'Ilflliul" i iiitiiini .Iiiii N iiir'.r ,1 ■^^ V? .-* >>^'W K ^( A"^ >-ii S.<>'^ I)s gio CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION ON CHINA AND THE CHINESE J DS 810.B88"l9ot"""' ^"'"'" ''^'llfl!l/lllliNilfiiiiRiinifi'?..,3"'' "le people / 3 1924 023 222 056 ^ -^^^;S::^i^. iC^^i^i.-f'^^.^.^ Xfy^. The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023222056 A Buddhist Temple JAPAN The Place and the People By G. WALDO BROWNE WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE HON. KOGORO TAKAHIRA Japanese Minister to the United States ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER THREE HUN- DRED COLOURED PLATES AND HALF-TONES DANA ESTES & COMPANY Publishers jt BOSTON, U.S.A. Copyright, igoi By Dana Estes & Company Copyright, igo4 By Dana Estes & Company H., Colonial Urns Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Slmonds & Co. Boston, Mass., U. S. A. JAPAN. BY KOGORO TAKAHIRA, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Japan. t ^'^ Viyip'tfe * J ■ . ^ ■'■• ^«- T« '^ sit' -~." ■>■ ■■:*■- ••1 ^€-^^^ "^ ''■%• '.#^ ' J* ■■■■'■r,£Mi ■■'•'■ . J ^f f^j* ;;^^ li^ '■ ^, -iJl i<"''-»^IHi •■^'*- ' #'I-^5'F-^^''--^^* jJ,Jr|IS*i^ii V": ■'■^ • . ''C - ' '■■■ . ''i«», _ V ■ i' •■ JAPAN. 23 strip of cotton cloth is worn about the forehead, and, when it is very hot, he covers his head with a wide-rimmed straw hat of prodigious size and shaped like a huge mushroom. Sandals made' of straw, with a loop for the great toe, protect his feet from the hard, smooth roads. He trots along at an easy gait of five miles an hour. If the person he is drawing is uncommonly heavy, or the way hilly, a second coolie joins him either in pulling or pushing, which amounts to the same thing, and the passenger is called upon for an extra sum of four cents. At night-time the rickshaw JINRIKISHAS. man carries a lantern to lighten his path, and to see one of them coming in the distance is to imagine one sees a firefly bobbing along the road. As human labour is cheaper than that of the horse, the latter is seldom utilised in the matter of conveyance, and not to any great extent in the agricultural pursuits. Thus the jinrikisha and the rickshaw man are in great demand. He can be hired by the day for about forty cents, or seventy-five yens, as he reckons it. He will cover his twenty-five or thirty miles between suns, with a speed and endurance that is surprising to the stranger. There are nearly three hundred thousand jinrikishas now used in Japan, though the vehicle has been in existence only a third of a 24 THE FAR EAST. century. China has also adopted it as a common means of conveyance, while it has been introduced successfully into India. A large percentage of the business of Yokohama is carried on by means of canals, which intersect the city in almost every direction, and the carrying trade is done on sampans, boats built for that especial purpose. Passing along one of the streets, the visitor is struck with the number of trades and crafts which are plied here, — the coopers, the basket makers, the makers of dolls, idols, clogs, wooden pillows, straw hats, rain-coats, sandals, fans, toys of all kinds, rockets, and lanterns, the weavers of towels, and the followers of other trades too numerous to mention, and many of which we could not name if we tried. Then there are the traders in all classes of goods, and the venders of articles that would be hard to classify. The cosmopolitan character of people and objects is apparent to the newest comer. Here are to be seen the representatives of many races of men, — the Chinese in his odd, loose-fitting costume, the Corean in his bright, attractive dress, the G-reek priest of Russia in his black cassock, the nun of Southern Europe in her dark robes, the Jew in his threadbare suit of black, the British soldier in his red coat, the soldier of France in his coat of blue, the American tourist in his jaunty outing suit, and others more picturesque, if less important. Vying with the noise and confusion of the street, rings the medley of voices of many lands, while above all are heard the loud tongues of the push-cart men. Yokohama is not one of the most attractive cities of Japan, but it is a busy place, an easy stepping- stone from the bustle and excitement of our own business marts to the other cities of the Orient. "We are especially reminded of homeland by the lawyers' signs, those of doctors and dentists, newspaper offices, and barber shops, where for a trifle one can have his hair cut in either English, French, or Japanese style. For purposes of local distinction, the city is divided into three parts or districts : " The Bluffs," a half-circle of hills where foreign residents live ; "The Settlement," or main portion of mixed inhabitants; and "The Native" quarter, where the Japanese congregate. This last, of course, contains the great bulk of the people, though there are nearly ten thousand foreigners now in the city, made up principally of Chinese, English, American, German, French, Russian, Dutch, Danish, Itahan, Belgian, JAPAN. 25 Hungarian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Swiss, Portuguese, with a sprin- kling of other nationalities. The streets are wide, and well paved with concrete or white stones, which seem nearly indestructible. The most common means of transpor- tation along these is the push-cart, made with two wheels that need no tires, a flat bottom, shafts and cross-bar in front, and a beam behind, propelled by four lusty fellows, one pair in front and the other at the rear. STREET SCENE, YOKOHAMA. The amount of shouting they do and the load they will move are somewhat astonishing to the newcomer. The " Broadway " of this Eastern New York is Main Street, where fine stone-fronted stores with a liberal show of plate-glass windows are to be seen, prosperous banks, houses of commerce, hotels somewhat on the Occidental plan, restaurants, and places of trade, where more display of goods is to be found than elsewhere in Japan. , One of the finest streets is " The Bund," which runs along the water-front, and has a stone wall of solid masonry on that side, its entire length. The business men of Japan offer no dazzling display of their wares in shop fronts. This custom so foreign to' our own sprang from the low 26 THE FAR EAST. estimate formerly placed upon trade as a means of earning a livelihood, and from the inherent disposition of the Japanese to avoid what seems to him vulgar show. The artist who portrays his skill in the details of a work of art in decoration and technique by the consummate adeptness by which he conceals rather than suggests his skill, by a design intended for that purpose, has the same principle at heart. It requires the eye and the knowledge of an artist to appreciate a work of Japanese art. One of the best illustrations of this idea carried out in trade is to be seen at Kyoto, BOX SHOP. the ancient capital, where one of the largest and richest stores is hidden behind an old, weather-stained building, that seems little mor3 than a lattice-work front sadly out of repair. Once this uninviting exterior is passed, the visitor is ushered into spacious quarters, where are to be found tastefully ornamented warerooms, elegant showrooms, charming gardens, and large fire-proof warehouses. Close beside this is to be found a place having yet more of the old style. The entrance to this wealthy establishment is indicated only by the bustle and activity going on, while inside there is an utter lack of businesslike methods, the salesrooms being nothing more than small back-chambers, with vistas of rockeries and JAPAN. 27 shrubberies in the background. Tokyo, the modern capital, with less of tradition and more of boldness, has placed her Mammon in a greater con- spicuousness, and has changed to a greater degree the methods of her tradesmen ; but even here the seeker after trade does not parade his wares with any particular daring for public inspection, and the day is still distant when Japan shall so far forget her natural modesty as to display the temptation of the Occidental mart. Aji important place for the foreign visitor is the Benton Dori, or one of the money exchanges on Main Street, where for a trifle he can get his currency and bank-notes changed into the fractional coins he must of necessity have in this country. The Japanese denominations of money are based upon the decimal system, the yen, at par, being equal to the American dollar. This yen is divided into one hundred sens, correspond- ing to the cents of America. These sens are divid.ed into ten rins each, whose value is the same as our mill. For several years the paper yen has suffered a depreciation in value, so one of them is about equal to fifty cents in gold. This fact should be borne in mind in estimating values. Yokohama has little scenery to attract the newcomer. Its beauty spot is " The Bluff,' ' where are to be seen the fine residences of the wealthy foreigners who have taken up their homes in this city. Here, too, the diplomats from different countries have chosen to live rather than at the capital, Tokyo. The place is reached by a tortuous road, but no sooner are the heights gained than an extensive and beautiful panorama of country is unfolded to the admiring gaze. The avenues are all bordered with trees and flowering shrubs. Flower gardens stocked with native and foreign plants are managed with skilful care. One of these boasts of a hundred varieties of peonies, while another has a display of chrysanthe- mums unequalled elsewhere in the world until very recently. The houses are not above two stories in height, but are commodious and attractive without and comfortable within. They command a fine view of the bay, with its sparkling waters and fleets of boats, junks, and steamers ; the plains, with their far-reaching fields of crops ; the rivers, forests, and mountains, crowned by that matchless gem, silver-tipped Fuji. Here is to be seen the oldest tea-house in Yokohama, named Fujita, in honour of the sacred mountain standing out in such bold relief against the clear sky. This lofty building is reached by a stairway of a hundred stone 28 THE FAR EAST. steps, concerning the ascent of which the following story is told : Some years since, a circus rider, grown weary of the applause won in the ring, undertook a tour of the country, with the express purpose of riding down the stone steps of every shrine he should visit, hoping by this recklessness to gain the favour of the gods belonging to the same. In the course of his wanderings he came to Fujita, and accompanied by his daughter rode up the hundred steps. Then, as if to outdo himself, he rode down the stone SUBURBAN TEA-HOUSES. stairway standing upon his head on the back of his horse, holding between his uplifted feet a fan. If successful here, the story goes on to say that he soon after met his death by a fall from his horse. Whether his horse blundered, or the gods withdrew their favour, the narrator does not say. The post-office is on Main Street, from which mails to Europe leave every week, and to America once in ten days. Japan belongs to the Postal Union, a uniform rate for foreign letters being five sen for a letter whose weight does not exceed fifteen grams. The rate ,for a letter of JAPAN. 29 one-fourth ounce is two sen for any part of the empire. A telegraph office is near by, and a message can be sent to any part of Japan for a charge of about a cent a character. If sent in a foreign language, the expense is five sen a word. There are three cable routes to Europe, the cost being from two to three dollars a word to New York. The " native quarter " of Yokohama is an interesting locality to learn something of a race that we know only in our ignorance. We have been taught to expect everything done here in a manner entirely different from that we have known in the homeland. We build sky-scrapers for dwellings, while the Japanese never go above two stories ; we apply the power of nature and beast to our mills and vehicles, and, until we taught them some- thing of our art, they depended wholly on man-power ; our workmen use their tools with movements away from them, and theirs toward them ; we furnish our houses with great care and pride, while they keep theirs bare of furniture, and sleep upon the floor ; we sit upon chairs and eat from a table, while they sit on the floor, with their food placed beside them ; we sleep in the dark, but they keep lights burning from dusk to dawn ; we wear hats, while they go with heads uncovered ; we pass vehicles by turn- ing to the right, they to the left; we kiss our friends, they never salute with the lips ; we shake hands, while they bow ; we write to our corre- spondents with pen and ink, in characters running from left to right, and across the page, while they indite their letters with brush and paint, run- ning from right to left, and up and down ; our young women consider their matrimonial market good at twenty-five, while theirs blacken their teeth at twenty-four, as an announcement that they have passed the marriage- able age ; we dress to display, while they endeavour to conceal the quality of the goods, and the outside of a dress worn by a Japanese lady of the better class is plain, though the inside is elaborately trimmed with silk, which is seen only when she puts the outer garment off and hangs it up. As a race, the Japanese get their growth at a younger age than the people of Caucasian descent, but they never attain the size of the latter, except in rare cases. The average height of the male with them is but a little over five feet, and the weight 125 pounds. The females are corre- spondingly smaller, averaging a height of four feet and eight inches, and a weight of one hundred pounds. The majority of the people, that is, the working class, are strong and robust, but many of the upper class are 30 THE FAR EAST. puny. In proportion to the body and limbs, the head is large. The coun- tenance is long and narrow, though a flat nose gives it an appearance of width. The forehead is low ; the mouth, as a rule, small and shapely, though sometimes abnormally large. The eye is dark, its lids showing an apparent obliqueness it does not really possess, from the fact that the skin of the forehead is not creased at the corners, as in the case of other races. The cheeks are broad and flat, meeting a narrow chin and contracting jaw. The skin is of a light yellowish hue, often not darker than that of the A VEGETABLE DEALER. races of Southern Europe. The growth of hair is not abundant, and this turns gray at an early age, though baldness is almost unknown. The lower limbs are short in proportion to the body, and without grace of movement; but the arms and neck are well formed, and the former possess a wonderful ease and grace of action. The home of the Japanese offers a pretty picture of family life, the pride and autocrat being the child under six. Immediately after that age, this little member is swiftly and mysteriously transformed into a youthful adult, with the cares and realisation of a home-maker, rather than the care- lessness of an infant. In the Japanese nursery there is no fault-flnding. THE BEAUTIFUL IRIS. JAPAN. 31 no hint of disgrace; the parent becomes the model which the child fol- lows, and, following, in its wanton glee, is always welcome, always loved, — spoiled, if loving does that, but ever coming out a bright, obedient youth or maid. If the latter, soon emerging into womanhood's noblest state, taught from infancy " to love, yield, help others, and forget self." Under such benign influences the young heart waxes pure and strong, ready to make any sacrifice, and brave enough to bear any cross. The ^^^3s&^m ^^^^'.y^^mmmm i 'a^ 1 hHHH^BH^ ^^Bjl ■;-:^-- ;, -Hln , I "nHnf^^iiriwiSttyB ffffiHifin^lpraiaGiWi ' \mmm:^Vrii'cC 1 ,, ''if MSHi V - /"" n iisii W^^^^M JjAw^-I-C " «-- t?^^^a^,.