Mariposa Democrat., 1858-03-04
Japan aud the Japanese.

tute, by II. H. Doty, Esq, of Philadelphia.
His subject" Japan and the japanese" For
several months the lecturer resided among
that strange and isolated people, and became
familiar with their government and social and
business customs. He said that there are two
Emperors, a secular and religious; the latter
of whom, however, was never consulted, ex-
cept in matters of foreign affairs The govern
ment is despotc, and the will of the Emperor
is the law. To guard against the possibility Of
revolution, there are numberless spies appoint
ed to watch the government officers, who, in
turn, are watched by secret agents, so that
anything said or done is at once communicated
to the Emperor at Jeddo
The country is divided into provinces, which
are ruled by governors with vice governors,
secretaries and spies. These officers hold their
places for about three years, when they return
to the capital, and remain out of service for
about the same period, when they are appointed
to other places Their families are required to
remain at the capital as hostages for their good
conduct and an offensc against the govern
ment visits punishment upon the family of the
offender, as well as upon himself. There is
one way, however, by which the family may
be saved from disgrace, and that is by resort
to what is there termed the "happy dispatch" {"
Every officer wears sword of about eighteen
inches long, the blade of which is kept very
sharp, and if he commits an offense he can
save his family from disgrace by ripping open
his bowels and then cutting his throat. If he
fails to do that he is exposed as a coward and
punished afterwards with DEATH The govern
ment is always suspicious, and to avoid the
gathering of strength of families, none but the
first son of family can take the name of the
father, all the others having different names,
which are registered in proper office for that
purpose; and when they remove from one
place to another their names are changed, SO
that in few years all family ties are lost. The
first son inherts all the real and personal estate
of the father
There are several distinct classes Of society,
the first Of which are the hereditary princes
then the governors, military officers and spies
and the merchant is looked upon as a base
hireling who subsists on the labor of others
In the administration Of the laws there is equa
Justice; the high and low, rich and poor, noble
and ignoble all have justice without money
and the nice points of law, through which in
this country criminals so often escape, are there
all directed against the offender.
The women were never elevated by marriage
but if man married woman beneath him il
rank he was obliged to descend to her position
He had seen some of the most beautiful women
in Japan before marriage. When young lady
is engaged to be married she stains black one
of her front teeth, and after marriage she blacks
the whole of her teeth and shaves off the eye
brows, presenting a disgusting appearance
In stature the people are Of medium height
with muscular limbs, black hair and eyes, light
olive complexion, and in feature resembling
the Anglo-Saxon race.
The commerce of the country is very large
but confined to the transportation of the pro
ducts Of the south to the north and those o
the north to the south. The whole coast is lined
with their ships and their seamen are forbid
den to hold communication with any barba
rans, as they term the rest of the world. II
seaman is shipwrecked on foreign coast and
returns to Japan he is put to death or confined
within circumscrbed limits for the remainder
of his life, so fearful is the government that the
people will gain some knowledge of the world
without.
The various islands forming the empire o
Japan comprise every kind of climate; those
Of the south producing rice, tobacco, silk and
all the tropical fruits, while that of the north
produces wheat corn, buckwhcat, potatoes and
all the fruits of this country. In the south
there is perpetual summer, while at the north
there are the spring, Summer, autumn anc
winter seasons.
The whole amount of land allotted to each
man to work is about half acre, and so nee
essary is it that all should be brought into
requisiton to produce supplies for the immense
population, that the sides of the mountains are
terraced from the base to the apex, some o.
them having the appearance of flights of steps
The people live in villages situated about three
miles apart, and there is rarely to be found q
house on the roadside, except it be an inn fol
the refreshment of strangers. The people ar'
honest, industrious, courageous and social
They are honest, because the stores and houses
are never locked-whetber it be from fear o
the consequences of the strict surveillance o
the police, or an innate principle In many o
the mechanic arts they excel, especially il
carving wood and ivory, and in gold and silvei
ornaments, and in the manufacture of silks
They are very social in their habits, and he
had never met with more hospitality than from
that people when they were out of the sight
the spies. On several occasions he made ex
cursions into the country, where the people