Arizona weekly citizen., 1886-11-13
PROGRESSIVE JAPAN.
CHANGE IN MANNERS AND COSTUME
 DURING THE LAST DECADE.

CHANGE IN MANNERS AND COSTUME
 DURING THE LAST DECADE. unnaraIIeIed Intellectual Progress of tho 1 PeopIe-ChristiAnItys suPerseding Bud dhism-schooIs and Colleges-The Elm | ,eror,, PromIses-Trade of the Island. Among the late arrivals from Japan were " c De Iano Eastlake and his mother, who ar. visiting San Francisco on their way east Mir Eastlake Is secretary of the Society for | tbe Advancement of Medical Science in l .Tapan end a member of the Asiatic society, ] and has. during the three years of his res | ;Janc. in the orient, become thoroughly ac- | ouainted with the manners and customs of | inc people and not less familiar with the country. both in a political and physical sense.
 In an interview with a reporter Mir. East lake portrayed in glowing colOrs the country and it's people.
 The people. he said, arc fast advancing in the civilization of their political, moral and intellectual lives, and scarcely without excep- tion are anxious to reap the benefits of Euro nan and American education In the GUS toms of dress there has been a marked change during the last decade until now the officials and the better classes assume the English cos ,nne. Among the former 1t Is compulsory, and upon the street the old Japanese garb is s,Idon sen except on the poorer classes Among the ladies, however, the loose gowns of the olden days are still popular. but even tbese are gradually growing obsolete, and at fashionable balls the European dress is gen orally assumed, while the programmes of the ffVy aurlufa fhf4 t.-st of English music.
 BANGS AND WHITE TEETH.
 The odd yet picturesque style of hair dress ing which has so long prevailed in the ooun- try has been superseded by that of the Amer ican women, and the fair foreheads of the royal ladies are already hidden by the bang So common in our own country. The fashions, however, are not set by the empress. The style adopted by the minister's wives is con sidered quite the proper thing, and, following their example, all ladies of culture have dropped the custom of blacking their teeth and shaving their eyebrowS
 The intellectual progress of the people Of Japan said Mir. Eastlake, -has been almost unparalleled Not only has the educational system been established all over the empire, but the capital city boasts of a university that AAN0l1UlN NAkAl AAr hr~A NNAAN- of the continent. German professors, promi- nent for scientific ability and research, have filled the chairs in the scientific and medical departments of the Imperial university, while in literature, both ancient and modern, Eng fish and American men Of advanced thought have been chosen as instructors Recently the staff Of foreign professors has been di- minished and the vacancies filled by Japan hars. .rrflN abroad.
 The works of Huxley, Spencer, Darwin and others have been translated into Japan ese, and arc familiar handbooks to students m Japan. The promulgatOrs Of Christianity find that they have proud skepticism Co con tend with. The Japanese talk of the 'evolu- tion of species and the nebulnr hypothesis as Clibly as our learned men. Buddhism is still the Fredoming::iag faith, but Christianity is rapidly Establishing itself among the more iptsiiectual classes, although many of the high officials express extreme bitterness to the doctrine and its introduction. This bitterness s 90 great that Co profess Christianity means the los of an official position The people are not conservative, however, and it is only a question of time when the Christian faith will be accepted throughout the country. In all the large cities public schools arc main tained. and it is compulsory that after attain ing a certain age children shall be sent to school. In Tolzio there are two large law schools, one of which is conducted in the French and the other in the English language. Added to these engineer ring college, with its library of ov 30,OOO volu u7lsa-aud irs e<pi tsnsive lahorato $, which hss- I've been recent merged with th Imperial col h'lege
 THE E1PEROR's PR.thbNsEs
 Political affairs are not hS,.ehind in the O ward march of oivihzation, and the chief e I element of the country now is the prepar . ton for the national assembly promised f,
 ISaO. The ground is already purchased ar
 the assembly buildings conImencel, althOul therc Is naturally some misapprehensiOn (
 the part of suspicious minds that the gOver . ment may not carry out its promises to Il people As it now stands, the government
 in the hands of the emperor. assisted by q
 senate and house of lords, which !E Japane
 Is called 'Gen-ro-in' The national assamb
 will he composed of representatives e!ectS
 by the people from the various districts inI i which the country Is divided, thus makir
 The empire partial republic. Laws regar
 ing pres criticism and public speech are yer , stringent, and in neither Is criticism of q
 government allowed. Regarding Japan's n latiOns with America I am able tO speak ;
 length. My visit to this country k in the |
 tereSt Of an extension of the mercanti traffic The United States and is people al
 regarded with great respect by the Japanes and in their eyes, as The Jiji Shimpo. one (
 she leading journals, expresses it, 'Amcric
 stands out in the world like Q blossomin plum branch among a thicket of brambie diffusing rich fragrance and compelling tt
 admiration of all for her great name an
 vigorous policy
 -America is Japan's largest customer in
 commercial way, while, on the other han,
 none of the staple products of the Unite
 States, except kerosene, find their way {
 Japan.
 The railroads of Japan arc constantly b.
 ing extended and there arc now six con
 panies, embracing about 60 miles of roai
 Thee are equipped with English locomS tives. cars and rails, but Germany Is maxim
 every effort Co secure this trade. and a c1r tract has recently been awarded to Gcrma
 firms for furnishing the rails for eight year | You would bs surprised to see Amsrica street cars rolling along the streets of Toki, but there are many of them, and these wit the iinrikishu, or pullman cars, are the pria | cpal public cUnveyances. The latter may ( hired for seventy-fve cents a day. and th street cars carry passengers for a moderit | charge, ranging from two to eight cents. at cOniing to the distance traveled. San Fran | cisco Chronicle.
 Girls at the Seaside.
 have carefully looked around ms fo some of those fair maids of the shore yol