The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-15
NATION AT PLAY.
rost Delightful Things in
Japan Are the Children.
CUNNING AS KITTENS.


80 children. Taken as . whole, don't
I'LL one finds such delightful children
fyWhere else in the world. For to the
f1Suty aud grace OF childhood, they add
e fognishness. the playfulness and the
ntleness Of puppies or kittens. They
So int Is selfpossessed. They are always
flmlly dressed, and have considerable
snount Of actual beauty, as well as quaint
- In heir little faces, as round and soft
= All plum. To begin with, they have
snaryeIous compilations, clear brown skins.
F. yelvety a. peaches, with rich damask
z1ud On the cheeks. And they have the
&kv6liest little rosebuds Of mouths, and the
*0iiiegt teeth, generally very regular.
k{k6aeh small. They have also beautiful
& It'll hands and feet. with q clear brown
! lin. slender, well-formed, ssneryous''
lncss and toes, and remarkably good
ouilide these points, they are beautifully
3. 3 quaint. Their queer little hickory
1l 6 heads are shaved, all except one
TT Of jet-black hair at the top of
I'D, or over each ear; and
66fS are like black beads, with
whites twinkling behind mar
- They have the funniest little
1oses, and plump and puppyish
~ Japanese love TO dress their chill
- + strictly japanese style, in the most
oboning clothes, inst as they exhaust
II Ingenuity in inventing games and
tuy,ler them.
1heir dress has always . plentiful ad.
lixtnfe Of red. Red is the color of youth
[ b Japan, but on grand occasions one must
QtO the rainbow, or the Kaleidoscope, or
lgegorks, to find a parallel. The general
lect Is that of a long gown open down the
INIT, with long, loose sleeves, and broad
11h Ct the waist. The little girls who
- apprenticed for the profession Of gel
- singing girl) wear brilliant and ex-
luiitely lowered silks, with robes or
1hes Of rich, stiff brocade, fabulously
1ear. They seem to have been rivaled by
little daimio (feudal prince) described BY
III Grifis. Little Matsu Daira," aged
3orG wore gold-hilted short sword in
- 6irdle, while lad of IL, his sword
arer, attended him to carry the longer
hdge of rank.
The Japanese commence their duties az
nethers earlier and leave them of later
Inn any nation in the world. One sees
0iIdren who do not look more than 4
tnn old carrying the last baby in the
lofi slung on their backs, and women
~ suckle children two, three or even five
nrs before they wean them. Sir Edwin
mold, whose editorial experince has
0ught him to be careful where statistics
~ concerned, says that the Japanese have
very small families. This being fact, it is
ntent that every man, woman and child
q the age of puberty must be busy in the
business of procreation of children, set
lorth as the main duty of married life in
The marriage service of the Episcopal
lhurch. For the streets literally swarm
nth children, especially at New Year
hide, on March 3 and May 5.
It is fortunate that nearly all the steeds
b Japan are human. Otherwise we never
Ihould have got to our destination in
lafety, that New Years day, when we
look the long drive from our temporary
abode in the castle of Toxic to the fair
which was taking place in the grounds of
The Great Temple of Kwannon at Asakusa,
Tor the streets were at the mercy of throngs
oflittle girls in their gayest dresses and
Sashes, with powdered faces and car
mined lips (coloring said to be in imitation
Of . certain kind of gay beetle) and with q
most gorgeous couture playing at hane-
suki (battledore and shuttlecock) in pairs
q circles. Their shuttlecocks were tiny
tAthered balls made of seeds, and their
httledores made Of the light kiri wood
Psulownia Imperialis) of which clogs are
made, had backs in all the colors of the
rainbow. raised up with cloth, padded
nlk, ETC., to give some popular actor, hero
romance or singing girl in the most
japanese style Of beauty.