| ^'iffi^' rr» ^ -r^^ 3 LAKE VISTA IN GENTLEMAN'S GARDEN. saddest feature is the rapidity with which age comes on, and the Japanese maid declares she is old at twenty, and, four years later, must give up her ambition to get married, if she has not been fortunate enough to have secured this end in life before that time. Should there be no child in a family some time united, then it is doubt- less because the grim angel has visited this simple home, and now a sad-eyed mother moves about so as to keep her gaze away from the little players across the yard. Before a wooden tablet bearing the name given 32 THE FAR EAST. the baby at birth, and holding the httle garments he wore, she reverently places a tiny dish of rice, and fish, with daikon. She speaks of him now, when she speaks at all, by the new name that came to him as he passed over the heavenly bridge leading to spirit-land. A more pathetic picture than even this is the home presided over by an aged couple, who have lost their family treasures and are left alone in the world. They may be the relics of those who started out together in early life, hand in hand, and who have seen their loved ones removed, one by A MASSEUK. one ; or they may be those still more sad people who, having lost their all, have joined their pitiable fortunes in a home where the thief can find nothing to steal should he break in. A union of this kind is known by the distinctive term of " party for making tea." Especially fortunate are the men who have reached three score years and one, when it is expected they will lay aside the burdens of life, and pass their remaining days in peace and rest. Their children or grandchildren are expected to support them, new clothes are given them, their health is drank in the best of wine, and congratulations are heaped upon them from all. If for no other reason, one is pretty sure to remember his first evening JAPAN. S3 in any Japan city from hearing the low, plaintive call of the blind shampooer under his window. If this is not heeded it will soon move on, gradually growing fainter and more melancholy, until it dies out in the distance. The sightless masseur, or shampooer, as he is known, belongs to a sort of national guild, as Japan makes special effort to protect her blind, who are very numerous. This is done by allowing them a monopoly of the profitable occupation of massage, which is done by a dexterous manipulation of the skin and muscles, and has a very beneficial effect. Few deny themselves this healthful indulgence, so the source of income to those who live by this means is considerable. The sightless shampooer, with his heavy oaken staff in hand, and the whistle by which he announces his coming at his lips, groping his way along the streets, is frequently seen and heard after nightfall. CHAPTER IV. THE IMPERIAL ROADS. JAPAN is in constant motion, from the volcanic forces underneath, but this movement is not observable under ordinary circumstances. In fact, four distinct sources of danger continually menace the safety of the Japanese, which they denominate, jisMn, earthquakes, kaminari, thunderbolts, kwaji, fires, ovaji, fathers. It would be naturally expected, under this condition, that they would stand in perpetual fear of these secret enemies, the more to be dreaded because of their stealthy approach ; but in no land is peril treated more lightly, or sorrow more philosophically. They build their dwellings invariably of light wooden material, and never above one story. Light shutters are closed at night, and these so hung that, at the slightest warning of danger, the occupant will find the least hindrance to flight possible. This simplicity of style has not developed any particular archi- tectural skill, and a Japanese city is picturesque in its simplicity, being but a rambling collection of toy-like shanties. In ancient structures, however, they have shown greater adeptness, and have evolved a roof curve that is the admiration of the rest of the world. Second in the list of evils is the fire, and a vivid presentation of the loss and danger from this element is made when it said that Tokyo, the capital, is estimated to be laid in ashes every twenty-five years. This does not mean destroyed by the sweep of one conflagration, but that in a quarter of a century a number of dwellings and business houses, equal to the entire number of the city, have been obliterated. What is true of Tokyo in this respect applies to any other city. Yet the people smile at the thought of fear, laugh at the clangour of the fire-bell, and style the fire " the flower of the capital." By this it must not be understood that the Japanese fails to realise the loss to himself or his country, or that he puts on any false bravado. The earnings of a lifetime may have vanished in the smoke of a five- 34 JAPAN. 35 minute fire, leaving him penniless as well as homeless. Still, with his family domiciled close by the smoking ruins, he sets himself cheerfully to work to build anew. He lives under the inspiration that he has no right to thrust his sorrows or burdens on another. It is a part of the common lot to suffer thus, and this experience has held in check the increase of the wealth of the island empire. When we look to the origin of this second evil, we find that it is largely GENTLEMAN S SUBURBAN VILLA, BANCHO. due to the first ; is an indirect result, from the reason that the dwellings the first compels the people to build are poorly constructed to resist the ravages of the fire-fiend. With the introduction of modern appliances for fighting the flames, the loss from fire' has been decreased somewhat, but with the majority of towns, and in the memory of the inhabitants, it has only been modified, not materially changed. Though we came with only the faintest smattering of the Japanese language, we are really congratulating ourselves on the readiness with which we are picking up phrases, and even sentences. We can- say quite 36 THE FAR EAST. glibly, ohayyo, " good morning ; " mata-irasshai, " please come again ; " kon-^i-chi-wa f " how do yovi do ? " At parting we bid our host sayonara, " good-bye." Another term we hear frequently is kaido, which we find to mean " road," with the added distinction that it refers also to the district through which the highway passes, do being equivalent to the last signification. Thus the island of Hondo is divided into five " roads," imperial coach roads, and these are subdivided into several imperial by-ways. The first class of these famous ancient roadways are known as the Tokaido, or East Sea road ; the Tosando, or East Mountain road ; Hoku-ro-ku-do, or Northern Land road ; the Sanyodo, or Outer Mountain road ; and the Sanindo, or Inner Mountain road. Outside of these grand trunk roads of Hondo are the Hok-kaido, or North Sea region, the Saikaido, or Western Sea road, which embraces the islands of the south, and the Nankaido, or South Sea country, in Shikoku. Until recently the idea has prevailed that only one route was open to the travelling visitor, but it will be seen by this that several courses are open to him who wishes to view the interior of the islands. All of the principal cities and districts of Japan are connected by railways, there being over two thousand miles of completed road, and more than half as many more in course of construction. These are all operated by Japanese workmen and officials. We soon find that while we can visit the capital without a passport, the treaty regulations provide that no foreigner shall go more than twenty-five miles from any treaty port, and it is worse than useless to try to do it. He cannot even buy a railroad ticket to any place in the interior, and if he should try to get there by some other method of travel, he would invariably find himself in trouble the moment he appeared at a public- house, for no innkeeper would entertain him without a passport, but send for a policeman to take the intruder back to the treaty boundary. Having once broken the rules he would be denied a passport ever after. But trouble of this kind is very easily and quickly avoided, as a passport, good for a year to all parts of Japan, except Formosa, can be obtained of the United Consulate for a fee of one yen. This need not take more than two hours' time, providing the application is made in person. The British Consulate affords equal privileges, upon the payment of two yen. These passports are not transferable, but must be returned to the consulate JAPAN. 37 from which they were obtained at the expiration of the specified time. It is needless to say the rules and regulations are very strict to those who try to evade them, but quite satisfactory to him who accepts them in good faith. Next to a passport, the tourist who would see the country to the best advantage, espe- cially if he desires to get out of the beaten paths, needs a native compan- ion to act as guide, interpreter, and ad- viser. One can be obtained whose charge will be regu- lated somewhat by the size of the party, and these Japanese are nearly always found to be the most enjoyable com- panions to be met with anywhere. They are keen-wit- ted, courteous, and ever willing to en- tertain with stories and legends, from a fountain that seems inexhausti- ble. Truly, Japan is the land of romance, and everywhere one goes he finds some fanciful tale or bit of picturesque history. Already we have heard much of the beauty and historic interest of the region to our south and west, reaching on to Kyoto, the ancient capital, and including what has been aptly styled '' the heart of Japan." But, first of all, we wish to see the capital of the shoguns, Tokyo, and from thence penetrate the mountainous country of the north, viewing, on our THE GATEWAY. 38 THE FAR EAST. way, famous Nikko, " the city of temples." We may come back to this place before visiting the Tokaido, or we may run down the coast of the Sea of Japan. That does not matter now. It is seldom best to travel with plans too rigidly prepared beforehand. Tokyo is situated about eighteen miles northward of Yokohama, and the railroad con- necting the two cit- ies was the first built in Japan. It was done by Eng- lish capitalists, who took advantage of the ignorance of the Japanese and charged an exorbi- tant price. This robbery was never repeated, however^ as since that they have built their own roads, and the country being level, and grading easy, the cost has been very low. All the roads are narrow gauge, three feet wide, and run on the English plan of first, second, and third compartment. The stations are all neatly kept, contain separate apartments for men and women, and everything about them is orderly. The officials are nearly always Japan- ese, but they invariably wear European dress. The capital of Japan was originally a fishing hamlet, which was taken for the tenting ground of the armed followers of the shogun, from which has sprung the present capital, the largest and the most sought city in Japan. It covers an area of a hundred square miles, mostly level country, IN AN OLD GARDEN OF TOKYO. JAPAN. 39 contains nearly 250,000 houses, over three thousand temples, and a population variously estimated at from one to two millions, probably nearer the latter number, though it may fall short of it. As has been hinted, its growth in recent years has been rapid, but old ideas and ancient landmarks have not yielded to modern progress to the extent which vfould make Tokyo an example of foreign innovation only and not a picture of the past as well. Its people are pleased to ride in the steam-car or on the horse-railway, while they no longer look upon the telephone and electric lights as wonders beyond comparison. It has hotels kept in European style, good restaurants, museums, theatres, bazaars, and public parks famous for the beauty of their scenery and historic interest. A stroll along the length of the Ginza, the Broadway of Tokyo, by day or evening, is an event to the newcomer, a swift succession of dramatical amusements, acrobatic feats, displays of physical prowess, and outdoor entertainments of many and wonderful varieties, a most friendly rivalry existing on every hand. At eventide, crowds of merrymaking people are constantly passing between rows of booths ablaze with torches and lantern-lights, the deep crimson of the one vying with the pale yellow of the other, while toys of innumerable patterns, plants, flowers, fruits, sweets, and fantastic trinkets of unknown names dazzle the beholder into buying. Everywhere is to be seen the delicate touch of adept fingers and the designs of an artistic eye. It is an inborn characteristic of the Japanese to make much of a little. With the few flowers which have graced their gardens, for instance, they have made bright their lives. Among the colours considered to be the best combination are red and gold, red and white coming next. Black is looked upon with ill-favour. As an emblem of constancy, the dried haliotis is considered the happiest selection. It has the double significa- tion of singleness of affection and continuity of that love, as the dried haliotis can be drawn out to an extraordinary length, like India rubber. The single mollusk is also typical of fidelity. The stag, in the language of emblems, denotes happiness ; the stork, long life ; the tortoise is emblematical of riches; the hawk is a s3anbol of daring; the carp swimming up a waterfall, of perseverance ; the bear, of endurance. On every hand is seen evidence that the Japanese possess two natures designed to be antagonistic to each other. One is a love for the grace and 40 THE FAR EAST. beauty of peace, the other is the worship of glamour and power of arms. When we look closely into his inner life, we find these o'ermastering spirits dwelling together in remarkable harmony. If he delights to beautify and adorn his temples with the tender grace of earthly gifts, and softens the frowns of the fortress walls into the smiles of the garden, it is that he may better appreciate his home land, and awaken in his breast a deeper patriotism and veneration for it. The teachings of his race for unnumbered generations have taught this happy combination of the WISTARIA BUSH. harmony of the warlike pageantry and the beautiful and picturesque offerings of Nature. This has been a fruit of feudalism. With this in the mind, it is easy to understand the two distinct classes of citizens : the sMzoku, patricians, or military class ; the heimin, civilians, or commoners. At the founding of Kyoto, the ancient capital, before the supremacy of the sword had placed in the front rank of power a rival dynasty, the difference between the upper and lower strata of population was less marked. The subject lived nearer to his sovereign. But this condition gradually changed as the shogun grew in influence, until the numerous class comprising the tillers of the soil, the fishermen, the JAPAN. 41 traders and traffickers of commodities, had nothing in common with the aristocratic patricians who had assumed the reins of government by armed force. The commoner came to know nothing of the ambition of military glory, of the pleasure of office, and pride in the dazzling corteges of war. He even lost desire for competition in the intellectual pursuits which tend to elevate humanity, and he grew content to be as inferior in THE "GARDEN OF THE LAKE," KYOTO. mental capacity as his humble dwellings were inferior to the impressive castles of his superiors. Prior to the reign of Emperor Kwammu, 782-805 A. c, it had been customary for each succeeding ruler to select his royal residence wherever his own convenience suited him'. Thus the castle of the emperor was naturally chosen for his royal palace, and in this way many towns became, in their turn, the site of the imperial government. Owing to the extreme simplicity of the royal train, this change of abode did not incur great expense or inconvenience. The life of the sovereign was little different from that of his people. It thus happened that the capital itself was 42 THE FAR EAST. subject to change, and even the imperial court was sometimes moved two or three times during the reign of a single monarch. With the advance of civilisation, increase of pomp, and growth of commercial interests, all, with their increasing expense and growing intricacies of government, rising, by gradual stages, from almost primeval simplicity to a scale of magnificence and splendour difficult to credit to that period, at the beginning of the eighth century the capital was established at Nara by the Empress Gemmyo. Thus the fame and power of womankind in Japan was awakened by the association of the name of one of the sex with the initial tribute of display and dignity offered to royalty. Seven successive sovereigns held their courts at Nara, and it was looked upon as the permanent capital, when Emperor Kwammu decided that it was not favourably situated as the centre of administrative power. With great ceremonial display he moved the imperial court to Uda, in the province of Yamoshiro. This act was received as a matter for national rejoicing, and the new capital was named Heiau-jo, which meant " Citadel of Tranquillity." But if the choice of the people, — a city of peace, — the new capital was not adapted to the growing power of the military regents. The situation was not convenient to maintain- a watch and control over the river-ways leading into the interior, so the shogun looked about for a spot better suited to his aims and ambition. One Ota Dokan, about 1460 built a fortress at Yedo, though even he did not dream, that this rude beginning was to lay the foundation for the future seat of government. The fortification stood apart from the small collection of fishermen's huts marking the place, and was surrounded by a vast expanse of reed plains, where it would be easy to deploy the army. Surrounded by a great series of rivers, and flanked by a range of mountains, with the sacred Fujiyama as the snow-crowned sentinel, the situation proved very satisfactory to the military regents, who continued to strengthen themselves in this position, holding the passes to the interior against the enemies from the southland. The welfare or the desire of the people never once entering into the plans of the builders, from the rough fortress of Ota Dokan was evolved the stronghold that made Yedo a powerful citadel at the close of the sixteenth century. JAPAN. 