The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-07-27

| UNVEILED
japanese Barber
ess and Her
Methods.
INTERESTING AND
NOVEL EXPERIENCE
Strong and Weak Points of the
Little Brown Lady Who
Cuts Hair.


If not, you should undergo the exper-
fence once-not oftener.
The lady tonsorial artist from the Land
of the Rising Sun has her own methods
of working She is nothing, if not orig
inal. Aside from the fact that the sign
in front of the place reads Barber
Shop" in letters such as no English or
American sign painter could execute, try
as he might and that the square little
room, usually on the same level with
the sidewalk, contains faded and dingy
| plush chair, a cheap mirror, mug,
razor, and some excuses for towels, the
semblance ceases. The perfumed atmos-
! phere, the rows upon rows OF private
mugs behind their glass doors, locked
away from dust and dirt, the shelf ful
! of hair tonics, dandruff exterminators,
I powder muffs and razors, are all abb
sent. The table on the side of the ROOM
covered with the second crop editions of
jokes from Puck and Judge, and the
thrilling tales of the Police Gazette. are
/ not TO be found.
! On entering, the Japanese chin scraper
does not rise and meet you with sweet
smile, such as one is led to expect whose
acquaintance with Japanese women has
| been limited to seeing them across the
foot lights of such comic operas as the
Mikado and the Geisha. You go to the
chair, climb in, and tuck the cloth of
questionable cleanliness about your neck.
The barberess comes up to you stares
you blankly in the face until you say:
! "A hair cut, pleased!
While she conducts a barber shop, and
knows perfectly well that you did not
drop in with the intention of having your
picture taken. or your teeth pulled, this
1 much Is necessary to start her moving.
| When started she invariably says:
! How you like"
/ To say, please cut 1t short in the back.
| and long in front. trim the sides slight
! ly, and be sure to have 1t trimmed so 1
can part It in the middle" would be con-
/ fusing to the fair craftsman crafts
| woman, besides, it would be a waste of
| energy on your part. The thing to do is
| to say, Heap short here" striking the
base of the neck with the hand. and
Heap long here" pulling your hand
through the hair over the forehead To
this she gives cultural grunt of assent,
and begins her task.
| The American barber, ordinarily cuts
a head of hair to suit himself One may
go into the most elaborate directions.
telling him, how to proceed with his art,
and he will heed your advice 50 care
fully, that when he snatches the cloth
from around you and shouts Next
you will see that your hair is cut just as
he has cut the hair of hundreds of others.
The japanese woman has no ideas of her
own, and never succeeds in imbibing
yours. She quits when you tell her, per-
fectly satisfied with the ruin she has ac
| compliShed. She is guided by chart,
no preconceived design.
/ Yet for all this, the brown little bar
Der has characteristics that 1t would be
well for her brethren of the Caucasian
IT. -,At~
not talk. and she Is not troubled with
breath that is continually asserting It
self. AS soon she has you fastened
down to her operating chair, she does
not begin with:
| How do you like Honolulu" Slight
Iy warm this morning" Been in swim
ming this week. Have your hair
singed. you will find that it is excellent
for keeping il from getting thin" She
works in silence. Nothing breaks the still
ness of the room. save the clicking of
the cold and clammy clippers, that she
runs over your Uranium, now this way,
now that Again, too. she does not make
you misers bic with her exhalations. She
does not blow down your back, into your
ears, or your face. with the force OF a
cyclone that has travelled through three
counties, and the scent of which cannot
be likened unto violets or magnolias
When she wants to how far from
the cuticle she is. she paws at you with
/ a brush or comb, and when the debris
has been removed, and she has once
more obtained her bearings, she calmly
proceeds as before. This she continues to
do until you call halt, and tell her
that you have your moneys worth.
After rakng all the loose hair possible
down your back. she proceeds to comb
your locks. This is a mystery that she
has never solved. 1t Is better to arrange
what hair you still have with you, your
self. 1t will be more satisfactory to all
lconcerned. In order to spare your own
feelings, 1t is always best not to think of
the condition OF the comb and the brush.
If you have archaeological theories
either omit this part of the routine, or
bring your own implements. After you
are out of the chair the fair BARBARA
makes few passes at you with whisk
broom. This is mere Formally on her
part, and is intended to show her good
will. 1t signifies nothing more.
Shaving, as conducted by the almond
eyed beauty, also has its terrors. bat
they are not quite so fearful as the
Fprevious operation. When she has lath-
cred your face with cold suds. she pro-
ceeds to remove the sstubble with the
single razor that the shop affords. she
is singularly successful al this. Not only
does she take away the stubhle, but
cross sections of your face as well. Whel
she feels that she has finished, the
facial expression of her patron looks
very much like that of the gentleman
who takes second honors in a twenty
five round boxing contest. The shaver
has n way of applying the lather to the
face the shavee that is all her own. The
English and American hair dressers, aft
ler having put as much lather on the
face as it can hold conveniently. proceed
to rub it in to the beard and face. When
this has been completed, more lather
lis applied. Not so with the female barber
of Honolulu She dumps the entire con-
tents of the mug on your face, at one
swoop If It stays, all right, If it falls
off. so much the worse for the patron.
The total price of these two novel ex-
nariances is forty cents. Twenty-Five