Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-05

ing for divorce but at the present time
she has risen more nearly to the lever OF
American wives. and for certain onehse5
the divorce court is even open to her. AS
for choosing her husband. she exercises as
much right in that matter as the man, ana
has very distinct say in the matter But
even as yet love has very little to do with
the choice of either of the contracting par
ties until after marriage for, as Confucius
law puts it. Marriage must begin with re-
spect, and after marriage love begins"
Simple Daily Life.
The simplicity of daily life in Japan i'm
presses all foreigners, but most of all
Americans. who are divided between pity
for the orientals lack of necessities, and
envy of his freedom from such incum-
brances. And whether they would like it
for themselves or not it is certain that
this simplicity is a large part of Japan's
fascination for strangers.
In one of these quiet households day be-
gins with the rolling back of the wooden
shutters, frequently before the sun has APP
peared over the housetops. Schools begin
at s in winter and in the summer at Z.
First the children appear before their par
ents with the morning greeting, in doing
which they kneel until their foreheads
touch the mats; even the baby of the fam
lily learns this very necessary act of rev.
erence as soon as he is able to understand
anything.
The family generally take their meals to-
gether. seated in a row around the room,
for there is no dining table; the dishes are
served on trays Even here the old super.
stitions of the country are observed, as in
everything else For instance peas. as i'm
dfcating good luck, are served to one start
ingon journey; it is very bad luck to put
the chop sticks upright in a bowl of rice
because they are placed so in making offer
ings to the dead. and for this reason no
one will pour cold water into a basin and
add hot.
At the end of the meal the children. never
forgetful of their reverential regard for
their parents. bow politely. and, with
complimentary phrase about the repast.
leave the room to attend to their schools
or other duties, while their honorable
mother looks to her housekeeping She
overlooks everything, no matter how many
servants she has, and each member of her
household is carefully looked after IN
this way she wins the envy and admiration
of her American cousins. for beside all this
the demands of social etiquette are as end
less as those of the most popular society
woman in the United States. She is truly
the mistress of her husbands home, re-
sponsible for everything and controlling
everything.
A Refined People.
The refinement ofafhe mikado's people
is a characteristic everywhere remarked,
and their extreme cleanliness is merely
an outcome of this attribute. 1t is appar-
ent in their persons, their houses, their
workshops and no less in the great care
fulness and exemplary exactness with
which they look after their fields.
Every Jap, great and small. takes, if
possible, his warm bath every day. No
one battles in cold or lukewarm water,
not even the peasant, though he is accuS-.
toned while working to stand for hours
in cold water. The bath is placed accord
Ing to circumstances, near the kitchen.
In separate bath room on the side of
the court or garden, Or, in better houses,
in connection with the entertaining
rooms.
There is no doubt that the regular warm
bath in use among the Japanese con-
tributes greatly to the maintenance and
Improvement of their health. Rheumatic
complaints. to which labor in the rice
fields fishing and other daily occupations
as well as the arrangement of the houses,
SO iH-adapted to the severity of the Jap
anese winter. might abundantly contrib
ute, are usually checked in the germ, and
therefore. much less common than with
Americans.
The fayorite enjoyment of his western
cousins. smoking, is also that of the al
mond-eyed easterner. Pipe and tobacco
pouch are his constant companions, and,
to smoking he deyotes a considerable
portion OF his day, beginning, interrupt
ing and ending his labors with it. Po-
ilteness. therefore, requires that in every
place which he visits. not merely a cup
Oh tea, but also first of all the habichi-,
the coal brazier used for heating pur-
poses--be set before guest at which to
light his pipe.