43 In 1590 A. D., as the reward of the warlike genius of Japan's Napoleon, General lyeyasu, Yedo became the capital of eight provinces, under the first of Ihe Tokugawa regents. Regardless of the privileges of the common people, colossal fortresses were erected wherever it was deemed expedient, until, had it not been for the kindness of Nature in allowing the big rivers to extend the land out into the sea by a deposit of their debris, there would not have been room enough for the million of inhabitants who reared their simple dwellings under the walls of the frowning battlements without a thought of what they portended. The shogun, with his increasing prestige, sought display of his power and prosperity on every hand. He surrounded the warlike castle by a triple line of huge fosses, the outermost one of which measured nine and a half miles in length, while that of the inside was one and a half miles. Their scarps were built of mighty blocks of granite that had been brought hundreds of miles over sea and land, to be set in their lofty position by such rude contrivances as to create wonder over the work in this age of improvements. Deep banks of earth topped the huge walls of masonry, their slopes carefully covered with a sward of Corean grasses. Seeds of the pine were then planted in regular rows, and the shoots were trained so that the evergreen branches of the trees reached down toward the broad moats, through which flowed streams of water, conveyed hither in aqueducts from a river a score of miles away. These ditches varied in width from sixty to five hundred feet. Along w^th the pride and the artifice of the trained warrior were to be seen the peaceful symbols of the artist and the peacemaker. Not only were the dark reflections of the pines shown in the silvery waters, but the moats became the pleasure scenes of flocks of beautiful ducks and wild birds of matchless plumage, or they found peaceful rest in lakes of tranquil charm under the very shade of the battlements. Not only did the lawn-like slopes under their velvety carpets afford a happy contrast to the trampled earth of the city streets, but lotus flowers, growing in the crevices of the rocky walls, portrayed, to the enraptured observer, in unwritten language, love's imagery of the peace and repose thrown over the frowning ramparts of a " city of war," where the nobler gifts of man had converted the frowns of a fortress into the smiles of a garden. From this period is to be dated the wonderful outgrowth of landscape- 44 THE FAR EAST. gardening, in which respect Japan stands without a rival. That they might not ignore or forget their allegiance to the " eastern capital," as the camp of the military regents was called out of distinction to the capital of the imperial line at Kyoto, which was designated as " the western capital," the provincial barons, or chief supporters of the shoguns, were required to live in Yedo, since named Tokyo, one-half of each year. It thus became necessary for them to build homes for themselves and A TRIMMED JAPANESE PINE-TREE. numerous retainers. In carrying out this idea, a strong rivalry sprung up between the respective nobles, which resulted in a gain to the city. Many commodious mansions were erected, and numerous picturesque parks were laid out and beautified from year to year. It is true these were carefully protected from the vulgar gaze of the public, and the average citizen knew little, if anything, of them, but in the course of two and a half centuries the city became a veritable garden. The work and loving skill bestowed upon them was beyond estimation. Their equal was not to be seen elsewnere. JAPAN. 45 In order to fulfil his dream of such a place, the Japanese gardener must have rocks upon which to train his flowering vines, — rocks for the beds of cascades, rocks for the angles of corners and hillsides, rocks for margins to lakes and streams, rocks for the edges of shrubberies, rocks to border the paths, in short, rocks everywhere, all arranged with skill and alluring effect. These rocks had all to be brought from distant provinces and far- away islands. As well as pebbles and boulders, some of the last as large ;:y^^^/i|i1 ROCKERY AND CASCADE, FUKIAGE GARDEN. as half a dozen men could raise from the ground, were massive blocks of granite, many of them weighing tons each, and requiring the united efforts of several yoke of oxen and long lines of coolies to move to the places selected for their use. Within these costly and beautiful parks were the dwellings of the military representatives of feudalism, living in houses that were marvels of the skill of the builders, and the matchless purity of the wood from which they were constructed. Here, though filled with the armed retainers of the feudal power, was to be seen very little indication of warlike 46 THE FAR EAST. preparation, except that near to the gate stood rows of long, low sheds, their outward walls marked at intervals with heavily barred windows, while the most prominent article of furniture in all the rooms was the rack for the swords. These buildings were the barracks of each baron's men-at-arms, and the streets were so lined with them, and so thronged with these armed retainers strutting about with their swords girt to them, that, during the era of feudalism, Tokyo, the eastern capital, in spite of the languid peace hovering over the pine-scented embattlements, the green carpet of its terraces, the wild birds floating dreamily along its waterways, the fantastic drapery of its rockeries, its picturesque parks and gardens, bore unmistakable signs of its true origin and purpose. With the march of succeeding rulers from this military feudalism to the shizoku, or hegemony, which rules progressive Japan to-day, a radical transition has taken place in the appearance of this city of imperialism, though the contrast between the upper and the lower spheres has remained the same. The battlements of the ancient fortresses were suffered to tumble down, and the bush and creeping vine find foothold where erstwhile stood the flanking tower ; the broad fosses of the citadel allowed to fill with debris and become the sites of peaceful dwellings ; the ponderous gate opening upon the fortress rusted from its hinges, while the citadel itself became the residence of a civilian. With the disappearance of all this vanished the fine baronies, the street pageants of marching men ; the graceful parks have been despoiled of their treasures, the rockeries ravaged, until the dazzling evidence of feudal glory that once was para- mount in Tokyo is now eloquent only by its silence and the emptiness of space where its monuments stood. » . ■ *".p » .i-nna- ii mii^ ■■-..?■ ^ m| ^ __^' '* q^ H ^^^^^H K ,«*'«-'**^ ■: ■ '•^.'^\^^^H C ''''w^FilB B^R^H^^ki^ ' v:^ Rp" "^ ^H ^^^^^B^^n^^!^ '- ^v -- " ^^ K ~s^ m^hH f^Bl^^ ■ B^^-jiikt^ ■IHi^^Hil ^K^^BB^M ' JL# >' ' "■ H ^ mm. '^■■vKlBm iHBr^^'9 Hi m^- ' *^^K? 3 W^Vc^ %^' 5II||B Bi^/" ■ .-X;^ J HL. -' ^'i' ■ m^ ^Kr.^'ik pHH ^^^B| ^j^HrT^i^^, ;#SB!a * - x^ ^^B^^^^IH ^EIB^^BbsS^^^^ '*;-^ ilP-'' '/« -'-^m ^^^^1 g^p^y^k'. jjN^rji^fe t hH ^^k«?lw:.r*s ^w^^T' J i EXAMPLES OF QUAINT ARCHITECTTJEE. CHAPTER V. THE MODERN CAPITAL. WHEN Japan awoke from her long sleep through that morning drowse, called the Meiji era, — beginning of improvement, — she moved slowly, in changing old ways for new, and continued to carry out' her system of education, developed new organisations of govern- ment, enlarged her ideas of industry, and enforced her laws from ofl&cial quarters as simple and barren of ornament as before. These buildings were plain, rectangular structures, without any relief given their walls by portico, fagade, veranda, balcony, or lordly steeple, until foreign architec- ture arose on the ruins of a power lost with the departed greatness of a line of rulers giving way to another. So pretentious piles of stone and brick — governmental buildings of modern grandness, a court-house, banks, municipal edifices, ministerial residences, hotels, and club-rooms — have risen with remarkable quickness in plain sight of acres and acres of the old style, including communal schools, telegraph offices, post-office, and police barracks. Thus Tokyo presents a marked example of modern progress, and, at the same time, a singular compound of the old and the new. It has been a, 47 48 THE FAR EAST. rule that whenever new buildings should be raised on a narrow street, the latter should be widened. As fast as fire has obliterated a certain portion, the houses erected have been set back, until there are broad, ambitious streets, but with the same lack of foreign architecture as in the days of the shogun. This plainness of style is particularly noticeable in the poorer portions, where fires are the most common. In this manner Tokyo shows, as no other city does, an impressive picture of the transi- tion of Japan from the despotism of the past to the imperialism of the present. No city has suffered as this has from earthquakes. In 1703 thirty- seven thousand people, perished under crumbling houses or from the overflow of the sea. In 1855 this terrible loss was doubled, and seventeen thousand buildings were thrown down or burned. But it has now been nearly fifty years since there has been any widespread alarm. The average tourist, upon entering a strange city, first looks about for some spot where he can command a view of the whole scene at a single sweep of the vision. Tokyo has a most favourable height for this sort of sightseeing, and as he begins to ascend the long stone stairway leading to its summit, he is confronted by an architectural gateway built of granite, which immediately arrests his steps. This is called in Japanese the torii, meaning literally " the bird's nest." From this it is currently accepted to have had its origin in the intention of a humane people to afford a resting-place for the feathered creatures they loved so well. Be this the case or not, farther back into the past than history or tradition goes, it has marked the approach to a temple or shrine emblemati- cal of the old Shinto faith or religion. Two upright shafts are met and crossed at the top by horizontal bars, the rude frame being constructed of wood, granite, or bronze, as the builder chose. As simple as they are in construction, seen everywhere in Japan, even the foreigner soon begins to admire them, and then to look for them. No hand has ever been known to mutilate one of them, and when long double rows of them lead under the overhanging arms of Japanese pines, with lines of stone lanterns lighting the scene by night, they recall, in an impressive manner, the hallowed scene of devoted bands of men silently seeking the shrine of some deity whom they sought to propitiate by suitable offerings and pra}-ers. JAPAN. 49 Passing under this particiilar torii, with a deep, feeling of religious veneration in spite of our modern doubts of ancient belief, we slowly ascend to the summit. The panorama spread out before us is something too vast for comprehension. What strikes us most forcibly at first is the truth of the common expression that Tokyo is a " city of magnificent distances." One of the noted objects that we try to discover is the emperor's palace, which very appropriately stands on an eminence that lifts it far above the STONE LANTEKN MARKING APPROACH TO A SHRINE. noisy streets and buildings around the moat. But as high as its strong walls are raised, the pines surrounding them lift still higher their roof of evergreen, completely overshadowing them. Below, where their gnarled- and rugged bodies stand out in bold relief, smaller trees and shrubs fill in the spaces, as if it were forbidden that the curious gaze of the sightseer should look upon the palace within. High walls encircle the hill, a gate now and then offering entrance to the imperial grounds. Lower down, green banks slope away to the edge of the moat, where flocks of wild ducks swim and float on the bright waters without fear, for no shot is 50 THE FAR EAST. allowed to be fired within sound of the royal palace embowered in the pines and cherries. A place of interest, which no tourist fails to visit, is Aasakusa Park, where is to be seen that Chinese importation, the pagoda, and the great tower, with its bell that is rung at regular intervals until its resonant tone is heard all over the city. Here is to be found the Temple of Aasakusa, dedicated to Kwannon, an image of unknown antiquity, never seen, but worshipped with great display of reverence. It is said to have been CHERRY BANK, TOKYO. caught in the net of a nobleman fishing off the coast, and is only an inch and three-fourths in height. Perhaps the remarkable difference between the size of the deity and the greatness of the temple is the most observed feature of the place. Another place of note and beauty is the cherry bank of Koganei, an avenue two and a half miles in length along the canal, and lined with cherry-trees. In April, when these flowering trees are radiant with blossoms, no fairer sight can be seen even in Japan. No other people can appreciate them as the Japanese, and for centuries their poets have sung their praises and their artists painted their beauties. What the rose is to JAPAN. 51 the people of America, tlie cherry is to the Land of the Eising Sun, and the time of their blossoming is made a season of national festival. Vast numbers of admiring men, women, and children come from far and near to feast their sight upon the white and pink blossoms unfolding to the spring air. The world is young again with the blooming of the cherry, and hearts that were sad a short time since become light, for it is a gala season with men as well as Nature. Boats laden with happy pleasure- seekers glide along the level stream overhung by the trees, that look like huge flowering plants, while the occupants gaze dreamily up into the meshes of flowers with their settings of light-green leaves. Others wander longingly on the banks, intent on the happiness and beauty of the day and scene. If Tokyo's greatest fetes are held under the cherry blossoms, with the clear blue of the April sky overhead, when Uyeno Park and Mukojima River are converted into floral paradises beyond the Occidental comparison of beauty, these carnivals find a close rival in the festival of the great wistaria at Kameido Temple in May, when that ancient vine puts forth flowers three and four feet in length. A month later the iris gardens of Hori Kiri afford a rare flower-show, calling out large crowds of admirers. August offers another candidate for public favour in the sacred, lotus flower, whose broad leaves cover the moats in Tokyo, and are to be found in lovely lotus ponds of acres in extent. These plants are often four feet in diameter, and the flowers from twelve to sixteen inches across. These pink and white blossoms, emanating from muddy, stagnant water with a . matchless purity and freshness, are looked upon as a symbol of religious life. It is a saying of the Buddhist priests that though one " is born in a hovel, he can have virtue, like the lotus flower springing from the slime." It is the one flower of the faith of Buddha, about which is associated the hidden mysteries of mortal and spiritual existence. Statues of Buddha have generally as a pedestal a skilfully carved lotus-leaf in stone or bronze, while on the altars are vases of bronze filled with these flowers made of the same metal. The lotus also grows wild in the rural districts, but does not equal here the size of the flower and leaf of India, and these are called the " flowers of death," because they have become a funeral adjunct. Greater than any of these festivals of flowers is that of the national flower, the chrysanthemum, which opens in the Dangozaka section, the last 52 THE FAR EAST. of October. This is beyond doubt the greatest exhibition of the kind in the world, and no fancier of flowers dreams of the beauties and the possi- bilities of this Japanese favourite until he has seen it at the zenith of its glory in its native land. It has been fittingly described as a model of symmetry whose " shape well fits it to symbolise the completeness of perfection which the Mikado, the Son of Heaven, mundanely represents. It typifies, too, the fullness of the year. It may be of almost any hue^ WATER MILL, COLENBA. and, within the general limits of a circle, of any form. Now it is a chariot wheel, with petals for spokes, while another kind seems the button of some natural legion of honour, and still another a pinwheel in Nature's own day fireworks." During the chrysanthemum festival e'\"erything at the court of Tokyo is made emblematical of the national flower, and even the imperial com- munications are made upon chrysanthemum paper. Everywhere one sees the bright roimd splash, which looks more like a drop fallen from the golden censer than an imitation of the flower of the season, which ushers JAPAN. 