The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FOR slIERIEI
BLIND FOLK OF JAPAN Ranked as Separate Class and En- titled to Special Privilege

From very ancient times the blind folk, of Japan have received much attention, though they were never made the wards of the nation to the extent that obtained in the west under later Christian in- fuence, says the Japanese Magazine The fact that blindness entitled a man to be
 raised to special rank may be taken as evidence of this care. It is recorded that about the year SS6 A. D., when the Emperor Koko paid visit to d certain place he was received by a company of blind men, whose condition much moved the compassion of his majesty. Not long after this the Emperor gave orders that a row of tenements should be constructed
 in Kyoto, where the homeless blind might find shelter; and the blind were thence
 forth ranked as a separate class, en-
 titled to a special privilege.
 Upon the death of the Emperor Koko hundreds of blind men and women flock ed into the capitol to express their sor- row and pay last tribute of respect to the great monarch who so earnestly be- friended them It was not unnatural that the anniversary of the Emperors death should have become the blind mans holiday. and even yet on July 20 the blind are accustomed to visit the old capitol to celebrate it: offering prayers before the imperial shrine. Since that time 1t
 has been the custom of the Kuga family. who are descendants of the Emperor Koko, and represented by the Marquis
 Kuga to confer on all blind persons who have visited the Kyoto shrine four times the rank known as shibu. When one holding this rank has attended the an nual service four times he was raised to
 still higher rank known as yodo. A
 blind man of this rank attending four times reached the rank of sokoto and sokoto, on the same conditions became q kengyo, the latter being of the same
 rank as Buddhist bishop or the abbott of monastery Moreover there were ranks under each of the above mentioned
 grades. or IS in all.
 In the reign of the Emperor Suka 1850 A. D. there is mention of a blind man
 named Akashi who was skilled luta
 player. and was invited to play before the Emperor when his majesty was so pleased that he raised the musician to the rank of so-ke1gyo, which means arch
 bishop. This famous blind musician was
 also made much of by the Ashikaga fam ilq. Tn the time of the Emperor Go.So- matsu Q2S3-1412 A. D) there was another blind musician named TalSenaga. ucon
 whom the Emperor bestowed the purple robe of Buddhist priest of the highest rank. In the Tol<ugawa period. between the years 1888 and 1703. there lived tn Hitotsume tone-eye) in Yedo noted blind man named Sugiyama. who won bis estate and it's name by asking the shoe un to give him one of his eyes when pressed to make any request he desired and it
 would be granted This was the first blind man raised to high rank by the shogun, such honor up to that time having been the prerogative of the imperial house, alone. After that 1t was arranged that the ranking of the blind was to be divid- cd between the Emperor and the shogun, the former attending to the blind in the & provinces of the south. and the shogur those n the "A DrovipreS in prr<b The Tokugawa bakufu increased the number of ranks to which the blind could be raised to q. including all those already
 mentioned.