Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-11-25
Japanese Hair-Dressing.

After fve-and-twentv years of foreign
intercourse, says the Japan Mail, we
find a society formed, now for the first
time, with the object of introducing
Western modes OF hair.dressing for
japanese women. That it is society
of males need not surprise any one who
remembers how complete is the subiec-
tion of the weaker sex in Japan. The
women of this country may be trusted
not to inaugurate any change affecting
their appearance unless they are well
assured beforehand of its acceptability
to their lords and masters, Were it
otherwise, they would not long have ,e-
manned faithful to fashions which be-
long to the days of quees and half
shaved polls. For even after every al
lowance is made for the effect of Gus.
tom IN moulding taste. II IS bard to
see how the looking-glass of japanese
lady can mislead her in this matter. If
the canons of any recognized art pre-
scribed dumb-bells or teapot handles as
models for the coiffeur's imitation,
there might be something to say for a
fashion which builds and plasters hair
into such similitudes. Yet, after all,
it is presumptuous to found any argu-
ments upon arbitrary principles of grace
or taste. The simple plaits of West
ern lady's hair may outrage the notions
of the japanese quite as much as their
curious superstructures startle us.
Moreover, Europe. too, has puffs and
chignons which, In point of absurdity,
yield nothing to the tabu and damoji of
the Japanese. Our glass-houses, there
fore, render stone-throwing dangerous.
In other directions, however, the ground
of objection are firmer. There cannot
be conceived more uncomfortable or
injurious way of dressing the hair than
that of the japanese. 1t subjects the
hair to perpetual strain, and condemns
the head to use pillow which is little
better than an instrument of torture.
a fine lady has her hair dressed tea
times a month, and pays ten sen for
each operation. People to whom econ
omy Is an object content themselves
with six manipulations, and pay from
three to six sen per manipulation.
Throughout the empire there are about
1900, 900 women of over seventeen and
under fifty years of age. If we suppose
that, on the average, these women de-
vote twenty sen per month to hair
dressing purposes, the whole expense
thus incurred is fully twenty-One million
sen annually. Such figures as these
are, however, more curious than useful.
They may influence enthusiasts who
found societies, but they will not IN
duce any budding beauty to curtail the
visits of her hair-dresser. The promo
tiers of the new reform will do well to
dwell rather on the charms of simple
ity, and on the incomparably greater
comfort enjoyed by the European lady,
who unbinds her hair every night,
than by the Japanese who pOises the
base of her tightly-festooned skull upon
a block of wood and paper. For our
part, we are ungallant enough to hope
that the proposed reform will not stop
at the head. We should like to see the
japanese ladies wear clothes that will
permit them to sit ON chairs, instead of
coillng themselves upon mats, and foot
gear that will allow them to walk in-
stead of shuffling. But these are deli
cate subjects. Messrs. Watanabe and
Ishikawa have wide field before them,
and we wish them speedy success.