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72 HONDA THE SAMURAI.
and black eyes, so that all Japanese parents know
beforehand the color of the baby's eyes. They
have nothing in this
about.
respect to wonder at or guess
Not until thirty days for a boy, and thirty-three
days for a girl, do they give a name to the baby.
" What shall we call our son ? " asked the father of
the conclave of relatives assembled. Politely and
modestly, beginning at the oldest, names were proposed
and discussed, and finally one was selected
worthy of the time. It was Asahi, or the Morning
Sun ; for to the father the coming of a son at
this era of his country's history was as the begin-
ning of a long, bright day ; so that, with his family
cognomen, the boy baby's
full name was Rai Asahi.
The Japanese put the family name first, and then
the personal, or as we say, the " Christian," or chris-
tened name, afterward, thus reversing our method.
In the naming of children the way in Japan is,
in another point, different from that in the western
lands. We usually name after a father, mother,
uncle, aunt, or near relation, or after a friend or
great public man ruler, resident minister, or governor.
Not so in Japan. No one thinks of such a
thing as having a full namesake, or joining the name
of a man of rank, position, or fame to that of baby.
To so use the name of emperor or nobleman is not
allowed, and of friends it is not the custom. Be-
sides, a person changes his personal name often.
He has one name as a child, which he changes at
manhood ; even this he drops to assume another on