Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-06-19
MISCELLANEOUS
The

The Ja2ancse.
\ correspondent of the Baltimore American
gives some interesting i;ems relating to the
,Tananese. We extract the following:
SOCIAL AN DOMESTIC L.lF: or WIVES.
The Jauaucse women are subjected 10 no
iealans serluSion, but hold 4 fair station in So
cictv, and share in all the i~onoccpt rccrcations
of their fathers and husbands. Death would
be the consequence OF detection III a fragrant
violation OF confidence. The Japanese ladies
are generally lively and agreeable companions,
and Inc case and rloqurnce Of their manner
have been highly cxlo!!cl. But still, during
their whole lives they are kept i'll Il state Of
,utelagc: that is. Of complete dependence upon
their husbands. sons, or other relatives. They
have no legal rights. and their evidence is rot
admitted in a court .! justice. The japanese
husband, under all circumstances. Is obliged 10
support his rcrntcd wife, according 10 las sta
tioa, unless he can produce gloHn'iS :pT divorce
satisfactory TO the tribunal. But under 10
circumstances can a wife demand TO be Sepa-
rated from her husband. At iioine, the wife
is mistress Of the family; but IN other respects
she is treated rather as 4 toy .Or her husbands
amusement, than a. the rational, confidential
partner Of his life. She Is expected to please
him ty her accomplishments. to cheer hin: with
her lively conversation, III; never suffered to
share his more serious thought, Or TO relieve
his care. Ignorant of his business affairs, size
must no; presume to question him in relation
70 them. That would De objectionable pre-
SuIIpLIo".
RELIGION Or JArAH.
One Of the most interesting features Of the
Japanese is their religion. 1t Is based entirely
$50. lni:,F r., rots and .-.,Ji.SSeS Stin they
believe have existed from eternity, and Will
continue 70 exist forever. With one sore
reica;y they claimed that it rcigned, instead Of
mvriaos, about 25U. 001 wears, and MAS followed
tv four other gods, vino rcigncd over :, 04r. QOG
wears. The principal duties cnjc'ncd are: Isl,
preservation OF fire, as tho e!IIicm OF purity
and instrument Of publication; I'd, purity OF
sonl, heart and body, the former 10 be o5Scr-
we'd bv obedience to the dictates Of reason and
the law, in the latter 10y abstinence from what
erer dcfles; Sd, observance Of festival days;
Atm. pilgrimage, and 9TH the worship Of the
Humi. both in the temples aTd at hn'nc. The
imuuriticS To bc avoided arc nOl-GSsoc!atlon
with the impure, OF hearing obscene, wicked
Or brutal language, b. eating OF Gel tain meats,
and by contact witt. blood AMI death. Pilgrim
ngc is the grand &C, Of devotion. and there are
two and twenty ShrincS commanding such
homage. The first and NEST important oi
their religious systems is Buddhism, The Inost
widely dliiused Of all false crecds. In this
connection it is unnecessary To add that the
crea, mass Of the people most heartily detcst
ard ahlor the principles Of the Christian re-
ligion.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
Carital punishment and sentence Of death
always involves contiScaticn Of property ana
disgrace 10 the family ofthe criminal, and hence
q man of high order publicly accused, and
conscious of. guilt, will ~}rvvent his trial by I'M
mediate suicide. Prisoners are often tortured
TO cytort confession, and sho@!d the operation
result fatally, the cXccutioncr is not held re.
sponsible. The condemned criminal, set upnu
= horse, is led to The place OF execution, Hi.d
his crime made known; by hosting = iias. He
is then seated upon 4 straw mat, and his head
struck off with @ sword. ltisthcn set up upon
a uoie for three days. This is the mast merci-
iul furu Of execution, since it Is known that
prisoners arc often publicly tortured IL death,
and the skill of an cXecutioncr is measured -;
The number of wounds that he can iuiiict with
ont taking life. Upon these occasions the
Young nob.cs lend their swords 10 try the e'!Se
and temper of a new blade, and many take tc-
light in witnessing eXcruciating torture. One
srccies is that in which a shirt Of reeds. the
criminalS only garment, is set on fire. IhlS l.
deemed so exceedingly entertaining from The
sufferers agon,zcd contortions, that 1t has nc
CURED the name vi "lhc death dance.
The prisons arc perfect helk. They arc
crowded together in small ROOMS. ventilated
oniv by 4 solitary grated window III the root,
ana the doors are never opened, except to carry
in CT bring out Il prisoner. The capt;veS are
refused books, pipes, AID recreation OF any
kind. The filth OF these dungeons is removed
through 4 hole in the wall, and through Tue
same hole the food Of the prisoner Is intro
dured. Their ~victuals are OF the worst de-
s%cr;ption, except when friends present better,
anu .hrn he cannot receive II, unless 1t bc Siii-
iicieat to satisfy the appctites Of all i'll his dun
ccon.
THE GOVERNMENT or JAPAN.
Like most Oriental States, the gorernlhcpt
is ~GeSpo,ic, but not SD in the coin,nonly-ru-
ceivcd idea Of despotism. Whilst liberty, how
ever, is indeed unknown, existing not even IN
the ordinary intercourse Of maA with man, on
the other hand. 10 Individual in the whole ma
ton. be he even so high, is above the law
Both SovereignS, the supreme .Mt":!o, and
mis- ruling vicegcrcnt, the 7ycDou (:Ziacoon,
sre as completely enlhralled rs tic mcancst o!
their subjects. ii is q feuda! empire in the
~strictest sense Of the term. The -Ntk1Go; as
being the successor and representative o. the
gods, is the nominal proprietor, as well as
Sovereign of tue realm, and his dom'nionS. di'
vided into principali,ics, are held in r~assalase
BIZ their respective hereditary princes. As
for the Tycoon, he seldom passes beyond the
limits Of his palace enclosure, even his reii'
gious journeys being performed by deputies
and the Important ceremonies of State
are coadac,ed hy sourtiers, holding what
wo should call household offices. Both
these and the Tycoon are constantly sur,
rounded and watched bJ o great crowd Of
spies Of the Council of State which constitutes
the real executive power, and who transact
the entire business OF the government, decide
upon every measure, sanction or reverse every
sentence of Death pronounced BY an imperial
governor, appoint to all offices, and correspond
with the local authorities. Each Councillor
has his own particular department, for which
he is responsible. No country in the world
has such a system OF espionage, as each ulan
throughout the country is required TO watch his
ncighbor and report the least suspicious &C.
currence. The population is estimated at
10000, 600. The general classification OF society