,TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND- JANUARY 21, 1913.
2
fully. But the knowing glance that
flashed from eye to eye convinced ma
that their engagement. In this country
would have been considered a very
long one.
Of cOiM Jioi .
MmcYamasafei, Wieo Japanese Diplomat, Gives Interesting
Views'on American Womankind How Our Women Impress
One Who Sees Them From an Entirely Novel View Point
MERICAN women lead oen
A
wonderful lire. They we o
free ivd Independent. Tney are
o well educated and accomplished.
There la such an equality between them
and men. They dlacusa Intelligently all
the leading; questions of the day. And
they Tote and hold political ofnceat
There seems to be no end to their am
bitions and their opportunities to real
ise them."
Madame Kelchl Tamaaakl. wife of
the Japanese consul In Chicago, sat
primly In a bl reen Telvet chair In
the drawinn-room of her home. &
Lexington avenue, and thus admlrlnply
discussed her American sisters with an
Jnter-Ocean Interviewer.
"But moat amazlnir Is the home llfs
of American women." the dainty Japan
ese woman continued. "She may choose
whom she will marry She may be her
husband i companion through life. She
may care for her own children and
decide how they shall be educated. If
her matrimonial life through no fault
of hers Is unhappy, she can secure a
divorce and still keep her children. She
can also prevent her husband from se
curing a divorce without Just reason.
And If she does not want to marry, she
may remain slnsle and be respected and
happy.
"The American woman Is sJIowed to
lead her own life, to have her own
Ideas, to do her own work, and to as
sert her rights. It Is no wonderjhey,
call America the land of the free!"
A little over five months alto Madams
Tamasakl bade farewell to the land of
cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums
and started on her long wedding Jour
ney to Chicago. The little Japanese
bride has Just celebrated her nineteenth
birthday, but she looks like a slip of
a girl who is not more than sweet
stxteen.
rharmlaa- Orteatal Beaaty.
She Is an exquisite bit of old Japan.
lth a frsKtle beauty which charms
and fascinates the beholder. Her glossy
black hair Is straight and long and not
a strsy lock mars the smoothness of
the carefully-rounded pompadour. Her
black eyes are long and narrow and
slant slightly upward at the outer cor
ners, and her eyebrows are delicately
outlined above them. Her complexion
fs- clear ivory white with a touch of
color In the cheeks that might have
been stolen from the cherry blossoms.
She Is slender and petite, lacking sev
eral inches of being five feet In height
The kimono she wore would have
been the delight and envy of every
American woman. It was made of a
heavy silk crepe of a sort wistaria tons
In which was woven a dull white con
ventional design. The underdresa she
wore f as of white brocaded crepe,
showing about two Inches at the throat
and between the white crape and the
wistaria was a narrow fold of cherry
coiored repe.
Her feet were clad In thick silk
stockings with a separate place for
the big toe. The straw sandals were
rastened on with a thong stretched from
the front.
No murmur of discontent or longing
came from the dainty foreigner as she
talked about our manners and customs
and dress, which seemed to delight and
amuse her. She admitted, however, that
the most fascinating of all are the
American women, whom she haa
watched with wondering and admiring
eyes.
"They are so different," said Mrs.
Tamaaakl. with a slight turn of ths
head, which sent the cluster of wis
taria blossoms nodding against the
black hair. I had read "a great deal
about American women before I cama
here and I thought I knew all about
them but Z don't.
Aaaerlraa Waseea a Sarsirtse.
"While I was attending college atTo
klo my teachers told me about tha po
sition of women In the United Etates
and explained to me that they were
mixing In politics Isn t that what yon
call It? But I didn't know they voted
and X never dreamed of their holding
political offices. It Is such an unheard
of thing In Japan. Our women know
absolutely nothing about government
affairs. In fact. we. are not Interested
In them." she admitted naively.
"But here one has to be Interested."
she contlued. "My American friends
ask me If I am a suffragette. I tell
them I do not know. Then they try to
explain women's rights to me but the
more they tell me. the more perplexed
I become. Even If I did understand it
I would not know what to do. I have
depended on men so long so rflany
centuries." she added with a smile,
"that I should hesitate to take the
responsibility. With American women
It Is different. They have so much
ability and the more I learn of them
the less surprised I am at anything
they da. They ara so resourceful and
whatever they attempt they, seem to
carry through."
