Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-04
VENICE BECOMES
MINIATURE JAPAN
LITTLE BROWN MEN CELE-
BRATE LANTERN FEAST
Make Gorgeous Display on Bay and
Laeoons and Indulge In the
Games Of Their
Forefathers

voices of a foreign people mingllng
with those of their priests, the Jap
anese of Southern California last night
at Venice celebrated the feast of the
lanterns, a feast TO the spirit Of sum-
mer and f1allowed above all other oc-
casions in the Japanese calendar.
There were more than 1000 of the lit
tie brown men and they swarmed about
the piers and in the grand stand and
shouted as they had never shouted be-
fore for the glory of the games which
were theirs by birthright and from
which they had been parted so long.
But the feast of lanterns was the
feature of the day, and upon it rested
in part the success of the first Japanese
day to be celebrated in this country
Imagine a thousand dragons. green,
yellow, purple, rel and every other
color of the rainbow; imagine these
fearful spectres. toned by delicate
tints and lights mingling and inter-
twining with myriads of other lanterns.
Imagine butterflies of every hue, great
fishes, glaring masks and delicate
flowers, all lit up with wondrous lights
and sending their soft rays to every
corner of a great body of water, and
you may have some conception of what
a Japanese feast of lanterns is like
Is Old Celebration
The feast is so old in the annals of
Japan that none but the priests can
tell of its origin. In the old days when
the Samurai went out to the mountains
armed with the great double swords
of brave men to meet and conquer
their enemies. the feast was even at
that time old, and it has become so
indelib1y stamped into the hearts of
the Japanese that no other feast can
take it's place. 1t Is the feast to the
summer, to all that is bright and good
in the lives of the little brown men
and women and 1t was no wonder that
yesterday there were hundreds of them
to share it's hospitality.
Early in the day the Japanese began
to arrive. There were brown men from
outlying farms, accompanied by their
wives and babies; there were fair
skinned Japanese from the cities and
huge, well-muscled fellows from the
southern part of the little island king
dom who are over here to show their
countrymen how to wrest1e in jiu jitsu.
They came early and they stayed
late. They trotted up and down the
pier, noddinr and chattering to one an
other until the air was filed with their
merriment.
In the afternoon, however, came the
exercises of the day. The Japanese
always begin their exercises with a
thorough session Of speech making, and
Yesterday was no exception to the rule
The orators of the country were there,
but in honor of the occasion and In
view of the fact that the sports were
to be carried off at an early hour the
orations were toned down to mere adj
dresses, and the Japanese Were told
that their father. the great mikado,
cared for and loved them because they
were good subjects and then they were
dismissed and allowed to hurry to the
pavilion at the head of the lagoon,
where the contests were to be held.
Pacify Gods With Salt
A shout announced the arrival of the
jiu jitsu and the great little men
marched out and took their positions
beside the ring That ring was work
of art. 1t was made of sand and per-
fectly round and well banked with
sacks of sand. At each end bags of
salt We're suspended, for the god of
success must be coaxed to look favora-
bly, on a contestant and salt is his fav-
orite dish. The men entered the ring
from either side, each man offering a
salute to his favorlte deity and each
throwing handful of salt to the sand
of the arena. They wore a small band
about their waists and that was all,
and the muscles stuck out from their
brown, hard bodies like bands of iron.
The referee stood in the center of the
arena and his call sent the men, leap
ing like lions, at one another
They met with a shock in thescenter
and for a moment the sand would fly,
the deep breaths of the contestants
would whistle through their nostrlls.
Then from out that mass of dust would
fly a body and the referee would an
nounce a fall. Later in the day the
men would meet all corners. taking
them as fast as they could dash into
the ring and throwing them with great
force. 1t was the game of their fore
fathers and the wrestlers fought with
all their souls, their bodies writhng
with pain and their hands gripping
hard at their enemies bodies.
Clash With Swords
Finally 1t was over and T. Nojimazki
was declared the winner. In the mean
time the swordsmen clashed. sword
light Is more like a contest of cats than
game of Japan and students of this
country are its chief followers. The
little brown men are each armed with
a heavy sword made of four rattan
canes, lashed together. They leap and
fence. banging each other over the head
and shoulders. OF course they wear
heavy pads to stop the force Of the
blows, but with the sword game as
with all other Japanese games, the
sword of steel is the same as the one
he uses to fence with. and to see the
fencers yesterday one could obtain
fair idea of how formidable a Jap
would be in fight.
T. Tomikawa, a bright young student
from Los Angeles. was declared the
winner In the sword contests.
In the swimming contests Y. Kimura
won gold medal, carrying 1t away
from a heavy field of experts.
The Americans appreciated the fight
as well as the Japanese. They climbed
over fences to see the wrestlers and
they shouted and screamed delight at
each fall. II was a game that the
hardy American could understand and
appreciate. 1t was a game where a
knockout fall occurred every second
and the crowd was accordingly good
natured as the slick brown bodies OF
the wrestlers We're hurled about the
arena.
oeIsha Girls Attractive
But the Japanese returned the COM
pliment paid their games by taking in
terest In those offered by their white
friends. They danced on the smooth
floor OF the Venice hall. taking the
steps in uncertain manner as though
afraid OF falling. They bumped the
bumps and rode the camels and had
the time of their lives.
The little geisha girls added to the