Morning journal and courier., 1884-01-12

sounds-Japanese Barbers.
 Tok1Yo, Japan, Dec. 10. l To the Editor Of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 Nothing could be more annoying than the
 system of street numbering in vogue in these
 Europeanized coast cities of Japan. Even
 in Yokohama. where foreign ways may really
 be said to dominate, there is no regularity at
 all in the disposition of the numbers or
 course the Japanese have names by which they designate the principal highways, but
 foreigners have not taken kindly to these.
 No. PIP may bs two miles distant from No.
 213, and there is no repetition of numbers l upon the different streets. When the num-
 bers get too high, the confusion has been az
 gravated by commencing over again, and
 numbering A, 9 A, B, B. etc. Some
 of the principal thoroughfares have now
 been christened in Yokohama,-as River
 street, Main street, etc., but this is only help
 full in the way of explaining in what portion of the city required number may be. The
 Japanese do not very generally profess to have numbers, except for important business establishments. It is earnestly to be hoped
 that this awkward arrangement may be soon
 done away with, and system of logicsl
 numbering introduced instead.
 Where am stopping now, at No. 9 Tsu-
 xiii (the missionary quarter of this great
 oit7), the people do not even know the name
 of the street upon which they have resided
 for several years The American legation, 6
 cream colored, two-story, brick block, is just across the way. Tsukiji is the only portion
 of TokiSo in which foreigners may reside
 unless they are in the service of the govern ! ment in some capacity. It is by all odds the best quarter of the city.
 When servant wishes to indicate that &
 ueighbor has called, he simply remarks in
 Japanese that No. So and-So, master Cor
 mistress, as the case may be,) is at the door. l The Japanese do not learn even the names of their own masters, but refer ko them invari- I ably by the number of the house. In their
 own language they have 8 particle, San, |" | which is used as sufhx and may denote Mir, | Mrs, or Miss, the case may be. They even add this to the few English nasnes l which thay have to learn for the designation
 of animated objects. For instance, in this l household they refer to Baby-san, and even
 Princs-san in speaking of the family driving l horse If you understand Japanese, you will
 be mortified upon being shown into ths parlor
 of resident foreigner by being asked liter ally, "Will you please hang your hips upon 8 chair?''
 A walk through the streets Of this capital city is to tas never failing source of erlsar- l tainment. I iotted down few of the ex-
 periences of single walk recently, and will
 detail few of them here together with such
 accompanying explanatory facts as were elicited by conversation. It vas warR1 day, 1 although the first week in the month of De-
 oember. In Japan the sun is scorching hot, and the shade is gloomily cold. Up to the l date in question there had not been any frosts 1 sufficient to chill the roses camelias, and l chrysanthemums which were still ia bloom in the private gardens everywhere. This is 1 the best season of the year in Central Japan. On the streets I encountered throngs of Japanese children, youngsters of l two and half and three years, carrying about Infants upon their backs. There was one l babe being thus carried about which was only four days old, as we found out | upon inquiry; and there it vss being toted l about, with nothing on its head to protec. it Y from the rays of the burning sun. It is mysterious that any of these children SO l carelessly reared. live to become healthy adults and indeed they say the death rate is | quite large. When surfeitad with play these children would return to the house, and in rare instances have seen both the babe and ! its diminutiVe guardian betake themselves to 8 common breast for the maternal nourish- ment.
 At the street corners blind beggars might often be seen, drumming samisens and singing after the weird, indescribable Japan ese fashion. Other beggars were going about with samiseas, and soliciting aid at the stores. I was surprised to notice that the visit to each place was rewarded by the bestowment of money, and WAS mentally commenting on the generosity of the Japan csc people; when took occasion to examine the gift coin bestowed, and found that in a large number of cases which witnessed it was without exception a rin, of the value of twenty five per cent. less than an American cent. I could understand how the people could afford to be liberal after witnessing this sight, and how beggar might not bs Q millionaire at night after day of unqualified success. Perhaps the rim might bo intro duced with advantage into America.
 But these Japanese musical instruments and the weird, jsrky, vocal efforts of the people who professed to sing to the instru mental accompanimentl Six weeks in Japan have failed to teach me that there Is any music in the Japanese vocalization, although the people are always humming to them selves. The nearest approach to pleasing effect was attained by company of harbor coolies who were singing some natural air in concert as they unloaded barge of tea. It was early morning, and on the street would occasionally meet priests on their regular piIgrimages for contributions common sight in Japanese city. Usually there were three together, all with shaved heads, one robed in brown, one in white and the third in green. Tha procession would procsed along street. making most dismal united sound that would be represented in English by the prolonged syllable Ia aw." Two carried contribution boxes and hnkied bells, while the middle one simply carried long staff and devoted himself exclusively to the process of braying-for I can find no other term for defining the monotonous noise which | the trio would make. confess there was something exceedingly offensive to me Tn this ! spectacle; and it's attractiveness was not en- hanced by the knowledge that the money l ifxy went toward the support of the uninvltlng | priests themselves.
 It is astonishing how little it takes to inter est Yankee sometimes, especially in the lower walks of life; but in the case Of the Japanese this is infinitely more noticeable. Men would be seen trundIing carts that had nothing to attract the eye about them save perhaps flag; but the proprietor Of the es- tabIishment would put it about with the greatest pomp, beating Japanese drum as he went, and expecting for this liberal enter tainment of the public bount1tul charity. | One instance of this puerils amusement es- pecially interested me. Three strong men were trundling before them clumsy attempt | at miniature street car, equipped with sheet iron, horses in front, whose feet did not touch the ground, and provided with | seats inside lamps bell, etc., all on the crudsst possible scale. In this car, barely large enough to admit half dozen very small children, the native youngsters could ride blOck Tor Lne sum or one Sen. lnlS meant more by ride than the reader may at first suppose, for the car was mounted on such small wooden wheels that the united ef- forts of the three men were required to move it. do not suppose the first cost of the whole establishment was more than three or four dollars, and here were three fuIEgrown men blowing huge Ash horns with great deal of flourish, and earning-not more than fif- teen or twenty sen day was confident.
 Occasionally fre-iookouts and headquarters where apparatus for extinguishing conEagrs- tions was stored would be encountered by the wayslde. A fire means more in Tokiyo, l or any large Japanese city, than it does evea in the most populous of American cities. Ths sound of the fire bell is indeed 8 dreaded sound here, and, owing to the extreme care or the people, very rare one. Whereas at home most cities have.seseral alarms day,