The Four Corners in Japan

by Amy Ella Blanchard

  CHAPTER XV

  A MOCK JAPANESE

  "Sit right down and tell us all about it," said Mary Lee as Jeanappeared before the family after her visit. "Did you have a good time?"

  Jean took off her gloves and folded them neatly. "I had a mostinteresting time," she said. "I never knew kinder, more hospitablepeople, and when I came away they loaded me with gifts till I was soembarrassed I didn't know what to do. Of course I gave all the servantssomething, but I have got to do something for Ko-yeda after all this."

  "Where are your presents?" asked Jack. "Fetch them along; we want tosee what they are like."

  "You know it is a custom to give presents to a departing guest," saidNan. "They always do it, and it is in accordance with the station andwealth of the entertainer. I know it is very overwhelming sometimes butit has to be endured."

  "I'll get the things presently," said Jean. "Tell me what you all havebeen doing since I left you."

  "We'll do that when you have told your tale, which will be much moreinteresting. How many are in the family and did you see them all, andwhat were they like?" Nan asked the questions.

  Jean began to count off the answers on her fingers. "In the familythere are Mr. and Mrs. Sannomiya, Grandmother Sannomiya and Ko-yeda.There was a son but he died two years ago and that is why Ko-yeda wascalled home. There is a married sister, Mrs. Sanzo; she is very niceand has a darling baby. I went to her house. She is very tiny andlooked like a little doll in her dress quite like ours. Her husbandis tiny, too, and dresses like any of our men. The others adopt ourcostume when they are out, but at home they go back to kimonos and allthat. It was very funny to see Mr. Sannomiya in the garden with a bigfan and an umbrella. The old grandmother has blackened teeth and is themost important person in the house. Mrs. Sannomiya waits on her handand foot, and they all hang on her words as if she were an oracle. Sheis rather a nice old person but I can imagine that a daughter-in-lawmight have a very unpleasant time of it in some households."

  "Poor Ko-yeda," said Jack, "I hope she won't have any hard time."

  "I don't believe she will, for she told me that if she married it isprobable that her husband would be adopted into the family to take theplace of her brother who died. In that case, he will take her name andbe considered a true son. His own people won't be anything at all tohim."

  "There are cases not unlike that in our own country," said Eleanor. "Ihave known men who were completely weaned from their own families assoon as they were married. I think a woman is a horrid selfish pig tocompletely absorb a man that way. If any one steals Neal from me andmakes him indifferent to his people, all because she is such a jealouspig she wants him all to herself, I shall have my opinion of her."

  They all laughed at Eleanor's vehemence, but only Mary Lee noticedNan's heightened color. Mary Lee was taking notes these days.

  "What did you have to eat?" asked Jack.

  "Oh, all sorts of queer stuff, some of it perfectly impossible," Jeantold her; "but some of it was very good, the cakes especially. Ko-yedatried to have some English food. We actually did have bread, and thefish was served me without that awful sweet sauce. I didn't starve."She went on with her account, Jack taking notes rapidly while her twintalked.

  "What on earth are you doing?" queried Mary Lee as Jack scribbled away.

  "Oh, I am just getting it all down so I can use the material in thefuture. Jean may forget some of it. It is much easier to get hold of itnow when I have nothing else to do; it may save me lots of time lateron. I can make a daily or a weekly or some kind of theme of it."

  Jean told about her drive to the little village where she had seenthe silk-spinning, of her callers, of the routine in the house andmuch that the others found interesting. "They do things in the mostcontrary fashion," she dilated upon her subject. "They push the eye ofthe needle on to the thread; their keys always turn in the oppositedirection from ours, and the other day I was watching Mr. Sannomiyawriting a letter. Will you believe it? He did it all backwards."

  "Go on and get your things," urged Nan. "We are crazy to see them."

  Jean retired and presently came back with her treasures. "This," shesaid, unrolling something from its wrapping of first soft paper andthen an under covering of fine silk, "is what Mr. Sannomiya gave me."She displayed a beautiful silken panel charmingly painted. "It is a_kakemono_, you know. After seeing those lovely cool rooms ours do seemovercrowded. When I get home I think I shall fit up a room in the wingand that shall be a Japanese room."

  "Oh, let us do it," cried Jack. "We can do just as the Japanese do andcan have different decorations for different days. We can have teathere sometimes and wear our costumes, just as you were planning, Nan."

  "I think that will be a lovely idea," agreed Mrs. Corner; "then youwill all have a chance to display your treasures."

  Jean carefully put away her _kakemono_ and took from a box, sweetlysmelling and prettily decorated, a beautiful Satsuma vase. "This isfrom Grandmother Sannomiya," she announced.

  "Such a beauty," said one and another as it was passed around.

  "And this," Jean next produced a silken scarf of wonderful tint andbeautifully embroidered, "is from Mrs. Sannomiya."

  "How perfectly gorgeous," cried Jack. "Oh, Jean, I am green with envy."

