The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-12-17
SCHOOL GIRL IN JAPAN
COSMOPOLITAN ATTAINMENTS OF LITTLE LADY OF NIPPON.
Tiandieaps ofthe Schoolgirl in Inc New Edaeatisn-ChRir and and wndded Ktmono Uncomfortab'e.

One of the most wonderful products of the new Japan is the school girl. She shuflles gracefully to her academy in the clogs and kifnono of old Nippon, to study with doeile facility a Europ- can college curriculum, and at least one foreign language, as the pioneer Of the new education. There are thorns in her path, too, undreatned Of by the occidental student. The foreign langu- age begins at the wrong end of the beck, and reads from left to right in- / stead of of up and down; she finds diff ficulty in concentrating her attention the heating of the water to the wash by a desk; her wadded kimone, com- home, is far too warm for the stove heated class room, and she is always liable to he married in the midst of her studies.
 In spite of these handicaps, she read fly acquires even the higher education, and is almost painfully anxious to ex- eel, often overtaxing her frail little body and bright eyes in studying by the foggy flare of the andon long after her elders are asleep. Her own lan- guage by itself presents a. fair field for her industry. for in ordinary read ing and writing at least TOGO charac- ters are used, and scholars, owing to the admixture of Chinese, must master twice as many.
 Tn addition to the new western learn ing, So far, at least, she has retained that of the Land of the Rising Sun, where the proverbial ''tuppence" must always have been paid. She studies, as her ancestors, the Daimyo and the Samura1, studied, the art of opening and shutting doors, polite handling of teacups gracious reception of presents, and so on; in fact, so careful and elab- crate are her etiquette lessons that no no possibility of unpreparedness for emergencies is left to the Japanese maiden, who gains an entire self-pos- session through a thorough knowledge of how to act on all occasions impor- tant or trivial--together with habit ual politeness and charm.
 Tn the department class she masters the difficulties of walking in clogs and sandals, of sitting on and rising from the floor, and of lowing with grace in her tight kimono-her bows are often literally to the ground, remember.
 The arrangement of flowers is a de- lightful lesson, and important, consid- ering that a flower vase is often the sole furniture in room. Much time is spent in demonstration of how they should not be grouped, our old bou- quets being the earliest object lesson.
 Ceremonial tea interchangeable a dif- ferent thing from ordinary tea making --is very serious study. The number and depth of the salutations, the order of serving--eyerything in fact, from pec.ed that he would enter plea of ing of the tiny bowl-7is prescribed by D rigid and elaborate etiquette, a mis- take in which would be fatal to 8 well bred girls reputation.
 The reduced gentlewoman instructs in these dainty arts, but her lessons are growing unpopular and girls too en- grossed in sterner studies to pay hearty attention to the minute exact ments of old Japanese formalities. Boys schools have already discarded her eounsels of perfection, and proba- bly, in few generations middle-class girls will make their salutations and their tea minus the exquisite politeness of the Honorable Madame Etiquette.
 Music is always taught by women or blind persons. Aristocratic maidens