The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-10-23
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Currfl ftn ClntHoNy
ratt. fb,f tu i.,ir,m,is 'uuftsous 10
Zach uih0.. nHi Nai to . otilrnsft 1hes
ttsN.t siov to rais Aa,anians Ut tasis
saps faiirei4
am.Iry swim t.ll you that Japan
N uH Dlufv our miirolos. hut 20
t1r bottoms everything b. amU.t tho ~
I-i.. OI what v, Wu accustomed Co.
rlour. mu tcmt'Uaj fruit trees are
uU,a.ud ua. fr tho fruit they yield,
Iuf fr fh. blossoms thuy hnri what
HluuHHtn fruit thorp is b. tastulCss
inUiy tH.f trUOs uro dwmird, so that
ibu r1tlu of o. few square yards may
iayu iis pond, bridge and full grown
mt Mature b. atuutod and upprcsscd,
,ytat thp same timc aided aud assisted
l that tho result may bo pleasing 60
iha eye. aud tnyuin lies tho secret ~
tho I1rnD.o character
Nnl sterling worth is nothing com
uuud to- etiquette; ceremony Is every
thing bt rvo Those two common sail.
ars meeting iu the street. Regardless
Of pa-.rny and d any vehicle that may
interrupt their greeting, they uncover
bow deeply hyNing deep drawn sigh
ls token Of hing overwhelmed at
the honor And now the saluiaiims--
no abrupt "IIDllor' or "Huw are yuu;'
but "Nour servant is rcioiccd To see
your honorable countonanco
In the early days, say 90 or % year.
ago-that H.. the time when W. J..
] Grinis wrote "Thc Mikado's Empire
] we Foreigners were treated in the
same manner, and we have only our
selves To- blame for the dislike with
which we are regarded at present
Those Of us who tried 20 learn the Ian
puago, being accustomed TO the terse
and more or les abrupt Anglo-SaXon.
had very little patience with this con-
tinuous flow of ceremonial. Many is the
time that hearty "baka da no, " the
very worst expression "a Japanese can
utter and which can only he translated
by our emphatic "the ID fool, " was
hurled at the back Of the unconscious
foreigner lie had offended against the
/ supreme law, the code % ethics, by dis
regarding ceremonial forms which the
native considers Indispensable in all
intercourse Here is a japanese bargain
ing for iinriksha. He makes AN offer,
and the cody, barcheadrd, with pro.
found salaam, says, THAT is hOnorably
go, but may il please your honor 10 be
stow, % etc 4 foreigner bargains with
the same cody few hours later. Ht
is asked twice or three times the fare
which japanese would pay, and if he
offers that the cody says simply, NO
(this Is the oXtcnt Of his knowledge Oi
our tongucl and with "baka da me-
returns 10 his stand.
Go into native store accompanied by
. japanese gentleman. The storokecper
squattod behind his hibachi (charcoa
brazicr), bows profoundly TO your frienc
= aud favors you with stare Would hi
+ pOlit,ness not he thrown away upoi
such boor n you, being a foreigner
are suppof ed TO be-? Nou are welcom
to buy. and he will squeeze you all h
/ can, but rs to wasting his ciyility upoI
you-bahl
There Is no use in mincing matters
Japan has been described time and agail
by cphemeral visitors who saw every
thing as through rose colored glasses
Tho consequence Is that Japan and tn
japanese have been misrcproscntod
= both in the United States and elsewhere
and they have not been slow to take al
, vantage Of the high regard in whicI
1 thew are held. But this is neither
\ race nor a nation that requires petting
h nor is it necessary 10 20 into ecstasie
i over them On the contrary, this peOpl
j of over 10. 900, 600 has u wonderful vi
j tality and national yigor that vii
: make themselves felt in the world
history.
But in describing conditions as the
= actually are there isno intention to ca
;, all the odium upon the Japanese. II la
= been stated before that we foreigner
a are chiefly to blame. TO explain thi
3 more fully it is only necessary to loo
y into the matter Of business intercOurs
as between foreigner and native.
In early days-in some firms-thi
custom still prevails The bargainin
with the natives was intrusted to tn
compradorc, usually Chinanan, VIII
spoke the Yokohama kotoba (dialecD {
the Japanese. Now Chinaman consit
crs himself ~ at least the equal if M
the superior Of us, but Is decidedly n
rogant toward japanese, who in HI
turn regards his Monaghan neighbC
with the contempt Of Californian.
Under these circumstances jap
ncse gentleman on business intent woul
l.. 8 ~,
with the courtesy to which, in his ow
country at least, he certainly is entitled
he would be detained by the Chinama
or perhaps meet some supercilious juni'
clerk fresh from the mother count
and consequently not n little impresst
with his own superiority over any N
tive, asking him, what do You WANT
m and then refer him to the Chinamal
i. Is it not natural that this Japane
IN should shake the dust Of this house al
ut make a solemn vow not TO cross Il
v, threshold again?
To be sure, most firms have suporse
a. ed tbs Chinese compradore by uati'
-, statesmen or interpreters, hut these b
la long to the lower class Of Japanese, wit
no whom gentleman will not associat
Ill Hence misunderstanding and i'll feelii
IL prevail.
Id japanese of the better class give Yok
Is hama wide berth. To them this CT
''o is an anomaly, a fungus upon the sacr'
ao soil Of Dai Nippon, and some foreig
ers, thoughtlessly perhaps, do much
Of strengthen this feeling. - Yokohan
as Cor. New York World.
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