Seattle’s Japanese Community Celebrates Victory

The Japanese residents of the city, to the number of about seventy, held a threefold celebration at the Japanese Y.M.C.A., 418 Jefferson street, last evening and made the roof ring with their cheers and national songs. The occasion was the great national holiday, which combines the celebration of three great events in Japanese history—the accession of the first emperor of Japan on February 11 in the year 660 B.C., the adoption of the constitution on the same date in 1889, and the recent succession of glorious victories over the Chinese. The room was tastefully decorated with the Japanese flag of the rising sun and the American flag, while the present emperor's picture occupied a place of honor on the walls. After the singing of a hymn, the Japanese all stood up and gave the national shout three times: 'Tenno Heika Bansai,' which means, 'The emperor of Japan forever.' Then they gave three cheers in Japanese: 'The army and navy forever.' In the course of the meeting, they sang the national song and the flag song in chorus. Mr. Nakagawa, the chairman, stated the objects of the meeting, and several speakers addressed the crowd, emphasizing patriotism, the study of constitutional government, and the influence of Western military methods.