Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-17
BABIES OF THE JAPANESE
THEY RARELY CRY IN THE LAND OF
BLOSSOMS.
Smiles, Good Humor and CheerfuIness
Are Common In the Land of
the Setting sun.


Yokohama Correspondence New York Advertiser
The drinking water in the cooler at the
Yokohama station had run out, and.
whether it was cause or effect, all the Jap
anese world was athirst and crowded to
| the empty tank Each one. as he tried the
| spigot to no purpose. instead of scowling
| ill-humoredly, stood quietly by-an illus
| tratfon of the good nature of the race-to
| enjoy the discontinue of the next conner.
Many were not satisfied with the proof
| of emptiness furnished by the tap. and
| lifted off the cover of the tank to take
"looksee"-their notion of a word express
| Ing curiosity gratifed. After a long string
| of boys and men had satisfied the foreign
| sense of humor. an old Japanese woman,
rare sight for some reason. waddled up
| for drink as fast as the flesh which had
come with age would permit. On her back
was a baby, chubby Japanese Cupid
Swathed more or less mysteriously and
| about her trooped three little girls not un-
like the big Jap dolls in the toy shops. 1t
seemed almost as remarkable to see the
| little tots walk as it would If her Jap doll
ship suddenly took to parading. Indeed.
| one was puzzled to know of the quintet
whether GRANDMOTHER or the dolls were
| better able to do the personal conducting
| for their little expedition. The clothes of
| the children were bright in color; their
| hair was in the usual bang in front, with
| hHOt, psyche or Otherwise, DenlnQ, their
| faces were demure and serious; in fact,
they were simply miniatures of what they
would be for the rest of their lives until
marriage, when blackened teeth, shaved
| eyebrows and somber garb would proclaim
that they We're spinsters no longer. Ger
tain it is that Japanese husbands do not
| lay much stress on beauty when they allow
these rather unmodern improvements to be
made.
The grandmother of the brood met with
the common fate in trying to get drink.
She peered at the tank out of her little
eyes hidden away in their puffed-out
cheeks, and then walked off. The children,
as soon as they they were to have no
water, instead of crying or pouting pro-
duced ball from somewhere and began
to play some Jap rendition of bounce ball.
| laughing and in the best of humor. And,
indeed the smile at the next comer's i'll
| luck was the only outward sign one had
| that the drinking fountain was drained
that day.
Waiting at the station.
Meanwhile, the crowd about the station
| continued to increase in number, and men
| bearing long bamboo poles. from the tip OF
| which fioated various flags and banners,
lined up with more or less regularity about
| the street. They were expecting the arrival
| of $50 soldiers who had completed their
| term of service in the army, it seemed. and
were ready to give them what in America
might be termed military blow out" One
| Of the striking characteristics of the crowd
| was the large number of babies. Almost
| every japanese woman seems to have
| baby on her back, and in many cases
| there is a baby surplus. and there are
| Jap little mothers carrying around their
| brothers their backs. suggesting the
| little mothers on the East Side of New
| York, with their little charges.
Sometimes the baby and the little mother
who is doing the carrying are not very diff
! ferent in size. Indeed, this carrying bust
| ness is almost a game with the children;
| they play at it. carrier and rider reversing
roles But the subject of Jap babies and
| children is too comprehensive for casual
| treatment. They are very wonderful, the
| little folk. possibly the most wonderful
thing in all Japan, all manner of curios
| being included
1t is no wonder that this good humored
| race. which nevertheless. has it's tempers,
too, Is so fond Of babies as these. or even
! that the population of Japan shows so
| rapid an increase-some 1 per cent year.
| But there are reasons quite beyond the
merely sentimental ones for this growth.
| The state religion of Japan 0he Shinto)
| consists largely of ancestor worship. Nat
urally. parents desire numerous offspring.
| so that they in turn may be sure of being
worshiped abundantly in the japanese here
after.
As the crowd grew larger and larger, and
| the baby population about the depot in
creased, there seemed in the general noise
of movement to be something lacking. 1t
heard everywhere IN the states. At last
| one baby did try to cry, and IT seemed al
most relief. but he was quickly silenced
| by being given his tiffin right on the
| crowded benches. Indeed, two babies were
| feeding at the same time within short
| distance of each other, and Of all the crowd
| the foreigners-that is, non-Japanese-were
| the only ones who seemed aware of the in
| cident One Of the two mothers had re-
| fined, delicate. oval face, with fine profile,
supported by the long slender neck. so typf-
| cal In Japan of refinement She, judging by
| her dress and the maid attending her. was
| of the upper class The other mother, by
| contrast looked especially large and coarse.
| After all, however, the most noticeable
| thing was the way the Japs have of not
| seeing what one should not see. The ba-
| bies' tiffin might have been miles away for
| all the crowd cared.
| Good Nature Everywhere.
| The train with the soldiers. however. re-
I fused to come, and babies, whether carried
| in the arms or the back, grow heavy
after a time. This led to frequent shifting
| around of the Junior heirs. and so the pro-
cess whereby the seemingly impossible feat
| Of getting the baby on and off ones back
| is really accomplished was revealed Every
| one at all interested IN that sort Of thing
| wonders how this is done when he first
! reaches Japan. 1t looks dangerous, and yet
| there is never report Of any accident.
| The whole secret is that the baby. by some
| streak of precocity in Japan helps his
| mother to hoist him aloft. Possibly he does
| this instead of saying the terribly clever
things that Englsh-speaking fathers at the
| club of night relate as the latest Of sons
and heirs. The way the baby helps in
Japan is this: The cloth band which ties
| him on. and which he sits. is placed
around his knees, the mother kneels down
In front of him, he grabs her shoulders In
his chubby hands, the band is drawn in,
| and his highness is enthroned, and evident
| ly to his entire satisfaction. To get the
| baby down the band is united, he catches
hold of it and is pulled around to one side.
All of these various doings took place in
| the couple of hours before the belated train
| arrived. All of this time the crowd had
| waited, the guard of honor had held up the
| long bamboo poles with banners on them
ana many had gone from the water cooler
thirsty. Yet there was never a complaint
only patience. smiles. good humor and
cheering. Then at last the soldier train did
put in its appearance the crowd fell In be-
hind the regiment and escorted them
through the streets. There was much
cheering. as In the states, but there also
was an entire absence of one feature which
sometimes is in evidence at celebrations at
home. There was absolutely no irtoxica-