to their dead lord, they at once +decided to send a messenger to the Sh[=o]gun, begging for pardon on the +plea of desperate illness, and asking the restoration of his favor +before the approach of death. The death was not announced, but the floor +of the room in which the man had died was lifted up, and the body let +down to the ground beneath; and through all the town it was announced +that the daimi[=o] was hopelessly ill. Forty days passed before the +Sh[=o]gun sent to the retainers the token that the disgrace was removed, +and during all those forty days, in castle and barrack and village, the +fiction of the daimi[=o]'s illness was kept up. As soon as the +messengers returned, the body was drawn up again through the floor and +placed on the bed; and all the retainers, from the least unto the +greatest, were summoned into the room to congratulate their master upon +his restoration to favor. One by one they entered the darkened room, +prostrated themselves before the corpse, and uttered the formal words of +congratulation. Then when all, even to the little girl who, grown to +womanhood, told me the story, had been through the horrible ceremony, it +was announced that the master was dead,--that he had died immediately +after the return of the messenger with the good tidings of pardon. All +obstacles being thus removed, the funeral was celebrated with due pomp +and circumstance; and the tombstone of the daimi[=o] to-day gives no +hint of the disgrace from which he so narrowly escaped. + +Another instance very similar, throwing some light on the custom of +adoption or _y[=o]shi_, referred to in a previous chapter, was the case of +a nobleman who died without children, and without an heir appointed to +inherit his title. It would never have done, in sending in the official +notice of death, to be unable to name the legal head of the house and +the successor to the title. There was also no male relative to perform +the office of chief mourner at the funeral; and so the death of the +nobleman was kept secret, and his house showed no signs of mourning +during a long period, until a son satisfactory to all the members of the +household had been adopted. When the legal notice of the adoption had +been sent in, and the son received into the family as heir, then, and +only then, was the death of the lord announced, the period of mourning +begun, and the funeral ceremony performed. + +Upon one occasion I was visiting a Japanese lady, who knew the interest +that I took in seeing and procuring the old-fashioned embroidered +_kimonos_, which are now entirely out of style in Japan, and which can +only be obtained at second-hand clothing stores, or at private sale. My +friend said that she had just been shown an assortment of old garments +which were offered at private sale by the heirs of a lady, recently +deceased, who had once been a maid of honor in a daimi[=o]'s house. The +clothes were still in the house, and were brought in, in a great basket, +for my inspection. Very beautiful garments they were, of silk, crepe, +and linen, embroidered elaborately, and in extremely good order. Many of +them seemed not to have been worn at all, but had been kept folded away +for years, and only brought out when a fitting occasion came round at +the proper season of the year. As we turned over the beautiful fabrics, +a black broadcloth garment at the bottom of the basket aroused my +curiosity, and I pulled it out and held it up for closer inspection. A +curious garment it was, bound with white, and with a great white crest +_applique_ on the middle of the back. Curious white stripes gave the +coat a military look, and it seemed appropriate rather to the wardrobe +of some two-sworded warrior than to that of a gentlewoman of the old +type. To the question, How did such a coat come to be in such a place? +the older lady of the company--one to whom the old days were still the +natural order and the new customs an exotic growth--explained that the +garment rightfully belonged in the wardrobe of any lady-in-waiting in a +daimi[=o]'s house, for it was made to wear in case of fire or attack when +the men were away, and the women were expected to guard the premises. +Further search among the relics of the past brought to light the rest of +the costume: silk _hakama_, or full kilted trousers; a stiff, manlike +black silk cap bound with a white band; and a spear cover of broadcloth, +with a great white crest upon it, like the one on the broadcloth coat. +These made up the uniform which must be donned in time of need by the +ladies of the palace or the castle, for the defense of their lord's +property. They had been folded away for twenty years among the +embroidered robes, to come to light at last for the purpose of showing +to a foreigner a phase of the old life that was so much a matter of +course to the older Japanese that it never occurred to them even to +mention it to a stranger. The elder lady of the house was wonderfully +amused at my interest in these mute memorials of the past, and could +never comprehend why I was willing to expend the sum of one dollar for +the sake of gaining possession of a set of garments for which I could +have no possible use. The uniform had probably never been worn in actual +warfare, but its owner had been trained in the use of the long-handled +spear, the cover of which she had kept stored away all these years; and +had regarded herself as liable to be called into action at any time as +one of the home guard, when the male retainers of her lord were in the +field. + +There are in the shops of T[=o]ky[=o] to-day hundreds of colored prints +illustrating the splendor of the Sh[=o]gunate; for the fine clothes, the +pageants, the show and display that ended with the fall of the house of +Tokugawa, are still dear to the popular mind. In these one sees +reproduced, in more than their original brilliancy of coloring, the +daimi[=o]s, with their trains of uniformed retainers, proceeding in +stately pageant to the palace of the Sh[=o]gun; the games, the dances, +the reviews held before the Sh[=o]gun himself; the princess, with her +train of ladies and attendants, visiting the cherry blossoms at Uyeno, +or crossing some swift but shallow river on her journey to Yedo. There +one sees the fleet of red-lacquered pleasure barges in which the +Sh[=o]gun with his court sailed up the river to Muk[=o]jima, in the +spring, to view the cherry-trees which bloom along the banks for miles. +One sees, too, the interiors of the daimi[=o]s' houses, the intimate +domestic scenes into which no outsider could ever penetrate. One picture +shows the excitements consequent upon the advent of an heir to a noble +house,--the happy mother on her couch, surrounded by brightly dressed +ladies-in-waiting; the baby in the room adjoining; another group of +brilliant beings preparing his bath; while down the long piazza, which +opens upon the little courtyard in the centre of the house, one sees +still other groups of servants, bringing the gifts with which the great +mansion is flooded at such a time. Still further away, across the +courtyard, are the doctors, holding learned consultation around a +little table, and mixing medicines to secure the health and strength of +both mother and baby. + +The fall of the Sh[=o]gunate, and the abolition of castle and _yashiki_, +have made a radical change in the fashions of dress in Japan. One sees +no longer the beautiful embroidered robes, except upon the stage, for +the abolition of the great leisure class has put the flowered _kimono_ +out of fashion. There are no courts, small and great, scattered all +through the country, where the ladies must be dressed in changing styles +for the changing seasons, and where the embroideries that imitate most +closely the natural flowers are sure of a market. When one asks, as +every foreigner is likely to ask, the Japanese ladies of one's +acquaintance, "Why have you given up the beautiful embroideries and +gorgeous colors that you used to wear?" the answer always is, "There are +no daimi[=o]s' houses now." And this is regarded as a sufficient +explanation of the change.[*192] + +I have in my possession to-day two dainty bits of the silk mosaic work +before mentioned, the work of the sixteen-year-old wife of one of the +proudest and most conservative of the present generation of nobles. A +dainty little creature she was, with a face upon which her two years of +wifehood and one year of motherhood had left no trace of care. Living +amid her host of ladies and women servants, most of them older and wiser +than herself; having no care and no amusements save the easy task of +keeping herself pretty and well-dressed, and the amusement of watching +her baby grow, and hearing the chance rumors that might come to her from +the great new world into which her husband daily went, but with which +she herself never mingled,--her days were one pleasant, monotonous +round, unawakening alike either to soul or intellect. Into this life of +remoteness from all that belongs to the new era, imagine the excitement +produced by the advent of a foreign lady, with an educated dog, whose +wonderful intelligence had been already related to her by one of her own +ladies-in-waiting. I shall always believe that my invitation into that +exclusive house was due largely to the reports of my dog, carried to its +proprietors by one of the lady servitors who had seen him perform upon +one occasion. Certain it is that the first words of the little lady of +the house to me were a question about the dog; and her last act of +politeness to our party was a warm embrace of the handsome collie, who +had given unimpeachable evidence that he understood a great deal of +English,--a tongue which the daimi[=o] himself was painfully learning. The +dainty child-wife with both arms buried in the heavy ruff of the +astonished dog is a picture that comes to me often, and that brings up +most pathetically the monotony of an existence into which so small a +thing can bring so much. The lifelike black and white silk puppy, the +creeping baby doll from Ky[=o]to, the silk mosaic box and chopstick +case,--the work of my lady's delicate fingers,--are most agreeable +reminders of the kindness and sweetness of the little wife, whose +sixteen summers have been spent among the surroundings of thirty years +ago, and who lives, like the enchanted princess of the fairy tales, +wrapped about by a spell which separates her from the bustling world of +to-day. The product of the past,--the daughter of the last of the +Sh[=o]guns,--she dwells in her enchanted house, among the relics of a past +which is still the present to her and to her household. So lovely, so +aesthetic, so dainty and charming seems the world into which one enters +there, that one would not care to break the spell that holds it as it +is, and let the girl-wife, with her gentlewomen and her kneeling +servants, hurry forward into the busy, perplexing life of to-day. May +time deal gently with her and hers, nor rudely break the enchantment +that surrounds her! + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +SAMURAI WOMEN. + + +Samurai was the name given to the military class among the Japanese,--a +class intermediate between the Emperor and his nobles and the great mass +of the common people who were engaged in agriculture, mechanical arts, +or trade. Upon the samurai rested the defense of the country from +enemies at home or abroad, as well as the preservation of literature and +learning, and the conduct of all official business. At the time of the +fall of feudalism, there were, among the thirty-four millions of +Japanese, about two million samurai; and in this class, in the broadest +sense of the word, must be included the daimi[=o]s, as well as their +two-sworded retainers. But as the greater among the samurai were +distinguished by special class names, the word as commonly used, and as +used throughout this work, applies to the military class, who served +the Sh[=o]gun and the daimi[=o]s, and who were supported by yearly +allowances from the treasuries of their lords. These form a distinct +class, actuated by motives quite different from those of the lower +classes, and filling a great place in the history of the country. As the +nobility, through long inheritance of power and wealth, became weak in +body and mind, the samurai grew to be, more and more, not only the +sword, but the brain of Japan; and to-day the great work of bringing the +country out of the middle ages into the nineteenth century is being +performed by the samurai more than by any other class. + +What, it may be asked, are the traits of the samurai which distinguish +them, and make them such honored types of the perfect Japanese +gentleman, so that to live and die worthy the name of samurai was the +highest ambition of the soldier? The samurai's duty may be expressed in +one word, loyalty,--loyalty to his lord and master, and loyalty to his +country,--loyalty so true and deep that for it all human ties, hopes, +and affections, wife, children, and home, must be sacrificed if +necessary. Those who have read the tale of "The Loyal R[=o]nins"[36]--a +story which has been so well told by Mitford, Dickins, and Greey that +many readers must be already familiar with it--will remember that the +head councilor and retainer, Oishi, in his deep desire for revenge for +his lord's unjust death, divorces his wife and sends off his children, +that they may not distract his thoughts from his plans; and performs his +famous act of revenge without once seeing his wife, only letting her +know at his death his faithfulness to her and the true cause of his +seeming cruelty. And the wife, far from feeling wronged by such an act, +only glories in the loyalty of her husband, who threw aside everything +to fulfill his one great duty, even though she herself was his unhappy +victim. + +[36] _R[=o]nin_ was the term applied to a samurai who had lost his master, +and owed no feudal allegiance to any daimi[=o]. The exact meaning of the +word is _wave-man_, signifying one who wanders to and fro without +purpose, like a wave driven by the wind. + +The true samurai is always brave, never fearing death or suffering in +any form. Life and death are alike to him, if no disgrace is attached to +his name. + +An incident comes into my mind which may serve as an example of the +samurai spirit,--a spirit which has filled the history of Japan with +heroic deeds. It is the story of a long siege, at the end of which the +little garrison in the besieged castle was reduced to the last stages of +endurance, though hourly expecting reinforcement. In this state of +affairs, the great question is, whether to wait for the expected aid, or +to surrender immediately, and the answer to the question can only be +obtained through a knowledge of the enemy's strength. At this juncture, +one of the samurai volunteers to steal into the camp of the besiegers, +inspect their forces, and report their strength before the final +decision is made. He disguises himself, and through various chances is +able to penetrate, unsuspected, into the midst of the enemy's camp. He +discovers that the besiegers are so weak that they cannot maintain the +siege much longer, but while returning to the castle he is recognized +and taken by the enemy. His captors give him one chance for escape from +the horrible death of crucifixion. He is to go to the edge of the moat, +and, standing on an elevated place, shout out to the soldiers that they +must surrender, for the forces are too strong for them. He seemingly +consents to this, and, led down to the water's edge, he sees across the +moat his wife and child, who greet him with demonstrations of joy. To +her he waves his hand; then, bravely and loudly, so that it may be heard +by friend and foe, he shouts out the true tidings, "Wait for +reinforcement at any cost, for the besiegers are weak and will soon have +to give up." At these words his enraged enemies seize him and put him to +a death of horrible torture, but he smiles in their faces as he tells +them the sweetness of such a sacrifice for his master. Japanese history +abounds with heroic deeds of blood displaying the indomitable courage of +the samurai. In the reading of them, we are often reminded of the +Spartan spirit of warfare, and samurai women are in some ways very like +those Spartan mothers who would rather die than see their sons branded +as cowards. + +The implicit obedience which samurai gave their lords, when conflicting +with feelings of loyalty to their country, often produced two opposing +forces which had to be overcome. When the daimi[=o] gave orders that the +keener-sighted retainer felt would not be for the good of the house, he +had either to disobey his lord, or act against his feeling of loyalty. +Divided between the two duties, the samurai would usually do as he +thought right for his country or his lord, disobeying his master's +orders; write a confession of his real motives; and save his name from +disgrace by committing suicide. By this act he would atone for his +disobedience, and his loyalty would never be questioned. + +The now abolished custom of _hara-kiri_, or the voluntary taking of +one's life to avoid disgrace, and blot out entirely or partially the +stain on an honorable name, is a curious custom which has come down from +old times. The ancient heroes stabbed themselves as calmly as they did +their enemies, and women as well as men knew how to use the short +sword[37] worn always at the side of the samurai, his last and easy +escape from shame. + +[37] The samurai always wore two swords, a long one for fighting only, +and a short one for defense when possible, but, as a last resort, for +_hara-kiri_. The sword is the emblem of the samurai spirit, and as such +is respected and honored. A samurai took pride in keeping his swords as +sharp and shining as was possible. He was never seen without the two +swords, but the longer one he removed and left at the front door when he +entered the house of a friend. To use a sword badly, to harm or injure +it, or to step over it, was considered an insult to the owner. + +The young men of this class, as well as their masters, the daimi[=o]s, +were early instructed in the method of this self-stabbing, so that it +might be cleanly and easily done, for a bloody and unseemly death would +not redound to the honor of the suicide. The fatal cut was not +instantaneous in its effect, and there was always opportunity for that +display of courage--that show of disregard for death or pain--which was +expected of the brave man. + +The _hara-kiri_ was of course a last resort, but it was an honorable +death. The vulgar criminal must be put to death by the hands of others, +but the nobler samurai, who never cares to survive disgrace, was +condemned to _hara-kiri_ if found guilty of actions worthy of death. Not +to be allowed to do this, but to be executed in the common way, was a +double disgrace to a samurai. Even to this day, when crimes such as the +assassination of a minister of state are committed, in the mistaken +belief that the act is for the good of the country, the idea on the part +of the assassin is never to escape detection. He calmly gives himself +up to justice or takes his own life,[38] stating his motive for the +deed; and, believing himself justified in the act, is willing that his +life should be the cost. + +[38] Kurushima, who attempted to take the life of Okuma, the late +Minister of Foreign Affairs, as recently as 1889, committed suicide +immediately after throwing the dynamite bomb which caused the minister +the loss of his leg. This was the more remarkable in that, at the time +of his death, the assassin supposed that his victim had escaped all +injury. + +The old samurai was proud of his rank, his honorable vocation, his +responsibility; proud of his ignorance of trade and barter and of his +disregard for the sordid cares of the world, regarding as far beneath +him all occupations but those of arms. Wealth, as artisan or farmer, +rarely tempted him to sink into the lower ranks; and his support from +the daimi[=o], often a mere pittance, insured to him more respect and +greater privileges than wealth as a heimin. To this day even, this +feeling exists. Preference for rank or position, rather than for mere +salary, remains strongly among the present generation, so that official +positions are more sought after than the more lucrative occupations of +trade. Japan is flooded with small officials, and yet the samurai now +is obliged to lay down his sword and devote his time to the once +despised trades, and to learn how important are the arts of peace +compared with those of war. + +The dislike of anything suggestive of trade or barter--of services and +actions springing, not from duty and from the heart, but from the desire +of gain--has strongly tinted many little customs of the day, often +misunderstood and misconstrued by foreigners. In old Japan, experience +and knowledge could not be bought and sold. Physicians did not charge +for their services, but on the contrary would decline to name or even +receive a compensation from those in their own clan. Patients, on their +side, were too proud to accept services free, and would send to the +physicians, not as pay exactly, but more as a gift or a token of +gratitude, a sum of money which varied according to the means of the +giver, as well as to the amount of service received. Daimi[=o]s did not +send to ask a teacher how much an hour his time was worth, and then +arrange the lessons accordingly; the teacher was not insulted by being +expected to barter his knowledge for so much filthy lucre, but was +merely asked whether his time and convenience would allow of his taking +extra teaching. The request was made, not as a matter of give and take, +but a favor to be granted. Due compensation, however, would never fail +to be made,--of this the teacher could be sure,--but no agreement was +ever considered necessary. + +With this feeling yet remaining in Japan,--this dislike of contracts, +and exact charges for professional services,--we can imagine the inward +disgust of the samurai at the business-like habits of the foreigners +with whom he has to deal. On the other hand, his feelings are not +appreciated by the foreigner, and his actions clash with the European +and American ideas of independence and self-respect. In Japan a present +of money is more honorable than pay, whereas in America pay is much more +honorable than a present. + +The samurai of to-day is rapidly imbibing new ideas, and is learning to +see the world from a Western point of view; but his thoughts and actions +are still moulded on the ideas of old Japan, and it will be a long time +before the loyal, faithful, but proud spirit of the samurai will die +out. The pride of clan is now changed to pride of race; loyalty to +feudal chief has become loyalty to the Emperor as sovereign; and the old +traits of character exist under the European costumes of to-day, as +under the flowing robes of the two-sworded retainer. + +It is this same spirit of loyalty that has made it hard for Christianity +to get a foothold in Japan. The Emperor was the representative of the +gods of Japan. To embrace a new religion seemed a desertion of him, and +the following of the strange gods of the foreigner. The work of the +Catholic missionaries which ended so disastrously in 1637 has left the +impression that a Christian is bound to offer allegiance to the Pope in +much the same way as the Emperor now receives it from his people; and +the bitterness of such a thought has made many refuse to hear what +Christianity really is. Such words as "King" and "Lord" they have +understood as referring to temporal things, and it has taken years to +undo this prejudice; a feeling in no way surprising when we consider +how the Jesuit missionaries once interfered with political movements in +Japan. + +So bitter was this feeling, when Japan was first opened, that a native +Christian was at once branded as a traitor to his country, and very +severe was the persecution against all Christians. Missionaries at one +time dared not acknowledge themselves as such, and lived in danger of +their lives; and the Japanese Christian who remained faithful did so +knowing that he was despised and hated. I know of one mother who, +finding command and entreaty alike unavailing to move her son, a convert +to the new religion, threatened to commit suicide, feeling that the +disgrace which had fallen on the family could only be wiped out with her +death. Happily, all this is of the past, and to-day the samurai has +found that he can reconcile the new religion with his loyalty to Japan, +and that in receiving the one he is not led to betray the other. + +The women of the samurai have shared with the men the responsibilities +of their rank, and the pride that comes from hereditary positions of +responsibility. A woman's first duty in all ranks of society is +obedience; but sacrifice of self, in however horrible a way, was a duty +most cheerfully and willingly performed, when by such sacrifice father, +husband, or son might be the better able to fulfill his duty towards his +feudal superior. The women in the daimi[=o]s' castles who were taught +fencing, drilled and uniformed, and relied upon to defend the castle in +case of need, were women of this class,--women whose husbands and +fathers were soldiers, and in whose veins ran the blood of generations +of fighting ancestors. Gentle, feminine, delicate as they were, there +was a possibility of martial prowess about them when the need for it +came; and the long education in obedience and loyalty did not fail to +produce the desired results. Death, and ignominy worse than death, could +be met bravely, but disgrace involving loss of honor to husband or +feudal lord was the one thing that must be avoided at all hazards. It +was my good fortune, many years ago, to make the acquaintance of a +little Japanese girl who had lived in the midst of the siege of +Wakamatsu, the city in which the Sh[=o]gun's forces made their last stand +for their lord and the system that he represented. As the Emperor's +forces marched upon the castle town, moat after moat was taken,[*209] +until at last men, women, and children took refuge within the citadel +itself to defend it until the last gasp. The bombs of the besiegers fell +crashing into the castle precincts, killing the women as they worked at +whatever they could do in aid of the defenders; and even the little +girls ran back and forth, amid the rain of bullets and balls, carrying +cartridges, which the women were making within the castle, to the men +who were defending the walls. "Weren't you afraid?" we asked the +delicate child, when she told us of her own share in the defense. "No," +was the answer. A small but dangerous sword, of the finest Japanese +steel, was shown us as the sword that she wore in her belt during all +those days of war and tumult. "Why did you wear the sword?" we asked. +"So that I would have it if I was taken prisoner." "What would you have +done with it?" was the next question, for we could not believe that a +child of eight would undertake to defend herself against armed soldiers +with that little sword. "I would have killed myself," was the answer, +with a flash of the eye that showed her quite capable of committing the +act in case of need. + +In the olden times, when the spirit of warfare was strong and justice +but scantily administered, revenge for personal insult, or for the death +of father or lord, fell upon the children, or the retainers. Sometimes +the bloody deed has fallen to the lot of a woman, to some weak and +feeble girl, who, in many a tale, has braved all the difficulties that +beset a woman's path, devoted her life to an act of vengeance, and, with +the courage of a man, has often successfully consummated her revenge. + +One of the tales of old Japan, and a favorite subject of theatrical +representation, is the death and revenge of a lady in a daimi[=o]'s +palace. Onoye, a daughter of the people, child of a merchant, has by +chance risen to the position of lady-in-waiting to a daimi[=o]'s +wife,--a thing so uncommon that it has roused the jealousy of the other +ladies, who are of the samurai class. Iwafuji, one of the highest and +proudest ladies at the court, takes pains on every occasion to insult +and torment the poor, unoffending Onoye, whom she cannot bear to have +as an associate. She constantly reminds her of her inferior birth, and +at last challenges her to a trial in fencing, in which accomplishment +Onoye is not proficient, having lacked the proper training in her early +life. At last the hatred and anger of Iwafuji culminate in a frenzy of +rage; she forgets herself, and strikes the meek and gentle Onoye with +her sandal,--the worst insult that could be offered to any one. + +Onoye, overcome by this deep disgrace offered her in public, returns +from the main palace to her own apartments, and ponders long and deeply, +in the bitterness of her soul, how to wipe out the disgrace of an insult +by such an enemy. + +Her own faithful maid, seeing her disordered hair and anxious looks, +perceives some secret trouble, which her mistress will not disclose, and +tries, while performing her acts of service, to dispel the gloom by +telling gayly all the gossip of the day. This maid, O Haru, is a type of +the clever faithful servant. She is really of higher birth than her +mistress, for, though she has been obliged to go out to service, she was +born of a samurai family. Onoye, while listening to the talk of her +servant, has made up her mind that only one thing can blot out her +disgrace, and that is to commit suicide. She hastily pens a farewell to +her family, for the deed must not be delayed, and sends with the letter +the token of her disgrace,--Iwafuji's sandal, which she has kept. O Haru +is sent on this errand, and, unconscious of the ill-news she is bearing, +she starts out. On the way, the ominous croak of the ravens, who are +making a dismal noise,--a presage of ill-luck,--frightens the observant +O Haru. A little further on, the strap of her clog breaks,--a still more +alarming sign. Thoroughly frightened, O Haru turns back, and reaches her +mistress' room in time to find that the fatal deed is done, and her +mistress is dying. O Haru is heart-broken, learns the whole truth, and +vows vengeance on the enemy of her loved mistress. + +O Haru, unlike Onoye, is thoroughly trained in fencing. An occasion +arises when she returns to Iwafuji in public the malicious blow, and +with the same sandal, which she has kept as a sign of her revenge. She +then challenges Iwafuji, in behalf of the dead, to a trial in fencing. +The haughty Iwafuji is forced to accept, and is thoroughly defeated and +shamed before the spectators. The whole truth is now made known, and the +daimi[=o], who admires and appreciates the spirit of O Haru, sends for +her, and raises her from her low position to fill the post of her dead +mistress. + +These stories show the spirit of the samurai women; they can suffer +death bravely, even joyfully, at their own hands or the hands of husband +or father, to avoid or wipe out any disgrace which they regard as a loss +of honor; but they will as bravely and patiently subject themselves to a +life of shame and ignominy, worse than death, for the sake of gaining +for husband or father the means of carrying out a feudal obligation. +There is a pathetic scene, in one of the most famous of the Japanese +historical dramas, in which one seems to get the moral perspective of +the ideal Japanese woman, as one cannot get it in any other way. The +play is founded on the story of "The Loyal R[=o]nins," referred to in the +beginning of this chapter. The loyal r[=o]nins are plotting to avenge the +death of their master upon the daimi[=o] whose cupidity and injustice have +brought it about. As there is danger of disloyalty even in their own +ranks, Oishi, the leader of the dead daimi[=o]'s retainers, displays great +caution in the selection of his fellow-conspirators, and practices every +artifice to secure absolute secrecy for his plans. One young man, who +was in disgrace with his lord at the time of his death, applies to be +admitted within the circle of conspirators; but as it is suspected that +he may not be true to the cause, a payment in money is exacted from him +as a pledge of his honorable intentions. It is thus made his first duty +to redeem his honor from all suspicion by the payment of the money, in +order that he may perform his feudal obligation of avenging the death of +his lord. But the young man is poor; he has married a poor girl, and has +agreed to support not only his wife, but her old parents as well, and +the payment is impossible for him. In this emergency, his wife, at the +suggestion of her parents, proposes, as the only way, to sell herself, +for a term of two years, to the proprietor of a house of pleasure, that +she may by this vile servitude enable her husband to escape the +dishonor that must come to him if he fails to fulfill his feudal duty. +Negotiations are entered into, the contract is made, and an advance +payment is given which will furnish money enough for the pledge required +by the conspirators. All this is done without the knowledge of the +husband, lest his love for his wife and his grief for the sacrifice +prevent him from accepting the only means left to prove his loyalty. The +noble wife even plans to leave her home while he is away on a hunting +expedition, and so spare him the pain of parting. His emotion upon +learning of this venture in business is not of wrath at the disgrace +that has overtaken his family, but simply of grief that his wife and her +parents must make so great a sacrifice to save his honor. It is a +terrible affliction, but it is not a disgrace in any way parallel to the +disgrace of disloyalty to his lord. And the heroic wife, when the men +come to carry her away, is upheld through all the trying farewells by +the consciousness that she is making as noble a sacrifice of herself as +did the wife of Yamato Dake when she leaped into the sea to avert the +wrath of the sea-god from her husband. The Japanese, both men and +women, knowing this story and many others similar in character, can see, +as we cannot from our point of view, that, even if the body be defiled, +there is no defilement of the soul, for the woman is fulfilling her +highest duty in sacrificing all, even her dearest possession, for the +honor of her husband. It is a climax of self-abnegation that brings +nothing but honor to the soul of her who reaches it. Japanese women who +read this story feel profound pity for the poor wife, and a horror of a +sacrifice that binds her to a life which outwardly, to the Japanese mind +even, is the lowest depth a woman ever reaches. But they do not despise +her for the act; nor would they refuse to receive her even were she to +appear in living form to-day in any Japanese home, where, thanks to +happier fortunes, such sacrifices are not demanded. Just at this point +is the difference of moral perspective that foreigners visiting Japan +find so hard to understand, and that leads many, who have lived in the +country the longest, to believe that there is no modesty and purity +among Japanese women. It is this that makes it possible for the vilest +of stories, and those that have the least foundation in fact, to find +easy belief among foreigners, even if they be told about the purest, +most high-minded, and most honorable of Japanese women. Our maidens, as +they grow to womanhood, are taught that anything is better than personal +dishonor, and their maidenly instincts side with the teaching. With us, +a virtuous woman does not mean a brave, a heroic, an unselfish, or +self-sacrificing woman, but means simply one who keeps herself from +personal dishonor. Chastity is the supreme virtue for a woman; all other +virtues are secondary compared with it. This is our point of view, and +the whole perspective is arranged with that virtue in the foreground. +Dismiss this for a moment, and consider the moral training of the +Japanese maiden. From earliest youth until she reaches maturity, she is +constantly taught that obedience and loyalty are the supreme virtues, +which must be preserved even at the sacrifice of all other and lesser +virtues. She is told that for the good of father or husband she must be +willing to meet any danger, endure any dishonor, perpetrate any crime, +give up any treasure. She must consider that nothing belonging solely +to herself is of any importance compared with the good of her master, +her family, or her country. Place this thought of obedience and loyalty, +to the point of absolute self-abnegation, in the foreground, and your +perspective is altered, the other virtues occupying places of varying +importance. Because a Japanese woman will sometimes sacrifice her +personal virtue for the sake of father or husband, does it follow that +all Japanese women are unchaste and impure? In many cases this sacrifice +is