The Empire Of The East Part 2

THE CONSt.i.tUTION--THE CROWN AND THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

A Const.i.tution, if we are to accept the dogmatic a.s.sertions of those who have written with a show of learning on the subject, ought to be evolved rather than established by any parliamentary or despotic act.

The history of the world certainly tends to prove that paper Const.i.tutions have not been over-successful in the past. There a.s.suredly has been no lack of them in the last century or so, and although some, if not all, of them have been practically tried, a very few have attained any considerable measure of success. The English Const.i.tution has long been held up to the rest of the world by writers on Const.i.tutional history as a model of what a Const.i.tution ought to be, for the somewhat paradoxical reason that it is nowhere clearly, if indeed at all, defined. It is largely the outcome of custom and usage, and it is claimed for it that on the whole it has worked better than any cut-and-dried paper Const.i.tution would have done.

Nevertheless there does not appear to be any good and valid reason why a Const.i.tution should not be as clearly defined as an Act of Parliament. Undefined Const.i.tutions have worked well at certain periods when there was a tacit general consent as to their meaning, but they have not always been able to withstand the strain of fierce controversy and the coming into existence of factors which were undreamt of when these Const.i.tutions were originally evolved, and definitions or additions or amendments thereto have, accordingly, become necessary.

The promulgation of a Const.i.tution for j.a.pan in February, 1889, was an event of great interest to the civilised world. There were, of course, at the time a large number of persons who prophesied that this Const.i.tution would go the way of many others that had preceded it--that it would, in fact, be found unworkable and, being so found, Const.i.tutional Government in j.a.pan would eventuate, as it had elsewhere, in the resumption of autocratic rule as the only alternative to anarchy. It is pleasing to be able to record that these prophecies have, after nearly eighteen years' experience, not been fulfilled, and that the j.a.panese Const.i.tution, well thought out and devised as it was, seems not only likely to endure but is admirably adapted to all the circ.u.mstances and needs of the country.

In order to fully comprehend the events that gradually led up to the establishment of Const.i.tutional government in j.a.pan, and the precise place of the Crown and aristocracy in that government, it is, I think, essential to make a rapid review of past events in that country.

In ancient times the Mikado was both the civil ruler and the military leader of his people. Under him there were exercising authority throughout the land about 150 feudal lords. Feudalism of one kind or another prevailed in j.a.pan until 1868. Towards the end of the sixteenth century the feudal principle was apparently on the decline.

In the year 1600, however, Tokagawa Iyoyasu, with an army composed of the clans of the east and north defeated the combined forces of those of the west and south at the battle of Sakigahara and proclaimed himself Shogun. The feudal lords of the various clans throughout the country then became his va.s.sals and paid homage to him. The Tokagawa family practically governed the country till the Revolution of 1868, when the present Emperor took the reins of government into his own hands and finally abolished feudalism and with it the authority of the Daimios. Many persons even now believe that the Shogun, or Tyc.o.o.n as he was usually called in Europe, was a usurper. As a matter of fact he received invest.i.ture from the Mikado, and his authority was, nominally at any rate, a derived one. At the same time there is no doubt that the real power of the State was in his hands while the _de jure_ ruler lived in the capital in complete seclusion surrounded by all the appanages and ceremonial of royalty.

Up to the year 1868 j.a.pan was divided into numerous provinces governed by Daimios, or territorial lords, each of whom maintained large standing armies. They were all subject to the Shogun, while retaining the right to rule their particular provinces in ordinary matters. In 1868 the Shogun fell, and there can be little doubt his fall was to some extent brought about by the concessions which had been made to foreign Powers in regard to the opening of the country to foreign trade. In 1868 the Shogun repaired to Kyoto, the first time for 250 years, and paid homage to the Mikado. Feudalism was then, as I have said, abolished, the Emperor took the reins of authority into his own hands, formed a central Government at Tokio and reigned supreme as an absolute monarch.

