The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-03-20

HOW THE JAPS GEL
EBRATED VICTORY
(By Edward T. Hayden!)

great. Even the messenger boys and the
milkmen are so jubilant that they have no
| respect for their elders
All Japan has turned itself loose and is
rejoicing boisterously over the victories at
Chemulpo and Port Arthur True no one
knows very much about the victories be-
T! yond the mere heavily censored announce
ments but the people are not bothering
| themselves about details. The main thing
i IS that their Empcrors will has been done
The flag of the Rising Sun carried on
| to glorious victory.
Flags and lanters are displayed in front
OF every house. The students parade the
streets at night. Illuminating the crowded
thoroughfares with their tin torches and
paper lanters. Feasting is going on on
all sides The clubs and societies are keep
ing open house; scores of business houses
are closed. Country people have come
INTO the city by the thousand to ioin i'm
the celebration, and in many cases the en-.
tire population of town has escorted its
recruits and reserves to the barracks. The
boys are giving the police plenty of trou-
bic IN breaking up their mock battles with
the Russians" In the temple grounds; and
the temples themselves are crowded with
thousands OF worshippers. ali intent upon
giving thanks and drawing lots to see the
fate OF their soldier and sailor relatives in
BATTLE Prints of Admirals Togo and Uriu
are notously displayed. and the rival
newspapers have plastered their extras on
the buildings at street corners, on the
telegraph and telephone poles and under
meath the shop windows. Great crowds
arc continually around the extras, attract
ed there by the cry of the newsboys-
4la,x a.
tion of brass bells, the size of an American
farm dinner bell. Water colors. showing
the sinking of the Russians ships, vie with
the extras for attention. and the air by
day and night is filled with the shouting
of the excited city-"Takoku banzai!"
"Kaigan banzai!'' "Rikugun banzai!'
Long live the Emperor" Long live the
navy!" Long live the army!" Many of
the lanters in the professions also bear
these legends.
As soon as night falls professions are
formed spontaneously in all parts of the
city, and with boisterous patriotism all
make for Ginza street (Tokyo's Broadway
and then to Hibiya Park. which adjoins
the Imperial Palace, and which is in the
center of the city. The multitude does not
go nearer to the palace; they have too
great a respect for the Mikado to do such
thing. But once in the park the thou
sands of marchers cheer their Emperor
their army and their navy and listen good
naturedly to speeches by their leaders
and not infrequently by foreigners, for
hundreds of Europeans are celebrating as
enthusiastically as native born.
The speeches of Mr.. Lee. an English
man, particularly please the Japs. His
japanese is wonderful at all times. but
most wonderful when he gets excited and
shouts "Taikoku banzari," Still the Japs
thunderously cheer him even if they can't
make out all that he talks about and Mr..
Lee is easily the most popular white man
in Tokyo today.
The women alone seems to have re-
tanned some of that restrained calm which
marked the nation before the censors al
lowed the papers to publish their sadly
abbreviated accountes of victory, from
which even the names of the warships
taking part have been struck out and
are represented by circles. one circle for
each word of the ships name. The women
are calm, forsooth, because they know
that if their husbands and sons are among
the list of dead or wounded, they have
reached the chief end Of man-they have
spilled their blood for the Emperor.
Mothers and wives are giving no evi-
dence of excitement other than going to.
the temples to buy lots AT the Kotohira
Temple of Shiba on the tenth-the tenn
pies feast day-thousands of women
bought lots. The gods take good care
that these lots bring good news to the
purchasers-that the son will win glory
on the sea: that the father will lead the
charge on the enemy; that the husband
Will meet a glorious death on the battle
field. And so the women go back to their
homes calm and comforted.
This Spartan-like readiness of the jap
women to give up everything for the good'
OF the country is shown in miniature in
the sacrifice OF little Miss Hanemura Masa
Miss Hanemura Masa, whose name is
now known all over Nippon. is in the
fourth grade of the Yokohama grammar
school. When the official announcement
came showing that the government had
decided upon war. Miss Masa presented
herself at the barracks, sought out the
commander with that infinite patience
peculiar to her sex in Japan, and handed
the officer letter. This was the letter
! that Miss Masa had written:
! With a war with Russia in prospect.
have saved every cent of the money that
my mother gave me TO buy candy with
and now ] have got three yen and thirty
hve sen, and l wish it to be used for the
army and navy expenses. l shall be very
glad If you accept my little plesent, and
send 1T with the letter.
IL Is not hard TO understand where the
japanese woman gets her Spartan spirit
1t is born in her.
The school boys are making sacrifcce
as well as their sisters-they would nra.
fer sacrificing their lives-but since the
news OF victory. their chief outlet for
their pent-up enthusiasm has been tho
war game. 1t is Just such gamo as
American boys plays-sides are chosen
and one is called the Russian army ana
the other the Japanese. Only here the
boys of one street will take one side and
oppose the boys from another street Ma.
turally, the youngsters have a difficuIt
time deciding who shall be Russians },
but once this is determined. it is incum.
bent on the Russians" to put un inst
as stiff fight as they would if they were
representing their own beloved land. A