The Spell of Japan Part 7

"SIR:--

"I am married and is called Mrs. Sodesuka, and by our j.a.panese morality and my natural temperament I decline for ever your impoliteness letter."

"SODESUKA OTOKU."

CHAPTER VI

THE GROWING EMPIRE

Although in many of her newer phases j.a.pan is less fascinating to the casual tourist than where she is still "unspoiled," the efforts she is making to get into step with the rest of the world, and to solve the problems which are confronting her, are full of interest to the student and to the more sympathetic traveller.

To wide-awake Americans the growing j.a.pan should be of especial interest, since however much we believe in and hope for continued peace between the two nations, there is bound to be more or less commercial compet.i.tion.

Where the British Islands have stood in regard to shipping and commerce on the Atlantic, the islands of Nippon bid fair to stand on the Pacific.

Even to-day the Pacific is by no means an empty ocean, but its development still lies largely in the future. It is the near future, however, and j.a.pan knows it. The Panama Ca.n.a.l is almost completed; China is awakened and beginning to take active notice; j.a.panese colonies are being planted in South America and elsewhere.

While many countries of the Western world are facing a falling birth-rate, j.a.pan's is rising rapidly. There is a tradition which accounts for this state of affairs. It seems that there was once a quarrel between the creators of the land, Izanami threatening his wife, Izanagi, that he would cause the population to die off at the rate of a thousand a day. The G.o.ddess, however, got the last word, and increased the birth-rate to fifteen hundred a day. Apparently she has been able to maintain the ratio to the present time--at any rate, there is an annual gain of half a million.

With a population already averaging three hundred to every habitable square mile, it is little wonder that the nation feels the need of extending her boundaries and to that end is trying to open up new territory to her emigrants.

Emigration began in 1885, when the King of Hawaii called for settlers in his island realm. Emigration societies were organized, under the control of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and to-day the men of Nippon greatly outnumber the whites. The Foreign Minister still has entire charge of the societies: he grants all pa.s.sports, and sees to the proper distribution of the thousands who every year leave their own country to settle more or less permanently in other parts of the world. Many emigrants go to Manchuria, Korea and Formosa, some to the Malay Peninsula and Australia, a few to the Philippines, and an increasing number to Central and South America. But they are a home-loving people, and eventually three-fourths of those who go out, return to j.a.pan to settle down once more with their families.

Greatly to j.a.pan's mortification, her people have been repulsed in California. Professor Peabody of Harvard returned recently from a trip to the Orient, and had this to say on the subject: "We accept as citizens the off-scourings of Eastern Europe, and shut our door on the thrifty j.a.panese, whose colour may be no darker and whose descent may be from the same original stock. What nags the j.a.panese in the matter is the indirect insinuation of bad blood, the intimation that a people whose education is compulsory and self-help is universal may not prove as serviceable elements in a commercial democracy as the average of Syrians or Copts; that, in short, the Far East is intrinsically inferior to the Near East." He points out that after twenty years the j.a.panese hold only about one per cent. of the agricultural land in the State of California, and that there are five thousand less of them there now than there were three years ago, owing to a "Gentlemen's Agreement," by which j.a.pan limits her emigration to the United States.

This land question came up after we left Tokyo, but it naturally interested us intensely. The Californians seem to fear the j.a.panese because they live so cheaply and work so hard that it is thought they may come in time to own the whole state.

A recent compet.i.tion, with a prize offered for the best essay on the California trouble, showed a world-wide ignorance of the real situation and its causes. Since this was true of both American and j.a.panese compet.i.tors, it seems to show that even the more educated among us need to think and study more deeply into the problem before making up our minds.