"The sacred throne was established at the time when the heavens and earth became separated." This has long been an axiom of j.a.panese belief, but it has been somewhat modified of late years, even the a.s.sertion of it by the Sovereign himself. A leading j.a.panese statesman who has written an article on the subject of the Emperor and his place in the Const.i.tution has a.s.serted that he is "Heaven descended, sacred and divine." I do not think that the modern j.a.panese entertains this transcendental opinion nor, indeed, do I find that the Emperor himself has of late years put forward any such pretensions. For example, in the Imperial proclamation on the Const.i.tution of the Empire on February 11, 1889, the Emperor declared that he had "by virtue of the glories of our ancestors ascended the Throne of a lineal succession unbroken for _ages eternal_." Whereas in the Imperial Rescript declaring war against China on August 1, 1894, he contented himself with a.s.serting that he was "seated on a Throne occupied by the same dynasty from _time immemorial_." The italics are mine, and the difference in the pretensions which I desire to emphasise is certainly remarkable.

When granting a Const.i.tution the Emperor, as has been and probably will be the custom of all monarchs so acting, declared that the legislative power belonged to him but that he intended to exercise it with the consent of the Imperial Diet. The convocation of the Diet belongs exclusively to the Emperor. It has no power to meet without his authority, and if it did so meet its acts and its actions would be null and void. In this respect the Diet is on precisely the same basis as the English Parliament. According to the Const.i.tution the Emperor, when the Diet is not sitting, can issue Imperial ordinances which shall have the effect of law so long as they do not contravene any existing law. The article authorising these ordinances defines that they shall only be promulgated in consequence of an urgent necessity to maintain public safety or to avert public calamities, and all such ordinances must be laid before the Diet at its next sitting, and in the event of the same not being approved they become null and void.

To my mind, one of the most interesting portions of the Const.i.tution is that which lays down succinctly and tersely the rights and duties of j.a.panese subjects. In this section there are contained within about fifty lines the declaration of innumerable rights for which mankind in various parts of the world during many hundreds of years fought and bled and endured much suffering. Just let me mention a few of them. No j.a.panese subject shall be arrested, detained, tried or punished unless according to law. Except as provided by law the house of no j.a.panese subject shall be entered or searched without his consent. Except in the cases provided by law, the secrecy of the letters of every j.a.panese subject shall remain inviolate. The right of property of every j.a.panese subject shall remain inviolate. j.a.panese subjects shall enjoy freedom of religious belief. j.a.panese subjects shall enjoy liberty of speech, writing, publication, public meetings and a.s.sociations. j.a.panese subjects may present pet.i.tions. We have in these few brief provisoes the sum total of everything that, in effect, const.i.tutes the liberty of the subject.

The Diet of j.a.pan, like the Parliament of Great Britain, consists of two Houses--a House of Peers and a House of Representatives. The House of Peers is composed of (1) the members of the Imperial family, (2) Princes and Marquises, (3) Counts, Viscounts and Barons who are elected thereto by the members of their respective orders, (4) persons who have been specially nominated by the Emperor on account of meritorious service or by reason of their erudition, (5) persons who have been elected, one member for each city and prefecture of the Empire, by and from among the taxpayers of the highest amount of direct national taxes on land, industry, or trade, and who had subsequently received the approval of the Emperor. It will be seen that the members of the Imperial family, the Princes and Marquises, have an inalienable right to sit in the House of Peers, the latter rank on attaining the age of 25 years. In regard to Counts, Viscounts, and Barons there is no such right. Those ranks, like the Peers of Scotland and Ireland, meet together and select one-fifth of their number to represent them in the House of Peers for a term of seven years. Any subject over thirty years of age nominated by the Emperor for meritorious service or erudition remains a life member. Those returned by the cities and prefectures remain members for a period of seven years. It is provided by the Const.i.tution that the number of members of the House of Peers who are not n.o.bles shall not exceed the number of the members bearing a t.i.tle of n.o.bility.

