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the k Oregon ..sunday Journal; Portland, 'Sunday . horning.: august;;,;
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EAUTIFUL,
dainty and de
mure little Osuki
San Osuki San,
with the lightly
flutteri n g fan;
sweet little San,
with the almond
eyes, eyes as blue
0 I s the summer
I I ,U'.r Dill.
Hp IU UUIC, TOHJt
0 o school.
Little Wistaria
Blossom, meek,
d e lie at e Hya
cinthe and lovely,
rosy Sea Anem
one all of them must take up books of
the higher study.
Hours spent in dreaming of that brave
husband who should in the future be "as
dear to her as heaven itself" will be de
voted to study of English literature. And
that spirit of native gaiety, bubbling forth f
like bottled sunshine, will be moulded and
trained and cultivated by teachers, Ameri
can, English and Japanese.
An age of "higher study" for women
has dawned in Japan. A "Vassar College1
has risen in Tokio. And the sensitive little
fiowerlets that gazed ai the world timidly
from behind bamboo curtains are now set
to the study of household economy, cook
ing, literature and social etiquette.
It is a hopeful sign, meaning more to
'Japan than a victory over Russia. It means
a new age for women, of freedom for the
little slave wives, of a wider education for
the budding almond blossoms and a greater
scope for woman's work and endeavor in
that country.
And Japan hails the new education
with delight. There are 1000 students at
present in the Woman1 s University. Thou
sands of girls are studying in the normal
schools to fit themselves for admittance.
sAnd at the head of the institution are the
foremost men of the nation.
I
N THE "Greater Learning of Women" of
Japan we read the traditional idea mark
it, ye emancipated goddesses of tho Stars
and Stripes the following:
A woman should look upon her husband as If he
were heaven Itself,' and thus escape Celestial pun
ishment The five worst maladies that afflict the
female mind are indoclllty, discontent, slander. Jeal
ousy and silliness. Without any doubt these five
maladies afflict seven or eight out of every ten
women, and from them rises the Inferiority of
women to men.
Suppose one of the fair "sophs" at Vas
sar were told she should train herself to look
upon her husband, when she gets one, as if he
were heaven itself suppose! Take care of
that golf stick! Watch out I She might throw a
baseball, football or tennis ball anything she'd
get her hand on at you. And she'd be justified
in doing so if you told her this was her only
way of escaping eternal punishment.
Granting that the Japanese are an observ
ant and, many writers say, imitative people, it
is probable that they took notes at Vassar. They
were probably impressed there by the way the
fair ones talked, the way they went on botan
ical jaunts and studied various "ologies."
Anyway, the Japs decided to open a uni
versity for women, which they did in 1900. This
institution has been gradually growing in favor,
and now the Japs are planning a more ambi
tious future for it.
At the beginning 300 regular students were
enrolled, while 500 more took courses in the
high schools connected with the university pre- .
paratory to entering it.
The express object was formulated as fol
lows: ... 7 80 urther the general culture of students,
basis of the best modern education,
mothers! orm thelr duties as women, wives and
During the first year there were 700 sub
scribers, among them the foremost men of the
empire. Marquis Ito took a personal interest
in the new institution. Count Okuma, Marquis
Sayonji, Minister of Education Kubota, Prince
Konoze and Baron Shibusawa, the great finan-
cier, were active in its establishment
; TKeir united efforts resulted in the magnifi
cent buildings, which now stand on beautiful
grounds just outside of Tokio, the first insti- 1
",tution of its kind in the land of the Eising Sun
-Formerly the lady of the tiny toes stayed
mostly indoors. Her life was inactive, quiet
and simple. 5 She flipped her tea, pecked the
dainties brought in from native restaurateurs
or Jet her fingers wander idly over rare shim-
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mering fabrics, leisurely conjuring weird and
fantastically colored flowers. .
They had their flower dances, of course
beautiful flower dances. Dances of maid
ens almost as fair as the blossoms themselves
marching and dancing, swaying and bow
ing to the rhythmic motion of the long
wreaths of fragrant blossoms.
There are flower dances at the Tokio
University for Women; indeed, tho purpose
of the institution is to preserve old tradi
tions as well as to acquire the best of modern
learning. And then there are club exercises,
swinging exercises, hoop plays, flag-waving
movements and flower-basket marches.
"We wish to be honorably athletic," they
will tell you. Their instructors believe in
the cultivation of bodily strength and grace
as well as mental superiority.
Outdoor life of -VaBsar in some ways
compares strikingly with that of the stu-,
dents in the Vassar of Japan. At Vassar the
girls study botany, and occasionally take a
trip over to see John Burroughs. But in
Japan the girls go in for garden culture
the real thing. One can almost hear the men
whisper, "One point better." f.-df
One of the remarkable features of the
American institution is the lack of restraint,
the delightful freedom pf the girls. In this
respect it must be confessed that the students
of the Japanese institution are, to some ex
tent, under lock and key, so to say.
No girl under the age of 17 is admitte'd to
the institution. Each student is required to
furnish a certificate from a well-known citizen,
of Tokio, who makes himself responsible f o
her good behavior.
Any, student who cannot keep up with her j
class, or whose indiscretions becomo a cause for
scandal, is summarily expelled.
Perhaps the curriculum will surprise you.;
There are three courses, covering three years'
household economy, English literaturo and Jap-1
anese literature. Japanese literaturo is seo-i
ondary to a 6tudy of the English, however. An-
other course has been arranged recently, which1
includes pedagdgics, music, art and philosophy.)
From the time she toddles, a Japanese girli
prepares to becomo "a good woman, wife and;
mother." Devotion to the home and fidelity to
the husband are woman's cardinal virtues.
So in her process of modernization it ia
natural that Japan should wish to 'teach the'
women how to keep house.
This includes not only cooking and house-;
wifely skill. The student studios etiquette, so-j
cial usages, practical and theoretical morals,)
psychology, physiology, applied phyBios, chem-,
istry, natural science, art, history, civio knowl
edge, story telling and tho hygiene of children.!
Part of her course consists in learning how
to entertain callers and play the part of hostess
gracefully and correctly. To do this she is
given practical lessons in entertaining in
rooms set apart for the purpose.
Then the housekeeper-in-the-maklng takes,
up Japanese, Chinese and English history, phil
osophy, drawing and painting.
HEROISM INVOKED
Especial attention is paid to reading, for
. the good J apanese mother must be able to tell i
her sons stories of heroes, intrepid fighters and
of tho fearless gods. It is she who evokes the
dauntless spirit so valiantly displayed at Port
Arthur. To hor daughters sho must tell fairy,!
tales of noble wives and unselfish mothers.
And morel The time that tho student atj
Vassar spends in trying to remember Latin,'
names and classifying botanical specimens is.
devoted in the Japanese college to practical I
garden work. Young Miss Flower Blossom will :
learn the symbolism of flowers; how to plant
them in order and convey mystical meanings.
The girls are taught that they are to do 4
great deal in tho wa'y of preserving and trans-,
mitting the manners and traditions of tho coun
try. Consequently, much about the college Ufa
and environment is symbolic.
Even tho .entrances to the buildings are em
blematic the broad doorways typifying the
wider life open to the woman : of education,
while xthe blossoming cherry , trees lining tha
paths represent the Japanese spirit. v
j.ne university is a commnaxion oi couega j'
and girls' boarding school. Board is less thajw,'
$4 a month; the tuition charge is $1.50.
Many English and American professors
and women teachers are on the faculty of the
university. Within a short time elementary
schools and a kindergarten connected. with tha
institution will be opened.
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