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Show I THE CRAFTSMAN8 LIFE AND LOT ; IN JAPAN. When, for humanity at large, the no- dulo of unknown Japan was knocked open by the diplomatic hammers of Commodore Perry and Townsend Harris, Har-ris, the sparklo of the crystals within surprised the world. Hero wore things of form, color, beauty, that had taken ages to grow. Such results could have been evolved only through centuries of steady operation. When again, In 1894, the mighty bubble of great China's military reputation repu-tation was pricked by the Mikado's bayonets, the world again wondered at the academic nicety of organization, Now, in 1905, when colossal Russia's x craft and power by land and sea Ho humbled before the whilom puny Japan, Ja-pan, tho world's breath is taken away. How was It done? asks the critic who thought ho know. Yet wo who worked night and day, and shoulder to shoulder shoul-der with tho Japanese thlrty-flvo years ago "to re-lay tho foundations of tho empire" are not and cannot bo surprised. Three great elements of powor make up tho Island nation's Impact In war. and tho same havo made and will ' make her great in peace. Alas, that tho world noted these less than the i slaughter and tho sinking! Each of ; these potencies Is embodied In n class t Tho educated brain, tho trained hand, jj tho hardy and willing reserve of raw i force rightly disciplined, are In tho ' samurai, tho craftsman, tho peasant respectively; or, in tho nobles and gen-Z gen-Z try, tho skilled workers, and tho Indus-3 Indus-3 trlous sons of tho soil. , (1 Yet to all things there Is a begin- i nlng. There was a timo when there i! was no Japaneso nation, but only un-;i un-;i related tribes of various origin, not oven so much as agglomerated in one () state of commonwealth. Tho neat . house of today was then but an Ainu r) or aboriginal hut. Not until tho sixth century did a unifying political system exist or were letters or writing known and, not till thon did tho Buddhist re f ligion nurso of Japaneso art and '! mother of Japanosq civilization oxcrl ' Its beneficent powor. From tho sixth , 4 to the eleventh century tho armies of " tho supremo Yamato trlbo, with Its chief, tho Mikado, woro busy In subdu lng all tribes to obedience. Tho missionaries mis-sionaries of Buddhism brought all minds in subjection to tho gontlo spirit of lord Buddha (of Aryan birth), and thon, and not till then, was there a Japaneso nation mixture of many peoples peo-ples moulded and unified after one model. Tho Japaneso and tho English, ' ' both Island peoples, and now in alll-i alll-i anco, woro born about tho same time and aro of tho samo age young, full of energy, lifo and hope. Yot from tho first, proofs of an overmastering over-mastering lovo of beauty and dainty craftsmanship abound. Beforo there was history there was art. Dig up tho pottery of Yamato (central Japan) and putlts originals bosldo those of tho Asian continent and one quickly notes tho difference. Tho spoil of beauty is over even tho Island shard. Oldest of all, tho legends and centuries before text or writing, Is tho variegated story, as rich in toxturo as gold brocade, of tho Sun Goddess and her maidens weaving dainty fabrics; of her loom defiled de-filed by that scamp Susanoo, her younger brother; of hor pouting and hiding In tho cave; of the earth's gloom; of hor enticement forth and Illumination Il-lumination of all tho universe again. But how? By tho Incitement of hor curiosity, through tho music of instruments instru-ments with song and dancing as well as through mirrors and necklaces, jewels jew-els and pretty things. In a word, wo havo told us, in poetic myth, tho origin of tho arts. 'lho Heaven Shiner or Sun Goddess retiring In tho cavo meant a world not only in eclipse but in anarchy and Barbarism. Bar-barism. How got her, tho creatrix, forth and havo light, joy, civilization? Tho answer Is given In tho union of tho flno and tho useful arts, poetry of sound and motion, with noblest proso of craft and skill. Itellglon Is first. In a flro of cherry bark, a stag's horn is placed. Tho solution of the mystery and tho programmo of action Is read In tho cracks. Tho fowls of night and of day tho crowing cock and tho black birds, for watch and notice of tlmo, aro duly set. Thon bellows and furnace, with tho molting of metals and tho meeting of anvil and hammer, follow. Tho mirror, made and polished, is aung where first tho beauty in tho cavo will seo her own lovely reflection. Thon, slstrum and drum, fluto and harp awako to accompany the dancing. Flno clothes aro not forgotten. Tho now loom excels tho old. Tho God of Strong Hands stands ready to grip tho jato stono at tho cavo's mouth, in front )f which stands Uzume, tho laughing ind dancing girl, whoso mask now langs over In tho Japanese home, even is this dramatizod myth, "tho comedy vhich makes tho gods laugh" Is played y strollers in ovcry village. Uzumo makes hand music with sis-rum, sis-rum, while tho orchestra of gods and ipectators watches tho ruddy and rosy nnld of quivering bosom, who soon oosens her dress, as sho dances In the ballet, only to mako tho 8,000,000 'gods" burst into uproarious laughter. Consumed with curiosity, tho Heaven Shlnor poops forth to see. What Is that lovely form in tho burnished mirror? Why do tho gods laugh, instead of being be-ing silent In gloom? Sho peeps further, fur-ther, but cautiously. Then tho strong handed Hercules of Nippon pulls away tho stono. Presto! tho universe is "white-faced" once more. Art and skill havo made tho world light again. Yesterday, Yes-terday, necessity was tho mother of Invention. Today, art and beauty aro In Japan to stay for ages! Craft rises Into genuine art when compassion confronts traditional custom. cus-tom. Of old, when tho chief lord of tho clan died, retainer and servant must givo up their lives in order to keep company with him. Such was archaic custom not alono In Nippon but also in many civilizations, notably that of tho Romans and of our Scandinavian fathers. In Japan, tho living wero burled bur-led to their necks in tho earth around tho master's tomb. Besides hunger and cold, tho wild beast and bird made tragedy after starvation. Against this horror, Noml no Tsukune, potter and artist, at command of tho Mikado, made reform. In place of flesh and blood, ho moulded clay in images of human form. Tnus; instead of the groans of tho dying, was the silent terra ter-ra cotta. "Art had Its birth in morcy." Yet not till the 17th century was tho custom of jun-shi (dying with the master) mas-ter) wholly abolished. William Elliott Griflls in tho Craftsman. |