New-York tribune., 1922-11-05

eternal stream of talk is sometimes broken by
the description Of cherry blossom time And
there is a collection of thousands of decorative
phrases, all embroidered very prettily with q
few hundred thousand adiectives. And in
this manner hgh-priced fiction writer can
manage to tel the story of a man who met
woman and made dishwatery common fool
of himself and hatched cheap everyday trag-
cdy i'll a manner as familiar as flies in
sunnmer--more than hundred pages Of the
leading monthly of Japani 1t sounds pre-
posterous--almost impossible. 1t is so, never.
theess. And all this sort Of stupid lettered
crimes perpetrated in the high name Of
realism in literature!
Womcn's magazines are not quite as deadly
stupid as the dignfed representative month.
lies such as the "raiio." But with most OF
them the lack of editorial conscience is
enough TO turn the yellowest of American
magazines green with envy. Take, for ex-
ample, Nine Yamakawa's experience with the
hatcn Zasshi,' which Is one of the maga.
zines published by Hakubunkan, publisher
OF the Taiio" and known as one Of the
most reputable publishing houses in Toxic
Nine. 9amakawa is one of the leading lights
among the new women of Japan. In the
October issue of the "Kaizo" ("Reconstruc-
tlon') she tells just how the editor of the
"katciZasshi" treated her. In the August
number of the "kateii Zasshi," she tells us.
there appeared an article purported to have
been written by Nine. Yamakawa. It was
published over her name, bearing a rather
curious title: "Women Should Demand Equal
Right TO Chastity with Men" Nine. Yamakawa
had not written single word Of it: she had
never heard of it before she saw it in the
"kateii Zasshi. she at once called the atten-
ton Of the editor of the magazine to the out
rage. The editor in answer told her calmly
that the article in question was the result of
an interview which one of the editors of the
magazine had had with her She had never
given any such interview--an utter fabrica-
tion as far as her recollections went.
When this sort of thing is done by one OF
the magazines bearing the imprint Of the well
established house of Hakubunkan one il
tempted to genera1lze with the rest OF the
women publications of Japan. 1t is unjust,
however, to push this sort of uncomplimer-
tary conclusion too far For it is in the
realm of women's publications of Toxic
where the reader finds more of the real WORTH
while materials, especially that type of lit
the general and loose name of human docu-
rnents.
"Fujin Sekai" f@Wonian's World') is per-
haps the mosc popular among the won,-
ems magazines in Japan. Its October issue,
whicn is before me, has 167 pages of reading
matter and sells sor SO sen copy, or 25 cents
Of the American money OF the I67 pages
only six pages are devoted to dressmaking and
none whatever TO fashion news Cooking takes
up four pages and no more. It carries twenty
three articles. covering eighty-four pages, Oh
various topics. ranging from hairdressins
down to. such an ultra-civiiized latter-day
theme as How 10 Reduce" Fiction and folk
tales take up forty three pages of il.
There is decided tendency. among the wona-
en's publications in Japan to run more and
more to pictures. The leader on this move-
fnent is the @Shikujo GahoY (aLadies' Pic
torial0). The October issue, which is a special
Hction number, carries forty-fve pages Of half
tone reproductions OF news photographs, many
of them in ,colors.s 1t contains 260 pages Of
reading matter, 81 which a20 pages are de-
voted to fiction