191 iH At the Imperial Theater 



Music and conversation being over, Mrs. Jordan 

 and I were next conveyed to the spacious Imperial 

 Theater built by Shibusawa, where we were comfort- 

 ably installed as his guests for both the afternoon 

 (four o'clock) and evening performances. At one side 

 of the building a restaurant supplies food for those 

 who prefer to remain, as many do, during the interim. 

 We ourselves chose to dine at the hotel as usual, and 

 my wife, to the Baron's evident surprise, found her- 

 self too weary to return. 



Two plays were presented in the afternoon — the Austerity 

 first an austere war tragedy of very early Japan, the """^ ^"'"'^^ 

 second a laughable modern comedy, "The New Old 

 Man," in which the central figure is a Japanese 

 youth, "very high-collar," just returned from Europe 

 and full of notions most upsetting to his untraveled 

 papa. The latter, however, falls a ready victim to 

 the charms and progressive ideas of "Mrs. Jordan," 

 an American widow, mother of the young man's 

 inamorata, and at the final curtain one almost hears 

 the joyful wedding bells of double marriage. The 

 author of this play is Mr. Taro Masuda, nephew of 

 Countess Uriu,^ long known and beloved in America 

 by her former associates at Vassar, of which she is an 

 honored graduate. The evening performance was a feudal 

 a tragedy of the early nineteenth century, giving ^''^^^^y 

 a characteristic display of feudal customs against a 

 background of somber forest, mountain torrents, and 

 scarlet maples. 



Thus was passed what I presume would be regarded 

 as an ordinary day by our generous and indefatigable 

 host. In any case he himself seems to pass tri- 

 umphantly through many similar ones. And we have 



^ Wife of Admiral Uriu. 



C 369 : 