53 in a gala day for the capital. It is arranged to have the exhibit at its height ution the birthday of the emperor, on the 3d of November, and rejoicing reigns on every hand. Masters of the art of landscape-gardening as they are, the Japanese have paid especial care to the cultivation and improvement of the chrys- anthemum until they have brought it nearer to perfection than anybody else. They have pruducod plants that bear more than four hundred perfect flowers, and it is not infrequent to see half a dozen varieties CHRYSANTHKMUM SELLEB. growing on a single plant. The different varieties, in all, number over two hundred and fifty. Its flowering period being longer than that of most flowers, they have naturally assigned to it the attribute of longevity, and one river, which receives on its placid bosom many of these falling leaves, is believed to hold in its waters the charm to give him who drinks it long and beautiful life. In our interest in these festivals of the flowers, we quite overlooked another holiday, which comes in September, and marks the end of the summer boat-life. This is what is called " moon viewing," and the same taste and skill that has decked the walls of the palaces and sacred build- IValking Costume CHAPTER VI. CUSTOMS AND COSTUMES. IT cannot be truly said that Tokyo has a fashionable promenade, where the well-dressed seek to display the latest style ; but along any of the main streets the emperor and his suite may pass any day, while at the parade ground of Hibiya the sovereign and his court are seen -at their best. Another place to witness fashionable and sporting life is the race-course of Uyeao, or that of Kudan, wh^re the free and careless elements of society hold high carnival in spring and autumn. But in Japan, as in other countries, it is necessary to go among the people at home to get a correct idea of their customs and costumes. When, a few years since, the government directed that all officials on •duty adopt the dress of Europe, it looked as though the old styles peculiar to the country were doomed to be supplanted. A tidal wave had already set in against the native fashion, in favour of Parisian or Berlin styles. Until then, 1886, the empress had stoutly resisted all attempts to intro- duce the dress of foreigners, which, if it did not detract from the native beauty of the women, did seriously interfere with their comfort. Then the rage for foreign costumes became general, until no Japanese lady was con- sidered anything but a dowdy who did not hamper her comely person with a gown of the Occident. This craze prevailed for a few years, when a reaction followed. Now it does not seem improbable that there may be a complete return to the original costume of the people. It is to be hoped so, for no other style of dress seems so much a part of the great plan of nature to enhance the beauty of featiires, gestures, and personal grace. The dress for the men consists of a loin-cloth of muslin, a silk or cotton shirt, and the kimono, a sort of gown suspended from the shoulders and girded at the waist by a silken belt. If the weather is cold, this gown is wadded, and more than one Tvorn if necessary. Over all of these the wearer dons the hakama, or divided skirt, which is fastened by cords run- 55 56 THE FAR EAST. ning around the waist. To the last is then added the haori, a sort of cloak tied in front by a knotted silken cord. Both of these last garments are made of the finest material, and are generally laid aside when the wearer enters his home, as we should doff our top-coat in the house. The haori, made of black silk, bears the crest of the wearer on the back of the sleeves. The hak- ama is made gen- erally of a striped material. The foot is in- cased in a low sock, which reaches to the an- kle, and is called the tabi. It has a separate part for the great toe, as our gloves have for the thumb. These socks are of blue or white cot- ton, made thicker and stronger on the soles. Slippers made of straw are worn about the house, while for short walks the geta, or wooden clog, is worn after the manner of sandals. At the doors of all shops, rows of these clogs are hung outside the door, and visitors are expected to put on a pair before entering. Until the introduction of foreign caps and hats, which are now favour- ably received, no covering was generally worn on the head, the fan being used to protect the cranium from the hot sun. Wide-rimmed, mushroom- shaped hats are now frequently worn by the natives. ladies' costumks. JAPAN. 57 When indoors the yukata, or bath-gown, often takes the place of the kimono, and the gentleman sits for a long time at his ease before or after his ablutions, which are invariably performed near the close of the day. A large tub of water, heated as warm as the hand can bear it, is placed over a boiler so that the liquid may be kept to its proper temperature throughout the bath. In olden times every Japanese gentleman, when out-of-doors, wore his two swords, which he laid aside upon entering his dwelling. These war- THE COMBAT WITH SWOKDS. like instruments have now been supplanted by those articles of less offence and defence, the tobacco-pipe, and pouch. This indulgence is everywhere popular, in all classes and with both men and women. The pipes gener- ally have stems from six to ten inches in length, with bowls of sufficient size to hold merely tobacco enough for a couple of whifEs. So the Japanese smoker spends more time in filling his pipe than in enjoying its fragrant breath. This method was introduced by the Portuguese at the beginning of the 1 7th century. Cigars are now considered fashionable, and cigarettes have become favourites with many. Millions of the latter are now con- 58 THE FAR EAST. sumed monthly in the large cities, the leaf from which they are made being raised in the southern provinces. It is no uncommon sight to see little groups of women, drawn up around the fireplaces, enjoying their pipes, often made of silver, while they gossip and exchange pretty stories. Coming back to the matter of dress, men of the lower classes have a custom of displaying on the backs of their garments a large ideograph, which indicates their occupation, or their master's name. Carpenters are invariably marked in this manner. A close-fitting momoliki worn about the thighs, a gaiter of dark-blue cotton, a straw hat, shaped like an inverted punch-bowl, trimmed with a blue band, and straw sandals, comprise the garb of a large percentage of the working class. The coolies, whenever out of sight of the officials who are instructed to prevent it, strip off every- thing but the loin-cloth the greater part of the year. The costume of the woman is but slightly different from that of her male companion. An apron, or short petticoat, perhaps two, are worn beneath her kimono, a cord around the waist keeping so much of her dress in place. As the weather grows cooler, an extra kimono is put on over the first, and this is repeated until sometimes six or eight are being worn, and the very outlines of the figure of the wearer are lost. An ohi, or belt, a foot and a half wide and often a dozen feet in length, is wound over all of these. It should be said that the obi is an object of great personal pride, costing as high as seventy-five dollars, so that the lady's whole outfit, to say noth- ing of the jewelry and trinkets she may wear, often costs two hundred dollars. But the Japanese husband is seldom opposed to this outlay, as the true gentleman is anxious his wife should be well dressed, even if he goes shabby himself. In the matter of dressing her hair, the Japanese woman takes especial care and pride, a professional hair-dresser being employed and two hours taken in which to perform the task. In holding the large mass of coils and knots in position, large metal pins with coral head-pieces are commonly used. The hair is loaded with oil and bandoline, to hold it in place, and on account of the amount of work required to dress it, is not taken down but once a week. For this reason the sleeping-block of curved wood, shaped to fit the neck, is used at night for a pillow. The children are not subject to any strict rule as to being covered, but when they are considered old enough to leave nudity behind with their JAPAN. 59 childhood, they don garments after the plan of their parents. Needless to say, these are accepted under protest. The Japanese consider it no disgrace that their ancestors lived on the plainest of fare, earned at the cost of extreme hard labour, so they make their presents to their friends accompanied by a symbol of sea- weed and dried fish, which was the great staple food of their forefathers. It is this frugality which has enabled the race to rise slowly from the plane of poverty to the present height of comparative prosper- ity. It is also this same simplicity in the manner of living which has kept their bodies so free from the common ills of the flesh to which other races are prone. No meal is served in Japan, without a course of rice at its conclusion, or if served without, it is not considered complete. This cereal is thus the one great article of diet throughout the enipire. Whatever else is eaten is accepted as so much to prepare the way for rice. This need not be taken to mean that any part of the food or drink is of a stimulat- ing nature. In the principal cities and villages the foreign style of food, as well as the foreign manner of serving it, has been largely adopted. How soon A HAIR - DRESSER. 60 THE FAR EAST. this custom becomes universal remains to be seen, but it will be better for the native population if the change is accepted slowly. After fruits and sweets have been served first, not last, according to our way, fish follows, and then an omelet, a chicken fricasseed to a nicety, raw mullet, or sea-bream ; all this washed down by sak^, a wholesome beverage obtained from rice. The wine is then removed, and rice appears, accom- panied by a cup of tea. It should be observed that the habit of drinking sake or wine at meals is not universal, and that the beverage contains but MACAUONI AND TEA. little alcohol. With the poorer class but one course precedes the rice, and that is either broiled fish or vegetable soup. Beef is not eaten gener- ally, and less frequently than formerly. Poultry is considered too expen- sive, and pork is looked upon as being unclean. When a foreigner first introduced pork hash it aroused a storm of horror and indignation. Eggs are extensively eaten, and are kept in stock, after being hard-boiled, at all wayside booths. The dishes commonly included in a set festival or banquet are bean curd soup, pounded fish baked as a roll or cut into slices, lotus roots boiled in soy, stewed chestnuts, the nasu, or eggplant, tender shoots of the bamboo. JAPAN. 61 radishes, and the never-to-be-missed daikon, a native vegetable with an odour few foreigners can tolerate kindly. Instead of the knife and fork, chopsticks are furnished at all inns, and they will be found on the tray holding the food enclosed in a paper napkin. They are separated, except by a bit of wood at the top, and upon being pulled apart a toothpick is found secreted within. They are thrown away after being used once. Travellers in Japan must not expect to obtain meats to any extent, butter, LADIES AT DINNBK. milk, bread, or wholesome water. His diet will be mainly rice, fish, and eggs, his drink, tea or sak^. Green tea is the universal beverage in Japan. It is drunk very weak, without sugar or milk. Every traveller passing through a village or town is offered a cup without thought of recompense on the part of the giver, though if tribute is tendered it is accepted with a courteous acknowledg- ment of the donor's generosity. If the European or the American is not satisfied with this simple diet at first, he eventually finds that he is bene- fited by it. The Japanese housewife takes as much pride in the way she sets her tiny table, called zen, as any of her American sisters, while perfect decorum Q2 THE FAR EAST. exists througtiout the meal. The Japanese is by nature extremely polite, and nowhere does he exhibit this good breeding to better advantage than at the dinner-table. He seldom laughs over the blunders of a foreigner at his table, and is quick to condemn the faults of one of his countrymen. No matter under what circumstances a stranger meets him, he is exceed- ingly pleasant, never forgetting or omitting his low, gracious curtsey. On entering his house, the visitor is expected to remove his shoes, and he walks in his stockings over floors as smooth and clean as the tops of tables in other lands.. The marriage relation is more of a civil than of a religious obligation, though the last sentiment is entering deeper into the ceremony. It has always been the rule for no one to marry out of rank, and the gentle- man belonging to the military class coiild not retain his social standing by becoming the spouse of the daughter of a trader or merchant, nor could the latter marry one bqjaeath her caste and keep her position. But all this is gradually losing ground in these cosmopolitan days. In the times of feudalism, nobles and chiefs could not contract the ties of matrimony without the consent of the court. Under the old customs the housewife was at the head of the household, nominally, but she really held a position inferior to her husband. If she was honoured as the mistress of the home, she was not allowed to sit with her master, the Sliujin, except at evening meal. Nor were her chil- dren given greater privilege. This, thanks very largely to the Empress Haruko, has materially changed, until no woman in all the Far East is more respected, or accorded . greater privileges, than the tender, loving wife and mother of a Japanese household. She is a model of cleanliness, of faithfulness to her duties, and in economical management. Bright, vivacious, pretty, petite, with an innate refinement and modest demeanour that is sure to attract attention, Japanese women deserve all the recogni- tion shown them. While children are loved and well treated, large families are an exception, the average household numbering less than five. A TYPICAL JAPANESE EADY. SCENE IN NIKKO. CHAPTER VII. CITY AND COUNTRY. WE are constantly hearing praises sung of a village lying in the heart of the northern mountains called Nikko, " the city of temples." Nowhere else shall we find such shrines of worship and nowhere else such magnificent scenery. In fact, the use of that adjec- tive reminds us of the saying which has become a Japanese proverb, which runs like this : " Nikko wo minai uchi wa, ' kekko ' to ui na!" Given a free translation this means : " Until you have seen Nikko, the word ' magnificent ' is meaningless." The annual matsuri is soon due at this sacred retreat ; thousands of excursionists are planning to take a trip northward, and report comes in that large parties of pilgrims are already on their way by foot to the famous place. So we decide to postpone further sightseeing in Tokyo and go with the crowd. But we have to wait until another day, and that 63 64 THE FAR EAST. evening we catch a vivid picture of the " flower of Yedo," so that we are glad we had not hastened our flight from the capitah There have been some disastrous fires of late, which fact is made plain to the most casual observers by the acres of charred and blackened build- ing sites. Under the bane of this fiery curse, it is no wonder Tokyo, a city of paper, bamboo, and wood, has not outgrown faster its poverty marks. The wonder is that it has reached its present gigantic dimensions. Not long since, the firemen had to depend on the hand-buckets and a supply of water from some near-by moat ; but now the fire-engine takes the place of this method. Still the manner of fighting fire is yet some- what primitive compared to ours. Outside of each engine-house a tall ladder is set perpendicularly, with a railed platform at the top, looking like the crow's-nest of a man-of-war in bygone days. A bronze bell is hung from a beam within reach of this, and a watchman is expected to keep a close survey over the city as far as he can see, and, at the out- break of flames within his range of vision, to ring the bell. If the fire is in his immediate neighbourhood he strikes this but once ; if it is farther away, twice ; and so on, until he has indicated the distance and the direc- tion. The sight of this wiry little fireman swinging between heaven and earth, like a huge spider hanging from some lofty perch, is one to make the timid watcher shudder for his safety at first look. This is swiftly forgotten as the bell sends out its warning, especially if it stops short at the first stroke. Then there is bustle and hustle, for the fire is near at hand, and it may be our own home will become its prey. Under the old system a singular code of customs sprang up around the lives of the primitive firemen that was both picturesque and appropriate. They were not allowed to appear at a fire except in a particular cos- tume, which was made of bright colours, and highly ornamented. A sort of religious hymn was sung by the firemen, while companions stood at a, safe distance on adjoining roofs with grotesque bulletins, on which had been painted sacred and demoniacal images, held over their heads to terrify off the legions of flames. In those days, it is claimed that not a night, for a quarter of a century, passed over Tokyo without a fire in some part of the city. Were it not for the earthquake, more substantial houses would be built than these of inflammable wood and lighter material. But the brick house JAPAN. 65 is more to be feared in case of the shock, and so the people keep on raising dwellings, which seem little more than torches for the flames. This fire, whose alarm so aroused our interest, proves to be a slight affair, so we return to our couches, and dream of forests, of temples, and shrines, with long columns of pilgrims, footsore and weary, marching to offer their annual tribute to some god whose favour is especially sought. Nikko lies ninety-one miles north of Tokyo, and is reached by a railroad running through one of the finest agricultural districts of all Japan. The country is just broken enough to give it variety without injuring its farm- ing value. Everywhere the fertile plains, irrigated from the streams windhig across their bosoms like ribbons of silver, are dotted with thatch-roofed farmhouses, one an exact imitation of another, and this uniformity characterises the size of the farms, all of them being small. The largest is not more than an acre in extent, and the smallest but a few rods in area, one and all outlined by ditches, along the rim of which the loftus lifts its beautiful crest. Not a foot of land is allowed to go to waste in this" country where nothing is lost, though everything seems to be made on a miniature plan, — tiny houses, tiny carriages, tiny gardens, tiny farms, tiny animals, tiny people — but, taken altogether, apparently as prosperous and happy as those of larger stature and doing business on a broader scale. And well they may be, for the grand whole of these uniting mites make acres of rice-fields, acres of tea plantations, acres of fine fruit orchards, acres of vineyards, — the grape-vines trained to cover bamboo frames, and even the pear-trees made to rest over trellises. Everywhere and on everything is displayed the cunning handiwork of the skilful and industrious husbandman. Nature, too, is seen at her best, modestly offer- ing such matchless fancy work as she can afford only in Japan. Hillsides are festooned, and river banks, fringed with the deep green bamboo, while the ridges between the rice-fields, the very ditches, and the thatched roofs, the only places available for them, are decked with flowers of many hues. Among these floral bounties is a lily of bright crimson, whose blood-red tassels, tossed by thousands in the early autumn breeze, present a vivid picture. The corn-field of Japan is the field of rice. This cereal grows abun- dantly, south of the 38th parallel, and five millions of people are engaged 66 THE FAR EAST. in its cultivation, directly or indirectly. Eaten three times a day for 365 days in a year, with an added day every year in four, there is still a surplus to send abroad, and the rice export trade is getting to be some- thing of an item. The most prolific fields are found in the districts of Tokaido and Sanyodo, though the crop yields well wherever grown. Rice is started in a nursery, where it expands blade by blade into a mosslike mass. Then, in a month or two, each rootlet has to be carefully separated and transplanted to a larger bed. Later, as the summer comes PLANTING RICE. on, the tender shoots are again changed, this time from their muddy foot- ing to be set in long rows across the moist lowlands. Their growth from this time is surprisingly rapid, and soon the waving tassels are flaunting in the breeze. The harvest of the grain is an important one, - so important that the owner counts his riches not by hard dollars but by his number of kohu, or bags of rice. This cereal is planted at different times, so there are several harvests. While rice is the staple food, and enough is really raised to support the mhabitants, with a surplus to send abroad, wheat and barley are grown to JAPAN. 