The New York herald., 1921-11-27

BY WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIs,
thor Of .The Mikados lnstitution and Person

toward this desired END. Inc Cro"i
Princes physical stamina and expecta-
tion Of longevity come through his ma
ternai Inheritance.
sadako. or tho Princess Sada. became
the mother or four sons. OF whom the
Crown Prince and regent was the first.
This fourth daughter OF the late Prince
kuJo. a noble OF the first rank. was born
June 25. 1884. being Ave years younger
than her imperial spouse.
Growing up from girlhood. not like
tho Empress Dowager. her predecessor,
In the solitude OF the palaces and r. r
dens OF kioto. the City OF the Nine1old
Circle of Flowers. Princess Sada was
born into a new world of material envi-
ronment. Under the telegraph wires and
amid the rumble OF steam and electric
cars she enjoyed to the full the new
modern iHe of Toxic.
But and this helped her to the throne
she kept not her feet from the earth,
ror was she carried or wheeled, but
walked every day TO the Peeresses'
school--one OF the two, the Toxic Female
Normal School being the other. of which
the late Margaret Clark Griffis was the
principal.
Instead OF the traditional two spots
mixed on her forehead. the shaven eye
brows and the teeth blaclxened like jet.
Sada kept her complexion as nature in
tended. The halolike frontage Of hair
above and around her forehead, which
made the face only the frame for capil-
larry splendor. passed into innocuous
ttaAa har ND
UP according to the fashion of the mod
ern lady In Japan, which is the style we
call pompadour.
In place OF the white brocade upper
dress with flowing sleeves and the very
long crimson silk skirt, white socks and
slippers that scarcely ever felt the
ground. she put on thick soled leather
shoes. the samurai's pleated skirt like
that Of the men, and the Jacket that was
storm proof. Hers was a clumsy and
not over attractive garb. but 1t was
the sensible female students adaptation
TO what her ancestors never knew
chairs, desks, blaclSboards. inkstands
states, pencils and things that might
tear or soil.
When the doctors. seeking a mate Tor
ties Of noble maidens in the four fami-
lies Of immemorial line from which the
bride for the Mikado could be chosen
they unanimously agreed on Sada as the
one paramount, because she fulfilled all
the requirements of body. soul and spirit
To the arbitrary requirements of thou
sand years Of tradition and custom she
added what not so very many other con-
sorts Of mikados had, a we'll trained
mind and a superbly developed body.
Vastly more important than a battle
victory was this choice of one of ia
pans noblest daughters. When she had
given her husband four sons the death
blow to that ancient institution. an inn
perial harem, had been dealt. Thai
statute Of polygamy which allowed
twelve concubines to the occupant OF the
throne is made obsolete, not by formal
repeal but by the logic Of events and
the new ethical atmosphere in Japan.
1t is no secret that the present EN-
peror Yoshihito has long suffered from
lack of both mental and physical STAN
ina. For two whole years, when still
boy. his weight was stationary. AL
the other male children of the last EN-
peror. his brother, died in infancy.
Hirohito, now the 124th Mikado-as
alien scholars count from the recorded
data; natives from traditional notions
write Of him as the 1881. and probably
he is the 105th or 1O6th in history
grew up In the modern world, amid
boyish companions, though most of his
education was under private tutors and
governors of whom Generals Yamagata
and Nogi and Admiral Togo were among
those best known. All the anecdotes told
Of him during his school life show a de-
termination to get as close to the peo-
pie as possible and to know as much
Of the actual world and the forces in it
visible and invisible. as possible.
The cause of the sending away of tho
Crown Prince to Europe was. In tn,
popular view, through the Vaccinations
of the powers behind the throne to pre-
vent a matrimonial alliance of Hirohito
with lady who was not acceptable tc
the military or clan rulers. How fai
this is true may not certainly be known
for many other elements entered into
the question OF marriage It Is now
stated in the MGinichi that the Prince
Regent-Mikado Is betrothed. The an
nouncement Is soon to be made of the
future bride and II is stated that he will
DE married in the spring Of 1923.
1t Is to be hoped that Hirohito will
visit the United States. II so. he ma,
possibly give the same answer which
the Prime Minister Iwakura made to u,
Americans. as we sat at his dinner table
Asked what had most impressed him IN
his trip around the whole world, he an
swered instantly The strength of tn,
central government at Washington. II
a monarchy could understand 1t. In {
republic It seemed to me the creates
| wonder Of all history"