Such an incident could not have occurred, I believe, anywhere else.
But it is not only the foreigners to whom the Japanese are rude: they do
nothing for their fellows either. The want of chivalry in trains and
trams was conspicuous.
The ceremonial manners of the Japanese can, however, be more precise and
formal than any I ever witnessed. A wedding reception chanced to be in
progress in my Tokio hotel one afternoon, and through the open door I
had glimpses of Japanese gentlemen in frock coats bowing to Japanese
ladies and making perfect right angles as they did so. So elaborate
indeed were the courtesies that to Western eyes they bordered
dangerously on burlesque.
The destination that I was seeking when I entered the stockbroker's
office was a certain book-store, and when I eventually found it I was
asked a question by a Japanese youth that still perplexes me. It was in
the English section, the principal volumes in which, as imported to
supply Japanese demands, were American, and all bore either upon success
in engineering and other professions and crafts, or on the rapid
acquirement of wealth. "How to double your income in a week"; "How to
get rich quickly"; "How to succeed in business"; and so forth; all
preaching, in fact, the new gospel which is doing Japan no good. There
were also, however, a certain number of novels, and one of the
customers, a boy who looked as though he were still at school, noting my
English appearance, brought a translation of Maupassant to me and asked
me what "soul" meant--"A Woman's Soul" being the new title.
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