Evening star., 1901-09-21
THE MIKADO'S COURT.
3The Honorable Gate" a Worthy CHIEF
of q Progressive People.

"The Honorable Gate" a Worthy Chief
of a Progressive People.
From tie London Globe.
The western world hears very little OF
the distant and somewhat secret court OF
the mikado. Yet 1t is interesting In more
than one respect, for the poetical charm OF
its traditions is giving place gradually be-
fore the advent of the spirit of the times.
The Mikado Mutsuhito is regarded as one
of the cleverest and at the same time most
modest rulers in Japanese history. When
he overthrew the "Shogun' In 1858 and re-
stored his own dynasty, he won at once the
admiration and sympathy of the people by
abolfshing a despotic form Of government
in favor Of milder form. In his own
country he is known as 'kotel, but he Is
generally referred to abroad as the mi
kado.' or 1.-The honorable gate.
The mikado Is of comparatively large
stature. and his very majestic bearing Is
increased by the generals uniform which
he usually wears. In his daily walks he
never passes beyond the limits Of the i'm
perial gardens, except on the occasion or
the opening Of parliament, and at rare In
tervals for the purpose of attending mill
.ary and civic festivals Unlike his pre-
decessors. the mikado Is very frequently to
be seen driving In his carriage, and when
he passes through the streets the Japanese
are no longer compelled, as was the case
in former days, either to disappear from
the line Of route or to turn their backs to-
ward their ruler. 1t Is curious to learn
that this attitude betokened a form Of the
highest respect. Nowadays the people learn
that the mikado is approaching only from
the shouts Of the police: THE mikado;
beWare!
But as the Japanese are not yet entirely
accustomed to the new order of things,
striking contrasts between the old sacred
traditions and modern ideas are often to be
seen. One day the mikadO nearly lost his
life through this conflict between the old
and the newer aspect Of life in Japan. The
imperial carriage had arrived at a railway
crossing just q train happened to he
coming up. The man in charge Of the
crossing did not dare to lower the barrier
before the mikado, and the engine driver
could not bring his train to a standstfll
However. the mikado escaped by q miracle
At home the mikado is necessarily at
work. He makes point OF being inform
ed Of everything that happens both in Ja-
pan and in foreign countries. He is very
easy of access for all his subjects, espe-
cialy for those of his people whom he has
intrusted with missions abroad. On the
other hand. he can grant only very short
audiences to Europeon diplomats He
speaks only Japanese. and in consequence
all interviews have to be interpreted to
him by dragomans; thus the conversation
Is 1aborious. and has to be made as short
as possible. The empress, who belongs to
one Of the leading Japanese families, Is
honored and revered for her goodness and
inexhaustible charity. Although her mai
esty speaks no foreign language, yet every
foreigner who enters her presence is charm
ed by the marvelously expressive play Of
her features.
The empress is nearly fifty-one years Of
age. but she shows to this day that she is
rightly entitled to her family name
'Haruko." the Spring" Her majesty be-
longs to the few women who seem never
to grow old, and who in the autumn of life
possess the charm Of knowing how to pre-
serve the smiling loveliness Of their youth,
She is devoted friend of literature, and
she Is never so happy as when she can
celebrate the three great festivals Of the
year. surrounded by the poets attached to
the court. These festivals are those of the
New Year. the Church and the Chrysanthe-
mum. The empress is herself a poetess.
and has established a. competition for Jap
anese poets, and for this competition she
fixes the subject But 1t is for her works
of charity that the empress Is the most re-
nowned. and she is at the head of all ma
tional efforts In this direction. The Red
Cross Society claims a great deal OF her
time. and during the war with China she
was very often found attending to the
wounded Japanese.