An extract from the _j.a.pan Magazine_, which is published in Tokyo, shows how men of the better cla.s.s feel regarding the land question: "j.a.pan is not angry, but she is earnestly anxious to know whether America will rest content to allow the California att.i.tude to pa.s.s as national. No, j.a.pan is not wrathful, but she is mortified to see any section of the country that calls itself her friend, somewhat abruptly suggest that her absence is preferred to her presence.... Happily, the California att.i.tude does not represent the American people, so that j.a.pan still has hopes of a reconsideration and a reinstatement. On the other hand, it is unfortunate that the majority of j.a.panese residents in the United States are not really representative of j.a.pan. Certainly the average of emigrants going to America is not at all on an intellectual or social equality with the average citizen at home ... they are the poorest and most unfortunate of their countrymen, and would never have left home if they could have succeeded as well in their own country. The same may be said of every immigrant from Europe.... When the lowest cla.s.s can do so well, a better cla.s.s would do even better.... The main hope lies at present in so instructing intending emigrants that they will be able to a.s.similate speedily and amicably with American society and abide by the customs and laws of the country."

It is interesting to note that in j.a.pan they talk of the "white peril"

and tell of the cruelty and oppression of Europeans to their "less civilized" yellow brethren. They have no difficulty in finding cases where might has made right, even in very recent times.

It is suggested by a j.a.panese newspaper that their diplomatists, in dealing with our country, have been imitating the att.i.tude of the British toward the United States, apparently believing it to be in the end the one most likely to achieve results. The main features of this "att.i.tude" are much patience and brotherly kindness, but unwavering firmness.

Before leaving the subject a few statistics are not out of place. The reason why the question centres about California is that sixty per cent.

of all the j.a.panese in the country are in that state, where most of them are engaged in agriculture. During the last five years the number of immigrants has steadily decreased. In 1911, the j.a.panese farmers produced more than twelve million dollars' worth of crops, which is nearly twenty per cent. of the entire yield of the state. Reckoning their labour on land they do not control, however, they are responsible for at least ninety per cent. of the agricultural products of California, whether vineyard, vegetable, or fruit. The most successful farmers are in the northern part of the state, where the low district along the river is tabooed by Americans, and but for the men from j.a.pan would be idle and useless. The immense harvest of fruit and grain in the San Joaquin valley could hardly be gathered without them.

During the agitation against Asiatics, when the number of j.a.panese was reduced, and Indians, Greeks, Mexicans, and Italians took their places, the American managers admitted that one j.a.panese was equal to three or four of the other nationalities in agricultural work. The farmer from Nippon is a hard-working man, always eager to have his own little hut and a wife and family.

Dr. Sidney L. Gulick, in his recent book, "The American j.a.panese Problem," points out the one-sidedness of the attacks made upon the j.a.panese in California. He says, for instance, that "When Governor Johnson and Secretary Bryan came to Florin [a town used as an 'awful example' of j.a.panese occupation], Mr. Reese, already known for his anti-j.a.panese att.i.tude, was chosen by Governor Johnson to be their guide and instructor, while Mr. Landsborough, known to Governor Johnson as pro-j.a.panese, was turned aside." The report of the State Labour Commission, which investigated the situation, was so favourable to the j.a.panese that the state government is said to have suppressed it--at any rate, it has never been published.

The _Los Angeles Times_ says: "The j.a.panese have become an important factor in the agricultural and commercial life of the southwest. Their thrift is remarkable, their patience inexhaustible, and they are natural gardeners, seeming to read the secrets of the very soil and to know instinctively what will do well and what will do better. The result of this close study of soil conditions, close observation of crop and weather conditions, enables the j.a.panese to control to a great degree the vegetable-raising industry of Southern California."

Considering that there are more Italians in New York than there are in Rome, and that one person in every three in our metropolis is a Jew, while half the population of Norway is in this country--to mention a few cases--it doesn't seem as if we ought to object seriously to a handful of j.a.panese immigrants.

