Arizona republican., 1904-06-08
Japanese Ideals for Women.

to have no fear Cf death. It is this
 teaching that keeps our soldiers now
 from retreat in danger and from seek
 ing out comfortable places, and 1t is this that makes them advance, if need be, even to death"
 These were the words of a Japanese official, now in this country, at q dinner in one of the eastern cities the other day. By one of the chance happenings of life little volume of "Bushido. the Soul of Japan" fell into the hands o5 enc of the guest listeners shortly uf- ter. And out Of this book come force fully expressed Japanese ideals for women-"the workings of whose minds." as the author, Inazo Nitobe. comedies. "are beyond the comprehen- sion of mems arithmetical understand | Ing"
 Bushido, being a teaching primarily Of loyalty and fortitu6e. intended for the masculine sex, says the writer, the virtues 1t prized in woman were nat i urally far from being distinctly ferllln- 1 inc. Young girls, therefore, were tratn- ! ed to repress their feelings. tc indurate their nerves, to manipulate weapons, i SO as to be able to hold their own ! against unexpected odds. Fencing and similar exercises. if rarely or practical use, were a wholesome counterbaIance ! to the otherwise sedentary habits of women. But these exercises were not followed only for hygienic purposes. ! They could be turned to use in times i of need. A girl, when she reached wo- manhood, received a dirk, which might be directed to the bosom of an as-atl
 ant, or. if advisable, to her own. ItI was disgrace to her not to know lns proper way in which she had to per 1 petrate self-destructlon. For example I little as she was taught in anatomy. she must know the exact spot 10 ,ut [ her throat; she must know how to tie her lower limbs together with Q belt. 90 1 that, whatever the agonies of death might be, her body should be found in utmost modesty
 Tt would be unfair however. 10 give the idea that masculinity alone was our highest ideal for women" con tinues this Japancse-whose English proves the national ability for lang uage. Far from it. Accomplishments and the gentler graces Of life were re- quired Of them. Music, dancing and literature were not neglected Some of the finest verses ia our literature were expressions or feminine .enti- ment. Dancing was taught q am speaking not of geisha giris) only 70 smooth the angularity or their move ments. Music was to regale the weary hours Of their fathers and husbands h-nce 1t was not for tho technique the art as such, that music was learned. | for the ultimate object was purihcation of heart, since 1t was said that no harmony Of sound is attainable with out the players heart being in har- mony with itself Here again we see the same idea prevailing which we notice in the travelling of youths-that accomplishments were ever kept sub servient to moral worth. Just enough |
 
 and brightness to life, but never to foster vanity and extvavagance l | sympathize with the Persian prince, who, when taken into a ballroom Tn London, and asked to share in the dancing, bluntly replied that in his country they provided a particular set of girls to do that kind Of business for them"
 There accomplishments of our wo- men," proceeds this observer, were not acquired for show or social ascendancy. They were a h-me diver sion. Domesticity guided the educaz tion of the women. It may be said without fear of contradiction that the accomplishments of women of old Ja- pan-be they martial or pacific in char acter-were mainly intended for the home; and, however far women might | roam, they never lost sight of the hearth as the center. It was to main | tain its honor and integrity that they slaved, drudged, gave up their lives. | As daughter, woman sacrificed herself | loi ilti ldlllel, dS Wlle to neI nuSDdUO, and as mother to her son. Thus, from earliest youth she was taught to deny herself. Her life was a perpetual self-I sacrifice. I have once heard Socrates called the slave of conscience 1fi slavery means simply obedience or sur render of ones will. there is an hon. orable slavery in life"
 "Woman's surrender of herself to the good of the home and family" con- cludes the expounder of Bushido, upon this subject, twas as willing and hon. orable as the mans self-surrender to l the good of his lord and country. Self | renunciaticn, without which no fife | enigma can be solved, was the keynote | of loyalty in man, as well as of do- | mesticity in woman, She was no more