Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-09

For heavens sake. stop that crying" To
hear this good missionary English in nest
of Japanese houses-and Japanese houses
are so thin that everything the neighbors
say is easily heard-was startling. In four
months We had never heard any scolding or
seen a child punished.
This unusual event proved to be one of
those internatiou households not uncom-
mon in the east. 1t was the AnglO-SaX
half of the child that roared and tyrann.zed
over its submissive Japanese mother His
English father had bought him a bright
blue ulster with brass buttons. In this he
strutted up and down Negisha Mura, boss
ing all the children of the quarter. A
palmer instance of heredity and racial traits
is rarely seen.
No one was more shocked at John Tashira
san than Tara, the little niece of our
maid Yen, '"The Honorable Miss Dollar
Even when o Tara had the toothache she
smiled through her pain
pad how" said o Tara "His rudeness-
to- Honora Observation-Disclosures Evil-matter-
to-respected-ears-of-t Augustly Honor
able-One is with great dignity, ana DOW
ing her little head down to the floor.
Even Japanese babies are popularity sup
posed never to cry. This comes pretty
near the truth, for the land and all there is
in it seems to be theirs.
cestral worship prevails the children are
bound to have a good time. A son is
necessary to carry on the WORSHIP OF ms
parents and to keep the ancestral fires lit
II q man has not a son. he adopts one or
takes another wife. If a woman has not a
son. she knows what to expect. Poiygamy
finds its excuse in religion. japanese girls
by no mea rs so highly valued but. as
can be seen, they work into the general
scheme Children being religious neces-
sity, their place is fixed. experimenting
this is the natural joy of parents in their
own progeny and the sense of possession.
Curiously enough pampered as they are,
the children are never caressed. The Jap
anese regard kissing as vulgar. animal and
insanitary Even foreign children would
willingly give up being kissed in return for
never being scoded or whipped.
When Baby Comes
When a Japanese child is born everybody
brings it gifts. Fish and eggs are the
proper esents particularly eggs. on which
the family probably suhsists until safety
sets in. On the third day it is named. and
goes to the temple to be blessed Icy the
priest. Girls are generally named after
some flower or fruIt, as Time plum bios
som, or "I<iku," chrysanthemum. Boys are
nicknamed. as "Etaro." glorious big one
or. perhaps. "Saburo,' meaning No. 3, the
third boy.
A baby wears layers of those long easy
slips we know as kimonas. which cover its
feet and it's hands, Consequently, 1t has
no cause for crying when it is dressed.
Even the poorest baby has its daily hot
bath. Hot in Japan means 10 degrees
Fahrenheit, temperature that gives even
a grown person lively recollectiOns. It's
head is shaved, with the exception of a
small tuft until it is three years old. One
of the few repulsive sights in japan is the
rumber of sore headed children seen on the
streets. These sores are not allowed to
heal. the theory being that in this manner
all the evil humors of the body are ex-
PEELED
When n baby is a few weeks old it is
strapped on the back of one of the younger
children and sent out into the streets
When our children are being Graded and
sung to- the japanese baby is beginning its
education This seems to explain that eX-
within fifty years has become d world
power
Children of the Poor.
The children of the poor play in the
streets and the temple grounds. and every
third child has baby on it's back This
makes no difference in the games. The
children play battledore and shuttlecock,
toss their rice bags. run. jump and even
walk on stills with the last born nodding
its helpless head or perhaps fast asleep, its
face turned upward and head lying back
on it's bearers shoulders AS the baby gets
older it takes an interest in all that is going
on. and daily adds to its stock of knowl-
edge
Children are carried in this manner until
they are three years old, and have their
dolls strapped on their backs. Thus enter
tanned and with plenty of company a
Japanese child has very little cause for
complaint.
Indoors the mother performs all her