The question of the necessity for the existence of a second chamber and the composition thereof has been keenly debated in this and other countries of recent years. It seems to me that in this matter j.a.pan has. .h.i.t upon the happy mean. She has combined in her House of Peers the aristocratic or hereditary element in a modified degree with the principle of life membership by which she secures the services and counsel of the great intellects of the land, and such as have done the State good service in any capacity. At the same time she has not excluded the representative element from her second chamber--a fact which must largely obviate any possibility of the House of Peers becoming a purely cla.s.s body. A second chamber so const.i.tuted must obviously serve an extremely useful purpose in preserving an equilibrium between political parties, in preventing the rushing through and pa.s.sing into law of hastily considered measures. For the composition of her second chamber, j.a.pan has taken all human means possible to obtain whatever is representative of the stability, the intellect, the enterprise and the patriotism of the country.

The composition of the House of Representatives, which answers to our House of Commons, is as interesting as that of the Upper Chamber. When the Const.i.tution was first promulgated the principle of small electoral districts obtained, one member being elected for each district. This system was found or believed to be faulty, and hence, after some years' experience, large electoral districts combined with a single vote have been inst.i.tuted. It may be interesting to relate that both systems, the large and the small districts, were drafted by an Englishman, Mr. Thomas Hair. Cities whose population exceeds 30,000 are formed into separate electoral districts while a city with less than 30,000 inhabitants is, with its suburbs, const.i.tuted a district.

The number of members allowed to each district depends on the population. For a population of 130,000 or under one member is allowed, and for every additional 65,000 persons above the former number an additional member is allotted. The number of members in the House of Representatives is 381, or little over half that of which our House of Commons consists. The population of the two countries is almost identical, and experience serves to show that the number of Members of Parliament in j.a.pan is sufficiently numerous for all practical purposes and that any material addition thereto would be more likely to impede than to accelerate the wheels of legislative progress. Neither the j.a.panese Const.i.tution nor the Electoral Law makes any provision for the representation of minorities, that aim of so many well-meaning persons in different countries. In j.a.pan the majority rules as everywhere, and minorities must submit.

Manhood suffrage is not yet a _fait accompli_ in j.a.pan. Under the present law to qualify a j.a.panese subject to exercise the franchise he must pay 15 yen (about 30s.) or more, indirect taxation. Only a j.a.panese subject can vote at elections. No foreigner has any electoral rights, but if he becomes a naturalised j.a.panese subject he obtains all the privileges appertaining to that position.

Each House of Parliament in j.a.pan possesses a president and vice-president, who are elected by the members. The president of each House receives an annual allowance of 4,000 yen (about 400) and the vice-president 2,000 yen (about 200). The payment of Members of Parliament is in vogue in j.a.pan. The elected and nominated, but not the hereditary, members of the House of Peers, and each member of the House of Representatives, receives an annual allowance of 800 yen (about 80). They are also paid travelling expenses in accordance with the regulations on the subject. It may be interesting to state that there is a clause in the Const.i.tution which enacts that the president, vice-president, and members of the two Houses who are ent.i.tled to annual allowances shall not be permitted to decline the same! It says much for the estimate of patriotism entertained in j.a.pan when the Const.i.tution was promulgated that such a clause as this should have been considered necessary.

Debate in both the j.a.panese Houses of Parliament is free and the proceedings public. There will be no occasion for the uprising of a Wilkes in j.a.pan to obtain permission to publish Parliamentary Debates.

The Const.i.tution, however, contains a proviso for the sitting of either House with closed doors upon the wish of the president or of not less than ten members, the same being agreed to by the House, or upon the demand of the Government with or without the consent of the House. When in the former event a motion for a secret sitting is made, strangers have to withdraw from the House and the motion is voted on without debate. The proceedings of a secret meeting of either Chamber are not allowed to be published.

The j.a.panese Const.i.tution, which is certainly a doc.u.ment containing not only provisions of an epoch-making nature but most elaborate details in regard to even minor matters, includes in seven or eight lines one or two excellent rules in regard to what is termed "The Pa.s.sing of the Budget." Under these rules, when the Budget is introduced into the House of Representatives the Committee thereon must finish the examination of it within fifteen days and report thereon to the House, while no motion for any amendment in the Budget can be made the subject of debate unless it is supported by at least thirty members.

