The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-07-20
woMar IN JAPAN

japanese Gentleman III the Boaton Herald.
The Western people are invariable ag-
grieved to see the inferior state of women
in Asiatic countries, and heartily sympath-
ize with them in their condition of total
subsection under the despotie hands o.
family tyrants. To this the Japanese
ladies are an exception, they are never re-
duced to the same degree as in other
Asiatic countries. They are undoubted
treated as the gentler sex, and also with
respect and considerable care. In this, as
in so many other things, we totally differ
from the Chinese. We see them treated
with affection and Difference; in fact, in.
Japan, as in America, the ladies rule the
house They are allowed greater freedom
and have more dignity and self confidence
than any other Eastern ladies'; vet it is
true that Japanize lady is deprived of
the privilege of receiving her young male
friends in such an unrestricted manner as
is allowed in this country; nor is she with
out a chaperon permitted to indulge in the
pleasures of strolling or to share the
amusement of theatre going with him
with whom she may stand on terms of
friendship, or of a more tender relation.
We scarcely hear, in any Japanese family,
such free expression of love and affec-
ton as is tolerated in this country. In
affair to speak of or demonstrate in the
presence of parents or friends, if not vio-
lation of the propriety of social etiquette.
We can easily infer from these facts that
marriage in Japan is seldom the fruit of
mutual love and admiration. The matri-
monial union is wholly to be arranged and
settled by tie hands of parents, and the
proposed husband and wife have to take
each other for better or for worse upon the
judgment of others But it is amazing to
find that there are no more unhappy cou-
pies in Japnn than there are in this coun
try, where marriage is the sweet result of
long acquaintance and mutual love.
Through the influence of Confucianism
and Buddhism, obedience has been incul-
Gated as the chief and most amiable virtue
of ladies, and undoubtedly this prevailing
notion has prevented them from securing
position of equality with men. Happily,
o. shall l say unhappily, for US men, our
wives have hardly ever attained such an
aseendancy as to henpeck their husbands,
custom often discoverable among the So
called civilized countries. In tracing the
history of any nation, we invariably seem
to come across an age in which the female
sex was more or less brought under subjec-
ton. The ancient TeutOnic race is said,
even during the barbarous times, to have
regarded the gentler sex with the greatest
respect and courtesy; but, if we turn to the
co nmon law of England, we find the as
sertion quite inconsistent with it. UnfOI-
trnately for them, Japanese women have
thus far been deprived of many rights, and
also of the means of elevating themselves;
but to-day the education of our girls is re-
ceiving the greatest attention from our ed
ucational department. The prospect is
IL. ofa1TT 1n fQn
that at no distant day our scholastic insti-
tutions will produce myriads OF school
marIns, that pleasing feature of the New
England landscape. japanese young
ladies are generally admired by foreign
ers as pleasing and graceful in their de
pertinent, and for their gentleness, neat
ness, and good taste in dress As far as
my recollection goes can say this much,
that they are generally demure and diff
dent in society, and apparently fall short
of such an activity and ease of manner as
is shown by American young ladies. Our
misses neither reduce the size of their feet,
like the Chinese, nor contract their waists,
like the western ladies, nor wilfully inJure
what is given to them, that is, by piercing
through the ears, custom prevalent al
most everywhere, both in the civilized
countries of Europe and America, and the
half civilized countries of Asia. Among
our married women it has, from ancient
times, been to shave off the eyebrows and
to blacken the teeth. This Invariably at
tracts the attention of strangers and is not
unfrequently ridiculed as most singular
and unnatural custom, Every nation has
its own customs and peculiarities and we
doubt if these ladies who are inclined to
condemn the custom are normally free
from the shade of any singular fashio MS
and peculiarities attendant upon their per-
sons We have common saying, Cor
rect yourself before you criticize others
We gladly state that our married women
are sensible enough to perceive the short
comings in the custom above alluded to,
and it is now noticeable how rapidly it is
disappearing.