67 a considerable extent. In the exti'eme north barley bread forms a large part of the diet. Millet is sometimes eaten instead of rice. This custom prevailed more in ancient times than now. Besides the above crops, maize is grown in the southern provinces ; also oats and vetches, as prov- ender for the stock. Among the vegetables the yam ranks easily first, growing abundantly in the southern islands of Kyushu and the Satsuma country, which is famous for its pottery. In some districts, where the inhabitants live too VEGETABLE SELLER. far from the seashore to get fish, and too far removed from the markets to buy them, they subsist almost entirely on rice or millet, and a big white radish, called by them daikon. This last often attains a length of nearly three feet. As might be expected, the soil and climate of Japan are favourable to the growth of several kinds of vegetables unknown in this country. There is an eggplant, a pear-shaped fruit of a bright purple colour, which is very edible when boiled. A species of fern has tops which are sweet and tender if eaten when they are young. There are also beets and tomatoes in the central regions, with melons and cucumbers in the 68 THE FAR EAST. south. Sugar-cane is also cultivated in the last region to quite an extent. In the matter of fruit, either the gods that are credited with making the Land of the Rising Sun were not partial to this luxury, or they com- mitted a grievous oversight, as Japan has been treated most niggardly in that respect. It is true there are fruit-trees enough, such as they are, but with the exception of the orange, they are pitiable failures. There are pears, apples, peaches, apricots, and so on, but they are true only in name. The size is inferior, and the flavour is missing. Hence many of them, noticeably the pear, are prized for their blossoms rather than their fruit. This deficiency, however, is being supplied by transplanting fruit-trees from the United States and other countries. The soil and climate seem adapted to the growth of these, and before many years Japan will be a fruit-growing land. Native grape-vines grow abundantly, and are often seen trailing over the entrance to some dwelling. The California grape, introduced a few years since, thrives exceedingly well, and already handsome vineyards are to be seen. The fruit has been put on the market, and finds a ready demand. On the whole, the empire of the Far East is fairly well supplied with its share of the world's edibles, and the condition of the cultivators has con- tinued to improve from generation to generation, though it has not yet reached the grand results belonging to the great class. Nearly all of the farmers own their homesteads. In regard to its groves of ornamental trees and forests of timber, Japan has been liberally endowed. Owing to the great number of evergreen- trees, the woods are never denuded of their foliage. The matsu {Pinus sylvestris) finds a congenial soil and a hearty welcome by the inhabitants almost everywhere. Next to this, the slopes of the northland owe their perpetual mantle to the red fir, which grows more sparsely toward the south. Valuable as timber, being much used for masts of junks, the larch is an esteemed favourite. The wax-tree is prized for its usefulness in af- fording a strong vegetable cement, while the towering camellia is highly esteemed for its seeds, which yield an oil desired for the purpose of light- ing houses and public places. Without the mulberry-tree, Japan would not be a silk-producing country. Whoever has traversed the highways through Hondo, lined for miles by twin rows of those noble patriarchs, will never JAPAN. 69 forget the Cryptomeria japonica. In the south the camphor-tree occupies a high place among the woods used in cabinet-work. Its bright green in summer, and happy brilliant colouring in autumn, relieving with beautiful effect the dark hues of the fir and pine, the maple is the royal queen of the great green woods of the Far East, and an appreciated rival of the chrysanthemum for the honours of state. Ja^an is preeminently the home of the maple. America boasts of some ten EVERGREENS AND WATER -WEEDS. species of this tree ; Europe something like twenty ; but here are almost four hundred distinct varieties. Think of a forest of four hundred species of maples decked in their gorgeous plumage of autumn ! Beginning with a deep green in the springtime, Mother Nature gradually invests the queen of her forests and groves with a robe of softer hue, until in the sunset of the seasons she decks her out in the brightest livery of fairy-land, as if she would impress upon her admirers the fact that in the shifting scenes she has not lost her vivacious spirit. The "frost queen 70 THE FAR EAST. maple," that species wMcli dons with a cheerfulness more than human the glory of the dying days, is beyond description the happiest image of radi- ant life that exists in the realm of the forest world. There is, among the numerous varieties, one that bears star-shaped leaves, whose foliage, changing early to a brilliant crimson, contrasts beautifully with the deep green of her sisters. In ancient days the maples of Mount Tamuke were especially noted for AUTUMN FOLIAGE AT TAKI-NO-KWAWA. their beauty, and thus it was the custom each returning autumn to take figures woven of silk to the Shinto shrine on the mountain, as an offering of gratitude for the splendours of the forest at this season. This caused the great poet of that age, Michizane, who believed the gods ought to be satisfied with what nature had done for them, to exclaim : "'Tis hardly for poor me To bring a beggar's gift, -when Tam'keyama spreads KTRrFITRI CASCADE, KIKKO. JAPAN. 71 Miles of red maple damask Before the glad immortals." The Japanese express their inherent love and admiration for the maple in many ways, through maple picnics, and the introduction of maples in art and song ; and, more enduring than any of these, in their pictures and carvings, their artistic weavings in costly robes, and drawings on rich wine cups. But over these fair symbols of beauty and brilliancy is the halo of a light that is fading rather than the signification of endurance typified by the pine and bamboo. A few days of brilliant reign in her matchless foliage, and the maple sends her magnificent glory away on the wings of the fickle winds, — which is ever the rule with the gay and fragile. " The warp is hoar-frost and the woof is dew, Too frail, alas ! the warp and the woof to be : For scarce the woods their damask robes endue, When, torn and soiled, they flutter o'er the lea." CHAPTER VIII. NIKKO AND ITS TEMPLES. UNTIL within a few years the traveller to Nikko could get no nearer by rail than the little town of Utsunomiya, twenty-five miles from his destination, but the beauty and grandeur of this last stage of his journey more than made up for the added inconvenience of travel. The entire way, which is a broad, well-made road, as highways generally are in Japan, is bordered by twin rows of lofty cryptomerias, some of them rising to a height of two hundred feet, their stately bodies free of branches for more than half that distance. These grand old monarchs, excepting a few that have taken the place of the originals, were planted a long time ago by a nobleman to make this road a fitting avenue leading to the resting-place of the shoguns sleeping in their bronze tombs on the hills of the city of temples. Truly no more worthy monument could have been raised, and it is estimated that over a hundred thousand persons annually make their pious pilgrimages to the sacred shrines of Nikko. But the sublime effect has been marred by the modern methods of travel, and a band of pilgrims seeking their Mecca on an express-train lose their devout appearance. All over Japan the railroad is robbing it of much of its old-time grandeur. Nikko nestles at the foot of the Nikko-zan range of mountains, in one of the grandest valleys of picturesque Japan two thousand feet above the sea. It has a cool, salubrious climate in summer, so it is a popular resort at that time, as well as being the keeper of the proudest temples in the land. Among the many sacred treasures of this storehouse of nature, there is none so ancient or so noble as the venerable mountains clothed in their dense growth of forest. The city of temples is especially fortunate in its environments. If the mountains are the noblest in the northland, the waterfalls are the wUdest in Japan. One of them leaps a sheer 350 feet into a basin of snow; another is broken and twisted into a series of cascades, whose silvery 72 JAPAN. 73 beauty cannot be conveyed to paper. The ancient forests are hung with rare mosses, that give them an increased appearance of hoariness. The silence and solitariness of the village of Irimachi, hemmed in by the towering heights, possesses an intensity of loneliness beyond comparison. But everywhere the atmosphere is laden with the sweet perfumes of a thousand flowers, and birds of rare plumage and melodious songs STABLE, NIKKO. enliven the scene. The temperature, too, has a delightful and invigor- ating tone, both healthful and hopeful.. At Nikko is seen a shrine of the oldest religion in Japan — older than her history, in fact. Beside this emblem of the Shinto faith was erected by the saint Shodo Shonin, in 716, a temple of Buddha. The later religion was introduced into the empire from China, but its priests were wise enough not to attempt to replace the primitive Shinto by it, being content to unite the two. The ablest and most powerful follower of Buddha was, no doubt, that great warrior, lyeyasu, who was deified by the emperor as " the great incarnation of Buddha, the Light of the East." Upon his'death 74 THE FAR EAST. this noted man was buried at Kunozan, in the southern country, and noble shrines were built to immortalise his memory. But in time it was felt that sufficient honour had not been done the mighty man, and it was decided to remove his remains to a more fitting resting-place at Nikko. So in 1617, on the greatest day Nikko ever knew, his body was removed to her exalted protection, with such impressive ceremonies as only the rites of Buddha can afford. Japan has never seen such another burial ; it may never again see its like. The remains of the hero were borne up the YASHAMON GATE, NIKKO. grand avenue lined by stately cryptomerias, to the mausoleum on the cedared mount, by the imperial envoy, made up of a long train of noble- men with two-sworded retainers, many gorgeously decked priests, and the living shogun. The most-sought approach to the temple-tombs of the illustrious dead is over the sacred bridge, which is a wooden structure lacquered a deep red, in vivid contrast to the sombre hue of the pines, and supported by stone piers. Gates are closed at either end, stopping all entrance, except when they are open once a year for the annual festival, and vast crowds pass over the sacred way. Leaving this bridge, the avenue lies under JAPAN. 75 overhanging cryptomerias, and is terraced with stones worn smooth by many footsteps. Midway in the ascent is a small belfry, looking like a huge mushroom under its big sloping roof, covered with bronze plates, and surmounted by the crest of lyeyasu. A bronze bell, rung by means of a big log of wood placed at an angle so that, upon being pulled back by a rope, it will strike the deep-toned instrument as it rebounds, sends forth its clear resonant notes so as to be heard a long distance. At the head of the terraced ascent stands a massive symbol of Shintoism, a granite torii. This is twenty-seven feet and six inches in height, but looks dwarfed beside the handsome five-storied pagoda standing near by. The latter has a beautiful crest, its stories decreasing in size as they stand one above another. The eaves of the lower story are decorated by the painted carvings of the twelve Japanese signs of the zodiac : the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, ser- pent, horse, goat, ape, cock, dog, and pig. Broad stone steps lead to the entrance, through the " Gate of the Two Kings," to the storehouses containing the precious relics of lyeyasu, and the numerous belongings of the temple. In the great courtyard, with its rows of stone lanterns, beside these two structures, with their large tiled roofs, is another and larger building, with painted carvings of elephants showing their hind legs turned the wrong way. These ornaments are the work of the famous left-handed artist, Hidari Jingoro, and are considered marvels of artistic taste. This elegant court is lighted, on special occasion, by 118 magnificent lanterns placed on massive stone bases, the gifts of noblemen in honour of the sleeping god lyeyasu. Kept in a small stable near by is a snow-white pony sacred to the use of the god. This building is ornamented by the carvings of three monkeys, supposed to represent the unique trinity of San-goku no saru, the trio that neither see, hear, nor speak any evU. This fact is symbolised by the attitudes of the monkeys, one having his paws over his eyes, the second covering his mouth, and the third his ears. Wherever one goes in Japan he will see these images of blind, dumb, and deaf monkeys. In this same court is a cistern fashioned out of solid rock, and holding holy water, which comes from a stream on the mountainside, known as the White Thread Cascade, as the water flows over the brink of the precipice in such a delicate layer of the silvery fluid as to look to be a part of the glistening stone. 76 THE FAR EAST. In the midst of his admiration of this scene the tourist hears the soft ting-a-ling of golden wind-bells under the eaves of the buildings, as they are gently swayed to and fro by the breeze. At the head of another flight of steps the visitor comes upon a second court, filled with wonder-works of Japanese skill, and gifts from other countries. Among these last are a bronze candelabrum, that belonged years ago to a king of Loochoo ; a huge candlestick sent from Holland, MONKEY CAKVED STABLE, NIKKO. and a strange bell which was once the pride of a Corean king. These gifts came from those kingdoms when they were considered as vassals of Japan. Another flight of steps ascended, and the visitor pauses before the Yo Mei gate, its two stories decorated with remarkable carvings of the com- mon and the unusual in artistic work. Engraved in intricate tracings of marvelous cunning and grotesque invention are groups of happy children, wise-looking Chinese sages, heads of weird dragons, and beasts that live JAPAN. 77 only in the mytliology of a picturesque people. On either side are clois- ters prodigal of their carvings of birds and flowers. As the ponderous gate swings ajar we are ushered into a courtyard con- taining several buildings, one of which was reserved in ancient times for the kagura, or sacred dance, which was performed by priestesses in wide- flowing silken trousers, an overdress of gauzy texture, and a wreath of artificial flowers, while they held in their hands tiny bells, that gave forth soft, bewitching music. They swirled and postured in absurd positions. TEMPLE AT NIKKO. making ridiculous passes with their fans before amused priests. Near the centre of the court is an enclosure holding the chapel, which contains that universal emblem of Shintoism, the golden gohei, attached to a long wand, and a Shinto mirror on a table lacquered a deep black. Save the decora- tions of bronze figures on the walls and ceilings, carvings and frescoes in gold and black lacquer, there are no ornaments here. But^ the dimness of the light, the coolness of the atmosphere, and the deep solemnity that per- vades the sacred precinct, with its impressive mementos of the days of old, linger long with the beholder. There is another way leading to this court, through an old gate bearing Three Little Maids JAPAN. 