the noblest that she believes possible, and she goes to it, as she +would go to death in any dreadful form, for those whom she loves, and to +whom she owes the duty of obedience. The Japanese maiden grows to +womanhood no less pure and modest than our own girls, but our girls are +never called upon to sacrifice their modesty for the sake of those whom +they love best; nor is it expected of any woman in this country that she +exist solely for the good of some one else, in whatever way he chooses +to use her, during all the years of her life. Let us take this +difference into our thought in forming our judgment, and let us rather +seek the causes that underlie the actions than pass judgment upon the +actions themselves. From a close study of the characters of many +Japanese women and girls, I am quite convinced that few women in any +country do their duty, as they see it, more nobly, more single-mindedly, +and more satisfactorily to those about them, than the women of Japan. + +Many argue that the purity of Japanese women, as compared with the men, +the ready obedience which they yield, their sweet characters and +unselfish devotion as wives and mothers, are merely the results of the +restraint under which they live, and that they are too weak to be +allowed to enjoy freedom of thought and action. Whether this be true or +no is a point which we leave for others to take up, as time shall have +provided new data for reasoning on the subject. + +To me, the sense of duty seems to be strongly developed in the Japanese +women, especially in those of the samurai class. Conscience seems as +active, though often in a different manner, as the old-fashioned New +England conscience, transmitted through the bluest of Puritan blood. And +when a duty has once been recognized as such, no timidity, or +mortification, or fear of ridicule will prevent the performance of it. A +case comes to my mind now of a young girl of sixteen, who made public +confession before her schoolmates of shortcomings of which none of them +knew, for the sake of easing her troubled conscience and warning her +schoolmates against similar errors. The circumstances were as follows: +The young girl had recently lost her grandmother, a most loving and +affectionate old lady, who had taken the place of a mother to the child +from her earliest infancy. In a somewhat unhappy home, the love of the +old grandmother was the one bright spot; and when she was taken away, +the poor, lonely child's memory recalled all of her own shortcomings to +this beloved friend; and, too late to make amendment to the old lady +herself, she dwelt on her own undutifulness, and decided that she must +by some means do penance, or make atonement for her fault. She might, if +she made a confession before her schoolmates, warn them against similar +mistakes; and accordingly she prepared, for the literary society in +which the girls took what part they chose, a long confession, written +in poetical style, and read it before her schoolmates and teachers. It +was a terrible ordeal, as one could see by the blushing face and +breaking voice, often choked with sobs; and when at the conclusion she +urged her friends to behave in such a way to their dear ones that they +need never suffer what she had had to endure since her grandmother's +death, there was not a dry eye in the room, and many of the girls were +sobbing aloud. It was a curious expiation and a touching one, but one +not in the least exceptional or uncharacteristic of the spirit of duty +that actuates the best women of the samurai class. + +Here is another instance which illustrates this sense of duty, and +desire of atoning for past mistakes or sins. At the time of the +overthrow of the feudal system, the samurai, bred to loyalty to their +own feudal superiors as their highest duty, found themselves ranged on +different sides in the struggle, according to the positions in which +their lords placed themselves. At the end of the struggle, those who had +followed their daimi[=o]s to the field, in defense of the Sh[=o]gunate, +found that they had been fighting against the Emperor, the Son of +Heaven himself, who had at last emerged from the seclusion of centuries +to govern his own empire. Thus the supporters of the Sh[=o]gunate, while +absolutely loyal to their daimi[=o]s, had been disloyal to the higher +power of the Emperor; and had put themselves in the position of traitors +to their country. There was a conflict of principles there somewhat +similar to that which took place in our Civil War, when, in the South, +he who was true to his State became a traitor to his country, and he who +was true to his country became a traitor to his State. Two ladies of the +finest samurai type had, with absolute loyalty to a lost cause, aided by +every means in their power in the defense of the city of Wakamatsu +against the victorious forces of the Emperor. They had held on to the +bitter end, and had been banished, with others of their family and clan, +to a remote province, for some years after the end of the war. In 1877, +eleven years after the close of the War of the Restoration, a rebellion +broke out in the south which required a considerable expenditure of +blood and money for its suppression. When the new war began, these two +ladies presented a petition to the government, in which they begged +that they might be allowed to make amends for their former position of +opposition to the Emperor, by going with the army to the field as +hospital nurses. At that time, no lady in Japan had ever gone to the +front to nurse the wounded soldiers; but to those two brave women was +granted the privilege of making atonement for past disloyalty, by the +exercise of the skill and nerve that they had gained in their experience +of war against the Emperor, in the nursing of soldiers wounded in his +defense.[*223] + +In the old days, the women of the samurai class fulfilled most nobly the +duties that fell to their lot. As wives and mothers in time of peace, +they performed their work faithfully in the quiet of their homes; and, +their time filled with household cares, they busied themselves with the +smaller duties of life. As the wives and mothers of soldiers, they +cultivated the heroic spirit befitting their position, fearing no danger +save such as involved disgrace. As the home-guard in time of need, they +stood ready to defend their master's possessions with their own lives; +as gentlewomen and ladies-in-waiting at the court of the daimi[=o] or the +Sh[=o]gun, they cultivated the arts and accomplishments required for their +position, and veiled the martial spirit that dwelt within them under an +exterior as feminine, as gracious, as cultivated and charming, as that +of any ladies of Europe or America. To-day in the new Japan, where the +samurai have no longer their yearly allowance from their lords and their +feudal duties, but, scattered through the whole nation, are engaged in +all the arts and trades, and are infusing the old spirit into the new +life, what are the women doing? As the government of the land to-day +lies in the hands of the samurai men under the Emperor, so the progress +of the women, the new ideas of work for women, are in the hands of the +samurai women, led by the Empress. Wherever there is progress among the +women, wherever they are looking about for new opportunities, entering +new occupations, elevating the home, opening hospitals, industrial +schools, asylums, there you will find the leading spirits always of the +samurai class. In the recent changes, some of this class have risen +above their former state and joined the ranks of the nobility; and +there the presence of the samurai spirit infuses new life into the +aristocracy. So, too, the changes that have raised some have lowered +others, and the samurai is now to be found in the formerly despised +occupations of trade and industry, among the merchants, the farmers, the +fishermen, the artisans, and the domestic servants. But wherever his lot +is cast, the old training, the old ideals, the old pride of family, +still keep him separate from his present rank, and, instead of pulling +him down to the level of those about him, tend to raise that level by +the example of honor and intelligence that he sets. The changed fortunes +were not met without a murmur. Most of the outrages, the reactionary +movements, the riots and inflammatory speeches and writings, that +characterized the long period of disquiet following the Restoration, +came from men of this class, who saw their support taken from them, +leaving them unable to dig and ashamed to beg. But the greater part of +them went sturdily to work, in government positions if they could get +them, in the army, on the police force, on the farm, in the shop, at +trades, at service,--even to the humble work of wheeling a +_jinrikisha_, if other honest occupation could not be found; and the +women shared patiently and bravely the changed fortunes of the men, +doing whatever they could toward bettering them. The samurai women +to-day are eagerly working into the positions of teachers, interpreters, +trained nurses, and whatever other places there are which may be +honorably occupied by women. The girls' schools, both government and +private, find many of their pupils among the samurai class; and their +deference and obedience to their teachers and superiors, their ambition +and keen sense of honor in the school-room, show the influence of the +samurai feeling over new Japan. To the samurai women belongs the +task--and they have already begun to perform it--of establishing upon a +broader and surer foundation the position of women in their own country. +They, as the most intelligent, will be the first to perceive the remedy +for present evils, and will, if I mistake not, move heaven and earth, at +some time in the near future, to have that remedy applied to their own +case. Most of them read the literature of the day, some of them in at +least one language beside their own; a few have had the benefit of +travel abroad, and have seen what the home and the family are in +Christian lands. There is as much of the unconquerable spirit of the +samurai to-day in the women as in the men; and it will not be very long +before that spirit will begin to show itself in working for the +establishment of their homes and families upon some stronger basis than +the will of the husband and father. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +PEASANT WOMEN. + + +The great heimin class includes not only the peasants of Japan, but also +the artisans and merchants; artisans ranking below farmers, and +merchants below artisans, in the social structure. It includes the whole +of the common people, except such as were in former times altogether +below the level of respectability, the _eta_ and _hinin_,[39]--outcasts +who lived by begging, slaughtering animals, caring for dead bodies, +tanning skins, and other employments which rendered them unclean +according to the old notions. From very early times the agricultural +class has been sharply divided from the samurai or military. Here and +there one from the peasantry mounts by force of his personal qualities +into the higher ranks, for there is no caste system that prevents the +passing from one class into another,--only a class prejudice that serves +very nearly the same purpose, in keeping samurai and heimin in their +places, that the race prejudice in this country serves in confining the +negroes, North and South, to certain positions and occupations. The +first division of the military from the peasantry occurred in the eighth +century, and since then the peculiar circumstances of each class have +tended to produce quite different characteristics in persons originally +of the same stock. To the soldier class have fallen learning, skill in +arms and horsemanship, opportunities to rise to places of honor and +power, lives free from sordid care in regard to the daily rice, and in +which noble ideas of duty and loyalty can spring up and bear fruit in +heroic deeds. To the peasant, tilling his little rice-field year after +year, have come the heavy burdens of taxation; the grinding toil for a +mere pittance of food for himself and his family; the patient bearing of +all things imposed by his superiors, with little hope of gain for +himself, whatever change the fortunes of war may bring to those above +him in the social scale. Is there wonder that, as the years have gone +by, his wits have grown heavy under his daily drudgery; that he knows +little and understands less of the changes that are taking place in his +native land; that he is easily moved by only one thing, and that the +failure of his crops, or the shortening of his returns from his land by +heavier taxation? This is true of the heimin as a class: they are +conservative, fearing that change will but tend to make harder a lot +that is none too easy; and though peaceable and gentle usually, they may +be moved to blind acts of riot and bloodshed by any political change +that seems likely to produce heavier taxation, or even by a failure of +their crops, when they see themselves and their families starving while +the military and official classes have enough and to spare. But though, +as a class, the farmers are ignorant and heavy, they are seldom entirely +illiterate; and everywhere, throughout the country, one finds men +belonging to this class who are well educated and have risen to +positions of much responsibility and power, and are able to hold their +own, and think for themselves and for their brethren. From an article in +the "T[=o]ky[=o] Mail," entitled "A Memorialist of the Latter Days of the +Tokugawa Government," I quote passages which show the thoughts of one of +the heimin upon the condition of his own class about the year 1850. It +is from a petition sent to the Sh[=o]gun by the head-man of the village of +Ogushi. + +[39] The laws against the _eta_ and _hinin_, making of them a distinct, +unclean class, and forbidding their intermarriage with any of the higher +classes, have recently been abolished. There is now no rank distinction +of any practical value, except that between noble and common people. +Heimin and samurai are now indiscriminately mingled. + +The first point in the petition is, that there is a growing tendency to +luxury among the military and official classes. "It is useless to issue +orders commanding peasants and others to be frugal and industrious, when +those in power, whose duty it is to show a good example to the people, +are themselves steeped in luxury and idleness." He ventures to reproach +the Sh[=o]guns themselves by pointing to the extravagance with which they +have decorated the mausoleums at Nikk[=o] and elsewhere. "Is this," he +asks, "in keeping with the intentions of the glorious founder of your +dynasty? Look at the shrines in Ise and elsewhere, and at the sepulchres +of the Emperors of successive ages. Is gold or silver used in decorating +them?" He then turns to the vassals of the Sh[=o]gun, and charges them +with being tyrannical, rapacious, and low-minded. "Samurai," he +continues,--"samurai are finely attired, but how contemptible they look +in the eyes of those peasants who know how to be contented with what +they have!" + +Further on in the same memorial, he points out what he regards as a +grave mistake in the policy of the Sh[=o]gun. A decree had just been +issued prohibiting the peasantry from exercising themselves with +sword-play, and from wearing swords. Of this he says: "Perhaps this +decree may have been issued on the supposition that Japan is naturally +impregnable and defended on all sides. But when she receives insult from +a foreign country, it may become necessary to call on the militia. And +who knows that men of extraordinary military genius, like Toyotomi,[40] +will not again appear among the lower classes?" + +[40] Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a peasant boy, rose from the position of a +groom to be the actual ruler of Japan during the Middle Ages. He it was +who in 1587 issued a decree of banishment against the Christian +missionaries in Japan. He is called Faxiba in the writings of these +missionaries, and in Japan he is frequently spoken of as Taiko Sama, a +title, not a name; but a title that, used alone, refers always to him. +For further account of his life, see Griffis, _Mikado's Empire_, book +i., chap. xxiv. + +He ends his memorial with this warning: "Should the Sh[=o]gun's court, and +the military class in general, persist in the present oppressive way of +government, Heaven will visit this land with still greater calamities. +If this circumstance is not clearly kept in view, the consequence may be +civil disturbance. I, therefore, beseech that the instructions of the +glorious founder of the dynasty be acted upon; that simplicity and +frugality be made the guiding principle of administration; and that a +general amnesty be proclaimed, thereby complying with the will of Heaven +and placating the people. Should these humble suggestions of mine be +acted upon, prospective calamities will fly before the light of virtue. +Whether the country is to be safe or not depends upon whether the +administration is carried on with mercy or not. What I pray for is, that +the country may enjoy peace and tranquillity, that the harvest may be +plentiful, and that the people may be happy and prosperous." + +One is able to see, by this rather remarkable document, that the +peasants of Japan, though frequently almost crushed by the heavy burdens +of taxation, do not, even in the most grinding poverty, lose entirely +that independence of thought and of action which is characteristic of +their nation. They do not consider themselves as a servile class, nor +their military rulers as beyond criticism or reproach, but are ready to +speak boldly for their rights whenever an opportunity occurs. There is a +pathetic story, told in Mitford's "Tales of Old Japan," of a peasant, +the head-man of his village, who goes to Yedo to present to the +Sh[=o]gun a complaint, on behalf of his fellow-villagers, of the +extortions and exactions of his daimi[=o]. He is unable to get any one +to present his memorial to the Sh[=o]gun, so at last he stops the great +lord's palanquin in the street,--an act in itself punishable with +death,--and thrusts the paper forcibly into his hand. The petition is +read, and his fellow-villagers saved from further oppression, but the +head-man, for his daring, is condemned by his own daimi[=o] to suffer +death by crucifixion,--a fate which he meets with the same heroism with +which he dared everything to save his fellows from suffering. + +The peasant, though ignorant and oppressed, has not lost his manhood; +has not become a slave or a serf, but clings to his rights, so far as +he knows what they are; and is ready to hold his own against all comers, +when the question in debate is one that appeals to his mind. The rulers +of Japan have always the peasantry to reckon with when their ruling +becomes unjust or oppressive. They cannot be cowed, though they may be +misled for a time, and they form a conservative element that serves to +hold in check too hasty rulers who would introduce new measures too +quickly, and would be likely to find the new wine bursting the old +bottles, as well as to prevent any rash extravagance in the way of +personal expenditure on the part of government officials. The influence +of this great class will be more and more felt as the new parliamentary +institutions gain in power, and a more close connection is established +between the throne and public opinion. + +In considering this great heimin class, it is well to remember that the +artisans, who form so large a part of it, are also the artists who have +made the reputation of Japan, in Europe and America, as one of the +countries where art and the love of beauty in form and color are still +instinct with life. The Japanese artisan works with patient toil, and +with the skill and originality of the artist, to produce something that +shall be individual and his own; not simply to make, after a pattern, +some utensil or ornament for which he cares nothing, so long as a +purchaser can be found for it, or an employer can be induced to pay him +money for making it. It seems as easy for the Japanese to make things +pretty and in good taste, even when they are cheap and only used by the +poorer people, as it is for American mills and workers to turn out +endless varieties of attempts at decoration,--all so hideous that a poor +person must be content, either to be surrounded by the worst possible +taste, or to purchase only such furnishings and utensils as are entirely +without decoration of any kind. "Cheap" and "nasty" have come to be +almost synonymous words with us, for the reason that taste in decoration +is so rare that it commands a monopoly price, and can only be procured +by the wealthy. In Japan this is not the case, for the cheapest of +things may be found in graceful and artistic designs,--indeed can +hardly be found in any designs that are not graceful and artistic; and +the poorest and commonest of the people may have about them the little +things that go to cultivate the aesthetic part of human nature. It was +not the costly art of Japan that interested me the most, although that +is, of course, the most wonderful proof of the capacity and patience of +individuals among this heimin class: but it was the common, cheap, +every-day art that meets one at every turn; the love for the beautiful, +in both nature and art, that belongs to the common coolie as well as to +the nobleman. The cheap prints, the blue and white towels, the common +teacups and pots, the great iron kettles in use over the fire in the +farmhouse kitchen,--all these are things as pretty and tasteful in their +way as the rich crepes, the silver incense burners, the delicate +porcelain, and the elegant lacquer that fill the storehouse of the +daimi[=o]; and they show, much more conclusively than these costlier +things, the universal sense of beauty among the people. + +The artisan works at his home, helped less often by hired laborers than +by his own children, who learn the trade of their father; and his +house, though small, is clean and tasteful, with its soft mats, its +dainty tea service, its little hanging scroll upon the walls, and its +vase of gracefully arranged flowers in the corner; for flowers, even in +winter and in the great city of T[=o]ky[=o], are so cheap that they are +never beyond the reach of the poorest. In homes that seem to the foreign +mind utterly lacking in the comforts and even the necessities of life, +one finds the few furnishings and utensils beautiful in shape and +decoration; and the money that in this country must be spent in beds, +tables, and chairs can be used for the purchase of _kakemonos_, flowers, +and vases, and for various gratifications of the aesthetic taste. Hence +it is that the Japanese laborer, who lives on a daily wage which would +reduce an American or European to the verge of starvation, finds both +time and money for the cultivation of that sense of beauty which is too +often crushed completely out of the lower classes by the burdens of this +nineteenth century civilization which they bear upon their shoulders. To +the Japanese, the "life is more than meat," it is beauty as well; and +this love of beauty has upon him a civilizing and refining effect, and +makes him in many ways the superior of the American day-laborer.[*239] + +The peasants and farmers of Japan, thrifty and hard-working as they are, +are not by any means a prosperous class. As one passes into the country +districts from the large cities, there seems to be a conspicuous dearth +of neat, pleasant homes,--a lack of the comforts and necessities of life +such as are enjoyed by city people. The rich farmers are scarce, and the +laborers in the rice-fields hardly earn, from days of hardest toil with +the rudest implements, the little that will provide for their families. +In the face of heavy taxes, the incessant toil, the frequent floods of +late years, and the threatening famine, one would expect the poor +peasants to be a most discouraged and unhappy class. That all this toil +and anxiety does wear on them is no doubt true, but the laborers are +always ready to bear submissively whatever comes, and are always hopeful +and prepared to enjoy life again in happier times. The charms of the +city tempt them sometimes to exchange their daily labor for the +excitement of life as _jinrikisha_ men; but in any case they will be +perfectly independent, and ask no man for their daily rations. + +Although there is much poverty, there are few or no beggars in Japan, +for both strong and weak find each some occupation that brings the +little pittance required to keep soul and body together, and gives to +all enough to make them light-hearted, cheerful, and even happy. From +the rich farmer, whose many acres yield enough to provide for a home of +luxury quite as fine as the city homes, to the poor little vender of +sticks of candy, around whose store the children flock like bees with +their rin and sen, all seem independent, contented, and satisfied with +their lot in life. + +The religious beliefs of old Japan are stronger to-day among the country +people than among the dwellers in cities. And they are still willing to +give of their substance for the aid of the dying faiths to which they +cling, and to undertake toilsome pilgrimages to obtain some longed-for +blessing from the gods whom they serve. A great Buddhist temple is being +built in Ky[=o]t[=o] to-day, from the lofty ceiling of which hangs a +striking proof of the devotion of some of the peasant women to the +Buddhist faith. The whole temple, with its immense curved roof, its vast +proportions, and its marvelous wood carvings, has been built by +offerings of labor, money, and materials made by the faithful. The great +timbers were given and brought to the spot by the countrymen; and the +women, wishing to have some part in the sacred work, cut off their +abundant hair, a beauty perhaps more prized by the Japanese women than +by those of other countries, and from the material thus obtained they +twisted immense cables, to be used in drawing the timbers from the +mountains to the site of the temple. The great black cables hang in the +unfinished temple to-day, a sign of the devotion of the women who spared +not their chief ornament in the service of the gods in whom they still +believe. And a close scrutiny of these touching offerings shows that the +glossy black locks of the young women are mingled with the white hairs +of those who, by this sacrifice, hope to make sure of a quick and easy +departure from a life already near its close. + +All along the T[=o]kaid[=o], the great road from T[=o]ky[=o] to +Ky[=o]to, in the neighborhood of some holy place, or in the district +around the great and sacred Fuji, the mountain so much beloved and +honored in Japanese art, will be seen bands of pilgrims slowly walking +along the road, their worn and soiled white garments telling of many +days' weary march. Their large hats shield them from the sun and the +rain, and the pieces of matting slung over their backs serve them for +beds to sleep on, when they take shelter for the night in rude huts. The +way up the great mountain of Fuji is lined with these pilgrims; for to +attain its summit, and worship there the rising sun, is believed to be +the means of obtaining some special blessing. Among these religious +devotees, in costumes not unlike those of the men, under the same large +hat and coarse matting, old women often are seen, their aged faces +belying their apparent vigor of body, as they walk along through miles +and miles of country, jingling their bells and holding their rosaries +until they reach the shrine, where they may ask some special blessing +for their homes, or fulfill some vow already made.[*242] + +Journeying through rural Japan, one is impressed by the important part +played by women in the various bread-winning industries. In the village +homes, under the heavily thatched roofs, the constant struggle against +poverty and famine will not permit the women to hold back, but they +enter bravely into all the work of the men. In the rice-field the woman +works side by side with the man, standing all day up to her knees in +mud, her dress tucked up and her lower limbs encased in tight-fitting, +blue cotton trousers, planting, transplanting, weeding, and turning over +the evil-smelling mire, only to be distinguished from her husband by her +broader belt tied in a bow behind. In mountain regions we meet the women +climbing the steep mountain roads, pruning-hook in hand, after wood for +winter fires; or descending, towards night, carrying a load that a +donkey need not be ashamed of, packed on a frame attached to the +shoulders, or poised lightly upon a straw mat upon the head. There is +one village near Ky[=o]to, Yase by name, at the base of Hiyei Zan, the +historic Buddhist stronghold, where the women attain a stature and +muscular development quite unique among the pigmy population of the +island empire. Strong, jolly, red-cheeked women they are, showing no +evidence of the shrinking away with the advance of old age that is +characteristic of most of their countrywomen. With their tucked-up +_kimonos_ and blue cotton trousers, they stride up and down the +mountain, carrying the heaviest and most unwieldy of burdens as lightly +and easily as the ordinary woman carries her baby. My first acquaintance +with them was during a camping expedition upon the sacred mountain. I +myself was carried up the ascent by two small, nearly naked, finely +tattooed and moxa-scarred men; but my baggage, consisting of two closely +packed hampers as large as ordinary steamer trunks, was lifted lightly +to the heads of these feminine porters, and, poised on little straw +pads, carried easily up the narrow trail, made doubly difficult by +low-hanging branches, to the camp, a distance of three or four miles. +From among these women of Yase, on account of their remarkable physical +development, have been chosen frequently the nurses for the imperial +infants; an honor which the Yase villagers duly appreciate, and which +makes them bear themselves proudly among their less favored neighbors. + +In other parts of the country, in the neighborhood of Nikk[=o], for +instance, the care of the horses, mild little pack-mares that do much of +the burden-bearing in those mountains, is mainly in the hands of the +women. At Nikk[=o], when we would hire ponies for a two days' expedition +to Yumoto, a little, elderly woman was the person with whom our bargains +were made; and a close bargainer she proved to be, taking every +advantage that lay in her power. When the caravan was ready to start, we +found that, though each saddle-horse had a male groom in attendance, the +pack-ponies on which our baggage was carried were led by pretty little +country girls of twelve or fourteen, their bright black eyes and red +cheeks contrasting pleasantly with the blue handkerchiefs that adorned +their heads; their slender limbs encased in blue cotton, and only their +red sashes giving any hint of the fact that they belonged to the weaker +sex. As we journeyed up the rough mountain roads, the little girls kept +along easily with the rest of the party; leading their meek, +shock-headed beasts up the slippery log steps, and passing an occasional +greeting with some returning pack-train, in which the soft black eyes +and bits of red about the costume of the little grooms showed that they, +too, were mountain maidens, returning fresh and happy after a two days' +tramp through the rocky passes. + +In the districts where the silkworm is raised, and the silk spun and +woven, the women play a most important part in this productive industry. +The care of the worms and of the cocoons falls entirely upon the women, +as well as the spinning of the silk and the weaving of the cloth. It is +almost safe to say that this largest and most productive industry of +Japan is in the hands of the women; and it is to their care and skill +that the silk product of the islands is due. In the silk districts one +finds the woman on terms of equality with the man, for she is an +important factor in the wealth-producing power of the family, and is +thus able to make herself felt as she cannot when her work is inferior +to that of the men. As a farmer, as a groom, or as a porter, a woman is +and must remain an inferior, but in the care of the silkworms, and all +the tasks that belong to silk culture, she is the equal of the stronger +sex. + +Then, again, in the tea districts, the tea plantations are filled with +young girls and old women, their long sleeves held back by a band over +the shoulder, and a blue towel gracefully fastened over their heads to +keep off the sun and the dust. They pick busily away at the green, +tender leaves, which will soon be heated and rolled by strong men over +the charcoal fire. The occupation is an easy one, only requiring care in +the selection of leaves to be picked, and can be performed by young +girls and old women, who gather the glossy leaves in their big baskets, +while chatting to each other over the gossip and news of the day. + +In the hotels, both in the country and the city, women play an important +part. The attendants are usually sweet-faced, prettily dressed girls, +and frequently the proprietor of the hotel is a woman. My first +experience of a Japanese hotel was at Nara, anciently the capital of +Japan, and now a place of resort because of its fine old temples, its +Dai Butsu, and its beautiful deer park. The day's ride in _jinrikisha_ +from [=O]saka had brought our party in very tired, only to find that the +hotel to which we had telegraphed for rooms was already filled to +overflowing by a daimi[=o] and his suite. Not a room could be obtained, +and we were at last obliged to walk some distance, for we had dismissed +our tired _jinrikisha_ men, to a hotel in the village, of which we knew +nothing. What with fatigue and disappointment, we were not prepared to +view the unknown hotel in a very rosy light; and when our guide pointed +to a small gate leading into a minute, damp courtyard, we were quite +convinced that the hardships of travel in Japan were now about to begin; +but disappointment gave way to hope, when we were met at the door by a +buxom landlady, whose smile was in itself a refreshment. Although we had +little in the way of language in common, she made us feel at home at +once, took us to her best room, sent her blooming and prettily dressed +daughters to bring us tea and whatever other refreshments the mysterious +appetite of a foreigner might require, and altogether behaved toward us +in such motherly fashion that fatigue and gloom departed forthwith, +leaving us refreshed and cheerful. Soon we began to feel rested, and our +kind friend, seeing this, took us upon a tour around the house, in +which room after room, spotless, empty, with shining woodwork and +softest of mats, showed the good housekeeping of our hostess. A little +garden in the centre of the house, with dwarf trees, moss-covered +stones, and running water, gave it an air of coolness on the hot July +day that was almost deceptive; and the spotless wash-room, with its +great stone sink, its polished brass basins, its stone well-curb, half +in and half out of the house, was cool and clean and refreshing merely +to look at. A two days' stay in this hotel showed that the landlady was +the master of the house. Her husband was about the house constantly, as +were one or two other men, but they all worked under the direction of +the energetic head of affairs. She it was who managed everything, from +the cooking of the meals in the kitchen to the filling and heating of +the great bath-tub into which the guests were invited to enter every +afternoon, one after the other, in the order of their rank. On the +second night of my stay, at a late hour, when I supposed that the whole +house had retired to rest, I crept softly out of my room to try to +soothe the plaintive wails of my dog, who was complaining bitterly that +he was made to sleep in the wood-cellar instead of in his mistress's +room, as his habit had always been. As I stole quietly along, fearing +lest I should arouse the sleeping house, I heard the inquiring voice of +my landlady sound from the bath-room, the door of which stood wide open. +Afraid that she would think me in mischief if I did not show myself, I +went to the door, to find her, after her family was safely stowed away +for the night, taking her ease in the great tub of hot water, and so +preparing herself for a sound, if short, night's sleep. She accepted my +murmured _Inu_ (dog) as an excuse, and graciously dismissed me with a +smile, and I returned to my room feeling safe under the vigilant care +that seemed to guard the house by night as well as by day. I have seen +many Japanese hotels and many careful landladies since, but no one among +them all has made such an