THE JAPANESE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18444, 4 January 1922, Page 6

THE JAPANESE

READJUSTMENT OP INSTITUTIONS. Some Australians are completely obsessed with the notion that Japan is essentially a hostile nation. They so persistently think of the Japanese as a menace that they are apt to forget he is also a man (says the Melbourne Age), He is not always a despoiler of China, with an. occasional covetous glance at Australia. He is fundamentally a human being. For 250 years he hibernated nationally; for 50 he has been bestirring himself. It is contemptuously urged against him that ho is a mere imitator. But if he is, he has been imitating us. That should be a pleasing reflection. What, possibly, is irritating us is that the imitation makes clear some hitherto unperceivcd imperfections in the orignal. For half a century the Japanese has been throwing his institutions into the melting pot —education, religion, social customs, amusements. The modernising of those has become his ruling passion, strong in life. The West is worrying because Japan is beginning to look like a formidable rival. But that rivalry is not to ba feared in the field of battle. Japan could be written down a fool whom no one need fear, if armaments were her only future weapon. It is not in that direction that the West need dread Japanese competition. The strength of Japan lies, not in the fact that some of her leaders love to build battleships, but that so many of her people love to read books. If it be true that '* reading maketh a full man,” Japan comes into the international struggle with a richly-stored mind. From the nkisha runner to the long-distapce traveller, from the shop assistant to the factory manager, the Japanese are omnivorous readers. Tho lolly and ice cream vendor carries a side line in literature, ranging from newspapers in tho vernacular to the latest English “ best seller.” Of course, simple reading might mean nothing. There is an enormous amount of futile reading in Autraliti. But it is widely characteristic of the Japanese that they invariably have within arm’s length some work on history, art, economics, or philosophy, on which to exercise their reasoning faculties. The better educated Japaifeae are as well informed about world events and os competent to grapple with abstruse subjecta as are the most progressive men and women of Melbourne. 1 The Japanese are specially apt in learning foreign languages, and the Government encourages the study of them. . Practically every village shelters. someone with a knowledge of English. In the cities the humblest labourers have sufficient to enable them to understand your wants, or to direct you $n your way. The educational system is based on a six years’ elementary course; educationists are trying to make it a compulsory eight years. The study of English, French, and German is included, and one of them must bo taken. There are some 42,300 schools, public and private, with about oneseventh of the population in attendance. Physical culture is a feature of all schools — jiu-jitsu and fencing for tho boys and special physical instruction for the girls. About 3000 students are annually sent to foreign countries for higher education; facilities for an equal number of Chinese are provided. The curricula in the five State universities includes law,, literature, engineering, economics, science, agriculture, and dentologv. Three important technical schools provide training in agriculture, commerce, mining, finance, music, and navigation. There is actually an English theological institute for women. Wealthy Japanese make generous donations to education.. Two yeare ago the Emperor gave £1,000,000 out of his private purse for this purpose. , ' One library in Japan—the Imperial—contains over 225,000,000 volumes. The combined daily circulation of vernacular newspapers is not far from 13,000,000; most of them are of four and ten pages, end some of them issue ten editions a day. The Japan Advertiser is probably the most influential newspaper printed in English. It spends largo sums in cable tolls, and presents as comprehensive a cablp survey of the world every day as does the London Times. 1 Most people know that the nominal, national religion of Japan is Shintoism, but few people can ever tell you precisely what Shintoism is. It is a blend of. sun worship, pride of ancestry, love of Nature, and loyalty to the Emperor. It has neither founder nor dogma, but it recognises the immortality of the soul. Arid it has one_ feature in common with most religions—it is torn by sectarianism. It has thirteen sects, 120,000 shrines, ond 16.000 priests. Japanese Buddhism has 22 sects, 70,000 temples, and 62,000 priests. Christianity comes next with over 30 sects and over 7000 churches and missions ; 1 2500 foreigners are - engaged in Christian work, 4500 Japanese ■ assist them. The Government is passively Indulgent towards Christianity. Missionaries say that they are permitted to ( exercise almost as many privileges as they would he in Western countries, as long as they