  Jean was very complacent at having aroused all this admiration of hergifts. "I am sure you will be more so when I show you what Ko-yedaherself has given me," she said as she drew forth a small bag orpouch to which was fastened an exquisite carving of ivory. "It is areal _netsuke_," said Jean with pride. "I learned something about a_netsuke_ from Ko-yeda," she went on. "It is really just the thing thatkeeps the pouch from slipping through the sash. It used to be used onall sorts of things, pipes, tobacco pouches, medicine cases and, Mr.Sannomiya says, originally on shrine cases. This one is quite old, butthe very oldest are made of wood instead of ivory. There used to bevery celebrated carvers of _netsukes_ who signed them and their work isvery valuable. Mine isn't signed but I think it is a love."

  The gift was passed from hand to hand and was pronounced a prize worthhaving. Then Jean carefully replaced it in its pretty box and carriedoff her presents. She was a most particular little person and veryexact about all her belongings. Not so striking as merry Jack she,nevertheless, had her own good points, a neat figure, small hands andfeet, a gentle expression and good features. Her eyes had not the depthand expression of Nan's nor the changefulness and sparkle of Jack's butthey were soft and clear.

  "And what have you been doing?" asked Jean when her own affairs hadbeen discussed sufficiently.

  "Seeing the town," Nan told her.

  "What have you seen?"

  "The great Yasaka tower, for one thing, the Mikado's palace foranother. We haven't been to the temples yet, at least not to theprincipal one," Jack told her.

  "I believe it is said that there are three thousand temples in Kyoto,"remarked Nan.

  "We couldn't possibly see them all," returned Jean.

  "Oh, yes, we have seen them all," declared Jack with a twinkle in hereye.

  "What perfect nonsense," said Jean disgustedly. "How could you in twodays?"

  "We could and we did, from the top of the Yasaka tower. They must havebeen all there before us even if we couldn't distinguish one fromanother."

  "Now, isn't that just like you, Jack?" retorted Jean. "What is thetower for? It was pointed out to me yesterday, but there were so manyother things to see I didn't learn anything about it."

  "I think it was built by an emperor that his children might view thewhole city. In the former days royalty was so sacred that no one wasallowed to look upon the emperor and empress. When they gave audiences,they were concealed by a purple curtain down to the knees, but thepresent ruler has done away with all that; he and his wife appear amongtheir people quite as any European monarch would do," Miss Helen toldthem.

  "And how their people adore them," said Jean. "I heard no end of talesof their goodness. The empress is so very charitable and is so kind tothe sick a
nd the poor; so is the emperor for that matter. Ko-yeda couldnot say enough about them."

  While they were talking Jack had slipped away. She could not get overthe fact that Jean had been having adventures in which she had nopart. "Very well," she told herself, "I will make an adventure formyself." In this city of beautiful brocades and embroideries the girlshad found the shops most fascinating, and had made several purchases.Jack had provided herself with an entire Japanese costume, a prettykimono, a gorgeous _obi_, a pair of _geta_ or clogs, and all the otherparaphernalia. She had carefully studied the arrangement of hair andsince her own was no lighter than Ko-yeda's she could arrange it tolook quite like that of a Japanese girl. While the others were stillbusy talking, she donned her costume, arranged her hair as nearly aspossible like Ko-yeda's, stuck many pins and ornaments in it, slippedon the _getas_ and sallied forth with fan and umbrella. Both she andJean had often before this practiced walking on the queer little shoesand could shuffle along fairly well, though when Jack was actually onthe street, she felt awkward and a trifle uneasy.

  But she was determined to carry out her adventure and went on tryingher best to toddle along in imitation of the women around her.

  Passers-by looked up at her curiously, for she was so much tallerthan the usual run of persons on the street that she could not butattract attention. She had made herself up very well, but her eyesand her height gave indubitable evidence of her being a foreigner,yet no one did more than smile as she went along. The scene was agay one, _jinrikishas_ hastening hither and thither, street criers,venders of all sorts of wares, workmen, strollers, crowded the way.Shops displayed many kinds of rich wares, little wooden houses withgray roofs were surprisingly many. Jack, entertained at first, atlast thought it time to return. She looked about her. It was all veryunfamiliar, but she decided she knew the way. All at once she foundherself in a narrow labyrinthine street and surrounded by a curiouscrowd of little urchins who began to jeer, to point at her, to jabberuncomprehended words. Finally one, bolder than the rest, came up andtweaked her sleeve. This was the signal for further disagreeableattentions. One jerked away her fan; another poked a hole throughher umbrella. She tried to take it as a joke and to smile upon theirnaughtiness, but they were excited with the chase and meant to runtheir prey to cover. So unpleasant did they finally become that poorJack looked this way and that for a way of escape. She had long agoexhausted her vocabulary of Japanese speech and had not a word left tosuit the occasion. There seemed no one in sight but the boys and shefervently wished they were not there.

  But presently, to her great relief, she saw some one approaching, and,as good luck would have it, the figure was that of a woman in plaingarb but it was the familiar dress of her own country. At sight of thisindividual, the boys scattered. Jack stood still and waited. She wassure if she spoke her own tongue she would be understood.

  The newcomer soon was at her side. "Will you please tell me where I canget a _jinrikisha_?" asked Jack.

