M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1860-06-07
Japnn and the Jannnese.

United States naturally leaps to gen.
eral desire among onr people to know
some thing more than has beea cur
rent of the heretofore sealed country
which is about to be opened to Ameri-
can travel, traffic and commercial as
sociation:
The empire OF Japan is situated be.
tween the twenty-flth and fifty.sec-
ond degrees of north latitude, and the
one hundred and twenty,eighth and
one hundred and fifty. first ofeast Ion
gitude, embracing an area of nearly a
hundred and sixty thousand square
miles, and supporting pOpuiatiou of
almost forty millions of souls. Ii is
composed Of four large, and, it is said,
of as many as three Thousand eight
hundred and fifty smaller islands,
stretching in north,easterly and
east.north easterly direction along the
coast Of Asia, their shores being wash.
ed by the Sea Of Japan and the North
Pacific Ocean.
The early traditions of the country
ere not fruitful in information. They
are for the most part exceedingly ex.
travagant. Heroes living millions of
years, and queens laying hundreds of
eggs are events compared to which
the ages Of Patriarchs arc r'oderatc,
and the story OF RomuIus with his
wolf loster.mother credible. There
are, however, two which are mention.
ed by Kampfer. and which both point
to Chinese origin for the nation
One Of them is implicitly believed.
AS general rule, the head of the
japanese is oval, approaching in form
to that of the European--the frontal
bones rounded and the forehead high
the eyes animated and the expires.
sion mild-tAe iridea dark brown or
black, and the complexion varying
from deep copper color to the fairness
Of the West.
There is one feature in the society
Of Japan, by Which the superiority Of
the people, 20 all other oriental ma.
lions, iG clearly manifest. Woman is
recognized as a companion, and not
merely treated as a slave. Her posi-
tion is certainly not as elevated as
those in countries under the influence
Of the, Christian dispensatiOn, but the
mother, wife, and daughter Of Japan
are neither the chattels and household
drudges of China, nor the purchased
objects Of the capricious iust Of the
harems of Turkey. The fact of the
non.eXistenoe Of polygamy i5 a dis.
tinctive feature, which pre- omiuently
chavacterizes the japanese. as the most
moral and refined of all Eastern ma.
tions. The absence Of this degrading
practice shows itself, not only in the
superior character of the women, but
in the natural consequence OF their
greater prevalence Of the domestic yir.
tues.
The Japanese women, always ey-
cepting the disgusting black teeth of
those who are married, are not ill
looking. As their ruby" lips parted
in smiling graciously, they Displayed
q Tow OF black teeth, set in horribly
corroded gums. The married women
Of Japan enjoy the exclusive privilege
Of dying their teeth, which is done
with a mixture of vile ingredients.
The young girls are well formed
and rather pretty, and have much Of
that vlvacity and sell reliancein man,
nols, which come from q conscious.
ness OF dignity, derived from the com.
parativelY high regard in which they
are held. In the ordinary mutual in.
tercourSe of friends and families the
women have their share, and rounds
Of visiting and tea,parties are kept up
as briskly in Japan ae in the United
States.
! There appears to be almost as m any
religions sects in japan as there are
| in this country, all of which at one
time enjoyed entire liberty OF con-
science. In the sixteenth century, G
petition being made to the Tycoon, that
he would expel the Christian monks
from his empire, that poIentate in.
quired how many denominations there
were already in the country. The re.
ply was "thirty.fve." "Well," said
he, "where thirty-fv sects can be
tolerated, we may well bear thirty six;
leave the strangers in peace" The
missionaries, however, soon proved
themselves unworthy of this cIemep-
cy. When weak, they were always
aspiring to the crown of martyrdom,
and when strong were intent upon
comforting it upon Others.
On all sides it is stated that the
country is wonderfully well wooded,
and the timber is protected by law
Although working skillfully in stone,
the Japanese build chiefly of wood,
because, in the event of an earthquake
the material is supposed to be less de.
structive, and trees which are EN-.
ployed to this useful end cannot be
| Al