THE VIVID EAST

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXIX, Issue 8, 24 August 1907, Page 8

THE VIVID EAST

First Impressions of a Colonial Cleric

By the

Rev. JOSEPH PARKER,

t, sometime Congregationalist

Minister, Auckland.

THE RISEN SUN. \ I'HIP TO .1 \P QIEER VISIONS \\l) FASHIONS. IX Australia and Xew Zealand it is not an uncommon thing to hoar the question asked: What is the fashion in Brisbane or Auckland, or Christchurch? If a similar qnes tion were asked of Japan, one would have to reply, which fashion? It would be ditlieult to find any country in tiic world that presents greater variety in the way of fashion than Jap m. But the class that st ikes me as being the most amusing is that known as “Hycala**: pronounced “High Collar”: a term coined from European fashion. Amongst main

Ja|unt-'f everything that they can a<siune or adopt that is European is con 1 styl Of urse. gst thousands of educated and travelled Japanese this is all right: and at a func • at Tokio. for example, it would be t .fii ult t.» find a coni pa nv of frock coat-

ed. -ilk halted, patent leather booted gentlemen, more correct than those present. But the fun begins when those who have the “Hycala” fever do not possess either the knowledge or the means to adopt it properly. The attempt in many instances is humorous in the extreme. A few examples from life will best illustrate Inis. A man was seen in (Kaka with a frock coat on his bait' k»dy. getas (Japanese clogs) on his feet and small hard felt on his head, and his legs completely bare. This man strutted along the street with the air of a man who had attained considerable eminence in social matters. SARTOR RESORTI'S. \’saka is not a village, it is a city of a million inhabitants; yet in this same city was seen a man attired in a small round hard felt hat. a short tlannel shirt that did not reach his waist, a wai't band. and a pair of hig.i boots. This man was so satisfied with his “Hycala” condition that he looked with considerable disdain upon those of his fellow countrymen who were not so well attired as he. Near by Nara 1 saw a father leading his little daughter along a railway platform, whom he had evidently taken to Kobe to have fitted out in • Hycala” style. The little maid ha I black shoes. stockings striped with every imaginable colour, a bright velvet dress, and a hat trimmed with the same material of a different colour, adorne I with a large feather. Nearly all Japanese walk with the toes turned in. the habit doubt les* being the result of the strain upon the foot to keep the getas in position: so the appearance of the little maid as she walked along with her “Hy cala style may be better imagined than described: she was the centre of an admiring group as she walke 1 and her father seemed to glory in the advance which his daughter had made beyond all her companions in the realm of fashion. Poor girl, she had no waist, and her hair could not be done to suit her European hat. so a more grotesque figure it would be ditlieult to find. LADIES OF TnE RED BLANKET. In all the cities may lx l seen groups of men and women from the country who come in to see the sights in most extraordinary attire. One class of such is known as “The Red Blanket Brigade.” • •wing to the fact that something like a re 1 blanket is generally part of their outfit. The women in such groups invariably show the greater part of their limits. encased in light bin? material

vvhich gives them the appearance i.i wearing blue tights: around them, loosely thrown, they wear the red blanket, while around their head they wear a white doth. The men sometimes appear

to have no regular clothing at all. but to be thatched from head to waist with straw. Their costume is picturesque in the extreme, to say the best of it: but it is the poles asunder from the dainty garbs that we have l»een made familiar

