Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1896-06-19
AN kMBdGUUS8FA LADY !. JAPAN.

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| Correspondence of the Staunton VINDIcAToR]
AoMoRI JAPAN, April 80.
| Perhaps there is nothing more perplexing
than for us aliens to give fairly accurate
| statement of the character Of this people,
whose traditions and customs, laws and gov
eminent, language and thought, moral stand
ards and religious ideals, differ so widely
| from ours. Yet it is not uncommon to hear
sweeping statements concerning the traits of
| the nation ''They are apes, mere imitators, -
| says one. forgetting that the power of imita-
! ton. when coupled with that of assimilation,
| is one of the most fruitful sources of progress
'"They are tickle and quite unreliable, y
affirms another, without considering that the
people have history of ages that never could
have been evolved from love Of change
"Can you tell me in sentence what are
the characteristics Of the Japanese 2" asked
of one of the foreign instructors in govern.
ment employ The reply was: SIT does not
need a sentence; two words are sufficient
They are c0ncei and Deceit" "Tney are the
greatest liars on the face of the earth," wrote
our Harris, whose diary has been published.
"Liceatiousness is a strong trait of the ma.
tiOnal character
'sThey are most ungrateful, save when
looking for favors.
Extreme statements on the other side are by
no means uncommon. Struck with the happy
faces of the numerous children with other
children on their backs, Japan is declared to
be 'sa paradise for children and the family
81, 10 I>o XII
although the paradise and family life must
have their off side, since the ratio of divor-
ces to marriage is one to three. How to
avoid extremes and tell truthfully in few
words what are some of the more national
traits. is task one may not over confidently
attempt. Perhaps an approach to the under
standing of the. Japanese can be made by be-
ginning with the superficial. The first thing
that attracts the foreigners attention is the
fact that the customs and methods of work
are in many respects just opposite to ours,
Carpenters pull their planes and shave in
stead of pushing them.
Mechanics invariably make the thread of a
screw turn the other way so that the more you
screw the thing in the more it comes out, and
the more you screw it out the frmer it goes in
We sleep i'll beds, they sleep on the floor,
to us the rational way seems to us to get in on
the mattress and pull the blankets over u.s.
while they spread down the blankets and
pull the mattress over them.
Our baths are private, theirs seem to be
with view to publicity. A common sight in
in going through towns in the interior is to
see people out in front of their houses taking
BATH
Ii the ruler of a Western nation passes
through the streets the crowds shout them
selves hoarse and throw their hats high in the
in public, not hat is to be seen and he is
received with profound silence.
1t is the odd and laughable that attract the
mind at first. and thus Japan seems exceed
ingly funny, and the people, so like children
in their love of games and in their apparent
lack of self consciousness, that they are call
ed childish by many.
Passing on to the deeper life of the nation as
seen in construction of the language, we find
it has no articles and cares little for dis
tinctions of sex and of number. It has post
positions instead of propositions, and contains
particles that foreigners generally do not
Know what to do with. Nearly everything
in the language the order of words and ideas,
is, like the customs, just the reverse of ours,
SO that one seems to begin at the end of book
in reading it, and end at the beginning.
Another step takes us to the principles on
which Japan used to be governed, aud which
have had powerful influence in shaping
national traits. In the West the individual
is the unit of society, but here it was the FAM
lily. A whole family was held responsible
for the acts of its members. This accounts
for an expression in one of DR.. Neesiwa's
early letters to the effect that if the govern
ment found outhe was Christian his whole
family would be sacrificed
When that splendid moral hero, Sakura
Sogoro, was cruciied, his wife too was put
to death in the same way by his side, and
ing parents. The family, being the unit with
which the laws dealt, became of prime con-
sideratlon to maintain the family line was
an essential thing.
Great writers. like CRANE and Kidd affirm
that ''the substitution Of the individual for
group as the unit with which civil laws take
accounts most profoundly significant tran
sition,' from one stage of civilization to a
higher The codes recently promulgated here
show that Japan is now III the midst of this
transition, which will work no small change
in one part of the national life.
The principal Of loyalty gained unique
development here and given rise to some no.
BILE acts of self-saorifice.
The last words of the two students "spies''
who were recently subjected to weeks of
awful torture in China are said to have been:
"Our Emperor will honor u.s." Gifts from the
Emperor to the aged, as on the occasion of his
silver wedding, are regarded as precious heir
looms, and deepen, if possible, the reverence
for the Throne.
The old-time loyalty founded on faith in
the divine descent of the Imperial Line is un-
dergoing great change, and is giving way to
more rational loyalty and faith in the des-
tiny of Japan.
The question of japanese morality comes
up in connection with this principle of loyalty
and the maintenance of the family line
What is japanese morality? Wherever Chris
tian teachings shape public opinion, piacti
cal morality has centered around chastity and
the life long union of one man to one woman.
To be pure in heart and faithful in marital
relations are the basis Of the Christian home
Out OF this come the honor and deep respect
in which woman is held in Western nations,
the absence of it is one great cause for the
servile position of the woman of the Orient.
In marked contrast to the rude way in
which native women are treated in public
places, is the great respect accorded to for
elgners. A foreign lady can travel all over