The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-02-12
Woman in Japan.

Woman in Japan.
In Japan, as in other countries, g IN
to many distinctive features of its etts
cal code and social system may be found
in the position of women. Perhaps no.
where, and certainly in no land which
has developed an equally advanced and
elaborate civilization, has woman heav-
Ter burdens and fewer privileges than in
the island empire. She has, indeed, a
happy childhood, since, although for
some reasons the Japanese prefer boys,
their girls are equally petted and be-
loved. But from the date of her mar
riage, which takes place at the age OF
seventeen, her lot is peculiarly narrow,
bleak and joyless; one full of heartburn
ing and hardships. She must not ex-
pect fidelity from her husband, but she
must be ever loyal, sweet and service
able to him. That a wife should be mis-
tress in her own household is a concep-
ton altogether foreign to the Japanese
mind. From the moment she leaves her
fathers house bride becomes slave,
and the servitude is the more bitter be-
cause it is pre-eminently due, not to her
husband and children, but to her hus-
bands mother. Full of sad suggestions
are the details of the Japanese moral
lessons for women, which are enforced
upon all girls from infancy, and of
which literal TRANSACTIONS are given in
these volumes. According to this code
parents must be more careful of a
rri,.lto Cd 90 So
seeing that she must be sub
ject unto her father-in.law and
mother-in-law, and serve them. If she
has been spoiled, it is added, she will
quarrel with her husbands relatives.
When a woman is married, runs anoth-
er lesson, she shall seldom pay visit to
her own parents-only messenger
shall be sent. Neither shall she pride
herself on her own descent. After mar
riage she must reverence her father and
mother-in-law, and be kinder to them
than to her own parents. Morning
and evening"" we are told, ''she shall
inquire after the health of her father and
mother-in-law, and ask if she can be of
any service to them, and likewise do all
they bid her. If they scold her she
must answer not again, for if she shows
an amiable disposition, finally the house.
hold will come to a peaceful settlement
of their difficulties.' She must quarrel
with none of her husbands relatives,
lest the family be made unhappy. 1t is
further enjoined upon her that, no mat
ter how many servants she may have,
she shall sew the clothing and cook the
food of her father and mother-in-law.
She must also wash the clothing and
sweep the mat of her husband; in gen.
eral, it is laid down that she shall live
within the house, go forth but seldom,
and never, before the age of forty,
to public places of interest or amuse-
ment, such as theater, temple, or
shrine. She must rise early, never sleep
during the day, and work till late at
night.
AS regards her specific obligations to
her lord and master, the code lays down
the following rules: When the wife con-
verses with her husband, she must do so
with q smiling face and humble word,
and not be rude. This is the principal
duty OF woman, VIZ, that the wife obey
the husband in all that he orders her to
do, and, moreover, when he is angry she
must not resist, but submit. This pre-
cept touching obedience concludes with
these words: "All women shall think
their husbands to be heaven; they must
not, therefore, withstand their husbands,
and incur the punishment of heaven. !"
Concerning jealousy, a passion for which
too much fuel is afforded in Japanese
households, very stringent injunctions
are laid down. The wife, it is averred,
must not be jealous of her husband when
he is unfaithful to her, but may admon-
ish him in a mild, affectionate manner
"Of COURSE" says the Japanese moral
ist, ''when she is jealous her anger will
appear in her face, and she will conse-
quently be disliked and abandoned by
her husband" When, therefore, she
would admonish him on this subject she
must always do it with kind
countenance and gentle words, and if
he will not listen to her she must wait till
his passion for her rival is cooled, and
then confer with him again. After de-
claring that wives must not chatter or
repeat any ISLANDERS they may hear, lest
they cause disputes among families, the
author of the code concludes with some
caustic remarks upon the feminine
character. There are, he says, four bad
qualities in woman, to-wit, that thew
SANDER, or take a spite at some one, are
jealous and ignorant. He adds that
seven or eight women in ten have these
maladies. The worst of these faults, he
says, is ignorance. "The minds Of
women generally are dark as the night.
and are more stupid than those of men. .
In all stations of life, therefore, the
wife must stand behind her husband.
Though she may have done good deeds.
she must not be vain of them-though
it be said she is bad, she shall not re-.
sist. "She shall continue to improve
herself, and be careful not to repeat the
same fault, and when she COMFORTS her.
self wisely the intimacy between herself
and her husband through life will be 4
happy one. From RegteoO of Ms
| Us...Jfo IL