The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-16
From the Chicago Record.

From the Chicago Record.
Childhood left behind. Japanese wo-
man finds life not without many cares and
responsibilities. Marriage takes place ear
ly' and with it a new life begins. With
her parents the young girl has grown up
innocent modest and unassumng. She is
| obedlent to the wishes OF her superiol-s
| helptu! In the household, and handy with
| her needle. The outer world she knows but
| NIUE or and the husband, who Is chosen
for her by her parents. is accepted usual
| ~ without doubts or misgivings, there be-
| ing no questions of love between the young
| people before marriage, though sometimes
| there may be little social intercourse.
the friend who serves as go-between ar
| ranges all the details of the enga cement.
ceremony and marriage and on an aus
| piclous day, the rousseau OF the bride,
| consisting of furniture, bureaus and lac
| quer boxes filled with many beautiful
| dresses and rich girdles, silk quilts and
| bedding, and all the necessary appurte-
nances of a Japanese lady, are sent with
uue ceremony few hours before the ar
rival OF the bride at her future home
me bride is accompanied by the go-be-
tween and mis- wife, and the wedding cere-
mony takes place quietly a the home of
| the groom with no one present but the
| contracting parties, the go-between and
the little maid who pours out the sym
| boltc wine taken from the two-mouthed
cup, each side of which is given to groom
and bride alternately The drinking of
this wine is token that lifes joys and
sorrows are to be shared together here
after, and 1t is taken by them nine times
IN all. After this formal ceremony between
| the bride and groom the bride also takes
wine with her husbands relatives, the
parents, brothers, and sisters, as SYM
Dol OF the union between herself and
| them.
Although such ceremony would seem
very simple, it is in truth most compl-
Gated. 1t is not gay and brilliant as a
wedding would be among Europeans and
Americans, with crowds of invited guests,
| snowy decorations and a grand ceremo-
NAL in some large church. The japanese
ceremony, as well as the feast, which Is
| held after 1t, and given to parents and
| relatives of bride and groom, is carried
| out under many strict rules Of etiquette.
| which entail much thought and care. On
| the part of the bride there is very
| elaborate toilet The underdress, of pure
| white silk, long and flowing. is worn un-
| der gaily figured over garment with
the broad sash tied behind, the costume
being changed several times in the even
| ing. There Is the coiffuer, most carefully
arranged and adorned with tortoise-shell
comb and hairpin, the fixing of which
| has taken an hour or two of the skillful
| hairdresser's time. Presents to each mem
Der of the family of the groom are given
| by the bride. The rooms are decora ted
with appropriate scroll pictures and or
naments, all symbolic of good luck and
happiness, among the emh,ems being the
stork and tortoise. the pine, plum and
bamboo. The house and the salutations
and order of the ceremony and the service
OF the dinner are all arranged by rules
too complicated and numerous to be de-
| tailed here.
Presents are sent from friends and rel
| atives who have heard OF the nuptuals
feast is held in the brides home a few
days after the wedding. and then finally
| a grand entertainment is given to rela-
! tives and friends by the newly welded
! couple After that life settles down to
/ its usual routine and the new wife fits
| herself as best she may into her new sur
| roundings. The newly married people do
| not make a separate home, but It is ex-
! pected that they will remain with the
! parents of the husband under the same
! roof and form part of the household
In this way it is often trying to the new
| wife, especially If there be many mem
! bers in the family, for ii will be her duty
| as far as possible to bend her will to
| theirs and to please them in every way
| Her husband and his parents stand first
| however, and she must see to their COM
! fort, to wait upon them and forestall
/ their wishes in many little ways
During the lifetime of the mother in-law
| or at least until she has grown too old to
desire to hold the actual reins of govern
ment. the young wife does not have full
! authority to manage the household. but is
entirely under the rule Of the elder wo-
man. She is thus Initiated into the ways of
the house and trained to follow in the foot
| steps OF her predecessors. II is this Gus
tom which makes early marriage in Japan
a possibility, for otherwise a young girl OF
16 or II could not take into her hands the
whole management of a household. nor
serve the husband as she is expected to do
AS 1t is. the young wife has her hands
full in attending to the wants of those
around her. for she takes A subordinate
place. and her own desires and PERSONAL
ity must be sunk in those Of others No
longer a child, a woman's duties are de-
manded of her, and she must endeavor to
fulfill them. for on her ability to please
depends her future happiness. Failing in
this means disgrace and divorce and q re-
turn to the paternal roof a dependent for
life on father or brother, the only alter
native being a second marriage, which
can hardly be as propitious as the first
one Divorces are easily gained and for
several causes, but in every case the
breaking of the marriage tie is, for the
woman, more or less disgrace, and must
be avoided by every means possible.
The daily round of duties is not varied
The Japanese house, with it's polished
woodwork and soft matted floors must
be kept scrupulously clean. Every morn
ing an evening they must be wiped or
swept, for the open paper partitions let in
much dust from the gardens and streets.
The flowers in the raised alcove must be
arranged in the vase. the one hanging
scron in the room changed according 10
season or occasion The women of the
household must see that all Is made neat
and tidy. The young wife assists her
husband i'm his preparations as he starts
off on his daily round of business, sees
that everything is conveniently on hand,
and Is ready to receive him and tend 10
his comfort when he returns home in
the evening. In case of unexpected
guests-and these are Of almost daily oc-
currence-evcrything must be attended to
promptly and without the least show Of
the inconvenience which must necessarily
occur when dinner for several visitors
is called for on short notice But Japa-
nese hospitality Is genuine; such things
are considered TO be a matter Of course,
and no one thinks how much anxiety It
entails on the wife Of the household.
Cooking, however, is a simple matter.
and in Tokyo there are so many estab-