The Const.i.tution of j.a.pan, as I have remarked, contains a vast amount of detail. The framers of that Const.i.tution seem to have been endowed with an abnormal amount of prevision. In fact they foresaw the possibility of occurrences and made provision for those occurrences that nations which are, or which consider themselves to be, more highly civilised have not yet taken any adequate steps to deal with.

For example, Article 92 of the Const.i.tution enacts that in neither House of Parliament shall the use of coa.r.s.e language or personalities be allowed, while Article 93 declares that when any member has been vilified or insulted either in the House or in a meeting of a Committee he shall appeal to the House and demand that proper measures shall be taken. There shall, it is decreed, be no retaliation among members. The Const.i.tution also contains several salutary regulations in reference to the disciplinary punishment of members.

The establishment of a Parliament in j.a.pan has produced parties and a party system. I suppose that was inevitable. In every country there is, and as human nature is const.i.tuted there always will be, two parties representative of two phases of the human mind: the party in a hurry to effect progress because it deems progress desirable, and the party that desires to cling as long as possible to the ancient ways because it knows them and has had experience of them and looks askance at experiments--experiments for which that somewhat hackneyed phrase a "leap in the dark" has long done service. I have no intention, as I said in the Preface, of dealing at all with j.a.panese politics. There is no doubt a good deal of heat, and the resultant friction, evoked in connection with politics in j.a.pan as elsewhere. Perhaps this young nation--that is, young from a parliamentary point of view--takes politics too seriously. Time will remedy that defect, if it be a defect. At the same time, I may express the opinion that, however severe party strife may be in j.a.pan, and though the knocks given and received in the course thereof are hard and some of the language not only vigorous but violent, the members of all parties have at heart and as their objective point the advancement of j.a.pan and the good of the country generally.

The j.a.panese Const.i.tution, though not a very lengthy, is such an all-embracing doc.u.ment that in a hurried survey of it, it is possible to overlook many important features. It provides for the establishment of a Privy Council to deliberate upon important matters of State, but only when consulted by the Emperor. It enforces the responsibility of the Ministers of State for all advice given to the Emperor and decrees that all laws, Imperial ordinances and Imperial rescripts of any kind relating to affairs of State, must be countersigned by a Minister of State. The Const.i.tution also defines the position, authority, and independence of the judges. That Const.i.tution contains a proviso all-important in reference to the upright administration of the law, a proviso which it took years of agitation to obtain in this country, that no judge shall be deprived of his position unless by way of criminal sentence or disciplinary punishment. All trials and judgments of the court of law are to be conducted publicly. Provision is made, when there exists any fear of a trial in open court being prejudicial to peace and order or to the maintenance of public morality, for the same to be held in camera. I may add, before I take leave of the Const.i.tution, with a view of showing how all-embracing as I have said are the various matters dealt with therein, that it defines and declares that the style of address for the Emperor and Empress shall be His, Her, or Your Majesty, while that for the Imperial Princes and Princesses shall be His, Her, Their, or Your Highness or Highnesses.

In regard to no matter connected with j.a.pan have I found so large an amount of misconception prevalent as in reference to the position of the Emperor of that country. The divine descent which is still sometimes claimed for the sovereigns of j.a.pan and which has never, so far as I know, been officially repudiated, has caused some persons to regard the Emperor from a somewhat ludicrous standpoint. In this very prosaic and materialistic age, when very few persons have profound beliefs on any subject, the spectacle of one of the sovereigns of the earth still claiming a divine origin is one that appeals to the ludicrous susceptibilities of that vague ent.i.ty "the man in the street." It is not well, however, that people should criticise statements in royal proclamations or in royal a.s.sertions too seriously. Even in this country there are doc.u.ments issued from time to time bearing the royal sign manual which every one regards as interesting but meaningless formalities--interesting because they are a survival of mediaeval doc.u.ments which meant something some hundreds of years ago and still remain though their meanings have long since lapsed. And yet there are persons in this country who peruse such doc.u.ments and know that they are simply words signifying practically nothing, who severely criticise the a.s.sertion of a long-used t.i.tle by the j.a.panese Emperor upon issuing a royal proclamation. I am not aware whether his Imperial Majesty or his Ministers of State implicitly accept his divine descent, but this I do know--that those persons who regard the present Emperor of j.a.pan as a State puppet, arrogating more or less divine attributes, are labouring under a profound delusion.

