Letters from China and Japan

								

sociology by the process of ingratiating it into her classes. She is an
interesting personality. She was sent to me to say I might be lonely
because your father was away so she was to take me, with any other
friends I wanted, to the theater. As we had already been to the Imperial
Theater and sat in the Baron's box it was finally arranged to go to the
Kabuki, where we sit on the floor and see real old Japanese acting,
which I am very anxious to do. I understand it begins at 11 in the
morning and lasts until ten at night.

February 22.

Yesterday we went to the theater, beginning at one and ending about
nine; tea is constantly in the box, and little meals--and a big
one--between the acts. We liked the old Japanese theater better than the
more or less modernized one. Baron Shibusawa presented us with a box--or
rather two of them--and his niece and another relative and the two young
people from the house went. I won't try to describe the dramas, except
to say that the way to study Japanese history and tradition would be to
go to the theater with some one to interpret, and that while the theater
is as plain as a medieval European one, the dresses are even more
elaborate and costly. The stage is a beautiful spectacle when there are
forty old Samurai on it, as the garments are genuine, not tinsel. Mamma
went more than I, because I had to leave at half-past four to go to the
Concordia Society--in fact, I hadn't expected to go at all at first, as
the Baron said that he sent the offer of the box because he feared Mamma
might be lonely when I was away! There were about twenty-five Japanese
and Americans at the meeting and after I had spoken for half an hour we
had dinner in an adjoining restaurant, and then sat around and visited
for an hour or so.
The great event of the week, aside from the theater yesterday, was
visiting the Women's University--you mightn't think that a great treat,
but you don't know what we saw. We started early to walk, since it isn't
far and we had been shown the way once, but we were rubbering so busily
at the shops that we failed to notice where we were till we got to the
end of things and then had to turn around and walk back, so we got there
late. The forenoon we spent in the elementary classes and kindergarten,
which are their practice school. Those very bright kimonos for children
you see are real--all the children wear them, as bright as can be,
generally reds, and then some. So the rooms where the little children
were are like gardens of flowers with bright birds in them--gay as can
be. The work was all interesting, but the colored crayon drawings
particularly. They have a great deal of freedom there, and instead of
the children imitating and showing no individuality--which seems to be
the proper thing to say--I never saw so much variety and so little
similarity in drawings and other hand work, to say nothing of its