impression as my pleasant hostess at Nara. + +Not only hotels, but little tea-houses all through Japan, form openings +for the business abilities of women, both in country and city. Wherever +you go, no matter how remote the district or how rough the road, at +every halting point you find a tea-house. Sometimes it is quite an +extensive restaurant, with several rooms for the entertainment of +guests, and a regular kitchen where fairly elaborate cooking can be +done; sometimes it is only a rough shelter, at one end of which water is +kept boiling over a charcoal brazier, while at the other end a couple of +seats, covered with mats or a scarlet blanket or two, serve as +resting-places for the patrons of the establishment. But whatever the +place is, there will be one woman or more in attendance; and if you sit +down upon the mats, you will be served at once with tea, and later, +should you require more, with whatever the establishment can afford,--it +may be only a slice of watermelon, or a hard pear; it may be eels on +rice, vermicelli, egg soup, or a regular dinner, should the tea-house be +one of the larger and more elaborately appointed ones. When the feast is +over, the refreshments you have especially ordered are paid for in the +regular way; but for the tea and sweetmeats offered, for which no +especial charge is made, you are expected to leave a small sum as a +present. In the less aristocratic resting-places, a few cents for each +person is sufficient to leave on the waiter with the empty cups of tea, +for which loud and grateful thanks will be shouted out to the retiring +party. + +In the regular inn, the _chadai_[41] amounts to several dollars, for a +party remaining any time, and it is supposed to pay for all the extra +services and attention bestowed on guests by the polite host and hostess +and the servants in attendance. The _chadai_, done up neatly in paper, +with the words _On chadai_ written on it, is given with as much +formality as any present in Japan. The guest claps his hands to summon +the maid. When it is heard, for the thin paper walls of a Japanese house +let through every noise, voices from all sides will shout out +_H[=e]'-h[=e]'_, or _Hai_, which means that you have been heard, and +understood. Presently a maid will softly open your door, and with head +low down will ask what you wish. You tell her to summon the landlord. +In a few moments he appears, and you push the _chadai_ to him, making +some conventional self-depreciating speech, as, "You have done a great +deal for our comfort, and we wish to give you this _chadai_, though it +is only a trifle." The landlord, with every expression of surprise, will +bow down to the ground with thanks, raising the small package to his +head in token of acceptance and gratitude, and will murmur in low tones +how little he has done for the comfort of his guests; and then, the +self-depreciation and formal words of thanks on his side being ended, he +will finally go down stairs to see how much he has gotten. But, whether +more or less than he had expected, nothing but extreme gratitude and +politeness appears on his face as he presents a fan, confectionery, or +some trifle, as a return for the _chadai_, and speeds the parting guests +with his lowest bow and kindliest smile, after having seen to every want +that could be attended to. + +[41] _Chadai_ is, literally, "money for tea," and is equivalent to our +tips to the waiters and porters at hotels. The _chadai_ varies with the +wealth and rank of the guests, the duration of the stay, and the +attention which has been bestowed. _On_ is the honorific placed before +the word in writing. + +Once, at Nikk[=o], I started with a friend for a morning walk to a place +described in the guide-book. The day was hot and the guide-book hazy, +and we lost the road to the place for which we had set out, but found +ourselves at last in a beautiful garden, with a pretty lake in its +centre, a little red-lacquered shrine reflected in the lake, and a +tea-house hospitably open at one side. The teakettle was boiling over +the little charcoal fire; melons, eggs, and various unknown comestibles +were on the little counter; but no voice bade us welcome as we +approached, and when we sat down on the edge of the piazza, we could see +no one within the house. We waited, however, for the day was hot, and +time is not worth much in rural Japan. Pretty soon a small, wizened +figure made its appearance in the distance, hurrying and talking +excitedly as it came near enough to see two foreign ladies seated upon +the piazza. Many bows and profuse apologies were made by the little old +woman, who seemed to be the solitary occupant of the pretty garden, and +who had for the moment deserted her post to do the day's marketing in +the neighboring village. The apologies having been smilingly received, +the old lady set herself to the task of making her guests comfortable. +First she brought two tumblers of water, cold as ice, from the spring +that gushed out of a great rock in the middle of the little lake. Then +she retired behind a screen and changed her dress, returning speedily to +bring us tea. Then she retreated to her diminutive kitchen, and +presently came back smiling, bearing eight large raw potatoes on a tray. +These she presented to us with a deep bow, apparently satisfied that she +had at last brought us something we would be sure to like. We left the +potatoes behind us when we went away, and undoubtedly the old lady is +wondering still over the mysterious ways of the foreigners, as we are +over those of the Japanese tea-house keepers. + +One summer, when I was spending a week at a Japanese hotel at quite a +fashionable seaside resort, I became interested in a little old woman +who visited the hotel daily, carrying, suspended by a yoke from her +shoulders, two baskets of fruit, which she sold to the guests of the +hotel. As I was on the ground floor, and my room was, in the daytime, +absolutely without walls on two sides, she was my frequent visitor, and, +for the sake of her pleasant ways and cheerful smiles, I bought enough +hard pears of her to have given the colic to an elephant. One day, +after her visit to me, as I was sitting upon the matted and roofed +square that served me for a room, my eye wandered idly toward the +bathing beach, and, under the slight shelter where the bathers were in +the habit of depositing their sandals and towels, I spied the well-known +yoke and fruit baskets, as well as a small heap of blue cotton garments +that I knew to be the clothing of the little fruit-vender. She had +evidently taken a moment when trade was slack to enjoy a dip in the +soft, blue, summer sea. Hardly had I made up my mind as to the meaning +of the fruit baskets and the clothing, when our little friend herself +emerged from the sea and, sitting down on a bench, proceeded to rub +herself off with the small but artistically decorated blue towel that +every peasant in Japan has always with him, however lacking he may be in +all other appurtenances of the toilet. As she sat there, placidly +rubbing away, a friend of the opposite sex made his appearance on the +scene. I watched to see what she would do, for the Japanese code of +etiquette is quite different from ours in such a predicament. She +continued her employment until he was quite close, showing no unseemly +haste, but continuing her polishing off in the same leisurely manner in +which she had begun it; then at the proper moment she rose from her +seat, bowed profoundly, and smilingly exchanged the greetings proper for +the occasion, both parties apparently unconscious of any lack in the +toilet of the lady. The male friend then passed on about his business; +the little woman completed her toilet without further interruptions, +shouldered her yoke, and jogged cheerfully on to her home in the little +village, a couple of miles away. + +As one travels through rural Japan in summer and sees the half-naked +men, women, and children that pour out from every village on one's route +and surround the _kuruma_ at every stopping place, one sometimes wonders +whether there is in the country any real civilization, whether these +half-naked people are not more savage than civilized; but when one finds +everywhere good hotels, scrupulous cleanliness in all the appointments +of toilet and table, polite and careful service, honest and willing +performance of labor bargained for, together with the gentlest and +pleasantest of manners, even on the part of the gaping crowd that shut +out light and air from the traveling foreigner who rests for a moment at +the village inn, one is forced to reconsider a judgment formed only upon +one peculiarity of the national life, and to conclude that there is +certainly a high type of civilization in Japan, though differing in many +important particulars from our own. A careful study of the Japanese +ideas of decency, and frequent conversation with refined and intelligent +Japanese ladies upon this subject, has led me to the following +conclusion. According to the Japanese standard, any exposure of the +person that is merely incidental to health, cleanliness, or convenience +in doing necessary work, is perfectly modest and allowable; but an +exposure, no matter how slight, that is simply for show, is in the +highest degree indelicate. In illustration of the first part of this +conclusion, I would refer to the open bath-houses, the naked laborers, +the exposure of the lower limbs in wet weather by the turning up of the +_kimono_, the entirely nude condition of the country children in summer, +and the very slight clothing that even adults regard as necessary about +the house or in the country during the hot season. In illustration of +the last part, I would mention the horror with which many Japanese +ladies regard that style of foreign dress which, while covering the +figure completely, reveals every detail of the form above the waist, +and, as we say, shows off to advantage a pretty figure. To the Japanese +mind it is immodest to want to show off a pretty figure. As for the +ball-room costumes, where neck and arms are freely exposed to the gaze +of multitudes, the Japanese woman, who would with entire composure take +her bath in the presence of others, would be in an agony of shame at the +thought of appearing in public in a costume so indecent as that worn by +many respectable American and European women. Our judgment would indeed +be a hasty one, should we conclude that the sense of decency is wanting +in the Japanese as a race, or that the women are at all lacking in the +womanly instinct of modesty. When the point of view from which they +regard these matters is once obtained, the apparent inconsistencies and +incongruities are fully explained, and we can do justice to our +Japanese sister in a matter in regard to which she is too often cruelly +misjudged. + +There seems no doubt at all that among the peasantry of Japan one finds +the women who have the most freedom and independence. Among this class, +all through the country, the women, though hard-worked and possessing +few comforts, lead lives of intelligent, independent labor, and have in +the family positions as respected and honored as those held by women in +America. Their lives are fuller and happier than those of the women of +the higher classes, for they are themselves bread-winners, contributing +an important part of the family revenue, and they are obeyed and +respected accordingly. The Japanese lady, at her marriage, lays aside +her independent existence to become the subordinate and servant of her +husband and parents-in-law, and her face, as the years go by, shows how +much she has given up, how completely she has sacrificed herself to +those about her. The Japanese peasant woman, when she marries, works +side by side with her husband, finds life full of interest outside of +the simple household work, and, as the years go by, her face shows more +individuality, more pleasure in life, less suffering and disappointment, +than that of her wealthier and less hard-working sister. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +LIFE IN THE CITIES. + + +The great cities of Japan afford remarkable opportunities for seeing the +life of the common people, for the little houses and shops, with their +open fronts, reveal the _penetralia_ in a way not known in our more +secluded homes. The employment of the merchant being formerly the lowest +of respectable callings, one does not find even yet in Japan many great +stores or a very high standard of business morality, for the business of +the country was left in the hands of those who were too stupid or too +unambitious to raise themselves above that social class. Hence English +and American merchants, who only see Japan from the business side, +continually speak of the Japanese as dishonest, tricky, and altogether +unreliable, and greatly prefer to deal with the Chinese, who have much +of the business virtue that is characteristic of the English as a +nation. Only within a few years have the samurai, or indeed any one who +was capable of figuring in any higher occupation in life, been willing +to adopt the calling of the merchant; but many of the abler Japanese of +to-day have begun to see that trade is one of the most important factors +of a nation's well-being, and that the business of buying and selling, +if wisely and honestly done, is an employment that nobody need be +ashamed to enter. There are in Japan a few great merchants whose word +may be trusted, and whose obligations will be fulfilled with absolute +honesty; but a large part of the buying and selling is still in the +hands of mercantile freebooters, who will take an advantage wherever it +is possible to get one, in whose morality honesty has no place, and who +have not yet discovered the efficacy of that virtue simply as a matter +of policy. Their trade, conducted in a small way upon small means, is +more of the nature of a game, in which one person is the winner and the +other the loser, than a fair exchange, in which both parties obtain what +they want. It is the mediaeval, not the modern idea of business, that is +still held among Japanese merchants. With them, trade is a warfare +between buyer and seller, in which every man must take all possible +advantage for himself, and it is the lookout of the other party if he is +cheated. + +In T[=o]ky[=o], the greatest and most modernized of the cities of the +empire, the shops are not the large city stores that one sees in +European and American cities, but little open-fronted rooms, on the edge +of which one sits to make one's purchases, while the proprietor smiles +and bows and dickers; setting his price by the style of his customer's +dress, or her apparent ignorance of the value of the desired article. +Some few large dry-goods stores there are, where prices are set and +dickering is unnecessary;[*264] and in the _kwankoba_, or bazaars, one +may buy almost anything needed by Japanese of all classes, from house +furnishings to foreign hats, at prices plainly marked upon them, and +from which there is no variation. But one's impression of the state of +trade in Japan is, that it is still in a very primitive and undeveloped +condition, and is surprisingly behind the other parts of Japanese +civilization. + +The shopping of the ladies of the large _yashikis_ and of wealthy +families is done mostly in the home; for all the stores are willing at +any time, on receiving an order, to send up a clerk with a bale of +crepes, silks, and cottons tied to his back, and frequently towering +high above his head as he walks, making him look like the proverbial ant +with a grain of wheat. He sets his great bundle carefully down on the +floor, opens the enormous _furushiki_, or bundle handkerchief, in which +it is enveloped, and takes out roll after roll of silk or chintz, neatly +done up in paper or yellow cotton. With infinite patience, he waits +while the merits of each piece are examined and discussed, and if none +of his stock proves satisfactory, he is willing to come again with a new +set of wares, knowing that in the end purchases will be made sufficient +to cover all his trouble. + +The less aristocratic people are content to go to the stores themselves; +and the business streets of a Japanese city, such as the Ginza in +T[=o]ky[=o], are full of women, young and old, as well as merry +children, who enjoy the life and bustle of the stores. Like all things +else in Japan, shopping takes plenty of time. At Mitsui's, the largest +silk store in T[=o]ky[=o], one will see crowds of clerks sitting upon +the matted floors, each with his _soroban_, or adding machine, by his +side; and innumerable small boys, who rush to and fro, carrying armfuls +of fabrics to the different clerks, or picking up the same fabrics after +the customer who has called for them has departed. The store appears, to +the foreign eye, to be simply a roofed and matted platform upon which +both clerks and customers sit. This platform is screened from the street +by dark blue cotton curtains or awnings hung from the low projecting +eaves of the heavy roof. As the customers take their seats, either on +the edge of the platform, or, if they have come on an extended shopping +bout, upon the straw mat of the platform itself, a small boy appears +with tea for the party; an obsequious clerk greets them with the +customary salutations of welcome, pushes the charcoal brazier toward +them, that they may smoke, or warm their hands, before proceeding to +business, and then waits expectantly for the name of the goods that his +customers desire to see. When this is given, the work begins; the little +boys are summoned, and are soon sent off to the great fire-proof +warehouse, which stands with heavy doors thrown open, on the other side +of the platform, away from the street. Through the doorway one can see +endless piles of costly stuffs stored safely away, and from these piles +the boys select the required fabric, loading themselves down with them +so that they can barely stagger under the weights that they carry. As +the right goods are not always brought the first time, and as, moreover, +there is an endless variety in the colors and patterns in even one kind +of silk, there is always plenty of time for watching the busy +scene,--for sipping tea, or smoking a few whiffs from the tiny pipes +that so many Japanese, both men and women, carry always with them. When +the purchase is at last made, there is still some time to be spent by +the customer in waiting until the clerk has made an abstruse calculation +upon his _soroban_, the transaction has been entered in the books of the +firm, and a long bill has been written and stamped, and handed to her +with the bundle. During her stay in the store, the foreign customer, +making her first visit to the place, is frequently startled by loud +shouts from the whole staff of clerks and small boys,--outcries so +sudden, so simultaneous, and so stentorian, that she cannot rid herself +of the idea that something terrible is happening every time that they +occur. She soon learns, however, that these manifestations of energy are +but the way in which the Japanese merchant speeds the departing +purchaser, and that the apparently inarticulate shouts are but the +formal phrase, "Thanks for your continued favors," which is repeated in +a loud tone by every employee in the store whenever a customer departs. +When she herself is at last ready to leave, a chorus of yells arises, +this time for her benefit; and as she skips into the _jinrikisha_ and is +whirled away, she hears continued the busy hum of voices, the clattering +of _sorobans_, the thumping of the bare feet of the heavily laden boys, +and the loud shouts of thanks with which departing guests are honored. + +There is less pomp and circumstance about the smaller stores, for all +the goods are within easy reach, and the shops for household utensils +and chinaware seem to have nearly the whole stock in trade piled up in +front, or even in the street itself. Many such little places are the +homes of the people who keep them. And at the back are rooms, which +serve for dwelling rooms, opening upon well-kept gardens. The whole work +of the store is often attended to by the proprietor, assisted by his +wife and family, and perhaps one or two apprentices. Each of the +workers, in turn, takes an occasional holiday, for there is no day in +the Japanese calendar when the shops are all closed; and even New Year's +Day, the great festival of the year, finds most of the stores open. Yet +the dwellers in these little homes, living almost in the street, and in +the midst of the bustle and crowd and dust of T[=o]ky[=o], have still +time to enjoy their holidays and their little gardens, and have more +pleasure and less hard work than those under similar circumstances in +our own country. + +The stranger visiting any of the great Japanese cities is surprised by +the lack of large stores and manufactories, and often wonders where the +beautiful lacquer work and porcelains are made, and where the gay silks +and crepes are woven. There are no large establishments where such +things are turned out by wholesale. The delicate vases, the bronzes, +and the silks are often made in humblest homes, the work of one or two +laborers with rudest tools. There are no great manufactories to be seen, +and the bane of so many cities, the polluting factory smoke, never rises +over the cities of Japan. The hard, confining factory life, with its +never-ceasing roar of machinery, bewildering the minds and intellects of +the men who come under its deadening influences, until they become +scarcely more than machines themselves, is a thing as yet almost unknown +in Japan. The life of the _jinrikisha_ man even, hard and comfortless as +it may seem to run all day like a horse through the crowded city +streets, is one that keeps him in the fresh air, under the open sky, and +quickens his powers both of body and mind. To the poor in Japanese +cities is never denied the fresh air and sunshine, green trees and +grass; and the beautiful parks and gardens are found everywhere, for the +enjoyment of even the meanest and lowest. + +On certain days in the month, in different sections of the city, are +held night festivals near temples, and many shopkeepers take the +opportunity to erect temporary booths, in which they so arrange their +wares as to tempt the passers-by as they go to and fro. Very often there +is a magnificent display of young trees, potted plants, and flowers, +brought in from the country and ranged on both sides of the street. Here +the gardeners make lively sales, as the displays are often fine in +themselves, and show to a special advantage in the flaring torchlight. +The eager venders, who do all they can to call the attention of the +crowd to their wares, make many good bargains. The purchase requires +skill on both sides, for flower men are proverbial in their high +charges, asking often five and ten times the real value of a plant, but +coming down in price almost immediately on remonstrance. You ask the +price of a dwarf wistaria growing in a pot. The man answers at once, +"Two dollars." "Two dollars!" you answer in surprise, "it is not worth +more than thirty or forty cents." "Seventy-five, then," he will respond; +and thus the buyer and seller approach nearer in price, until the +bargain is struck somewhere near the first price offered. Price another +plant and there would be the same process to go over again; but as the +evening passes, prices go lower and lower, for the distances that the +plants have been brought are great, and the labor of loading up and +carrying back the heavy pots is a weary one, and when the last customer +has departed the merchants must work late into the night to get their +wares safely home again. + +But beside the flower shows, there are long rows of booths, which, with +the many visitors who throng the streets, make a gay and lively scene. +So dense is the crowd that it is with difficulty one can push through on +foot or in _jinrikisha_. The darkness is illuminated by torches, whose +weird flames flare and smoke in the wind, and shine down upon the little +sheds which line both sides of the road, and contain so tempting a +display of cheap toys and trinkets that not only the children, but their +elders, are attracted by them. Some of the booths are devoted to dolls; +others to toys of various kinds; still others to birds in cages, +goldfish in globes, queer chirping insects in wicker baskets, pretty +ornaments for the hair, fans, candies, and cakes of all sorts, roasted +beans and peanuts, and other things too numerous to mention. The long +line of stalls ends with booths, or tents, in which shows of dancing, +jugglery, educated animals, and monstrosities, natural or artificial, +may be seen for the moderate admission fee of two sen. Each of these +shows is well advertised by the beating of drums, by the shouting of +doorkeepers, by wonderful pictures on the outside to entice the +passer-by, or even by an occasional brief lifting of the curtains which +veil the scene from the crowd without, just long enough to afford a +tantalizing glimpse of the wonders within. Great is the fascination to +the children in all these things, and the little feet are never weary +until the last booth is passed, and the quiet of neighboring streets, +lighted only by wandering lanterns, strikes the home-returning party by +its contrast with the light and noise of the festival. The supposed +object of the expedition, the visit to the temple, has occupied but a +small share of time and attention, and the little hands are filled with +the amusing toys and trifles bought, and the little minds with the merry +sights seen. Nor are those who remain at home forgotten, but the +pleasure-seekers who visit the fair carry away with them little gifts +for each member of the family, and the _O miage_, or present given on +the return, is a regular institution of Japanese home life.[42] + +[42] _O miage_ must be given, not only on the return from an evening of +pleasure, but also on the return from a journey or pleasure trip of any +kind. As a rule, the longer the absence, the finer and more costly must +be the presents given on returning. + +By ten o'clock, when the crowds have dispersed and the purchasers have +all gone home and gone to bed, the busy booth-keepers take down their +stalls, pack up their wares, and disappear, leaving no trace of the +night's gayeties to greet the morning sun. + +Beside these evening shows, which occur monthly or oftener, there are +also great festivals of the various gods, some celebrated annually, +others at intervals of some years. These _matsuri_ last for several +days, and during that time the quarter of the city in which they occur +seems entirely given over to festivity. The streets are gayly decorated +with flags, and bright lanterns--all alike in design and color--are hung +in rows from the low eaves of the houses. Young bamboo-trees set along +the street, and decorated with bits of bright-colored tissue paper, are +a frequent and effective accompaniment of these festivals, and here and +there throughout the district are set up high stands, on the tops of +which musicians with squeaky flutes, and drums of varying calibre, keep +up a din more festive than harmonious. It takes a day or two for the +rejoicings to get fully under way, but by the second or third day the +fun is at its height, and the streets are thronged with merrymakers. A +great deal of labor and strength, as well as ingenuity, is spent in the +construction of enormous floats, or _dashi_, lofty platforms of two +stories, either set on wheels and drawn by black bullocks or crowds of +shouting men, or carried by poles on men's shoulders. Upon the first +floor of these great floats is usually a company of dancers, or mummers, +who dance, attitudinize, or make faces for the amusement of the crowds +that gather along their route; while up above, an effigy of some hero in +Japanese history, or the figure of some animal or monster, looks down +unmoved upon the absurdities below. Each _dashi_ is attended, not only +by the men who draw it, but by companies of others in some uniform +costume; and sometimes graceful professional dancing-girls are hired to +march in the _matsuri_ procession, or to dance upon the lofty _dashi_. +At the time of the festivities which accompanied the promulgation of the +Constitution, three days of jollification were held in T[=o]ky[=o], days +of such universal fun and frolic that it will be known among the common +people, to all succeeding generations, as the "Emperor's big _matsuri_." +Every quarter of the city vied with every other in the production of +gorgeous _dashi_, and the streets were gay with every conceivable +variety of decoration, from the little red-and-white paper lanterns, +that even the poorest hung before their houses, to the great evergreen +arches, set with electric lights, with which the great business streets +were spanned thickly from end to end. An evening walk through one of +these thoroughfares was a sight to be remembered for a lifetime. The +magnificent _dashi_ represented all manner of quaint conceits. A great +bivalve drawn by yelling crowds--which halted occasionally--opened and +displayed between its shells a group of beautifully dressed girls, who +danced one of the pantomimic dances of the country, accompanied by the +twanging melodies of the _samisen_. Then slowly the great shell closed, +once more the shouting crowds seized hold of the straining ropes, and +the great bivalve with its fair freight was drawn slowly along through +the gayly illuminated streets. Jimmu Tenno and other heroes of Japanese +legend or history, each upon its lofty platform, a white elephant, and +countless other subjects were represented in the festival cars sent +forth by all the districts of the city to celebrate the great event. + +Upon such festival occasions the shopkeeper does not put up his shutters +and leave his place of business, but the open shop-fronts add much to +the gay appearance of the street. There are no signs of business about, +but the floor of the shop is covered with bright-red blankets; +magnificent gilded screens form an imposing background to the little +room; and seated on the floor are the shopkeeper, his family, and +guests, eating, drinking tea, and smoking, as cosily as if all the world +and his wife were not gazing upon the gay and homelike interior. +Sometimes companies of dancers, or other entertainments furnished by the +wealthier shopkeepers, will attract gaping crowds, who watch and block +the street until the advance guard of some approaching _dashi_ scatters +them for a moment. + +In Japan, as in other parts of the world, the country people are rather +looked down upon by the dwellers in the city for their slowness of +intellect, dowdiness of dress, and boorishness of manners; while the +country people make fun of the fads and fashions of the city, and +rejoice that they are not themselves the slaves of novelty, and +especially of the foreign innovations that play so prominent a part in +Japanese city life to-day. "The frog in the well knows not the great +ocean," is the snub with which the Japanese cockney sets down Farmer +Rice-Field's expressions of opinion; while the conservative countryman +laughs at the foreign affectations of the T[=o]ky[=o] man, and returns +to his village with tales of the cookery of the capital: so extravagant +is it that sugar is used in everything; it is even rumored that the +T[=o]ky[=o]ites put sugar in their tea. + +But while the country laughs and wonders at the city, nevertheless, in +Japan as elsewhere, there is a constant crowding of the young life of +the country into the livelier and more entertaining city. T[=o]ky[=o] +especially is the goal of every young countryman's ambition, and thither +he goes to seek his fortune, finding, alas! too often, only the hard lot +of the _jinrikisha_ man, instead of the wealth and power that his +country dreams had shown him. + +The lower class women of the cities are in many respects like their +sisters of the rural districts, except that they have less freedom than +the country women in what the economists call "direct production." The +wells and water tanks that stand at convenient distances along the +streets of T[=o]ky[=o] are frequently surrounded by crowds of women, +drawing water, washing rice, and chattering merrily over their +occupations. They meet and exchange ideas freely with each other and +with the men, but they have not the diversity of labor that country life +affords, confining themselves more closely to indoor and domestic work, +and leaving the bread-winning more entirely to the men. + +There are, however, occupations in the city for women, by which they may +support themselves or their families. A good hair-dresser may make a +handsome living; indeed, she does so well that it is proverbial among +the Japanese that a hair-dresser's husband has nothing to do. Though +professional tailors are mostly men, many women earn a small pittance in +taking in sewing and in giving sewing lessons; and as instructors in the +ceremonial tea, etiquette, music, painting, and flower arrangement, many +women of the old school are able to earn an independence, though none of +these occupations are confined to the women alone. + +The business of hotel-keeping we have referred to in a previous chapter, +and it is a well-known fact that unless a hotel-keeper has a capable +wife, his business will not succeed. At present, all over T[=o]ky[=o], +small restaurants, where food is served in the foreign style, are +springing up, and these are usually conducted by a man and his wife who +have at some time served as cook and waitress in a foreign family, and +who conduct the business cooperatively and on terms of good-fellowship +and equality. In these little eating-houses, where a well-cooked foreign +dinner of from three to six courses is served for the moderate sum of +thirty or forty cents, the man usually does the cooking, the woman the +serving and handling of the money, until the time arrives when the +profits of the business are sufficient to justify the hiring of more +help. When this time comes, the labor is redistributed, the woman +frequently taking upon herself the reception of the guests and the +keeping of the accounts, while the hired help waits on the tables. + +One important calling, in the eyes of many persons, especially those of +the lower classes, is that of fortune-telling; and these guides in all +matters of life, both great and small, are to be found in every section +of the city. They are consulted on every important step by believing +ones of all classes. An impending marriage, an illness, the loss of any +valuable article, a journey about to be taken,--these are all subjects +for the fortune-teller. He tells the right day of marriage, and says +whether the fates of the two parties will combine well; gives clues to +the causes of sudden illness, and information as to what has become of +lost articles, and whether they will be recovered or not. Warned thus by +the fortune-teller against evils that may happen, many ingenious +expedients are resorted to, to avoid the ill foretold. + +A man and his family were about to move from their residence to another +part of the city. They sent to know if the fates were propitious to the +change for all the family. The day and year of birth of each was told, +and then the fortune-teller hunted up the various signs, and sent word +that the direction of the new home was excellent for the good luck of +the family as a whole, and the move a good one for each member of it +except one of the sons; the next year the same move would be bad for the +father. As the family could not wait two years before moving, it was +decided that the change of residence should be made at once, but that +the son should live with his uncle until the next year. The uncle's home +was, however, inconveniently remote, and so the young man stayed as a +visitor at his father's house for the remaining months of the year, +after which he became once more a member of the household. Thus the +inconvenience and the evil were both avoided.