Asheville daily citizen., 1894-09-25
JAPANESE IN NEW YORK.
They Are Prosperous and Adhere
to Glass Distinctions.
4 Large Business Done in Imported Silk
by tho Msrchants-American Gus
toms and Costumes Read
lly Adopted.

by tho Msrchants-American Gus
toms and Costumes Read
ily Adopted.
Three hundred japanese reside in
New York city. They do not live to-
gether in q colony like many other for
eigners, because they are divided by
their interests into distinct classes,
and, In addition, they are wealthy
enough to be able to live wherever they
please.
OF the different classes, says the New
York Herald, the most reserved is COM
posed Of the Japanese officials and
few men most intimately associated
with them. This class naturally CEN
tiers, to a considerable degree, around
the consul, Naoyemon Hashiguchi. Tho
second classis made up largely Of the
students, mostly young men who have
come to this country to learn its ways
and many Of whom are doing excellent
work In colleges. Then there are the
merchants, representatives Of large
Japanese business houses. Below these
classes is sort Of fourth estate, made
up Of carpenters, cooks and Wallets,
some Of whom make themselves indis-
pensable on steam yachts.
The Japanese living here are very
American In their ways, and they
eagerly ad opt American customs and
dress. This Is particularly true Of the
students, who dress with great elegance
and wish to appear as swell as the
swellest Of their American college 1850
ciates. Though so few in numbers,
they are exceedingly active and ener-
getie. They study all sorts Of business
enterprises and search for ideas to take
back to their own country. In the
business lines In which they have al
ready established themselves they have
cut into the trade Of American luer-
chants. An illustration Of this Is the
importing Of silk handkerchiefs. II
was not many years ago that most Of
these handkerchief were made In this
country. Last year there were I'm.
ported from Japan l,s+s,74s dozen silk
handkerchief, valued at %, ,s9o, ,848, and
ct present nearly all OF these articles
come from Japan. The statistics Of the
silk association show that last yeal
there wss imported from Japan 1870;
bales Of raw silk, valued st 90, 4,5ae, q
large proportion Of which entered the
port Of New York. In addition In the
same year there vel 10 imported from
Japan lss, 800 pieces Of silk goods, valued
at &a,o74,o9a.
Most Of the silly imported by the
Japanese is raw silk, on which there II
no duty. This comes In packages about
three feet long, two feet wide and Z
foot and a half thick, which are knowr
40 pickle bales. The bales are encssei
In . coarse kind Of Chinese mating
They weigh l3sk pounds each. Raw
silk consists Of tho long silk threads
twisted into hanks similar to hanks O
yarn. The Japanese merchants, mos
Of whom do business In Greene, Mercer
and Howard streets, and In the whole
sale section Of Broadway, ssll the raw
silk to the American manufacturers
who wind II on spindles and dye It, On,
then manufacture Il In their mills
most Of which are in Paterson an,
along the upper west side Of this city
| The japanese merchants also impor
large quantities Of tea. Along Broad
way are several importing house
which bring In all sorts Of Japanes
bric-a-brac, Thousands Of delicatel,
fashioned fans and pieces Of clotl
goods, and vases and urns and wha
not. Young men who like to get necl
scarfs little bit different from thos
usually found In shops discover som
queer and pleasing ones In these Japs
nese stores. Tho Japanese are fon
Of putting flower designs into thes
scarfs. Some Of them are entirely COZ
cred with tiny chrysanthemums, ep
othsrs have little flowers that look In
The four.leaf clover. In ono Of u
stores are 70 10 found sets q vcl
quaint Japanese fairy stories whic
, correspond In character TO the Moth,
Goose and the Tar Baby GLASS. They q
profussly illustrated with highly fans
. ful and grotesque pictures Of dragol
and animal pets. They arc printed {
, very soft paper, the surface Of whi,
feels TO the fingers very much like Il
soft fuss inside . chestnut burr. IT
covers sre decorated with small illu
! trations, and the books are bound WI
delicately colored ribbons. There .
! no American childfen's books III
I them.
+ The japanese are now trying 10 fos
- s..suaasn wss-A siaAiA tnaluda {