Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-05-01

OF tho JHpanese.
The London National Repietp SAYS:

"Man must live," and he lives even In
Japan. The Japanese Is cra1ied amid earth
quakes and hurricanes. A conflagration of
some of the slight wooden houses which he
inhabits is Of nightly occurrence. He feeds
mainly on rice, and bis only liquor is rice
beer Of very fiery and unwholesome quail.
ity. His highest sartorisl effort has only
achieved a dressing. gown without pockets,
and he has no shoes for himself or his horses,
except such as are ms de ofstras But as Pinto
found that the Japanese, who had never
seen musket before his arrival, had made
considerable number Of such firearms before
his departure, so, in later times, they have
fabricated frst-rate horse-shoes of iron for
Europeans. We are told that seven. eiRhths
of the entire surface of the Japanese islands
is naturally barren and mountainous. .r
The Emper0Ts.--Until yesterday, and for
the last 200 years, TO leave his country was
a capital crime, and to prevent his escape all
ships must be left open at the stern. Then
he is subject to an omnipresent espionage
Nobody knows who may not be WANTED"
and nobody is free. For example, the
Nemesis Of absolutism seems to have won
its greatest success in the person of the
Emperor of Japan. He is styled Mikaddo,
or Sublime Porte. He is the fountain
whence flow all Japanese honors and titles
both lay and ecclesiastical. He is the ineal
descendent of q chief who founded the in
sular monarchy nearly seven centuries be-
fore Christ Nay, more, while all the Japan
ese claim kindred with the gods who once
ruled in visible presence in Japonia, the
"GTeat Door" is the direct representative
snd heir of the supreme sun goddess herself
While he lives, all the prayers of the faith
full are supposed to enter the unseen
through the Sublime Door; and at his
death he receives honorable apotheosis
Nevertheless so long as he occupies the
mortal body, the Mikaddo dwells in a
charmed circle, environed by memorable
cefemoniels-as idle as painted Jupiter in
painted clouds ard lauching only painted
tbunderbots. In traversing his palace court.
yard he is not allowed to touch the profsne
earth with his sacred feet; but is borne
shoulder high in palanquin. To remind
him continually of the sanctity of his per-
son, every dish out of which he eats is
broken Immediately, lest any one less holy
should make use of it; and the subtle spirit
of control affects to be so reverent that it
will not cut the august fathers nails or
shave his head unless he is asleep. Poor
imperial Gulliver is pinned down through
excess of worship and may not stir hand or
foot, except as the worshipers please. When
will Italy have done as much for the Romsn
Mikaddo2
Nor has the 30 called secular Emperor
the Tycoon in reality any autocratic power.
At highest he is the mere organ of the
Supreme Council, and at the meetings of
the Council two super vigilant spies, who
are ready to swoop down upon any inpova-
tion, always assist" For it appears that
the decisions OF even this Privy Council are
not final. We have read that the ultimate
authority of the country is lodged with
Committee of Three. This trinmvirate-
the heir, apparent being always one of the
three-when disputed case is handed up
to it, can set aside even the finding of a
majority; but woe to the councillor who
mooted the proposal rejected by the commit
tee He is ordered Immediately to become
his own executioner; and should the uu-
happy Tycoon have expressed his approval
OF the reprobate measure, he too must die,
or, at least, forfeits his throne.
The Bdrons--The sixty eight great feudal
barons are no less strictly looked after.
They must reside in Jeddo every alternate
six months. Their wives and families are
never allowed to leave the metropolis, but
are detained there as hostages for the good
behavior of the lords when the latter have
gone down to their provincial estates. Then,
as we descend lower in the social SCALE we
find arrangements for carrying out the
most thorough-gOing inquisition. Not only
is registry made of the usual domesticities,
but the movements of each humblest person
are honored with the publicity which, in
in this country, is reserved for the migra-
tons of Belgravia; or the frequenters of
our watering.plsces. The agents of the
demon of suspicion are everywhere, and
assume all kinds of disguises For aught
that you can tell, that meek-looking gentle
man who is presiding over the institution
in which you can regale yourself on slice
of whale (sic) is a functionary who is duly
and daily sending his reports to head
quarters and that stolid- looking palanquin-
bearer, who is sitting ON his heels opposite
the whale cook shop, is very possibly taking
| diligent notes as to how the mammal fish
monger is managing his. trust. In fact,
| there is around every man in Japan thread
| of the one vast spider-web.
The PeOpIe.--Poor flies we exclaim, and
certainly not without reason, for Japan is
| not quite the paradise, either physically OF
| morally, which it was represented TO be
! some two years ago in the newspapers. On
the other hand, there are not few contrast.
| ing and compensatory elements in Japanest
| existence. In the first place, in the matter
of the espionage itself, the reader will have
| remarked that there reigns grand equality
-an impartiality of pressure like that o
the atmosphere. In the intervals of tbs
earthquake and deluging rains, there is {
glorious sunlight shed over the majestic
mountains-wooded most of them to theil
summiis- over the deep blue lakes, thu
noble rivers the green rice fields or slope
of purple barley, and gardens exquisitely
cultivated and replete with growths botl
| rich and rare.
And, notwithstanding his .heavy laws,
the japanese himself is wonderously gay
and good. .humored-jolly, we might say, /
the expression be alloWable. In industry
| he is surpassed by no member of the human
i family. There are some 80, 600 600 to main
tain in Japan yet Japan is quite independ
ent of the harvests of other countries. No
in other respects is the empire less sufficieu
unto itself. Indeed, japan is so rich il
mineral and vegetable possessions, and s.
ingenious and dexterous in working thes
up into both useful and ornamental, as Il
stand in less need of foreign supplies thai
almost any other country with which W
are acquainted. har 10 1
/ Rehgi0n.-S Since the extirpation of Chris
tianity, Buddhism has been increasingly
leaYening all japanese thought and feel
ing. But side by side with the crosses
superstition the highest science takes plac
of its own. The more ahtruse mathematics
astronomy and geography have their dill
gent and successful cultivators. 1t IS, TO
example, TO Japanese geographer that W
owe the discovery that SagafTn is an island
4 and not a peninsula. Again, everybody L
Japan is taught to read and write, and th
literature Of the country is at once abundan
and various. There are encyclopedias
scientific treatises, translations of Buropea
4 works on science, histories, almanacs i
thousands, poetry and prose fiction.
d \. What the Japanese really thinks concern
y ing God, the universe, and the human sou
4 we can but vaguely guess. We suspect tha
not q few are haunted occasionally by
doubt as togwhether Christianity and Jana
have finally closed accounts with eae
other; and, judging from the quality of OF
iections urged by the priesthood against th
Christial ity Of Xavier, we can not but b
lieye that more comprehensive gosp'
the Indies" would be ecordially embraced
!. Japan. re - ''-
(. A TRuH AMRRicAN MorHER. Henry
4 Stanton, of Seneca Falls, N. Y, now In Ne
York City, has received a letter from b
| 'uaIosot.ath fladui EfautaraA 2aUai