Frank Coffee

“ In the cities of the Far East there are no "pubs" or saloon bars as we understand them in America and Australia. Liquor is sold in large family hotels in Hong Kong, Nagasaki and similar centers, but I never saw a man drunk in China or Japan. During 1908 the Japanese hotel keepers laid in a stock of wine and liquors in expectation of a visit of a thousand American excursionists on the steamer Cleveland. Coming from the West, she touched at the ports of Nagasaki and Kobe, but for some reason or other the passengers failed to display any extraordinary thirst. ”

“ Had foreigners been permitted to buy direct from the owners, they would, as a matter of course, have succeeded to the freehold title, putting them on an equal footing with the Japanese. The modus operandi adopted by the Government did away with any such risk and made the foreign property owner a leaseholder only. But foreigners were satisfied with these leases because the land granted thereby was granted in perpetuity, which to all intents and purposes is as good as a freehold grant, and no difficulty would ever have arisen if the Japanese Government had kept to the terms of these leases. ”

“ Kyoto, with a population of 400,000, is held to be the center of the manufacture of Japanese art. Forty miles distant is Osaka, a city of one and a half millions, the chief products of which are metal goods, carpets, rugs, etc.
I was surprised at the large number of Germans I met with in the trains. Quite sixty per cent., if not more, of the firstclass passengers were unmistakably German. Many of them live at Kyoto and visit Osaka daily on business. In their efforts to secure the Japanese markets German manufacturers follow their clever policy of giving twelve months' credit. ”

“ They are very agreeable fellow travelers. Aside from any question of converts to Christianity, they claim that the labor of missionaries has been the first and foremost means of bringing Western civilization into the Orient. They point out that while the Japanese have not taken cordially to the principal features of our Christian religion, they have copied much of the latest scientific methods of America and Europe. Christianity and Science, the missionaries claim, go hand in hand, and it is not their fault if Science makes the greater impression. ”

“ No Caucasian can tell what a Japanese is thinking about. A Buddhist may grow indifferent to Buddhism, but much of his apparent zeal for Christianity is feigned. And many of our yellow brethren do not seem to know exactly what creed they follow. This, too, may be subtlety. As an instance, my courier, who was brought up a Confucianist, told me he had joined the Shinto religion two years before, because his wife's father was of that faith. ”

“ One Sunday I visited an exhibition of Japanese manufactures in Yokohama, and there met an American missionary. Talking about sectarian matters, he stated that there were five hundred Protestant missionaries in Japan, who claimed 70,000 Christians in their fold. Of Roman Catholics, there are also 70,000, while the Greek Catholics number 35,000. Facing facts, there is no use in disguising the general impression existing among white men who live in Japan: They consider it a waste of time to attempt to convert Japanese adults. ”

“ Speaking of Australia, the Sydney University has recently established a chair for teaching Japanese, doubtless with the same motive that caused America to encourage the teaching of Spanish—trade expansion.
Shintoism, the native religion of Japan, is closely bound up with the history of the country. Both Buddhism and Christianity have been imposed from without, but Buddhism has been to Japan what classic antiquity and Christianity have been to the West, which is to say it brought Chinese civilization and a better religion than the native form. ”

“ From the very beginning, the citizens of foreign countries (generalized under the term "Foreigners") were shown that they were "undesirables," a necessary evil, to the extent that in the few ports open to trade by treaties they were not permitted to reside among the Japanese in the towns proper; they had to dwell apart in the so-called "Foreign Settlements," restricted areas on the outskirts of the towns selected by the Japanese Government. Only in such settlements in Japan are foreigners allowed to buy land and erect their buildings. ”

“ Japan is brought closer in touch with other countries every year by fast steamers under the Japanese flag. Although the United States paid a small subsidy to her ships carrying mails and cargo, on condition that they should be manned by white men, the amount was not sufficient to make up the difference between white and Chinese labor. Because of this, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company carried Chinese stewards and part of the crew were also Mongolians. The Pacific Mail maintained a splendid service until its ships were "frozen out" by what is known in America as the La Follette Mail Bill. ”

“ Japan is a small country, having but 147,655 square miles in its area. Japan is very hilly, and little terraces are formed on the slopes for cultivation, as in Italy and Switzerland. But a very small portion—maybe half—of these hills is rich enough to produce any abundant crops, hence rice and fish remain the chief articles of Japanese diet.
In Nagasaki we visited a Buddhist temple, a huge, roomy edifice the floor of which was covered with matting. ”

“ Shortly after that, American missionary societies launched out in numbers and prosecuted their labors in an energetic manner, which is now testified to by the thousands of missionaries and teachers of various denominations who are working zealously in the Japanese Empire. Freedom of conscience is extended to all religious sects in Japan, and so far as I could observe, missionaries were satisfied with existing conditions. ”

“ Circumstances necessitated my visiting the Falls frequently for some years, and I fell into the habit of chatting with the cab drivers who, among their other prerogatives, have opportunity of meeting men from every quarter of the globe. ”

“ A movement is taking place in Japan to elevate the standard of morality. Osaka will not replace the houses already destroyed by fire, and is opposed to granting any further concessions to such houses. ”

“ The friendly attitude of the United States toward Japan was well illustrated in 1883, when the American Government voluntarily returned its share of an indemnity of $3,000,000 exacted of Japan by the treaty powers under the terms of a convention signed in 1864. ”

“ Food is always a vital subject wherever one goes up and down the world. In Japan I was struck with the poor quality of the butter supplied at the best hotels. In consequence of inferior butter, some foreign families resident there never eat it. Beef must sometimes prove a difficult product. ”

“ Notwithstanding this specific provision and the fact that the new treaties require the confirmation of the leases and a continuation of the protection to the properties, the Japanese Government, since 1899, has imposed on foreigners, first a house tax, and, in addition, various municipal taxes over and above the annual ground rent payment. ”

“ From the obscure position she occupied for many centuries Japan has emerged as a civilized world-power, and this change has brought in its train, among other things, a great increase in the number of young women who are licensed to engage in the profession of Geisha. ”

“ Besides, one could not always depend on goods being supplied a second time at the same price. If, for example, the merchants supply a sample of doorknobs, and quote a price, and an additional order is given for ten or fifty gross, they will in all probability increase the price ten per cent. ”

“ Emperor Bindatsu (572-585) , in consequence of the outbreak of an epidemic persecuted the Buddhists and forbade the practice of their religion. A change came about, however, when in 587 Prince Shotoku built a great Buddhist temple and did everything to encourage foundations and organizations for works of mercy and charity. ”

“ These girls probably number more than five thousand in the city of Tokyo alone. If they confined themselves to the business for which they were primarily called into existence and are licensed, there would be little cause for objection.
"Nothing could be more convincing than the official census to show the growth of the Geisha in Tokyo in recent years. Here are the figures:
"The above figures are exclusive of the girls of the suburbs of the city. ”