The Dickinson press., 1889-03-02
HE'S A BLUE BLOOD.
THE MlkADo OF JAPAN, HIS LOOKS
AND MANNER OF LIVING.
He Has n Cafe au Lait Complexion and
Thirteen Wives-Ianages to Exist on an
Income of So, 500, 900 Year-An Inter-
view with the Chamberlain.

ae Has Cafe au Lait Complexion and
Thirteen Wives-ManaGes to Exist on an
Income of Se.50O.oo0 u Year-An Inter-
view with the Chamberlain.
have had most remarkable journalistic
experience. have interviewed tho most
prominent of tho mikado's court chamber
lains on the home life of his majesty Such
an interview has, believe, never been held
before. 1t would have been impossible TWEEN.
ty years ago, and twenty-five years ago. if
successful, it would have been death to the
chamberlain and Imprisonment to me. At
that time it WAS treason to name aloud tho
personal name of the mikado In writing it,
full, and one of the strokes or letters had to
be left ont No one except the wives of the
emperor and his highest ministers ever saw
his f,..'' His divine features were never un-
veil 20 uolie' gaze Kept in the seclusion
of l.. ,.ice at kiota. he was revercd rs a
gol iy people, and when he went abroad
in t;i.'''i. lie rode in a closely curtaincd car
dr:l'i ~ !,uiocks. His sacred feet never
tore ~" earth. and when lie died it was
SUP. hat he would enter tho company of
the ).
IL ,s;, this time the emperor of Japan.
hut = LAS ONLY II nominal emperor The
conl'.s:l,,r-ln-chef of the imperial army
uilG IL title of the shogun administered
hi, affairs, and these commanders-in-chief,
WHO succeeded one another by hereditary
descent had for generations usurped tho real
authority of the government, while they thus
kept the mikado in a sort of glass case and
held him up rs {; spiritual rather than tenn
poral ruler He had all the titles and plenty
of reverence His power, however, was linn
ited to the control of his wife and his twelve
concubines, and the shoguns kindly relieved
him of all tho duties of an emperor They
managed his treasury, made tho laws, gov
erncd the country and ate up the taxes
A SUCCESSFUL REVOLUTION.
This state OF things went on for hundreds
of years. y 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 revolu-
ton to give back the mikado his real power
The present emperor was then upon his
throne. He was just Is years old
Tho shogun was ovcrthrown and the en-
pcror was taken by the revolutionists to Toxic
ai'l declared emperor in fact. This was tho
beginning of tho progressive movement in
Japan. The young mili2do camo out of his
curtainad secltlsion, and before the court he
promised that changes should bc made in the
empire; that deliberative assembly should
DO formed, and that all measures should be
decided by public opinion. He promised that
ilnpartiality and justice should be adopted as
II basis of action, and that intellect and lcaria.
ing should be sought for throughout the
avid f,,~ Ae-. l.
tho empire.
1t was upon this basis that tho new gov
ernmcnt 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. tclc.
grap'si and schools have been established. In
tcrcourse with other nations has Lcen kept
up, and the miliado rules the new Japan. If
l am correctly informed, he is deeply inter
ested in its progress, and he loo.,s forward
anxiously toward the opening of the parlia-
ment which takes place in 1879
The mikado has the bluest blood of ;,,y
ruler on the face of the earth. Tho present
dynasty of Japan runs hack to the gods and
his imperial majesty is the one hundred aud
twenty-first emperor of Japan The Japan.
ese have their history and their mythology,
and the present emperor comes from Ji.nnlu
Tenno, who was the first n!;aslo, and who
ruled Japan fGO years before Christ was born.
This man wasa descendant of the sun goddess,
and Mutsuhito TIE present emperor traces
his descent directly from him
japanese history gives the story of each of
tho 1870 cmperors between the two, and if YOU
will think n moment you will SEQ how far
back GGO B. c. is. This was before Rome had
become an empire. England was unknown
even to tho Romans, and hundreds of years
We're yet to elapsc before Cesar penetrated
CauL Tho present emperor was born in
kiota, Nov. 3, 49, He was declared heir
apparent to the throne when he was years
old, and he succeeded on tsa death of 1is
father in 1861. He was crowned in 1865, and
was married at the age of II in 1860
THE MIKADoS PERSONAL APPEARANCE
His imperial majesty is now IS years old
Let mo tell you how he looks. He is taller
than the average japanese, and his appear
ance is not half as imposing now as when he
wore the rich japanese costumes and sat cross
legged on his mats of state. He has dark
brown cafe au lait complexion, and his eyes,
which look out through almond slits, are of a
brilliant black His hair is very thick, and
he parts it in European style. 1t is conbcd
well up from good forehead. and his
najesty's eyebrows have the decided arch
which is Indicative of japanese beauty. His
nose is larg. and inclined to ilatness. 1t
has the wide nostrils of the japanese,
and his majesty's lips are thick lie is
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 c mustache and
chin whiskers, and these, Like those of most
of his race, arc thin. The court chamber
lain tells me that for the past sixteen years he
has Worn nothing but European clothes,
and he has to a large extent adopted Euro
pean ways. His dress is that Of general Of
the army, and !e takes great pride in mill
tary matters. He reviews his troops several
times year, and is thoroughly up in tho
organization of his armies. When he gocs
out to rido he is always accompanied BY his
imperial guards, and he has lately purchased
several new state carriages, which are the
wonder of Toxic.
The emperor Of Japan is rich. He is al
lowed s., 2,509,ooo year for bis household de-
partnaat. and his private fortune is largo
and increasing Tho chamberlain tells me
that he thoroughly understands business mat
ters and Keeps himself well informed as to
his Investments. Some Of these ere in the
public lands and roads, and they are, Of
coui'se, managed By men appointed by him.
FRANK c. Carpenter.
Sot just the Same.