There is no abler man in j.a.pan at the present moment. There is no abler man among the sovereigns of the world. In fact, I should be inclined to place the Emperor of j.a.pan at the head of the world's great statesmen. He is no monarch content to reign but not to govern, concerned simply about ceremonial and the fripperies and gew-gaws of royalty. He is a const.i.tutional sovereign certainly. He has always shown the deepest respect for the Const.i.tution ever since its promulgation, and never in the slightest degree attempted to infringe or override any portion of it. At the same time he is an effective force in the Government of j.a.pan. There is nothing too great or too little in the Empire or in the relations of the Empire with foreign Powers for his ken. He, in a word, has the whole reins of government in his hands, and he exercises over every department and detail of it a minute and rigid supervision which is, in my opinion, largely responsible for the efficiency of the internal administration of the country as also for the place that j.a.pan holds among the Great Powers of the world.

I cannot leave a consideration of this subject without referring to the a.s.sistance rendered to the Emperor by, as also to the debt j.a.pan owes to, some six or seven great men in that country whose names I shall not inscribe here because to do so would be to some extent invidious, several of whom do not, as a matter of fact, hold any formal position in the Government of the country. The wisdom of these men has been a great boon for such a country as j.a.pan, and if she is not now as sensible of it as she ought to be future ages will, I feel sure, recognise the debt that j.a.pan owes to them. Some persons with an intimate knowledge of j.a.pan have told me that it is not, after all, a const.i.tutional State but in effect, though not in name, an oligarchy.

This word has in the past often had unpleasant a.s.sociations, and one does not like to apply it in reference to the Government of a progressive and enlightened country. Still the word strictly means government by a small body of men, and if in those men is included the larger part of the wisdom of the country, and they exercise their power solely and exclusively for the benefit of the country, I am not certain that such a form of government is not the best that could be devised. Of course, humanity being as it is, an oligarchy, has its dangers and its temptations. I will say, however, of the wise men of j.a.pan, the men to whom I have been referring and who whether in office or out of office have exercised, and must continue to exercise, a marked and predominant influence on the government of the country, that their patriotism has never been called in question, and no one has at any time suggested that they were influenced by self-seeking or other unworthy motives, or had any aspirations save the material and moral advancement of j.a.pan and her elevation to a prominent position among the Great Powers of the world.

CHAPTER VI

THE PEOPLE--THEIR LIFE AND HABITS

After all, the life of the people is the most interesting, as I think it is the most instructive, matter connected with any country. It is a.s.suredly impossible to form a clear or indeed any correct idea in regard to a nation unless we know something of the manners and customs, the daily life, the amus.e.m.e.nts, the vices of its people.

Unless we can, as it were, take a bird's-eye view of the people at work and at play, at their daily avocations in their homes, see them as they come into the world, as they go through life's pilgrimage, and, finally, as they pay the debt of nature and are carried to their last resting-place in accordance with the national customs, with the respect or the indifference the nation shows for its dead.

If one is to arrive at a correct idea regarding the life and habits of the j.a.panese people it is, I think, essential to get away from the ports and large towns where they have been influenced by or brought much into contact with Europeans, and see them as they really are, free from conventionalities, artificialities, and the effects of Western habits and customs which have undoubtedly been p.r.o.nounced in those centres where Europeans congregate.

