No one must look at Her Majesty without taking off his hat, neckcloth or turban, or whatever else he may be wearing on or about his head. Moreover, no one must be smoking while he or she is looking at Her Majesty, nor must anyone carry a stick or cane. Only women wearing foreign clothes will be permitted to retain their head covering.– Public domain image of Empress Shōken in her Western finery. This was a certain sign of those reforms taken under the Meiji era, from 1868- 1912
HONORING THE MIKADO
Quaint Etiquette of an Imperial Progress in Japan
CAUSE OF A NEWSPAPER WAR
The Emperor Never Bows to a Crowd
Wordy Warfare Over the Observance of Very Ancient Custom
On account of the severe storm the Emperor and Empress rode in close carriages, making it impossible for them to salute the crowds very impressively, even had Japanese etiquette allowed them to do so, which it did not; and they were attended by about thirty cavalrymen. The next day the Emperor visited the tomb of his father, and later in the week formally opened the Kyoto-Biwa canal. So much for the plain facts of the case. Now for the varnish - the Japanning.
The Empress is going on to do some more traveling about the country, and in the “Asahi Shimbun” of Osaka - imagine a New York newsboy crying the name of that paper - I find this notification of her route and the etiquette to be observed by the faithful:
That rain-struck procession did not please the correspondent of the Kobe Herald who witnessed it. Perhaps his umbrella leaked and the rain got down the back of his neck. Perhaps, in conformity with Japanese etiquette, he folded his umbrella and stood bareheaded in the rain while the Emperor passed by. At any rate, his soul was grieved, and in bitterness of spirit he wrote that “the Emperor took not the slightest notice of the profound bows of his loyal subjects, and if their spirits were not depressed by the rain, I should think that they were by what I call the want of courtesy of the Emperor of Japan.” So, there! If that be treason, make the most of it; and make the punisment suit the crime.
It doesn't really sound as bad as the Pall Mall Gazette's reference to the Prince of Wales as “the fat little man who cut such A sorry figure,” does it! And I think an American paper once described the President of the United States - not the present President- as looking like a “grumpy boiled owl,” or words to that effect.
This article the Japan Herald promptly characterized as “nearly a column of abuse mingled with falsehoods and hallelujahs of flunkeyism.” And the original sinner, the Kobe Herald, put in its word again, to this effect: “The remarks of our correspondent were made, we may mention, from the point of view of an Englishman, not from that of a flunkey in the employ of the Japanese Government, and were not only perfectly natural under the circumstances, but were fully justified by consideration of the change which has already been made, and is still in course of operation, in the Government, manners and customs of Japan.
This article the Japan Herald promptly characterized as “nearly a column of abuse mingled with falsehoods and hallelujahs of flunkeyism.” And the original sinner, the Kobe Herald, put in its word again, to this effect: “The remarks of our correspondent were made, we may mention, from the point of view of an Englishman, not from that of a flunkey in the employ of the Japanese Government, and were not only perfectly natural under the circumstances, but were fully justified by consideration of the change which has already been made, and is still in course of operation, in the Government, manners and customs of Japan.
In the year in which a National Assembly, is to be inaugurated in the country the days are gone by when the Mikado was a semi-divinity upon whom no man was allowed to look, and upon whose appearance every one was expected to bow his head upon the ground. A new era has arrived, and if His Majesty chooses to appear in public to receive the loyal welcome of his subjects, he may very well be expected by a foreigner, who has not the honor to belong to the staff of His Majesty’s menials, to make some acknowledgment of the loyal expressions of his subjects. There at present the warfare rests.
But both parties to the conflict are reported to be preparing pens of uncommon sharpness and ink of surpassing redness; and when the next encounter occurs the everlasting heights of Fusiyama itself will tremble. How far the old customs still survive in this was strikingly land of marvelous progress was shown at Kyoto during His Majesty’s visit. In the old days it was not allowable that any one should occupy a higher place than the Emperor or Shogun when in the latter’s presence, and this rule was still adhered to in Kyoto, when the shutters of all upper stories were closed tight during the royal passage through the streets, no one being allowed to occupy any place higher than the ground. At one portion of the route a party of foreigners were observed looking through a chink or opening in the shutters, and they were at once requested by the police to come down.
The Empress is going on to do some more traveling about the country, and in the “Asahi Shimbun” of Osaka - imagine a New York newsboy crying the name of that paper - I find this notification of her route and the etiquette to be observed by the faithful:
“Her Majesty will visit Osaka about the 23d. She will stay at Nara two days, at Sakurai two days, at Taharamoto one day, and at Yoshino one day. The following regulations are proclaimed for the guidance of the people while Her Majesty is passing through the city of Osaka:
1. When Her Majesty shall pass along, no one must look at her from the frame built on houses for the drying of clothes, or through cracks in doors, or from any position in the upper portion of their houses.
2. If anybody wishes to see Her Majesty, he or she must sit down at the side of the road by which Her Majesty will pass. All children must be taken particular care of, that they do not play in the road and so obstruct the passage of Her Majesty, through the streets.
3. No one must look at Her Majesty without taking off his hat, neckcloth or turban, or whatever else he may be wearing on or about his head. Moreover, no one must be smoking while he or she is looking at Her Majesty, nor must anyone carry a stick or cane. Only women wearing foreign clothes will be permitted to retain their head covering.
4. Although it may rain, no person will be allowed to put up an umbrella while Her Majesty may be passing. Dogs must not be allowed to wander on to the road by which Her Majesty will pass. “Until the passage of Her Majesty the route by which she will come will be kept free from all carriages and jinricksha. The roads which she will take must be completely free of all traffic.
5. As Her Majesty passes no one must raise bis voice, nor must any sound be heard, nor must the crowd close in and follow her carriage, for no noise must be made. –From the Tokyo Correspondent of the N.Y. Tribune, 1890
🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia
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