The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-06-07
FIVE KINDS OF
WIVES IN JAPAN
ORIENTALS. HOWEVER, HAVE
THEIR OWN STANDARDS OF
PERFECTION,

When ii comes to the wife ques-
ton the Japanese have their own
standard. just as the Americans have
theirs. Without the least intention of
attempting to decide which OF these
Is generally best, 1t may still be of
some interest to our American idea
as to the wifely qualities really are.
kalseki Matsumura. widely known In
Japan as an essayist, presents the
Japanese view very clearly In a re-
cent issue or ono OF the TOXIC maya
zines says the Oriental Review.
he says that a wife comes within
one OF the following FIVE classes: %
The stupid wife. CD The foolish
VIE CD The unruly wife. t4) The
sagac,ous wife. (5l The good wife.
by a stupid wife he explains that he
means one neither slovenly, shrew-
ish nor mean
one Is stupid woman by birth.
she does not know that when there
Is q visitor she ought, In accordance
win japanese etiquette, to serve tea
ana cakes quickly. nor at meaitime
20 invite the visitor to partake of
1000 she Is never punctual and will
heep her friends waiting at her door
while she is leisurely putting more
salient features.
The Foolish Wife.
A foolish wife Is one who Is rsa,ass-
" secretlVe and talkative by turns, If
you thlhk her good-natured, You are
mistaken. AT times she viii be found
taxing her feeble mind with Soma
sly thoughts. She cannot be taught.
She cannot remember. She NAV
rouse herself, but for no longer a
period than two or three DAYS. snch
VIE seems to have been too silly
tor even such philosophers az Buad
ma, confucius and Socrates. Buddha
Saio that ne could not teach women
or petty men. Socrates found mater
ial fer meditation in the fact no.
MS "lte made practice of throwing
a buckeuul of water over him oeca.
siohaIly Christ did not marry. and
therefore was free from any such nm
peasant experience. He la the only
sage who speaks well OF women.
AN unruiy wife is neither STUPID
nor foolish. She may be educated
Intelligent and generally capable. she
may De popular with her vtsttors ana
neg pors, but she Is capricious. wav-
"aru ana moody. She gives with the
u..hoet ireeoon to one she likes and
YET grudges even to move "A finuar for
"
or Jury at moments notice. When
she Is happy she will babble endlessly
when she Is sullen she will NOT even-
respond to your call.
| one morning she .wlll ri ss, .x,ss--,r.
anu next day she will sleep till noon
one does not mind If by her for
"ardless she shall place her husband
IN an awkward or embarrassing roai
uoh with his friends or relatives. II
ne irets she frets the more. If no
goes 10 his club she would go to the
eneatres. II she spends money she
VIII decide to spend some more. Omar
rels and divorce is the old story
of such a union.
The Sagacious Wife.
sagacious wife Is neither foolish
nor forward. She is ssare1si nd ram
apie, KNOWS how to manage other
people and has her own opinions
she Is respected by her friends and
admired by people generally. She is
methodtcal In her work and knows
what Is wanted before she is asked.
People may say that man would
oe or but little use in the world save
ior such wife. but the truth In that
While such wife Is Indispensable for
the incapable man, she NAV still
prove only an obstruction to a man
who Is ADLER and more experienced
than she Is. Her conceit will make
ner believe that without her advice
her husband can only binder. She
VIII criticise everything he does. so
that from mere spite he may often
do things contrary to her advice.
Then she will declare. with a toss of
her head: You may do as you like. I
Will have nothing TO do with this mat
ter. You are so very clever!' Or II
she did not say this, she would, at
any rate, think It. She cannot sym
pathize: so that she who is merely
sagacious wife must prove unman-
ageable even to man OF decided
ability.
The idea wife is the good wife. She
Is. of course, not stupid, having In
reality more wisdom than the saga
cious wife. but she makes no attempt
70 dlsplay her cleverness She may
n =