  The person so accosted started. "Why----" she looked Jack over,surprise giving way to amused interest. "Why, my child, what in theworld are you doing over in this part of the city dressed like that,when you don't know the language?" she asked.

  Jack colored up. "I was out for a walk," she said. "I didn't realizehow tall I was and that I would attract attention. I thought I couldpass along and no one would notice very particularly, for I am sure Ihave my things on quite properly and I can walk on the _getas_, thoughnot so very fast."

  The lady listened with still an amused expression. "Come along withme," she said. "I can soon set you all right. I am a teacher in amission school in this part of the city. I am going there now."

  "Oh, I should love to see a mission school," declared Jack, gladlyaccepting the invitation. The two walked along together both askingmany questions and becoming on good terms by the time they had reachedthe door of the school. As they went in, an older person came forward,but stopped in surprise as she saw the tall girl in Japanese dress.

  The circle of little girls sitting on the matted floor looked up also,their serious faces broadening into smiles as they beheld Jack. "Thisis Miss Corner, Mrs. Lang," said Jack's companion. "She has lost herway in this big city and needs to be sent home." Then she gave anaccount of Jack's escapade and the elder teacher laughed merrily.

  "I suppose I ought to have known better," said Jack ruefully. "It is adownfall to my pride. I thought I looked so lovely and Japanesy. I evenput little dabs of red on my cheeks and my lower lip, you see."

  "But that didn't lessen your inches nor slant your eyes in the rightdirection," Mrs. Lang said. "Of course you slipped out without yourmother's seeing you."

  "Yes, of course," returned Jack rather meekly. "If it hadn't been forthose horrid little boys I should have had no trouble. Of course peoplelaughed and one or two men said something to me but I just went on anddidn't answer."

  Mrs. Lang shook her head. "Don't do it again. It wouldn't be exactlysafe for you to go alone into the native part of the city in youraccustomed dress and as a mock Japanese you might expect some trouble."

  "But I thought they were always so gentle and polite here that I wouldbe quite safe."

  "There are circumstances when it doesn't do to trust too much totheories," Mrs. Lang replied.

  "Miss Corner would like very much to hear the children sing," said MissGresham, Jack's first acquaintance.

  Mrs. Lang turned to the little group and said something, then shestarted a song. Jack listened attentively and with perfect gravity, butthe children, whose voices were so sweet in speech, sang execrably,with very little idea of tune, and so raucously as to make one wonderhow they could do it. "Nan would curl up and die if she were to hearthem," she said to herself.

  The children then went through several exercises for her benefit and atlast subsided in order with solemn set little faces.

  "I thought them so expressionless and unresponsive when I first came,"said Miss Gresham as she conducted Jack to another room, "but you haveno idea how receptive they are and how attentive. We are doing goodwork here and I wish you would bring all your party to see us and someof the other classes which are more advanced."

  Jack promised and was told the name of the street, and how to reachMiss Gresham herself and then she took her leave with a feeling ofthankfulness that she had been so lucky as to come across one of herown people. "It was truly a missionary act," she said with a smileas she bade Mrs. Lang good-bye. "I begin to realize what a debt ofgratitude I owe you."

  "It was only what the veriest stranger might do in any place,"protested Miss Gresham, though Jack felt it was more.

  "I might have been any kind of a horrid person," she said, "and youwere just as nice to me as could be."

  "My dear," said Miss Gresham, "I knew as soon as I looked at you thatyou were not a horrid person."

  "With all this powder and rouge on my face?"

  "_I_ could see under that," responded Miss Gresham with a smile.

  Miss Gresham insisted upon going all the way to the hotel with her ina _jinrikisha_ which carried them swiftly through the streets to theplace in no time.

  "I wish you would come in and see them all," urged Jack.

  "Not to-day; perhaps another time, but you will be sure to come to seeus."

  Jack was earnest in her promise to do this and went on feeling rathershamefaced. It had been easy to slip out but the coming back was quitea different matter. She could not but be observed, she reflected, andit might not be as pleasant for her to be pointed out as the flyawaygirl who masqueraded as a Japanese. She hesitated so long on the stepsthat Miss Gresham came back to her. "What is the matter?" she asked.

  "I wish you would go in with me," she begged. "I am afraid the servantswill discover me, or, if they don't, that they won't let me go upwithout questions. If you were to ask for Mrs. Corner, I could go alongwith you and no one need notice particularly."

  "I understand," responded Miss Gresham, "and of course I will go." Sothe matter of entrance was effect
ed without undue remark. If any oneobserved the tall Japanese girl, she passed by so quickly that it gavebut a momentary interest, and so was forgotten.

  The adventure was frowned at of course, but in the presence of MissGresham and in the interest her account of the mission aroused, Jackwas allowed to escape with less of a scolding than she really deserved.It was her first serious scrape since she had arrived in Japan, andperhaps that was one reason why it was treated with some degree ofmildness. "Jack was bound to do something," said Nan, "and we are luckyto have her do nothing more serious. I am sure she won't venture forthagain in such a get-up." And it is safe to say that Jack did not.

  CHAPTER XVIA PROSPECTIVE SERVANT]