New Britain Herald Newspaper, February 15, 1929, Page 20

And With an Empress on the Throne the Women of Japan Have Taken Water, §& . Soft But Powerful, as the Symbol of & Their Rebellion. | By YGO HAKI 66 ANZAI! Banzai! Banzail B “A thousand years! A thousand years! A thousand years!” Thus millions of Japanese subjects greeted their new Emperor, Hirohito, on the event of his coronation a few weeks ego. Their shout of “banzai,” freely translated, means “a thousand years,” and of course they nope for a thousand years of peace and prosperi- ty. Already they have selected, for their Emperor, a new name which signifies that his reign will be one '?l “illustrious drones along at lacid pace in the rient. Menji Tago twangs hic seven stringed lute ana sings to the moon. In many respects “a thousand gem" is as yesterday. ut, for people who regard Japan with questioning gaze, it is apparent that the next thousand years are apt to rmu the most im- ortant in the long his- ory of the ancient em- pire. Thus far the rising sun has been the sign and symbol of Japan. Now comes the “rising in the great Royal l’l.hco—’om for the Pmperor, and one for the Empress, g; i i £ i | 0 0 i i ;FEE | 3 g o i¢ i 1§ zz A i ) ot g 3 52 s E19E i t 4 i EE: E5: 33 El’ H Es 2% §a= i wEH , g§§= il e Eiigi pEEcy e 5dsk ] ; prsaE ‘end her husband, she is doomed to For the men of dare not o his wife. Usually he cites her dis- obedience as the reason for his action, and of course the neighbors always are too polite to disagree with him. That’s all there is to it. By that action the husband secures his divorce and the wife is cast into “outer dark- ness.” Where can she go? What can she do? About the only place for her to go is back to her parents. But they wflfore:elve her only as a despised do- mestic servant. Having been divorced she loses caste immediately, and the rest of her life is spent in drudgery. There is but one effective check on the cruelty which a Japanese husband may show his wife. Usually, if she is from a wealthy or powerful family, word that he intends divorcing her will be circulated. Immediately her family brings pressure to bear on the husband in an effort to restrain him from the divorce. This pressure may range the scale The Royal Couple After They Had Changed Into Modern Dress. The Princess Is Said to Appear Like a Wonderful Japanese Doll. . cal violence to blackmail. It girls. The women of Japan are trained from the earliest beginning to realize their station of inferiority. Even as children the boys have most of the coveted privileges. At school they are allowed to come in late and gen- erally to comport them- selves without the strict dicipline to which the girls are ex- pected to conform. The greatest point im- pressed upon the boys has a Sparatan flavor. They must never show fear. They are taught that a bold front will cover untold irregular- ities, and this teaching is inclined to make the young men bumptous and slack. The flagrant slights shown women in public places in Japan has, on many occasions, led to trouble between European visitors in the land of the rising sun. Dr Neville Whymant, pro- fessor of Chinese in the University of Hosel, declares that he was forced to undertake rudimentary training in jujitsu soon after he arrived in Japan to protect himself in the Banners Associated with the Le; Ruler. Each Banner Has a Pec: numerous street brawls in which he be- came involved. He has, he declares, seen Japanese women pitched headlong from crowded tr for men, and on se A has noted this attitu toward European women. extended Trouble be- The Emperor and Empress of Japan Wearing the Traditional Robes of Their Ancestors on the Occasion of Their Recent Wedding. Leaving on Their moon to Visit the rines of Their Ancestors. This Distinctly Western Note Is in Keeping E:h the " Cive i Subjects the Advantages of Western Culture. tween foreigners and natives often develops when Japanese men manifest the same dis- regard for European women as for their own wives. But all that is the Japan of today and of yesterday. What of the future? The women of Japan have been im- bued with the high Evidence Which Shows That Crowds in ‘hmn Littered Street in Tokio After the Triumphal Coronation [ Newspaper Feature Serice. 1928, Some of the Ceremonial Costumes Which Were Used at the Recent Coronation. Legendary Dances Played an Important Part in the spirit of crusade. Not many years ago their cause would have been considered hopeless. Today many students de- clare that Japan is on the verge of the greatest social upheaval of its history. And out of this expected spasmodic contortion the women of Japan hope to emerge free and eman- cipated. They hope to gain that ele- ment of equality which their sisters of other lands have sought and gained. For their symbol they have selected water. This selection is in keeping with the infinite picturesqueness of their native lund. Water, the women of Jap- an point out, is soft—flowing, com- placent. Yet it is powerful, implac- able, and will not be denied. Like water they will seep in where an ov‘- portunity or & crack presents. With- out