THE JAPANESE COURT

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1678, 27 April 1904, Page 20

THE JAPANESE COURT

Now that Japan lias become so prominent,- <a glance at the Japanese Court is specially interesting. East and West are curiously mixed at Tokio, for side by side with the traditions and customs of ancient Japan are the innovations of Western civilisation, favoured enlightened Sovereign and Ibis wile. For instance, r European dress is the rule on State occasions, yet the quaint old festivals which form so important a, part national life are still carried out at Court as 'in tlhe days when East knew nothing of West. Of the Mikado himself, no one has anything to sa.y but good, and his 37 years of rule has brought Japan to a height of prosperity and power’ little dreamt of by her early rulers. Keen-sighted, wise, and tactful, Mutsu-Hito is one of the hardest workers among modem rulers, yet he can find time for intedeotual pursuits. His marriage with the 'Empress HaruKo—the name signifies ' . “Spring”—is most happy, for the Imperial, pair have identical tastes, both as regards their

peoples welfare and in the lighter side of life. To Western eyes the Mikado fs certainly a plain man. It is said that ..when he was first photographed he was so disappointed with has own appearance that he declared he woudd never face a camera again. On the other hand, the Empress is decidedly beautiful- according to the Japanese standard—sweetly dignified, with well-cut features, jetblack hair, and a fair complexion, for an Oriental.. A talented poet a aid clever

musician—she plays the national! koto, or 17-stringed harp, admirably—she spends most of her energies on philanthropy, founding and supporting numerous charitable organisations', and especially promoting the advancement of her countrywomen. Politics, however, she strictly eschews.