The house in j.a.pan does not play the important part it does in this country. When a man in England, whatever his station in life may be, contemplates taking a wife and settling down, as the phrase goes, the home and the contents thereof become an all-important matter and one needing much thought and discussion. In j.a.pan there is no such necessity. A j.a.panese house is easily run up--and taken down. The "walls" are constructed of paper and slide in grooves between the beams of the floor which is raised slightly above the ground. The part.i.tions between the rooms can easily be taken down and an additional room as easily run up. The house is, as a rule, only one storey high. The carpets consist of matting only, and practically no furniture is necessary. A witty writer on j.a.pan has aptly and wittily remarked that "an Englishman's house may be his castle, a j.a.panese's house is his bedroom and his bedroom is a pa.s.sage." The occupant of this house sits on the floor, sleeps on the floor, and has his meals on the floor. The floor is kept clean by the simple process of the inhabitants removing their boots, or what do duty for boots, and leaving them at the entrance, so as to avoid soiling the matting with which the floor of each room is covered. This is a habit which has much to commend it, and is, I suggest, worthy of imitation by other countries. After all, the j.a.panese mode of life has a great deal to be said in its favour. It seems strange at first, but after the visitor to the country has got over his initial fit of surprise at the difference between the j.a.panese domestic economy and his own, he will, if he be a man of unprejudiced mind, admit that it certainly has its "points."

The bulk of the population is poor, very poor, but that poverty is not emphasised in their homes to the same extent as in European countries.

The house--a doll's house some irreverent people term it--with paper part.i.tions doing duty for walls, white matting, a few cooking utensils costs only a few shillings. It can, as I have said, be taken down and run up easily, and enlarged almost indefinitely. The inhabitants sleep on the floor, and the bedding consists not as with us of mattresses, pallia.s.ses, and other more or less insanitary articles, but of a number, great or small, and elaborate or otherwise, in accordance with the means of the owner, of what I will term quilts.

The j.a.panese pillow is a fearful and wonderful article. I can never imagine how it was evolved and why it has remained so long unimproved.

It is made of wood and there is a receptacle for the head. The European who uses it finds that it effectually banishes sleep, while the ordinary j.a.panese is apparently unable to sleep without it. In most houses, however poor, a kakemono, or wall picture, is to be seen.

It is usually the only decoration save an occasional vase containing flowers, and of course flowers themselves, which are in evidence everywhere. Light is, or used to be, given by a "lamp," a kind of Chinese lantern on a lacquer stand, the light being given by a rush candle. I am sorry, however, to say that these in some respects artistic lanterns are being generally replaced by hideous petroleum or kerosene lamps, not only ugly but a constant source of danger in these flimsy houses.

The most important accessory of nearly all j.a.panese houses is the bath-room, or wash-house, to use a more appropriate term. The hot bath is a universal inst.i.tution in the country, and nearly every j.a.panese man and woman, whatever his or her station in life, washes the body thoroughly in extremely hot water more than once daily. The j.a.panese, as regards the washing of their persons, are the cleanest race in the world, but many hygienic laws are set at defiance possibly because they are not understood. A gradual improvement is, however, taking place in these matters, and the cleanliness as regards the body and their houses, which is such a pleasing feature of the people, will no doubt extend in other directions also.

j.a.panese houses are habitable enough in warm weather, but in winter-time they are, as might be expected, exceedingly cold, especially as the arrangements for warming them are of an extremely primitive nature. Those complaints which are induced or produced by cold are prevalent in the country.

The food of the people is as simple as their houses, and as inexpensive. A j.a.panese family it has been calculated can live on about 10 a year. A little fish, rice, and vegetables, with incessant tea, is the national dietary. The people living on this meagre fare are, on the whole, a strong and st.u.r.dy race, but it is questionable if the national physique would not be vastly improved were the national diet also. I have touched on this matter elsewhere, so I need not refer to it further here. Tobacco is the constant consoler of the j.a.panese in all his troubles. Why he smokes such diminutive pipes I have never been able to understand. They only hold sufficient tobacco for a few whiffs, and when staying in a j.a.panese house the constant tap, tap, tap of the owner's pipe as he empties the ashes out prior to refilling it reminds one of the woodp.e.c.k.e.r.

There are doubtless some persons, especially those persons who consider that to enjoy life a superabundance or even a plethora of material comforts are necessary, who, after reading a description of the home and fare of the j.a.panese peasant, will a.s.sume that his life is a burden and that he derives no enjoyment whatever from it. Nothing could be more erroneous. There is probably not a more joyous being on the face of the globe than the j.a.panese. His wants are few, and in that fact probably lies his happiness. He does not find his enjoyment in material things, but he has his enjoyment all the same, and I think on the whole that he probably gets more out of life and has more fitting ideas regarding it than the Englishman who considers an abundance of beef and beer its objective point.