with through tne agency ot Japanese post cards. HIGH COLLAR WAITRESSES. At the Seiyoken Hotel, Uenyo Park, one of the most fashionable hotels in Tokio, there is employed a staff of very pretty girls to serve refreshments to pat tons in a most attractive booth in front of the hotel. It is impossible to gaze upon these girls without amusement. The European takes in the situation at a glance; the attire of the girl is ‘’Hycala’' style with a dash of Japanese thrown in. This is the result: The girls are short, and all waist, to start with: they have white European boots on their feet, with short black stockings; their skirt is of dark green material and fastened outside a blouse of light orange. The whole thing must be seen in order to be thoroughly enjoyed. To say that these girls look stiff ami awkward is to say the truth, and if the management were wise it would without delay reinstate these dainty daughters of Japan in their own most becoming dress. ENGLISH DONE INTO ADVERTISE MENTS. In the way of advertising some verv curious customs prevail. In the capital city not far from Shimbashi Railway Station is a shop which rejoices in tin following intimation: ‘‘This shop is ol the kind sugar with many cake for which to sell cheap.” In another city of nearly a million inhabitants there is a shop whose owner is desirous of cultivating a trade for foreign clothes, so his shop bears the alluring, suggestive title. “ The museum of the European clothes.” Neat the great shrines at Nara on a side path appears this information, near a tea

house: “Every kind lady and gentleman wait here to see the cool and quiet, and the rest by the waterfall.” A PREFERENTIAL TARIFF. One cannot be long in Japan without learning that it is the fashion to have two prices, one for the foreigner and the other for the Japanese. If Igo into a barber's shop for a shave or hairent I pay 30 sen for the shave and 50 for the haircut. In the same shop where I was thus charged on one occasion I saw a young woman undergoing treatment at the hands of the tonsorial artist. He first shaved very carefully above the outer rim of the eyebrow, and then the l underneath part and the l eyelid. This gave the eyebrow somewhat of an arched appearance, clean and regular as the* unruly hair was removed. Then her nostrils were shaved with a long narrow blade. A few irregular hairs about her ears also received attention, and when the whole work was done she' put 5 sen down on the bench and walked out. If a Japanese' has his hair cut he pays for it in a similar fashion, and the foreigner receive's an extra bow to compensate* hint for the extra, money which he* pays. The same tiling applies to hotel life. I have slept on the floor of a house adjoining a hotel, because' there was no room for me in tin* inn. and took my bath and meals in the hotel. For this entertainment I was graciously bowed off the premises when the* time came to leave' to the tune of 14/ per day. In a Japanese hotel in a small town, for very moderate' comtorts 1 have been made to pay 10/ per

day. At the same time a leading artist in Japan, who travels a great deal, informs mi' that he* stays at the largest and best Japanese' hotels everywhere, and never pa vs more than 2J yen per day (about 4 til. It is very difficult to teil how this custom of fashion is going to operate. AN •HONOURABLE DINNER.” A gentleman came out from England under engagement to the Japanese Government to till a most important position in a technical college. About the same time a Japanese gentleman was appointed to a similar position. Within a week it dawned upon the students and some of their friends that it would be a nice thing to have a dinner at which these two gentlemen could be made welcome and receive' a proper introduction to the fraternity. The dinner was arranged: the two gentlemen were told of what was being done in their honour, and were* bidden to the feast. The feast came off with great eclat, and both of the heroes of the evening made speeches, and said many kind and complimentary things. But at the end of the month when the English gentleman received his cheque he found a deficiency of 8 yen; he drew the attention of the cashier to the fact, and the document was sent back from one office to another, until after considerable redtapeism it came back with the assurance that it was quite correct, for 8 yen had been deducted for the dinner given in his honour. That particular gentleman is not having any more honourable dinners at a cost of* 16 . At the same time, on two occasions 1 have had to do with pho-

tograpliers who refused payment for developing plates for me. ami ehanging the plates from the carriers, etc. So put-

ting one over against the other it is as well for the foreigner to examine the honours that are offered him. and never allow himself to be outdone in chivalry.

It is said that the wondrous politeness of the Japanese finds its origin in fear. However it came it has come to stay. It

is a most beautiful trait in the character of these people, not only amongst the educated and wealthy, but amongst tin* coolies. Two coolies will meet and in

stantly they bow to each other, and as it is always considered to be the greater honour done to another to be the Inst

to assume the upright position, the om on rising slightly if In* sees that tin other is still bowed will instantly duck his head again.