There was sn nnmlstakabla not of
appreciation In the low musical voice
which mingled harmoniously with tha
apologetic undertone for the Japanese
women who were not brave enough to
make the struggle.
"And your women's clubs." she con
tinued with a helpless look. "They tell
me at their meetings women discuss
subjects of every kind and even send
word to tha men what views they hold.
When I hecr them holding a council It
makes me think of the councils of tha
mothers snd grandmothers and other
relatives when a marriage Is being ar
ranged In Japan. Such solemn affairs
as they are and tha persons who are
most Interested have no voice In the
matter at alL
"Yet I suppose If I stay her long
enough I shall be a club woman myself.
The American spirit is so catching and
when ona of your wonderful women
lks to me and tells me all the good
women are doing In tha clubs. Iant
? i i t t i I t
11- MlSVi 111
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to have a little share In all tne glory.
Perhaps I could start a woman's club In
Japan, but old customs are nam 10
change there."
"Are the old marriage customs in
Japan still followed?" Madame Y ama
ss..! was asked.
Tes." she answered, "in most cases.
European customs are being Introduced
In many ways, but the selection of
wives Is much as It always has been.
Often when a girl Is only a child she
Is chosen to be the wife ofsome young
man. They may not meet for a long
time perhaps for years, and then only
In the presence of other people. Tha
girl wonders and Imagines about ber
future husband and When she sees him
It Is only for a few moments and she
can Judge nothing of his character.
But If her father decides It Is a good
match, she has nothing to say. If the
girl did not like the man at all and
protested, she probably would not be
forced to marry him, but that seldom
happens. For centuries the Japanese
have been professional match-makers
I think that Is your word and they do
not make many mistakes.
Girls Wko De Net Flirt.
"There Is one good thing about such
a system. We have to take no thought
of these things ourselves. There Is
little romance In our marriage and so
there are few broken hearts before
marriage.
"A Japanese girl never thinks of
flirting as the American girls do. Once
her husband Is chosen she has no more
concern In the matter except to let
how to care for a home and to learn the
duelts of a good wife, which every
mother teaches to her daughter. There
la plenty of time during the engav .
r- ; m. . l v
1 M - . - till X y f . v J'y.-' !"-" I I
b .... . I ( --V 'i
I: 4 r . Vu, ... .-;,v, : j -t-v i 1 1 Nfc.- -7 ' - V, 1
f 1 . N
ment for a girl to learn to bo a home
maker.",
"Your own engagement was perhaps
a long one," It was suggested.
The little Japanese bride looked ap
peallngly at her husband.
"We were engaged for several
years," Mr. Yamasakl answered with a
smile.
"For several years," she echoed duti
' "Your courtship here seems pecullai
to me. It commences young in Amer
ica, too, for I hear the boys and glrla
at school have their sweethearts In
fact many of them. I see the boys and
girls go walking and skating together
and I meet young men and young wo
men at parties when their parents are
not along. They have freedom and
companionship that are denied in Japan.
Some one told me young people fre
quently became engaged without their
parents' knowledge or consent. And
that sometimes they get married with
out letting any one know. How terri
ble that Is!"
'It Isn't as serious as that," she was
assured. "They generally come back
home in a week or two and are for
given." "But that doesn't make it any the
less disloyal to their parents," she an
swered, her eyes snapping with excite
ment. "It Is so ungrateful when par
ents have done so much for children to
make them happy. Obedience Is the
first lesson we are taught and all our
lives we are obedient to some one.
First to our parents, then to our hus
bands, and then to our mothers-in-law
and grandmothers. Always we are
obedient until we are mothers-fn-law
and grandmothers ourselves. Then the
younger women must be obedient to
us. It is an old custom, but I don't
think any modern custom can be bet
ter, do you?"
"Obedience Is an excellent trait," the
Interviewer answered evasively. "Do
you think American women lack It al
together?" "I couldn't eay," she said, looking In
tently at the sparkling ring on the
long, slender hand. "But I have heard
American children talk back to their
parents, I have heard wives pleasantly
but firmly disobey their husbands, and
even the wishes of older people are
sometimes disregarded. It is all part
of your 'freedom,' I suppose.