fuss or a fanfare of trumpets, but slowly, steadily and quietly they will carry forward their movement until they have thrown off the chains of tra- dition and take their places beside the men of Japan and on equal terms. The fact that an Empress has as- cended the throne with an Emperor is hailed with delight by the leaders of the women's movement. The recent coronation was construed as a great triumph for the women, who feel that they have a “friend at court.” But the American woman, who en- joys the advantages of enfranchise- ment, may be sure that the great surg- ing waves of Japanese women, strain- ing upward toward enlightenment and leadership, trace a more profound eourse upon the tablet of history than would be indicated by a mere desire for equality. The desire for parity is a natural one, yet there is little likeli- hood but that the women of Japan, as well as the women of any other nation, could well bear their lot of suppression were they not urged forward by a greater, more fundamental, and to them, perhaps, less understood force. Students find this force in the in- ternal condition of Japan, which is not different from hundreds of parallels which may be culled from world his- tory. Today, ording to those who live in Japan observers and are clore to actual happenings in that country, the land of the rising sun is & Mecca of graft and corruption. In stating this fact I do not mean for a moment to cast aspersions upon the previous illustrious rulers-of this salubrious Empire. The condition rath- er is a matter of historical evolution— something which inevitably follows in the historical cycle, and it is quite in keeping with the spirit of the times when America, Britain, France, Italy, and nearly all of the great nations are finding themselves hard pressed to combat graft in governments founded more on principles of sound business the Same as Those in Amq Procession Had Passed Impressive Rites. and less on those of tradition and le- gend than is Japan’s : As an example of the Japanese situ- stion onn mav examine fthe Recan- struction Rurcau appointed by the Jap- anese governmnent after the disastrous e quake of 1923. This bureau had the idealistic and patriotic duty of re- storing a devastated nation—healing the wounds of the fatherland and re ing a beautiful structure on the ashs of an ancient pyre. It was like ¢ phoenix which swings proudly above the Royal carriage, a thing to muke Japan from her own ashes more wonderful and more noble than ever before. The bureau accomplished its work. The government investigated that work, And it found that the new Japan was, in many instances, a hollow mockery. Inferior materials had been used in reconstruction. Pinch-penny methods had been applied, and the reconstruct- ed area may stand a little while, It cannot last. Graft is given as the reason for this. But the reconstruction officials who preyed upon the very life blood of the nation are but few among many. Some observers declare that today the Empire itself is a hollow shell—an empty pretense. It shows in the shops, in the busy marts and in the wares of of the street peddlers. Everywhere one finds gilt and tinsel, and behind the gilt and tinsel is decay. But one must dig down even under this condtion to come upon a true un- derstanding of the problem. The graft and corruption is unfortunate, but even g0 it is superficial. The late Emperor of Japan recognized the true situation and the importance of throwing his empire open to the culture of other peoples. His enli7 tened relgn had & most important ¢ifect upon Japan. From a mysterious, backward Oriental nation this great empire started to assume ite proper place in the family of nations. The absorption of Western culture fr not a thing which might be accom- plished at a moment’s notice. Education of the Japanese people was sadly needed, and this was under- taken. Gradually the situation changed. Most of the mystery disap- peared, although the picturesqueness remained. Business particularly bene- fited from this enlightened policy, and Japanese firms found themselves pros- perous. Naturally graft followed. Corru tion has always appeared to be the bed- fellow of prosperity and expansion. 3‘"1 fll;.th“iil oiti‘l vhidl; crept in rough the door left open by 53 now find themselves l-,:ndwlcgme- tween two powerful forces. On the one hand is the principle of expansion and advancement founded by the last ruler. There is no question of its soundness, and the new ruler has given every assurance that he will continue and further this policy. But on the other side the forces of corruption found the at movement get on foot by the education of the Japanese people selves. This movement, looking toward the en- franchisement of Japanese women, for one thing, must inevitably prove a cleansing factor and an implacable enemy of corruption in government and in private life. For the nonce the graft remains however. What can be done? The “rising daughter” offers the first answer to that question. For she is the symbol of a newness which may change the whole history of the Empire. ok R ; . The Photo Shows a Paper-