The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-28

the children of America about the 4 children of Japan. I want the boys and girls who take this newspaper to seat themselves upon the magic carpet of fairyland, which will take one around the world in the twinkling of an eye. All you have to do is to shut your eyes and wish you were there, and when you open them, loi your wish has come true. Our magic carpet has carried us across the Pacific and has dropped us down in the heart of Japan. We are in the big city Of Kyoto, in the central part of the coun- try. There are mountains in sight every where, and behind us is a beautiful lake which fills the river running through the city. The houses are so many that they cover as much space as Philadelphia, which has three times many people. Their walls are such that they can be slid back during the daytime. and we can see all that goes on within. Most of the streets are lined with stores filled with all kinds of curious goods, and the streets, stores and houses are swarming with chll- dren Here they are working, helping their parents; there they are playing, and
 
 What jolly youngsters they are! We hear their laughter sounding out on the air, and as they see us some bend half double, in Japanese fashion, and yell out, ..O-hi-O,' their word for good day oth- CTS. who are ruder, cry out Japanese syl-
 fables which, our interpreter says, mean; ..you furry headed foreigners; you have eyes like cat!''
 Our Japanese Brothers.
 We find that we are as great curiosities to the Japanese children as they are to us. Their skins are yellow, and their eyes | are a trihe aslant, and so fastened at the corners that they do not come as Wlde open as ours do. They think that their eyes are the more beautiful and that crearn-colored skins are quite as fine as white ones. Outside of this, Japanese boys and girls are just like Americans. Their little black eyes can see as far as ours can; and If you scratch their yellow
 Skins they will bleed in the same way. You had better be careful not to do so, however. They are as proud as you, and they will fight at the drop of a hat
 They are not as tall as we children of the same age, but they are fully as strong Get one of the little fellows to double up his arm, and put your hand on his biceps. Every muscle stands up ike a baseball and every ounce of his flesh IS hard with the athletics which every school boy has to take daily. AS to hls fighting, you have heard how the Japan | csc whipped the Russians, who are almost | twice as heavy as they are and three times as many in number, and how, apout | 15 years ago. they conquered the Chinese, who have ten times as many people in their great nation over the way.
 The Children Soldiers.
 nfT Tor rd a playing soldiers The nation is still ex- cited over it's victory, and the boys go about with guns and flags, marching in step while their trumpeters blow. Ihelr guns are sticks of bamboo and their swords are of wood. They march rlgnt well, however, and they have sham i1ghts between the different companies Of boys in a town. Even babies are now dressed in military costumes by some of the moth CTS and many 4-year-old Japanese baby goes about in the dress of an officer or the navy Some children who wear kl- monos have soldier hats, and not few are dressed in khaki. The toy shops are full of lead soldiers and miniature guns alnd drums The older boys are real sol dhers. for every school has it's military
 drill under officers of the army. Boys of H2 and IA have to march with guns, and N as they grow older they go out in the
 deld to camp and take part in sham bat
 .s In every Japanese school there Is a
 Till hall where the guns are stacked up 4 against the walls when not in use. Every school has gymnasium and the boys II and girls go through all sorts of exercises II to make them strong and enable them to Il fight and work for their emperor-when a | war comes. Just now the boys think the Japanese people could whip any other na- | tion and that the United States would have a poor show in a fight with their I'll them. we must keep our eyes open, for no one can tell but that we may have to hght H them by and by. They have far more sol Il diers in their army than we have and II their navy is one of the best In the worio. A Day of Dollies.
 H On the 3d of March every year occurs H a great girls holiday, known as the feast H of dolls. On this day the boys have to H stand in the background. Their parents II pay little attention to them and they II make the girls, for the time, the chief H members of the family It is the one day H in the year when they are more important H than the boys. At this time every girl N gets new doll, and all the dolls or the N family, including those of mother, grand H mother and great grandmother, are H brought out to be admired and played HI with.
 HI The dolls used at this time are not like |ll ordinary dolls and they played with MI only once a year, and the laid away TOT |ll 12 months, when the next doll festival N comes. Those dolls represent some favor ! ite prince or princess, some hero or hero Il inc and sometimes the Emperor and Elm H press. There is little throne of steps H made for them in the back of the parlor II or in the most honored place in the house, HI and they are placed upon this in rows. HI The children then sit down in front Of III them and talk to them. They put food M la and drink before them in tiny dishes, and III listen to stories about them. They give H them doll toys, which are as fine as they IN can afford In rich families the toy dishes III are sometimes of silver with little toy IN silver chop sticks for the toy Emperor H and Empress to eat with. They serve HI | toy wine, made especially for the feast, in |iit tov cups Some families have collections H | of dolls which have been saved by the Il children for generations and which go II hack for hundred years or more.
 M Then the stores are filled with dolies \ for this feast, and the little yellow | skinned cirls trot around in bright kimo- I nos on their wooden clogs, admiring them \ and picking out the ones which are to De ! bought for this festival
 The Teddy Bears of Japan.
 The ordinary Japanese doll used by the girls is not like the American article. It I is a miniature Japanese child or womaii ! with the blackest of black eyes, with \ queerly dressed Japanese hair, wearing M kimono and wooden shoes. Such dolls are II of all sizes, from as big as your hnger to II your little baby sister and the children | in playing with them often carry them \ about on their backs tying them on with n I-k~ .,e-f flA aol Iu uy,on