The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-05-16
THE HEAVEN
BORN EMPEROR
The Romantic History of the
Ruler of the Japanese
Empire.
advertiser Correspondence, Copyright
by Frederic J. Haskin)

true Inat no otner monarch IN history
ever saw such a change in the affairs
of his people as the present ruler OF
Mutsu-hito became Emperor when he
was sixteen years old, and he will be
fifty-six If he lives until November 8
He is the one hundred and twenty first
ruler of his dynasty, belonging to line
of monarchs which stretches through
the unparalleled period of 256s years
Greater progress has been made in the
forty-one years of his reign than in all
the time since Jimmu Tenno. the first
historical ancestor of the present Son
of Heaven, sat upon the throne in Coo
B. c.
Although the seelusion of the present
monarch causes much comment, his
person is hedged about with much less
formality than was put around his an
cestors. No one but his wife, his con-
eubines, and his most important minis
tiers were ever permitted to look upon
his august face. When receiving he
sat upon a matted throne, and his face
was protected from view by a richly
embroidered curtain. 1t was a strict
rule of etiquette that his sacred feet
should never touch the earth. 1t is
said that the present Emperor never
walked until he was eighteen years old,
which may account for his awkward
gait, which is still noticeable.
In olden times the Emperor travelled
in a eurtained car of state, His name
could not be spoken aloud by the rank
and lie of his subjects, and when writ
and file of his subjects, and when omit
ting the last stroke of the writing
brush. The first time Jajanese En-
peror' name was ever written in full
during his lifetime was when the pres
ent sovereign issued his edict promis-
ing the people a constitutional form of
government No person is permitted to
look down upon the Emperor, so that
when he drives through the streets the
blinds of upper windows must be closed
and no one dares to climb on anything
to get a view of his Imperial Majesty.
Formerly no one was permitted to look
upon the Emperor through spectacles,
but in recent years this rule has been
modified in the case of persons who
must wear glasses of necessity. But it
is still wrong to see the Emperor
through glass, and to avoid any chance
of anyone seeing him through a win
dow, he grants audiences and does his
work in a room in which all the blinds
are nailed down
The legal cause of this extravagant-
~ reverent attitude of the people is
found in the Third Article of the Con-
stitution of Japan, which says: "The
Emperor is sacred and inviolable. -
Further explanation of this clause is
made in the official commentary on the
Constitution: 'fThe Emperor is
heaven-descended, divine and sacred.
His hallowed throne was established
at the time when the heavens and the
earth became separated. He is pre-
eminent above all his subjects. The
law has no power to hold him account
able to it. Not only shall there be no
irreverence for the Emperor person,
but he shall not be made a topic for
derogatory comment, nor even one of
discussion. - Thus it will be seen that
the japanese consider their ruler too
sacred to be talked about, and have
ineulcated in the law of the land a
prohibition. of the use of his name in
ordinary conversation.
The Emperor has no designations and
practices the utmost regularity, spend
ing nearly his whole time in the dis
charge of his official duties. He is said
to resemble the German Emperor in
the faculty of being able TO choose
trustworthy assistants. Although His
Majesty cannot read or speak any Ian
guage other than his own, he is an in
y tttIdtt LtdAtA VI NV FdkOIoF IAAE
his interpreters busy translating the
utterances of the foreign press for his
information Quite in conformity with
the idea his subjects have about his
divinity, is the claim that he never
shows emotion. If there are moments
when his anger gets beyond his con
troll. no reports of them ever reach be
yond the palace walls.
The Emperor always wears a mill
tary uniform and has done so ever
since he discarded Japanese dress
years ago. Not only when he appears
n public. but when working at his
European desk, he is dressed in the
'ull uniform Of a general or admiral. |
His interest in the equipment Of his |
soldiers was illustrated by an incident !
4 war times. A body OF troops was
passing and he ordered one Of the /
,rivates to be sent to him. He ex- /
.mined the soldiers shoes and asked |