A. A. Vantine & Company's Wonderbook 'Oh, Fair (?) Japan'

A poem written about Japan that is very stereotypical. Around the text there are sketches of Japanese flowers and an inscription that reads 'two views of Japan'
A poem written about Japan that is very stereotypical. Around the text there are sketches of Japanese flowers and an inscription that reads 'two views of Japan'

Transcription

Oh! Fair (?) Japan “Oh hang Japan; oh dang Japan, A land of gnats and fleas, Where noisom odors fill the air And float on every breeze. Where men run naked on the streets, Wear spectacles for clothes, And old and young, and rich and poor Eschew the use of hose.

“A land devoid of knives and forks, Of tables, chairs, and beds; Where women black their teeth and shave Their little babies’ heads– I’ve had enough, (I have no use A quiet New York man) For all this nude simplicity Careering ‘round Japan.

“Boy, bring my clothes up from the wash As quickly as you can, Sir Edwin Arnold writes a lot Of bosh about Japan. I’m shivering cold, I’m wringing wet, I’ve been an idle dreamer; To Yokohama let me get, And there, thank God, a steamer.”

By Courtesy of the Late Dr. William Dodd Helmuth