Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-03-18
JAPAN IN PEACE.

JAPAN IN PEACE.
The Japs the Happiest People In the
World.
The people Of Japan are the gayest
in the world, for all that they ignore
completely the greater portion Of Eu-
ropean amusements and sports. The
Buddhist respect for life denies to
them the pleasure of hunting. They
have no concert saloons. Society life
and the little enjoyments that tickle
the vanity are utterly unknown to the
vast majority of the Japanese.
Their recreations are traditional. By
the rich the classic dances Of the
Guechas are preferred. and by all 9TH
er classes the national theatre Is the
favorite, while the circus, where wrest-
ling matches go on Is also largely pat
ronized.
But the Japanese recreation par
excellence Is walking. To take walk
a la Japonaise Is to go ahead and be
delighted with the ever changing
scenery, to become attached to crea-
lures, and things, to the throngs, to the
buildings, to the temples, to the for
ests, to the animals, to the flowers, the
rocks and the clouds.
1.-The Japanese walk first through
the streets Of their cities especially
Toxic, Nagoya and Kioto. They seem
to take extreme pleasure in the spec
tacles presented before their eyes.
The greater portion Of them travel
with their families. The old people are
treated with the greatest considera-
ton. The children, dressed In bright
colors, are carried on the backs Of the
fathers and mothers. Kouroumas Git
tie push carts) are steered through the
crowds. The Guechas dancing girls)
appear in the loud costumes which in
dicate their profession. They move
along with a joyous air, and everybody
admires them. On both sides of the
streets there are some great bazaars
and many little shops. Their paper
lanterns give out a strange light, like
that Of an impressionist picture. The
women examine the stuffs for sale, and
bargain just for fun. In the illumi-
mated gardens the visitors take Ice
cream made of crushed ice, fine sugar
and soda.
But Japanese gayety is especially
manifested at popular festivals, and
these are frequent. Very often. the
feast is purely local. On the occasion
of some anniversary, professions move
around a temple; the streets are H.
Illuminated and decorated; little multi
colored flags are suspended between
the houses: and paper lanterns with
harmonious colors, surmounted by lit
tie umbrellas made of red or blue pa
per, are hung before each door. The
streets assume. especially in the even
ing. strange aspect. A real artistic
sentiment applied to materials Of the
commonest kind, such as paper. wood,
stone, feathers and straw, produces
charming and fragile objects Of beauty
which are admired by all, rich and
poor, during several evenings.
AT Yokohama I witnessed the an
nual feast of boys. On that day, the
Japanese stick up bamboo poles In
front of their houses. On the tops of
these poles are attached enormous pa
per fishes of the most brilliant colors,
and these fishes swell out and f1utter
in the breezes. The number Of fishes
attached to each pole signifies the
number of boys in the house. In this
way the parents express the wish that
their boys may be able to ascend the
current of life, overcoming all obsta-
cles, just as the carp goes up the riv-
ers in spite Of the current. All the In
habitants go to the tops Of the neigh
boring hills to enjoy the queer spec
tacle of the city surmounted by these
singular fishes. Abundance Of healthy
and cheap amusements is one Of the
characteristic traits of Japanese life.
1.-THE Japanese are singularly fond Of
long walks in the country. They ad-
mire all the changes which they find In
the scenery-all the different colors Of
the land and the clouds, the reflections
Of the moon and the brilliance Of the
snow. They follow with the eye of an
artist the movements of an animal, Of
a bird, or even of an insect. I have
seen Japanese Of a very humble sta
tion in life, standing for several mo-
ments admiring the storks gliding
among the pine trees, and the lanterns
Of a public garden. They know how to
take an interest in things to which the
most sensitive of Europeans are indif-
ferent. For flowers they have a partic-
ular devotion. The most popular fes-
tivals, the national festivals, are cele-
brated, not as they are among us, to
mark the anniversaries Of bloody bat
ties or Of wretched revolutions but to
welcome the appearance of certain
flowers. They move along in joyous
bands, from the beginning Of the month
of February, to admire the blossoms of
the plum trees, and to enjoy their odor,
which is celebrated in their old songs.
They go to see the cherry trees in bios
som, at the beginning Of April. the
azalias, the glycins at the beginning of
May and the lotus in the month Of Au-