Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-05-01
IN A JAPANESE THEATRE.


Sir Edwin Arnold Explains the Proper
Way of Committing Harl-I1aiJ.
Sir Edwin Arnold, writing from Yoko-
hama, gives the following description of the
Japanese theatres; For three nights past we
have sat heroically on our heels at Japanese
theatres witnessing the performances which
so delight the Yokohama public If you can
put up with the "pins and needless which
come into the hapless lower limbs of the
| European after about an hour of this position
upon mating there is much to interest in
such places. They are wholly unlike any
temple OF the drama at homo.
The first odd sight is an anteroom where
everybody hangs up his or her clogs and
worojs, and just imagine $50 pair of muddy
pattens on pegsl Next is a teapot room,
| where scores Of teapots are suspended for the
| refreshnenr Of the audience, since, at every
pause in the performance, attendants go
about shouting 'lrroshai kal' and so cha!
0 cha!" which is Give your orders!n and
"Who wishes for the honorable tea9n The
pit is sloping floor covered with mating,
and the gallery is divided into little square
pens with railing a foot high all nicely
matted, and hither-if an habitue-you
bring your cushion. your tobacco mono,n
your charcoal fire, your pipe, your baby
when you have one-and see at your ease al
ternately a comic piece and the successive
acts of some tremendous medieval tragedy.
Everybody goes about the building as he
likes, especially the children, who lift up the
curtain and survey the preparations for the
next scene, scamper about the stage and play
all sorts of private games until the acting re
commences when they are as good as gold
and quiet as mice. The performers como on
from the "boot and shoe room,n along mar
row side stage, the female parts being taken
by boys. The dresses are rich and the acting
intelligent, though extravagant, accompanied
almost always by wild instrumental recita-
tive of strings and drum.
Changes of the mise en- scene and the gen
eral business of the stage are accomplished by
persons who fit on and off in blacl, habili-
ments, which are supposed to render them to-
tally invisible to the spectators. These are,
like Japanese everywhere, attentive, patient.
easily pleased, and imaginative to the highest
degree They are abundantly content to see
forest where two small shrubs in pots are
placed upon the boards, and an impenetrable
wall where a split bamboo or couple of stones
have been deposited. The great character of
most pieces is the samuvai, the two sworded
swashbuckler, who comes prancing in with a
terrific swagGer, aud ends by drawing his
glittering blades to engage in fiery combat,
or to commit the hari-kari. The correct mode
of performing this latter rite is by a thrust-
as have learned-not slash, and the weapon
remains in the wound until all final DISPOSE
lions have been comfortably effected.
Everybody smokes everywhere in q Japan
csc theatre; no one hustles for his place or
wants more than his own heels to sit upon
A policeman in uniform occupies private
pen at the back, and, by lighted paper Ian
tern, reads loftily aud apart the days shin.
bun while the entertainment proceeds The
scenery is either absent or of the simplest
character The serious and lyrical pieces are
given i'll the old pure style of Japan, unnixed
with the Chinese words which enter so freely
into modern and colloquial japanese. Liver
pool Courier.