Although California repulsed them, South America has proved very hospitable to the j.a.panese. The "Latin-American A-B-C" of Argentina, Brazil and Chile, receives their colonists eagerly. Guglielmo Ferrero, the Italian philosopher, finds traces of a possible racial likeness between the j.a.panese and the natives of South America. While he is by no means sure of this relationship himself, he says, "j.a.pan will not shrink from relying upon the anthropologic theories above stated for the purpose of opening to its emigrants the ports of this immense and wealthy continent and establishing the strongest ties of close friendship where Europeans are gathering such harvests of wealth."

The friendship which exists between j.a.pan and Argentina, however, is not based upon any real or fancied racial ties. It began at the time when the latter country sold the Island nation two new warships which she was having built in Europe, thus proving herself a friend in need.

Emigration to Argentina has only just begun, but the future is very promising commercially, not alone on account of the cordial relations, but because the republic offers a good market for j.a.panese merchandise--with a population of but six million, she buys and sells more in a year than China with her three hundred million.

There is a great demand for j.a.panese immigrants in Brazil, where there is no race prejudice to be encountered and much fertile land to be had for the asking. Brazil is a Portuguese country, which is especially appropriate, since Portugal was the first to send missionaries to j.a.pan, nearly three centuries ago.

A company has been formed in j.a.pan for the purpose of colonizing in Brazil, aiming to settle the surplus population in a country where it will be well treated. At least three thousand immigrants a year are promised by the company, but more will be welcomed, Brazil promising land, roads, and transportation from j.a.pan. Farmers, who in their own country received perhaps fifteen cents a day, are able to save from one hundred to three hundred dollars a year to send home, while wages are steadily rising.

A writer in a recent issue of a Brazilian bulletin comments on the scene at the dock when the first shipload of j.a.panese immigrants arrived. "The spectacle was curious and very different to the disembarking of European immigrants," he says. "The men, many of whom had their chests adorned with the Manchurian medal, carried little flags in which the Brazilian and j.a.panese colours were mingled, green and gold, white and red. The extreme cleanliness of the j.a.panese was remarkable; while European emigrants, and particularly those from the south of Europe, leave the ship that has transported them in a filthy state, the cabins of the boat on which the j.a.panese travelled were on arrival as neat as at the time of departure. Each of them had in his baggage ... numerous articles of toilet, tooth-paste, and tooth-brushes."

As yet there is little commerce between Brazil and j.a.pan, but another year will probably see a change in this respect, for the opening of the Ca.n.a.l will make the route four thousand miles shorter, and the freightage, as a consequence, much lower.

The Panama Ca.n.a.l will make a considerable difference in j.a.panese trade with the United States. At present her exports to our country are nearly double her imports from us. There are now two routes to New York--the quicker one, to San Francisco and thence by rail, the slower one, all the way by sea, through the Suez Ca.n.a.l; the former is expensive, while the latter may require six months. It will be possible to make the trip by way of Panama in almost the time needed for the shorter route, but with the low freightage charge of the longer.

The Ca.n.a.l will also facilitate trade with the eastern coast of South America, giving direct intercourse, not only with Brazil, but also with Argentina. At present exports to these countries are sent via Europe and transshipped.

On account of her insular position j.a.pan has always been a sea-going nation, but her shipping has increased enormously since the war with Russia. She now has over six thousand ships, manned for the most part by her own seamen. The question of building larger liners, such as are being put into commission for the Atlantic trade, has been discussed. At present the j.a.panese steamers which carry pa.s.sengers are as good as the American ones, if not better. Instead of buying them abroad, j.a.pan is beginning to build her own steamships--there are large shipyards at Nagasaki and Kobe.

In her efforts to cope with her rapidly growing population and multiplying industries, j.a.pan is seeking trade-openings all over the world. Her business men are touring the globe in search of them. At present she is, perhaps, most interested in China, which has doubled the amount of her annual trade in the last ten years. The first months of 1913 showed a gain of forty-six per cent. over the corresponding months of 1912 in exports to China, while the United States exceeded her previous purchases by only three per cent. Of the hundred thousand j.a.panese in the former country, nearly all are engaged in commercial pursuits, rather than in farming as they are in other parts of the world. j.a.pan also has the advantage of being near this great market, and with labour so cheap she can easily compete with England, Germany, and the United States. She could make great profits if it were not necessary for her to buy most of her manufacturing machinery abroad.

