The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920, 1910-11-19
Music as an Example.

opeahlng OF music, we bump against another
oddty right away in that native Japanese Gas we'll
DIS Chlnese) music consists merely of monotonous
tWanglng on one or two strings-so that can now
understand the old story of Ii Hung Changes mus
zeal experiences in America To hear grand opera
singers to listen to famous violinists his friends
took him, but they moved him not; the most gift
ed piano sooists failed equally to interest him. But
one night the great Chinaman went early to a
theatre and all at his face beamed with de-
light, and he turned to his friends in enthusiastic
gratitude: We have found it at last!" he ex-
claimed. THAT is genuine music" And it
was only the orchestra tuning up" their instru-
ments!
might as well say just here that this story while
good, always struck me as humorous exaggera-
tlon TILL came to Japan, but the music which I
heard the other night in one of the most fashion
able and expensive Japanese restaurants in Tokyo
was exactly Of the same character-like nothing
else in all the world much as an orchestra
tuning up! And yet by way of modification las
usuaD 1t must be said that appreciation of West
ern music is growing, and one seldom hears in
classical selections sweeter combination of voice
and piano than Mrs Tamaki Shibata's while my
japanese student friend also surprised me by sing
ing "Suwanee River" like genuine Southerner
Marriage and Home Life.
Take the social relations Of the Japanese pso-
pie as another example of contrariety. Here the
honorable sex is the masculine and there is even
a proverb, I believe. Honor men, despise wo-
men," Perhaps the translation "despise' is too
strong but certainly it would be regarded as moth
ing but contemplate weakness for young men to
show any such regard for young women or hus-
bands for their wives as in America. The wives
exist solely for their husbands, nor must the wife
object IL the husband maintain other favorites or
even bring them into the home. And although
man is with his wife much greater part Of his
time than is the case in America, he has, as is
well known, little or no voice in selecting her. in
fact, he probably her only once before marry
ing.
After having seen probably half million or
more Japanese, Sundays and week days I have
not noticed single young Japanese couple walk
ing together and in the case where I saw
husband and wife walking thus side by side I
discovered on investigation that the man was
blind! For young couple to select each other
as in America" said young japanese gentle
man to me, would be considered immoral, and
as for a young man calling on a young woman
that never happens except clandestinely" And
when l asked II it was true that when husband
and wife go together, the woman must follow the
man instead Of walking beside him as his equal
he answered: But it is very, very seldom that
the two go out together"
My Japanese friend also told me that the young
man often has considerable voice in selecting his
life-partner Tin case it Is for life there is one
divorce to every three to five marrages), but the
young woman in the case must have no more to
say ABOUT 1t than the commodity in any other bar
gain and sale. When young man or young
woman gets Of manageable age (and that is
rather young), the parents decide on some salts
factory prospective partner, and 'mddleman"
interviews the parents Of the prospective partner
aforesaid, and if they are willing, and financial
and other considerations are satisfactory it
doesn't matter what the girl thinks nor does it
matter much whether young Barks himself is
"willn": the Sir Anthony Absolutes in Japan
meet with no opposition. All Of which while not
wholly commendabe (my young Japanese friend
himself dislikes the plan, at least in his pro-
spectve case) has at least the advantage of eav-
ing but remarkably few bachelors and old maids
in Japan Here every mans house may not be
Continued page S00.)