The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-07-31

turtles the literary and educated classes
In Japan have been taught by the
ancient Chinese method, which was
largely made necessary by tho peculiar
ity OF the language. ! saw In q print
Ing office this morning q case OF
Japaneses type. contained more than
5000 different characters. and the COM
positor IL supposed to remember them ALL
There are many more characters In the
classic language of japan. Six thous-
and characters only are necessary to
set up ordinary editorials and news
items. When a work Of theology or
philosophy or science Ia to be published
the printer has to add several thousand
"sorts." Although the department OF
education has reduced this enormous
task al much as possible the tendency
In Japanese schools II to develop the
memory at the expense OF the reason.
People Of woue erful Memories.
TIL japanese memory Is one OF the
| wonders Of the country. For example.
| It is the custom to number the houses
on a street in what you may call their
chronological order. instead OF their Sc
quence; that Is, In the order OF their
erection. SO that No. IL may adjoin 500
on one side and No. 20 on the other.
No. l may be three miles from No. 2.
and No. 10 midway between them In
the city Of Tokyo there are 1880 streets.
and, by the last sensus. 31S,320 houses.
which are divided into fifteen ku. or
wards. When street passes through
more than one ward the houses are
numbered independently. SO there may
be five or six numbered 20 and eight or
| ten numbered 2-perhaps miles apart.
Therefore when stranger sets out to
| find No 217 MotOmara machi. which Is
| the name Of a street. and Azabu. the
name of the ward, In which our friend
Tsuda Sen. who was a commissioner to
the Chicago Exposition. lives, he might
as we'll look for a needle In haystack.
After hunting for three or four hours
| and finding seven or eight houses with
| the same number on the same street
six or eight miles apart, he will sit down
| in the nearest tea house and cry or
curse, as the case may be. until he gets
cooled off. Then he will hire jinrikisha
man, write the address on a piece OF
paper, and 60 whirling up and down
streets and alleys, around corners and
| through short cuts until he Is landed at
the proper place without the slightest
physical, mental or moral damage.
The jinrikisha men are coolies. with
out education or mental training. Most
| Of them can read and write the names
Of streets and men and merchants and
factories. They know the location and
number Of every one Of the S1S.320
houses in Tokyo and the names Of al
most every one Of the 100000 inhabi-
tants They are very seldom puzzled
| to find an address, even though 1t may
| be given incorrectly, and II you will tell
them accurately where you want to 60
| they win take you without the slightest
delay or hesitation.
The same phenomenal memory ap-
pears in other classes of the people and
you have to be careful about telling a
Japanese gentleman the same story
twice. This is the result Of centuries
Of training, but the reasoning powers
| have had no such exercise.
The tendency. as have said, In the
public schools is to acquire information
| by rote without reason or morality.
and that Is what the missionaries who
appreciate the effect try to avoid. II
| has resulted in what is called the SASH
class, whom described in a recent let.
ter-young men with a fair degree OF
intelligence and education, without
moral stamina or principles or reason
They are patriotic to the highest de.
gree and their ambition is to reform all
the evils in politics that appear to
| them. But their moral perceptions are
50 dun that they cannot distinguish
between right and wrong. and. there.
| fore their crusades are so dangerous
They demonstrate the old adage thai
"a little learning Is dangerous thing.
| Qualifications Of Teachers.
The teachers IN the public schools are
not allowed to have anything to do with
politics or religion, and their religious
belief Is never O subject Of inquiry In
their examination. Some Of them are
Christians, having been educated In
the missionary schools. A larger pro-
portion profess Buddhism, but a ma
jority have no religion at all. The ten
dency Of educated natives Is to discard
the national religion and to become ma
terlalists. Their Investigations in lit.
erature and science demonstrate to then
the insufficiency Of the Buddhist faith
while they do not pursue their studies
far enough to ascertain the merits Oh
other religions. Although the school ol
free-thinkers in Germany and France
has sent no missionaries to Japan
their adherents In this country number
hundreds for every one who follows
Christ, regardless Of the fact that mil
Hons Of dollars and hundreds of earnes
and able men have been devoted to tht
introduction Of the Bible and the cross
The number Of converts to Christian
ity among the higher classes and th<
educated men OF Japan IL compare
lively small. but nearly every one viii
acknowledge that the influence OF tn,
missionaries upon civil affairs and tn,
progress Of the country has been i'm
measurable. One OF the common say
ings IL that the only exports from tn,
and missionaries. Commenting upol
this the other day an eminent states
man Of this country. himself an unbe
lever, remarked: "Yes. Both hav,
brought US hght-light for the eyes ant
light for the soul"
An Abundance Of Infidels.
In almost every school house In ia
pan you can find an infidel. The work.
Of Herbert Spericer. John Stuart Mil
and other writer's Of the same sor
were translated into the Japanese Ian
guage as soon as the Bible, and reprints
IRON ANr