[*282] + +Another story comes to my mind now of a dear old lady, the Go Inkyo Sama +of a house of high rank, who late in life came to T[=o]ky[=o] to live +with her brother and his young and somewhat foreignized wife. The +brother himself, while not a Christian, had little belief in the old +superstitions of his people; his wife was a professing Christian. Soon +after the old lady's arrival in T[=o]ky[=o], her sister-in-law fell ill, +and before she had recovered her strength the children, one after +another, came down with various diseases, which, though in no case +fatal, kept the family in a state of anxiety for more than a year. The +old lady was quite sure that there was some witchcraft or art-magic at +work among her dear ones, and, after consulting the servants (for she +knew that she could expect no sympathy in her plans from either her +brother or his wife), she betook herself to a fortune-teller to discover +through his means the causes of the illness in the family. The +fortune-teller revealed to her the fact that two occult forces were at +work bringing evil upon the house. One was the evil spirit of a spring +or well that had been choked with stones, or otherwise obstructed in its +flow, and that chose this way of bringing its afflictions to the +attention of mortals. The other was the spirit of a horse that had once +belonged in the family, and that after death revenged itself upon its +former masters for the hard service wherewith it had been made to serve. +The only way in which these two powers could be appeased would be by +finding the well, and removing the obstructions that choked it, and by +erecting an image of the horse and offering to it cakes and other +meat-offerings. The fortune-teller hinted, moreover, that for a +consideration he might be able to afford material aid in the search for +the well. + +At this information Go Inkyo Sama was much perturbed, for further aid +for her afflicted family seemed to require the use of money, and of that +commodity she had very little, being mainly dependent upon her brother +for support. She returned to her home and consulted the servants upon +the matter; but though they quite agreed with her that something should +be done, they had little capital to invest in the enterprises suggested +by the fortune-teller. At last, the old lady went to her brother, but he +only laughed at her well-meant attempts to help his family, and refused +to give her money for such a purpose. She retired discouraged, but, +urged by the servants, she decided to make a last appeal, this time to +her sister-in-law, who must surely be moved by the evil that was +threatening herself and her children. Taking some of the head servants +with her, she went to her sister and presented the case. This was her +last resort, and she clung to her forlorn hope longer than many would +have done, the servants adding their arguments to her impassioned +appeals, only to find out after all that the steadfast sister could not +be moved, and that she would not propitiate the horse's spirit, or allow +money to be used for such a purpose. She gave it up then, and sat down +to await the fate of her doomed house, doubtless wondering much and +sighing often over the foolish skepticism of her near relatives, and +wishing that the rationalistic tendencies of the time would take a less +dangerous form than the neglecting of the plainest precautions for life +and health. The fate has not yet come, and now at last Go Inkyo Sama +seems to have resigned herself to the belief that it has been averted +from the heads of the dear ones by a power unknown to the +fortune-teller. + +Beside these callings, there are other employments which are not +regarded as wholly respectable by either Japanese or foreigners. The +_geisha ya_, or establishments where dancing-girls are trained, and let +out by the day or evening to tea-houses or private parties, are usually +managed by women. At these establishments little girls are taken, +sometimes by contract with their parents, sometimes adopted by the +proprietors of the house, and from very early youth are trained not only +in the art of dancing, but are taught singing and _samisen_-playing, all +the etiquette of serving and entertaining guests, and whatever else goes +to make a girl charming to the opposite sex. When thoroughly taught, +they form a valuable investment, and well repay the labor spent upon +them, for a popular geisha commands a good price everywhere, and has her +time overcrowded with engagements. A Japanese entertainment is hardly +regarded as complete without geishas in attendance, and their dancing, +music, and graceful service at supper form a charming addition to an +evening of enjoyment at a tea-house. It is these geishas, too, who at +_matsuri_ are hired to march in quaint uniforms in the procession, or, +borne aloft on great _dashi_, dance for the benefit of the admiring +crowds. + +The Japanese dances are charmingly graceful and modest; the swaying of +the body and limbs, the artistic management of the flowing draperies, +the variety of themes and costumes of the different dances, all go to +make an entertainment by geishas one of the pleasantest of Japanese +enjoyments. Sometimes, in scarlet and yellow robes, the dainty maidens +imitate, with their supple bodies, the dance of the maple leaves as they +are driven hither and thither in the autumn wind; sometimes, with +tucked-up _kimonos_ and jaunty red petticoats, they play the part of +little country girls carrying their eggs to market in the neighboring +village. Again, clad in armor, they simulate the warlike gestures and +martial stamp of some of the old-time heroes; or, with whitened faces +and hoary locks, they perform with rake and broom the dance of the good +old man and old woman who play so prominent a part in Japanese pictures. +And then, when the dance is over, and all are bewitched with their grace +and beauty, they descend to the supper-room and ply their temporary +employers with the _sake_ bottle, laughing and jesting the while, until +there is little wonder if the young men at the entertainment drink more +than is good for them, and leave the tea-house at last thoroughly tipsy, +and enslaved by the bright eyes and merry wits of some of the Hebes who +have beguiled them through the evening. + +The geishas unfortunately, though fair, are frail. In their system of +education, manners stand higher than morals, and many a geisha gladly +leaves the dancing in the tea-houses to become the concubine of some +wealthy Japanese or foreigner, thinking none the worse of herself for +such a business arrangement, and going cheerfully back to her regular +work, should her contract be unexpectedly ended. The geisha is not +necessarily bad, but there is in her life much temptation to evil, and +little stimulus to do right, so that, where one lives blameless, many go +wrong, and drop below the margin of respectability altogether. Yet so +fascinating, bright, and lively are these geishas that many of them have +been taken by men of good position as wives, and are now the heads of +the most respectable homes. Without true education or morals, but +trained thoroughly in all the arts and accomplishments that +please,--witty, quick at repartee, pretty, and always well dressed,--the +geisha has proved a formidable rival for the demure, quiet maiden of +good family, who can only give her husband an unsullied name, silent +obedience, and faithful service all her life. The freedom of the present +age, as shown in the chapter on "Marriage and Divorce," and as seen in +the choice of such wives, has presented this great problem to the +thinking women of Japan. If the wives of the leaders in Japan are to +come from among such a class of women, something must be done, and done +quickly, for the sake of the future of Japan; either to raise the +standards of the men in regard to women, or to change the old system of +education for girls. A liberal education, and more freedom in early life +for women, has been suggested, and is now being tried, but the problem +of the geisha and her fascination is a deep one in Japan. + +Below the geisha in respectability stands the j[=o]r[=o], or licensed +prostitute. Every city in Japan has its disreputable quarter, where the +various _j[=o]r[=o]ya_, or licensed houses of prostitution, are +situated. The supervision that the government exercises over these +places is extremely rigid; the effort is made, by licensing and +regulating them, to minimize the evils that must flow from them. The +proprietors of the _j[=o]r[=o]ya_ do everything in their power to make +their houses, grounds, and employees attractive, and, to the +unsuspecting foreigner, this portion of the city seems often the +pleasantest and most respectable. A j[=o]r[=o] need never be taken for a +respectable woman, for her dress is distinctive, and a stay of a short +time in Japan is long enough to teach even the most obtuse that the +_obi_, or sash, tied in front instead of behind, is one of the badges of +shame. But though the occupation of the j[=o]r[=o] is altogether +disreputable,--though the prostitute quarter is the spot to which the +police turn for information in regard to criminals and law-breakers, a +sort of a trap into which, sooner or later, the offender against the law +is sure to fall,--Japanese public opinion, though recognizing the evil +as a great one, does not look upon the professional prostitute with the +loathing which she inspires in Christian countries. The reason for this +lies, not solely in the lower moral standards although it is true that +sins of this character are regarded much more leniently in Japan than in +England or America. The reason lies very largely in the fact that these +women are seldom free agents. Many of them are virtually slaves, sold in +childhood to the keepers of the houses in which they work, and trained, +amid the surroundings of the _j[=o]r[=o]ya_, for the life which is the +only life they have ever known. A few may have sacrificed themselves +freely but reluctantly for those whom they love, and by their revolting +slavery may be earning the means to keep their dear ones from starvation +or disgrace. Many are the Japanese romances that are woven about the +virtuous j[=o]r[=o], who is eventually rewarded by finding, even in the +_j[=o]r[=o]ya_, a lover who is willing to raise her again to a life of +respectability, and make her a happy wife and the mother of children. +Such stories must necessarily lower the standard of morals in regard to +chastity, but in a country in which innocent romance has little room for +development, the imagination must find its materials where it can. +These _j[=o]r[=o]ya_ give employment to thousands of women throughout +the country, but in few cases do the women seek that employment, and +more openings in respectable directions, together with a change in +public opinion securing to every woman the right to her own person, +would tend to diminish the number of victims that these institutions +yearly draw into their devouring current. + +Innocent and reputable amusements are many and varied in the cities. We +have already mentioned incidentally the theatre as one of the favorite +diversions of the people; and though it has never been regarded as a +very refined amusement, it has done and is doing much for the education +of the lower classes in the history and spirit of former times. Regular +plays were never performed in the presence of the Emperor and his court, +or the Sh[=o]gun and his nobles, but the _No_ dance was the only +dramatic amusement of the nobility. This _No_ is an ancient Japanese +theatrical performance, more, perhaps, like the Greek drama than +anything in our modern life. All the movements of the actors are +measured and conventionalized, speech is a poetical recitative, the +costumes are stiff and antique, masks are much used, and a chorus seated +upon the stage chants audible comments upon the various situations. This +alone, the most ancient and classical of Japanese theatrical +performances, is considered worthy of the attention of the Emperor and +the nobility, and takes the place with them of the more vulgar and +realistic plays which delight common people. + +The regular theatre preserves in many ways the life and costumes of old +Japan, and the details of dress and scenery are most carefully studied. +The actors are usually men, though there are "women theatres" in which +all the parts are performed by women. In no case are the roles taken by +both sexes upon one stage. As the performances last all day, from ten or +eleven in the forenoon until eight or nine in the evening, going to the +theatre means much more than a few hours of entertainment after the +day's work is over. A lunch and dinner, with innumerable light edibles +between, go to make up the usual bill of fare for a day at the play, and +tea-houses in the neighborhood of the theatre provide the necessary +meals, a room to take them in, a resting-place between the acts, and +whatever tea, cakes, and other refreshments may be ordered. These latter +eatables are served by the attendants of the tea-house in the theatre +boxes while the play is in progress, and the playgoers eat and smoke all +day long through roaring farce or goriest tragedy. + +Similar to the theatre in many ways are the public halls, where +professional story-tellers, the _hanashika_, night after night, relate +long stories to crowded audiences, as powerfully and vividly as the best +trained elocutionist. Each gesture, and each modulation of the voice, is +studied as carefully as are those of the actors. Many charming tales are +told of old Japan, and even Western stories have found their way to +these assemblies. A long story is often continued from night to night +until finished. Unfortunately, the class of people who patronize these +places is low, and the moral tone of some of the stories is pitched +accordingly; but the best of the story-tellers--those who have talent +and reputation--are often invited to come to entertainments given at +private houses, to amuse a large company by their eloquence or mimicry. + +This is a very favorite entertainment, and the _hanashika_ has so +perfected the art of imitation that he can change in a moment from the +tones of a child to those of an old woman. Solemn and sad subjects are +touched upon, as well as merry and bright things, and he never fails to +make his audience weep or laugh, according to his theme, and well merits +the applause he always receives at the end. + +The _hanami_, or picnic to famous places to view certain flowers as they +bloom in their season, though not belonging strictly to city life, forms +one of the greatest of the pleasures of city people. The river Sumida, +on which T[=o]ky[=o] is situated, has lining its eastern shore for some +miles the famous cherry-trees of Japan, with their large, double pink +blossoms, and when, in April and May, these flowers are in their +perfection, great crowds of sightseers flock to Muk[=o]jima to enjoy the +blossoms under the trees. The river is crowded with picnic parties in +boats. Every tea-house along the banks is full of guests, and the little +stalls and resting-places on the way find a quick sale for fruit, +confectionery, and light lunches. _Sake_ is often too freely imbibed by +the merrymakers, whose flushed faces show, when returning homeward, how +their day was spent. There is much quiet enjoyment, too, of the lovely +blossoms, the broad, calm river, and the gayly dressed crowds. Hundreds +and thousands of visitors crowd to the suburban places about +T[=o]ky[=o],--to Uyeno Park for its cherry and peach blossoms, Kameido +for the plum and wistaria, Oji for its famous maple-trees, and many +others, each noted for some special beauty. Dango Zaka has its own +peculiar attraction, the famous chrysanthemum dolls. These ingenious +figures are arranged so as to form tableaux,--scenes from history or +fiction well known to all the people. They are of life size, and the +faces, hands, and feet are made of some composition, and closely +resemble life in every detail. But the curious thing in these tableaux +is that the scenery, whether it be the representation of a waterfall, +rocks, or bushes, the animals, and the dresses of the figures are made +entirely of chrysanthemum twigs, leaves, and flowers, not cut and woven +in, as at the first glance they seem to be,--so closely are the leaves +and flowers bound together to make the flat surface of different +objects,--but alive and growing on the plants. It is impossible to tell +where the roots and stems are hidden, for nothing is visible but (for +example) the white spray and greenish shadows of a waterfall, or the +parti-colored figures in a young girl's dress. But, should it be the +visitor's good fortune to watch the repairing of one of these lifelike +images, he will find that the entire body is a frame woven of split +bamboo, within which the plants are placed, their roots packed in damp +earth and bound about with straw, while their leaves and flowers are +pulled through the basket frame and woven into whatsoever pattern the +artistic eye and skillful fingers of the gardener may select. A roof of +matting shields each group from the sun by day, and a slight sprinkling +every night serves to keep the plants fresh for nearly a month, and the +flowers continue their blooming during that time, as calmly as if in +perfectly natural positions. Each of the gardeners of the neighborhood +has his own little show, containing several tableaux, the entrance to +which is guarded by an officious gate-keeper, who shouts out the merits +of his particular groups of figures, and forces his show-bills upon the +passer-by, in the hope of securing the two sen admission fee which is +required for each exhibit. + +And so, amid the shopping, the festivals, the amusements of the great +cities, the women find their lives varied in many ways. Their holidays +from home duties are spent amid these enjoyments; and if they have not +the out-of-door employments, the long walks up the mountains, the days +spent in tea-picking, in harvesting, in all the varied work that comes +to the country woman, the dwellers in the city have no lack of sights +and sounds to amuse and interest them, and would not often care to +exchange their lot for the freer and hardier life of the rustic. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +DOMESTIC SERVICE. + + +To the foreigner, upon his arrival in Japan, the status of household +servants is at first a source of much perplexity. There is a freedom in +their relations with the families that they serve, that in this country +would be regarded as impudence, and an independence of action that, in +many cases, seems to take the form of direct disobedience to orders. +From the steward of your household, who keeps your accounts, makes your +purchases, and manages your affairs, to your _jinrikisha_ man or groom, +every servant in your establishment does what is right in his own eyes, +and after the manner that he thinks best. Mere blind obedience to orders +is not regarded as a virtue in a Japanese servant; he must do his own +thinking, and, if he cannot grasp the reason for your order, that order +will not be carried out. Housekeeping in Japan is frequently the despair +of the thrifty American housewife, who has been accustomed in her own +country to be the head of every detail of household work, leaving to her +servants only the mechanical labor of the hands. She begins by showing +her Oriental help the work to be done, and just the way in which she is +accustomed to having it done at home, and the chances are about one in a +hundred that her servant will carry out her instructions. In the +ninety-nine other cases, he will accomplish the desired result, but by +means totally different from those to which the American housekeeper is +accustomed. If the housewife is one of the worrying kind, who cares as +much about the way in which the thing is done as about the accomplished +result, the chances are that she will wear herself out in a fruitless +endeavor to make her servants do things in her own way, and will, when +she returns to America, assure you that Japanese servants are the most +idle, stupid, and altogether worthless lot that it was ever her bad +fortune to have to do with. But on the other hand, if the lady of the +house is one who is willing to give general orders, and then sit down +and wait until the work is done before criticising it, she will find +that by some means or other the work will be accomplished and her desire +will be carried out, provided only that her servants see a reason for +getting the thing done. And as she finds that her domestics will take +responsibility upon themselves, and will work, not only with their +hands, but with the will and intellect in her service, she soon yields +to their protecting and thoughtful care for herself and her interests, +and, when she returns to America, is loud in her praises of the +competence and devotion of her Japanese servants. Even in the treaty +ports, where contact with foreigners has given to the Japanese +attendants the silent and repressed air that we regard as the standard +manner for a servant, they have not resigned their right of private +judgment, but, if faithful and honest, seek the best good of their +employer, even if his best good involves disobedience of his orders. +This characteristic of the Japanese servant is aggravated when he is in +the employment of foreigners, for the simple reason that he is apt to +regard the foreigner as a species of imbecile, who must be cared for +tenderly because he is quite incompetent to care for himself, but whose +fancies must not be too much regarded. Of the relations of foreign +employers and Japanese servants much might be said, but our business is +with the position of the servants in a Japanese household. + +Under the old feudal system, the servants of every family were its +hereditary retainers, and from generation to generation desired no +higher lot than personal service in the family to which they belonged. +The principle of loyalty to the family interests was the leading +principle in the lives of the servants, just as loyalty to the daimi[=o] +was the highest duty of the samurai. Long and intimate knowledge of the +family history and traits of character rendered it possible for the +retainer to work intelligently for his master, and do independently for +him many things without orders. The servant in many cases knew his +master and his master's interests as well as the master himself, or even +better, and must act by the light of his own knowledge in cases where +his master was ignorant or misinformed. One can easily see how ties of +good-fellowship and sympathy would arise between masters and servants, +how a community of interest would exist, so that the good of the master +and his family would be the condition for the good of the servant and +his family. In America, where the relation between servant and employer +is usually a simple business arrangement, each giving certain specified +considerations and nothing more, the relation of servant to master is +shorn of all sentiment and affection; the servant's interests are quite +apart from those of his employer, and his main object is to get the +specified work done and obtain more time for himself, and sooner or +later to leave the despised occupation of domestic service for some +higher and more independent calling. In Japan, where faithful service of +a master was regarded as a calling worthy of absorbing any one's highest +abilities through a lifetime, the position of a servant was not menial +or degrading, but might be higher than that of the farmer, merchant, or +artisan. Whether the position was a high or a low one depended, not so +much on the work done, as the person for whom it was done, and the +servant of a daimi[=o] or high rank samurai was worthy of more honor, and +might be of far better birth, than the independent merchant or artisan. +As the former feudal system is yet within the memory of many of the +present generation, and its feelings still alive in Japan, much of the +old sentiment remains, even with the merely hired domestics in a +household of the present day. The servant, by his own master, is +addressed by name, with no title of respect, is treated as an inferior, +and spoken to in the language used toward inferiors; but to all others +he is a person to be treated with respect,--to be bowed to profoundly, +addressed by the title San, and spoken to in the politest of language. +You make a call upon a Japanese household, and the servant who admits +you will expect to exchange the formal salutations with you. When you +are ushered into the reception-room, should the lady of the house be +absent, the head servants will not only serve you with tea and +refreshments and offer you hospitalities in their mistress's name, but +may, if no one else be there, sit with you in the parlor, entertaining +you with conversation until the return of the hostess. The servants of +the household are by no means ignored socially, as they are with us, but +are always recognized and saluted by visitors as they pass into and out +of the room, and are free to join in the conversation of their betters, +should they see any place where it is possible that they may shed light +on the subject discussed. But though given this liberty of speech, +treated with much consideration, and having sometimes much +responsibility, servants do not forget their places in the household, +and do not seem to be bold or out of place. Indeed, the manners of some +of them would seem, to any one but a Japanese, to denote a lack of +proper self-respect,--an excess of humility, or an affectation of it. + +In explaining to my scholars, who were reading "Little Lord Fauntleroy" +in English, a passage where a footman is spoken of as having nearly +disgraced himself by laughing at some quaint saying of the young lord, +my little peeresses were amazed beyond measure to learn that in Europe +and America a servant is expected never to show any interest in, or +knowledge of, the conversation of his betters, never to speak unless +addressed, and never to smile under any circumstances. Doubtless, in +their shrewd little brains, they formed their opinion of a civilization +imposing such barbarous restraints upon one class of persons. + +The women servants in a family are in position more like the +self-respecting, old-fashioned New England "help" than they are like the +modern "girl." They do not work all day while the mistress sits in the +parlor doing nothing, and then, when their day's work is done, go out, +anxious to forget, in the society of their friends, the drudgery which +only the necessity for self-support and the high wages to be earned +render tolerable. As has been explained in a previous chapter, the +mistress of the house--be she princess or peasant--is herself the head +servant, and only gives up to her helpers the part of the labor which +she has not the time or strength to perform. Certain menial duties +toward her husband and children, every Japanese wife and mother must do +herself, and would scorn to delegate to any other woman except in case +of absolute necessity. Thus there is not that gap between mistress and +maid that exists in our days among the women of this country. The +servants work with their mistress, helping her in every possible way, +and are treated as responsible members of the household, if not of the +family itself. + +At evening, when the wooden shutters are slid into their places around +the porch and the lamps are lighted, the family gather together in the +sitting-room around the _hibachi_ to talk, free from interruption, for +no visitor comes at such an hour to disturb the family circle. The +mother will have her sewing or work, the children will study their +lessons, and the others will talk or amuse themselves in various ways. +Then, perhaps, the maidservants, having finished their tasks about the +house, will join the circle,--always at a respectful distance,--will do +their sewing and listen to the talk, and often join in the conversation, +but in the most humble manner. Perhaps, at times, some one more +ambitious than the others will bring in a book, and ask the meaning of a +word or a phrase she has met in studying, and little helps of this kind +are given most willingly. + +We have seen that the ladies-in-waiting in the houses of the nobles are +daughters of samurai, who gladly serve in these positions for the sake +of the honor of such service, and the training they receive in noble +houses. In a somewhat similar way, places in the homes of those of +distinction or skill in any art or profession are held in great demand +among the Japanese; and a prominent poet, scholar, physician, or +professional man of any kind is often asked by anxious parents to take +their sons under his own roof, so that they may be under his influence, +and receive the benefits of stay in such an honorable house. The parents +who thus send their children may not be of low rank at all, but are +usually not sufficiently well-to-do to spend much money in the education +of their children. The position that such boys occupy in the household +is a curious one. They are called _Sho-sei_, meaning students, and +students they usually are, spending all their leisure moments and their +evenings in study. They are never treated as inferiors, except in age +and experience; they may or may not eat with the family, and are always +addressed with respect. On the other hand, they always feel themselves +to be dependents, and must be willing without wages to work in any +capacity about the house, for the sake of picking up what crumbs of +knowledge may fall to them from their master's table. Service is not +absolutely demanded of them, but they are expected to do what will pay +for their board, and do not regard menial work as below them, performing +cheerfully all that the master may require of them. + +In this way, a man of moderate means can help along many poor young men +in whom he may feel interested, and in return be saved expense about his +household work; and the students, while always considerately treated, +are able without great expense to study,--often even to prepare for +college, or get a start in one of the professions, for they have many +leisure moments to devote to their books. Many prominent men of the +present day have been students of this class, and are now in their turn +helping the younger generation. + +The boys that one sees in shops, or, with workmen of all kinds, helping +in many little ways, are not hirelings, but apprentices, who hope some +day to hold just as good positions as their masters, and expect to know +as much, if not a great deal more. At the shop or in the home, they not +only help in the trades or occupations they are learning, but are +willing to do any kind of menial work for their master or his family in +return for what they receive from him; for they do not pay for their +board nor for what they are taught. Even when the age of education is +already past, grown men and women are willing to leave quite independent +positions to shine with reflected glory as servants of persons of high +rank or distinction. "The servant is not greater than his master" in +Japan; but if the master is great, the servant is considerably greater +than the man without a master. + +In a country like Japan, where one finds but few wealthy people, there +may be cause for wonder at the large households, where there are so many +servants. There will be often as many as ten or more servants in a home +where, in other ways, luxury and wealth are not displayed. In the _oku_, +or the part of the house where the lady of the house stays, are found +her own maid, and women who help in the work about the house, sew in +their leisure moments, and are the higher servants of the family; there +are also the children's attendants, often one for each child, as well as +the waiting women for the Go Inkyo Sama. In the kitchen are the cooks +and their assistants, the lower servants, and usually one or more +_jinrikisha_ men, who belong to the house, and, if this be the home of +an official who keeps horses, a _bett[=o]_ for each animal. There are also +gardeners, errand-boys, and gate-keepers to guard the large _yashikis_. +Such a retinue would seem a great deal to maintain; but servants' wages +are so low, and the cost of living is so small, that in this matter +Japanese can afford to be luxurious. Three or four dollars will cover +the cost of food for a month for one person, and women servants expect +only a few dollars in wages for that time. The men receive much higher +pay, but at the most it is less than what a good cook receives in many +homes here. The wages do not include occasional presents, especially +those given semi-annually,--a small sum of money, or dress material of +some kind,--which servants expect, and which, of course, are no small +item in the family expense. + +Homes which maintain a great deal of style need many servants, for they +expect to work less than the American servant, and are less able to +hurry and rush through their work; and they do not desire, if they +could, to take life so hard, even to earn greater pay. The family, too, +in many cases are used to having plenty of hands to do the work; the +ladies are much less independent, and life has more formalities and red +tape in Japan than in America. A great deal of the shopping is done by +servants, who are sent out on errands and often do important business. +Maids accompany their mistresses to make visits; servants go with +parties to the theatre, to picnics, or on journeys, and these +expeditions are as heartily enjoyed by them as by their masters. It is +expected, especially of ladies and persons of high rank, that the +details of the journey, the bargaining with coolies, the hiring of +vehicles, and paying of bills, be left in charge of some manservant, who +is entirely responsible, and who makes all the bargains, arranges the +journey for his employer, and takes charge of everything,--even to the +amount of fees given along the way. + +Perhaps the highest positions of service now--positions honorable +anywhere in Japan--are held by those who remain of the old retainers of +daimi[=o]s, and who regulate the households of the nobles. Such men must +have good education, and good judgment; for much is left in their +hands, and they are usually gentlemen, who would be known as such +anywhere. They are the stewards of the household, the secretaries of +their masters; keep all accounts, for which they are responsible, and +attend to the minor affairs of etiquette,--the latter no trifling duty +in a noble's home. It is they who accompany the nobles on their +journeys,--regulate, advise, and attend to the little affairs of life, +of which the master may be ignorant and cares not to learn. They are the +last of the crowds of feudal retainers, who once filled castle and +_yashiki_, and are now scattered throughout the length and breadth of +the kingdom. + +The higher servants in the household must be always more or less trained +in etiquette, and are expected to look neat and tidy; to serve guests +with tea and refreshments, without any orders to that effect; and to use +their judgment in little household affairs, and thus help the lady of +the house. They are usually clever with their fingers, and can sew +neatly. When their mistress goes out they assist her to dress, and only +a few words from her will be necessary for them to have everything in +readiness, from her sash and dress to all the little belongings of a +lady's costume. Many a bright, quick servant is found who will +understand and guess her mistress's wants without being told each +detail, and these not only serve with their hands, but think for their +employers. + +Much less is expected of the lower servants, who belong to the kitchen, +and have less to do with the family in general, and little or no +personal contact with their masters. They perform their round of duties +with little responsibility, and are regarded as much lower in the social +scale of servants, of which we have seen there are many degrees. + +The little _gozen-taki_, or rice-cook, who works all day in the kitchen, +may be a fat, red-cheeked, frowsy-haired country girl,--patient, +hard-working, and humble-minded,--willing to pother about all day with +her kettles and pans, and sit up half the night over her own sewing, or +the study of the often unfamiliar art of reading and writing; but +entirely unacquainted with the details of etiquette, a knowledge of +which is a necessity to the higher servants,--sometimes even thrown +into an agony of diffidence should it become necessary to appear before +master or mistress. + +Some of the customs of the household, in regard to servants, are quite +striking to a foreigner. When the master of the house starts out each +morning, besides the wife and children who see him off, all the servants +who are not especially occupied--a goodly number, sometimes--come to the +front door and bow down to bid him good-by. On his return, also, when +the noise of the _kuruma_ is heard, and the shout of the men, who call +out "_O kaeri!