JAPANESE STAMINA

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1682, 25 May 1904, Page 64

JAPANESE STAMINA

The unique progress of Japan and the remarkable efficiency of its people in everything they undertake suggest some interesting questions as to the influence of diet and personal hygiene on national welfare. The “British Medical Journal" says that the Japanese themselves attribute their high average of physical strength to a plain and frugal diet, and the system of gymnastics called jiu-jitsu, which includes a knowledge of anatomy and of the external and internal uses of water. Although during the period of their ascendancy the Samurai kept the secret that their great physical superiority was due m a great measure to the internal and external use of water, the belief that, if used liberally and intelligently, water is an infallible weapon against disease is now generally held. By those who go in for jiu-jitsu an average of one gallon a day is drunk. It is noteworthy that RHEUMATISM IS ALMOST UNKNOWN in Japan; it is probable that the absence of meat from the diet, combined with the use of plenty of water, accounts for this immunity. Bathing is indulged in frequently even by tbe poorest. In the matter of diet they are frugal to a degree, rice being the staple food in every Japanese house, and appearing at every meal. Japanese troops have often made record marches on a diet consisting solely of a little rice. The Japanese appreciate above all things the value of fresh air; night and day they keep their windows ■open and their rooms ventilated, and they do not fear draughts or damp air. Breathing exercises are an important part of their physical training—deep, careful breathing, which is only acquired by practice.