do not meddle with internal politics. Over in Korea it is a different''matter. Some of the outbreaks there against Japanese rule have been attributed to the influence of the missions. The actions of the Korean missionaries, therefore, are being rather closely scrutinised just at present. However alien in race, Japanese and Australians are in one respect kin. Both are inordinately fond of holidays. The Japanese have 14 regular national holidays, while numerous local events provide excuses fox dropping work. Tho Australian celebrates his eight hours day; the Japanese celebrates the birthday of his gods. Gay processions and theatricals are the chief features of Japanese .festivities, and the theatrical performances arc conspicuous for that indifference to the passage of time which is so characteristic of the Orient. On a recent holiday one play had 11 acts, sad provided alleged entertainment for 27 hours. In Japan, as- elsewhere, the movies are supplanting., the “ legitimate." There are over 1000 picture houses in the various Japanese cities. Charlie Chaplin’and Mary Pickford are as popular in Yolcohama as in Bourkc street. One innovation that tho Japanese management has provided ie an interpreter, who stands in. tho wines and tries to explain the silent drama. Ho provides as much fun as some of tho comedies and is at times unmercifully guyed by the audience. The Japanese Government, however, is responsible for an innovation which, perhaps, deserves attention from Governments that pride themselves on being Western. It provides “ movies ” id an extensive park adjoining the Imperial Palace at Tokio. During the summer nights movie studies of Nature ■ and animals are shown, os well as pictures illustrating the benefits of eanitotion; enormous crowds are attracted. The Japanese ere decidedly a sport-loving people. Prize fighting does not commend itself to the national taste, but wrestling matches in tho Tokio ampitheatre attract audiences numbering up to 80,000. Race meetings' are held at populous centres, but horse racing has been only mildly indulged in since the Goyernment some years ago prohibited betting. The Japanese are expert at tennis, and baseball is popular. At aquatic sports they have always excelled; from their ranks have come some remarkable swimmers. A child leame to swim almost as soon aa ho learns to walk. His bath is considered even more essential than his breakfast Tho personal habits of the Japanese people have been made familiar the ,world over. There are probably no cleaner people anywhere. A cynical Western observation is that ‘‘the Japanese wash their bodies, tho Koreans wash their clothes, and the Chineso do neither.”' It is an insulting libel on the Chinese; it is equally an insinuation against the Japanese. Not only are their bodies clean, but the clothes they wear are clean-* The humblest coolie repairs to the public baths or to the nearest stream to wash up at the end of a day’s work. One of tho commonest sights in the cities is to see a lady coming from, her bath in the evening with her hair streaming down her back. In countless subtle ways Japanese social life is yielding to Western' influence. The Government controls the telephone service, and it cannot supply the demand for telephones. There are 406,000 in the country; there are demands for 600,000. If you want a telephone in Tokio you have to buy it from some man who has it, or who is on the preferred list. In tho streets of the largo cities automatic ’phones have been installed, and through these Madame Butterfly at the switchboard will greet your call with a softvoiced “Moshi-Moshi,” which is “Hello” in Japanese. \ Methods of transit in Japan are good, and are steadily improving. You have still a wide range of choice. ' Steam railways, bullock carts, electric trains, taxis, horse cabs, bicycles, and rikishao. There are probably 300.000 of the last-named scattered throughout the country. In Western eyes {he rikisha runner was a picturesque figure, but the high cost of living is spreading to, rikisha riding. In pre-war days you could 1 indulge in it at a shilling an hour; nowadays tho rikisha is as costly as the taxi. In practically every sphere there are indications of the readjustment of Japanese institutions to meet modern conditions. And the process is likely to continue. For years it has been the fashion to refer to the Japanese as a really .wonderful people. But it has always teen with a note of patronage. Their advance has been, remarkable, but that they could ever advance as far as, say, ourselves was unthinkable. Perhaps that unavowed attitude of contempt should now be abandoned. For centuries tire Japanese chose the role of a hermit kingdom, but the experience has done their brain power no perceptible harm. Byhalf a century’s unparalleled energy they hevc diminished very considerably the disl tanoc once between them and us. Their am--1 bition now presumably is to keep at least |in step with ns. Our i business is to see Ihat, in industry and in intelligence, they I <to not secure a’ place in front of ms.