_" when near the house, the servants go out to greet him, +and bowing low speak the customary words of salutation. To a greater or +less degree, the same is done to every member of the family, the younger +members, however, receiving a smaller share of the attention than their +elders. + +When, as very often happens, a guest staying for any length of time in a +family, or a frequent visitor, gives a servant a present of money or any +trifle, the servant, after thanking the donor, takes the white paper +bundle to the mistress of the house, and shows it to her, expressing his +gratitude to her for the gift, and also asking her to thank the giver. +This, of course, is always done, for a gift to a servant is as much of a +favor to the mistress as a present to a child is to its mother. + +When a servant wishes to leave a family, she rarely goes to her mistress +and states that she is dissatisfied with her position, and that some +better chance has been offered her. Such a natural excuse never occurs +to the Japanese servant, unless he be a _jinrikisha_ man or _bett[=o]_, +who may not know how to do better; for it is a very rude way of leaving +service. The high-minded maid will proceed very differently. + +A few days' leave of absence to visit home will be asked and usually +granted, for Japanese servants never have any settled time to take +holiday. At the end of the given time the mistress will begin to wonder +what has become of the girl, who has failed to return; and the lady will +make up her mind she will not let her go again so readily. Just when she +has a sharp reproof ready, a messenger or letter will arrive, with some +good excuse, couched in most polite and humble terms. Sometimes it will +be that she has found herself too weak for service, or that work at +home, or the illness of some member of the family, detains her, so that +she is not able to come back at present. The excuse is understood and +accepted as final, and another servant is sought for and obtained. After +several weeks have passed, very likely after entering a new place, the +old servant will turn up some day, express her thanks for all past +kindnesses and regrets at not returning in time, will take her pay and +her bundles, and disappear forever. + +Even when servants come on trial for a few days, they often go away +nominally to fetch their belongings, or make arrangements to return, but +the lady of the house does not know whether the woman is satisfied or +not. If she is not, her refusal is always brought by a third person. If +the mistress, on her side, does not wish to hire the girl, she will not +tell her so to her face, but will send word at this time to prevent her +coming. Such is the etiquette in these matters of mistress and +maid.[*317] + +Only by a multiplicity of details is it possible to give much idea of +the position of servants in a Japanese house, and even then the result +arrived at is that the positions of what we would call domestic +servants vary so greatly in honor and responsibility that it is almost +impossible to draw any general conclusions upon this subject. We have +seen that there is no distinct servile class in Japan, and that a +person's social status is not altered by the fact that he serves in a +menial capacity, provided that service be of one above him in rank and +not below him. This is largely the result of the grading of society upon +other lines than those on which our social distinctions are founded, and +partly the result of the fact that women, of whatever class, are +servants so far as persons of the opposite sex in their own class are +concerned. The women of Japan to-day form the great servile class, and, +as they are also the wives and mothers of those whom they serve, they +are treated, of course, with a certain consideration and respect never +given to a mere servant; and through them, all domestic service is +elevated.[*318] + +There are two employments which I have mentioned among those of domestic +servants because they would be so classed by us, but which in Japan rank +among the trades. The _jinrikisha_ man and the groom belong, as a rule, +to a certain class at the bottom of the social ladder, and no samurai +would think of entering either of these occupations, except under stress +of severest poverty. The _bett[=o]s_, or grooms, are a hereditary class +and a regular guild, and have a reputation, among both Japanese and +foreigners, as a betting, gambling, cheating, good-for-nothing lot. An +honest _bett[=o]_ is a rare phenomenon. The _jinrikisha_ men are, many +of them, sons of peasants, who come to the cities for the sake of +earning more money, or leading a livelier life than can be found in the +little thatched cottage among the rice-fields. Few of them are married, +or have homes of their own. Many of them drink and gamble, and sow their +wild oats in all possible ways; but they are a well-meaning, fairly +honest, happy-go-lucky set, who lead hard lives of exhausting labor, and +endure long hours of exposure to heat and cold, rain, snow, and blinding +sunshine, not only with little complaint or grumbling, but with absolute +cheerfulness and hilarity. A strong, fast _jinrikisha_ man takes great +pride in his strength and speed. It is a point of honor with him to pull +his passenger up the steepest and most slippery of hills, and never to +heed him if he expresses a desire to walk in order to save his man. I +have had my _kurumaya_ stoutly refuse, again and again, my offers to +walk up a steep hill, even when the snow was so soft and slippery under +his bare feet that he fell three times in making the ascent. "_Dai +jobu_" (safe) would be his smiling response to all my protestations; +and, once in a _jinrikisha_, the passenger is entirely at the mercy of +his man in all matters of getting into and out of the vehicle. But +though the _jinrikisha_ man is, for the time being, the autocrat and +controlling power over his passenger, and though he will not obey the +behests of his employer, except so far as they seem reasonable and in +accordance with the best interests of all concerned, he constitutes +himself the protector and assistant, the adviser and counselor, of him +whom he serves, and gives his best thought and intelligence, as well as +his speed and strength, to the service in which he is engaged. If he +thinks it safe, he will tear like an unbroken colt through the business +portions of the city, knocking bundles out of the hands of foot +passengers, or even hitting the wayfarers themselves in a fierce dash +through their midst, laughing gayly at their protests, and at threats of +wrath to come from his helpless passenger; but should hint of insult or +injury against _kuruma_, passenger, or passenger's dog fall upon his +ears, he will drop the _jinrikisha_ shafts, and administer condign +punishment to the offender, unchecked by thoughts of the ever-present +police, or by any terrors that his employer may hold over his head. In +no other country in the world, perhaps, can a lady place more entire +confidence in the honor and loyalty of her servant than she can in Japan +in her _kurumaya_, whether he be her private servant, or one from a +respectable stand. He may not do what she bids him, but that is quite a +secondary matter. He will study her interests; will remember her likes +and dislikes; will take a mental inventory of the various accessories or +bundles that she carries with her, and will never permit her to lose or +forget one of them; will run his legs off in her service, and defend her +and her property valiantly in case of need. Of course, as in all classes +there are different grades, so there are _jinrikisha_ men who seem to +have sunk so low in their calling that they have lost all feeling of +loyalty to their employer, and only care selfishly for the pittance they +gain. Such men are often found in the treaty ports, eagerly seeking for +the rich foreigner, from whom they can get an extra fee, and whom they +regard as outside of their code of morals, and hence as their natural +prey. Travelers, and even residents of Japan, have often complained of +such treatment; and it is only after long stay in Japan, among the +Japanese themselves, that one can tell what a _jinrikisha_ man is +capable of.[*322] + +If you employ one _kurumaya_ for any length of time, you come to have a +real affection for him on account of his loyal, faithful, cheerful +service, such as we seldom find in this country except when inspired by +personal feeling. When you have ridden miles and miles, by night and by +day, through rain and sleet and hottest sunshine, behind a man who has +used every power of body and mind in your service, you cannot but have a +strong feeling of affection toward him, and of pride in him as well. It +is something the feeling that one has for a good saddle-horse, but more +developed. You rejoice, not only in his strength and speed, put forth so +willingly in your service; in his picturesque, dark blue costume with +your monogram embroidered on the back; in his handsomely turned ankles; +in his black, wavy hair; in his delicate hands and trim waist,--though +these are often a source of pride to you,--but his skill in divining +your wants; his use of his tongue in your service; his helping out of +your faltering Japanese with explanations which, if not elegant, have +the merit of being easily understood; his combats with extortionate +shopkeepers in your behalf; his interest in all your doings and +concerns,--remain as a pleasant memory, upon your return to a land where +no man would so far forget his manhood as to give himself so completely +and without reserve to the service of any master save Mammon. + +As old Japan, with its quaintness, its mediaeval flavor, its feudalism, +its loyalty, its sense of honor, and its transcendental contempt for +money and luxury, recedes into the past, and as the memories of my life +there grow dim, two figures stand out more and more boldly from the +fading background,--both, the figures of faithful servants. One, Yasaku, +the _kurumaya_, a very Hercules, who could keep close to a pair of coach +horses through miles of city streets, and who never suffered mortal +_jinrikisha_ man to pass him. My champion in all times of danger and +alarm, but a very autocrat in all minor matters,--his cheery face, his +broad shoulders with their blue draperies, his jolly, boyish voice, and +his dainty, delicate hands come before me as I write, and I wonder to +what fortunate person he is now giving the intelligent service that he +once gave so whole-heartedly to me. The other, O Kaio, my maid, her +plain little face, with its upturned eyes, growing, as the days went by, +absolutely beautiful in the light of pure goodness that beamed from it. +A Japanese Christian, with all the Christian virtues well developed, she +became to me not only a good servant, doing her work with conscientious +fidelity, but a sympathetic friend, to whom I turned for help in time of +need; and whom I left, when I returned to America, with a sincere sorrow +in my heart at parting with one who had grown to fill so large a place +in my thoughts. Her little, half-shy, half-motherly ways toward her big +foreign mistress had a charm all their own. Her pride and delight over +my progress in the language; her patient efforts to make me understand +new words, or to understand my uncouth foreign idioms; her joy, when at +last I reached the point where a story told by her lips could be +comprehended and enjoyed,--gave a continual encouragement in a task too +often completely disheartening. + +During the last summer of my stay in Japan, cutting loose from all +foreigners and foreign associations, I traveled alone with her through +the heart of the country, stopping only at Japanese hotels, and carrying +with me no supplies to eke out the simple Japanese fare. Through floods +and typhoons we journeyed. Long days of scorching heat or driving rain +in no way abated her cheerfulness, or lessened her desire to do all that +she could for my aid and comfort. Not one sad look nor impatient word +showed a flaw in her perfect temper; and if she privately made up her +mind that I was crazy, she never by word or look gave a hint of her +thought. _Jinrikisha_ men grumbled and gave out; hotel-keepers resented +the presence of my dog, or presented extortionate bills; but O Kaio's +good temper and tact never failed her. Difficulties were smoothed away; +bills were compromised and reduced; the dog slept securely by my side on +a red blanket in the best rooms of the best hotels; and O Kaio smiled, +told her quaint stories, amused me and ministered to me, as if I were +her one object in life, though husband and children were far away in +distant T[=o]ky[=o], and her mother's heart yearned for her little ones. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +WITHIN THE HOME. + + +Into the life of a Japanese home enter many customs and observances that +have not been dwelt upon in the preceding pages, but without some +understanding of which our knowledge of the life of Japanese women is by +no means complete. In Japan the woman's place is so entirely in the home +that all the ceremonies and superstitions that gather about the conduct +of every-day affairs are more to her than they are to the freer and +broader-minded man. The household worship, the yearly round of +festivals, each with its special food to be prepared, the observances +connected with birth and marriage and death; what is to be done in time +of illness, of earthquake, of fire, or of the frequent flittings that +render life in Japan one succession of packings and unpackings,--all +these are matters of high importance to the wife and mother, and their +proper observance is left largely in her hands. + +Every well-ordered Japanese home of the old-fashioned kind has its +little shrine, which is the centre of the religious life of the house. +If the household is of the Shint[=o] faith, this shrine is called the +_kami-dana_, or god shelf, and contains the symbols of the gods, _gohei_ +in vases, receptacles for food and drink, and a primitive lamp,--only a +saucer of oil in which a bit of pith serves for a wick. Daily offerings +must be made before this shrine, and reverence paid by the clapping of +hands; while on feast days special offerings and invocations are +required. In Buddhist families, the _Butsudan_, or Buddha shelf, takes +the place of the _kami-dana_, and the worship is slightly more +complicated. Greater variety of food is offered, and the simple clapping +of the hands and bowing of the head that is the form of prayer in the +Shint[=o] religion is replaced by the burning of incense and by actual +verbal invocation of Buddha. These religious ceremonies must be +attended to by the mother or wife. She it is who sets the rice and wine +before the ancestral tablets, who lights the little lamp each night, and +who sees that at each feast day and anniversary season the proper food +is prepared and set out for the household gods. + +Upon the wife, and her attention to minute and apparently trifling +details, depends much of the well-being of the family. Each child, as it +grows toward maturity, gathers from various sources a collection of +amulets, which, while worn always when the child is in full dress, are +frequently too precious for ordinary play times and the risks and perils +of every-day life. These must be kept carefully by the mother as a +safeguard against the many evils that beset child-life. I have spoken of +the amulets given at the times of the _miya mairi_,--both the first, +when the name is given to the baby, and the subsequent visits made to +the temple by the children as they pass certain stated points in their +progress toward maturity. These amulets are simply written papers or +slips of wood with the seal of the temple from which they are issued +stamped upon them. Visits to noted temples by relatives and friends +often result in additions to the child's collection. One kind of charm +is good to keep the eyes strong; another will help its possessor to that +much-prized accomplishment, a good handwriting; another acts as an +assurance against accident and saves the child from harm in case of a +fall. All these are put together by the careful mother and preserved as +jealously as Queen Althea kept the charred stick that governed the +destiny of her son. As the children arrive at years of discretion, these +treasures pass out of the mother's faithful keeping into the hands of +their actual owners, and they are usually kept stored away in some +little-used drawer or cabinet until death removes the necessity for any +further safeguards over life. Perhaps of all the curious things that go +to make up these intimate personal belongings of a Japanese man or +woman, there is none more curious than the small white parcel containing +a portion of the umbilical cord,--saved at birth and preserved until +death that it may be buried with its possessor and furnish him the means +of a new birth. These little paper packages, each marked with the name +of the child to whom it belongs, are kept by the mother. + +Upon the mother of the family rests very largely the determining of +lucky and unlucky days for the beginning or transaction of different +kinds of business. A fortune-teller is consulted for important things, +such as removals or marriages, but in every-day life one cannot be +running to a fortune-teller about everything; and yet there is bad luck +lurking in the background that may baffle all our plans if we do not +observe the proper times and seasons for our undertakings. Just as the +Japanese calendar divides time into cycles of twelve years, each year +named for a different animal, so also the days and hours are divided +into twelves and bear the names of the same twelve animals,--the Chinese +signs of the zodiac. These animals are as follows: the rat, the bull, +the tiger, the hare, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the +monkey, the cock, the dog, and the boar. Each animal brings its own +kind of good or bad luck into the hour, day, or year over which it +presides, and only a skillful balancer of pros and cons can read aright +the combinations, and understand what the luck of any particular hour in +any particular day of any particular year will be. For instance, the +rat, which is the companion of Daikoku, the money god, is a lucky animal +so far as money is concerned. A person born in the year of the rat will +never need money, and will be economical, possibly miserly; and in one +born on the day of the rat in the year of the rat these chances and +qualities will be doubled. But the luck of the rat may be very seriously +interfered with by the bad luck of the monkey or of the proverbially +unlucky dog, when their days and hours occur in the rat year. On the +other hand, their bad luck may be counteracted by the good luck of the +tiger or hare, for as a rule three animals of different portent are +presiding over human prospects every hour. This makes prophecy a +ticklish business, requiring a wise head, but it also leaves much room +for the subsequent explanation of failures by the superior and unusual +influence of one or another of the animals, as the case may require. +Momentous questions of this kind have frequently to be settled by the +Japanese wife and mother, and she gains dignity and value in her home +and neighborhood according to her skill in interpreting the portents of +the day and hour. + +For the greater events of family life the home prophecies are felt to be +too uncertain, and the services of the fortune-teller must be called in. +No well-managed family would think of building a new house without +finding in what direction to face the front door. In an American city +this necessity would cause considerable inconvenience, as the position +of the front door is usually determined by the relation of the +building-lot to the street; but in a Japanese city, where, in all but +the business quarters, every house is concealed by a high board fence, +and where the gate that admits one within the fence is the only sign by +which any one in the street can judge of the worldly condition of the +dwellers within, the houses are faced about any and every way, and the +position of each is determined by the good luck that it will bring its +owner. After this matter has been settled and the house is fairly begun, +there are occasional crises in its construction upon which much depends. +Of these the most important is the day when the roof is raised. The roof +timbers, which are unsquared logs, often rather crooked, after being +carefully fitted and framed in some convenient vacant lot, are brought +on carts to the site of the new building, and when all is ready, the +head carpenter sends word to the house-owner that he is about to set the +roof in place. The house-owner then decides whether the day set by the +builder is a lucky one for himself and his family. If it is not, a delay +in the building is always preferable to any danger of incurring the +displeasure of the luck gods. This crisis safely passed, and the last of +the roof beams secured in its place, the men take a holiday, and are +feasted on _sake_ and spaghetti by the house-owner. A present of money +to each workman is also in order, and will conduce to the rapid and +faithful execution of the job in hand. When, at last, the house is +finished, and carpenters and plasterers are ready to leave it, the local +firemen, who have assisted all along in the building as unskilled +laborers, often ascend to the roof, and from the ridge-pole cast down +cakes, for which the children of the neighborhood scramble joyfully. + +When the builders have left, and the house is ready for occupation, even +to the soft, thick mats on the floor and the white paper windows, the +family will move in on the first day thereafter that is both lucky and +pleasant. So far as possible, everything in the old house will be packed +and ready the day before, and very early in the morning the relatives +and friends of the mover will begin to rally around him. All come who +can, and those who cannot come send servants or provisions. Every +tradesman or _kurumaya_ who has had or who hopes to have the patronage +of the moving household sends a representative to help along the work, +so that there is always a sufficient force to carry the household +belongings into the new home and settle them in place before the day is +over. All these visiting helpers must be fed and provided with tea and +cakes at proper intervals, and the presents of cooked food that pour in +at such times are highly acceptable and of great practical usefulness. +When the long day is ended and the visitors return one by one to their +homes, it is the mistress of the house who must see that every servant +and representative of a business firm receives, neatly done up in white +paper, a present of money properly proportioned to his services, and the +style and circumstances of the family he has been aiding. And when all +are gone, the shutters closed, and the family left alone in their new +home, the little wife must make a list of all who have helped in any way +during the day, and to all, within a short time, make some +acknowledgment of their kindness by either a call or a present. It is +upon the wife, too, that the duty falls of sending to each of the near +neighbors _soba_, a kind of macaroni, as an announcement of the family's +arrival. The number of neighbors to whom this gift is sent is +determined differently according to circumstances. If the house is one +of several in a compound, _soba_ will be sent to all within the gate; +but if the compound is very large, so that the sending to all would be +too great an expense, the five nearest houses will be selected to +receive the gift, or all who draw water from the same well. A very late +fashion in T[=o]ky[=o], but one that is gaining ground because of its +convenience, is to send, not the macaroni itself, but an order on the +nearest restaurant at which that delicacy is sold. + +As I have already said, much of a woman's time and thought must be given +to the proper distribution of presents among friends and dependents. The +subject of what to give, when to give, to whom to give, and how to do up +the gift acceptably, is one the thorough understanding of which requires +the study of years. No foreigner can hope to do more than dabble in the +shallows of it. Presents seem to be used more for the purpose of keeping +those persons whose services you may need, or whose enmity you dread, +under a sense of obligation, than they are as expressions of sentiment. +Every housekeeper, for instance, must need the occasional services of a +carpenter or a gardener, and in a large city like T[=o]ky[=o] the +chances are that she will some day need, and need very badly, the +services of a fireman. A wise woman--one who is not penny wise and pound +foolish--will by timely presents keep herself constantly in the minds of +such persons, so that when she sends for them, they may feel under +sufficient obligation to her to come at once. So will her house be +quickly put in repair after earthquake or other accident; her garden +show for only the briefest interval the ravages of the typhoon which has +gullied out her lawn and leveled her choicest trees; and when some night +"the flower of Yedo" blooms suddenly by her side, she will have the +speedy assistance of the firemen, who will seal her storehouse securely +with clay, wet her roof and walls thoroughly with water, and light at +her gates the great alarm lanterns to tell her friends that her house is +in danger and summon them to her assistance. No friend can disregard +such a signal, but all will rally round her once more to help in this +less orderly and cheerful moving,--will pack and cord and carry out her +goods, and if at last the fire consumes her dwelling, will gather her +household and belongings into their hospitable homes. But the foolish +woman, who neglects or forgets her dependents when she does not need +them, finds some day that her roof is leaking, but all the carpenters +are too busy to mend it, her garden is destroyed because the gardener +had an important engagement elsewhere just when she needed him, and her +property is burned up or ruined by water and smoke because the firemen +attended to her house last when the fire swept over her compound. + +When death enters a house in Japan, there are no undertakers to relieve +the family of the painful duty of caring for the dead body and placing +it in the coffin. There are coffin-makers and funeral managers who +supply the great white bier and lanterns and the bunches of paper +flowers that adorn every funeral procession, but within the house the +preparations are all made by the family and friends, and the heaviest +and most painful part of the work falls, as usual, on the women of the +family. As soon as the breath finally leaves the body, it is wrapped in +a quilt, laid with its head to the north, and an inverted screen placed +around it. On one corner of the screen is hung a sword or knife to keep +off any evil spirit that may wander into the room in the shape of a cat +and disturb the dead. + +Etiquette requires that relatives and intimate friends of the family +call immediately on learning of the death. To receive these calls the +mourners, in full ceremonial dress, must sit in the death chamber and +remove for each guest the covering from the face of the dead. The +visitors then offer the ceremonial bows to the corpse, as if it were +alive. During this time, too, presents to the spirit of the dead are +pouring in. The proper offerings are flowers, cake, vegetables, candles, +incense, or small gifts of money for the purchase of incense. If the +deceased is a person of rank or distinction, the house is flooded with +cumbersome and useless offerings. This custom has become so great an +addition to the trials necessarily incident to a bereavement that one +occasionally sees in the newspaper announcements of deaths a request +that no offerings to the dead be sent. + +On the day after the death, often in the evening, the body must be +placed in the cask-shaped coffin that until recently was the style +commonly in use in Japan. Now, among the wealthier classes, the long +coffin has superseded the small square or round one, but the smaller +expense connected with burial in the old way makes the survival of the +old type a necessity for the majority of Japanese. At an appointed time +all the relatives assemble in the death chamber, and preparations are +made for the bathing of the corpse. Two of the _tatami_, or floor mats, +are turned over, and upon them are placed a new tub, a new pail, and a +new dipper. These utensils must have no metal of any kind about them. In +the washing of the body none but members of the family must assist, and +respect for the dead absolutely requires that all the relatives of the +deceased who are below him in rank must have a hand in these final +ablutions. In Japan, the mourning for the dead is the duty of inferiors, +never of superiors. There is no official, ceremonial mourning of parents +for their children, nor does custom require them to perform any of the +last rites, or attend the funeral. Upon the younger brothers and sisters +falls the duty of attending to all the last sad ministrations. If the +wife dies, her husband does not mourn for her, though her children do; +but if the husband dies, the wife must mourn the rest of her life, +cutting off her hair and placing it in the coffin as a sign of her +perpetual faithfulness. + +When the body has been washed, it is dressed in white, in silk _habutai_ +whenever the family can afford it. The dress, which must be appropriate +to the season, in the making of which all the women of the family must +assist, is the plain, straight kimono, but must be folded from right to +left, instead of from left to right as in life. The body, to be placed +in the coffin, must be folded into a sitting posture, the chin resting +upon the knees,--the position of the mummies found in many aboriginal +American tombs. This difficult, to us apparently impossible feat, safely +accomplished, there are placed in the coffin a number of small things +that the dead takes with him to the next world. Some of these have been +already mentioned, the others are little keepsakes, or perhaps tokens of +the tastes and employments of the dead,--dice, cards, _sake_ bottles, +the image of a horse, toy weapons,--anything, provided only that it be +not of metal, may be used for this purpose. The single exception to this +rule about metal is that small copper coins may be put in, to fee the +old hag who guards the bank of the river of death. Last of all, the +vacant spaces in the coffin are filled in with bags of tea. Then the +coffin is closed and nailed up, wrapped with a white silk cloth fastened +with a white silk or cotton cord, and placed on a high stand, and food +and incense are placed before it. + +So long as the coffin is in the house, it must be watched over +continually. To aid in this protracted vigil, which must be kept up day +and night until the burial, the relatives, friends, and retainers of the +dead assemble at the house in large numbers. In the case of a person of +wealth and influence, there will often be a hundred or more of these +watchers, who must be fed and cared for; and who take turns in watching, +eating, and sleeping. It is their duty to see that the incense burning +before the coffin is never allowed to go out, while the food for the +dead is renewed at regular intervals by the mourners themselves. + +This somewhat detailed description of the duties to be performed by the +members of a bereaved family in the house of mourning is sufficient to +show that the presence of death in the home is made as terrible as +possible by the painful ceremonies, the continual bustle and excitement, +and the strain upon the resources and executive ability of the +housekeeper and her assistants. There are few enlightened Japanese who +will defend the present system of cruelty to the afflicted, or who do +not long for some change, but so great is the force of conservatism in +this regard, so haunting the fear that any change may indicate a lack +of respect for the dead, that reform advances slowly. + +Individual instances occur in which some of the worst features of these +customs are modified. A case in point is that of the late Mr. Fukuzawa, +a man whose life was devoted to the advancement of his countrymen in +modern ways, and who in his death continued his teaching. In his will he +provided that his body was to be buried, without washing, in the +clothing in which he died. This provision would seem in most countries +to be mere eccentricity, but when one has seen or heard of the gruesome +ceremony that follows immediately after death, and the burden of which +falls, not on the old and hardened, but on the young and tender, +suffering, in many cases, under the weight of a first and crushing +affliction, one can see that only through such means as this can the +burden ever be lifted from the shoulders of those who mourn. There are +young and enlightened mothers in Japan to-day who have felt, in minds +awakened to thought and action, the horrors of the system, and who will +not allow their children to suffer for them what they have suffered in +paying respect to their dead parents. Through this growing feeling and +the unselfishness of maternal affection may come in time the release +from these mournful ceremonies. + +While the body remains in the house, a priest comes from time to time to +offer prayers, longer or shorter according to the wealth of the family +employing him; and when the funeral cortege sets out on its way to the +cemetery, the priests in their professional robes form an imposing part +of the spectacle. The day of the burial is selected with due respect to +the calendar, for, though there may be little good luck about a funeral, +there is a chance of extremely bad luck growing out of it unless every +precaution is taken. Just before the procession starts, a religious +ceremony is held at the house, which is attended by the friends of the +deceased, and which is substantially the same as that performed at the +cemetery. On the day of the burial, great bunches of natural flowers are +sent to the dead, each bunch so large as to require the services of one +man to carry it. Sometimes with the gift a man is sent to take part in +the procession, but if the giver feels too poor to hire a man, this +burden, too, falls upon the bereaved household, for etiquette requires +that all flowers sent be borne to the grave by uniformed coolies, who +march in the funeral train. Another favorite present at this time, among +Buddhists, is a cage of living birds, to be borne to the grave and +released thereon. This act of mercy is counted to the deceased for +righteousness, and is believed to aid in rendering his next incarnation +a happy one. + +A funeral procession is an imposing spectacle, and, to the uninstructed +foreigner, a cheerful one; for there is nothing sad or sombre in the +white, or bright-colored, robes of the priests, the white, +tinsel-decorated bier, the red and white flags borne aloft, the enormous +bunches of gay-colored flowers;--the very mourners in white silk, and +with faces apparently unmoved by grief, bring no thought of the object +of the procession to the Western mind. It seems more like a bridal than +a burial. But if you follow the cortege to the cemetery and there +listen to the wailing of the wind instruments, and the droning of the +priests as they perform the last rites, and watch the silent company +that one by one go forward to bow before the coffin and place upon it a +branch of _sakaki_ or burn a bit of incense, the trappings of woe in +Japan will impress themselves strongly upon your mind, and the gayly +appareled funeral processions will seem to you ever afterward as +mournful and hopeless a spectacle as you can find in any country. + +The house of death remains a place of mourning for forty-nine days after +the funeral. During this period the spirit of the deceased is supposed +to be still inhabiting the house, and a tablet or shrine is set up in +the death chamber before which food and flowers are renewed daily. +Visitors are expected to make obeisance to the dead. At the end of this +time, some acknowledgment must be sent to every friend who has sent +anything to the house at the funeral. For a time after death has come +into the family the relatives of the dead are regarded as ceremonially +unclean. The period of defilement varies with the nearness of +relationship. In the old days, no one thus defiled was allowed to go +about his regular business or to mingle with other men; but busy modern +Japan does not find it convenient to pause long in its work, so that +government officials and school-children are now sent written papers +excusing them for coming back to their tasks even while ceremonially +unclean. Thus the old custom is passing away. In the first year after +death, certain days are observed with special honors before the memorial +tablet, and later, certain anniversaries of the death must be kept, +until, at last, at the end of fifty or one hundred years, the +personality of the spirit seems to become merged with that of the other +ancestral spirits, and no offerings are made to it except at the general +feasts of the dead. + +With the coming in of the last month of the year begin the preparations +for the great New Year's festival, and the housekeeper finds herself +occupied through every moment of the brief