FIGHTERS Of THE EAST

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3125, 4 May 1915, Page 7

FIGHTERS Of THE EAST

THE VALOUR OF JAPAN.

■Though the Japanese are our allies, there are many things about this strango and amazing nation that are very httle known in England and her Dominions, lruth to tell, the story of the Japanese people is one of the queerest of queer stories ;to talk about them ii' to pile wonder on wonder, as high almost as the stars, and to think ot the ngiitmg fame of the Japanese is to have revealed record!-' of courage, self-sacri-fice and devotion to duty that shed a lustre on the pages of Japanese history.

Japan has alwiys been very proud ndeed of her fighting men; and from early times a •pecial class or caste, called the Samuri, followed the profession of arms; sons being drilled almost from infancy to follow the warlike arts that their fathers practised. In this way, a splendid proficiency was attained, for the discipline imposed was severe, bravery was essential, and self-denial wasthought as highly of as it is in the British isles at the present day. A TERRIBLE CUSTOM. The rules prevailing amongst the Samurai were, to Western minds, of a startling description. One of the first things that the youthful warrior was taught was the ceremony of hara-kari, or the act of slaying himself in any particular way if occasion should arise. it was customary for the Samurai soldier to slay himself if he was con3uerfHl in battle; for was not even eath preferable to captivity? He was' also commanded to kill himself if he committed any great sin, any crime worthy of death, and apparently did this rather than submit to the further dishonour of being dealt with by the public executioner.

One renowned story illustrates how dovoted the Samurai were to the virtues of stoicism and solf-sacrifice. It was literally universal for them to follow the promptings of their minds in this respect, and the story in question merely gives an example out of many. A DRAMA OF SELF-SACRIFICE. A prince had been offended by a Samurai soldier, and, in an arbitrary way, ordered that he should be put to death. But when the command had been acted up to, the prince was not sure that the severed head that was brought to him was really that of the man he had sought the death of. So he sent for th? man's son, confronted him with the head, and demanded if the features were those of the lad's father. The boy saw that a mistake had boon made, and realised that his father had escaped. Excited and agonised thoughts passed through his brain. If he denied that his father had been killed a search would instantly be made, and his father's desperate effort to escape might after all only end in death. How was lie to be saved?

(me sure and certain way, and one sure and certain way only, entered the InJ s mind. All hi a instincts of heroism ,:iid self-sacrifice came to his aid, and he acted a terrible little hit of makebelieve that cost him his life.

He bowed low before the ghastly head and "saluted it with every sign of reverence and grief.' Then taking out his sword he slew himself, dying instantly. This sacrifice by the son saved the father, for the prince thought that the man he had enmity for was indeed dead; so no search was made, and the man escaped. THE NATIONAL WEAPON.

In the old days before Japan opened up to Western inventions, Western ideas, and last, but not least, Western methods of warfare and Western weapons, and the Japanese warriors were a;' proud of its Dreadnoughts today. The sword that Samurai military men fought with had u blade a yard long, fixed in a big hilt that was gripped with both hands; a weapon that was capable of giving deadly wounds when wielded by a man skilled in the grim art of slashing with it. These swords fell into disuse when modern weapons were allowed to be imported into Japan, and probably the "foreign representatives' who nought to secure the introduction of Western articles into the country were the last people to bear the wounds inflicted by the quaint but effective weapons. For so great was the antagonism of the military caste lor the foreigner that the Samurai used to lie in wait for them, and, without any hesitation, cut them down vith the sword. When the Government threatened the punishment of death of the Samurai for this crime this did not prevent it being done; for the men who did such deeds believed that they were merely doing their duty in ridding their country of the foreigner, and when caught were perfectly resigned to losing their own lives.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF. The most notable fight that Japanese history records is of interest to us, because there is a j-omewhat similar one in our own annals. Long before the Spaniards launched Japan by the great Mongol potentate their Aniada to try to subdue the English, a mighty fleet was sent against Japan b> the great Mongol potentate Kublai Khan, whose name in the Thirteenth Century inspired terror throughout the East. At the command of Rublai khan 3,000 vessels full of troops set out to try to effect a landing in, and the conquest of, Japan. But, fortunately for the Island Empire, a terriffic typhoon arose and dashed that early Armada" to pieeas, while the soldiers who had landed from it were being annihilated by the Japanese, with their bows and arrows and their famous swords. A WONDERFUL NATION.

History shows that the Japanese were wonderful fighters when they had only bowy and arrows, swords and spears to meet their enemies with. Modern events have shown that they still have retained their qualities of courage and self-sacrifice when the time came for them to take up the terrible death-deal-ing weapons of the Western world. The same contempt for death, the same fiery valour that marked the early Samurai fighters actuated the modern Japanese soldiers, who fought, and fought desperately, so that .Japan should obtain recognition as a first-class power. Their motto still might have been said to be "Death with honour is better than life without it." And to-day, in the hostilities that are now being waged in the tar East is to be seen the same spirit of fortitude animating tne Japanese soldiers'. Generations have come and gone, but the inbred qualities, fostered and developed by the Samurai, stir in the hearts of this wonderful people, as the whole nation marches along, what its people believe to be, th> path of progress. It is one of the nut impressive facts in the world to-day, that this people who, t ; ll the Nineteenth Century was half ovci, never used a firearm, or permitted themselves to work a steain engine, arc- now 'able to go campaigning and use the most modern methods; and to sail the seas in vessels, to which the utmost achievements of mechanical art have been applied.