Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-03-24

money in japanese theater. These
stories are hundreds of years old
except the great favorite, the drama
Of "The Fcrty-Seyen Ronins," which
was written about $50 years ago. They
Mother Goose fairy tales to the Anglo
Saxon. The historic drama deals with
the deeds Of their great heroes of the
olden times.
In all these plays, as in the daily
lives of the Japanese, the greatest
prominence is given to the smallest
minutiae. They are slaves of detail
there is no hurry, so the performance
continues indefinitely. Men commit
"hari-kari," or happy dispatch, or
plainly speaking, belly cutting" be-
/ fore the audience with every detail.
| This old feudal custom was much re-
/ sorted to as suicide by the samurai,
try, and from being a custom it de-
veloped into a privilege in 1900 A. d.
This courage 10 take ones own life
ranks very high in the public esteem.
Even women are found wiling to com
NIT ''hari-kiri" for loyalty or duty. 1t
has been for centuries the favorite
method in Japan of committing sui
side. There are two kinds, obligatory
and voluntary. The former a boon
granted by the government to crimi-
nails of samurai class in place of com
mon execution. Voluntary "hari-kiri"
is practiced by men n hopeless trouble,
or out OF loyalty to a dead superior.
On the stage in olden times red cot
ton or paper simulated the flowing of
blood. Now, blood-like liquid is
employed. 1t is frequent thing to
see a dozen actors decapitated, dis
emboweled and manned in one even
ings performance. The more of this
blood splitting there is the better pleas
ed the audience seems to be. Tenn
pests, thunderstorms, earthquakes, ac-
company the death Of these heroes,
and the instruments wall and howl.
Bleeding men stagger over the stage,
make a classic somersault and die,
and at this climax the stage revolves
and the scene changes. On the Jap
anese stage men who are killed often
make their exits in a novel way, be-
hind piece of black cloth, held up by
a black-clad boy, supposed to be in
visible. The cost of the actors cos
tunes Is enormous The richest of
stuffs, stuff with embroidery of gold,
are used. | am told that the great
japanese actor. the late Danjuro's,
stage wardrobe was valued at thous
ands of dollars, and was always kept
in a fireproof building adjacent to the
theater. He had superb costumes,
made of priceless brocades of the old
, en- times.
The rise and progress of the Japan
csc drama is full of charm and TO-
nance. Japan has had her Shakes
peare. who was born about the close
of the same century as the sweet
swan of Avon"-Checkama Monza-
yemon. shall always regret that
got to Toxic too late last fall to see
the great actor. Hori Koshi Suguru,
commonly known in the dramatic
world as Danjuro the ninth descend
ant from the original Danjuro, who
came to Toxic in A. d. 1900, The
late Danjuro acted in the two great
theaters of Toxic, the Meijiza and the
Kabulliza. He was idolized by the
Japanese. and many were the words of
regret | heard spoken after his death
The leading actress of Japan is lshi
Kawaga (Yone-hachD, who has made
a new departure and is the manager
of her own theater in Toxic, and her
whole company consists of women.
Up TO 1873 no woman ever acted on
the japanese stage in public. although
they acted at private entertainments
given in the deimios' houses, or at
tea houses. In feudal times the dra-
matte profession lost cast and fell from
its high estate, and the actor was con-