The Portland daily press., 1894-08-25
MRS. CHIKA SAKURAI.
Remarkable Japanese Woman Visiting
Mrs. L. M. n. Stevens.

She was a Delegate from the w. c. T. U. of
Japan to the Worlds Convention at
Chicago--She Founded the First Chris
tian Girls School in Japan-Her Re-
marlsable and Romantic History-Her
Talk Yesterday.
Mrs. Chika Sakurai, this charming and
brilliant japanese woman, came to Chi
cago last fall as delegate from the W.
e. L. U. of Japan. There Mrs. L. NJ. N.
Stevens met her, and that is the reason
that she is now making a months visit
to Mrs. Stevens at her home in Stroud
water. Mrs. Sakurai's history is briefly
as follows: After the restoration of the
Emperor in 1868, that class of the Japan
csc nobility that opposed him were very
naturally deprived of their nobility and
property, as was the case after the
French Revolution. The scenes that
followed are almost indescribable. Hav-
ing never learned trade, the only thing
they could do for living was to per-
form manual labor. A few had the heart
and the muscle to do this, but the ma
jority had not. Various expedients were
resorted to by these suddenly impover-
ished ex-nobles. Some prostituted their
daughters-an expedient often resorted
to in extreme cases like this in oriental
countries, where flial obedience is CON-
sdered supreme virtue: others, who
were sounder in common sense, and had
more love for their children, were con-
tent with sending their daughters to re-
staurants to serve as mattresses.
Mrs. Sakurai was a daughter of a faith
er who belonged to this last named
class. While serving as waitress in a
restaurant in Toxic, her unusually grace
full manners attracted the attention of
a young naval officer who used to FREE
quent this restaurant. The officer could
not understand how girl waiting on
all kinds of guests in restaurant could
be as graceful in her manners as a lady
of the Emperors' court. He asked her
to explain this mystery to him, and the
girl told him her sad story. The officer
afterwards fell in love with her, and fin
ally married her.
In her talk bfore the Portland Wet
U. at No. SO Oak street, yesterday after
noon, Mrs. Sakurai said that when she
was young girl Cher father then being
a rich noble) she had a great desire to
learn to sing. But she had no musical
ability whatever, and her efforts were IN
vain. Baked in this she expressed a
desire to learn the English language,
and her father granted it. There was
only one Christian church in Toxic
then. and she had to walk five miles to
SundaF. school.
After she had been forcedssssto become
waitress in restaurant, and after her
consequent marriage. she continued the
study of English and Christianity. One
of the first teachers that her husband
secured for her was Mrs. David Thomp-
son, the wife of Presbyterian missiona
ry. whose untiring and motherly instruc
tion finally led to her accepting Christ.
From this moment Mrs. Sakurai became
missionary to her husband, and finally
succeeded in converting him.
When Mr.. Sakurai had once known the
blessings of the gospel, he wanted to i'm
part them to all his fellow eountrymen,
he felt called to preach. leaving his
excellent position in the navy, he en-
tered the ministry and became preach
er Of the despised foreign religion AT
ter having passed through numberless
trials and temptations, he is now the
pastor of leading Presbyterian church
in Toxic, and is counted one of the
most prominent Presbyterian ministers
in Japan.
WhenssMrs. Sakurai had acquired an
English education, she felt a strong im-
pulse to establish school, in which the
young women of Japan could obtain an
| English education, based on the princi-
pies of Christianity.
| A Christian education for girlsl Such
an idea had never been conceived of by
Japanese, much less by japanese
| woman, Most of the Japanese at that
| time were opposed to ANYTHING but the
| most elementary education for women.
They had always been taught by their
own religious faith to regard women as
| inferior beings to men, and had always
| thought it best to keep them IN ingno-
| rance, that they might yield absolute
obedience to men, according to the
teachings of Buddha and Confucius. Sue
cess was very much doubted. However,
encouraged by the willing and faithful
cooperation of the missionaries on the
field, and trusting in the help and
guidance of the Almighty, Mrs. Sakurai
carried out her plan. 1t soon became
evident that she had not acted unwisely.
The nobility, the rich and the influential
soon began to send their daughters to
Mrs, SAX urai's school-it being the only
girls school in Japan at that time in
| which an Enlish education could be OBJ
| tanned. 1t is not too much to say that
| the whole system of education for the
women of Japan was completely revolu-
tionized through the establishment OF
| this school Today the Sakurai Girls
School at Toxic, the Oldest and largest
girls school in the whole empire, stands
as lasting memorial of the labors OF
/ -Ln;.+;,p Iodu Mro Chilyo Co1-,,,;