The Days of a Man 



In Tokyo this devoted pair were giving themselves up 

 to the service of others. Unfortunately their estab- 

 lishment, the "Yurin En" (House of the Friendly 

 Neighbor), found at first a hostile environment. The 

 fact that Omori was a Christian and also that he 

 asked nothing for his efforts aroused suspicion. This 

 was intensified by the adoption of coeducation and 

 by the teaching of children to act plays, a function 

 reserved in Japan to professionals. The country, 

 moreover, is still caste-ridden, a condition which 

 makes it very hard "to get different sets to meet 

 together/' But in spite of opposition, the Omoris 

 continued their work, developing in the " Yurin En" 

 admirably equipped and managed playgrounds, 

 classes in cooking, sewing, flower arrangements, and 

 numerous other handicrafts, besides athletics and 

 dramatics, with "mothers' meetings," a "Good Time 

 Club" for conversation in English, and similar efforts 

 to bring light into the lives of submerged people. 



In 1911, when the great Yoshiwara (red-light 

 district literally, "bulrush-field") of Tokyo was 

 burned, Omori took the lead in an effort to prevent 

 rebuilding. At his request, therefore, I wrote an 

 article to be published in Japanese, describing the 

 disastrous failure elsewhere of attempts at licensing 

 or segregation to abate the social evil. Omori died in 

 1913, but the work of the "Yurin En" is ably con- 

 tinued by his widow. 



Among our Stanford hosts was Harold Huggins, 

 from the American Embassy. To him (and other 

 members of the same menage) we were particularly 

 indebted for the good Tomi, daughter of their house 

 steward, who faithfully served Mrs. Jordan on an 

 arduous tour. 



C3543 



