Year: 1870

The London Saturday Revieto, in a no.
tice of new work, "Le Japan Illustre,
par Aime Humbert," says of Japanese
civilization:


The purely Japanese civilization, un.
helped by European ideas, surpassed in
many points the civilization of certain
portions of Europe itself. For instance,
If we compare the highlands of Scotland
in the seventeenth century with Japan at
the same period, it cannot be denied that
in many of the arts of refinement the
Japanese very far surpassed our Gaelic
speaking neIghbors, and to this day there
are islands in the British Archipelago
where material civilization is incompara-
bly, inferior in the variety and quality of
its products to the civilization of the
Japanese islands. The difference is prob
ably due more to climate than to race, for
our Gaels are naturally both intelligent
and polished, yet they have produced
nothing 80 long as they have remained in
their own land. The Japanese civiliZa-
tion, as we know it, is a combination of
Partisan ingeniousness with feudalism.
The Highlanders had the feudalism, under
the clan system, without the ingenious
ness. However, since every civilization is
a thing of ITSELF comparisons are apt to
lead us astray if we attempt to draw in
ferences and go even the shortest step
beyond the ascertained fact. For example,
in one respect, that of popular elementary
education, the Japanese are very superior
to the French, and even to the English.
There is no compulsory education, the
government never interferes between
parent and child, yet every man and
woman in Japan can read and write and
keep an account. But on the other hand,
if we ask how far the Japanese have gone
in the pursuit of knowledge-how far for
example, a special study, such as medicine,
has been carried--we find them infinitely
behind the most backward of the Euro
pean nations. Again, in the fine arts,
they carry certain works to point of ex.
quisiteness hardly known in Europe; their
artistic furniture, for example, is in its
way simply perfect product of art.inven-
ton, and their drawings and wood cuts
are often the work of most genuine and
even great artists, who would do honor
to any country. But when we inquire
how far they have gone in architecture
we find that in this, the earliest of the
arts, the mother of the arts, they have
scarcely gone beyond a conveniently ar
ranged hut for habitation, and heavy
overhanging roof on a very insignificant
edifice for religious purposes. M. Humbert
attributes the backwardnesso oftheJapanese
in architecture to their peculiarly strong
sense of the transformers of existence,
so that they encamp on the earth, as it
were, but do not settle upon it with ideas
of permanence. But one cannot help
asking why any belief or disbelief in the
eternal duration of existence beyond the
grave should affect the manner of our set
tlement on this particular planet, where a
man stays no longer for having belief
in the immortality of the soul, nor year
the less for looking forward to its annihi-
lation. The Japanese are not, as the early
Christians were, and as certain inter
prefers of prophesy appear to be in the
present day, in daily expectation of the
end of all things. They see generation
succeed to generation, yet they build only
for the present. All that can be said is, that
certain peoples have passion for leaving
great permanent monuments, and others
have not; and further, that where this
passion does not exist, architecture, in the
great sense, has no chance of a vigorous
life. The passion is very languid in Eng
land itself at the present day; certain
buildings are erected which will last, but
mainly because immense strength is nee
essary to their present utility. The
Houses of Parliament were built with q





embankment, but the ordinary London
House is almost as much an encampment
as the Japanese.


Other points to be noted about the
Japanese are the simplicity of their sys
tenn of furnishing, in point of quality, and
the compatibility of this simplicity with
the highest and most elaborate finish in
the things themselves. In England we
have usually great quantities of furniture
before we reach artistic quality, and then
we reach it only in some objects which are
regarded as curiosities. The japanese
understand the advantage of having few
things, and they have a knack of doing
everything in the most convenient manner.
For example, what a thoroughly practical
idea 1t is TO have all the mats in Japan
exactly of the same size AS the mat is
the most important thing in the house, and
as the rooms are altered at will by parti-
tions, always with reference to the mats,
1t is obvious that an amount of trouble is
saved in all alterations and removals by
having the mat invariable. They have a
love OF order and regularity, shown not
only In the systematic arrangement of the
social hierarchy, but even in the building
OF their cities. For example, the Osaka
is almost as regular as chess board. They
appear to be cleanly people. The in
habitants of certain European countries
might initiate them in this respect
with advantage. The hot bath is a daily
necessary of life in japan, but it is re.
markable that the Japanese never bathe
ture has done everything to tempt them
|


GOETHE was in company with mother
| and dauphter when the latter heinO ra