Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 March 1884 — The “Ohio Man” in the Orient. [ARTICLE]

The “Ohio Man” in the Orient.

As we started np street from the hotel we enjoyed the privilege of seeing two Japanese gentlemen meet, and were startled by hearing the one salute the other with ‘ Ohio!" “What!” I gasped, “can it indeed be that the Ohio man is in the Orient trying to monopolize everything here as well as in his own country? I suppose he is waiting for the Mikado to die or abdicate.” But I have discovered the significance of the salutation now. It is the equivalent of our “good morning,” and should probably be written “Ohaio,” although pronounced like the name of the Buckeye State. Etymologically, it signifies early morning, and may, perhaps, be regarded as a Japanese paraphrase of the familiar Irish salutation : “The top of the morning to St. Louis Globe Democrat. *