Catoctin clarion., 1900-08-30
A GIRL SEES JAPAN
AND TELLS WHAT SHE THINKS
ABOUT IT.

Etiquette Is an important Part Of a
Japanese Maiden's Education, and
a Deal of Care Is Given to the Ar.
rangement of the GirdIe.
Miss Ethel Maud Soper, student
at the Woman's College, was born in
Japan and lived there a long time.
She Is the daughter of the Rev. Julius
Soper, of the Methodist Church, who
has been a missionary in Japan. Miss
Soper speaks as follows OF the differ
ence between a japanese girl and an
American girl:
"The first remark made after an in.
PRODUCTION is, And what might be
your honorable age?' And you may
be sure that If the answerer be a Jap
anese she will give her full age-~and
even be tempted to add year or two.
This Is the Indispensable question in
polite society. There is even special
costume which only women over so
may wear The long, dull-colored gar.
ment cannot be altered, but the lining
of the sleeves and neckpiece are made
of the most brilliant scarlet. The
sandals are laced with scarlet thongs,
and close skullcap of the same color
ing completes the dress.
"The dress of a Japanese girl fs
made Of straight pieces sewed to-
gether. Japanese sewing is very diff
ferent from ours. There are no ruf1es,
no gathers, no bias folds, the fashions
never change, and girl may wear
her mothers or grandmothers frock
without a thought of fit or fashion.
There are however, prescribed dresses
for different classes Of society. A
Japanese can tell at glance, but Q
European will get hopelessly bewil-
dered at the class distinctions indi-
Gated by tiny thread OF color In the
sleeve or slight variation in the way
of wearing the hair.
"The upper class japanese girl usu-
ally has a loose garment OF some dull
color lined with brighter tint Our
fashion of putting bright silk Innings
In our coats came from Japan. A ball
dress might be of dove-colored
crepe with a pink lining; the skirt
showing beneath this might be hand,
painted most elaborately. The neck.
piece showing above the loose outer
garment is often Of variegated silks.
beautifully ornamentrd.
"But the most interesting article OF
a Japanese girls toilet to herself Is
her belt First width Of crepe is
wound around the waist to hold the
dress in right position; over this
comes the belt proper 1t is often at
least IS inches wide: made Of any
substance, but always lined with sori
heavy material like canton flannel.
Some of these brocade belts. with
laces. which come from the shoulder
to the feet, cost as much as $500 OF
$500. II takes a good deal of skill to
get the belts on Just right, and Il
large part of Japanese girls eiuca'
ton consists in learning exactly ho"
to do It,
Il taught q princess once who wal
very close to the throne. She would
come to my house with several attend,
ants, and in the most costly, robes,
but If the weather was warm Shp
would be harefootcd.
"The hair Is dressed very elaborate
ly and always by a hairdresser. Thu
fashion of putting the hair over cusA'
ions, or rats" as schoolgirls call
them, is Japanese Importation. The
past fashion, too, OF wearing bangs
comes from another japanese way ot
wearing the hair. They fix their hair
once, or at most twice week, luT 1t
STAYS fixed until the hairdresser calls
again For fear the structure will get
tumbled when she is asleep, the Jap
anese girl dispenscs with pillows and
sleep with a wooden rest under the
back Of the neck and the head quite
unsupported.
"Very comfortable 1t must be, but
a japanese girl, like an American girl,
will do a great deal for the sake OF
appearing well,
"EtiOuette is an important part OF
q japanese sirl'S education. There
are professors Of etiGrotte in Japan.
csc schools, Just as there arc pruIcs.
sors In languages, and u girl must
know how to enter room, how to
introduce and all the numbcilosS rules
of precedence. All men. Of course.
take precedence of all women, unless
they have been Christiani2cd, then
they assume our ways with woman
kind.
"One specimen of this exaggerated
politencss is in their salutatiOn.
Where we would say, 1 am glad to
see you they would say, 4 hang upon
you honorable cyelids.'
"The japanese girl is apt to lie in
dolent. Knitting was a great OCcn
patton with them, and now that tho
Europeans have taught thCm other
kinds of work they 70 Wild with de
light over crochet stitches and differ
cnt kinds of embroidery. Almost tho
only game that the girls play Is bat
tloiore and shuttlecock. They do
this a great deal, looking pretty ard
picturesque when they play, just as il
they had stepped off a Jananesc fan,
1T was always very hard for the
missionaries to get bold of the Won.
en- of the family. When they called
only the men and the children would
appear, and when the wife was asked
for, o. she is just a stupid thing thu
loving husband would protest.
"A woman has little control over
her life. She marries at the will OF
her father or elder brother, often
without seeing her future husband
till she Is led to the altar. The man,
too, Is governed by his father. wha
selects the bride. but human hearts
are the same everywhere, and there
are some genuine love matches, even
In Japan.
There Is no furniture In a Japan
ese house, only cushions. A table fol-
meals is so small that 1t looks lika
a tray. The differences between the
house of poor man and the residence
of q millionaire consists In the timber
of which the house is built. You can
not find a knot in the wood Of beau
tifully-built house. Then the mating
on the floor will be 81 the finest and
the sliding doors, perhaps, beautifully
hand-painted. The kitchens, too, have
no furniture except the stove; there
is not even Il table; all the work is
done on the floor. AS you can imagine,
1t is beautifully clean. There is just