79 always of the simplest kind ; while the latter remains in Buddhist hands, and retains the ornate glory of this religion. Its storehouses are filled with works of art and rare paintings, which no pen can adequately describe. The beauty, grandeur, and sublimity of these famous shrines of Nikko must be seen to be appreciated. Art and Nature seem to have joined hands in outdoing themselves. India, famous for her sacred shrines, has nothing to com- pare with them. Even when the Taj Mahal, that " temple-tomb of Asia," has been placed in compari- son with these seen at Nikko, the be- holder finds all the awe and wonder of the other, placed amid its solemn shadows, revivified with intensified in- terest, until he feels that it was here, in the mountains of the north, art began and temples had their origin. Leaving these splendid sepulchres of the founder of the Tokugawa dynasty, and his quite as illustrious grandson, in the midst of stately mountains, clothed in ancient forests, and invested in storied mysteries of the ages, we soon reach that flashing stream Daiya gawa, plunging headlong down the pre- cipitous descent in a frantic race to gain the lowlands, where it is spanned by the Mi Hasi, or sacred bridge, built in 1638 a. d., at a spot where leg- end says was made the first pilgrimage to the mountains of the saint Shodo Shonin. A lesser temple is raised by the wayside, dedicated to the SACRED POST AT NIKKO. 80 THE FAR EAST. goddess of rice, Inari, and bearing the figure of the fox, which is the per- sonification of this deity. Nikko puts on her best livery at the festival of lyeyasu, and the shrines to this hero are then seen to the best advantage. But the tourist has not seen it all until he has been present at one of the annual pilgrimages to the mountain shrines. The day is perfect. Nikko has more perfect days, it would seem, than any other spot in Japan. The grand avenue is provided with refreshments KANAYA HOTEL AT NIKKO. for the coming multitude, and a pine, consecrated to propitiate the evil spirits, is dragged furiously up the terraced path. Eager, excited people rush after it, plucking branch after branch from the tree as charms against evils, until it is bare of leaf and branch. During this performance a con- tinual outcry of voices from a hundred throats rings up and down the val- ley erstwhile so heavy with the silence. Then the broad gate of the sacred Red Bridge is flung open, and the anxious, travel-worn pilgrims move solemnly forward on their march to the holy temples. Sanctimonious priests in robes of gold brocade or silk chasubles and white cassocks, and mounted on ponies selected with religious veneration for this pious occa- JAPAN. 81 sion, are followed by their train of devoted parishioners, clothed in brigh* yellow gowns, and holding on long poles over their heads huge fans. Behind these marches a long train of warriors, made conspicuous by their ancient trappings and arms of olden styles. Next in this strange proces- sion walk, in double file, men and boys, with masks over their faces and all wearing quaint costumes of other days donned for this especial scene. The last squad wave banners or temple flags of queer device over their heads, or carry live birds or monkeys. In the rear, attired in skins of wild beasts, and to make the imitation more startling, men creep upon their hands and knees, following two and two abreast. Besides these singular bodies of people, at intervals along the marching column zealous adherents of the faith draw sacred cars on wooden wheels, with temple-shaped roofs and bodies of dark lacquer, valances of rare needlework, and rich draperies of red and yellow sUk. The entire scene is enlivened, if not rendered more enjoyable, by all sorts of instruments, musical and otherwise, sending forth their medley of sounds. The procession is at least a mile in length, while the avenue is fairly deluged by'a flood of spectators who have come from all parts of the country — some hundreds of miles — to witness this famous festival. One day is deemed sufficient for the religious celebration, in which there is an amazing mixture of the profane and divine influences. At eventide the whole affair is closed with an extensive illumination of the temples and surroundings for a long distance. Lights from gay-coloured paper lanterns, swaying from every building and gateway, from the trees, the pagoda, the tomb, dazzle the beholders of the night scene. Lanterns of bronze and stone lend their sparkling blazes from courts and avenues, while smaller lanterns of paper, carried by the surging multitude, look like so many fireflies dodging hither and thither. The wind-bells, swayed gently by the mellow evening air, send forth their tremulous notes with sweet cadence, while the deeper tones of the bronze bell float away in the far, misty distance. The crowd finally, with backward glances, moves leisurely down the avenue whence it had ascended in the earlier hours, until the silence and loneliness of yesterday fall upon the scene. But the mixed train of prayerful priests and pious pilgrims, of devout people and curious sightseers, moving sublimely along the noble avenue consecrated to the gods of two religions, has come and gone and returned 82 THE FAR EAST. again with autumnal regularity for over a thousand years, and who would gaze upon its like again has only to come to Nikko at its next annual matsuri. He may not see the same individuals making up the singular array of marching columns, neither will the forests have on the same vestments as before ; but the solemn mien of the pine, and brilliant colour- ing of the maple still remain unchanged, while the same picturesque pageantry of worshippers will pass before the eye. It may be that Japan, in its new light of progress, has little use for these relics of romantic paganism, but she will hold upon them with ancestral veneration for many years to come. CHAPTER IX. NATIVES OF THE GREEN WOODS. NIKKO'S attractions do not exid with the temples described, by any means. There are other shrines as full of historic interest if not of religious importance, and one never tires of visiting these holy retreats embodying so happily the combined fascinations of art and nature and religion, romantic valleys and sparkling cascades, hillsides clothed in their variegated coats of bright and dark foliage, with vistas of plains in the distance. Near the hotel, and amid surroundings that have been used at some time as the burial-grounds of an older generation, stands the temple of Jokoji. A stone image of Koyasu-Jizo, the god of children, is found at this place. To this, come the mothers, with offerings and prayers for his conciliation and influence to cure their children of their ills, or if well, to guard them from misfortune. This idol is nearly six feet in height, and continually decked with red and white linen, that anxious mothers have placed upon it for the effect it is believed to have upon their loved ones. As we explore these sacred precincts about Nikko we are continually meeting with some god or goddess consecrated to some worldly object, and the central figure of some temple or shrine. No spot is so isolated or in- accessible that it does not have such an attraction. A hideous idol may stand watch in a snake garden ; a goddess of light may throw her imagi- nary influence for good over some temple, or the god of darkness crouch behind a more dreaded shrine. A memento of Shintoism, or reminder of the rites of Buddha, may be seen; every sacred object having its devotees, and the roads leading to them lined at all times with pious pilgrims wend- ing their way hither. These solemn scenes are made brighter by occasional vistas of one of the landscape-gardens which seem a part of Japan. On the west of the village, nestling amid the hills, is a corner cut from paradise, and dropped here by a generous Giver. It is famous for contain- ing hundreds of images sacred to the memory of that powerful deity that 83 84 THE EAK EAST. once dwelt here, Amida. These time-worn, moss-grown figures, cut roughly from blocks of stone, are placed in a long row beside the pathway leading into the sacred vale. A legend the devout Buddhist believes to this day says that these images cannot be counted twice alike, except under the divine incantation of a faithful priest. Its rocky bed lying be- tween two massive walls of mighty rocks, the river of the gods sweeps wildly and triumphantly through the narrow valley. Among the other places sought by tourist and pilgrim, are Kainbow A BUDDHIST SHRINE. Falls, where all the hues of heaven and earth blend in a harmonious colour- ing of water and mist ; and Pillow Cascade, a charming little stream that takes an unexpected leap of sixty feet over the brink of a rocky wall, carpeted with soft moss and covered with ferns, to quickly recover its equilibrium at the base and hie away singing as merrily as ever. Wild azaleas lend their beauty to the scene, pine and bamboo their dignity and solemnity, while the song of birds from the maples awakens the solitude. With a climate similar to that of New England, it is natural we should look for about the same denizens of the green woods. The result is not a JAPAN. 85 disappointment. Koaming to-day the wilds of Japan are the deer, fox, badger, weasel, and smaller animals of the last type. In the north is to be found the bear, while the wild boar and the monkey live in the moun- tain ranges of the central and southern provinces. In this group of natives of the woods the fox is ranked at the head by the human family, and he enjoys a sort of charmed life among the agricul- tural people, as the superstitious farm- ers believe he is the reincarnation of that sacred deity of the pastoral pur- suits, Inari. The veneration shown this god is ex- pressed on many a hillside by a ver- milion -coloured shrine, where the farming class are wont to congregate to render homage to their patron di- vinity. In this manner the fox has not only come to be looked upon with respect, if not fear, but he figures in nearly all of the fairy tales of Japanese folk-lore. He is often associated with the bad- ger, which is considered an uncanny creature, and is avoided as much as possible by all except those who hunt him for the purpose of killing him. Deer of a small species are found plentifully, and, in the vicinity of the consecrated grounds of the gegis of the Buddhist religion, he roams at will, unf earing and unharmed, amid the temples or along the village streets. VIEW OP MATSUSHIMA. 36 THE FAR EAST. But away from the special protection of these sacred places, in the fastness of mountain and valley, he is hunted as in other countries, while his meat is esteemed as a delicacy. The bear, among the Ainos of the north, and the wild boar in the Pyre- nees of the south, ai'e alike hunted and considered ugly customers when brought to bay, as many a battle-scarred hunter will attest. The flesh of either is not looked upon with favour. In fact, the meat of the hog has been considered, until within twenty years, with more than Jewish hatred, as unclean. Of late, however, it has become a part of the national diet, along with beef. Of the domesticated animals, the horse ranks easily at the head, though he is of a small breed and has never been put to severe work. There are the ox, cow, pig, dog, and cat, the sheep being conspicuous by its absence. The last do not thrive anywhere in Japan, the rugged kaya grass and the stout bamboo, upon which they will persist in feeding, proving poison to them. The native horse, if small, is hardy and fleet of foot, and capable of great powers of endurance. Horses are inclined, however, to be vicious, and are not trained to work except as racers and jumpers. Oxen and cows are employed in agricultural pursuits in most parts of the islands, but milk is not generally considered as an article of food. Goats, in some localities, are quite common, while there are two species of dogs which do not belong to any kind that we have, though as a lap- dog one of them has become quite common here. The other is called the inu, and more nearly resembles the wolf than any animal we know. It is quite easily domesticated. Cats are without number, — and also without tails, except in a few cases, when they are of great length. Eats are numerous, and looked upon with something of favour. The rat is one of the Japanese signs of the zodiac. Japanese art has led us to expect much of her bird life, and naturally we look first for the stork, so familiar to us all, through the artist and the decorator, as the king of the feathered tribe. In many respects we are disappointed. The stork, tsuru {Gfrus leucau chen), attains a height of nearly six feet when erect, and approaches the size of the ostrich. It has a white, glistening body, with ebony wings and tail-feathers, and head conspicuously marked with a spot of crimson. Appropriately, seeking the black, sinuous pines that overhang the old castle walls, and shores of the JAPAN. 87 ^i reedy ponds in the ancient parkvS, circling around the gnarled arms of the dark evergreeen, or posing in graceful and stately manner amid the grottoes and lakelets of these olden pleasure-grounds, if he does not meet the expectations of the foreigner, he richly deserves the admiration the Eastern artist so loves to picture. A companion to the stork, in size if not in public favour, is the go-i-sagi, or heron of "noble rank." Then there is the snowy heron of the rice- TAME DEER, NAUA. fields, more numerous than desirable. There are several other varieties of this kind of bird, but of lesser importance. Another of the feathered creatures that stands high in popular opinion is the mandarin duck, also common in China. These ducks have a mag- nificent plumage of a rich colouring, and, shyly seeking the secluded vpaters of some isolated lakelet or stream, are worthy of the unstinted praise be- stowed upon them. This love is strengthened by the belief that when one of a pair dies, the other remains without a mate the rest of its life, a striking example of conjugal fidelity. A bird of most beautiful plumage and gorgeous tints is that native of 88 THE FAR EAST. Japan, the copper pheasant, very often found in the southern and central islands. Teal, mallards, widgeon, woodcock, snipe, and quail, are all to be found abundantly in the marshes and unfrequented bodies of water. A Japanese spring would not be spring without its swallow, which comes and goes here as it does elsewhere in the world, never failing to make its flight to and fro as unvaryingly as the seasons. But here it builds its mud house inside the roof instead of under the eaves, as it does in New A PUBLIC PLEASURE RESORT, KANAZAWA. England. That dusky representative of every zone, the raven, is seen in this clime, the same bold, saucy, cunning mischief-maker. Among the sweet singers of the Land of the Sunrise is the skylark, whose notes in Japanese are just as melodious as in English. Here are also the cuckoo, which for some reason has fallen into ill-repute, linnets and finches, starlings, sparrows and sparrow-hawkd, and owls with no more of cheerfulness in a Japanese wood than in a New England swamp. The denizens of the farmyard are the same as in New England, and JAPAN. 89 among tlie fowls bred for eggs and table are the Black Spanish, Plymouth Rocks, Dorkings, Cochin Chinas, the common duck and goose, with the turkey, or " bird of seven faces," as they call the last. From early times fishing has been a common pursuit, and Japan is extremely fortunate in the number and variety of her finny tribe. Every kind of fish known in America, and many that are strangers with us, appear in the menus of Japan. The highest bidder for public favour is that bright pink roach of immense size, called the tai, which is ever to be found at a well-devised banquet, either baked, boiled, or roasted, unless it is preferred raw. Fish is often served without being cooked. It is the rule, rather than the exception, to take fish to the market alive. This is done by carrying them in shallow buckets, fitted with lids, and venders of fish go from house to house with their stock still alive. It must not be supposed that this practice is confined to the thickly settled districts, for far back in the mountains these fish-peddlers are to be seen going about from hamlet to hamlet. As has already been said, fish is generally eaten, while beef and pork are only sparingly partaken of. Naturally those fish which are the most rare bring the highest price in the markets. Besides these creatures of mortal life that people the green woods now, the forests were formerly, according to legend and tradition, the home of many strange races of beings, that still live in the wonder tales of Japan. Our little wiry-framed guide, whose tongue, like his limbs, never seems to tire, is pleased to tell us one of these. Many years ago, while these woods were yet young and the mosses of mountains had not given them their patriarchal appearance, elves lived in these forests, and held sway over other forms of life. They had bodies like men, but having been hatched from the eggs of the hawk, had heads like that bird, and two powerful claws on their hairy hands and feet. In early life they had wings and feathers over their bodies, but these fell away as they grew older, until they donned the garb of men, and stalked about with all the majesty of kings, declaring that they were lords of the forest. Thus when a person becomes vain and frivolous it is said of him, " he has become a Tengu," which was the name given this elfish race of the mountains by the sons of men. The chief of the strange creatures living in the fastnesses of Oyama, half man and half elf, was the Dai-Tengu, who was prouder and more 90 THE FAR EAST. vainglorious than any of his followers. He had a long gray beard and moustaches, and he seldom spoke, but continually waved a fan of seven gay feathers, and looked very wise whenever he was addressed. Over his left shoulder he carried in a sling a formidable axe, and this, with his fierce, sombre looks, gave him the reputation of being extremely cruel. These Tengus were fond of passing away their time, which must some days have hung heavily on their hands, in wild, fanciful games, such as leapfrog over steep precipices, fencing with their long, pointed noses, or by A cobbli:r. balancing themselves on the tops of high trees and in building bridges in mid-air by locking their noses together, to make their children walk over the narrow way, or spring from one span to another. Once it so happened that the son of a great warrior at the court in Kyoto, named Sakato, fell into the power and teachings of these wild denizens of the green woods of Mount Oyama. His father had fought the good fight for his chief, and, being defeated, was obliged to flee to the fastness of the forest with his dearly beloved wife. He soon died of a broken heart, but she lived to give birth to a son, whom she named Kintaro, the Golden Boy, because he had such bright hair. Though she JAPAN. 