Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1936-06-25
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From the Japanese.
.DESPITE the colossal output
~ of novels, plays, textbooks,
touring guides, newspapers and
magazines produced annually and
read by a population nearly 100
per cent literate, Japan offers no
periodical devoted exclusively to
humor; nothing whatever that is de.
signed to invoke laughter. Wise-crack-
ing is practically unknown, notwith-
standing the influx of joke-making liter
allure from the Western world.
A survey Of the national wit dis
closes little that is calculated to rock
the listeners although subtlety in
speech has it's place. The double en-
tendre is looked upon with favor, but
the so-called bon mot seldom gets by.
The ret0rt humorous is barred in polite
society, although a funny story, what
ever that is in Japan, may be told, pro.
vided those present are allowed time to
contemplate, and if needs be reject it.
Here is one that threw group of edu.
Gated Japanese gentlemen into con.
vulsions:
The proud father of son desiring
to pay homage to his forbears gave
his offspring name that included the
entire list of his ancestors. One day
the overburdened boy threw an epilep.
tic fit. Before the old man could
arouse Chiyoza- maru Jiro Motochika
Yumu-sai Chyocokabe from the accumu.
lating coma by shouting his name the
lad died. The unhappy father in his
haste broke blood vessel.
Fingers VS.. chopsticks.
Another classic is of the son reprl-
manded for eating with his fingers.
Were not fingers made before chop
sticks?" he asked. mot yours" re-
piled his parent, coughing violently to
conceal his establishment at having
pulled a hot one.
A Japanese youth whose marriage
was arranged by his parents, upon see.
ing the bride for the first time and dis
covering her face to be pock-marked,
exclaimed in burst of ineffable joy,
"How beautiful: The birthplace of all
the worlds dimples." Not so bad, that
one.
They lived happily forever after.
One of the few occasions when loud
and long laughter smote the air of
Tokyo was the time boy rushed into
baker shop, grabbed large piece of
cake and dashed into the street, only
to discover upon reaching point of
safety that he had pilfered a block of
wood fashioned and painted to resem-
Bile the real thing. He had the wit to
trade it in before shutdown for kite
In Japan, all ghosts are supposed to
be footless. At production of Ham
let, his fathers shade had the misfor-
tune to shuck his kimono, thus disclos-
ing two large feet, the sight of which
so upset the audience that the sterling
actor impersonating the spirit was
laughed off the stage and out of the
profession. Once a ghost in Japan, al
ways ghost
Number Wise Man.
Wisdom, as it is interpreted in the
Flowery Kingdom, is entirely another
matter; something to be taken serious
ly in all it's aspects, although in some
respects, at least to the Occidental
mind, it is anything but that. The
story is told of teacher who, striving
to impress upon his pupil the necessity
for logical thought and deduction asked
this question: Suppose you were hang
ing by your teeth on limb over a
chasm with your hands tied and a
passerby asked for information as to
where he could get a cup of tea, what
response would you maker" Any stu
dent who can intelligently reason out
the answer is in affair way to becom-
ing Number wise man and acquire
footing for the rest of his days.
"When bell is struck which makes
the echo-the bell or the. hammer?"
Suicide has ensued because of this sim
pie query. The more one reflects the
more difficult the solution.
Philosophical by nature are the Jap
anese. They preserve the elaborate
and the simple rituals with equal zest
The teachings of Buddha remain para
mount throughout all phases of thought
and endeavor, resisting invasion from
outside to the point Of retreat within
the ancient Interpretation. Whatever
transformation may be wrought by
contact with the West, will in a sense
partake of the yesterday that shall re-
main forever-Japan.
Japs Are Adaptable.
Nothing comes fairer to light than
what has been hidden" interprets the
philosophy of these people, many Of
whose secrets are yet to be disclosed,
and translated into action The Jap.
anese carry on between the aphorisms,
Frogs in the well are ignorant of the
ocean," and Zone who makes light of
himself is sighted by Others"
The best single illustration of Japan's
adaptability occurs in the Tokyo sub
way, when each conductor arriving at
north or south terminal of the six
mile tunnel addresses the patrons as
follows:
Ladies and gentlemen 1t is my
pleasure to announce that we have now