Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-31
THE BABIES OF JAPAN
FL0WERY EMPIRE THE PARA
Disc OF INFANTS.
Little Ones Shed Few Tears in Land
of the Rising SIMPLIFYING
in the Streets

OF Japan. with all fits marveiously rapid
changes from feudalism and isolation to a
position among the powers Of the world 1t
is true today. as IL was forty years ago
when Sir Rutherford Alcock wrote: ia
pan is the very paradise OF babies" Sir
Rutherford saw innumerable infants in the
three years he was in Japan. and as he was
physician as well diplomat and was
keen observer-as all physicians and dip
lomats should be-we may take Il that he
spoke the truth. Judging 10y his dsscrip-
lions of the native youngsters. # is small
wonder that her majesty's minister to the
court OF the great prince" or tycoon as
the shogon called himself i'm those days
had to write about them He could not
help II. His book. by the way. THE Capt.
tai OF the Tycoon" Is a vivid and delight
1ul picture OF the days when old Japan was
passing away and new Japan was nearly
ready to come out of it's chrysalis Japa-
nese babies of the twentieth century are as
irresistible as they were in Sir Rutherford's
day They are precociouS, too. for they
are a year old the moment they are born
and two years old the first new year day
That is the way the Japanese reckon age
counting the year in which the baby is
born one the next year two" and so
on. IL you had been born in Japan Just rs
the temple bell was about to strike twelve
the night of December 81, YOU would be
according to the Japanese mind, two years
old with the first clanE. So in Japan. which
to Europeans and Americans is a very
strange country indeed. one Of a pair of
twins might be year older than the other
Crowds of Happy Children.
Some travellers to this wonderful empire
have said that Japanese babies never cry
That is not quite true. They have all the
apparatus necessary-midrif, lungs and
vocal chords in excellent condition-and
they know how to use these with effect
but nevertheless, one sees fewer tears IN
the land of the rising sun and hears less
waiting than in other countries. This sur
prises the visitor. for he notes the throngS
of children In the streets-the playground
for almost all the youngsters i'm Japan: he
sees them tumble about so on their rather
awkward wooden clogs. falling often with n
good hard slap upon the roadway that
he wonders at hearing only shouts Of glee
and laughter. The children bounce about
as harmlessly rubber balls Often
when youngster stumbles and goes down
with force enough almost to dent the pave
ment. the stranger looking on is sure there
will be weeping. But the child Is up again
quickly; there Is the little panse which
children at home use in gathering all their
energy for a great boo-hoo (the stranger
knows il Is coming. and wonders what IL
will sound like in Japanesel. then. having
recalled what II was thinking about al the
instant il fell. the youngster scampers on
as merrily as before. The fan had inter
rupted its train of thought for the moment.
that was all. Because the children play
all over the streets. one needs a ''betto'
when one goes out for drive in Japan A
''betto' Is a footman-a most appropriate
word-whose business is to run on ahead OF
the horse to clear the way. He docs not
lack for exercise. for his arms and legs are
busy from the time the drive begins until
II is over. japanese children not too
careful. and their mothers do not use near
ly as many safeguards as do the women of
western countries. but there are few acct
dents This is rather a mystery for every
japanese house has an engawa or porch
and these porches do not have fences along
the edge to keep the infants from falling
OF. nor are there gates at the tops of
stairways. when the houses happen to have
stairways. yet | never saw japanese child
fall down stairs off a porch or ever
heard of any one else witnessing such a
mishap.
The Death Rate Low.
Another thing about these youngster is
that they all little gentlemen and
ladies, merry and happy possible, but
not rough. Mrs. Chapln-Ayrton says this
trait may be more apparent than real for
a grown person judges OF the roughness
of childrens play by the number Of things
they break, and in a Japanese house there
is no furniture bric-a-b to DESTROY
not even chairs. for the natives sit on the
floor. On lie other hand. Prof. Chamber
lain, learned man who has lived in Japan
great many years, lays this gentleness
to less robust health. which means less ami
NAL spirits than foreign children have.
However this may be- the health officers
say that the death rate for children is lower
in Japan than II is in Europe and in Amer
lea This is as 1t would be in a country
where the houses are off the ground a foot
or two ard have no cellars and the air
inside is as fresh as Il is out: where. too.
in such places. al least. as Toxic. every
one bathes and has a good scrubbing every
day From S00.000 to 10D0O 900 persons go
to the public baths of the capital daily,
and there are tens Of thousands of private
baths besides. That is good showing
for a city with population of 1000. 600.
When an infant is seven days old its
mother displays ner talent as a barber by
shaving its head all but a little bit at the
back of the neck right at the base OF the
skull like goatee that had strayed from
its proper place Later on she experiments
with various designs to discover the most
becoming. Sometimes she shaves the top
and the rim and leaves a tonsure some
times she leaves only the rim sometimes a
scalp lock and two love locks only but al
ways her work is picturesque. This deco
rative shaving process continues until the
youngster goes to school, say. when he or
she is five or six