The record-union., 1899-07-22
FADS AND CRAZES.
An Englishman's Report o
Japan.

Japan is the land par excellence of
crazes, of ephemeral fads and crotchess.
Her people have been called by observ-
ers more ambitious of smartness than
of veracity-the French of the East
butt the title does scant justice-to the
French. The Gaul is a temperate, i'm
mobile, steadfast man of relentless and
answering purpose, compared with the
average of this nation of weathercocks.
The Japanese blow hot and cold form
friendships and enmities, change their
clothes, their politics, their creeds, alter
everything down to the very names of
their towns, with such startling rapid
ity that the dazed foreign observer at
times hardly knows where he-and the
nation-stands.
Already the craze-hot and strong
while it lasted-for an Anglo-Japanese
entente has pretty well died out. The
Japanese papers are laughing heartily
at the absurdity of the whole thing,
pointing out the impossibility of coun-
tries with interests so conflicting ever
making common cause, and limiting
even that the points Of contact be-
tween Japan and Great Britain are not
numerous or important.
1t is only history repeating itself
Japan's life as a modern nation has
been one succession of crazes, great and
small. The whole country went mad
over the mighty question of rabbits in
1873. Rabbits were unknown in Jap
an, and when they were first introduced
every up-to-date japanese yearned to
be the possessor of a lop-eared pet. The
craze lasted a. year. EXtravagant
prices, as much as f150 apiece, were
paid for choice specimens. Then came
a reaction: rabbits could be had at
three a penny.
There have been many other fads. for
cock fighting, bicycling, whist, waltz
ing, German manners, customs and in
stitutions, mesmerism, wrestling
joint stock companies. From the eff
fects of the last the country is still
suffering.
Some time ago Christianity was the
fashion" Now bitter hostility is be-
ing shown to the Christians. The ma
tive papers are continually recording
noisy demonstrations at Christian
meetings: the Western religion is de-
nounced by Buddhist lecturers, eager
to profit by the state Of public opinion,
as anti-national and seditious. Those
who remember with what favor Chris
tianity was looked on some years ago,
when it seemed not unlikely that Japan
might be suddenly Christianized by i'm
perial edict some fine morning. will ap-
preciate the greatness of the change.
Even linguistic reform is viewed with
disfavor. 1t is not very long ago since
one enthusiast actually proposed that
the whole japanese language should be
abolished as incompatible with progress
and that English should be substituted
for it!
Now even those moderate reformers
who would simplify or do away with
the clumsy character writing are
frowned on as unpatriotic, and the Diet
refused the other day to vote a few
dollars for commission of inquiry into
the question have seen extracts
from school text books which show
that the young idea in Japan is in
stilled with notions of the barbarism
and superstition of foreign nations, and
is told that Japanese morality is far
superior to that of the West-a quaint
ly amusing idea./ All these things may
be trifles, but they indicate pretty fair
ly the current of public opinion.
The officials, it must be conceded, do
not encourage this spirit; the few cool