The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-10-29

"HERE appears in the October num- Der of the Boudoir an interesting article from the pen of Miss Helen Adair on the influence contact with the west has had upon the life of the ladies of Japan
 Tourists in Japan tsays the writer) find that gentlewomen in Nippon differ very slightly in their home customs from the gentlewomen of England. So quickly have they grown accustomed to western ideas so closely have they followed the example set by grande danes like the Viscountess Hayashi, that the peeresses who have de- cided to westernze have established houses which following for difference of climate and taste) are as modern as the best in Park Lane. and are training their daughters much as our English girls are trained at Cheltenham or convent school. Fortunately for the picturesque ness of life, many of the old habits are retained and dovetailed into European customs. For fete occasions and to re- ceive British guests, for example, lady of rank at Tokio will don Redfern cos tune or a Worth creation, but when she is living en famille the probability is that she and her daughters will wear the ki- mono.
 In her boudoir the Japanese lady will ply her needle a little more. possibly, than her British sister, for the art of embroid- cry Is essentially eastern, and skill in making brocade, in silks and tapestry work, is inherited, and the gentlewomen of today in Nippon are as assiduous in artistry of this kind as the weaving queens of the middle ages of Europe. But in addition to the arts which are native, they are quickly learning many arts which are western. There are sev- eral excellent schools of design in Toko and here the daughters of noblemen may be seen studying from life and from clas- sic models. The most European trait probably which should strike the visitor would be the fast-growing demand of the woman to take ner full share of life | The Japanese gentlewoman is no longer content to be chatelaine. to preside over | castle as reserved as a hermitage. She claims to have her opinions in public af- I fairs. She has studied medicine, and Is allowed to practice. She has sent her | daughters to Girton, and they have taken degrees in art. There are women novelists and women journalists. and Con lower plane) a considerable number of girls have entered the postal and other de- partments of the civil service. It has
 
 should enter parliament, but the wives of ambassadors abroad have quite dropped the reserve which was as definite a bar Tier as the purdah, and frankly obey all the social etiquette of the country to which they may be accredited Wives of the statesmen at home in the same way are establishing quietly, but surely, their political salons. In connection with the war, the gentlewomen of Japan have done all for their soldiers which English gen. tleWomen did for our troops in South Africa. with the single exception that | they have not thrown up a Florence Nightingale, nor sent a Lady Rando lph Churchill to the front
 In the nursery one will not find many cradles, and the toys are not made in
 birmingham. At the table the food, for tunately for their digestion. is still native and for this reason their doctors are not so busy as ours of Harley street in carv- ing the human frame. Tennis Is only slowly ingratiating itself Games do not appear so necessary to people at once so strenuous and Gas far as their women- kind are concerned) so sedentary. But they are voracious readers They study English and American illustrated papers very closely. They take up our whims and our jokes.
 They are determined. 1t is to be feared | to follow us in our minor vices as in our | tiAooCh situCSs anu lHc up-LO-Qdte ETH | in Tokio is rapidly assmilating the airs and graces of the smart debutante in | London. She is coming over in rapidly | increasing numbers to our London sea- son. She takes her trip to New York as matter of course. You will find the yell-backed French novel introduced. and English girl who spends a sum- mer in court circles in Japan would find l that there were few of her foibles not understood.
 1 And 1t is fine point whether she or her hosteses will have most to learn from each other. One thing she excels in, and l it is to be hoped that she will carry that gift more and more to us as she more and more gets into the habit of making couple of months in England part of her years programme. The Japanese gentlewoman is by instinct and prefer ence light hearted, merry, determined to see the best in life. prepared to enjoy small pleasures greatly. and to mini- mize troubles. She has the placid, we'll balanced temperament which b natural