To me one of the most pleasing features of j.a.pan is the fondness and tenderness of the j.a.panese of all ranks and cla.s.ses for children. The j.a.panese infant is the tyrant of j.a.pan, and nothing is good enough for it. The women, as most people know, carry their babies on their backs instead of in their arms. A baby is, however, not so for very long in j.a.pan. Very young j.a.panese girls may be seen carrying their little baby brothers and sisters behind their backs, and thus learning their maternal duties in advance. The position of women in j.a.pan, married women, is not so satisfactory as it ought to be. The laws in regard to divorce are, I think, too easy, and a j.a.panese possesses facilities for getting rid of his wife which does not tend to the conservation of home-life. The custom, which was at one time universal, of women blackening their teeth, has largely diminished, and will no doubt in due course become obsolete. The idea which underlay it was that the woman should render herself unattractive to other men. There was no object in having such an advent.i.tious attraction as pearly teeth for her husband, who might be presumed to know what her attractions really were. The j.a.panese woman in her education has inculcated three obediences, viz., obedience to parents, obedience to husband, and after the death of the latter obedience to son. Although the j.a.panese girl comes of age at 14 she cannot marry without her father's consent until she is 25.

The dress of the j.a.panese people is so well known that it is not necessary for me to describe it. The kimono is, I think, a graceful costume, and I am very sorry that so many women in the upper cla.s.ses have discarded the national dress for European garments. j.a.panese women who wear the national costume do not don gloves. If their hands are cold they place them in their sleeves, which are long and have receptacles containing many and various things, including a pocket-handkerchief, which is usually made of paper, and sometimes a pot of lip-salve to colour the lips to the orthodox tint. The poorer cla.s.ses, of course, do not go in for such frivolities. Talking of paper handkerchiefs reminds me of the innumerable uses to which paper is put in j.a.pan; it serves for umbrellas and even for coats, and is altogether a necessity of existence almost for the great ma.s.s of the people.

I have referred to the lack of what may be deemed material comforts in j.a.pan, as also to the fact that the j.a.panese are a joyous race but that their enjoyment is not of a material nature. They are, in fact, easily amused, and their enjoyment takes forms which would hardly appeal to a less emotional people. In the large towns the theatre is a perennial source of amus.e.m.e.nt. I have referred to the theatre in the chapter dealing with the drama, and remarked therein that the excess of by-play, irrelevant by-play, in a j.a.panese drama was rather wearisome to the European spectator. Not so to the j.a.panese. He positively revels in it. The theatre is for him something real and moving. He has, whatever his age, all the zest of a youth for plays and spectacles. How far the Europeanising of the country, which is having, and is bound still further to have, an effect on dramatic art, will affect the amus.e.m.e.nts of the people and their p.r.o.neness for the theatre remains to be seen. There is so far nothing approaching the English music-hall in j.a.pan. Let me express a hope that there never will be. It is a long cry from the graceful Geisha to the inanities and ba.n.a.lities which appear to be the stock-in-trade of music-hall performances in this country. These appear to meet a home want, but I sincerely trust they will be reserved for home delectation and not be inflicted in any guise upon j.a.pan. The matter of music-halls suggests some reference to the ideas of the j.a.panese in respect of music. The educated cla.s.ses appear to have an appreciation of European music, but j.a.panese music requires, I should say, an educational process. Some superficial European writers declare that the j.a.panese have not the least conception of either harmony or melody, and that what pa.s.ses for music in the country is simply discord. It might have struck these writers that criticism of this kind in reference to a most artistic people could hardly be correct. Any one who has listened to the Geisha or heard the singing of trained j.a.panese would certainly not agree in such statements as I have referred to. j.a.panese music is like j.a.panese art--it has its own characteristics and will, I am sure, repay being carefully studied.

