The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-08-24
From the Chicago Record.

tremely sensitive about IL. The Rev.
Mr.. Tamura, pastor Of one OF the native
Presbyterian churches In this city, and
one Of the brightest and most ener-
getic representatives of the Christian
faith In Japan. was recently expelled
from the Presbytery for publishing a
book In which the marriage relation
and the enslavment Of women were too
freely discussed. II wis entitled 1.-THE
Japanese Bride" and was published In
English by Harper Bros. for American
readers.
Mr., Tamura had the usual authors
allowance OF ten copies sent him. which
he presented with his compliments to
prominent friends In and out Of the
church. They created sensation
which Mr.. Tamura himself calls u tenn
pest--because no Japanese had ever dis
cussed the subject so freely. or told the
truth so plainly. or compared the con-
dition Of his mother and sister and wife
with that OF women In other lands.
The book was taken up In the Presby-
terry and the author was accused OF
slanderlng his people. He was not
charged with falsehood. but with tell
Ing too much truth. II would not have
been so bad, they argued. II the book
had been written In Japanese for the
purpose of encouraging a reform. but
II was disgraceful for clergyman to
advertise the faults Of his race among
foreigners for the purpose, as they
claimed, OF creating n sensation.
Mr.. Tamura Ia perhaps best known In
the United States of all the Japanese
native preachers. He Is q graduate OF
Princeton college and Auburn Theo-
logical seminary He has occupied the
pulpit of some Presbyterian church In
nearly every city OF size In America,
and has made two lecturing tours for
the purpose OF raising money for an in
dustrial school he established here some
years ago. He has visited every state
and territory except Texas. and his
many friends In the United States will
regret to learn of his trouble here. But,
although his fellow-Presbyterlans pun
ished him for his indiscretiOn, they have
not Quenched his zeal or injured his in
fluence. When he was expelled from
the Presbytery his church went with
him. and has cince been more prosper
Gus than before. The sympathies of the
public, as Is usual In such cases. are
very generally with him. and the mis-
slonary element Of all denomina tions
will only admit that he was guilty Of
an indiscretion.
While japanese women do not have
their feet compressed and are not COM
PEELED to wear wells: while wife-beating
is extremely rare and the harem Is lin
tied to the imperial family and mobiles.
they have very little to say about their
own destinies. They are expected to be
womanly-kind, gentle. pretty. obedi-
ent and useful-but from birth TO burial
they are subject to a certain form Of
slavery that is shocking to the women
of the Western world. The experience
of woman in Japan Is summed up In the
word obedience" They have a phrase
here which describes the history OF all
women. 1t Is "the three obediences"-
obedience when unmarried to q father,
obedience when married to a husband,
obedience when widowed to a son-and
when a women dies she Is forgotten.
There are no shrines or tablets erected
to the memory Of the good mothers and
wives and daughters OF Japan for the
people to worship, although there are
several goddesses, and one woman saint
has crept into the Buddhist calendar.
Her name Ia Chiu-Jo-Hime and she Is
commemorated with an idol. As near
as I can ascertain her history, she was
nun, and they made her q saint be-
cause she discovered the usefulness OF
the fiber of the lotus root and wove 1t
into tapestry for altar decoration. Ben
ten Is the goddess OF good luck. and
there are streets named after her In
nearly all the cities. The principal
shopping street in Yokohama Is Ben
ten-Dori The next popular shopping
street is Honchie-Dori. which means "a
favorable location" and from It our
familiar slang phrase 'hunky doi'' was
probably derived. The deity who acts
as regent of the Buddhist hell Is Emma
o; but he Is god.
Most Of the goddesses are OF evil dis |
position, and In the Japanese language
there Is no word to describe galiantry
to women. In feudal times. when cour-
age and skill In combat were the high |
est tributes Of man, no Japanese knight
ever performed a valiant deed FOR the
love OF woman. He fought for the
approval OF his father or for the favor
Of his prince. Few Japanese poets and
authors have written OF love and wo-
mans smiles. All of the poetry and
literature that tends that way is not TIT |
for maidens or missionaries to read |
And II Is not because woman is un-
worthy. Every one who has visited
this country or has lived here will agree
In their appreciation OF the Japanese
women, even II they are not unanimous
as to their beauty. Judged by the artis-
tic models. the classic faces and figures
OF Greece. or the types of beauty that |
we admire the most In the United |
States, the Japanese women IL not beau
tiful. but she is sweet and gentle and |
good She suffers what few women are
compelled to endure, but she never COM
plains. and her influence In molding the |
character OF her children and In shap-
ts,.r lac. ,t, ,,t Ion, 90