The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-03-14


Mediation tne Most Usual Form. hue
Poetry and 1--we songs Permlasibis.
In Japan, courtship is regulated By
many curious oustoma Il Is carried on
ia many different ways, but tho most
usual one 10 by mediation. The duty Of
the medators is to investigate and in
form one party In regard to the prop
erty, reputation. and character Of the
other After this investigation there is
a meeting Of the persons intending TO
marry and there they are introduced to
each other They may promise TO marry
at this time, but before the hnal consent
is given each one must investigate the
others character. II both are satisfied
the marriage ceremony will be per-
formed by the help of the mediators,
and the name OF the contracting parties
must be recorded in the official register.
This Is considered as a civil contract.
In some instances children are betrothed
to each other by their respective parents
when mere babies, but OF course such an
engagement is voidable when tie chill
dren become Of age. The employment
of mediators is a necessary one; all tile
people in J pan are obliged to follow
this method, notwithstanding their rank
In society. The service Of the middle
man Is considered very honorable, and
the Japanese term for this is "musu-
buenokRmi, which means a god of con-
nection OF the opposite sex. Among
middle class people there is positively
no courtship between the parties them
selves With tile higher classes court
ship by poetry is in vogue. There are
two kinds Of this poetry, SSH" and
"Uta. The gentleman sends poems to
the lady, and she replies in poetry.
The following is translation Of a cele-
brated answer;
"The first plum blossom Of the Isle Of ouoshin,
This night shall ope, my lord, for you.
should you long TO know all the chRrms Of
this flower,
Come singing to the moon at the hour Of mid
night"
An allusion to the moon or flowers al
ways stands for tile word love. The fol-
lowing is n fine conceit attributed to a
gay young lady;
"Parted and from thee,
lgRze upon the heavenly vault,
How delightful wereit for me,
Could but the moon turn to a mirror"
Among the lower classes flirting is
practiced by the use Of the fan or hand
kerchief, or with a wave OF the right
hand, with palms dow inward, OF by the
fair charmer waving her long sleeves.
Instead of winking, the, convey the
same meaning by twitching the left
corner Of the mouth or rolling the eye
balls to the right or left Jealousy Is
expressed by erecting the two fore
fingers on the forehead, in illusion to
the monster. The courtship of the
lower class of young men and women
is on Hanami or picnic day, and on
that day one can hear whispering be-
hind the trees or flowers, but no kiss
ing or shaking Of hands. II they did
such a thing they would be excluded
from the society of their order. Middle
class people could not go so far even as
this; they are always endeavoring tc
preserve their reputation on account Of
their social standing. The celebration
Of a marriage ceremony is required moi
by the law, but by society. There are
several forms, but usually the first steI
is "yuino, or the exchange of presents
atthe time of the espousal, usually of fish,
belt, fan, money, etc, which consists Of
seven articles, as the number of seven
is considered fortunate one among all
classes After the exchange Of presents
few days are suffered to elapse snt
then is celebrated the marriage cere.
mony. This is not performed in the
church, but takes place in the house
as tile people think the church the place
for funerals and not for merry making
The expense OF the ceremony varies &C
cording to the social standing Of the
partiea The married couple do moi
take their honeymoon trip until two ol
three days after the wedding; it is gen
orally nothing more than a visit to thu
theater or hot spring resort Of which
there are many in Japan. The weddet
pair very seldom separate from the par
ents, but live near them, though not II
the same house. When the parents be
come old and feeble, the children ar,
obliged to make them a comfortabl,
home called @Inkio. which literally
translated means a resting place. Thh
is customarily built In the same plao,
by the son. At a certain age the parent
generally turn over as gift their entir'
property to their son.