The Washington herald., 1908-04-30
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

Special Correspondence The Washington Herald.
Tokyo. March lit is undoubtedly true
that no other monarch in history ever
saw such a change in the affairs of his
people as the present ruler OF Japan has
Witnessed during his reign, Mutsu-hito
became ruler OF Japan when he was six
teen years old, and he viii be ffty-six If
he lives until November s. He is the
I2lst ruler OF his dynasty, belonging to q
line Of monarehs 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 eco B. c.
Although the seelusion OF the present
monarch causes much comment. his per-
son Is hedged about with much less for
mality than was put around his ancestors.
In the olden time the Mikado was alto
gether secluded from the public. No one
but his wife. his eoncubines and his
most important ministers was ever
permitted to look upon his august face.
When receiving, he sat upon q matted
throne. and his face was protected from
IL
II was a strict rule Of etiquette that his
sacred feet should never touch the earth.
Ii is said that the present Emperor never
walked until he was eighteen years old,
which may account for his awkward gait
which is stin noticeable.
In olden times the Emperor travelled in
a curtained car Of state. His name could
not be spoken aloud by the rank and file
Of his subjects, and when written had 10
be left unfinished by emitting the last
stroke Of the writing brush. The first
time a japanese EmperOF's name was
ever written in full during his lifetime
was when the present sovereign issued
his edict promising the people q constitu-
tional form Of government No person Is
permitted 70 look down upon the EN-
perOT. so that when he drives through
the streets the blinds OF upper windows
must be closed, and no one dares to climb
on anything 70 get a view of his imperial
majesty, Formerly no one was permitted
TO look upon the Emperor through spec
tacles, but In recent years this rule has
been modified in the case OF persons who
must wear glasses Of necessity But IL is
still wrong 10 see the Emperor through
glass. and to avoid any chance Of any
ones seeing him through a window he
grants audiences and does his work In
room in which all the blinds are nailed
down.
The legal cause of this extravagantlv
reveTent attitude Of the people is found
in the third article Of the constitution OF
Japan. which says: The Emperor Is !
sacred and inviolable." Further explapa- |
ton OF this clause is made in the official /
commv.iss. on the constitution. "The |
emperor is heaven-desCended, divine and
sacred. His hallOwed throne was estab- |
lished al the time when the heavens. and
he earth became separated. He is pre-
eminent above all his subjects The law /
has no power to hold him accountable 20 /
It. Not only shall there be no irrever- /
ence for the Emperor's person but he /
y shall not be made topic for derogatory |
comment, nor even one Of discussion" |
Thus It vii! be seen that the Japanese
consider their ruler too sacred to be
talked about and have inculcated 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. spending |
nearly his whole time in the discharge |
Of his official duties He Is said 10 re-
semble the German Emperor in the fac /
ulty Of being able 10 choose Trustworthy
assistants Although his majesty cannot |
read or speak any language other than /
his own, he IS an inveterate reader of /
newspapers, keeping his interpreters busy
translating the utteranees Of the foreign
press for his information. Quite in con-
formity with the idea his subjects have
about his divinity Is the claim that he
never shows emotion. If there are mo-
ments when his anger gets beyond his
control, no reports of them ever reach
beyond the palace walls
The Emperor always wears a military
uniform. and has done so ever since he
discarded japanese dress, years ago.
Not only when he appears In public. but
when working at his European desk. he
IS dressed in the full uniform Of q gen
eral or admiral. His interest in the
equipment Of his soldiers was illustrated |
by an incident of war times. A body OF |
troops was passing and he ordered one
Of the pTivates TO be sent to him He
examined the soldiers shoes and asked
great many questions about them. Then
to satisfy himself he sent for a pair Of
the same Kind and wore them for two
or three days to test their comfort.
The one hobby Of the Mikado Is his
love of poetry. No day passes without
his turning out forty or fifty poems. h
which. according TO japanese rule, must
consist Of either sixteen or thirty-one
syllables. His capacity in this particular
Is so great that the Official court poet
estimates that during the past thirty
years his majesty has written fully 10000
poems. II is told that when the Emperor
was only eight years old his father gave
him a number Of subjects for verses.
and he has had an unvarying love Of
this kind Of composition ever since. Each
January the Emperor selects a subject ,
and the public is requested to send in
poems on this theme. Thousands OF re-
sponses are received and the bureau of
poetry is rushed for months in the work
OF passing upon them all Finally, the
committee selects what are considered
the six best poems and these are read
at court and published in all the papers.
or course, this honor is regarded very
highly by the successful competitors. :
This year the subject was "The Pine
Tree Beside the Shrine" The Emperor's j
contribution was THE evergreen pine i,
tree stands beside the shrine which
guards the empire immoyable" Among
the six successful contributors there
Was only one woman. who wrote In the Il
garden fronting the shrine, the cranes
play under the pine tree foliage" While !.
the translation destroys the meter, an .
understanding Of the idea may be OBJ L
tanned IU
The present court poet is seventy years i
L.