The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1878-04-25
JAPANESE CUSTOMS.
Some 81 WAich Might be Adopted
Here WithOut Harm.

JAPANESE CUSTOMS.
Some, 81 watch Might be Adopted
Here Without Harm.
The care parents give children is re-
markable. You never see q child
grabbed up by one arm, jerked about
or struck; and fathers share in the
care of the little ones. One incident
illustrated their kindness. He was
accustomed to visit tea-house after
lectures. 1t was very busy place,
and in the midst of papers of accounts
the proprietor's little girl fell asleep.
Although she was in the way and they
had to use papers under her, she was
not disturbed of her rest. Their kind
ness 10 animals is very impressive. A
boy is never seen to throw stone at
dog or bird, and crows come INTO
the city of Toxic aud lodge ON the
houses. They pay for their kind treat.
ment, for they act as scavengers, pick
ing up what rice or fish may fall upon
the ground.
In one of the crowded thorough
fares like that of Broadway, New
York, he had seen dog lying asleep
in the middle of the road. No one
disturbed him, but carefully turned
out from him. He once fired q stone
at dog to see how he would act. The
dog raised his feet to let the stone pass
and looked surprised, and took only
the same notice of a second assault
quite different from the way Chris
tian dog would be likely to act. BY
the sides of the roads at the foot of
hills stone monuments are placed and
have been there for hundreds OF years,
bearing verses that teach consideration
for dumb beasts. At what the Amer
lean swears the Japanese smiles. He
once dropped and broke some shells
as he was going to give lecture, in
which they were to be used, and asked
one of the students what they would
say to express their feelings. The
only word that could be found cores
ponded with our vexatious,' hence it
sounds very curious to hear the mis-
sionary's injunction. They can't un-
derstand why we are taught these
things. Why we are called by them
outside barbarians one soon learns.
They are very polite to each other.
even their laborers, aud it is rude to
eat in the streeis. He once tried to
eat some grapes while going home
from q lecture on a hot day, and all
though he tried to hide the fact,
their sharp eyes we're attracted to
him, and he could see the people were
astonished at his doing what they
called extremely vnlgar-quite a on-
trast to scenes the Japanese encoun-
tered at the Centennial, when men
went through the park eating great
pieces of gingerbread, squash pie, or
something of that sort.
Several street scenes were described
by the lecturer, and among them chill
dren goiAg to school. The rich and
poor are dressed alike, and he asked
why the wealthy did not dress their
children better when they send them
to school. The answer was, because
the poor can't and they get dissatisfied.
After school all their clothing is chang
ed and they can be known by their
dress and the attendance of servants.
Their festivals are very beautiful,
and they have custom of giving
three days in the year to the memory
of the dead in the family. Upon a
shelf constructed for the occasion they
place cups containing tea and rice and
a vessel of flowers, and by these a
candle is kept burning all the time.
I Ones taste is never shocked. The
quality the poor man buys makes his
article differ from the rich, but there
are no defOrmities in their articles such
| as we see in our stores. A person of
taste here wonders sometimes that
this or that article can find a customer,
it is SO ungainly, SO out Of proportion
and rough, and yet thousands of the
articles are sold annually. Their
forms may be quaint and striking in
their novelty, but never deformed or
unsightly. Their pictures of women
found on cheap fans brought here may
be compared with those in our own
fashion-plates. We exaggerate fea-
ture that is beautiful to us, and they
do the same, but these pictures no
more represent their women than
those referred to do ours.