The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-05-15

acquainted with a professor there and
through his kindness got into that ia
NOUS institution, the Salem High
School, from which he graduated in
1890. Since then he has built IN a
great businesS-probably the greatest
in the country in his special line-and
has won big reputation ION the side"
as writer on Japanese art.
4 Case OF Destiny.
1T is a strange destiny that a samu-
raj, who inherits the soul to rule and
the hand to WELD a sword, should
have adopted the occupation of profit
and loss accounts" said a japanese
resident in New York. Nevertheless.
such is the case often happening in
this era of the Meiji, which opened ia
pan to the worlds commerce and the
worlds commerce to Japan, although
it never happened in the days of old
Japan.
Some of the best-known Japanese
merchants in this country, such as
Daijiro Ushikubo, Gojuro Nagasaki
and Jiro Sakabe, come of samurai fam
lilies. In the old days any connection
with trade would have been an un-
speakable dishonor to them. In mod
ern Japan it is regarded as quite a
natural thing. and their relatives, some
of whom hold official and military po-
ing that they had disgraced the fam
lily.
Jiro Sakabe's case was like that of
many another boy of samurai birth
after the Restoration. His father, an
officer under the feudal government,
died early, leaving his young son to
the mothers care.
Noble Though Poor.
Noble In birth but poor in means,
Jiro was obliged from his early boy
hood to struggle for an education" said
| one of his Japanese acquaintance.
"Luckier than most young samurai
similarly placed, he found at length
a helping hand in a charitable man,
who furnished him with the means
necessary for the purpose. This man
was Gentaro Tanaka, a weH-known
capitalist of Kyoto, who readily APP
propriated a considerable share of his
fortune for the education and business
advancement of the young samurai in
whom he took an interest.
Sakabe showed ambition and bust
ness ability, and soon made himself
we'll known among the merchants of
! kyoto. At the age of twenty-five
| they sent him to look after their in
| terests in this country-a by no means
remarkable instance of the trust and
responsibility reposed in young Japan
csc VINO display talent. he naQ maze
good and became one of the leading
| Japanese merchants in New York.
IakenOsuke Furuya's Career.
The career of Takenosulxe Furuya,
| the head of the American branch of a
big tea trading company in Japan, is
| typical of that of many of his coun-
| trymen who come to the United States.
After being educated in Toxic he stud
| led at Adrian College and Ann Arbor
High School. and graduated from the
| law school of Michigan University. He
| had hardly dollar when he landed at
San Francisco, and he took his three
courses of study entirely by self sup
| port, working as waiter, car conductor,
servant and in many other capacities
| He intended to become a lawyer, but
when he had graduated from the law
school he concluded there was more
money in business, turned his attention
| TO that, and rose to the top of the tree
in his particular line within three or
| four years.
| Downright, 1904 by E. B. Warner.)