days. A woman who is at the +head of a large household has upon her hands in the month of December +spring house-cleaning and preparations for Christmas, New Year's, +Thanksgiving, and Easter, all at once. The work of getting the family +wardrobe ready for the festival must begin very early in the month, for +every man, woman, and child in the household must be provided with new +clothes, and the thrifty housewife sends no sewing out. In the old days, +it was ordained that the eighth day of the twelfth month should be a +needle festival,--a day on which all women rest from their sewing and +amuse themselves by indulging their own fancies instead of their +husbands', as is their duty on other days. This day was supposed to mark +the dividing line between the old year's and the new year's sewing, but, +as a matter of fact, the forehanded woman will finish up the old and +begin the new even earlier in the month, so as to have this part of her +work well out of the way before the house-cleaning, which should be +begun not later than the fifteenth. + +This house-cleaning, even with the small amount of furniture found in a +Japanese house, is an elaborate affair. Every box and closet and +rubbish-hole in the house is turned out and put in order, the _tatami_ +are taken up and brushed and beaten, the woodwork from ceiling to floor +is carefully washed, the plaster and paper walls flicked with the paper +flapper that takes the place in Japan of our feather duster. All the +quilts and clothing must be sunned and aired, the kakemonos and curios +belonging to the family unpacked, carefully dusted, and put back into +their wrappings and boxes, and the house and garden put into perfect +repair. This work, if thoroughly done, takes about a week. When all is +finished, even to the final purification by beating everything in the +house with a fresh bamboo, games and festivities and _soba_ are in +order. In the old daimi[=o] houses, where great numbers of men and women +were employed, and where the women's quarters were in a distinct part of +the house, it was considered a great joke to catch a man on the women's +side any time between the close of the cleaning and the beginning of the +new year. The intruder was promptly seized and shouldered by the women, +who carried him about the house in triumph, finally returning him to his +own quarters. If, by any chance, they could catch the chief steward, +they sang as they carried him about:-- + + "This is the great pillar of the house! + May he be happy till the stone foundations rot!" + +The week following the house-cleaning is devoted to the preparation of +food for the festival. Of this, the most characteristic is _mochi_, a +sort of dumpling made of rice steamed and pounded, the preparation of +which is so difficult and protracted a process that it is not lightly +undertaken. It is so distinctively the festival food of Japan that if +you find _mochi_ in a friend's house at any time except the new year, +you immediately ask what has happened, and are pretty sure to be told +that it is a present received in celebration of a birth or a marriage, +or some other domestic festival. It is, to Japanese children, what +turkey and cranberry sauce are to American children, not only a delight +to the palate, but a dish the very smell of which brings back the most +cheerful occasions in the year. + +When the _mochi_ is made and set away to await the festal day, the +matter of decoration must be attended to. At every gate is erected some +token of the season, if it be only a bit of pine stuck into the ground, +or a wisp of straw rope decorated with white paper _gohei_. The great +black gates that indicate the homes of the wealthier classes are almost +concealed by structures of pine and bamboo, on which oranges, lobsters, +straw rope, straw fringe, white paper, and images of the good luck gods +are used as decorations. All these things are either efficacious in +keeping off evil spirits, or are symbols of good luck. Within the house, +in the _tokonoma_, or place of honor, in the best room, great cakes of +_mochi_, two, three, five, or seven in number, are set one upon another +in a dish covered with fern leaves, and the structure surrounded by +seaweed. + +Before the new year comes in the capable housewife will have sent out +presents to every one who has during the year been of service to her +husband, her children, or herself in any way. Her own servants will be +remembered with gifts of clothing, something will be sent to the +servants of friends at whose houses any of the family have visited +often, and every dependent, poor relation, employee, and employee's +child must be given a present, large or small, according to the amount +of obligation felt by the giver. To persons of greater wealth and +importance, to whom the family are grateful for past favors or from whom +they are hoping for something in the future, gifts, often quite out of +proportion to the resources of the givers, are sent,--a method of +investing capital that is a little risky, though it sometimes yields +prompt and bountiful returns. On the other hand, all the merchants and +marketmen who supply the house send presents to the mistress and +frequently to the head servants as well, and _furushiki_ (bundle +handkerchiefs), cooking utensils, packages of sugar, boxes of eggs, +dried fish, etc., flow in at the kitchen; while crepe, silk, cotton +cloth, money, toys, curios, and other valuables flow out of the parlor. +All this present-giving is a severe tax upon the strength and resources +of the housekeeper, and adds heavily to the burden that the last month +of the year imposes upon her. + +By the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth of the month the trades-people begin +to send in their bills, for every man expects to square up all his +accounts by the last night of the old year, and early payments are +expected and made, so that all may begin the new year out of debt. So +universal is this custom that the man who finds at the eleventh hour +that he cannot clear off all his debts is likely to offer his property +at a heavy sacrifice in order to secure the necessary cash. For any one +with ready money extraordinary bargains are to be met with in Japanese +shops during the last week of the year. In case this resource fails, +suicide is still a short and honorable way out of a world that has +become too difficult to live in. + +The Japanese housewife must feel, when December has been successfully +passed, like the Yankee who had noticed that if he lived through the +month of March he generally lived through the rest of the year. The +observances of January, for which December has been one long +preparation, begin with the rising of the New Year's sun, and continue +in one form or another for about two weeks. Almost every day has its +special food and its special festival duty. For the first three days the +very best clothes in the wardrobe are worn by everybody, then till the +seventh the second best, and from the seventh to the end of the month +new clothes, though not the very best, must be worn. Within the first +seven days every man in Japan is expected to call on all his friends and +acquaintances, but the women, probably out of consideration for the many +duties that the festival season puts upon them, are given until March to +finish up their New Year's calls. + +The streets of the cities, and even of the small villages, are full of +life and interest for a week or two. _Kurumayas_ in their new winter +liveries trundle around fathers and mothers and happy children. All +manner of mummers, musicians, and dancers go from house to house in +search of custom. The _manzai_, who, with dances and songs and strange +grimaces, undertake to drive out from your house for the new year all +the devils who may have been residing there hitherto, are a special +feature of this season. In every garden and in the public streets little +girls, their faces freshly covered with white paint, their shining black +hair newly dressed, their wing-sleeved kimonos gorgeous with many +colors, play battledore and shuttlecock, toss small bags half filled +with rice, or pat balls wound with shining silk to the accompaniment of +a weird little chant. For the boys there are kites of many shapes and +colors, or tops that they spin under every one's feet, well knowing that +no one in Japan is too busy to turn aside for a child's pleasure. The +very horses--small, shock-headed, evil-tempered beasts, who drag +tremendous loads with many snorts and snaps at their masters--are decked +out with gay streamers that reach nearly to the ground, at the ends of +which are tinkling bells. The festival season closes on the fifteenth +and sixteenth with a visit to the temple of Yemma, the god of hell, and +with a holiday for all the apprentices. + +Next to the New Year's holiday, perhaps the most important festival of +the Japanese year is _O Bon_, the Feast of the Dead. This is, in its +present form, a Buddhist institution, but in spirit it fitted so exactly +into the ancient Japanese ideas of the tastes and habits of departed +spirits that it merely supplanted the old Shint[=o] feasts of the dead, +and it is a little difficult to-day to determine whether its observance +is more Buddhist or Shint[=o] in its character. To find the O Bon +ceremonies in their most perfect form, it is necessary now to go into +the more remote country villages, for though, even in T[=o]ky[=o], this +feast is still one of the most important in the whole year, it seems to +be more distinctly itself in a small village, where all the old forms +are still kept up. + +In T[=o]ky[=o], the three days' festival is kept by the new calendar, and +occurs on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth of July. At O Bon, as +at New Year's time, it is customary to square off all obligations by a +general giving of presents. This, while not quite as important a matter +as at the beginning of the year, is still a severe tax upon the time, +purse, and memory of the wife and mother in any large family. At this +time, too, as at New Year's, _mochi_ or some other festival dish must be +provided, but at this point the resemblance between the two occasions +ceases. In accordance with its character as a feast of departed spirits, +the observance of O Bon is distinctively religious. On the twelfth, the +family go to the graveyard and clean and put in order the graves and +tombstones, so that the returning spirits may find all properly cared +for. Fresh water and flowers are placed before each stone, and sometimes +rice and fresh vegetables. At home, the ancestral tablets in the +_Butsudan_ form the centre of the ceremonies. Before the shrine are +placed, on the thirteenth, offerings of food of any kind that can be +made without fish or meat. Great balls of _mochi_, _sake_, flowers, and +choice new varieties of vegetables are appropriate offerings. All are +tastefully arranged, the lamps are carefully lighted every night, and +special services are held before the shrine. For the three days of the +feast, the souls of the dead are believed to be visiting their old +haunts, and to need light and food and all the conveniences that their +descendants can spare them. Each house is decorated with lanterns, that +the spirits may be able to find their way. It is from this custom that +the feast is often called by foreigners the Feast of Lanterns. + +As I have already said, in T[=o]ky[=o] and other modernized places, this +feast is not seen at its best. Only the soft glow of the lanterns +swinging from every house, and the decorations in the graveyards and at +the household shrines, indicate to the traveler that anything unusual is +going on. But in the country regions it is quite another matter, and the +welcoming, entertainment, and proper dismissal of the visiting spirits +form the entire business of the community for three days. Usually the +middle of August is the time for the country celebration. On the +twelfth, bands of children carrying red lanterns march singing through +the village on their way to the graveyard, where the annual cleaning is +taking place. That night bonfires in the cemetery and before the houses +light the pathway of the wanderers. Then for three nights all the young +people of the village gather in the temple court in grotesque disguises +and with towels over their faces, and dance all night long in the +moonlight, to primitive music produced by a drum and the monotonous +chant of the dancers themselves. These three dance-nights are the great +occasion of the year to the young peasants, for this is the only time +when persons of both sexes meet together in a social way, and it is long +looked forward to and enjoyed intensely. Of late years, the government, +fearing the abuses that grow out of this exceptional social event, has +endeavored to suppress the dancing, but it continues in full vigor +throughout most of rural Japan, though conducted with more decorum than +formerly on account of the standing dread of police interference. The +object of the dance is to amuse the spirits of the ancestors, who must +be imagined as hovering in the background, viewing with approval the +antics of their descendants. + +Other amusements are going on in the village on the O Bon evenings. At +a summer resort every hotel-keeper will have a professional +story-teller, a company of musicians, or some other entertainment to +which the guests of the hotel are invited, and at which as many of the +villagers as can crowd to the open house fronts stare until the dance +drum in the temple court draws their feet in that direction. And then, +on the last night of the feast, bonfires are once more kindled at every +house, so that the spirits may find their way safely back to the land +whence they came, and not stay to haunt their descendants at improper +seasons. + +No account of life in a Japanese home would be complete without a little +space devoted to the special delights of the small boy. Although this +book deals mainly with feminine concerns, the small boy in Japan, as in +America, is the life and fun of the home, and one cannot fail to notice +his times of surpassing enjoyment. He rules the house and his mother and +his grandmother and his sisters, at all times, and his activity and +enterprise secure for him a good share in any fun that is going on; but +there are certain seasons that appeal to the boyish heart with a special +message and of which he is the central figure. + +As the Feast of Dolls is to the girls, so is the Feast of Flags to the +boys,--their own special day, set apart for them out of the whole year. +It comes on the fifth day of the fifth month (now May fifth), and for +long before its arrival the shops are gay with all manner of tempting +toys, while in every yard rises a great bamboo pole, from which, when +the time comes, will float an enormous carp, its body inflated by the +strong spring wind, its great mouth wide open, and its eyes glaring +hideously, as it fights its way against the air currents. Sometimes +there will be half a dozen such poles in one yard,--signs either that +the household is blessed with many boys, or that the way to its heart is +through gifts of toys to its son and heir. When the great day at last +arrives, the feast within the home is conducted in much the same way as +the Feast of Dolls. There are the same red-covered shelves, the same +offerings of food and drink; but instead of the placid images of the +Emperor and Empress and the five court musicians, the household +furnishings and toilet articles, there are effigies of the heroes of +history and folklore: Jingo, the warrior Empress; Takenouchi, her +white-haired prime minister, holding in his arms her son, the infant +war-god; Benkei, the giant retainer of Yoshitsune; Yoshitsune himself, +the marvelous fencer and general; Kintaro, the fat, hairy, red boy, who +was born and grew up in the mountains, and even in his babyhood fought +with bears; Shoki Sama, the strong man who could conquer _oni_;--these +are some of the characters to be found on the shelves at the boys' +feast. Behind each figure stands a flag with the crest of the hero that +it represents, and before them are set all manner of weapons in +miniature. The food offered is _mochi_ wrapped in oak leaves, because +the oak is among trees what the carp is among fishes, the emblem of +strength and endurance. The flower of this day is the iris or flag, +because of its sword-shaped leaves,--hence the name, _Shobu Matsuri_, +feast of iris or flag. + +Another feast, which, while not founded for the boys, seems to have +been adopted by them as a great occasion, is what is known as Buddha's +birthday, celebrated on April eighth. On this day in every Buddhist +temple a temporary platform is erected, the roof of which is covered +with flowers. Upon this platform, in a great tub filled with licorice +tea, is set a small image of the infant Buddha. Hither flock the small +boys with bamboo dippers, and spend the day ladling up the tea and +pouring it over the image, and then ladling it out into small bamboo +buckets. This licorice tea, through contact with the image, acquires +miraculous healing properties, and the devout, after making offerings of +money twisted up in white paper, carry away the little buckets. The tea +is good for the eyes and the throat, and if some of it be used in mixing +ink, and then, with the ink thus mixed, a charm be written and placed +about the house, it will keep away all vermin. It is not easy to see +exactly what the fascination of this feast is to the boys, but I am told +that many of them like it even better than their own specially +appointed day. + +But of all the delights that come into the year, there is nothing to +compare for joyous excitement with the great _matsuri_ of the parish +temple. For at least a week beforehand there are enough interesting +things going on in every house and shop along the street to keep every +small boy in the parish agog from morning till night. Here are lanterns +being made with the _mon_ of the gods on one side and the rising sun of +the Japanese flag on the other. There a dancing platform is being +erected, and at every stage of its development it is swarming with +active youngsters, who shin up its poles, turn somersaults on the +platform, and sit in rows on its edge, with bare legs swinging high over +the heads of the passers-by; and when it is done, and the drums +installed, they take turns all day and far into the night in keeping +them going. Then, too, there are the _dashi_, or floats, on one of which +each street in the parish spends its money and its ingenuity. How the +boys haunt the shops in which they are being made! How they watch the +wondrous changes of paper into flowers, and of bamboo and cotton cloth +into sea waves, or castle walls, or monsters of earth or sea or air! How +they chatter and wriggle and push and squirm for front places, when at +last the great cars are built up in the open street, the marvelous +edifices erected upon them, and at the top of all the heroic figures of +well-known mythological or historical characters rise majestic in +flowing robes! Then, when the black bullocks, resplendent in collars and +halters of red rope, are yoked to the triumphal car, and the structure +moves slowly down the shouting street, how the boys crawl into every +joint and cranny of the _dashi_, how they hang from every beam, how they +yell from before and behind in sheer abandon of joy! And at last, when +the procession forms, and with fantastically garbed men marching in +front and wild-eyed singers yelling just behind them, with dancing-girls +on moving platforms and jugglers and tumblers on the _dashi_ themselves, +the twenty or more festal cars move, with frequent stops, down to the +temple, to escort the sacred symbols on their annual pilgrimage through +the parish, who so noisy or so ubiquitous as these same bullet-headed, +blue-gowned boys? They bob up at every turn, ooze out at every pore of +the procession, and enjoy, as only boys can enjoy, the noise and +confusion, the barbaric splendor, the dancing and tumbling, the mumming +and drumming, the excruciating howls of the singers, the jingling of the +marshals' iron-ringed staves, the clapping of the great wooden clappers +that time the movement and the stops of the pageant. + +Better than all, perhaps, is the evening, when the streets, lighted by +many lanterns, are filled with throngs of holiday-makers,--now stopping +to stare in at some shop where the devout worshiper has established a +beautiful shrine, has set out _mochi_ and other offerings before some +image, or has arranged a landscape garden in a box, or constructed a +_matsuri_ procession just entering the court of a miniature temple; now +haggling with the ever-present booth-keepers for lanterns or cakes or +hairpins to take back to the friends left at home. Suddenly there is a +joyous, rhythmic shout of many excited boyish voices, there is a +gleaming of square red lanterns, a whirl and a rush through the crowd. +Now is the time to get out of the way, for the boys move quickly and are +too excited to turn aside for anything. On they come at a sharp trot, +each little round head bound about with a fillet of blue and white +toweling, each lithe, active body more or less covered by a blue and +white gown, all shouting in unison and bearing on their shoulders a +miniature _dashi_, made most often of a _sake_ tub mounted on a frame, +and decorated with lanterns and white paper. They charge through the +crowd, which makes way quickly at their approach, until the pace, the +weight of their burden, and the frantic shouting exhaust their breath. +Then they plunge down a side street, rest for a few moments, gather +themselves together, and charge once more into the crowd. There must be +some pretty tired little boys in the parish when the fun is all over, +for these performances are kept up far into the night; but for absolute +and perfect enjoyment there is nothing I have yet seen that seems to me +to compare with the enjoyment that a Japanese boy gets out of a +_matsuri_. It is worth being tired for! + +There is no space in this work for a more detailed picture of life in a +Japanese home. Enough has been said in this chapter to show that it is +made up of many little things,--of cares and sorrows and +pleasures,--just as is life in any American home, and it is the little +things we care about that make the oneness of the family, and the +nation, and the oneness, too, of humanity, if we can only understand one +another. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +TEN YEARS OF PROGRESS. + + +The woman question in Japan is at the present moment a matter of much +consideration. There seems to be an uneasy feeling in the minds of even +the more conservative men that some change in the status of woman is +inevitable, if the nation wishes to keep the pace it has set for itself. +The Japanese women of the past and of the present are exactly suited to +the position accorded them in society, and any attempt to alter them +without changing their status only results in making square pegs for +round holes. If the pegs hereafter are to be cut square, the holes must +be enlarged and squared to fit them. The Japanese woman stands in no +need of alteration unless her place in life is somehow enlarged, nor, on +the other hand, can she fill a larger place without additional +training. The men of New Japan, to whom the opinions and customs of the +Western world are becoming daily more familiar, while they shrink +aghast, in many cases, at the thought that their women may ever become +like the forward, self-assertive, half-masculine women of the West, show +a growing tendency to dissatisfaction with the smallness and narrowness +of the lives of their wives and daughters,--a growing belief that better +educated women would make better homes, and that the ideal home of +Europe and America is the product of a more advanced civilization than +that of Japan. Reluctantly in many cases, but still almost universally, +it is admitted that in the interest of the homes and for the sake of +future generations, something must be done to carry the women forward +into a position more in harmony with what the nation is reaching for in +other directions. This desire shows itself in individual efforts to +improve by more advanced education daughters of exceptional promise, and +in general efforts for the improvement of the condition of women. +Well-to-do fathers are willing to spend more money on the education of +their daughters, to send them abroad, if possible, to complete their +studies, or to postpone the time of marriage so that plans for higher +education may be carried through. Where, ten years ago, the number of +women who had been abroad for study might be counted on the fingers of +one hand, there are now three or four times that number in T[=o]ky[=o] +alone. Another sign of the times is the fact that husbands going abroad +on business or for pleasure are more inclined to take their wives with +them, even if it be only for a few months. There are now to be found, in +all the larger cities, women who have spent a longer or shorter time in +some foreign country, whose minds have been opened and whose horizons +have been enlarged by contact with new ideas. All this cannot fail to +have its effect, sooner or later, upon the country at large. + +The efforts for the improvement of women in general may be grouped into +four classes: by legislation, by education, through the press, and by +means of societies for mutual improvement. + +Of the recent legislation concerning marriage and divorce and its +effect on the family, I have spoken in a preceding chapter. The latest +statistics show that, while before the new laws were enacted divorces +were one to every three marriages, they have now been reduced to one in +five. It must be said, however, that the law is still somewhat in +advance of public opinion. While the chance of permanence in marriage is +better now than it was before the new code came into force, custom is +still stronger than the law, and marriage is too often a temporary +arrangement. In many cases the wife knows little or nothing of her new +rights, and even when she does know, she has seldom the self-assertion +to make a stand for them, but meekly submits to the dictates of those +whom she is bound by custom, if not by law, to respect and obey without +question. But the fact that the laws have actually been improved means, +in a country like Japan, in which the government is the moulder of +public opinion, that the custom will some day conform to the law. + +In the matter of property owning, women, under the new code, are fairly +independent. As I have already stated, every woman in Japan is expected +to become a wife, and as a matter of fact, the number of unmarried women +is so small that it is hardly necessary to mention them. Wives, under +Japanese law, are divided into two classes: the wife who enters her +husband's family, and the wife whose husband becomes a member of her +family. In the latter case the wife is the head of the family, is +responsible for the debts of the family, and has the right to use and +profit by the husband's property. In the former case (and as I have +already stated, the great majority of wives enter their husband's +families), the husband is responsible, and has, consequently, the right +to use and profit by his wife's property. In all cases, unless the +husband is physically or mentally unfit, he has the management of his +wife's wealth. In case of the husband's disability the woman takes care +of her own. A wife may, by application to a court, cause the husband to +furnish security for the property that she has intrusted to him; and she +may, with her husband's consent, engage in independent business. The +property that she thus acquires is her own and not the husband's. Any +property in the family, the ownership of which is not perfectly +established, belongs to the head of the family, whether male or female. +We thus see that the law of Japan fully recognizes the right of married +women to hold property, although only in exceptional cases are they +allowed the management of their own holdings. The law also regards the +wife, in household matters, as her husband's agent. + +In actual practice, it is not uncommon for the wife to manage the entire +income of the family, receiving it from her husband and acting as his +treasurer. The wife's own earnings are seldom given to the husband, and +her position is one of entire independence in the disposal of whatever +she adds to the family revenue. But should the wife bring into the +family at marriage property which passes into the husband's management, +the chances are that, unless a divorce should occur, she will never lay +any claim to the principal, or think of it again as her own. While her +husband cannot actually dispose of it without her consent, she is pretty +certain to give her consent should he ask it, and he may do very nearly +anything that he chooses with it. We thus see that the tendency is to +give the management of the income, as a part of the management of the +household, to the woman, and leave the disposal of the principal, as a +part of the outside business, to the care of the man. This system of +domestic finance seems not unlike the common practice in thrifty and +well-managed homes in America, and shows that a spirit of mutual +confidence between husband and wife belongs to Japan as to Western +nations. As the result of my own observation in a number of homes, I +should say that the judgment of the wife in money matters is quite as +much trusted in Japan as in America, and that, in this one respect at +least, her place in the home is as responsible a one as that of the +Western housekeeper. One instance may be cited of a woman whose business +ability is so well known as to have a national reputation. By birth a +member of a family which is remarkable for its success in all financial +undertakings, she has inherited a large share of the family +characteristic, and is credited with the personal management of a large +bank, as well as other successful business undertakings. Her husband's +name and not her own appears on the prospectuses and in the newspapers, +but unless report is very far astray, she is the business man of the +family, and her sound sense and good judgment have built up the fortune +which is their common possession. + +In the educational system of Japan, schools for girls are provided by +the government, but no provision for studies more advanced than those of +the middle schools for boys is included in the scheme, with the single +exception of the Higher Normal School in T[=o]ky[=o], in which a limited +number of young women are trained to take positions as teachers in the +ordinary normal schools for girls. To quote from the Annual Report of +the Minister of Education for the year 1898, the latest to which I have +access, "Higher female schools are institutions designed to give +instruction in such higher subjects of general education as are +necessary for females." This shows with considerable completeness the +idea that dominates all government and much private effort for the +education of women in Japan. The schools are to teach simply such +subjects as are necessary for females; anything more would be +superfluous, possibly dangerous. The thought of women as individuals, +with minds and souls to be trained and developed to their highest +possibilities, is still somewhat foreign to the mind of the average +Japanese man. In its stead is the idea that females must be instructed +in such subjects as are necessary for a proper understanding of their +duties as wives and mothers. But if Japan to-day is where England and +America were in the first half of the nineteenth century, the country is +certainly moving forward, as the statistics in regard to education for +the three successive years 1896, 1897, and 1898 show. Great efforts are +being made to increase the attendance of girls at the common schools, +and with gratifying results.