The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-18
JAPANESE ACROBAT
 WATCHES WAR NEWS
Is Anxious tor His Country to
 Defeat Russia
TELLS OF NATIVE CUSTOMS
To Be an Actor In Japan You Must First Have a Certificate as Teacher-carrIages Driven
 Into the Theatres.


 while I am now a citizen of the Unit ed States I am, of course. very much interested in the Russian-Japanese war" caid Prince Youturkey, a Japanese acrobat who It will be remembered was here with the carnival coh rany sov- eral weeks ago. l came to the Unit ed States about six years ago and have since been naturalized. Consequently cannot be called upon to do military duty in Japan. Three of my brothers and five cousins, however. are in the Japanese navy and my father Is in the army. I hear from them occasionally and these letters say that Japan is cer- | tainly going to win. This will give you an idea Of how patriotic are the citizens of Japan. Every man, woman and child in Japan Is willing to sacrifice life, if necessary, to make Japan defeat the 1 Russians who are trying to gobble up our | territory
 'Yes, we learn how to fight from child hood" said M. Youturkey, and 1t Is not wonderful to me that the Japs have been so successful in the use of strategy as well as hand to hand fighting In | the schools of Japan one hour Is given to acrobatic work. another hour is given in I drilling and instruction in the art of warfare. another is given to study for | the stage and then we take up the reg ular run of literature"
 AcrobatIc Feats.
 l Speaking of acrobatic work M You turkey said that such feat as bring big l prices in this country are not rare in | Japan. Nearly every able bodied man in Japan is an acrobat said the Jap wire walker and the feats that people marvel at here can be ssen in the schools there every day. As a matter of fact. | nobody in Japan cares much about look ing at acrobatic turns as they are so common. A good acrobat over there gets about s5 a week and that is consld- cred a high price. He must be one of the best to draw that salary"
 "All of my people are show folks" con- tinued Youturkey. My mother and fath- CT are both actors on the dramatic stage. | They are still in the business. You know the stage in Japan Is considered very l high calling. To be an actor there you have to get certificate from the gov ernment schools that you are qualified to be a school teacher before you can get a license to be an actor. In Japan the stage is looked upon as an educator and
 cry actor is required to speak more 1 than one language and to be of good moral character. In other words the | qualifications for an actor are just the same as for teacher in this country. | Our theatres are run, on a much high CT plane than in the United States" con- tinued the acrobat. ''Offcials of the gov. ernment are stationed in every theatre | and an actor Is arrested the minute ht says the least thing suggestive or objec- | ticnable to the most refined and moral mind. They would be shocked at some oi the jokes and dialogues in your Ameri- 1 can plays. All actors in that country aspire to be dramatists as that pays | better. Of .ourse we have vaudeville and | light stuff lust the same as you do but the drama is the ideal. A finished ac- tor in that country, about like Mansfield | Jefferson, Goodwin, and other of your celebrated stars get about $15 a week That Is considered princely salary for them. Very few professional people in Japan make that much money.
 Hlqh-Prlced Actor.
 we have one actor in Japan, however who gets as much as $50.OOO a year. Ht Is the Dan Glra. That is his title and not his name. He ranks next to tht emperor as the hero in the minds of the people He was first appointed by tn, Mikado and the line of succession has been kept up like the royal family. Int present Dan Gira, who is about 70 yeari old is the seventh. Dan Gira always selects hls successor and to hold this ex alted honor the man selected must b' able to speak fuently seven languages He must also be the greatest tragediar in the country.
 "This Dand Gira lives in a magnificen castle and is always guarded as he goe' along the streets. He Is treated with al l
 most as much respect as the emperor For instance if Dan Gira should catch ; fish one of the merchants would give ; large sum for 1t to place in his window as an adv srtisement.
 Play Lasts Four Days.
 Dan Gira appears twice year, hi seasons lasting about three months. H plays in the Imperial and Mikado thea tres in Toko. When the time comes fo opening the royal theatre people come fo hundreds of miles to be present at tn performance The play usually last about four days and begins every morn ing at 8 o'clock. Between the acts peo pie go out and get lunches and have general holiday time. Dan Gira appear about three times during the day.
 "In Japanese theatres the people sit oi the floors. You know the natives neve use chairs The theatre Is so construct ed as to seat about 1.50O people and tn rich citizens come to the theatre in tnei carriage and sit In them during the play they drive right into the theatre a spac being set apart for that purpose Tn price at the Imperial theatre is about for the good tickets. Of course there ar some worth $50 but only the immensel.