Startled by Old Maid.
"Do you know the kind of woman
I met the other day?" she asked, her
face brightening up. Without pausing
for a reply, she resumed her story.
"This woman was much older than 1
and never had been married. How
strange! She said she was an old maid
or a spinster. She said she never In
tended to marry and that she was Jusl
as happy as she could be. I asked her
If there were others like her and she
said 'thousands of them' that th
United States Is full of old bachelors
and old maids who are far more con
tented than many married persons. Is
it true?" she demanded.
"How wonderful to earn your own
living," she added, meditatively. "Bui
the Japanese women do not know how
They never think of going out and
making money. Perhaps many of our
girls at home would not marry if they
could make a home for themselves. Bui
they can't. And no matter what the
circumstances of a Japanese family
are, a girl cannot require her father
to support her after she Is of mar
riageable age. So there Is nothing for
her to do but marry. Often she la
unhappy with the husband that Is chos
en for her, and that generally ends in
his divorcing her and sending her back
home."
"What do you think of divorce?" she
was asked.
"It is so unjust to the woman," she
replied, the heart of the woman rising
above the tradition of ages. "I suppose
a man has a right tp divorce his wife,
but it leaves her so helpless and alone.
"I know little of your divorce laws,
but I think they are better than ours.
When a Japanese maiden marries she
knows her whole happiness depends
upon pleasing her husband. She has
been brought up to understand this
from childhood, and the causes for di
vorce are strongly impressed upon her.
Some of pur reasons are the same as
yours, but we have many additional
ones. A man can divorce his wife if
she is disobedient to her father-in-law
and mother-in-law. He can divorce her
for stealing, or for Jealousy, or for talk
ing too much.
"But the principal reason is that he
does not like his wife. So he sends her
back to her father and she takes back
her family name. If she has children,
she cannot keep them unless her hus
band chooses to give them to her. She
Is left heartbroken and disgraced and
must remain, often an unwelcome guest
in her father's house, until she is again
chosen to be some man's wife.
"I believe there is a law now grant
ing the woman the right to sue for a
divorce. But few Japanese women with
children would take advantage of it.
They love their children so dearly they
will do almost anything to keep the
family together.
Views on Our, Divorce.
"Many divorced people marry again,
and often a man divorces several wives
until he finds one that he likes."
"Do you believe in divorce?"
"Too big a problem for me," she said
with a shake of her head. "It seems to
me that a man and woman should be
happy together all their lives if they
love each other and want to do what Is
right. But if they do not, they would
only be unhappy together. One thing,
though, I am sure of if a woman has a
good husband who is kind and thought
ful of her. she should be obedient to
his every wish."
"There Is much to be grateful for in
America," she said. "Your warm houses
are so comfortable. All we have to
keep the cold out in Japan is a small
jar filled with burning charcoal, and
when the days are cold and damp we sit
and shiver.
. "And I do love your American clothes.
They are so pretty and so charming.
But they are not becoming to a Japan
ese lady. I know," she asserted; "I have
several costumes. They make me look
odd and queer. I wear the short skirt
when I go out wa.king, and they are
so free and easy to get around in, and
your shoes are real comfort. I wore
American shoes all the time I was go
ing to college. How the other girls
envied me. But those awful stays or
corsets. I wonder if I will ever get
used to them. They are so stiff so
unrelenting. I only wear them when I
put on my American costumes, and I
am so glad to take them off. I sup
pose when I get used to wearing them
they will be all rignt, but It is the
hardest American custom I have tried
to learn.
"The evening gowns with the low
necks and short sleeves are dainty and
attractive. The soft clinging fabrics
are so graceful, and I admire the long
trained. But they seem strange after
kimonos :so sort of undressed.
"I don't see how an American woman
has any time left after she has planned
her costumes there are so many styles
to consider and so many parts to each
gown. The cut of our kimonos is al
ways the same. Some years they are
worn a little longer, sometimes the
sash is worn broaden-or tied in a larger
bow and once in a while the height of
our wooden clogs changes but that is
all Then our kimonos are made of
such heavy silk that they last for years.
Often a trousseau will last a whole
lifetime and frequently kimonos are
handed 'down to us from our ances
tors They are so simply made they
can "be altered easily to fit anyone." j
(