Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-12-27
THE JAPAN OF TO-DAY.
An Oriental People who Are Fast
Acquiring Modern European CIV
ilIzation.


Japan Is of Asia and sim not Asia, writes
Frank G. Carpenter. Five thousand miles
aud fourteen days from San Francisco. 1t is
twelve thousand miles by ship from Liver
pool through the Suez canal. 1t is five days
from Yokohama to Hong Kong and yet some
parts of japan are so near the Aslatic conti-
nent that you can cross in few hours In a
canoe Two DAYS sail will bring you into
Corea and Kamschatka is within few hours
journey of the northern border OF Japan. IL
is a land OF islands and the chain which con-
stitutes 1t extends, saws one authority, dis
lance OF two thousaud miles Most OF these
islands are small. but the country all told
has enough territory for a big nation, and
several OF its islands are larger than many Of
our American states. The island OF Honlo,
which is the main part Of the country, and
the one in which the big cities are located,
has 25,O00,00O population, and the area OF
Japan all told Is bigger than Italy, and you
could lose Prussia inside Of It All the ter
ritory of Great Britain and Ireland are not
equal to japan, and the state OF New York Is
only onc-third its size. The country has to-
day more people than we had In 1870, and its
population is about equal to that of Great
Britain and Ireland.
The Japan Of the past was made up OF
farmers and warriors, aud I'm the Japan OF
the present the farmer has not materially
changed. The advances have all been made
by The warrior class, and Japan Is governed
BY the former soldiers. Tie merchants, who
formerly ranked below the farmer, are rising
in rank, aud the almighty collar is beginning
10 have the same power here that 1t has in
America.
The Japanese call themselves the Amerl-
cans OF Asia and they are to certain extent
right They arc like the Americans IN their
ready adoption OF new Things and In their be-
ing ready to risk the present for the future.
They are quick witted and they want 10 be up
TO the times. They lack, however, am prone
to believe, The Amer, can desire OF acCumula-
ton, his industry and perseverance, and
Above all his wonderful creative faculty. You
will find p tent Office at Toxic, bat you can
number the noted japanese inventions upon
your fingers. Up TO this stage In their career
the japanese have been an initiative rather
than creative nation. What they have had
In the past has been adopted from other ma.
tions The cIvll cations which preceded the
one now coming In was largely Chinese. The
chief religion Of the Japanese to-day Is Budd-
hlsm and II came from India. Corea boasts
OF being the author OF many Of the schools
of Japanese art and japanese literature is
hugely based on Chinese characters. AS
TO the present civilization, Japan is trying to
choose the best from ali nations, aud It hopes
to make up Whole better than any. Its
imitation is not blind imitation. The Japan
ese have always pridcd themselves on being a
reasonable people. and they are using their
reason now. Their code Of laws come from
France. They are choosing their models for
army discipline from Germany, but their gen.
eral culture will be like their language, En-
gish.
Speaking OF the japanese as copyists they
learn so easily that manufacturers coming TO
Japan are very careful that the secrets OF
their arts are not given to the people. ] ask
ed Yesterday man who has established a
large factory FOR the making OF Photographic
materials why he emDloyed only women In his
works, and was told that II was because he
feared men. "These japanese" said be,
"are as sh. rp as lightning and they will start
branch establishments as soon as they have
mastered the process and viii undersell me.
keep all my formulas III cipher and allow
no japanese man TO work at important parts
of the business As for tue women they are
more steady than the men, and they never
look beyond their work We have as good
photographers here as YOU will find any.
whore, and there is japanese who is manu-
featuring dry plates"
] have visited during the past few DAYS
come OF the government departments OF the
empire and find they are using many Ameri-
can llNtullOue. III NielbIUE tue ARMY saw
troops, dressed exactly like the soldiers OF
Germany, going through military maneuvers
just as they are laid down in the
tactics of our military schools,
and in the arsenal where Japan makes her
rifles, her cartridges, and her gunpowdcr the
machinery was altogether like ours. The fac.
tories. barring the brown faces,
the crack eyes, and the bare feet OF the
emplopes might as wei have been ia Pitts
burg as in Toxic, and this much is the same
with all the government institutions. The
work, however, and she management Is all
under the control OF the japanese aud the
number OF foreigners employed by the gov
eminent decreases every year. The japanese
hire foreigners merely as teachers. They study
hard under them and when they have learned
their specialties they are very ready to dis.
miss them.
Al present neary all Of the employees of the
government wear European clothes and this
is required in MANY cases. The clothes worn
are well fitting and as a rule OF good cut, but
they make the little japanese forms ook
smaller than ever and the people are more
handsome in their loose, flowing gowns belted
In with girde at the hips. The departments
of the government are built on the European
STYLE aud the state department is not much
different In its interior appointments frOE1
our department at Washing ton. IL has a mes
senger in livery at the door, who bows low as
you enter aud motions you into a papered re-
ception room which has a brussels carpet up.
on the floor and In electric button In the wall.
IL Is the fashionable thing here now for the
Japanese noblemen to live in a BuroDean
house, aud there are many houses here which
would not look out OF place in Washington
city. Some OF the young men who like Euro
pean ways keep up establishments OF both
kinds and their fathers and mothers, who do
not take kindly TO the new ways, are housed
n la japanese The number of Japanese
travelling abroad eadily increases, and there
were In 1885, II, $50 japanese living outside
OF Japan. or these more than a thousand
were In the United States, and the purpose
for which mos OF them went was for study.
These men come back filed with new civilZa-
tion. They learn English and they advocate
the changes. There are also a number Of for
cigners I'm Japan. This number all told Is
about two thousand. The most OF these are
merchants and not a few are missionaries
The missionaries claim to have forty thousand
japanese Christians IN their churches and
this aids greatly in the work OF civilization.
As TO japanese education the missionaries
largely teach through the aid OF the govern
ment, and English is taught in many of the
schools. Education is now compulsory In
Japan, but the statistics show that only about
half OF the children 70 to school. The school
age is from to "a years, and the japanese
boys and girls go over their lessons In sing
song tones, In bare feet and gowns There
are g. 600 90 OF them In the regular schools,
and the tecbanical schools have s, 800 pupils.
japan has 20 600 common schools presided
over by o., 600 men teachers and 1910 women
teachers, and the professors In the Imperial