Festivals and feasts, religious and otherwise, which are many and varied, afford some relaxation for the people. There are, according to a list compiled, some 28 religious festivals, 16 national holidays, and 14 popular feast-days. New Year's Day is termed Shihohai, and on it the Emperor prays to all his ancestors for a peaceful reign. Two days subsequently, on Genjisai, he makes offerings to him and all his Imperial ancestors, while two days later still all Government officers make official calls. These are legal holidays. The 11th of February (Kigen Setsu) and the 3rd of April (Jimmu-Tenno-sai) are observed as the anniversaries respectively of the accession to the throne and the death of Jimmu-Tenno, the first Emperor. The 17th of October (Shinsho-sai) is the national harvest festival. On this day the Emperor offers the first crop of the year to his divine ancestor, Tenshoko Daijin. It may be interesting to record that the 25th of December (Christmas Day), is observed as a holiday by the Custom-house department "for the accommodation of foreign employees."

The popular festivals are equally interesting and curious. The 3rd of March (Oshinasama), is the girls' or dolls' festival, while the 5th of May (Osekku), is the boys' festival, or Feast of Flags. A three days'

festival, 13th-15th of July (Bon Matsuri), is the All Souls' Day of j.a.pan in honour of the sacred dead. The 9th of September (Kikku No Sekku), is the festival of chrysanthemums, the national flower, and the 20th of November, appropriately near the Lord Mayor of London's day, is the festival held by the merchants in honour of Ebisuko, the G.o.d of Wealth. The Feast of Flags--the boys' festival--is one much esteemed by the j.a.panese people. On the occasion of it every house the owner of which has been blessed with sons displays a paper carp floating from a flagstaff. If a male child has come to the establishment during the year the carp is extra large. It is considered a reproach to any married woman not to have this symbol flying outside the house on the occasion of this feast. Why the carp has been selected as a symbol is a matter upon which there is much difference of opinion. The carp, it is said, is emblematic of the youth who overcomes all the difficulties that lie in his path during life, but I confess I rather fail to see what connection there is between this fish and such an energetic youth. On this day the boys have dolls representative of j.a.panese heroes and personages of the past as well as toy swords and toy armour. On the girls' festival--the Feast of Dolls--there is no outward and visible display. The fact of a girl having been born in the family is not considered a matter to be boasted of. On this feast there is a great display indoors of dolls.

As a matter of fact dolls form a very important part of the heirlooms of every j.a.panese family of any importance. When a girl is born a pair of dolls are procured for her. Dolls are much more seriously treated than they are in European countries, where they are bought with the full knowledge that they will quickly be destroyed. In j.a.pan the dolls are packed away for nearly the whole of the year in the go-down, and are only produced at this particular festival. I may add that not only the dolls themselves but furniture for them are largely in request in j.a.pan, and that this dolls' festival is really a very important function in the national life.

New Year's festival is the great day of the year in j.a.pan. In this respect it approximates to our Christmas. Not only the houses but the streets are decorated, and every town in the land has at this particular season an unusually festive appearance. At this period visits are exchanged, and New Year's presents are the correct thing.

On the Bon Matsuri, or All Souls' Day, the j.a.panese have a custom somewhat similar to that which obtains in Roman Catholic countries on the 2nd of November. On the first night of the feast the tombs of the dead during the past year are adorned with j.a.panese lanterns. On the second night the remaining tombs are likewise decorated, while on the third night it is the custom, although it is now somewhat falling into desuetude, for the relatives of the dead to launch toy vessels made of straw laden with fruit and coins as well as a lantern. These toy ships have toy sails, and the dead are supposed to sail in them to oblivion until next year's festival. These toy ships, of course, catch fire from the lanterns. Not so very many years ago the spectacle of these little vessels catching fire on some large bay was a very pretty one. I am afraid this feast has a tendency to die out--a fact which is greatly to be regretted, as there is behind it much that is poetical and beautiful.

Wrestling, as most people know, is a favourite amus.e.m.e.nt of the j.a.panese, and wrestling matches excite quite as much interest as boxing used to do in this country. Of late years English people have taken much interest in Ju Jitsu. The j.a.panese style of wrestling is certainly peculiar, and training does not apparently enter so much into it as is considered essential in reference to displays of strength or skill in this country. One sometimes sees very expert j.a.panese wrestlers who are not only fat but bloated.