Sketches of Japanese Manners and Customs Part 2

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lady waiting on the Mikado. (from Photograph.)]

The Mikado is always waited upon by the ladies of his court, and is said never to eat twice from the same vessels, which are broken to pieces as they are removed. An intelligent yaconin, however, on being questioned about this point, was much amused; and, though he professed ignorance of the subject, was evidently very sceptical on the matter of the dishes.

CHAPTER VI.

The 'HARA KIRU.'

Although we have long been aware of the existence of this peculiar mode of suicide, the exclusive policy of the j.a.panese has placed insuperable difficulties in the way of obtaining accurate information concerning it.

A more enlightened policy is now gaining ground in the country. The chromo-lithographs that ill.u.s.trate these 'Sketches' are fac-similes of paintings by native artists, selected from a series lately published at Yeddo, and sold to foreigners with the connivance, if not by permission, of the authorities; for the spy system in j.a.pan is so perfect, that illicit dealings are next to impossible.

As j.a.panese punishments entail disgrace on every member of the culprit's family, the 'Hara Kiru,' or 'happy dispatch,' which is the only exception, is regarded as a great privilege by the cla.s.ses ent.i.tled to avail themselves of it These consist of the n.o.bility, military, and official of a certain rank holding civil appointments.

It seems to be a prevalent idea that this sacrifice is reserved for political offences; but this is not the case, as crimes of all descriptions are condoned by it.

A simple act of suicide does not const.i.tute the 'Hara Kiru.' To render the act legal, and to ensure the heir and family of the person performing it against disgrace and loss of property, an order for its performance must be issued by the Tyc.o.o.n, or by the suzerain prince of the culprit.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TYc.o.o.n'S MESSENGERS READING THE SENTENCE.]

The j.a.panese, being a high-spirited and patriotic people, consider that death under any circ.u.mstances is preferable to dishonour; and the privileged cla.s.ses always carry about with them when they travel the paraphernalia used at the performance of the 'Hara Kiru,' in token of their readiness to prove their patriotism, or to die rather than disgrace their family.

The dress consists of a robe and 'harakama,' or 'winged official dress,' of coa.r.s.e white cloth--white being the funeral colour of the country--which is undistinguished by the crest or any sign of the rank of the owner. There is also the disembowelling knife, the blade of which is about eight inches long, and very sharp.

When the sentence of the 'Hara Kiru' is awarded, or the humble request of a defeated politician to perform it is acceded to, a formal doc.u.ment is made out and duly signed by the competent authorities. It is then delivered to two commissioners, by whom it is conveyed to the culprit.

Should the proposed victim be a Daimio of importance, and sufficiently powerful to set the Tyc.o.o.n at defiance, the delivery of the imperial mandate is likely to be attended with unpleasant results, as the bearers are sometimes waylaid and murdered by retainers of the doomed prince, and have frequently to resort to stratagem to accomplish their task. But when once the mandate is delivered, the prince must submit, or he would lose caste even with his own followers, so strongly are the j.a.panese imbued with respect for the ancient customs of their country.

The accompanying ill.u.s.trations represent the different formalities that are observed at the performance of the 'Hara Kiru' by a Daimio.

On receiving the official intimation of his sentence, he orders the necessary preparations to be made, and informs his friends and relatives of it, inviting them to share in a parting carouse with him.

On the appointed day, after taking a private farewell of his family, he receives his friends. He is habited in his white robes, and supported by two of his relatives or ministers, similarly attired.

When the time arrives (which is previously arranged with the commissioners) he takes leave of the guests, as on any ordinary occasion, and enters the screened enclosure, accompanied by his supporters. It will be noticed, that the retainers guarding the exterior and entrance are barefooted, which is a mark of respect in honour of the rank of the culprit, and of the solemnity of the occasion.

The Tyc.o.o.n's messengers then read the imperial mandate, which proclaims that, in accordance with the ancient custom of the country, the Daimio is permitted honourably to sacrifice himself for its benefit, and thus to expiate in his own person the crime or offence he has committed against the welfare of the state. In the ill.u.s.tration, the two officials charged with this disagreeable office are sitting opposite the Daimio and his friends, reading the fatal doc.u.ment, their suite surrounding them in respectful att.i.tudes.

The whole party wear the official dress, which intimates at once the respect due to the victim and the official nature of the ceremony.

The second scene shows the Daimio on the point of performing the sacrificial ceremony. His forelock is reversed, as a sign of submission to his fate, and to a.s.sist the executioner, who, as soon as his master goes through the form of disembowelling himself with the knife on the stand, will, with one blow of his razor-edged sword, complete the sacrifice by decapitation. Only the two chief commissioners appointed by the Tyc.o.o.n, and the sorely-tasked supporters of the victim, remain to witness the last act of the drama.

The rest of the party await its completion in the adjoining compartment of the enclosure, which is expressly constructed for that purpose.

The funeral procession, which is the subject of the next scene, is accompanied by all the pomp indicative of the high position of the deceased. The mourners wear robes of white cloth, and all the feudal paraphernalia are draped with the same material; which, as before mentioned, is used in j.a.panese mourning. The coffin is carried near the head of the procession; it is a square box of resinous wood, covered over with white, and the body is placed in it in a sitting posture.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SACRIFICE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: A DAIMIO'S FUNERAL.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: CREMATION OF THE BODY.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: RELATIVES COLLECTING ASHES.]

