Evening journal., 1918-07-12

JOURNAL.
BY BURTON KNIsELY
(Copyrisht. 1918, Newspaper Enterprise
Assoolation.)
TOKYO, July i0.-First impressions
are always-not necessarily the best,
but at any rate the most Interesting.
So--flrst impressions OF Japan:
When It is wet In Japan 1t is WET,
It Is beautiful. they say, on clear day
to see from Yokohama harbor Mount
Fug, more than 80 miles away. Per-
haps But through the fine, thick rain
] can scarcely make out the residences
OF the Europeans and Americans on the
bluff Just above the bay hardly mile
distant.
A large rowboat Is made fast 10 our
steamer. am chilly In woolens and
overcoat But the men in the rowboat
are poorly, thinly clothed in loose cot
ton. Their feet are bare. One wears
an oilskin cape. The others shiyer
under capes Of straw that look like an
opened sheaf Of wheat.
From the dock, as large and modern
as most docks, arises an incessant clat-
tering. It sounds like a hundred ponies
going along a brick pavement. Now
understand IT. All the people wear
wooden shoes. Not shoes, but soles OF
wood lifted OF the ground on two
wooden crosspieces from one to three
inches high. Just soles. No counters.
No uppers. From the center in front
two ropes or straps extend, one to each
side. Many feet are bare. Some wear
sort OF sock. But bare or socked, the
big toe is separated from the rest. II
grasps, against the second toe. the
Joined ropes in front. That's how they
keep their shoes on. Boys can run as
fast on these miniature stilts as Ameri-
can boys run barefoot Little girls jump
rope with them. II is wonderful how
they stick on, without uppers TO but
ton or lace Nobody-except foreigners
or few westernized, prosperous Jap
enese-wears anything else. One thing
they keep the feet up out Of the mud.
No wonder all Japanese take off their
"shoes" when they enter the house.
These wooden "geta" cost only few
cents-25 cents pair is dear.
At the dock are a hundred jlnrikshas.
The Japanese call them kuruma. A
light, two-wheeled, pneumatlc-tlred,
wire-spoked sulky like a racing sulky
only with crossbar joining the
shafts in 'front.' and a man instead Of a
horse In the shafts. Unsociable Seat
only one passenger. All-natlye or for
elgn-who can afford II ride in them
, ,However-20 years ago there were 40,-
900 TO $4,000 rlcksha men In Tokyo.
Not one-tenth that many now. Almost
no rickshas in towns and rural dis
fricts. Tokyo has excellent street car
service now. And other Jobs call out
for the ricksha men. The ricksha age is
passing In Japan. Enter, the automo-
bile. II is pleasant to ride in a kuruma.
The rlcksha man will dog-trot an hour
straight, over level streets or roads,
without breaking into a walk. Expen-
sive, nowl Costs from IS cents to 30
cents an hour.
p. SeLThe Japanese ought to win the
lext Olympic games marathon.
P. p. S.-Most men claim an Amer
can with the musical name Goble, half
,obbler. half-missionary. invented the
inriksha Finel America rediscovers
Japan America furnished ilnrikshal
america furnishes street cars America
furnishes the automobllel What would
Japan have done without America?
Japanese progress-A steam train or |
an electric car will jerk YOU the 20 |
miles from Yokohama to Tokyo in half |
an hour to 45 minutes-every 10 minutes
from dawn to midnight.
A couple hundred miles Of streets in
Tokyo and a few streets in the other
large cities in Japan, have been widen
ed. Outside Of that japanese streets
are narrow alleys, from 10 TO 20 feet
wide. with no sidewalks.
What need for wide streets, or side
walks7 It used TO be all man-power,
all foot-power. in Japan. Japan has
few horses. Her men are her horses.
Even now in Tokyo almost all loads,
heavy or light, are pulled by men on