MADAME CHRYSANTHEME UP TO DATE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9475, 18 June 1909, Page 6

MADAME CHRYSANTHEME UP TO DATE.

SIMPLICITY AND OH ABM OF the Japanese women. In this country we still have the» haziest idea as to the real Madame Ohrysantheme. The dainty little kimono-clad figure who glides amongst the cherry blossom in Fierro Loti’s novels, and who inspired romance and poetry in Lafoadio Hearne, is supposed vto be passing out of modern ken with much-which; proved so fascinating to travellers. To imagine, however, that the Japanese woman of the day hasbecome a European, is dressed in Paris clothes, with her brain steeped in French novels, and her cuisine presided over by a Parisian chef is an exaggeration. Although the business man of Tokio is casting off . old-fashioned ideas as fast as he can. the case is by no means true of his wife and daughters, at least as far as the femmes en eooiete is concerned. There is something essentially simple and retiring about the modern Japanese woman. She is fond of her house, devoted.to her home, and although she ia hot and can never ha the head of the honse, or exercise legal authority over her children, in her quiet way she Is much more than a mere cipher as far as domestic authority goes. Although it cannot' be exactly affirmed that the women are great readers, cnltnce has its own value in. Japan. Every woman who has been well educated know* probably more of the philosophies of her seventhcentury “Shakespeare” than many an Englishwoman does, on her part, who talks glibly of the Baconian theory, bnt who has but a very hazy idea of the plot of of Verona’ or ‘King Lear.” AIRINESS OF THE JAPANESE , HOME. Her housekeeping is of tremendous interest to her. The little paper houses are models of comfort and cleanliness. Dr. Marie Stopes, who ie a well known authority and lecturer on fossil botany, and wbo has just returned from eighteen months* research work in Japan, is, perhaps, better able to judge of the life of the people than many writers who have visited the country as tourists 1 and who have not actually mixed with all classes, meeting learned professors on their own footing, and working their way up country among the unsophisticated peasants. In her eyes, an English home, however luxurious it may be, is hopelessly lacking in the freedom, the light, and airiness which makes a Japanese one or two-storeyed houses so perfect. To a Japanese traveller who ventures over here, the ordinary English honse seems like a curiosity shop. In Japan, asJMiss Stopes points out, there is happily no crowding of furniture. Homes ate not museums. Quite a large|faonse nan be thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom and every room turned out in a couple of hours by one servant. The true secret of Japanese tidiness lies in their charming habit of changing their furniture from time to time. At the bottom of the garden in every boose there la a building which is strong room, box room, store cupboard, plate chest, and lumber room in one. This is the saving clause in every house. There is stored everything which is not actually in use. immensely weighty doors make the strong room burglar proof. From time to time little processions are made down the garden path, to where the strong room lies half hidden under the creepers and the cherry blossom, bearing the past season’s furniture and decorations for renewal.

Each room in a typical house contains but one picture, one vase of flowers, and one ornament, the latter usually a beautiful bronze. Pictures, flowers, ornaments, change with the seasons. According to charming etiquette they also change with each guest, and a water-colour, which it is believed will interest or do honour to anyone who is being entertained at the house, is chosen for the day, and hung in place of the usual painting. SPRING GLEANING BY LAW. There is another capital invention in Japan which —as Miss Slopes points out—well merits adoption in this country. Spring cleaning comes under Government inspection. Twice a year, in fact, the law insists that every bouse must be turned^ ‘upside down.” A municipal mandate arrives, probably one bright spring morning, to inform the householder that the policeman will call in turn or three days’ time to inspect. Gleam as are all the houses, this becomes the signal for mote washing and scrubbing. Every mat—and each floor is covered with thick plait id coverings—is required by law to b« taken outside and beaten. When the policeman makes his formal visit, he does his work thoroughly. Cupboard doors are opened for his inspection, and if he does not ‘‘run hia finger along” picture frames to track the tell tale trace of dust, he conscientiously examines every nook and corner, and finally hangs a yellow ticket on the gate to signify that ‘the house has ”passed” inspoetioa. Failare to show a ticket would probably end in a peremptory summons. Oooking is easily done in a Japanese household. Europeans who live after the manner of the country find no difficulty in these domestic matters, There are charming little port - able stoves with ovens on the top which will cook or bake anything, from rice and cakes to chickens and fish. Japanese women do not. however, uncertain very much Their lives are certainly not spent in rushing from house to bonse, crowding a" - succession of lunches, teas, and dinners into a single day If they give dinner parties, these ate usually informal, and a note In quaint Japanese characters or a verbal message is sent round to each invite. ENGAGEMENTS AND FIANCES. Formalities are, in fact, unknown, and home life is as much shorn of ceremony as possible. Many of the laws, from a woman’s point of view,, tre essentially more just than they are in many European countries. Divorce laws are equal for men and women, although a woman may not have charge of the children. Marriages en aooiete are arranged almost in the French manner. The parents, through an intermediary, settle an engagement, between a possible couple, and in case of a serious dispute the intermediary—or marriage sponsor—calls a family conclave, where matters are often satisfactorily mended without 'having recourse to legalities. Girla marry very young, and engagements ato- . usually short. An engaged couple do not, as a rule, see much of each other before marriage, although if a girl definitely dislikes her fiance, her parents would certainly not press the* marriage.—Evening Standard.