The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-11
THE JAPANESE ] ARE LEARNING
 WESTERN WAYS Ypung People Ape Many of
 the Customs of
 America lU-tDUCAllUN HAS lIS LOVER-L|KE TRAGEDIES #often Young People In Love and Un- 
 able to Mary Enter Suicide Facts, & Adopting Novel Methods of
 Dying.

Tokio April 15-The Japanese people are. in a measure, learning the English { Language. and such of them as have ac- quired few words are anxious, by their use. to give evidence of their westernism. When tine men do, it results often more or less ridiculously but quite the con trary when the speakers are two or more Typical Tollio girl graduates" wearing sthe characteristic ''ebi cha hakama,' or crimson skirt, which is now largely in evidence in most Japanese cities, as a f sort of convenient compromise between fhe occidental petticoat and the national kimono.
 The "hai-kara'' girl, as she is called 8in Japanese-the words are a corruption 28of "high collar and are made to apply Ito Japanese men and women alike who Hare prone to ape western customs-has Evolved into something analogous to the F'summer girl" of the United States and hot infrequently herydaring violation of old-time conventions furnishes the comic papers with theme for sarcastic com- ment or indignant denunciation.
 ff Japanese etiquette has hitherto frowned ssternly upon the informal mingling of the Hfsexes, which is matter of course in a4the west. the exigencies of a modern scho- Elastic training, as the tendency of the x times already noted. has dealt these old < ideas a shrewd blow. Girls destined for ari up-to-date education flock into the capitol from tie provinces and unless ] they have friends nere or can live on the s school premises, must patronize the H. I,oa af.di dirrr xu11a no pf conduct can be exercised.
 Love of Scandal.
 a Allowing for inevitable exaggeraton and the To e of scandalous gossip which is as Common to the east to the west, it would be idle to deny that abuses exist and that the sudden reaction from undue Restriction to the opposite pole of personal Freedom has in not a few instances done more harm than good Be this as it may, it is possible now to witness scenes which only a decade ago would havs been al- { most inconcevable in Japan.
 M sort of crude gallantry is being ex- plotted by a special group of students. both male and female. Often enough this phenomenon is genuinely platonic and does not exceed the limits of silly adap- tat1On Ot western Sent1menldl1ly. BuI on the other hand, history of some of these affairs of the heart are far from innocent and end in tragedy. Regularly Rin the vernacular papers one may read of suicides from disappointed love by both young men and women and in many cases the lovers finding it impossible for some treason or other to marry end their lives Simultaneously by binding their bodies together and jumping into a river, plac- .,sing themselves a railway track in |. .rthe path of an approaching engine, or talk Ling a dose of poison.
 The "Shinlu."
 z. M Occasionally the man stays his mistress With sword and then puts an end to Himself in the same manner. This form {of suicide is universally known "shin- ~ ju,' and it is popularly regarded as an Everlasting disgrace for either party to the compact to survive the other. d4St In connection with this "hai-kara'' ten A dency, there has come to be observed in Sapan a certain western deference toward Japanese women which 10 years ago was unheard of For instance, a Japanese will now always give up his seat to a woman in a crowded street car, particu- larly if foreigners are present to witness his exhibition of courtesy, and if the man and his wife both attire themselves in western clothes and go forth to some function he will treat her, long as they both wear the clothes as he under stands western women are treated by their escorts.
 This demeanor however, in all likeli- h\ ad will be dropped as soon as the coN pie are back home and have shifted to S theR comfortable national dress.