Japan

by Walter G. Dickson

* If a man have no son he may adopt one, but the father must be fifteen years of age before he adopts a son. If a Daimio or Hattamoto have no son or adopted son, the line becomes extinct. But if the last heir of a Daimio’s family be very delicate and sickly, he may, even if young, adopt a child to keep up the line of the house. This is the way of Confucius.

* (In old times the Mikado went round the provinces.) Hereafter an officer must go round all the provinces once every five or seven years, and make a report to the Shiogoon. (This is now obsolete.)

* As to the old Kokoshu, I will not interfere with their provinces; but in the case of recently made Kokoshu and Daimios, if they keep the same territory for a very long time, they become proud, and oppress the people, therefore in the case of these latter it is well to change them occasionally from one territory to another.

* Among Hyaksho, Shokonin, and Akindo—i.e., farmers, artisans, and merchants—if their wives secretly commit adultery, the law of nature is broken; and whether the husband report the matter to the officers or not is of no consequence, both parties must be punished; but if the husband is a proper spirited man, and puts the adulterer to death, he is not to be punished. But if he should wish to pardon both the wife and her paramour, it may be done. The judge is not to be hasty.

* If the same thing take place in the family of a Samurai, the judge must be very severe and strict in punishing.

* In Japan there is an old saying that the same heaven cannot cover a man and the enemy (murderer?) of his father or mother or master or elder brother. Now, if a man seek to put to death such an enemy, he must first inform the Kets dan sho [this is a department which takes cognizance of criminal matters] office at the Hio jo sho, and say in how many days or months he can carry out his intention. This is to be entered in the book of the office. If he kills this enemy without such previous intimation, he is to be considered as a murderer.

* If a servant kills his master, he is to be considered as the same as the Emperor’s enemy, and his relations are all likewise to be considered in the same light, and must be extirpated root and branch. If a servant has made the attempt, even if unsuccessful, the family is to be extirpated.—Kando is to take the name of a family out of the book of Japan.

* In regard to wives and concubines, the law and customs are the same as between master and servant. The Mikado is allowed twelve concubines. Daimios and Hattamotos are allowed to have eight. Tei fu—i.e., men with titles—and Sho daibu are allowed five. Officers and Samurai are allowed two concubines. This is to be found in the old holy books of the Rai ki rites and ceremonies (Lei, king of China). At times very foolish and bad men have made the way to the Rai ki dark, and have addicted themselves to numerous concubines, and so broken the laws of nature. In former times, whenever Daimios or officers have lost their territories and castles, it may in nearly all cases be traced to this cause. Hence the man is not upright who is much given to women.

[It is a common error with writers upon Japan to allege that the Japanese are indifferent to the respectability of their wives; and, indeed, that they rather prefer to take one from among the public courtesans; and, further, to convey the impression that nearly all the women of the country go through some such course before marriage. Such an idea is contrary to common sense as well as to propriety; and the common belief that the spirits take a warm interest and perform an important part in the marriage of every pair in Japan shows that the rite itself is looked upon as a very important institution, requiring Divine sanction and blessing, and not to be lightly entered upon for the gratification of temporary or transient feelings. On the other hand, intercourse between parties not married is looked upon as disreputable, or at least an attempt is made to convey such an impression to young persons. All such connections are called “damass koto,” i.e., a false, a sham affair; and it is said of such persons that the fox—i.e., the devil—has tied the yeng or knot. It is a common saying by youths, “I know that it is damass koto; but the fox always brings us together again, and I cannot cut the thread.” As their idea of the yeng is taken from the Chinese, it shows that polygamy is not, with that large portion of the human race, looked on with approval. In China the first wife is the only wife; the others who may be taken afterward are concubines. In these countries the position of a prostitute is different from what it is in Christian communities, as they are forced to the life, and educated to it from childhood; and the education and mixing with the world in conversation gives them often a cleverness and power of pleasing which are often wanting in the ladies brought up in the quiet and seclusion of a Chinese family. Besides, they go to the same churches and worship the same gods, going through their devotions as religiously as the rest of the community.]

* The relations of the husband are with external things, those of the wife with internal. The observance of this leads to the peace or smooth-working of the empire. If these relations are changed, folly ensues, the house is deranged, and it is as if a hen were to crow in the morning. All men are to take care to avoid the beginning of this evil.