Evening journal., 1900-03-23

officials of the realm and strength
ened their hold on the power by mar
rying their daughters to the emper-
ors. The daughters were in these cas-
es often the power behind the throne.
BY the laws of Japan the emperor
must be a descendant Of this family,
or, rather, he must marry into one
OF five noble families of Japan, all Of
which have come from the ancient Flu
jiwaras. The princess mother was a
sister of the late empress dowager,
which makes her a cousin Of her fu-
ture husband.
The silk mills OF Japan are at work
producing their finest stuffs for the
princess stuffs that will stand alone
and are seldom seen outside OF the
empire. The empress herself has be-
come interested in the matter and the
costumes are being made by the i'm
perial dressmakers in the palace of
her majesty. The cutting and fitting is
largely under the direction of the no
BILE ladies of the court, the sewing be-
ing done by the workwomen. The hats
and bonnets are being made by her
majesty's own milliners and a great
part of the trousseau will be of jap
anese materials. At the same time
many things are being imported from
Paris, London and Berlin, so that al
together the brides outfit will be
something wonderful even for these
times.
AS to it's cost no one can tell. Prince
Kujo himself is not very rich, but he
has given his daughter 100000 yen. or
$4,000, for the purpose, and to this
the emperor has added 400, 900 more.
This sum is equal to about S250,000
in gold, and it certainly should be
enough to cover the expenses of the
imperial orange blossoms. If it should
not the princess can draw further on
his majesty for he has just directed
. that a present of 100000 yen. equal to
$3.50 900 in gold. be given to her out Of
the estate of the late empress dowa-
ger, who was her aunt This makes
her allowance for trouseau, pin mon
ey etc, considerably more than half
a million in gold, and she certainly
should be able to buy some pretty
. things for that.
As to presents, starting out with
+ these from his majesty, the imperial
& bridal couple will have no end of
+ them. They will come in every shape
. and form from all parts of the empire,
and from high and low. There will be
4 cranes and turtles of solid gold and
4 solid silver without number. These
4 things are emblematic of longevity
and are very common as wedding
gifts in Japan.
It has not been decided what the
wedding ceremony will be nor wheth-
er it will be after the style Of the old
Japan or a new form gotten up by
the advisers of the imperial household
and the emperor to suit the new con-
ditions. II it is according to the old
forms her royal highness and the
prince will dress for it in Japanese
costume, the princess wearing about
thirteen silk garments, one over the
other, and going through several
changes OF clothes before the wedding
is accomplished. In ordinary Japanese
weddings no ring is used and no prom
ises are made by the pair as to fidel-
ity, obedience, etc. The wedding con-
sists of the drinking of a number of
cups Of Japanese wine or saH togeth-
er in a certain way.
The princess is well advanced for
her age. When she left school her
chief studies were Japanese and Chi
nese literature, universal history.
French, mathematics, penmanship
and drawing. She has dropped every
thing but her history. geography and
French and is devoting more time to
her music. She now has private tutors.
who come to her house to teach her.
The princess is noted for her poetic
ability. She writes beautifully, and
her cherry tree effusions are said to
be especially fine In both music and
poetry she will vie with the present
empress who is noted as one of the
most beautiful writers of Japanese DO.
ems. Her imperial majesty displayed
81 remarkable poetic ability when she
I. was as young as the Princess Sada,
# and her sonnets are now celebrated
81 in the Japanese literature of the age