91 was grieved to think of the loss of lier noble husband, and her pleasant home that she had been obliged to desert, the mother grew to be happy in the company of her sturdy little boy. The wild beasts of the forest were her enemies, which she feared much at first ; but as Kintaro lay on his bed of ferns he made friends of the birds, while they gathered in the tree-tops and sang him to sleep day after day. Their presence telling the wild animals that no human being 'TEA-H0U8K WOMAN" IN JINKIKISHA. could be around the place, they served as guardians as well as soothing him to rest. So his mother did not fear to leave him alone with the birds for hours at a time, while she picked berries or obtained vegetables for food. In this way Kintaro grew and played in the companionship of the birds. By and by, as he became larger, these, having communication with the other creatures of the forest, one day invited a bear and a stag to see him. These were so pleased with the little fellow that they began to come regularly to see him, and Kintaro soon learned to spring on the 92 THE FAR EAST. back of the stag, that would carry him about in the woods. At first his mother was frightened at this, but as some of the birds promised to watch over him, she became reconciled to his trips, which grew longer and longer. On one of these journeys through the wildwood, up and down mountain- sides, and over dizzy heights, the stag came to a leafy spot in the forest, where rippling water made sweet music the day long, and succulent grass tempted the strange steed to stop and get his dinner. Kintaro soon saw with amazement the most elfish creatures he had ever known, for he had been brought to the home of the Tengus. They were playing at rolling small stones across a bridge made by putting their noses together, but instantly stopped at sight of the newcomer. Quickly encircling the Golden Boy, they began to sing a musical song, which expressed pleasure at seeing him. Fortunately for Kintaro, he had been taught by the birds never to be deceitful, and his mother had always made him acknowledge great love for all the creatures of the forest. The stag told this to the Tengus, and they received him with unbounded delight. The oldest and wisest of them, who never went around without a book in his hand, began to teach the boy all that he knew of birds, beasts, nature, and humanity. He taught him the languages of all the denizens of the woods, until Kintaro could talk with them all, holding conversation with everything that flew in the air, walked on the earth, or swam in the water. When he had tired of his lessons, the stag took Kintaro home, and his mother was told of the many wonderful things he had seen and learned. From that day he was known as the Prince of the Forest. After that Kintaro looked more anxiously than ever for the coming of the stag, and winding his arms around the noble creature's neck, he would be borne swiftly away to the court of the elves in the distant green woods. Here, as he grew wiser from the teachings of the Tengus, the young prince delighted to hold court with the innumerable inhabitants of the for- est. At the call of the Tengu chief, every living creature, would quickly appear : the fox, the badger, wolf and bear, the deer and dog, the marten, squirrel, and many others too numerous to name. Nor were the birds, whether great or small, missing. The hawk and the eagle, leaving their lofty perches, the crane and heron, sweeping from over the plain, the JAPAN. 93 stork and wild duck, from the ancient grove of black pines; in fact, all of the feathered friends alighted on the cedar branches to listen to the tales of the youthful prince they loved so well. But the sun does not always shine, and there came a day when Kintaro found none to attend his court under the cedars. While at play with some of the Tengus he had got impatient at their inattention to the game, when he spoke angrily to them. They were the first angry words he had ever spoken, — except possibly to his mother, and a mother forgives FOLDING CLOTHES. easily, — and the little Tengus flew up to their nests in the lofty pines. Angered still more at this, Kintaro shook the trees, and he proved so strong that the nests of the Tengus were shaken from their supports and fell to the ground. This so incensed the mothers of the injured elves that they banished the prince from their courtyard, and he was forced to start home on foot, with a feeling of sadness at his heart he had never known before. He had not gone far before he was reminded of his fallen estate by the attack of a bear, which threatened to kill him. But the little prince of the forest 94 THE FAR EAST. was plucky, and lie wrestled with the big bear until he was nearly tired- out. He was thinking what his mother would do, in case he never returned home, when a good and brave man came along. He quickly killed the bear, and took Kintaro in his arms, all bleeding and torn as he was. Kintaro soon told the stranger who he was, and how his father had fought in a lost cause and been exiled to the woods, to die there. There- upon the man wept, and held him closer than before in his arms, saying that he had been a soldier with his father, that at last the tide of battle ^^T j i i mi f.i'^^^^^M I, mtflt^f^-- lUr^ ■%. ■ 1 ^ f M i ■ ii ■' mm J m 1 f- -A wr WASHING. had turned in their favour, and that Sakato and his wife were free to return to their home. With what joy, tinged with sadness over his father's fate, Kintaro led the messenger to his mother may be imagined. She listened to the story with gladness for the sake of her son, and preparations were begun for the journey home. In the midst of this, the Tengus, who had repented of their hasty condemnation of the boy that they loved so well, came and begged of him not to leave them, but to be their prince always. Their pleadings did not avail, and finding that he was really going away, the Tengus summoned all the creatures of the forest to be present at his JAPAN. 95 departure. So many tears were shed on that occasion that a stream ran to the sea, and unlike other rivers that dry their founts in summer-time, this never becomes dry. And the story-teller stops here, except to add that Kintaro became a great warrior, who ever remembered and kept the precepts taught him by the elves of Oyama while he reigned as Prince of the Forest. '' CHAPTER X. LAKES OF THE HIGHLANDS. FEW sightseers visit Nikko without making an excursion farther up the mountains to those lakes of the highlands, Chuzenji and Yumoto. This trip is made best in one of those basket-chairs called hago, which is borne on the shoulders of two or four carriers, according to the condition of the route and size of the occupant. Even this is not a comfortable way of riding, on account of the cramped position the occu- pant has to maintain, but where the roads are steep and rough it is better than the jinrikisha. If the tourist is strong of limb and not afraid of exercising his powers of locomotion, he will be inclined to walk, but this mode of travelling, it must be confessed, is not in good favour in Japan. However, we are free to confess that, used to mountain climbing and feats of pedestrianism, we let tongues say what they might, and " took to our heels." This is nature's way, and one cannot improve upon it if he wishes to reap his full reward for his time spent in the rural districts of any country. We may add, however, without fear of contradiction, that the visitors to this region, no matter how they make the trip, are never disappointed by the grandeur and magnificence of the scenery unfolded to the gaze. Some of the party go on horseback as far as the hamlet of Uma-gae-shi, which means "horse-send-back," as this is as far as these sure-footed equines can go. From this point, those of the men who can, climb the precipitous pathway on foot, while the others and the women are carried in the yama-kago, or mountain-chair. The ascent is slow, until, at last, effort is rewarded by the grand sight of the lake of the mountains in its peerless setting of rock and forest. We are now 4,375 feet above sea level, and surrounded by cloud-capped mountains, clothed in light shades of the hard woods at their base and the darker tints of the pine above. Lake Chuzenji is a popular summer resort, and its shores are dotted with the tea-houses occupied during the 96 JAPAN. 97 warm period of the year and deserted through the winter. A grove of pines, festooned with traihng mosses, stands out boldly on one of the distant points of land, while from this rises the sheer, majestic form of Nantai-zan, the sacred mountain. This is over eight thousand feet in height, and on its summit the wind god is supposed to have his dwelling. This brings hither each season a great number of pilgrims with no other errand than to propitiate with appropriate tributes this fickle deity, that RESTING KAGO. he may remain in good humour until the autumn harvests have been safely stored. On the sides, broken ranges of hills, covered with dense growths of forest, fringe the crystal waters with a border of dark hue. Crossing the lake in a boat, catching many a glimpse of the finny in- habitants of the waters as we pass along, we are soon wending our way under an archway of grape-vines, syringa, azaleas, and rank bamboo grass, overtopped with elms, chestnuts, and maples, until we finally halt at Rjoizu-ga taki, or Dragon's Head Cascade, where dancing waters make 98 THE PAR EAST. $ merry the livelong day in the midst of their lonely surroundings. Leav- ing this spot with an affectionate backward glance, we plunge into the deeper woods. The flowers and the vines grow scarcer and more puny, we outstrip the maple with regret, while the forest grows denser and darker. Up, up, up, we continue to climb, higher and higher, imtil even the hardy oak no longer greets us, and we advance under gnarled and haggard pines, that make noonday dark with their shadows. We are wondering if we had not better turn back, when, without any warning, we suddenly find ourselves looking down upon a scene which, for the deep silence and solemnity that hangs over it, fairly takes away our breath. There are still lofty peaks hanging over us with their grim, awe- inspiring fronts, but it is not that which makes the situation so im- pressive and sublime. We experience that sensation which accompanies every spot which seems to lack room. The bright body of water at our ■':} feet, made dark by its surroundings, seems compressed into half the space '|' it needs ; but we soon get used to this, and look to our guide for explana- |f tion. He tells us this is the upper of the highland lakes, famous Yumoto, of which we have been hearing ever since we landed at Yokohama. It has become thus noted as a resort for victims of rheumatism, who fancy they can find here a balm for their sufferings in the numerous stilphur springs in this vicinity. A hamlet of inns and tea-houses finds scanty standing- room on the rim of the lake. At this place are found the two extremes of temperature, — the excessive heat of summer and the extreme cold of win- ter. Very beautiful Yumoto looks iTuder the benign influences of sum- mer, and here gay life makes one forget his aches and pains if its warm fountains do not. In the public places of Japan the promiscuous bathing of the sexes is generally forbidden, but here the force of the law is lost, and the old-time custom prevails. But Yumoto's reign each year is brief. A short season of health-seeking and pleasure-finding, and at the warning of the frost a coarse matting is thrown over the dwellings, the people hie away to their respective homes, while Yumoto is left to languish during the long winter in its crystal prison, covered with ten feet of snow. The return to Nikko is made over the site of one of the famous battle- grounds of ancient days, and we reach the city of temples glad we made this trip to the mountains, — thrice glad it is done. We came to Nikko JAPAN. 99 from Utsu-no-miya behind a wheezy iron horse at the rate of from twelve to fifteen miles an hour. But in doing that we missed largely the beauties of the sacred avenue, so we decide to hire a jinrikisha to get back, and the result is most satisfactory. Performing this stage of our journey, we go by rail to Oyama, and thence take a westerly course through the great wilderness of mountains and valleys which makes this region " the Switz- erland of Japan." Here we find the people living nearer to nature and nature's god, where there is less of foreign and more of the aboriginal influence. The plains along this road, as far as the foothills of Asamais, are producers of two great staples, rice and mulberry. Large factories, where silk is spun from cocoons, are to be seen. The food for the silk- worms is obtained by planting a stem from the parent mulberry-tree, and when this has grown to full leafage, the leaves are plucked or else the whole branch is placed in a basket where the worms can feed upon them. Rice is cut by the sickle, as grain was harvested in this country before 200 THE FAR EAST. the invention of the reaping-machine. A labourer follows the reaper to gather the straw. The grain is separated from its stalk by means of a steel blade with a row of teeth along the iipper edge. A bunch of straw is held in one hand, while the other pulls the heads over this saw-like instru- ment, and the rice falls on a cloth spread to catch it. The hulling process is even slower and more primitive. The rice, after being put in its basin HUSKING RICE. of stone, is beaten from its covering by the weight of a lever falling into the receptacle. The houses along this route are made of wood, except an occasional stone dwelling, and the roofs are shingled, tiled, or thatched. Outside the large cities the means for keeping warm during the cold periods ai'e primi- tive in the extreme. The principal resort is for the sufferer to put on more clothes. The only artificial way of affording heat is the hibashi, the charcoal brazier, a wooden box filled with ashes, on the top of which is placed a layer of red-hot charcoal. Around this, muffled in their extra clothing, the family huddle and shiver, for the Japanese are very suscepti- ble to the low temperature. Houses are lighted in the mountain districts by a wick floating in a cup of cocoanut-oil, placed in a paper lantern, or JAPAN. 