It was a typical hot August Friday in Cos Cob. The year was 1910. Which house in Cos Cob? I'm not quite sure. It might be yours! But you will certainly be wondering when all this is revealed.
Mrs. Adelaide Butler's house guest, a Mrs. Winfield -formerly of Yokohama, Japan- was sitting in her room. Mrs. Winfield was described as "a very fashionable and dignified middle aged woman" who had been a guest of Mrs. Butler's for the past five or six weeks.
In the employ of Mrs. Butler was a Japanese national who worked as a cook. His name? Tatsugaro Mayeda. He had a step-daughter named Matsu.
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| This image is of Japanese girls, circa 1910, in Hawaii. |
This all sounds a bit calm -and it was. But then a storm ensued that caught the attention of the town's people and the authorities.
You see, on that hot August Friday in 1910 Tatsugaro Mayeda did something that probably had never happened in Greenwich history before.
According to a news account of the events of that day,
"...the Japanese cook rushed into the room in a very excited manner, and carrying two big knives asked for Mrs. Butler. On being told that she was not there he threw the knives at Mrs. Winfield's feet, muttering something in which the words 'Doctor and cuttee, cuttee' were intelligible."
By the way, Tatsugaro spoke virtually no English at all.
Now, how do you think Mrs. Winfield reacted to this?
She "was greatly frightened and ran down the stairs -not forgetting to pick up the knives- and notified other members of the household. Constable McCumb was called and Tatsugaro was quickly arrested."
That's understandable whether it was 1910 or not. You get the picture.
The matter quickly went to what was then Greenwich's Borough Court (The Borough of Greenwich no longer exists). The presiding judge was none other than Frederick Hubbard, the author we of the 21st century know so well for his book Other Days in Greenwich.
Mrs. Butler was called to testify. While on the stand she revealed Matsu, "who sat quietly and looking in her gorgeous light blue kimono and broad blue sash with a big rose in her hair, for all the world like a little doll as the innocent cause of all the trouble."
According to Mrs. Butler's testimony, Tatsugaro the cook had been employed by her for about three years. His wife and her daughter Matsu had been employed by Mrs. Winfield for several years in Japan. "When Mrs. Winfield had sailed from Japan for this country about two months ago, she had been requested to bring Mrs. Mayeda and the child along with her."
Matsu's mother became ill just before the journey to the USA was scheduled to commence. The little girl accompanied Mrs. Winfield, with her mother expected to follow later. Upon Matsu's arrival Mrs. Butler was required by law to "give a bond to the government whereby she became the little girl's ward."
Yes, the plot thickens.
Matsu was characterized as being "quiet and well behaved and it looked as if her presence in the household would be no trouble whatsoever."
As time unfolded "it became apparent that Tatsugaro was paying marked attention to his step-daughter. This worried Mrs. Butler very much and she several times rebuked Tatsugaro and stormy scenes ensued." Tempers came to a boil with the throwing of the knives. Mrs. Butler demanded that he never enter her home again, and she would look after Matsu until her mother would arrive, estimated to be in two months.
It was time for Tatsugaro to take the stand. Since he spoke almost no English a Mr. Kinze, a butler employed by John Alexander Topping -the one-time president of Republic Iron and Steel, was called as an interpreter. That was when the circumstances of this unique situation started to become clearer.
Tatsugaro was described as "somewhat excited and apparently very indignant." Through Mr. Kinze, Tatsugaro explained to Judge Hubbard "that all the time he had been in Mrs. Butler's employ things had gone very smoothly until Mrs. Winfield had brought his step-daughter into the house. Ever since then there had been trouble. The cause of this trouble was that Mrs. Butler had made terrible accusations against him with relation to little Matsu. Always he had denied these accusations and they made him very angry."
Out of frustration, the Japanese cook resorted to what was described as an old custom. According to the news reports, a man in Japan charged with an offense "and willing to have the matter investigated throws a knife at his accuser's feet to signify that investigation may be made and that he, the accused, will abide by by the result of the investigation -and if found guilty will kill himself."
In this instance Tatsugaro demanded a doctor be called to determine whether he had injured his stepdaughter. If the doctor found him guilty of harming Matsu he would use one knife to kill himself, and the other to kill Matsu.
What do you think Judge Hubbard did?
The judge sentenced Tatsugaro of being guilty of a "technical assault" and sentenced the cook to sixty days in jail -but, if Tatsugaro would stay away from the Butler home he could leave Greenwich with a suspended sentence.
The little girl, who was in the court room for the decision, who "sat with the traditional stolidity of her race thru the whole hearing, turned just a shade lighter when she heard that her step-father was to be sent away, but she did not give utterance of any sound."
Tatsugaro left Greenwich. To where? We do not know. But he left without his possessions, which were promised to be sent to him.
