The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-06-15
ROYAL HEIR TO
JAPAN THRONE
SPECIAL CAUSE OF REJOICING
OVER THIS aRANDcH1LD.
First Child in Three Hundred Years
Not the Offspring of Handmade
in the Mikado's Palace-Mission-
aries Pleased, Too.

regard to Russia. have lately brought
| them very much to the front, hut an
other matter of different character
from war or diplomacy is just now
agitating the Land OF the Rising Sun.
| This is no less an event than the birth
of grandchild to the mikado.
In the chid-loving land of Japan,
| where all children are welcomed with
rejoicing, the birth of an heir to the
throne would under any circumstances
fill the hearts of the people with joy,
| but when current belief exists that
the emperor is of divine origin and his
mission is a sacred trust handed down
| from father to son for almost 5000
years, there is added a personal in
terest which separates this nation
from all others of the world.
| In the kwan Po. the court bulletin.
which appears every morning, and is
distributed among the mobiles, the an
| nouncement of the birth was couched
In the most formal and hgurative Ian
guage. with poetic alusions to pine
tree branches. flying storks, temple
priestesses and other references to an
clint customs which to foreign ears
seem to sound very mysterious and
interesting.
There is prevailing belief that the
white storks which nest in the
branches of the pines in the palace
grounds never use the three topmost
limbs when girl is to be born: they
build there only in honor of boy.
, After the birth of baby they rise
and with widespread wings fly far
into the blue sky, carrying the mes
sage to all Japan. This belief origin
ated the belief for decorative purposes
| of the flying stork on articles intended
| for New York or other congratula tory
| occasions.
To-day every house in Japan is dec
GRATED with two Japanese flags cross
| ed above white lantern which bears
the motto. Long life to the mikado'
Scarlet and white tassels of congratu-
lation are swinging at every gate
way, and all cities. towns and villages
are holding public meetings where,
again and again. the@ toasts are pro-
posed of "Yenno Heika Ban-zai.'
hippo Yeiko-ku Ran-Zai!" dong live
the mikado! long life to the land of
the rising sunD
Always the response is enthusiastic
and prolonged shouts of "Ban-zai!"
which means ten thousand years of
| prosperity to the mikado.'
| All schools are closed and thes treets
thronged with happy-faced children
| in holiday attire, and gathering clogs
| and tinkling hair-pins forming an ac-
compartment to the weird notes of
! "Kimigayo." with which the whole
land is resouding.
"kimigayo" is the national song of
Japan. 1t is a quaint, minor melody.
the words of which were gathered
with other trOubadour songs and put
into good form by the mikado who
lived about one thousand years ago.
1t is sung at the present time with
more heartiness than has echoed in it's
loyal words for many a day, Cor this
little prince Is the first child born Of
an empress for many generations.
MISSIONARIES ARE GLAD.
Not only the Japanese rejoice over
| this. The missionaries, ever since the
| marriage last May of Crown Prince
| Haru and the Princess SodakO, have
been Offering up earnest prayers. and
in the heavenly reply many of them
| behold a promise of the final aboli-
ton of the handmade system.
This custom came into existence
several hundred years ago for the
| purpose of avertinS a threatened ma
tional disaster. Probably nine-tenths
| of the Japanese even today have an
unquestioning faith in the divine or
| gin of the mikado. and sincerely be-
| licvc that We're his line to perish the
| empire would at once dissolve into
nclhinGness and the people lose for
ever the power to reorganize. To
avoid this calamity the handmade sys-
| TEN was originated.
In very ancient times the expresses
generally had large families of chill
| dren, but after the Introduction of
East Indian civilization the old-fash-
ioncd heathful simplicity of court life
| was lost and in succeeding generations
| the royal family was frequently so
| small that the danger of its becoming
extinct became a serious consideration
| to the entire nation. On account of
the almost universal faith in the pecu-
| liar importance of an unbroken milia-
do dynasty such calamity would
most certainly have been disastrous
and irremediable.
At this time rule was made. which
gradually came into practice, that
should an empress be chidless she
might. with the aid of certain court
officials, select maidens casually from
noble families equal or nearly equal in
rank to the one from which the en-
press Is chosen. This choice is invari-
ably made from one of the nine spe-
cal families whose rank is next to
royalty. Only the bluest of blue blood
is allowed to minge with the divine
strain which flows in the veins of the
| mikados,
| When children are born they belong
entirely to the empress. She guides,
instructs and cares for them with gem
uine love and pride, The real mother
never has anything to do with the
children, but she occupies position
OF honor until the death of the mikado
after which she retires to some quiet
| place, where she is always looked upon
as an honored widow.
Nevertheless, the child OF an empress
brings especial happiness to the peo-
pie, and this little one, the first for
almost 800 years, Is greeted all over
the land with every token of joy and
honor the people can show.And in the
palace not only will the Japanese cere-
monies of welcome he observed, but
all foreign ones. as well.
ANTIQUE PALACE CUSTOMS,
The ancient royal customs of the
| Great Mysterious Inside" as the mi
kado's palace is called, are little
known by the outside world. For ages
| there was no more curiosity or wonder
regarding the life of the imperial
| household than there is now among
| Christians as to the daily occupation
of the angels in heaven. The sacred
ness was far beyond speculation,