Honolulu Republican, Volume IV, Number 497, 15 January 1902 — BAPTISIM OF THE JAPANESE [ARTICLE]

BAPTISIM OF THE JAPANESE

1 OLD 198 MEW CUSTOMS COIPABED I ——^ NAVES CHANGED AT EVERY PROGRESSIVE STEP IN LIFE Consul General Mikt Saita Says That Fashion of Naming child By Lottery Method is Becoming Obsolete in Cities Though Still in Vogue in Country Districts. In the mode of baptisms children (the shtrp contrast between the old I and tne new customs of Japan is , more evident than in most of their I other phases of life, j According to the old cu;4om 1 the baptism of the child is accompa . nied with much ceremony Th“ !>aby • was taken to the temp'e escorted ' by a procession at th<> end of which was a servant carrying the child's wardrobe, the size and richness of which indicated the social standing of the parents. When the temple was reached a paper was handed to " the officiating priest, upon which I three names w ere written. These j names were copied on three s> parate j slips of paper by the priest who then j put them into a box and shook them together, at the same time offering {an invocation to the gods. Finally I he wonkl draw out one of the slips and read out the name given to the child, as it was believed by the gods. Custom Getting Obcolete. This custom is. according to Consul General Miki Saito of this city, rapidly getting obsolete. In the large cities it is not practiced at all but in the remote pans of the empire the common people still cling to the old custom. The custom of changing a person's name on different occasions has been stopped by the Japanese government, however. It was customary to ohang a person's name avS he passed through different periods of life. When he at tained his majority, which was for merly at the age of 15. he got a new name. When ho began official life lie got another new name, and every time he rose a degree in his career his name was again changed. Thus it would be a wise parent that knew * its own child. Celebration yt Baptism. At present all of this is different. When a child is born his name is registered in the register's office and in the census bur au. His baptism | is made the cause of celebration and gifts ar- sent to th child from relatives and friends but no temple ceremonies take place as most of the enlightened Japanese do not now have much to do with the Shinto or Buddhist temples. The name is never changed in any pia> e of the empire except of course in case of adoption or in the case of a woman when she c“ts married. The age of majority 1 ; is also been changed to 21 years las in other countries. Compulsory Education, j Attendance at the public schools j j has also been made compulsory and | every child in Japan is bound through I the law to go to school when it attains the ago of six y- ars. Thus ( the quaint and picturesque costumes ■ of old Japan are rapidly fading away . under the sway of the government I which looks to progress and has I very little sympathy with conservaI tism. While the decay of the quaint charms of the old fashions may cause a regret to the foreigners and tourists who visit the country the Jap-i aaese themselves arc doing away; with ail such customs so rapidly, that, the nation will soon be similar! in all its customs and government to | the countries of the older civilized j nations .