Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-06-17
BY FRANK M. KENNEY.
JAPAN II.

JAPAN-II.
This is the one feature of Japanese
life which impressed the writer as
being peculiarly abhorrent to the
American mind, as it is almost i'm
possible tc conceive of parent WILL
ingly placing a child into Il resort of
this kind, but unfortunately it is
very common in Japan and SO little is
thought of it that at the expiration
of the term, which is usually three
years, if the child has not been mar
ried. she NAV return home and will
be as highly thought of as those who
have not been in such a place. In
tie treatment of the social evil"
the Japanese method is very good. rs
the women are absolutely segregated
from the balance of the town and are
not permitted upon the street with
out u pass from the police depart
ment, and then only when accompa-
MED by one of the other inmates.
These police passes are given only at
the time of occasions OF Joy or sorrow
in the family of the parents, brother
and sister. or unclcs and aunls: A
rigid medical supervision is also
found. was informed the Japanese
morals are on d much higher plane.
with the exceptions mentioned, than
common rumOr gives them credit for
The marriage customs are entirely
different from this country. as no re-
ligiOus service of any kind is re-
quired. Children are often betrothcG
by their parents. or professional
matchmaker will bring together
parties for the first sight" as it is
called. This is generally in tea
house and if both of them are salts
fed with the first look. presents pass
between them, the same as the en-
gagement rings In this country.
The girl is then consulted and an au-
spicious day for the marriage is ap.
pointed. The bride, at the appoint.
ed time, sets forth from her home &c
that OF the intended groom. They
are superstitious, and will make q
long detour so as to keep on streets
which have names Of happy meaning
such as Long Life" Perennial
YOUTH" etc. When she arrives al
the street in which the residence o.
the groom is located, the bridal party
is received by his relatives and
friends. They then go to the house
the bride sets on the floor opposite
the groom, and between them is q
three-legged table on which there i:
sake (rice wine.) After they have
alternately drank from a cup of sake
nine times, they are man and wife
Divorce among the k.wer classes in
Japan has been extremely common.
but not so among the higher classes
According to the doctrine of Confu
cius, the man might divorce his wife
for any one of seven causes; disobedi
ence, barrenness, lewd conduct, foul
and incurable disease, talking toe
much, and thievishness. So it was
easy to secure grounds for divorce.
The wages paid are small in com.
parison with those Of this country.
but then their needs are not many
as rice and fish seems to be sufficien!
food for them. The professor in the
college whom l mentioned before
told me of having a first-class me
chanic running lathe and gear cut
ting machine. who worked every day
in the month, including Sundays,
and received "a yen 80 sen, equiva
lent to $12 40 in our money. A
wage-scale like this certainly will
keep us hustling to compete with it,
as they are putting in first=class ma
chinery. A. carpenter gets from 80
cents TO 80 cents a day. Women as
well as men are employed in coaline
ships, and although it used to bt
very common for the women to worl
at coaling ships with babies on theil
backs, arrangements have since beer
made for the caring of them. Still
in Nagasaki one woman had strapped
on to her back little baby, whose
little lungs undoubtedly got vel
filled with coal dust, and the mother
for her work received only % sen, OF
12l cents, for working all day long
passing basket after basket of coal
each of which contained about thirty
pounds. In loading they form a hu
man chain from where the coal is NJ
ladder to the decks of the ship
The coal was passed from hand t.
hand very rapidly. The men in this