New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-02-08
FOR THE HONOR OF JAPAN.
PLAIN WORDS FROM A BLACK-hAikEp
PATRIOT
TO the Editor Of The Tribune

Sir. have read in the Tribune of the llth iasU
an article with the title White Wives In the
Fast Nav be pardoned to ask your favor 10
do us the Justice of printing these lines In your
paper as the answer to the former, as us contents
are So tlorny that it prcks flesh right deeply
and that it calls out a watchdog 10 DARK "O
the strange conduct of the author.
The whole narrative is indeed exquisitely drawn
and well calculated to arouse the curiosity anu
strike n dread into the heart of this people
If the author took for four-pawed ahihaio
he could not have done worse. To say that such
. thing as chastity is entirely absent from our
community, not even the synonymous WORD ior ~
in our language, or we have no better regarus
for women than for brutes. or a wife has to crawl
on her fours when she wants to approach her
husband. or a wife is not allowed TO eat with her
husband! Why, it is simply monstrous and IN
credulous 1t is an abomination. Who would
easily believe these accusations unless he pos
,csscs barbarous notions like the fanatics OF
the Middle Ages who gOricd in tying their
brethren to a stake and burn them with good
cheer?
During my long stay here I have never yet
met with accusations 80 terrible as THESE IL
the author is a worthy and sincerely hopes
to prevent the daughters Of this nation from en-
tering into marriage with the people whose MAN.
ncrs and habits so vastly differ he might have
found other means than UNANIMOUSLY accusing us
with unparalleled malignity. Although there is
q good deal of truth underlying the whole mar
rative, yet its power and animation is not so much
derived from the reality as from inventive genius
and skill of pen.
There are always two sides Of features, which
belong to all things. viz the good and the evil.
If We depict and enunerate only the evil side Of
= Lt,x,a n h1on1p
villain. no matter how truly great and good he be.
SO | say there are also two sides that invariably
belong to each nation If the author, whose
patriotism no one would dare to question. had as
good knowledge Of tht Devastating evils Of his
own country as he doa Of Japan he would put
himself at the top Of hG list of the great refOrmers
here and left rs alone
He believes that Christianity keeps off from his
country the innumcrablc evils lie detects in Japan.
If il Is truly 80 is the question? To my eye
Christianity appears like a monstrous shelter.
where all sorts Of evils and vilianics take refuge
that even led Bishop T. d. Huntington to ac-
knowledge its corruption and suggest the over
whcming necessity for us publication.
Now LET me return from my ramble 10 my
original question and consider in parts the eN-
aggcratcd estimation Of our corrupted morals and
please let it be remembered. that | 10 this not
from the wounded pride, nor from the desire
that our people should not be prevented thus
from marrying your daughters but from the
wish to rcctify the wrong, 10 correct the foults
and set before you impartially the true condition
of our people.
As to the chastity lie spoke Of. | like TO consider
in the first place what chase life the people keep
here. During my seven years stay in this coun-
try ! have heard Of more runaway wives and
husbands heartlcssy leaving their children in
the lurch. or wives of business men walldns with
mysterious men while their husbands are hard at
work downtown, than | have ever heard Of or
come in contact with in all my life before; and.
mind you they all profess TO be the best Christians
under the horizon. And this class II
Christians. who are in Japan tho Americans as
well as Europeans. instead of elcvating the mind
Of the infant nation, have UNANIMOUSLY created new
dcpravity in our land. Now let me speak our
side The chastity Of our PEOPLE is more strictly
kept than one can imagine. This is the reason
in our country the honor stands even before love.
The marriages are not contracted by the free
sclf-Nill of Young minds. They are transacted
mainly by the parents. who investigate
mluutclv tie natures ard the characters of the
respective side and if everything is satisfactory
to the both parties then BY the general consent OF
the plrcats the relatives and the friends, they are
married before the large company and the friends
Of both sides. Thus the wantOn marriage, which
is the result Of tie free choice Of husbands or
wives by the undeycloped mind OF young people.
is necessarily avoided The marriage ceremony
is retarded to hr one ~ the hottest and most
serious moment i'm the lives Of the two that are
involved Ard we hold il the highest disgrace, if
"a married daughter return home divorced. II IT.
is through her misconduct, she can not hold up
her fac, again i'm public without invcctivcs shower
down on Lcr. Thus our morals are restricted by
the yery organization of the social system But
this rigid system, sad TO say swept away from the
part of the people Of our big cities that infected
oy evils OF tie revolution. which had blown of
oar lcudra system and substituted it with the
constitutional government
For the rest, let me answer rs a whole: | con
lcs, in the FIST place that our women are not SO
highly REGARDED. almost 10 affection as in America
| have often heard from our people. who had been
t. Germany. that the condition of our women
very much resembles the women of that country.
But | have never Ne, heard any one say that the
Germans treat their women like animals. Let
me fatty deny that there IS no necoss ty Of any
class of our women Ia crawl on all fours TO APP
proach their husbands. nor are they detached from
the pleasure of sharing the same meals out of the
same plates Judge for yourself ii regarded
them SO low. why have had so many Queens
for our Sovcrcigns And our admiration for the
ability of some of them is everlasting and uni
ycrsal
The author goes on to say that the japanese
and the Chinese are one OF the same stock and
that they possess in main characteristics very
similar and Identical 1t is very possible that
We may be originally of tie same stock. But
the difference of the features Of the present genera
ton WILDLY shows that the Chinese forfeited
their claims to the original race by their com
plcte maleamatiOn with Tartars. But we are
free from it. As to the difference OF the char
acters, | have not made any special study. but
how can we fail to recognize their conflicting
elements of the two nations? Principally the
Chinese are extremely conservative. almost to