[43] + +[43] The following in the report for 1898 may be of interest:-- + +Percentage of pupils of school age receiving instruction:-- + + Year. Girls. Boys. + 1896 47.54 79.00 + 1897 50.86 80.67 + 1898 53.73 82.42 + +The total number of girls of school age not receiving instruction is +1,552,601; of boys, 662,985; while the total number of girls of school +age is 3,642,263, and of boys, 4,067,161. + +As we advance into the higher schools, the discrepancy in numbers +between the two sexes grows greater. In the kindergartens the attendance +of girls is nearly equal to that of boys; in the elementary schools +there are three boys to two girls; in the higher elementary schools, +seven boys to two girls. The boys' middle schools, which are equivalent +in grade to the girls' high schools, have fourteen boys taking their +courses to every two girls in the high schools. In the apprentice and +technical schools, there are fifteen men to every two women. Even the +normal schools, which in our own country are almost given over to women, +in Japan have six male students to every female. The "special schools," +mainly professional, have, to 11,069 men, 73 women, all enrolled in +private schools, and presumably taking medical courses. Beyond this +point women have no opportunities offered to them. In the higher +schools, equivalent to the college and graduate courses given by +universities in America, 7,224 young men are given opportunities that +women must go abroad to obtain. + +These figures are, as I have said, for the year 1898. The year 1901 sees +two hopeful movements well begun. One of these is the opening of an +institution bearing the title of "Female University," endowed and +supported by Japanese, through the strenuous efforts of Mr. Jinzo +Naruse, a prominent Christian who has spent some time in America. At its +opening, five hundred girls were glad to enter, but of these very few +are ready for college work. Mr. Naruse, however, believes that in time +he will be able to enlarge his college department and diminish the +preparatory, which is now almost the whole of the school. He has the +support and encouragement of many wealthy and influential Japanese, +among them Count Okuma, the well-known progressive statesman. On the day +of the opening of the school, Count Okuma, in a speech from the +platform, said that the nation would be twice as strong if its women +were well educated. This he called "setting up a double standard." He +pointed out that Turkey, Egypt, Persia, and China were countries which +had tried to get along with a "single standard," and which had fallen +conspicuously behind. He called attention to the fact that Japan's +primitive religion had for its central figure the Goddess of Light, but +that, unfortunately for the well-being of the state, woman had been +gradually dethroned and thrust down into a low place. After speaking of +the debt that Japan owed to China for the civilization and the ethical +system that had stood her so long in good stead, the veteran statesman +went on to say that society in Japan was disfigured by abuses which were +beyond any simple remedy. The only effective medicine was to be found in +a radical reform of the ideals of family life, and this could only be +effected by an improvement in the status of woman,--an improvement which +such institutions as the one that day opened would greatly aid in +bringing about. + +These words from one of the most honored leaders of Japanese thought +voice the feeling that is prevalent throughout Japan in this +thirty-fourth year of Meiji. That it is actually moving both government +and people is shown by the words of Mr. Kikuchi, Minister of Education, +to the Council of Provincial Governors held in T[=o]ky[=o] in June, +1901. In speaking of the progress of education throughout the country, +he stated his intention to push forward the work of secondary education +for girls, saying that a prefecture which refused to make provision for +such education by 1903 might be compelled to do so by the government. + +The other hopeful educational effort to which I have alluded is a school +started on a small scale, but with a high standard, by a Japanese woman +whose name is almost as well known in America as in Japan, as an +educator of great ability and earnestness of purpose. After many years +of work as a teacher in the Peeresses' School, a place of great honor +from the Japanese standpoint, she has resigned her position to carry out +a long-cherished plan. With the pecuniary aid of friends in America, she +has founded a school for the preparation of young women who have +finished the courses heretofore open to them, and who wish to become +teachers of English in the Government schools. The examinations for such +positions have always been open to women, but, because of the difficulty +in securing proper preparation, there are few who pass them. Since its +opening in September, 1900, the school has been crowded with promising +pupils, and the small accommodations with which it began, although +already once enlarged, are stretched to the uttermost. The girls come +from the government high schools and from the mission schools, and the +course offered to them of three years of study in English literature, +composition, translation, and methods of teaching has proved a strong +attraction. In recognition, perhaps, of this effort on behalf of her +countrywomen, certainly, of her position at the head of her profession, +this same woman has this year been appointed on the examining committee +for the government English examinations, an honor never before given to +one of her sex,--in itself a sign of the change in thought that the last +few years have wrought. + +There can be no doubt that the education of women is moving forward, +pushed by the leading men of the country and aided by the earnest work +of the women themselves. It is still far behind the education offered to +men, and the ideal of most of its promoters is limited to the purely +utilitarian; but as long as it moves forward and not backward, and as +long as the years of work show an increased number of women fitted to +meet the changing conditions of the time, we do well to approve rather +than criticise, remembering that the problem is an exceedingly intricate +one, and one of which even the best-instructed foreigner can see only a +small part of the difficulty. + +The year 1901 sees the printing-press almost as much of a power in +Japan as in the Western world, and it is interesting to notice that +among the innumerable newspapers and magazines now published in the +country there are some twenty or more devoted exclusively to the +interests of women. To be sure, these women's magazines do not undertake +to furnish the loftiest intellectual pabulum, the best of them covering, +perhaps, the same range of subjects that is included in "Woman's +Journals" in the United States. They devote themselves largely to +lectures on morals and manners, and instruction as to how best to +perform the duties of the home. These magazines are for the most part +written and edited by men, many of them very young men, and serve to +show rather what men desire that women should think and do, than to give +any insight into the minds of the women themselves. With a combined +circulation of perhaps 40,000, they enter many homes, and do something, +at least, toward the general enlightening and quickening of the feminine +mind that is so noticeable in the Japan of to-day. In regard to the +general reading of Japanese women who have had the new education, my +own observation leads me to believe that they keep themselves well +informed of what is going on in their own country, and of the outside +world so far as it affects their own country; but that their interest in +the world at large is less than that of American women, and only in +exceptional cases do they care much for the sayings or doings of +foreigners. In this respect they differ widely from the men, whose minds +are reaching continually for new things to graft upon the old +civilization. + +In the whole list of publications on the woman question, nothing has +ever come out in Japan that compares for outspokenness and radical +sentiments with a book published within a year or two by Mr. Fukuzawa, +the most influential teacher that Japan has seen in this era of +enlightenment. It is in two parts, the first an attack, conducted with +much skill and humor, upon Kaibara's "Great Learning of Woman," a book +which for nearly four hundred years has been supposed to contain all +that a woman should know. The last part of Mr. Fukuzawa's work is a +constructive essay upon the "New Great Learning of Woman." So +revolutionary are the sentiments expressed in the book that many +Japanese men hesitate about allowing their wives and daughters to read +it, and in at least one modern Christian school it has been ruled out +from the school library as too advanced for the reading of the girls. A +brief survey of the sentiments and ideas thus boldly set forth will show +how far is the attitude of the Japanese from that of the American public +on the woman question. We find in Mr. Fukuzawa's book the lofty ideal +that belongs to the most advanced modern thought, but its promulgation +as a practical working ideal in Japan was of the nature of a +thunderclap. Among less tolerant races, men have been lynched, or burned +at the stake, for slighter departures from the average code of thought +and morals. + +Mr. Fukuzawa starts out with the proposition that women are quite equal +to men, and should hold equal position and influence. Although he allows +that woman's work in the world is quite distinct from that of man, he +holds that it is as important, and that she should have the same +property-holding privileges and rights. The greatest stress is laid on +the point that the same moral obligation for purity of life rests on the +husband as on the wife. He goes into the details of the unhappiness +resulting from concubinage, putting the duty of the husband in this +respect as equal to that of the wife to preserve her chastity, and as +this is, next to obedience, the virtue of virtues for a Japanese wife, +his argument is as strong as it could well be made. He insists that +women should demand as a right from their husbands and families the same +privileges and opportunities that men have in society. + +Such sentiments are a matter of course in America, and they have been +held by a few advanced thinkers in Japan, but no one hitherto has dared +in so vigorous and positive a way, and with arguments that come so near +home, to try to break the chain of custom that holds women down as +inferior beings. Kaibara says that if a woman finds her husband doing +wrong, she should gently plead with him, choosing a time when he is +most inclined to listen. If he refuses, she should not insist on his +hearing her, but wait until he is willing to listen, and though she may +try two or three times, she should never anger or irritate him. Fukuzawa +says that if this applies to the woman, it should also to the man,--that +is to say, if a man finds his wife unfaithful, he is to wait for an +opportunity when she is in good humor before he remonstrates with her. +Fukuzawa also throws new light on the duty of husbands and fathers to +their wives and children in another respect. He says that no man should +let the sole responsibility for the happiness of the home fall upon his +wife; that a man is responsible for the peace of the home as well as the +woman. This view of the matter is entirely new in Japan, as the +responsibility for an unhappy home is laid as a matter of course upon +the wife. The duty of a wife to her parents-in-law is also treated after +the same revolutionary manner. Is it to be wondered at that many men +fear the influence of such a book upon their gentle, submissive wives? +In this connection it is interesting, however, to note that at a recent +Shint[=o] wedding, after the religious ceremony, which in itself marks a +great step forward in the Japanese ideal of marriage, the priest who +united the couple presented to the bride a copy each of the Kaibara and +Fukuzawa books, perhaps with a view to letting her take her choice +between the old style and the new, perhaps that she might instruct her +husband out of the Fukuzawa book while she put in practice herself the +time-honored precepts of Kaibara. + + * * * * * + +One feature of the times in T[=o]ky[=o], that is perhaps worthy of passing +notice, is the tendency of women to form themselves into societies and +clubs for the attainment of some common object. Of these women's clubs, +the greater proportion are perhaps educational, the members meeting once +a month or once a fortnight to listen to a lecture upon some subject +that helps to keep them up with the times. There is also a patriotic +society, that concerns itself with raising money for sending supplies to +soldiers in the field, or for widows and orphans of soldiers, or to +help along some other patriotic enterprise. There are societies, too, +for general benevolence, or to help in carrying on the work of some one +institution. A glance at the membership lists of these associations +shows that the motive power is, in almost all cases, the same group of +earnest, educated women, who are, in this way and in countless others, +doing their utmost to broaden the horizons of their countrywomen, and +lead them out into a larger life. This is probably true in the other +cities in which a movement of women into clubs and societies is +noticeable. + +It is when the active women of the new way of thinking, whose lives and +thoughts are devoted to work and endeavor rather than to the passive +submission and self-abnegation of the old days, find themselves suddenly +placed among the surroundings of thirty years ago, that the change of +conditions becomes most evident. I cannot think of a better way to +illustrate this than to tell the story of one of my Japanese friends and +her visit to her husband's relatives in a distant provincial city. The +lady who told me the story is a stirring, capable young matron, +educated after the modern ways, who has spent most of her happy married +life of some fifteen or sixteen years entirely in T[=o]ky[=o], except +for a visit of a year to America. She bears a closer resemblance to many +kind-hearted, strong, energetic young American women than to the +old-time Japanese lady portrayed in these pages. She rises every morning +at five, attends to every detail of her housekeeping, watches carefully +and with educated common sense over her family of young children, +believes in good food, fresh air, and exercise, for boys and girls +alike, and is a helpful friend and good neighbor, filling to the full +the position of work and influence in which she is placed. Her husband +is a successful business man, whom frequent journeys across the Pacific +have made thoroughly cosmopolitan, and their children are accustomed to +a freedom from conventional restraints and a healthful diet and regimen +such as old Japan never knew. + +Last year the plan of spending the summer with the husband's relatives, +which had been long projected, was actually carried out, and the whole +family migrated to the provincial city from which the husband had +sprung. The aged mother, a gentlewoman of the old type, was delighted to +meet and entertain her daughter-in-law and grandchildren, and did her +best, with all old-fashioned courtesy, to make the visit a pleasant one. +The house was clean and spacious, the mats soft and white, the bows of +the lowest, the voices and speech the politest that Japan could furnish, +but the healthy, restless children found the conventional restraints +irksome, and the old-fashioned diet of rice and pickles, with hardly a +variation from morning till night and from week to week, was quite +different from the bountiful table to which they had been accustomed. +The younger woman could not criticise her mother-in-law's arrangements, +neither could she bear to see her children growing thin and pale before +her eyes. She consulted her husband, who, in accordance with the antique +ideas of propriety, was served his meals at a different time and in a +different room from his wife and family. To his food his mother had +always added various delicacies which her old-time Spartan spirit would +not allow her to set before her daughter-in-law and grandchildren. It +would have been quite contrary to her ideas of rank and etiquette for +her to make any modification of her ordinary fare for them. As the son +was already supplying the funds for carrying on his mother's +establishment, it occurred to him that he might increase her allowance +on the plea that her summer expenses must be heavy with so large an +addition to her household. But the old lady was sure that nothing more +was necessary, and would not think of burdening her son with any larger +expenses, and could not be induced to accept the offered increase. + +Another effort was made to get along upon the meagre fare, but the +youngest boy fell ill and had to be taken to a hospital, and the mother +decided that something must be done if all the family did not wish to +follow him. The happy thought occurred to her of buying something that +would be an addition to their scanty menu, and giving it as a present +to her mother-in-law. Now a present in Japan can never be refused, so it +seemed to the younger woman that she must have found a way of escape +from her difficulties. Of course, the present was accepted with many +thanks and expressions of unworthiness, and when the meal-hour arrived, +each member of the family found an infinitesimal quantity of the +delicacy in a small plate at his side. But as soon as the meal was over, +the dear old lady, who had by strict economy managed to leave the +greater part of the gift untouched, sent out to all the neighbors +presents from what had been intended to feed the hungry children at +home. The experiment was tried again and again, but always with the same +result. No present could be kept for family use alone. Of everything but +the barest necessaries, the greater part must be sent out in gifts to +others. + +At last the husband and wife put their heads together to decide on some +course of action that, without hurting the feelings of the older lady, +would secure sufficient nourishment for the children, and forthwith +began a series of all-day picnics to the noted places in the +vicinity,--picnics that included always a good meal at some well-kept +restaurant before the return to the old-fashioned fare of the +grandmother's house. In this way the summer was passed without further +illness, though the poor mother on her return to T[=o]ky[=o] spent several +weeks in bed,--what with starvation and worry and the effort to bear +heroically, and with a smiling face, the hard life and scanty fare that +were the life and fare of most of Japan only a few years ago. + +In the changes that the past few years have wrought, perhaps nothing is +more striking than the new openings for work that Japan now offers to +women. The growth of the public school system has made a demand for +women as teachers that is steadily increasing. Although in the normal +schools the proportion of women to men is still only one to six, and +while teaching, even in the primary schools, is not yet mainly in +feminine hands as it is with us, there is still a good showing of women +employed as teachers. From the figures of the school report of 1898, we +find over 10,000 women as teachers and assistants in the public and +private schools. The profession of nursing, too, which ten years ago was +just opening, has already drawn many women into its ranks. In the Red +Cross hospitals alone there are this year nearly a thousand nurses +taking the course, and a thousand graduates scattered throughout the +country hold themselves ready to answer the call of the society in the +time of need, in the mean time practicing their profession wherever they +may chance to be. The quality of the Red Cross graduates has been tested +now in two wars, and they show the soldierly virtues of their nation, as +well as the more womanly qualities of tenderness and gentleness; and a +self-respect that has kept them pure and free from stain in the midst of +severe temptation. It is impossible for me to gather statistics of the +work done by other institutions for the training of nurses, but the +figures given above may, I think, be doubled with absolute safety in +making an estimate of the total number of nurses trained and in training +throughout the empire. + +The growth of commerce and industry has greatly increased the demand +for feminine labor outside the home. In the old days the two most +important industries of the country, tea and silk, were mainly carried +on by women in their homes, but the use of modern machinery is rapidly +taking the weaving industries out of the homes and making factory hands +of the women and children.[44] + +[44] In the Japan _Mail_ of July 8, 1901, the following statistics of +women employees in factories in Japan were given:-- + + Manufacture. No. of Women. No. to 100 Men. + Raw Silk 107,348 93 + Cotton Spinning 53,053 79 + Matches 11,385 69 + Cotton Fabrics 10,656 86 + Tobacco 7,874 72 + Matting 1,641 59 + +One of the most noticeable effects of this new demand for female labor +is the extreme scarcity of servants. Although wages are nearly double +what they were ten years ago, it is extremely difficult for Japanese +housekeepers now to find servants to replace the old ones as they drop +out of the ranks, and the women who apply for positions are apt to be +far inferior to those who came to the same families to do the same work +ten years ago. + +In other ways, too, women are learning to fill new places in the world. +The telephone, which now connects towns and cities and villages in +Japan, employs girls in large numbers. In the printing-offices we find +women at work, not as compositors, but as compositors' assistants, +darting from case to case about the room and selecting for the +compositor the ideographs that he needs in his work. Inasmuch as a small +printing-office cannot get along with less than four thousand +characters, and as larger ones may have several times that number, the +need of quick-witted and quick-footed assistants to each compositor may +be easily recognized. As the schools turn out each year more girls +fitted by education to do this kind of work, and as the number of +newspapers and other printed matter is continually on the increase, the +demand for and supply of this special variety of labor are likely to +increase proportionately for some time to come. + +A few women are now making their way as reporters on the daily papers, +a few more are engaged in literary work. One of the best of modern +Japanese novelists was a woman, but she died several years ago at so +early an age that her work was a promise rather than a fulfillment. +Artists, too, there are, who are making names for themselves, as well as +a living, in a country where art is so common that success in that line +means hard work and special talent. A few young women support themselves +by stenography, a few more as clerks and secretaries in business +offices. Until a writing-machine has been invented that will write four +thousand characters, there will not be much demand for typewriter girls +in Japan outside of the treaty ports, where a few are now employed. The +Japanese government has found, as Uncle Sam discovered some time ago, +that for the counting of paper money women's fingers are more deft than +those of men, and it consequently gives employment to a few women in +that work. One railroad has recently begun to employ women as +ticket-sellers, and three medical schools have already graduated some +women physicians, though it is still doubtful whether there is any +great opening for them in the country. These are some of the ways in +which women now find themselves able to gain a little more independence +of life. The whole matter is so new that no statistics are available +that will show the exact extent of the demand for labor in these +directions, but from my own observation I am inclined to think that +there is little change in the employments of women except in the +neighborhood of the larger cities, and that the new occupations as yet +have a very slight effect upon the conditions in this country at large. + +It is not possible to understand the actual progress made in Japan in +improving the condition of women, without some consideration of the +effect that Christian thought and Christian lives have had on the +thought and lives of the modern Japanese. If Japanese women are ever to +be raised to the measure of opportunity accorded to women in Christian +countries, it can only be through the growth of Christianity in their +own country, and for that reason a study of that growth is pertinent to +a study of their condition. + +The past ten years in Japan have been discouraging to the missionaries +in many ways, and it is not unusual to hear from the less hopeful of +them the statement that their work has been at a standstill, or even +going backward, during that time. The statistics of missionary effort +show a steady, though slight, increase in the number of professing +Christians, but if the sum total of the results of missionary effort +were the number of converts made, it might, perhaps, be doubtful whether +the money spent on missions in Japan might not be better turned to other +purposes. There are now in Japan, of Christians of all sects, +Protestant, and Roman and Greek Catholic, 121,000, or about one half of +one per cent. of the total population of the country; but the influence +of these Christians as leaders of thought is out of all proportion to +their number. Christian men are found in the Diet, in the army and navy, +in the universities and colleges, and in the newspaper offices, in a +proportion far beyond their ratio to the total population, exerting +their influence in many ways for the uplifting of the nation to loftier +moral ideals. The proportion of Christian men and women in the +government schools with which I have been connected is rather +surprising. In the Higher Normal School, training young women to go out +into the whole country as teachers, the proportion of professing +Christians upon the teaching staff is striking; and in the Peeresses' +School, which is as conservative and anti-foreign as any educational +institution in Japan, there are five professing Christians among the +thirty-five teachers. While, on the one hand, the Japanese Christians +are not all models of all the virtues, while there is with many of them +a tendency to modify their Christianity so as to accommodate a +considerable amount of worldly wisdom, it is true, on the other hand, +that the most active workers in the cause of philanthropy are men who +have accepted the Christian faith, and who are striving in all +earnestness to model their lives after the life of Jesus of Nazareth. +The Christian Church in Japan to-day has its heroes and its +back-sliders, and has between these two extremes a rank and file of +every-day, commonplace men and women, who amidst frequent failures and +in the midst of many temptations are making the name of Christian stand +for a certain kind of life and a certain standard of virtue quite above +and beyond the lives and standards of their countrymen. It is largely +because of them that a Christian public opinion is growing up among +non-Christian Japanese. Men to-day who have no special leanings toward +Christianity shake their heads over vices and sins which a few years ago +were not even thought of as wrong. There is a great deal of talk about +the growth of moral depravity in the country, but as a matter of fact, +the standards of virtue have never been so high since Japan was opened +as they are to-day: it is only that Christian thought has held up a +mirror to an un-Christian society, in which it views all too clearly its +own defects. There is, to my mind, no more hopeful sign of the times +than the growing discouragement over the present condition of morals. +When there is added to this a steadily increasing respect for the +honesty and strength of character of Christian men and women, it must +mean that a great and lasting impression has been made. To-day banks, +business offices, and other places requiring trustworthy clerks and +employees, prefer, other things being equal, Christian young men, for it +is generally known that they are more worthy of confidence than the +majority of applicants for such places. + +One instance of this increased moral sensitiveness may be cited in the +recent successful efforts to limit the power of the brothel-keepers over +their victims and virtual slaves, the _j[=o]r[=o]_ or licensed +prostitutes. As I have stated in a previous chapter, the women who carry +on this business in Japan are, many of them, unwilling victims of a +system which allows parents to sell their children to a life of shame; +and they enter upon that life so young that they can hardly be regarded +as morally responsible for their condition. Even after the actual sale +of girls was forbidden by an imperial ordinance in 1872, the purchase +price was called a loan to the parents of the girl, and subsequent +loans for clothing entered upon the books of the establishment kept the +unfortunates so continually in debt to their masters that they could +never escape from the bondage in which they were held except through +death, or by purchase by some infatuated admirer. Public opinion, while +it indulged in some sentimental pity for the hard lot of the +_j[=o]r[=o]_, did little or nothing to aid any one who desired to help +them, regarding the profession as a necessary one, and caring not at all +for the injustice to which the girls were subjected. Ten or twelve years +ago, a movement started by some prominent Japanese Christians against +the _j[=o]roya_ fell flat for want of a public opinion behind it. +Speeches on the subject were hissed down by audiences of young men, and +nothing could be done to help even the most innocent and unhappy of the +girls to a better life. In the new code, perhaps as an effect of this +movement, a new law provided that the _j[=o]r[=o]_ might leave her +calling by giving notice to the police. A police regulation, however, +forbade any girl to cease her employment, or to leave the house in +which she was kept, unless her official notice of cessation was +countersigned by the keeper of the _j[=o]roya_, so that by her own +effort she could not free herself. + +In the year 1900, one of these girls in a provincial city appealed to an +American missionary for help in getting her liberty. Through his aid, +and that of his Japanese helpers, her case came before the court, which +decided that the contract under which she was held was opposed to the +public welfare and good morals, and that the keeper must affix his seal +to her notice without regard to her debt. Although the local police +refused to act in the matter, and although the missionary and his +helpers were subjected to personal violence by the employees of the +_j[=o]roya_, an appeal to the authorities at T[=o]ky[=o] resulted in an +enforcement of the court's decision, and the girl was freed. + +At this juncture the Salvation Army, which has a valiant contingent in +T[=o]ky[=o], and which was actually spoiling for a good fight with the +world, the flesh, and the Devil, in any form, took up the cause of the +oppressed _j[=o]r[=o]_. A special edition of the "War Cry" containing +appeals to the girls to leave their lives of shame, and offering aid to +any one who might apply to the Army, was published and hawked through +the Yoshiwara. When the keepers and their employees found out what the +strangely costumed news-venders were about, they charged down upon them, +and after a street fight, drove them out of the quarter. Thus the war +began, but the T[=o]ky[=o] police took up the matter, the T[=o]ky[=o] +press joined hands with the Salvationists, and in the end the whole +country was stirred to aid in the attack. In return, the brothel-keepers +and their employees, feeling that the profits of their business were at +stake, made it extremely warm for any Salvationists or newspaper +reporters who dared set foot in the disreputable quarters, and in their +zeal sometimes made mistakes and drove out their would-be patrons. The +office of one newspaper was wrecked by sympathetic roughs, and it took a +squad of fifty or sixty police to escort Army officers when they had +occasion to visit any of the houses to secure the release of a girl. No +lives were lost, though some hard knocks were received, and the work was +kept up with unabated noise on both sides, until every girl held in +unwilling bondage knew how she might escape and to whom she could go for +aid. + +During the month of September, 1900, as a direct result of the attacks +of and upon the Army, the number of visitors to these houses in +T[=o]ky[=o] was decreased by about 2,000 a night. On October 2, a +government ordinance was issued that at one stroke removed all obstacles +in the way of a girl's securing her freedom at any moment when she +wanted to leave the business. The new regulations made the descent to +Avernus as difficult as possible, and the return to the upper world a +mere step. In T[=o]ky[=o] alone, in the first four months after the +promulgation of this order, 1,100 out of the 6,335 girls who were +licensed as prostitutes left the houses in which they were employed, +most of them returning to their homes and families, and as many as +applied being cared for in the Rescue Home of the Salvation Army. The +places thus vacated are not easy to fill, because the keepers will not +advance money to the parents of a girl, now that they can no longer hold +her as security for the debt. In consequence, too, of the revelations of +the evils of the system, the business has fallen off alarmingly. Thus +many of the houses have been obliged to close, owing to lack of custom +and to inability to pay the heavy taxes. + +We have here the story of a successful attack on a system which has +existed in Japan for three hundred years, by a Christian agency acting +with the support of so strong a public opinion that police and +government have felt bound to obey its behests. There has been no more +striking example of the effect of Christian thought upon public +sentiment in any country than this crusade against the brothels in +Japan. When we remember that ten years ago it was not possible for a +speaker to attack the institution before an audience of students without +being silenced by hisses, it is interesting to note that this year, the +students of that same school greeted with applause and respectful +attention an address on this very subject. + +It seems to me rather striking that in the year 1900 fifty thousand +copies of the Bible were sold in Japan--more than of any other book. +Although the present translation is regarded as far from perfect, and +much of it is unintelligible to the average Japanese without +instruction, whether directly or indirectly, by mission workers, it is +still sought after and read for the sake of its literature, and because +of the reputation that has been gained for it throughout the country. +There are few missionaries of any experience in Japan who cannot tell +stories of men coming to them from country villages, who, through the +reading of a copy of the Bible in some way fallen into their hands, have +been brought by the beauty and nobility of the parts that they could +understand to seek additional explanation from some teacher or preacher. +One case that is amusing, but at the same time striking, I have heard +vouched for from a number of sources:-- + +Two thieves, one night, broke into the dormitory of a girls' school in +search of booty, and by chance awakened two of the girls. As they sat +up in their beds, wondering what was best to do under the circumstances, +one zealous damsel reached for the Bible in which she had been reading +before she went to sleep, and handed it to one of the thieves, saying, +"If you read this book, you will not want to steal any more." The other +girl followed her companion's example and gave her Bible to the other +thief. That was all, so far as the girls knew, and it was some years +before the sequel came to light. + +There is one place in Japan to which released convicts who are trying to +get back to respectability again drift from all parts of the empire. It +is a prisoners' home in T[=o]ky[=o], where one man, aided by his capable +and devoted wife, receives into his own family and gives aid and succor +to hundreds of society's outcasts. To this place came one day an +ex-convict who told a remarkable story of his conversion, and of his +desire to lead a new life. He had received a Bible from a little girl +one night in a house that he was robbing, but was too full of +professional engagements at the time to follow her advice and read it. +Later, however, as he was resting from his labors in the enforced +seclusion of a prison, he began to read, and spelled out enough to make +up his mind that he did not want to steal any more. Accordingly, as soon +as his term was ended, he made his way to the prisoners' refuge, and by +the aid of its founder and head, and his good wife, settled down to +steady habits of industry. Later, when the prison look had worn off from +his face and the prison gait from his walk, he returned to his family +and friends, where he is now a respectable member of the society upon +which he formerly preyed. + +There are other stories showing as deep impressions made on men of +culture and respectability, not so striking and amusing as this one, but +meaning as much, or even more, for the future of Japan. Such things are +hardly possible in Christian countries to-day, for there is little or no +novelty in the message that the old book brings to us; but to the +Japanese mind the thoughts are absolutely new in many ways, and the +reading alone will often change the whole life, because it lifts up the +nature to a higher set of ideals. + +As a direct effect of Christian thought upon the thought of the +Japanese nation, it is interesting to notice the change in meaning of +one word. In the teachings of Confucius the highest virtue is +benevolence, rendered into Japanese by the word _jin_; in the teachings +of Buddhism the highest virtue is mercy, or _jishi_. When the Christian +missionaries first came to Japan, there was no term in the language that +covered the thought of love as it is taught by Christ. For lack of +anything better, the word _ai_, which indicated the love of a superior +for an inferior, was made to do duty for the greater thought; and now +the old word _ai_, throughout the length and breadth of Japan, is +accepted and understood in its new meaning, a continual witness to the +effect of Christianity upon the national mind. Is this a little thing in +the education of a race that has shown in the past so great a capacity +for living up to its ideals? + +One more direct effect of Christian teaching upon Japanese society is +the great quickening of philanthropic and benevolent effort. Scattered +throughout the country are benevolent or educational societies, +orphanages, hospitals, free kindergartens, reform schools, and other +evidences of a desire on the part of the more fortunate to help the +unfortunate by some means or other; and if you study into the history of +any of these efforts, you will usually find that some Japanese +Christian, or some man who has come home impressed with the +philanthropies of Christian countries, has started the scheme, and has +created a society, and a public opinion behind the society, which +carries on the work. Even in the government institutions there is no +difficulty in tracing the influence of Christians and Christianity. The +Red Cross Society, with its seven thousand members, and its hospitals in +every prefecture of the empire, bears the sign of Christendom upon all +its property and employees. It seems to me quite safe to say that but +for the Christian influences of the past forty years, there would be +very little altruistic work done in Japan to-day; but by means of the +Christians and their teachings, the latest and best thought of the world +is working its way out in practical service for humanity in Japan, and +this service is ascribed by enlightened Buddhist and Shint[=o] believers +alike to the spirit of Christianity, which will not let the fortunate +rest while their less fortunate brothers are in want or sin. + +No one who studies the religious question in Japan at all can fail to +notice the extraordinary revivifying of Buddhism for what it feels to be +a life and death struggle with an alien faith. The disestablishment of +the Buddhist church by the government at the time of the restoration +must be credited with its share of the awakening process; for the +priests, finding their own support and that of the temples dependent +upon the voluntary contributions of worshipers, were forced to bestir +themselves as they had not done since the old missionary days, when they +were working for a foothold in the country. But without the competition +of Christianity, it is extremely doubtful whether their efforts would +have been turned so largely along educational and philanthropic lines, +whether the standard of intelligence among the priesthood would have +been so quickly raised, whether they would have sent young men abroad to +study Sanskrit and history with a view to a better understanding of +their own scriptures, or whether they would not rather have relied on +less radical methods of quickening the religious life within their body. +Certain it is that Buddhism, which upon its introduction into Japan +actually lowered the status of women, is now making a bid for public +favor by holding meetings and founding societies especially for women, +and is doing its best to increase their self-respect and the respect in +which they are held by society. + +An interesting story which throws some light upon the new influence that +is at work among the Buddhists came to me not long ago through a +Japanese friend. There were two brothers living in a poor little village +on the northern coast of Japan, who were joint heirs to a small piece of +property. As the land was not enough for the support of two families, +the elder brother, a gentle, thoughtful youth, gave up all title to his +share of the inheritance and entered a Buddhist monastery. In the quiet +of this retreat, amid the beautiful surroundings, the daily services, +the chanting of priests, and the mellow booming of the great monastery +bell, his thoughts went out to the poor and the sinful among his own +people. He began to feel that a life which seeks merely spiritual uplift +for itself is not the highest life, and that only as spiritual gain is +shared with others is it real and lasting. Forthwith he began a life of +helpfulness to the poor about him,--of teaching and preaching and good +deeds that won him many humble friends. Within the monastery, however, +his work was not approved. His ideas and actions were not in harmony +with the teachings of the sect. He was first disciplined and then +expelled, and found his way back at last, penniless, to his native +village. + +Now, in northern Japan the winters are long and hard, and the most +industrious of farmers and fisher-folk can wring only a bare subsistence +from the conditions of their toil. It is from these villages, perhaps, +more than from any other sources, that the girls are obtained to supply +the _j[=o]roya_ of the great cities. At any rate, in this particular +village, the only hope that any girl possessed of escaping from the hard +home toil was by the sale of her person, and the thought of seeing the +great cities, of wearing beautiful dresses, of being admired and petted, +and perhaps at last of marrying some rich lover and becoming a great +lady, was a tempting bait to these poor peasant girls. To this young +man, whose soul had been awakened to a new sensitiveness during his +absence, the full horror of the conditions that could so warp and dwarf +the souls of women appealed as it had never done before. He must do +something to help them, but what to do his previous experience did not +help him to know. He sought for aid and sympathy in his native place, +among his friends and co-religionists; but the state of affairs was too +old and too familiar to excite interest, and at last he worked his way +to the capital, feeling that somewhere in that great city he would find +light on the question that perplexed him. It was a mere question of ways +and means--how to begin a work which he felt driven from within to do. +In T[=o]ky[=o], as he inquired among his friends, he was told that +Christians knew all about the kind of work that he wished to begin, that +he must go to them and study their methods, if he would help the people +of his native village. So the devout young Buddhist, who had found in +his own faith the divine impulse, turned to the study of what Christians +had done and were doing for the unfortunate. The story is not finished +yet. We cannot tell whether in the end it will result in another +addition to the ranks of the Japanese Christians, or whether it will aid +in the quickening that has come to Buddhism, but, whatever way it ends, +it shows in a concrete example what Christianity is now doing for Japan, +and especially for the women of the country. