Young Japan, National Geographic, July 1914

The article notes that some 500,000 children are born in Japan each year. It also states that "Japanese babies never cry..." It goes on to say that the babies always go with the mother (or elder sister) when they go to the markets, temples and on daily routines.

The article says that schools begin early in the morning, with the boys in military caps and the girls in a red school uniform. The gymnastic drills are also of a military nature. Girls are even taught fencing with bamboo spears.

The girls have a "vigorous" training in household arts like flower arrangement, ceremonial tea-making, constructing minature landscapes, and playing the koto and the piano.

The rest of the article relates to clothing worn and some of the Meiji Emperor history.



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