The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-11-23
CUPID PLAYED
SCURVY TRICKS
Jim Low, in Trying to Marry,
Had Some Queer
Experiences.

Jim Low, erstwhile manager of the
Honolulu plantation, has had lively
time in trying to get married legally
in Japan He found that a Consular
marriage to be legal must be previous
~ registered with the japanese Of
fcials and then that a japanese regis
try could only be had after the mar
riage had taken place. The Kobe
Chronicle discusses the matter as fol-
lows:
A curious situation affecting the
position of American citizens as re-
CARDS the marriage law OF the United
States and Japan has recently been
brought TO our attention. MIR. J. A.
Low, an American citizen, arrived in
this country a week or two ago from
Vladivostok in order that a marriage
might be soIemnized between him and
a lady, Miss Crabb, who was a British
subject. The marriage was to take
place on Sunday, the 9th ultimo, at
Kyoto at the American Episcopal
church, and Mr.. Low wrote to Mr..
CTdSSSlIs tie AIl4SI1Cdn <ACI4ilS 0OASuI
at Kobe, requesting him to be present.
Mr. Gassett courteously replied by
telegram expressing his willingness,
but pointed out that a marriage could
not take place before the American
Consular authorities until the parties
had first registered the marriage with
the Japanese authorities. Notwith-
standing this, the marriage duly took
at Kyoto before the Rev. w. J. CUth-
bert, who issued the usual certificate
of marriage, it being intended to make
the registration at the Kobe Consulate
subsequently,. Mr.. Low then came to
Kobe to make further inquiries, and
found that, just as he had been in
formed by telegram, a regulation ex-
listed, issued by the late American
Ambassador on March 22nd last, which
made the registration of a marriage
before the Japanese authorities a nee
essary preliminary to registration or
solemnizatiOn before an American
Consul. Returning to Kyoto he pro-
ceeded to the City Office, and there
found, as was to be expected by any
one who knows anything of Japanese
law, that there existed no machinery
by which marriages could be perform
ed there, the authorities merely regis
tering such marriages after they had
been reported to them. Mr.. Low
thought this a somewhat unsatisfac-
tory method of procedure, and, again
coming to Kobe, he drew up a con-
tract of civil marriage between him
self and the lady, and made the mar
riage certificate a part of it. This was
perforce registered at the American
Consulate instead of the marriage be-
ing performed or registered by the
Consul, and the condition of prior reg
istration before the Japanese authOri-
ties was thus avoided.
Mr.. Low ho1ds-and we quite agree
with hfm-that in the interests of
American citizens some wider public
ity should be given to the new regula-
ton than it has yet received. The
marriage certificate now issued by the
American Consular service in Japan,
after reciting the necessary particulars
of the age, nationality. ETC., of the
parties, certifies that "the respective
parties We're united in marriage before
me and in my presence, and that Of
who performed the ceremony,
and that such marriage has been duly
feSlSteFeu ana Is IN ACCORDANCE with
the laws of Japan"
Now it will be remarked that the
American certificate declares the par
ties to be united in marriage before
me- (the American ConsuD. That
surely constitutes the legal marriage
according to the law of the United
States. How, then, can the certificate
go on to declare that the marriage
which has only then taken place has
already been duly registered and is in
accordance with the laws of Japan?
AS a matter of fact there is no cere-
mony of marriage according to Japa-
nese law. The Civil Code merely~1e-
clares that marriage takes effect
when notice of the fact is given to a
registrar Such notice may be given
either verbally or by a document bear
ing the signatures of the parties con-
cerned and of two witnesses. We
could understand the American EN-
bassy advising citizens of the United
States resident in this country to reg
lister marriages with the japanese au-
thorities after the ceremony at the
Consulate. We cannot understand why
prior registration of what, in American
law, is not marriage at all should
be required before the American GER
tificate is issued. Nor can we under
stand why those who do not intend to
reside in this country, but are merely