All the members of the family attend the funeral, either on foot or in norimons. If the wife and the heir be absent in Yeddo, they are represented by the nearest relations. In this instance both are present, from which it may be inferred that the sacrificial act has taken place in the neighbourhood of Yeddo.

Although the j.a.panese sometimes bury their dead, they generally practise cremation. Repulsive as this custom is to European ideas, it must be remembered that the j.a.panese are not singular in preferring it, as several of the most civilised nations of antiquity considered it the most honourable mode of disposing of the bodies of the dead.

While the body is being reduced to ashes the priests tell their beads and chant prayers for the soul of the departed, as the followers of almost every religious sect in j.a.pan believe in a state of purgatory.

The last scene shows the wife and son of the victim of the 'Hara Kiru'

collecting his ashes and depositing them in an earthenware jar. This is afterwards sealed down and conveyed to the cemetery, or temple, which contains the remains of his ancestors.

Some of the j.a.panese cemeteries are very extensive; and they are generally situated in secluded, picturesque spots, in the neighbourhood of the towns and villages.

The graves are small, round, cemented receptacles; just large enough to receive the jar containing the ashes. If the body is buried (which only happens when the deceased is friendless, or too poor to pay the expenses of cremation), the head is always placed pointing to the north. The tombstones are ordinarily about three feet high; and are either square or circular in shape, resting on square pedestals, in which small holes are cut to contain rice and water. The supplies of these are replenished from time to time, generally by the women of the family, lest the spirit of the deceased should revisit its grave and imagine itself neglected. Sometimes flowers are placed before the graves, and flowering sprigs of peach and plum are stuck in the ground about them.

Like the Chinese, the j.a.panese burn joss-sticks to propitiate the deities in favour of their departed relatives; and the neighbourhood of a graveyard may generally he detected by the peculiar aromatic odour emitted during the burning of these. For some time after a funeral the relatives daily visit the tomb and intercede for the dead, holding their hands up in the att.i.tude of prayer, and rubbing the palms together as they mutter their monotonous orisons.

CHAPTER VII.

NATIONAL GAMES AND AMUs.e.m.e.nTS.

Notwithstanding the industrious habits of the j.a.panese, they are great lovers of pleasure, and much addicted to sight-seeing; theatres and wax-work exhibitions are very numerous, and jugglers, top-spinners, and tumblers, are regular _habitues_ of the streets.

Though they do not allow pleasure to come before business, they do not hesitate to a.s.sociate it with religious observances; and on solemn festival occasions, the vicinity of even the most sacred temples is occupied by a variety of shows and common stalls, for the sale of sweetmeats, toys, and coloured pictures.

Their princ.i.p.al athletic amus.e.m.e.nt is wrestling, which may he regarded as the national game of the country. It is very generally practised, and pairs of 'brawny fellows' are to be frequently met with of an evening in the outskirts of towns and villages, either crouched down in the preliminary att.i.tude, which resembles that of angry fighting-c.o.c.ks, or dragging one another to and fro like frogs struggling over a choice morsel. The game is necessarily a dragging and pulling one, its grand object being to force the opponent beyond a certain boundary.

So popular is it, that in addition to public performers, who travel about the country exhibiting their prowess, the Daimios keep private bands: each district has some especial champion; and every j.a.panese a favourite '_smoo_' as they term the wrestlers, whose exploits are canva.s.sed with an enthusiasm totally at variance with the stolid indifference which usually characterises the people, when any subject is broached that does not directly concern their ordinary vocations.

The professional wrestlers are generally men of herculean proportions.

From constant practice they attain a muscular development that would eclipse that of our prize-ring champions; but their paunchy figures and sluggish movements render any further comparison impossible, as they neither practise nor appreciate what we call training. Size and weight are prized more than activity in the limited arena to which their performances are confined: so, instead of walking down superabundant flesh, they endeavour to increase it, dieting themselves on rice and fish, which is far from productive of any Bantingite result. The ill.u.s.tration of the Great Wrestling Amphitheatre at Yeddo conveys a fair idea of the estimation in which athletic games are held by the j.a.panese. The enclosure is capable of containing several thousand spectators, and is always filled when a match of importance takes place.

In the centre is the '_docho_,' or 'boundary-ring,' which is about eighteen feet in diameter. The game is generally decided by one or other of the combatants being forced against this boundary; for, although a fair throw counts, it rarely decides the mastery, as the great weight and the crouching position of the wrestlers necessitate dragging, pushing, and even carrying; and the tenacity of their grasp is such, that any other results are almost impossible.

The price of admission to these exhibitions is very low; and, like everything else of a public nature, is regulated by the government Officials are appointed to superintend the arrangements, and to see that no accidents arise from overcrowding. For this purpose they are provided with a box that overlooks the whole building.

The lofty scaffolding outside the enclosure is a time stage, from which the commencement and duration of each match are intimated to the audience by a certain number of strokes on the drum that surmounts it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PUBLIC WRESTLING IN THE GREAT AMPHITHEATRE AT VEDDO.]

Before each wrestling-match commences, the 'geogee,' or 'judge,' who superintends it, shouts out the names and exploits of the contenders, who, after kowtowing very ceremoniously to one another, rise to the preliminary att.i.tude.

At a signal from the judge the combatants commence. At first they move cautiously about the centre of the ring, watching a favourable opportunity to close, which they presently do with deep guttural exclamations. Then great working of muscle and tugging and straining follow, the spectators cheering on their respective favourites, until the fall of the geogee's fan--which is the moment depicted by the artist--proclaims the victor.