The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1889-02-13
HE'S A BLUE BLOOD.
THE MIi<ADo OF JAPAN, HIS LOOKS
AND MANNER or LIVING.


He Has Cafe an Lait Complexion and
Thirteen wives-Manages to Exist on an
Income of 81, 500, 900 Year-An Inter
view with the Chamberlain.
have had most remarkable journalistic
experience. / have interviewed the most
prominent Of the mikado's court chamber
lains on the home life of his majesty Such
an interview bias, believe, never been held
before. II would have been impossible TWEEN
ty years ago, and twenty-five years ago, il
successful, it would have been death to the
chamberlain and Imprisonment to me. At
that time it was treason to name aloud the
personal name Of the mikado In writing it,
ii was against the law to pen the name in
full, and one of the strokes or letters had to
be left out No one except the wives of the
emperor and his highest ministers ever saw
his face. His divine features were never UNI
yelled to public gaze. kept in the seclusion
OF his palace at Kiota, he was revered as q
god by the people, and when he went abroad
in the city he rode IN closely curtained car
drawn by bullocxs. His sacred feet never
touched the earth and when he died it was
supposed that he would enter the company of
the gods.
He was at this time the emperor of Japan,
but he was only a nominal emperor. The
commandments of the imperial army
under the title of the shotgun administered
his affairs, and these commanders-in-chief,
who succeeded one another by hereditary
descent, had for generations usurped the real
authority Of the government, while they thus
kept the mikado in a sort of glass case and
held him up as a spiritual rather than tenn
poral ruler. He had all the titles and plenty
Of reverence His power, however, was linn
tied to the control of his wife and his twelve
concubines, and the shoguns kindly relieved
him Of all the duties OF an emperor. They
managed his treasury, made the laws, gov
erned the country and alto up the taxes
SUCCESSFUL REVOLUTION
This state of things went on for hundreds
of years A feudal system grew up under it.
The lords of this system became enervated by
luxury, and the chief officers under them,
about twenty years ago, organized a revolu-
ton to give back the mikado his real power.
The present emperor wns then upon his
throne. He was just Is years old
The Shotgun was overthrown and the em-
peror was taken by the revolutionists to Toxic
anu declared emperor in fact. This was the
beginning Of the progressive movement in
Japan. The young mikado came out of his
curtained secmsion, and before the court he
promised that changes should be made in the
empire; that deliberative assembly should
be formed, and that all measures should be
decided by public opinion. He promised that
impartiality aud justice should be adopted as
a basis Of action, and that intellect and learn
ing should be sought for throughout the
world in order to establish the foundations of
the empire
1t was upon this basis that the new gov
er11ment was founded, and since then thou
sands OF Japanese have been travelling over
the world seeking the best Of all kinds for
Japan. Since then many Of the old customs
have been thrown away. Railroads, tele-
graphs and schools have been established In.
tercourse with other nations has been kept
up, and the mikado rules the new japan. II
l am correctly informed, he is deeply inter.
ested In its progress, and he looks forward
anxiously toward the opening Of the parlia
ment which takes place In 1890.
The mikado has tho bluest blood Of any
ruler on the face of the earth. The present
| dynasty OF Japan runs back to the gods ant
his imperial majesty is the one hundred ant
twenty-6rst emperor OF Japan. The Japan
ese have their history and their mythology
and the present emperor comes from JIMMY
Tenno, who was the first mikado, and who
ruled Japan 600 years before Christ was born
This man was a descendant of the sun goddess
and Mutsuhito, the present emperor, traces
his descent directly from him.
Japanese history gives the story of each Of
will think a moment you viii SEQ how far
back $50 B. c. is. This was before Rome had
become an empire. England was unknown
even to the Romans, and hundreds OF years
were yet to elapse before Cesar penetrated
Gaul The present emperor was born IN
Kiota, Nov. 3, 1852. He was declared heir
apparent to the throne when he was years
old, and he succeeded on tho death OF his
father In 1857. He was crowned In 1868, and
was married at tho age OF II In 1860.
THE sIKADo's PERSONAL APPEARANCE.
His imperial majesty Is now SO years old
! Let me tell you how he looks, He Is taller
than the average Japanese, and his appear
ance Is not half as imposing now as when ht
wore therich Japanese costumes and sat cross
! legged on his mats Of state. He has dai4
brown cafe au lait complexion, and his eyes
! which look out through almond Sits, are Of q
brilliant black. His hair Is very thick, and
he parts IL In European style. 1t is combet
well up from a good forehead and hi
majesty's eyebrows have the decided arcl
| which Is indicative OF Japanese beauty. Hi
nose Is large and inclined 20 fairness i
has the wide nostrils OF the japanese
and his majesty's lips are thick. He 4
| Of medium size, but is inclined TO stoop
which imagine may come from the earlier
part Of his life having been spent in sitting
upon the floor. He wears q mtstache ant
| chin whislxers, and these, like those Of mos
OF his race, are thin. The court chamber
lain tells me that for the past sixteen years h,
has worn nothing but European clothes
| and he has to a large extent adopted Euro
pean ways. His dress Is that OF general O
! the army, and he takes great pride in mill
| tary matters. He reviews his troops seyera
times year, and Is thoroughly up in tn
| organization OF his armies When he goe
| out to ride he is always accompanied by hi
imperial guards, and he has lately purchase
| several new state carriages, which are tn
| wonder Of Toxic
The emperor Of Japan Is rich. He Is al
lowed 81, 500, 900 a year for his household dc
partment, and his private fortune is larg
and increasing. The chamberlain tells m
that he thoroughly understands business mat
ters and keeps himself well informed as 4
his Investments. Some OF these are in th
public lands and roads, and they are, o
course, managed by men appointed by him.