The New York herald., 1921-10-30

Oh the same thoroughfare has roof gar.
den and restaurant to which most visi-
tors are taken for view Of the town. The
tower is about ten stories above the street.
A LTHOUGH everybody in Japan can
r ~ not wear decoration, every man
above the coolie. or common Ia
borer. has crest. A great many of the
japanese take pride in wearing this crest
as conspicuously as possible usually on
the haori, or black silk coat. Almost every
japanese who is of social distinction pos.
sesses at least one haori with crest Some
times Japanese whose ancestry runs back
several hundred years wears five crests at
the same time. These are worked out in
white embroidery, one at the back Of the
neck, one on each shoulder and one on the
front Of each sleeve.
The Onion, or crests for women are
worn in the same positions as those on the
coats OF the men. A woman may wear a
haori showing crest in private, but it
would be considered breach of etiquette
for her to wear one at a formal function
on the latter occasions. Many families
have hereditary crests, and some families
have two distinct designs. The imperial
family uses two the sixteen petalled
chrysanthemum and the paulownia 1t is
illegal for any person not member of the
royal family to use these devices under any
circumstances.
Not only the clothing worn by the own.
ers Of crests are adorned with the family
insignia, but their travelling cases, lunch
boxes, sword racks, tea caddies and writing
boxes are similarly marked. Members of
the old families who have gone into trade
have given great offence to some of the
>aristocrats by putting their crests on the
backs of their employees along with an
advertisement Of their business, although
the display Of the family crest on retainers
and servants was discarded along with the
feudal system when the empire was re-
stored in 1868.
The original conception of the Onion
was representation of the sun. Devices
intended to indicate different families and
even to commemorate historic events were
embroidered inside of this disk. Gradually
there grew up a system of heraldry. which
has survived to some extent. The aboli-
tion of feudalism gave each person in the
country above the status of coolie a right
to wear a crest IL he chose. and most of
them chose to do so.
ME police system of Japan pretty
closely parallels the military or
ganization. The policemen in the
cities are trained for military purposes.
wear white military uniform Tin sum-
mer) and carry sword instead of billy"
or baton. They are probably the poorest
paid policemen In the world receiving on
an average 30 yen a month. or about
SIS. The Chief Of Police of Toxic gets
$3.50 year. AS rule the force is organ.
lied on very high plane, although a
certain amount of squeeze" (honest CRAFTY
goes with the job.
While the police establishments are un.
der local control they are really part of
the military machine of the empire. The
city police are polite and helpful to
strangers and severe in handling native
malcontents, as the burden of proof is
usually upon the offender and not upon
the law. Two years ago the courts, which
exercise both civil and criminal jurisdic.
tion, tried 47S,932 cases for various of.
fences. Capital punishment electricity
is rarely inflicted being imposed on
burglars, incehdiaries, manufacturers of
explosives and murderers
The Government maintains reform
school system for offenders under Is
where both moral instruction and general
education Is provided. There is a surpris.
ing number of suicides, and not infre.
quently cases OF hara-kari reported by the
police, the ancient method of disembowel.
ling being employed by adherents of the
clans that fourished and welded great
power in the days Of the Shoguns.
Four cases of harakari--all men above
60-were reported by the police of Toxic
during a mid-August week. In every In
stance the victim observed the form pre-
scribed by ancient tradition. faced a pic
ture of the Emperor, invoked the protec
tion Of his Shinto Cor Buddhist) gods and
used two short swords in seeking an escape
from human misery.
CUICIDE~ has always been one OF the
- principal indoor sports Of Japan
To the Western mind most of the
causes that inspire desire to shuttle
off are trivial, but to the japanese
mind they are fundamental. do