Japanese Children Learn Of N.Z. Life

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 February 1947, Page 8

Japanese Children Learn Of N.Z. Life

Talks on New Zealand have recently been given in Tokio by a Wellington girl stationed there with the Y.W.C.A. welfare service. She addressed the pupils of a large girls’ school, and young children in a kindergarten. With a girl from the school as guide, the New Zealander said she set off by jeep on the 10-mile drive toward the outer area of Tokio, where '.he Keisen Girls’ School was situated. The school, she stated in a letter, was founded in 1925 by Dr. Kawai, who was still its principal, though by no means a young woman. While attending college . in the United States in 1908 Dr. Kawai had met the general secretary for the Y.W.C.A. of Canada, •and though a Christian herself, and cognisant of the Y.W.C.A. movement. Dr. Kawai had taken no part in any of its activities. Founding of Japanese Y.W.C.A. Later in Japan, the same Y.W.C.A. secretary had recognised the doctor at a gathering, and enlisted her help in starting the Y.W.C.A. movement in Japan. Ultimately, Dr. KaWai became the first assistant general secretary here, alter being its founder. In 1925 she returned to school teaching, and founded the Keisen Girls’ School, which was a boarding and day school for 500 girls till the food shortage after the war made it necessary to cut down the number of boarders. •‘You can imagine how thrilled Dr. Kawai was 1r meet me—from New Zealand,” stated the writer. ‘ There ,vere 200 girls assembled in the school iall, and ranged in age from 12 to 19 /cars. The principal told me that they cnew very little up till now about the British Empire, and were anxious to iear as'much about New Zealand as possible. I should say up till now they were not permitted to learn much of any democratic country. “I told them about our social services (medical, dental and hospital),

sick benefits, pensions, Karitane and Plunket systems, women’s part in affairs, including medicine, dentistry and the teaching profession; then about the climate, scenery, equality ol Maori with the white population in tall things. Dr. Kawai translated all I said into Japanese, and everyone was almost gasping audibly with astonishment by the time I finished, an hour and a-half later.

I “I would not like to hazard a guess as to what the temperature was in 'that school. With no fuel of any kind •obtainable, nor any prospect oi any I during the winter months, the school is going on normally in icy tempera- ; tures. Even wearing battledress and : heavy army overcoat it was at least three bourse before I thawed out in : this centrally heated building on my return. “Yesterday morning six frozen bodies were found in Euno railway station, where thousands of homeless huddle every night. I have seen babies and children sleeping there on newspapers on the concrete at nights covered in rags. I have even stepped over adults sleeping in the gutters around the station. It is the same-at Tokio Central Station. Thousands sleep there every night in the vast underground passages from which the stairs branch off to the 10 platforms. We have to pass through there at 5.30 a.m. on Sundays to see the leave par- , ties off.” i “Dressed In Their Best” [ Children at the kindergarten were dressed in their best kimonos for the visit, of the Wellington girl, and their mothers knelt patiently on the floor throughout proceedings. The children sang with amazing composure, and when greeted with “Ohayo.” meaning “good morning,” they replied with “i-low do you do,” in -English. The mothers enjoyed the talk on Christmas in New Zealand as much as the children seemed to, said the letter.