CHAPTER IV

PEOPLE, HOUSES, FOOD, DRESS

OUTLINE OF TOPICS: Ainu; ethnology; two types; comparative stature and weight; intellectual and moral qualities. — Classes in society of old and new régimes; social principle. — Family and empire. — Houses; public buildings; rooms; foreign architecture. -Gardens. Food; meals; table manners; foreign cooking. Undress and dress; European costume. - Bathing. - Bibliography.

WHO

HO were the aborigines of Japan is yet a disputed question. Remains have been found of a race of dwarfs who dwelt in caves and pits, but who these people were is not positively known. They may have been contemporary with the Ainu, whom many call "the aborigines of Japan." It is certain, however, that the Ainu were once a very numerous nation, "the members of which formerly extended all over Japan, and were in Japan long before the present race of Japanese. But the latter gradually forced the former northward, until a final refuge was found in Yezo and the Kurile Islands. There the Ainu are now living, but are slowly dying out as a race; there are at present only about 17,600 remaining. They are said to be "the hairiest race in the whole world," "of sturdy build," filthy in their habits (bathing is unknown), addicted

to drunkenness, and yet "of a mild and amiable disposition." Their religion is nature-worship.1

It is well known that the Japanese are classed under the Mongolian (or Yellow) Race. They themselves boastfully assert that they belong to the "golden race," and are superior to Caucasians, who belong to the "silver race"! As Mongolians, they are marked, not only by a yellowish hue, of many shades from the darkest to the lightest, but also by straight black hair (rather coarse), scanty beard, rather broad and prominent cheek-bones, and eyes more or less oblique. Some think that the Japanese people show strong evidences of Malay origin, and claim that the present Emperor, for in

2

1 "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," by Miss Bird (now Mrs. Bishop), is interesting and reliable in its treatment of the Ainu of that day. Chamberlain also has written on the 'Ainos." The best single book is, of course, "The Ainu of Japan," by Rev. J. Batchelor, the leading authority, who has also written a book on "Ainu Folk-lore."

2 "Various Impressions" is the title of an address delivered at a meeting of the Imperial Education Society by Dr. Nitobe, reported very fully in the Kyōiku Kōhō. Dr. Nitobe gave an account of his travels in the South Pacific. He visited Java, many other islands, and Australia. At Java he felt persuaded that an eminent French ethnologist who not long ago said that, as the result of much investigation, he had come to the conclusion that the Japanese race was 10 Malay, 10 Mongolian, and 10 mixed, was right. Among the mixed elements there was an Aryan element, which came from India, and a negrito element. "Now it is supposed," says Dr. Nitobe, "that this negrito element comes from the Javanese. It no longer shows itself in the Japanese in regard to the form of the nose and that of the cheek-bones, but it is to be seen in the curly hair of certain inhabitants of Kyūshiu. In Oshū, from which I come, this peculiarity is not known. During my travels in the South Pacific Islands I was repeatedly struck by

stance, is of a striking Malay type. It is not impossible, nor even improbable, that Malays were borne on the "Japan Current" northward from their tropical abodes to the Japanese islands; but there is no historical record of such a movement. Therefore the best authorities, like Rein and Baelz, do not acknowledge more than slight traces of Malay influence. A more recent theory concerning the origin of the real Japanese- or Yamato men, as they called themselves is that they are descendants of the Hittites, whose capital was Hamath, or Yamath, or Yamato.

There are two distinct types of Japanese: the oval-faced, narrow-eyed, small aristocratic class; and the pudding-faced, full-eyed, flat-nosed, stout common people. Of these, the latter is the one claimed to be Malay. The plebeians, having always been accustomed to hard labor by the sweat of the brow, are comparatively strong; the others, having been developed by centuries of an inactive life, have inherited weak constitutions. Indeed, the people, as a whole, are subject to early maturity and early decay. There is a Japanese proverb to this effect: "At ten, a god-like child; at twenty, a clever man; from twentyfive on, an ordinary man." And, in spite of the fact that there have been remarkable exceptions to this rule, careful investigation by Japanese supports the truth of the proverb. And yet there seems to be no

the similarity of Malay customs to our own. In the structure of their houses even this was very manifest." -Japan Mail.

doubt that modern education and conditions of life show a gradual improvement in this respect.

The average Japanese, compared with the average European or American, has a lower stature1 with a long body and short legs. A good authority states that "the average stature of Japanese men is about the same as the average stature of European women"; and that "the [Japanese] women are proportionately smaller." Some one has wittily called the Japanese "the diamond edition of humanity."

The Japanese also weigh much less than Europeans. The average weight of young men of twenty years of age in Europe is about 144 pounds, while the average weight of the strongest young men of the suburban districts of Tokyo was only about 121 pounds; which gives the European an advantage of 23 pounds.

As

The Japanese are very quick to learn. Their minds are strong in observation, perception, and memory, and weak in logic and abstraction. born lovers of nature, they have well-trained powers of observation and perception, so that their minds turn readily to scientific pursuits. And as the ancient Japanese system of education followed Chinese models, the power of memorizing by rote has been strongly developed, so that the Japanese mind has little difficulty in becoming a storehouse of historical and other facts. But, as the powers of reasoning and abstraction have not been well trained, the

1 Dr. Baelz estimates the average stature at about 5 feet.

Japanese do not take so readily to mathematical problems and metaphysical theorems.

The typical Japanese is loyal, filial, respectful, obedient, faithful, kind, gentle, courteous, unselfish, generous. His besetting sins are deception, intemperance, debauchery, and these are common sins of humanity. In respect to these evils, he is unmoral rather than immoral; and in his case these sins should not be considered so heinous as in the case of one who has been taught and knows better.2 And it is with reference to these very evils that Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism have been a complete failure in Japan, and that Christianity is making its impress upon the nation.

There never were distinct and rigid castes in Japan, as in Egypt and India, but formerly there were four classes in society. These were, in order, the official and military class; the agricultural class, or the farmers; the laboring class, or the artisans; and the mercantile class, or merchants. Above all these were the Emperor and the Imperial family; below all these were the tanners, grave-diggers, beggars, etc., who were the Japanese pariah, or outcasts. The first class included the court nobility, the feudal lords, and their knights; they alone were permitted to carry two swords, were exempt from taxation, and were also the special educated and literary class, because they

1 See also subsequent chapter on "Japanese Traits."

2 His is simply a case of what is called "undeveloped moral consciousness."