MODERN JAPAN

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 June 1935, Page 3

MODERN JAPAN

THE THREE CASTES.

SYDNEY, May 24

Dr. T. A. Wright and Dr. E. M? Balaam, of Melbourne, who returned by the Nellore yesterday from a visit to the East, said that Japan was a land of three castes. These were the military, silent, and watchful, with peering - eyes which could be felt by the visitor; the business and industrial caste, polite, efficient, alert, and ■prosperous; and the general population, hard-working, well nourished, and seemnigly contented and happy. Doctors Wright and Balaam said they were impressed by the beauty of the country and the cleanliness and politeness of the people. The mental' impressions of the visitor to Japan,’ they said, were: “A land of colourfulness in the extreme, of kiminos, obis, and hair coiffures, of courtesy, thin Tegs, slippers, sandals, fine hotels, excellent food, of merchandise (junk on the one hand and of gems of the highest craftsmanship on The other); of huge populous cities, quaint gardens, and idealistic hamlets.”

The stature of the people was short, and everything was moulded on the small side compared to what tall Australians were accustomed to. Australian visitors found the mirrors, the showers, and the chairs lower* and smaller.

“Millions of children, in colourful kiminos and sashes, run about shod with wooden sandals almost as big as themselves,” Dr. T. A. Wright said. “Little girls carry babies on their backs; mothers work in the shops, fields, and coaling'barges with their infants strapped on their backs the whole day. Perambulators are rare. No matter how poor the town or village, the school always stands out as the most conspicuous and spacious building. All the children of the same age seem to be of the sameheight. About 98 per cent, of the children are receiving intense education. Huge modern buildings in the main cities are taking the place of the old-time wooden structures, and concrete roads are replacing narrow, roughly macadamised roadways. In ten years the change will be complete.” Although most Japanese men now wear European clothes, they prefer their wives to wear the national dress, the kimino, said Mrs I. E. Proud, in the course of an address to members of the United Association given yesterday afternoon. Mrs Proud recently returned from a trip to China and Japan. Japanese women, said Mrs Proud, always walked behind their husbands when they went out together, and, indeed, they lagged behind their husbands in everything. Single women were very rare in Japan, probably because men were in a majority of about 350,000 in the population. Departmental stores in Japan, said Mrs Proud, were often very large and were very good, but since Japanese women did not wear stockings, hats, or gloves, it was imposible to obtain these commodities except in special shops which catered for tourists, etc.

Mrs Proud noticed particularly the healthy and rosy-cheeked appearance of the children. Six hours’ schooling per day was compulsory, and by law all schoolgirls wore a uniform navy blue dress, so that the rich would not feel too haughty, nor the poor ashamed. Excellent theatres and revues were available in the large cities, and also European talking pictures adapted and interpreted for the Japanese.