Arizona republican., 1898-05-09
SOME JAPANESE JOKES.
The People of That Country Enjoy
 Such Fun.

The Japanese have a keen sense of humor, and their literature abounds in witty sayings and funny stories. They also appreciate the better class of jokes published in other countries, and many bright paragraph and laughter-provoking dialogue is trans lated from the American press and re- printed in the native papers. Japa- nese jokes are artistic, subtle, and to be enjoyed thoroughly must be un- derstood in the original. A forei gner examining the Japanese language and noting it's peculiar construction and idioms. might think it rather labor ious matter to joke intelllgently in that tongue. For instance, where we ask, How is your mother?" the po- lite Japanese would propound query, which, on being literally rendered into English, runs as follows: Your mother as for honorably we'll being is?" Where we say, Please speak louder" he would say, in effect, More big voice by-means-of dedgning to speak condescend;" and where we might observe, we shall have thun- der storm," his remarks, again lit orally interpreted, would be to this effect: Thunder emitting sound storm to appears likely to become be- ing us." And yet the rarest kind of humor and fun are easily and deli cately expressed by him.
 A good example of Japanese humor is the story of two men who were stone deaf, and who meeting each other one morning, indulged in the fol- lowing dialogue:
 First Deaf Man-Good morning. Are you going to buy sake [something to drinkJ?
 Second Deaf Man-I am going to buy sake
 First Deaf Man-Oh, excuse me; I thought you were going to buy sake.
 Neither had heard or understood a syllable of what the other was say ing. Another story, in which the na- tional drink figures, runs as follows. It may be explained that sake is liked best when made hot:
 A toper, feeling "headachy" on the day after a spree, had fallen asleep with a towel wrapped around his head Next he dreamed that he had found a cask of sake, which caused him so much joy that he licked his chops be- fore tasting it. How deliciousi" he exclaimed. Tt would be the proper thing to report the find at police head quarters; but a windfall like this sake-no! no! I cannot let it escape me. Well! shall I take a glass? No there will be nothing lost by waiting until l warm it" He was just going to set it to warm, when the midday gun awakened him with start, where upon he ruefully exclaimed: "Oh! what a pity it was I did not make haste to drink it cold'
 The story of an illiterate dog is told plaintively by one who was bit ten:
 You told me that when a dog parked at one he would leave oil do- ing so if one wrote tiger on the palm of ones hand and kept ones fist clenched. Well, have had a rough time of it for listening to you"
 Indeed. How so?"
 "A European dog began barking and flying at me as I was coming home late last night. So stuck my clench- ed fist out toward him, and just look how I got bitten"
 "Oh! Then probably it was a dog who had not yet learned Japanese writing"
 In 'The Pursuit of Fashion we obtain glimpse of the Japanese sat irist. Two young men having come across each other in front of a hab- erdasher's shop, one of them waved his hand hurriedly and cried out:
 T have much to say to you, but as urgent business calls me home al present must put off the conversation for a few days, when I will come ano see you at your house."
 The other, astonished at his friend: strange excitement, asked him wha this urgent business might be; wheth CT he meant to say, for instance, tha any of his family had been taken i'll
 "Oh, no," replied the first youn, man, with laugh; I have just beel getting at this shop kind of kerchie