The morning times., 1896-05-17
wasnington's Triumphal Progress.


Nv. and after her departure the house
undergoes a thorough cleaning, another
Indication that She Is no longer of the house
hold. - sss
Formerly the fathers parting gift was
a short sword. with instructions to the
ctild- wife to use it on herself should she
fan to please her husband. The mar
riage is held in the house Of the mans
parents, and at sunset the girl is escorted
by the "nakado' and changes her white
kimono fora colored one provided by the
lover. -.--...--,-
The house is tastefnlly decorated with
flowers.
The Japanese well understand the charm
of simplicity. In all their floral arrange
mentS the individuality or each plant Is
retained. There are no morstrous bou-
quets or inlarmouioBs cOlorS. In fact, they
were S Il nation far advanced in esthetcs
when our anCest orS Wore untanned skins
and fed on acorns. The lotus the emblem
OF purity is freely used; the pine, emblem
attic of a faithful heart, ana other shrubs
and flowers, each with its own signifi-
canoe, are spariugly distributed.
In one corner of the room in which the
wedding occurs are two wooden figures
dressed as an Old man and won an, u
rather odd manner OF wishing the bride
and groom long life.
The marriage ceremony is most simple.
it, and the law little more. II partakss
OF the nature of an agreement, and can be
terminated by Joint consent. The BRIDE
groom is seen kueelng alone at one side
OF the room, where he is Joined by the
bride, "nakadc," and members OF the i'm
me iiate families. They Eneel facing each
other. AMI the bridegroom hands the bride
cup of ''Eaki.' a mild rice wine, from
whicn she sips ana returns 10 him. Nine
times these toaSts are drunk tn the ac-
compartment of string music from an ad-
Joining room, and their II Gaming is that
hencerorth the husband and wife for they
are now legally married-wlll drink from
the same cup, whether it be OF adversely
or prosperity. The wedding party is now
Joined by the relatives aud a banquet
follows:
The guests departed, the bridal chamber is
sought and again cups are empiied, the
husband this time being served by the
bride, who makes many low oheISanceS
and otherwise indicates her belief m her
husbands superiority. II is the beginning
of life of seryitude. for from now on the
husbands power is supreme. No osCula-
ton is indulged in and there are no terms
{ of endearment
Instead OF wearing. q ring as a sign of
marriage vows, the woman makes herself
as hideous and unattractive to other men
! as possible. This is easily done by black
titliS tux tt'tNi anu SiitlN tuH Niit
! a mediaeval mutiation now rapidly GO
| ing out of practice and only done by those
| who least need il.
| She also changes her Coiffure and style
/ of her dress as an indication OF maria ge.
| The honeymoon of a japanese bride is
| the most unhappy period of her life.
| Custom wills that she become the slave
not only 10 caprice of her husband, but
! 10 an exacting mother-in-law as well.
& ftpr birth Of baT child
! cially if it be a boy, conditions change
! somewhat and she receives a degree OF
! consideration.
Until recently the husband could at will
! divorce himself. He had but TO report to
| the "nakado' that the wife was ill-tem-
! pered, barren, Jealous, immoral, disobe-
| dent, too talkative, or in fact, almost
! anything that met with his disapproval.
| Concubinage was seldom made grounds
! for divorce by the woman. She could, how
! ever, declare herself divorced as freely as
| he, but by so doing she lost all claim TO
| social recognition, as we'll as her home
| and her children. Statistics show that but
| one -.ourth OF the divorces originate with
| women. law enacted in 1898 brings the
! divorce la W into close conformity with Euro
pean usages Even before then divorces
! were confined almost exclusively TO tie
| middle and lower classes.
| Not until old age does woman come
| into the free reward for her many years
| OF hardship and patience Her declining
| years are called the GO-Inkio-Sana, and
| during them every comfort the family purse
| can provide is given her.
While her lot is the least degraded of
! all Asiatc women, it is still pitiabie
| one, and made more conspicuous by the
! civilization that surrounds it.
From childhood she is taught perfect
obedience, first to father. then to hus-
| band and husbands parents; and wien
| widowed, to a son. Considered an inferior
! being, she is taken into little account out
| side or household matters. Although ten
der, gentle and womanly, there Is 10 ro-
! mantle homage for her, nor are her smiles
| ever mans incentive TO the performance
| of valiant deeds, But with Japan's rapid
| progress in other lines the emancipation
! of woman is bound to follow.
One of Japan's proverbs reads: Not
| to know is 10 be Buddta." Ignorance
| is Bliss expresses the same thought to
| us. In 1T is tie secret of the contentEnent
| plainly depicted on tue faces of the women
| here. She has prescribed privileges, and
| demands no rights. At present in her
childish ways she is the picture of sweet
| submission. OF her Chamberlain quotes
| the following comparison. evidently from
| some one under the spell: How sweet
| the japanese woman is. All the posi-
bilites of the race for goodness seeras
| to be concentrated in her. 1t shakes ones
| faith in some Occidental doctrines. If
this be the result of suppression and op-
preston. then these are not altogether bad.
On tie other hand, how diamond hard
| the character of the American woman be-
| comes under the idolatry of which she is
the object In the eternal order OF things
which is the higher being. the childish, con-
| fiding, sweet Japanese girl or the superb,
calculating. penetrating Occidental Circe
| of our more artificial society, with her
| enormous power for evil and her limited
capacity for good. Sweetness and gen.
tie nature go far to cast the lotus spell upon
those who journey TO the shores of the
Dai Nippon
/ LOUIS. G. STEVENSON.