The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-12-26
GOING TO SCHOOL In JAPAN.
A Glimpse Mt the Life of Pupil in
the Land of Tea Drinking.

AS marked as is the dissimilarity of
the japanese child to our own wee
one, perhaps there are no lights in
which the former is shown that sets
off this dissimilitude like the quaint
rays of the educational sun which
Eliminates his path. Behold him,
then, approaching the frail, one story,
half paper and half wood school house
he attends-repairing thereto as one
of picturesque group of three, four,
or five happy youngsters, armed with
copy book, seroban (of which more
anon) huge paper umbrella and rice
jar, the last swinging from round
little arm in gayly brocaded bag
the avenue he is on and the school
house and surroundings all enveloped
in an atmosphere and hue of naive
and antique quaintneSS. In due time
he is inside the tidy little school room,
with its snowy mating, its bright
futons "a square of wadded silk or
crepe upon which to rest the knees,
chairs being unknown luxuries to the
Incorporated Japanese cast upon
the floor at regular intervals, one for
each abecedarian and one for the
teacher, and with its many odd little
chests of drawers, miniature chif-
foniers, in which are kept the books,
serobans, India ink, and brushes not
in use. The prevailing politeness in
this proverbially well hammered archi-
pelago goes methodically along hand
in hand with all concerns; in fact, the
very gates of the day swing asunder
upon hinges of etiquette, the first
school room rule demanding that the
scholars should all be assembled when
their teacher arrives, in order to bid
him good morning in body. Familiar
with the peculiar clash of his wooden
clog, the scholars range themselves in
a. straight line at the first announce
ment of his approach, and, at the first
glimpse caught of him, draw in their
breath with the long Kissing sound
that has been described in a previous
chapter as expressing awed regard.
This formality over, the dwarfish tutor
is saluted with absurdly low bows and
ia general CHEEKY clatter of words, in
which will nearly always be distin-
guished the EXPLANATIONS of "Ohyoi''
Good dayD, "Irrashaiw please deign
to enterD and "Oode nasap' (Be pleased
to make your honorable entranceD
Every act and word of the above
greeting the recipient considers as an
Ievidence of respectful affection; and
he never fails to say SO, nor to ex-
pupils are we'll
This pretty prelude over, the school
master, squatting upon his futon-all
the students Immediately obeying his
example by dropping noiselessly upon
theirs-begins the long days work by
calling aloud the number of its lesson
in reading.
The art of serving tea at that most
ceremonious of all social usages, the
tea ceremony, is, among the upper
classes throughout the country, con-
sidered to be an Indispensable frill on
the educational garments of a young
girl. This stilted affair simply bristles
with exacting codes. There are des-
potic rules as to tea bowls, which,
upon this occasion only, must be used
instead Of teapots; rules as to the tea
itself, which must be powdered and OF
one certain excellent quality; rules as
| to bamboo whisks, which are brought
| forward at a fixed moment, and with
which the fragrant beverage is beaten
until 1t foams; rules as the particular
variety and amount of the charcoal
over which the water for the making
of the tea is boiled; rules as to all the
utensils used, which must not only be
antique, but rigidly chaste and plain
| in style; and rules as to the cere-
monious, solemn performance of serv-
ing the tea after it's deliberately for
NAL making-all of which regulations
are taught by protested instructresses
most Of whom are gentlewomen in des.
titute circumstances Bazaar