The Washington times., 1912-09-14
JAPAN MOURNING
. THE FATE Of NOG|
AND HIS COUNTESS
Full National Honor Will Be
Paid Distinguished
=.
Couple.
CONTINUED from First Page.l

the United States and his suite. left
today to visit Nikko. a town famous
for It's temples and mortuary shrines,
eighty miles from this city.
The body of the late Emperor arrived
today at Momoyama for the final in
terment.
For husband and wife to end their
lives together is unprecedented even in
Japan, and the popular Wow urques-
tfonably is that 1t added to the gran
deur of the sacrifice.
: The aged descendant of the Samurai
and his companion of SO many years
had dressed themselves as for some
elaborate state function. The general
was In full uniform, with all his orders
and decorations blazing on his breast.
the Japanese style. Besides his letter
to the Mikado, the contents Of which
have not been made public. Genei al
Ncgt left directions, addressed to the
and to the surgeon general. for the
bodies.
The general killed himself by draw
presented to him by the late Mikado
himself, across his throat. His wife
perished by the two orthodox cuts. pre-
scribed for the ceremony of hara-kiri.
From the position In which the
corpses were found 1t was evident that
the couple must have killed themselves
standing before pictures of the late
Japanese mourning, and of their two
sons. killed while f1ghting under their
father at the siege of Port Arthur
No Intimation of Plans.
General Nogi had given no intimation
of his plan to end his own life as a
mark Of his grief at his masters death.
He took part in the earlier ceremonial
in connection with the funeral, and was
to have marched in the procession from
the Imperial Palace to the Aoyama
parade ground last night.
In japan, since the first Emperor as
csnded the throne, about $50 B. c.. the
spirit of Bushido had ruled in the land.
It was the belief that this spirit gave
high officials the courage to die when
their Emperor did. The Japanese belief
Is that every achievement in ones life
,is throngh the power Of the Emperor.
absolute command over every man,
woman, and child in the nation. and the
belief held that no greater show of af-
be shown than to take ones life when
he died, so as to meet him in the next
world, and be his slave.
For hundreds Of years after the
custom p4evaied Not only hish 'ois of
fcials. but people from all walks Of life.
died by their own hands, feelin- sure
that this act would merit them a place
close, to their dead ruler in the next
world.
Custom Dying Out.
But during the last few decades when
japan became modernized. when the
beliefs and teachings Of the Western
World were taken up. the custom SEEM
ed to have been dying out. There has
never been a death of an Emperor in
Japan when some one did not commit
suicide 80 as to be near the ruler in
the land beyond. but not in the last
100 years has there been sacrifice by
ance as Nogt.
Nogi and his wife were both of noble
blood. She was a highly accomplished
woman, a graduate OF Vassar College.
and spent many years in the United
States. Nogi was a man with a won-
derful knowledge Of the Western World
and its ways, a man OF wonderful IN
point of believing in many Of the be-
liefs of the Occident.
And SO Japan today honors and re-
spects the man and woman who could,
OF the world across the seas. show the
people of japan that the spirit OF
"Bushido" still lives; that the most
honored death is to die by ones own
hand as a show Of loyalty and devotion
to a ruler who has gone beyond.
Mutsuhito's body was put on board
the funeral train from Tokyo at a. m.
today. following the services at the pa
rade ground and arrived tonight (Jap-
anese time) in Kioto for burial
A strong body of the Imperial guard
was drawn up at the station to receive
the train. With no delay a procession
was formed, as in Tokyo, which pro-
ceeded to the mournful. monotonous
sound Of Japanese musical instruments,
from the station to Momoyama Hill.
Hundreds of thousands of the dead