America is by far j.a.pan's best customer. She sold us and our colonies over a hundred million dollars' worth of goods last year--about a third of her total exports. Incidentally, she is an excellent customer of ours, for she bought over thirty million dollars' worth of cotton alone, in 1912, and much else besides.

Usually the Empire finds it necessary to import the raw materials and the machinery for their manufacture, while she exports the finished product. Much of her Oriental trade consists in yarn and cloth; the raw material is brought in from China and America and sold again to China and India.

In no way is the growth of j.a.pan more striking than in her industries.

Sixty years ago she had no foreign trade, for she had nothing to export.

To-day Great Britain finds her an interesting rival. Mills and factories have sprung up like mushrooms, almost over night. The conditions which accompanied this change and rapid development are worth noting.

In feudal times both the arts and the industries were carried on under the patronage of the n.o.bility--the _daimyo_ and the _samurai_. They were great lovers of beauty, these warlike lords; it is said that many a _samurai_, returning from the wars covered with glory, preferred the gift of an exquisite vase as a reward for his valour, rather than lands or decorations. They encouraged their subjects to make things; but, more than that, to make them beautiful.

Nevertheless, manufacturing conditions were very primitive. There was no division of labour, so that often a man would need to be skilled in several crafts in order to make a single article. Each man worked by himself. A boy inherited his father's trade, whether he liked it or not.

Each trade had its guild, to which a worker must belong if he wished to be free to carry on his business. These guilds still exist to-day, but have far less power than labour unions in America or guilds in China.

The feudal system came to an end in 1868, and private ownership of property began. Organized industries appeared on a small scale: machinery was imported from Europe and America, railroads were built and factories started. Nine years later the first industrial exposition ever seen in j.a.pan was held in Tokyo; soon afterward the Island Empire was sending exhibits to Europe and America to show the world what she could do. This, of course, resulted in stimulating the export trade and the manufacturing of such articles as were most in demand.

After the Chinese war, in 1895, there was a great boom. Old methods of private enterprise were no longer adequate to meet the increased demand.

Stock companies began to be organized. The Government itself took over certain forms of industry for the purpose of raising revenues. Improved machinery was introduced from the Western world, and experts were engaged.

Since the Russo-j.a.panese war industries have multiplied so tremendously that the demand for labour has been very great. Wages have gone up, and the workers have become much more independent. As yet, there have been no labour strikes of any importance; fortunately, no Gompers or McNamaras have appeared.

For the first time in j.a.pan women began to be employed. They are to be found in large numbers in the factories near Osaka (which is called the Chicago of j.a.pan) and Kobe, as well as in the districts near Tokyo. Most of these women are peasants from the provincial sections who serve on three-year contracts. Children are still employed, although the Government does not allow them to go to work under twelve years of age.

Wages in all branches of industry are still very low, and the cost of living is rising. But living conditions, even at their worst, are much better than with us among corresponding cla.s.ses. Weavers, dyers, and spinners receive from ten to twenty cents a day, while a streetcar conductor gets five or six dollars a month.

The factory owners keep their employees in compounds, where they provide some sort of shelter free and charge a nominal amount for meals. In the older type of factory there is often crowding and a low standard of living, but in the more modern and socialistic ones great attention is paid to the worker's needs, physical, mental and moral.

There is a fine factory in Hyogo from which many of our mills might well take pattern. Besides having beautiful recreation and dormitory gardens, there are rows of pretty, two-storied houses with tiny gardens in front of each. The owners also furnish a theatre for the use of their employees, a cooperative shop, a s.p.a.cious hospital, and schools and kindergartens for the children.