An English Girl in Japan by Ella M. Hart Bennett

Author:Ella M. Hart Bennett [Bennett, Ella M. Hart]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789354841026
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Alpha Edition
Published: 2021-07-21T00:00:00+00:00

In other words, ‘vanity of vanities’--a dismal ditty for young children, but very characteristic of the spirit of fatalism in the East.

‘The penalties for bad conduct used to be a few blows with a switch on the leg, or a slight burn with the “moxa” on the forefinger, but now the usual punishment is detention after school-hours.

‘The cost of education is not expensive--from a halfpenny to three halfpence a month, according to the means of the parent.’

Besides the national schools, there are many excellent colleges and schools for the children of the nobles and upper classes in Japan. In Tokio alone there are military, naval, and engineering colleges, besides a large University. Japanese students, however, frequently finish their education at foreign Universities, where they often take high degrees.

A girl generally leaves school when she is fifteen, but she continues her studies until she marries. An important part in her education is the arrangement of flowers, an art cultivated into a veritable science in Japan. I was anxious to take a few lessons, but was told that no satisfactory result could be obtained under three years’ constant study, so decided to leave that accomplishment to those who had more time and patience at their disposal.

I must not forget to mention some of the games and fêtes which take such an important place in the lives of Japanese children. I have described the Hina Matsuri, the festival for girls, which is celebrated on the 3rd of March. The feast for boys is held on the 5th of May at the festival of Hachman, the god of war. The towns and villages on that date present a most curious spectacle. Where there are any boys in the family, large, hollow, canvas kites in the form of a carp are hung at the end of long poles from every home; the number and size of the fish corresponding to the number and age of the boys in the family.

These fish used to be made large enough to carry a man up in the air, and have been known to be employed in time of war to spy into the interior of an enemy’s castle. On one occasion a robber was caught by means of their help, and killed, but they are no longer used for these practices.

The carp is chosen as an emblem at the feast of boys on account of its strength and power to swim up against stream. In like manner a boy is supposed to push his way along the stream of life and combat difficulties.

There is a very picturesque, and at the same time curiously pathetic, festival which takes place annually at the end of August at Nagasaki--the ‘Bon Matsuri,’ or festival to dead children. Every day during the week children in gorgeous costumes parade the streets of the town, carrying fans, banners and lanterns, collecting subscriptions. On the last day of the festival, at sunset, whole fleets of little straw sailing-boats, with food and a light on board each, are launched on the beach for the souls of the little children who have died.

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