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +_The following Notes refer to passages marked by asterisks in the +foregoing pages._ + + +_Page 3._ + +The father, or the head of the family, usually names the children, but +some friend or patron may be asked to do it. As, until recently, the +name given a child in infancy was not the one that he was expected to +bear through life, the choice of a name was not a matter of as much +importance as it is with us. In some families the boys are called by +names indicating their position in the family, the words _Taro_, "Big +one," _Jiro_, "Second one," _Saburo_, "Third one," _Shiro_, "Fourth +one," _Goro_, "Fifth one," etc., being used alone, or placed after +adjectives indicating some quality that it is hoped the child may +possess. Such combinations are, _Eitaro_, "Glorious big one," _Seijiro_, +"Pure second one," _Tomisaburo_, "Rich third one," and so on. + + +_Page 4._ + +To speak with greater exactness, the _miya mairi_ of a boy is on the +thirty-first day of his life,--of a girl, on the thirty-third. + + +_Page 8._ + +T[=o]ky[=o] just now shows a tendency to change this national custom. +Gayly painted wicker baby carriages with cotton awnings are seen in +large quantities in the shops, and one meets mothers and little sisters +of the lower classes, propelling the baby in a little four-wheeled wagon +instead of wearing it on the back, as formerly. These carriages are, of +course, the exception, and may prove to be but a passing T[=o]ky[=o] +fashion, but they seem to me to mark another step in the modernizing of +Japan, and may prove of value in the physical development of the common +people. + + +_Page 11._ + +In the T[=o]ky[=o] of 1891 butchers and milkmen were very little in +evidence, as the demand for their wares came mainly from the few +foreigners and foreign restaurants in the city. In 1901 a walk of half a +mile or so in the neighborhood of Kojimachi, one of the principal +business streets in a purely Japanese section of the city, shows five +meat shops; and milkmen, in westernized shirts and knickerbockers, with +golf-stockings and straw sandals, draw their gay-colored carts +everywhere through the city, and call at a large proportion of the +houses. Condensed milk, too, is to be found on the shelves of every +provision store, together with canned and dried meats, and the +restaurants where foreign food is served are distributed throughout the +entire city, and do a thriving business on Japanese patronage. The less +extravagant country people declare that T[=o]ky[=o] is "eating itself +up," but so far no terrible increase of indebtedness seems to follow the +change in the standard of living. It is interesting to note that the +scalp troubles referred to on page 11 seem to have greatly lessened in +the last ten years, whether because of the change in the food or for +other reasons, I cannot determine. + + +_Page 24._ + +Twice, after the _miya mairi_ of her babyhood, does our little maid +repair to the temple to seek the blessing of her patron god upon a step +forward in her short life: once, when at the age of three, the hair on +her small head, which until then has been shaved in fancy patterns, is +allowed to begin its growth toward the coiffure of womanhood; and once, +when she has attained her seventh year, and exchanges the soft, narrow +sash of infancy for the stiff, wide _obi_ which is the pride of every +well-dressed Japanese woman. Her little brother, too, though now no +longer destined to wear the hammer-shaped queue of the old-time Japanese +warrior, and whose fuzzy black head is now usually left unshaven in his +babyhood, still goes to the temple at the age of three to give thanks, +and when he comes to be five years old, the little boy again goes up to +the temple, this time wearing for the first time the manly _hakama_, or +kilt-pleated trousers, and makes offerings to the god who has protected +him thus far. + +The day set for these ceremonies is the 15th of November, and there is +no prettier sight in all Japan than a popular temple on that day. All +the streets that converge on the shrine are crowded with gayly dressed +children hurrying along to make their offerings, accompanied by parents +brimming with pride and pleasure. + + "Small feet are pattering, wooden shoes clattering, + Little hands clapping, and little tongues chattering:" + +three-year-old tots of both sexes trudging sturdily along on their +clogs: square little red-cheeked boys, their black eyes shining with +pride in their rustling new silk _hakama_, feeling that they are big +boys and no longer to be confused with the babies that they were +yesterday: here, too, are the graceful seven-year-old maidens, their +many-colored garments and their gorgeous new _obi_ setting off to +advantage their shining black hair and sparkling eyes. The children are +so many, so happy, and so impressed with the fun that it is to be older +than they were, that the grown folks who accompany them seem like +shadows; the only real thing is the children. + +Within the temple precincts all the candy-sellers and toy-merchants who +can find standing-room for a stall are doing a brisk trade. Flags are +flying, drums are beating, a _kagura_ dance is going on in the pavilion, +about which stands a crowd of youngsters twittering like sparrows, and +the steps that lead to the temple itself are as thronged as Jacob's +ladder with little ones ascending and descending. Within the shrine the +white-robed priests are hard at work from morning to night. A little +company forms in the vestibule, goes to the priest in the first room, +where they bow and make their offerings, and wait until there is space +for them in the inner sanctuary. From within comes the sound of a +droning chant, which ends at last, and then a party that has finished +its worship issues forth, and those who have been waiting without go in; +and when the few minutes of worship are over, and the amulet that +rewards the due observance of the day has been received, there are the +dances to be seen, and the _o miyage_ to be purchased, and at last the +happy party returns, feeling that one more milestone on the journey of +life has been passed propitiously. + + +_Page 30._ + +The _shir[=o]zake_ (white _sake_) used for this occasion is a curious +drink, thick and white, made from pounded rice, and brewed especially +for this feast. Some antiquarians believe that it is simply the earliest +form of _sake_, the national beverage, which has been preserved in this +ancient observance as the fly is preserved in amber. + + +_Page 31._ + +The keeping of a feast on the third day of the third month is a custom +that has come down from very ancient times. At first the day was set +apart for the purification of the people, and a part of the ceremony was +the rubbing of the body with bits of white paper, roughly cut into the +semblance of a white-robed priest. These paper dolls were believed to +take away the sins of the year. When they had been used for +purification, they were inscribed with the sex and birth-year of the +user and thrown into the river. The third month was also, in early +times, the season for cock-fighting among the men, and for doll-playing +among the women. The special name by which the dolls of the Doll Feast +are called is _O Hina Sama_. Now _hina_ in modern Japanese means a +chicken or other young bird, and is never used to mean anything else +except the dolls; thus the dolls are shown to be associated with the +ancient cock-fighting, an amusement which has now almost gone out, +except in the province of Tosa on the island of Shikoku. + +The oldest dolls did not represent the Emperor and Empress, but simply a +man and a woman, and were modeled closely after the old white paper +dolls of the religious ceremony. When the Tokugawa Sh[=o]guns had firmly +established their splendid court at Yedo, a decree was issued +designating the five feast days upon which the daimi[=o]s were to +present themselves at the Sh[=o]gun's palace and offer their +congratulations. One of the days thus appointed was the third day of the +third month. It is believed that the giving of the chief place at the +feast to effigies of the Emperor and Empress was a part of the policy of +the Sh[=o]gunate,--a policy which aimed to keep alive the spirit of +loyalty to the throne, while at the same time the occupant of the throne +remained a puppet in the hands of his vice-gerent. + +Each girl born into a family has a pair of _O Hina Sama_ placed for her +upon the red-covered shelf, on the first Feast of Dolls that comes after +her birth. When, as a bride, she goes to her husband's house, she +carries the dolls with her, and the first feast after her marriage she +observes with special ceremonies. Until she has a daughter old enough +to carry out the observance, she must keep up the ceremony. The feast, +as it exists to-day, is said by the Japanese to serve three purposes: it +makes the children of both sexes loyal to the imperial family, it +interests the girls in housekeeping, and it trains them in ceremonial +etiquette. + + +_Page 40._ + +Because of the complexity of the Chinese language and the time needed +for its mastery, there has been a movement to lessen the study of pure +Chinese in the government schools, or abolish it altogether, and with +this to simplify the use of the ideographs in the Sinico-Japanese. The +educational department is requiring that text-books be limited in their +use of ideographs; that those used be written in only one way and that +the simplest, and that the _kana_ (the Japanese syllabary) be +substituted wherever possible. Several plans for reform in this matter +are being agitated, one of which is to limit the use of ideographs to +nouns and verbs only. + + +_Page 41._ + +No one who has been in Japan can have failed to notice the peculiarly +strident quality of the Japanese voice in singing, a quality that is +gained by professional singers through much labor and actual physical +suffering. That this is not a natural characteristic of the Japanese +voice is shown by the fact that in speaking, the voices, both of +children and adults, are low and sweet. It seems to me to be brought +about by the pursuit of a wrong musical ideal, or at least, of a musical +ideal quite distinct from that of the Western world. In Japan one seldom +finds singing birds kept in cages, but instead crickets, grasshoppers, +katydids, and other noisy members of the insect family may be seen +exposed for sale in the daintiest of cages any summer night in the +T[=o]ky[=o] streets. These insects delight the ears of the Japanese with +their melody, and it seems to me that the voices of singers throughout +the empire are modeled after the shrill, rattling chirp of the insect, +rather than after the fuller notes of the bird's song. + +The introduction of European music by the schools and churches has +already begun to show in the songs of the children in the streets, and +where ten years ago one might live in T[=o]ky[=o] for a year, and never +hear a note of music except the semi-musical cries of the workmen, when +they are pulling or striking in concert, now there are few days when +some strain of song from some passing school-child does not come in at +the window of one's house in any quarter of the city. The progress made +in catching foreign ideas of time and tune is quite surprising, but the +singing will never be acceptable to the foreign ear until the voice is +modulated according to the foreign standards. + + +_Page 45._ + +It is said by Japanese versed in the most refined ways that a woman who +has learned the tea ceremony thoroughly is easily known by her superior +bearing and manner on all occasions. + + +_Page 49._ + +Whatever plant she begins with is taken up in a series of +studies,--leaves, flowers, roots, and stalks being shown in every +possible position and combination,--until not only the stroke is +mastered, but the plant is thoroughly known. In the book that lies +before me as I write, a book used as a copy-book by a young lady +beginning the practice of the art, the teacher has devoted six large +pages to studies of one small and simple flower and the pupil has +covered hundreds of sheets of paper with efforts to imitate the designs. +She has now finished that part of the course, and can, at a moment's +notice, reproduce with just the right strokes any of the designs or any +part of the plant. The next step forward will be a similar series of +bamboo. + + +_Page 52._ + +In the government schools for girls, much attention is paid just now to +physical culture. The gymnastic exercises rank with the Chinese and +English and mathematics as important parts of the course, and the girls +are encouraged to spend their recesses out-of-doors, engaging in all +kinds of athletic sports. Races, ball games, tugs-of-war, marches, and +quadrilles are entered into with zest and enjoyment, and the girls in +their dark red _hakama_ are as well able to move quickly and freely as +girls of the same age in America. If it were not for the queer +pigeon-toed gait, acquired by years of walking in narrow _kimono_ and on +high clogs, the Japanese girls would be fully abreast of the American in +all these sports. So strongly has the idea of the necessity for physical +strength seized upon the nation, that a girl of delicate physique has +less chance of marriage than one who is robust and strong. + + +_Page 55._ + +It is in the mistakes and failures made in adapting the education given +in the schools to the exact conditions that present themselves in the +constantly changing Japan of to-day, that the opponents of all +alteration in the education of women find their strongest arguments. The +conservatives point with scorn to this girl whose new ideas have led +her into folly or trouble, or to that one whose health has been broken +down by the adverse conditions surrounding her student life, and say, +"This will be the case with all our women if we continue this insane +practice of educating them along new lines." Advance in female +education, as in all other lines of progress in Japan, is a series of +violent actions and reactions. In 1889, partly through ill-advised +conduct on the part of supporters of the cause, one of the most serious +reverses that has come in the progress of Western education for women +began to show itself. The reaction was helped along by a paper read +before some of the most influential men of Japan, and subsequently +reported and discussed in the newspapers, by a German professor in the +medical department of the imperial University in T[=o]ky[=o]. The paper +was a serious warning to the men of the country that no women could be +good wives, mothers, and housekeepers and at the same time have +undergone a thorough literary education. The arguments were reinforced +by statistics showing that American college women either did not marry, +or that if they married they had very few children. All Japan took +fright at this alarming showing, and for several years the education of +girls in anything more than the primary studies was not encouraged by +the government. The lowest depth of this reaction was reached during or +soon after the Japan-China war, when the growth of national vanity +resulted in a temporary disdain for all foreign ideas. The tide has +turned again now, girls' schools that have been closed for years are +being reopened, young men who are thinking of marrying are looking for +educated wives, and among the women themselves there is a strong desire +for self-improvement. Under this impulse a new generation of educated +women will be added to those already exerting an influence in the +country, and it is to be hoped that the forward movement will be more +difficult to set back when the next reactionary wave strikes the +Japanese coast. + + +_Page 60._ + +The _obi_ is supposed to express by its length the hope that the +marriage may be an enduring one. Among the more modernized Japanese a +ring is now often given in place of, or, in the wealthier classes, in +addition to the _obi_. + + +_Page 61, line 6._ + +It is interesting, however, as a sign of the times, to notice that for +the wedding of the Crown Prince, in May, 1900, the Shinto high priest, +who is master of ceremonies at the Imperial Court, instituted a solemn +religious ceremony within the sanctuary of the palace. Following the +example set in so high a quarter, a number of couples, during the winter +of 1900-1901, have repaired to Shinto temples in various parts of the +empire, to secure the sanction of the ancient national faith upon their +union. But still, for the great majority of the Japanese, the wedding +ceremony is what it has always been. + + +_Page 61, line 15._ + +Although new methods of transportation have come into use now in most of +the Japanese cities, and wheeled carts drawn by men or horses are used +for carrying all other kinds of luggage, the wedding outfit, wrapped in +great cloths on which the crest of the bride's family is conspicuous, is +borne on men's shoulders to the bridegroom's home, the length of the +baggage train and the number and size of the burdens showing the wealth +and importance of the bride's family. The bride who goes to her +husband's house well provided by her own family, will carry, not only a +full wardrobe and the house-furnishings already mentioned, but will be +supplied, so far as foresight can manage it, with all the little things +that she can need for months in advance. Paper, pens, ink, postage +stamps, needles, thread, and sewing materials of all kinds, a store of +dress materials and other things to be given as presents to any and all +who may do her favors, and pocket money with which she may make good any +deficiencies, or meet any unforeseen emergency. When she goes from her +father's house, she should be so thoroughly fitted out that she will not +have to ask her husband for the smallest thing for a number of months. +The parents of the bride, in giving up their daughter, as they do when +she marries, show the estimation in which they have held her by the +beauty and completeness of the trousseau with which they provide her. +The expense of this wedding outfit is often very great, persons even in +the most moderate circumstances spending as much as one thousand yen +upon the necessary purchases, and among the wealthy, four thousand to +five thousand yen is not extravagant. As material wealth increases in +Japan, there is a marked tendency to increase the style and cost of the +trousseau, and the marriage of a daughter has come to be, in many cases, +a severe strain on the family finances. But this outfit is of the nature +of a dowry, for it is her very own; and in the event of a divorce, she +brings back with her to her father's house the clothing and household +goods that she carried away as a bride. + + +_Page 64._ + +For this visit the bride wears for the first time a dress made for her +by her husband's family and bearing its crest, as a sign that she is +now a member of that family and only a guest in her father's house. + + +_Page 76._ + +Since the adoption of the new code, the conditions of marriage and of +divorce have been altered for the better. At present no divorce is +possible except through the courts or through mutual consent; the simple +change of registration by one party or the other does not constitute a +legal divorce. Even a divorce by mutual consent cannot be arranged +without the consent of the parents or head of the family of a married +person who is under twenty-five years of age. The grounds upon which +judicial divorce may be granted seem very trivial measured by European +standards, but, on the other hand, they are a distinct gain over the +former practice. The wife is no longer dependent for her position simply +upon the whim of her husband, but, unless he can secure her consent to +the separation, he must formulate charges of immorality or conviction of +crime, or of cruel treatment or grave insult on the part of the wife or +of her relatives, or of desertion, or of disappearance for a period of +three years or more. Only when some such charge has been made and proved +before a court can a husband send away his wife. In the case of a +separation by mutual consent, though the law still gives the care of the +children to the father in case no previous agreement has been made, if a +woman sees her way clear to supporting them, she may stipulate for the +custody of one or more of them as a condition of her consent to the +divorce. In a judicial divorce, the judge may, in the interests of the +children, take them away from their father and assign them to the care +of some other person. + +In these changes we can see a distinct advance toward permanence of the +family tie; and we can see, too, that the wife has gained a new power to +hold her own against injustice and wrong. That when the people have +become used to these changes, other and more binding laws will be +enacted, we can feel pretty sure, for the drift of enlightened public +opinion seems to be in favor of securing better and more firmly +established homes just as fast as "the hardness of their hearts" will +permit. + + +_Page 84._ + +It is difficult for us in America, who live under customs and laws in +which the individual is the social unit and the family a union of +individuals, to understand a system of society in which the individual +is little or nothing and the family the social unit recognized both by +law and custom. In Japan, a man is simply a member of some family, and +his daily affairs, his marrying and giving in marriage, are more or less +under the control of the head of his family, or of the family council. +Only in case he is the head of the family is he able to marry without +securing some one's consent, and then his responsibilities in regard to +the headship may in themselves hamper him. If this is the case with the +more independent man, it may be imagined how completely the woman is +submerged under family influence. She may, under exceptional +circumstances, become the head of a family, but this is usually only a +temporary expedient, and even then she must subordinate herself more +completely to the family and its interests than when she occupies a +lowlier place. + +The headship of an unmarried woman lasts only until a husband has been +selected for her, and the headship of a widow lasts during her +guardianship of the rightful heir to the position. By Japanese law a +widow is always the guardian of her minor children. + +The only way in which individuality before the law can be obtained by +man or woman in Japan is through cutting the tie that binds to the +family, and starting out in life afresh as the head of a new family. +This new family must always be _heimin_, or plebeian, no matter how high +in rank may have been the family from which the founder has gone out, +but there is a continually increasing number of young men and women who +prefer the freedom that comes from the headship of a small and new +family, even if of low rank, to the state of tutelage or of hampering +responsibility which must accompany connection with a larger and older +social group. It seems likely that through this means an evolution from +the family to the individual system will be effected, as the nation +grows more and more modernized in its way of looking at things. + +For the Japanese woman, as I have already said, marriage is in most +cases the entrance into a new family. She is cut off from the old ways +and interests, in which she has until now had her part, and she has +begun life anew as the latest addition to and therefore the lowest and +most ignorant member of another social group. It is her duty simply to +learn the ways and obey the will of those above her, and it is the duty +of those above her, and especially of her husband's mother, to fit her +by training and discipline for her new surroundings. The physical +strength of the young wife, her sweetness of temper, her manners, her +morals, her way of looking at life, are all put to the test by this +sharp-eyed guardian of the family interests, and woe to the younger +woman if she fail to come up to the standard set. She may be a good +woman and a faithful wife, but if, under the training given her, she +does not adapt herself readily to the traditions and customs of the +family she enters, it is more than likely, even under the new laws, that +she may be sent back to her father's house as _persona non grata_, and +even her husband's love cannot save her. It is because of this +predominance of the family over the individual that the young wife, when +she enters her husband's home, is not, as in our own country, entering +upon a new life as mistress of a house, with absolute control over all +of her little domain. + + +_Page 115._ + +At the time of the celebration of his silver wedding, in 1895, the +Emperor came into the Audience Room with the Empress on his arm, an +example which was followed by the Imperial Princes. + +With the engagement and marriage of the Crown Prince, in May, 1900, an +entirely new precedent was established in the relations of the Imperial +couple. The Western idea of marriage between equals has never existed in +the Japanese mind in its thought of the union between their Emperor and +Empress. The Empress, though of noble family, was chosen from among the +subjects of the Emperor, and the marriage was of the nature of an +appointment by the Emperor to the position of Imperial Consort, just as +any other appointment might have been made of a subject to fill an +important position in the government. In the marriage of the Crown +Prince a very different course was pursued. While no departure was made +from the old precedents in the selection of a Princess from one of the +five families that trace their descent from Jimmu Tenno, the whole +manner of obtaining the bride was different from anything that Japan had +before known. The Prince asked the father of the young lady to give her +to him just as a common man might have done, and everything in the +preliminary arrangements was carried out with the idea that by the +marriage she was to be raised to his rank and position. Reference has +already been made to the religious ceremony that was devised for the +occasion, an act that in itself altered the meaning of marriage for the +whole nation. + +Since the wedding, rumors have floated to the world outside of the +palace gates, of the kindness and consideration with which the young +wife is treated by her husband. To the scandal of some of the more +old-fashioned of the Prince's attendants, the heir to the throne insists +on observing toward his wife, in private as well as in public, all the +minutiae of Western etiquette. She enters the carriage ahead of him when +they drive together, they habitually take their meals together, and he +finds in her a cheerful companion and friend, and not simply a devoted +and humble servant. In this way, by the highest example that can be set +to them, the Japanese people are learning a new lesson. + +All these things have a deep significance in showing that the sacredness +of the marriage tie is gradually being recognized. + + +_Page 137._ + +Something, indeed, may be said on the other side in regard to this +system, which I seem to have painted as ideal. If in America we find the +burden of expensive grown-up sons and daughters sometimes too heavy upon +parents whose powers are on the wane, we must remember that in Japan a +young man is often seriously handicapped at the beginning of his active +life by the early retirement of his father from self-supporting labor, +and that the young wife entering the home of her parents-in-law often +finds a happy married life rendered impossible by the fact that she must +please an elderly couple thoroughly fixed in their ways,--the rulers of +the household and with little to do but rule. With this custom, as with +all human customs, everything in the long run depends upon how it is +used, and without deep affection between parents and children there +seems to be as much danger from the serious handicapping of the rising +generation by selfish and inconsiderate parents in Japan, as there is in +America of the wearing out of the older people's lives and strength in +the service of ungrateful and lazy children. + + +_Page 152._ + +The bed on which the Empress sleeps is made of heavy _futons_, or +quilts, of white _habutai_ wadded with silk wadding. The bedclothing +consists of as many similar _futons_ as the state of the weather may +require. Every month new _futons_ are provided for Her Majesty, and the +discarded ones are given to one of her attendants. The happy recipient +is thus provided with wadding enough for all her winter dresses for the +rest of her life, as well as with a good supply of dress material. + + +_Page 157._ + +Only those who have seen the inner life of the court can realize the +difficulties which have attended every step of the Empress Haru's way, +for the court has been the scene of great struggles between the +conservative and radical elements. Mean and petty jealousies have moved +those surrounding the throne. The slightest word or token from the +Empress would be used as a weapon for private ends. To move among these +varied and discordant factions, and to move for progress, without +causing undue friction, has been a task more difficult than the conquest +of armies, and to do so successfully has required almost infinite +patience, sympathy, and love. + + +_Page 168._ + +And now, after thirty-three years of the enlightened rule of the present +Emperor, and of the beneficent life and example of the Empress Haru, is +there any assurance that the progress made during their occupation of +the throne will be continued in the lives of Japan's future rulers? + +Prince Haru, or Yoshihito, is now a man twenty-two years of age, with +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 role 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 _mekake_. 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 aesthetic 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 Ume 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 aesthetic 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 _sake_. The _sake_ 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 _sake_. 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 _sake_, 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. + +Ane San, or Ne 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. + +Be be, 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_ Geisha. + +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. + +Geisha, a professional dancing and singing girl, 286-289. + +Geisha ya, an establishment where geishas may be hired, 286. + +Geta, 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 crepe, 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. + +Heimin, 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. + +Hideyoshi. _See_ Toyotomi. + +Hinin, a class of paupers, 228. + +Hiyei 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. + +Ise, 231. + +Iwafuji, 210-213. + +Iwakura, Prince, 157. + +Iya, a child's word, denoting dislike or negation, 16. + +Iyemits[)u], 171, 172. + +Iyeyas[)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. + +Kakemono, a hanging scroll, 44, 147, 238. + +Kameido, 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. + +Kuge, 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. + +Marumage, 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. + +Meiji (Enlightened Rule), the name of the era that began with the +accession of the present Emperor in 1868, 149. + +Mekake, 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. + +Ne San. _See_ Ane 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 miyage, a present given on returning from a journey or pleasure +excursion, 274. + +Oni, a devil or goblin, 33, 466. + +Onoye, 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. + +Sake, 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]zake, a sweet white sake 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-sei, 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 Hideyoshi, 232. + +Training-schools for nurses, 158, 398. + +Trousseau, 61, 436. + +Tsuda, Miss Ume, viii, 458. + + +Utsunomiya, 70, 71. + +Uyeno 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 Dake, 215. + +Yasaku, 324; + marriage and divorce of, 69-73. + +Yase, 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. + +Acute accents in the word "_H[=e]'-h[=e]'_" have been changed to +apostrophes. All other accents have been removed. + +The following corrections and changes were also made: + +p. 175: daimios' to daimi[=o]s' (and daimi[=o]s' houses) + +p. 429: accents added to Sh[=o]guns, Sh[=o]gun's, and Sh[=o]gunate + +p. 428: shirozake to shir[=o]zake (The _shir[=o]zake_ (white _sake_)) + +p. 437: oufit to outfit (But this outfit) + +p. 473: Be-be to Be be (Index entry) + +p. 475: Index entry for "Girlhood, 17-34." added (Index entry +"Childhood. _See_ Girlhood." originally pointed to non-existent 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: Onouye to Onoye (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 + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JAPANESE GIRLS AND WOMEN *** + +***** This file should be named 32449.txt or 32449.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/4/4/32449/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |