New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-04-13
SPRING IN JAPAN.
PEOPLE TAKE HALF HOLIDAYS TO GO TO
CHERRY GRCVES-IRIS FESTI-
VAL IN MAY.

VAL IN MAY.
I'VE can hardly give the Filipinos sef-govern-
ment yet" said Professor Bashford Dean, of Co
luInbia in a lecture at the university on FRIDAY
because of the lack Of homogeneity. We nave
hoped in this country to see a race developed
there which would compare favorahly with the
Japanese But that becomes doubtful 10 one VINO
has seen some of the islands and the kind OF peo-
pie who live upon them. One might think these
islands had been used lumber room of the
races so many different kinds Of people are repre-
scented. They have scores of different languages.
They have differen; religions and customs. entire
" different WAYS Of thinking. on the island OF
Negros my hosts. who were Spanish half castles
had never seen tribe of Negritos who lived
few miles from the coast. and knew nothing what
ever about them. The heat of the climate has
had had effect in developing the Fiipinos- They
the reverse Of active. Their effort is TO do as
little s possible
Professor Dean told number Of interesting
things in his description Of his recent year spent
in Japan and the Philippines illustrating his state
ments with colored slides His opinion Of Japan
and japanese civilization is exceedingly high. in
place of conglomeration OF races, the japanese
peoola combines three great eements-the 1no
the Malay and the Corean. There are still few
thousands Of the pure Ino stock in the northern ISL
ands and this strain has left its stamp on the
whole. The Japanese kitchen. with its utensils
and cookery, is distnctively Ino The extreme
hairiness of the face and body Of some Japanese
types is an Inc trait.
The Malay branch is the most energetic one. and
is strong in the south. japanese architecture is
Maayan, the Shinto temple being good example
of the Malay house The warlike nature of the
japanese comes from the Malay element. Their
artistic traits. on the contrary. come from the
Corean strain-the love of painting and the love
Of nature. which is such strong national char
acteristic. The ruling classes have been of Corean
stock and the long, narrow faces the oblique eyes
and the delicate hands which distinguish the Corean
type are Very marked in the school for young
noblemen a Toxic.
1t is quite impossible for Americans" said Pro-
fessor Dean to comprehend the sentiment of rev
erence which the Japanese feel for their Emperor
You perhaps get idea of it if you can
imagine the feeling which all good Roman Catholics
would have for their Pope if they considered
him blood descendant of the founder of the
Christian Church. and possessed of a large share
of the power of his divine ancestor This is
very different conception, l take it, from that of
a Gilbert Sullivan Mikado"
The common people have curious idea of the
Nemesis of inanmate objects. The child is
taught that he must not steal. because there is
Nemesis behind the stolen things-a kind Of per-
soniffed revenge. which will manage to do the thief
harm. The speaker tried to purchase stone NOR
from old Ino. II had ground the meal for
his family for centuries. and the old man
fused sell it, because 1t had done good to his
family for long he feared that the spirit of the
thing would be offended his parting with it. and
would send him bad luck
The Buddhist religion, introduced twenty-five hun
dred years ago. has inculcated self-control to
degree marvellous TO foreign barbarian" Adults
viii tell their misfortunes to friends. for fear
OF making them sad.
We all testify that this is virtue which
might be cultivated with profit in the Western
world. said the speaker. Children will endure
: pain without crying. A little fellow of six
brought L me by his father to have a in his
foot trea- ed. He had walked the sand bare
footed The sand had got in the wound, and I
have no doubt he suffered exceedingly But he
never gave whimper, and there sign Of
feeling except when his little fingers would
the edge OF his chair at a paug. In the old DAYS
or chiValry the mobiles of Japan were taught that
honor was the greatest of all things. that ii
heroic to die for their own honor for that of their
lord The greatest thing in the world die
for the feudal lord And yet have been told by
of silk from Japan it is necessary open only
each DG ndd fn eer @ PIekag and tho to
same with mating and other Japanese imports.
! traditions of Japan?
The reason is to be found in the history of the
country In the days Of the feudal power the mer-
chant was regarded unclean thing much as
Ages b M of honor beo 6hs d6
10 me 3 Guiing classes But when the downfall Of
property, the merchants. who had been accumu-
and il is this japanese nerchant with his wealth
and power who is TO the front Japan to-day. with
methods which Japan had always despised under
the 2d regime 1t Is question If this merchant
eigners in the many ports have also treated the
Japanese most unfairly In many ways. rhey adopt
which they coolies. The Japanese is a
creature of courtesy, and II is very hard for him
TO understand this method
1T is not at all fattering to Western countries
to find what magnificent civilization the Japanese
have built up without copying us in the least"
If the behavior of animals is Of any significance,
Japan must have been the original garden Eden.
The animals around the Buddhist temples all
tame squirrels in the Columbia campus. The
deer will eat from your hand, and the crows will
swoop down from the air get their share. Even
the snakes viii crawl up to be fed. One of Pro-
fessor Deans friends, seeing OF these sacred
serpents making for him, as he supposed killed it
in his alarm, and shortly afterward departed very
expeditiously from that neighborhood, fearing the
wrath Of the populace
Professor Dean delightful nd
descriptions OF the floral festivals. of which the
flower loving Jap has a continuous series through
the year.
About this time IN the spring" said the speaker
1.-The people in all the cities will be taking
half holidays. They will go out, TO the cherry
groves and sit half day at the little tables
placed about under the trees, admiring the color
and bloom of the beautiful trees. In Nav comes
the iris festival which peculiar Yokohama,
when the people visit the great fields Of iris. Then
in June the festival of the wistaria, the