101 by a candle of vegetable wax, stuck in a candlestick of grotesque pat- tern. In tbe amphitheatre of the northern mountains the tourist suddenly and unexpectedly comes upon a tea-growing province, where he had least expected to find it. But the plant raised here is not considered of a very good quality, and it is cured in the simplest manner possible by being dried in the sun. It is not offered for the foreign market, but finds a ready demand from home consumers. It goes without saying that Japan is greatly interested in tea-growing, and great attention is given that crop, both in raising and curing, though only a small percentage is sent abroad. The soil best adapted to the crop is that composed of disintegrated granite, which quickly partakes of moisture and is easily drained. Green tea with- out milk or sweetening is the universal beverage, and the stranger accepts this the more willingly as the water of Japan, before it is boiled, is less fit to drink than that of almost any other country. This route of travel crosses the backbone of Japan, where two engines are required to draw the coaches up an incline of one foot to each fifteen feet of progress from Yokogawa to Karuisawa through Usui Pass. In a short distance twenty-five tunnels are threaded, having an entire length of about three miles. These tunnels are built of stone or brick. At the summit, four thousand feet above the sea, is to be found a tjrpical Japanese inn, where the traveller stopping for a brief rest is invariably offered a small tray, called bon, containing a teapot, teacups, a caddy of hot water, and a small charcoal fire with which to light the pipe or cigarette. A charge of ten sen is made. A tea-house contains one large room, which can be divided into several smaller ones by simply drawing sliding screens. These apartments are wholly unfurnished during the day. At nightfall the bed is made by first sprinkling a generous amount of flea powder over the straw mat laid on the smooth floor. A mattress about four inches thick is then laid down. Over this spotless sheets are spread, and over them down quilts, the number gauged by the temperature of the weather. A mosquito netting is then hung over the couch, and a paper lantern, with a dim light burning from a wick floating in oil, placed near the head. To this is added, for the women, a wooden head-rest, so they will not disarrange their hair. This is a typical Japanese bed, without a single article of furniture in the apartment, and separated from that 102 THE FAR EAST. adjoining by a screen "wall, which is moved back against the outer wall of the building when the sleeper arises in the morning. A large tub is convenient, where all of both sexes bathe promiscuously without any feeling of shame. The Japanese live more by washing than eating ; they are a cleanly people, but, as a race, subject to skin diseases. This may be due to exposure, and again disease may be spread by con- tagion, from their habit of public washing. A Japanese, upon reaching an inn where he intends to stop any length of time, doffs his heavy clothing, and puts on a light kimono girthed about with a silken sash. This habit not only makes him comfortable, but puts him into good harmony with his surroundings. EtrjIYAMA. CHAPTER XI. IN THE WILDS. MANY stop over night at this lofty station to witness the glory of the sunrise. The reward is ample for loss of time or any incon- venience the delay may have caused, for nowhere in the Land of Sunrise is the day ushered in with greater beauty or magnificence. The surroundings are such as one might picture for the stepping-stones of the awakening god. as he climbs from his couch in the deep to the rosy heights of morning. In the midst of these colossal benches rests that mighty moun- tain boat, Iwa-fune-san^ as if driven in from the distant sea, and stranded on the splintered peaks scattered around the lofty monarch, Asama-yama. This grim sentinel towers nearly nine thousand feet above the ocean, the blue and purple tints that touch the upper part relieved lower down by the delicate shades of green running from the pine to the maple. Not least among the group of royal giants stands grand old Ikao, while still nearer to us, with its castles of cliffs and pointed spire, rise in bold relief 1 Named " Kock-boat Mountain" from the shape of its peak: Iwa, rock; fune, boat; san. mountain. 103 104 THE FAR EAST. the castellated ramparts and liuge arclies of Miyogi-san, or Rocky Moun- tain. In the two lights of the dawning day the silver tower of peerless Fujiyama is pillared in the southern sky. On the west rolls the Sea of Japan, while in the glorified east the broad Pacific lies with unruffled bosom. The clouds that all night have hung over the mountains roll slowly away, as the starlight takes on the peculiar transparency of early morn- ing. Then the mists settle swiftly down over peak and pine-fronded hill, until their soft profiles are but dimly seen. Afar in the east a faint streak of crimson tinges the horizon. The transition that follows is as rapid as it is delicate and glorious. But the pen cannot reveal the sweet incense of the highland breeze and Ihe fragrance of the flowers, for that requires a sense over which the mind is no mediator ; the brush cannot picture the glory of the summer dawn, flecking here and there with gold and pink the green carpet Nature has spread on the landscape, because the eye has no language to impart its treasures ; the imagination cannot bestow the softness of the songs that stir the heavenly air, as fancy has no gift to feel as others feel, and hear as others hear. But look ! the peerless mountain suddenly stands before us more re- splendent in her dazzling morning robes than at midday. Fleecy clouds fall away from her matchless form, as if the goddess had begun to dis- robe ; the gauze-like veil that has concealed her marble white counte- nance drops from the snowy forehead, that she may catch the first flash of the golden eye of the east. "With jealous haste the hills of the north then tear aside with then- long pine arms the mist curtains enveloping them, when their daring profiles stand boldly out against a sapphire back- ground. These detached draperies of more than silken delicacy hang for awhile tremulous in the airy space, rising and falling with gentle undu- lations on the soft breath of morning; now they break apart, and now they cling together ; now they are torn into a thousand shreds, to swhn away on the current of air, growing dimmer and dimmer as they float into the distance, or smk slowly, lightly, into the dark valleys, unnum- bered veils of finest gauze wafted whither the wind listeth. A fresh flaw of wind comes rushing up one of the rents in the mountains, the last delicate filaments are torn ruthlessly aside, and the smile of the risen sun illuminates the earth. JAPAN. 105 Leaving this station in the mountain pass, the railroad winds down the western descent throiigh what is considered the very heart of picturesque Japan. Deep gullies now yawn constantly on the one hand, while on the other cloud-capped peaks look grimly down, none grander than old Asama-yama, who appears at the zenith of his glory from this point of view. Below, in the distance, lie the rice-fields of Iwamurata, looking in the month of harvest' like golden foils laid on the wide-spreading plain. FUJIYA HOTEL AT MIYANOSHITA. Nowhere in the land of soft contrasts does the deep green of the pine-clad mountains oppose more vividly the gray of the lime belt, the brown of the lava tops, and the shadows of the furrowed valleys. There is no hamlet, however small, in Japan that does not have at least one shrine and a temple. It is equally true that every Japanese home contains the gods of Shinto and Buddha, the first to protect the family in their bodily wants, and the other as a guardian over their spirits when death shall come. The shrine of the first is easily distinguished from the temple of the other by its torii, always placed before it. 106 ' THE FAR EAST. At Zenkoji is the celebrated temple of Amida, dedicated to the sacred three, Amida, Kwannon, and Daiseishi, whose images are all enshrined here. This group is claimed to have been made by the renowned saint, Shaka Muni, from gold that he obtained from Mount Shuni, the centre of the universe. It is entwined with a tale of wonderful adventures in China and Corea before it was brought to Japan in 552 a. d., as a pledge of friendship from the king of the last country to the Emperor of Japan upon the entrance of the religion of Buddha into this country. It was received with a storm of indignation from the followers of Shinto, and was subjected to all kinds of treatment. But legend says it was in vain that its enemies threw it into the sea, attempted to hew it into pieces, or tried to burn it. It came out of every attack unharmed, until in 602 A. D. it found a peaceful resting-place at Zenkoji. The present temple was erected about two hundred years ago, and is a two-storied structure, 198 feet in length and 108 in width, with a heavy gable roof supported by 136 stone pillars. This roof is claimed to have 69,384 rafters, a number exactly equal to the written characters of the Chinese version of the scripture of Buddha. One thousand and six hun- dred square feet, covered by eighty-eight mats, comprises the knee l i n g- room for the worshippers praying to the different gods arranged about at every available spot and niche. This ancient temple is rendered more unique and picturesque by the practice of painting upon the shingles the name of each person aiding in the support of the temple. These shingles are fifteen inches long and four wide. Night-watchmen are common throughout Japan, and in the small towns and villages they carry, as in olden times, two sticks made of hard wood called hioshigi, or "tune-blocks." All through the night, at regular intervals, the sharp click of these instruments striking together is heard. The hours are designated by the number of strokes of the sticks, five o'clock being given by five strokes, and the half hour by one click. The roads of Japan are kept in excellent condition, which is more easily done from their hard, smooth bed or bottom. At the wayside farms, that noisy but cheerful occupation of threshing grain is going on as we pass along in our jinrikisha, the work being done by both men and women. The well-dried straw has been laid on mats outside the barn, and the ker- nels are pounded out by clumsy-looking flails, which are handled with a JAPAN. 107 dexterity quite surprising. Another way of getting out the grain is to place the stalks on frames of bamboo and beat them with clubs. In the province of Echioo, on the northwest district of Hondo, the settlements are mostly small villages, and but few houses have thatched roofs. The majority are covered with shingles, which are held in place by cobblestones, as the winds of the winter season are very violent in this section. The women of this province are larger and more muscular than in some of the southern districts, which may be due largely to the TORII, SHINTO TEMPLE GROUNDS. fact that they work as hard and as much out-of-doors as the men. It is no uncommon sight, but rather the rule, to see young and pretty girls working side by side with weather-beaten men, and the pathetic prospect of no better state in the immediate future lies before them and their children. They soon age and grow stout of figure, their good looks leav- ing them in a few years. Women smoke as much as the men, and in- variably carry pouches for pipe and tobacco by their sides. This part of the island does not offer the inviting prospects of other portions, unless it be in the number of children, which seem to be the fruitful crop of this rather cheerless country. The parents are poorly clad, while the 108 THE FAR EAST. younger members of the family are content with Httle, if any, clothing. The price of labour, whenever it commands a reward, is a mere pittance, women using the pick and shovel from sunrise to sunset for the paltry sum of ten cents. An example of this kind is where they are working for some railroad or improvement company, which seems to be about the only avenue open to them to earn money. The island of Sado lies off this coast about twenty miles from the mainland. Sado is forty miles in length and about eight miles in width, and has a population of 135,000. It has mines of lead, cop- per, silver, and gold, the last hav- ing been discov- ered in consider- able quantities in the seventeenth century. The river Shi- nano-gawa, which turns over its floods to the Sea of Japan at Niigata, drains this province from the south, and the river Aka-gawa, from the mountains on the north. The first is a wide, shallow stream, often sluggish in its current. The other is more rapid, and has several pretty falls. This district is noted for the amount of cotton and tobacco it raises. It is a common sight to see young girls spinning, and only these are COUNTnY GIRLS. JAPAN. 109 employed at this industry. One of the most frequent sights to be seen along the roads is a single ox or bull drawing a load of tobacco to the city, the yoke being simply a wooden stick held on top of the neck by a thong running underneath. Owing to a chronic weakness of the eyes, the natives wear huge, mush- room-shaped hats to shield them from the sui^, and when the heat is most severe, wear big smoked glasses for further protection. These spectacles are made round instead of oval, and are two inches or more in diameter. SCHOOL, OLD STYLE. giving the long, thin countenance of the wearer a peculiar appearance. They still further add to the picturesqueness of their looks by straw mats suspended from their shoulders. Niigata, with a population of 34,000, was made an open port in 1869. This town is not particularly interesting to the tourist, and has fewer relics than the average city. Between Niigata on the west shore and Fuku-shima on the eastern boundary of the adjoining province of Iwashiro, stretches north and south the backbone of Hondo, affording a picturesque scenery. Here are vast 110 THE FAR EAST. forests of cedars and cryptomerias, the former being used to a great extent for building purposes, nearly all of the floors of the houses being laid in this wood. Planed and finished without paint or varnish, it acquires a beautiful polish after long use. The most attractive mountains are the 0-Bandai and Ko-Bandai, the latter rising to a height of over six thousand feet. As late as 1888 it showed the volcanic uifluences at work within by breaking forth with great vigour, destroying nearly five hundred people. One of the pleasant features of this country is its schoolhouses, square, substantial stone buildings, where often as many as seventy-five youths of both sexes are taught the principles of knowledge, songs and marching enlivening the course of studies. Modern methods are being adopted to a greater extent than might be expected. A railroad penetrating this coun- try, and running for mUes at a stretch along the ancient highway, is nearing completion. KEADIXt; A LETTER. CHAPTER XII. THE EDEN" OF THE NORTH. SHAPING our course now toward the eastern coast, and leaving behind us the railroad and all hope of a railroad, we plunge boldly into a country where the mountains present their grandest peaks, the valleys don their richest verdure, and the sky takes on that rare wealth of colouring peculiar to this region. As we proceed, signs of life become less apparent, until only the coal huts and smoky fires of the charcoal burners of Japan are scattered over the broken landscape, wherever there is suffi- cient growth to admit of their vocation. For a time the way grows more and more precipitous, the mountains become more bulky ; and then the latter gradually slope off in front into hillsides, the growth becomes dwarfed, stunted pines and bamboos taking the place of the lofty monarchs of the forests. Over the tops of these scrubs we catch the gleam of water, and soon realise that the sea is on either side and ahead of us. The last is the Strait of Tsugaru ; that on the right hand the Pacific Ocean ; on the left, the Sea of Japan. We have reached the northern shore of the main island of the Empire of the Far East, Hondo. Ahead of us lies the second island in size, Hokkaido, which has an area of about thirty thousand square miles and a population of nearly one hundred and fifty thousand. A somewhat boistetous passage across the strait takes us to Hakodate, which was the second Japanese port opened to American commerce, and the most important city in Hokkaido, — the North Road, or district, — which comprises not only this island, which until recently has been known as Yezo, but the crooked line of isles to the north of this, the Kuriles. Hakodate has a fine harbour, protected on the south by a rocky barrier over eleven hundred feet in height. The town lies at the foot of this, and has become quite a resort for invalids on account of its delightful climate. There is a museum at this place, among its other attractions, where is to be found an extensive collection of sea shells, birds of many kinds, and 111 112 THE FAR EAST. relics of the stone age. Leaving Hakodate, we soon find that there are few good roads in Hokkaido, and that the best mode of travelling outside of these is on horseback. Much of the interior of this island is a primeval forest, seldom penetrated by man, and then only by the hunter of the bear and other animals having their haunts within the wilds. Before quitting Hakodate we frequently meet with a different type of people from those we have been accustomed to see in Hondo. These we soon learn are the Ainos, as they are now called, and considered the REFRESHMENT SELLER. original inhabitants of the more southern islands, but who have been driven to this less genial clime by their overpowering rivals. The dis- tinction between them and the Japanese is quickly seen, one of the most noticeable characteristics being their great abundance of hair. Except that they are milder in their natures, they bear about the same relationship to Dai Nippon and its present people that the American Indians do to the United States and its inhabitants. They have eyes with the inward fold peculiar to the Japanese, but they have wider countenances, broader shoulders, and more sturdy hmbs. The men sometimes reach a height JAPAN. 113 of six feet, thougli more commonly standing from jfive feet six inches to eight. With their heavy growth of hair and beard, which is never allowed to be shorn, they bear a marked resemblance to the description of Esau. The average height of the women is about five feet, and their costume does not differ materially from that of the men, their principal gar- ment being a frock open in front and held about the waist by a girdle. It is usually ornamented simply by embroidery done in some fanciful design of individual invention. Unlike the men, the women keep their hair cut quite short, while they give the appearance of a moustache to the upper lip by tattooing it. The habits of these peculiar people are as simple as their personal appearance. Their dwelling is simply a hut raised on posts, and sheltered by a reed roof. Their sleeping-coviches are rude benches built around the walls and covered with mats. A hole is left in one wall for a place of entrance, while a second serves for a window, and affords the only ventila- tion they have. The Ainos, in their religious rites, worship the sun and moon as deities, and the bear as a sort of mediator between themselves and these others. In certain districts Hokkaido has a rich virgin soil, but the Ainos lived solely by hunting and fishing, until the new government at Tokyo in 1870 decided to try and raise these people from their barbarism by teaching them how to raise crops. Accordingly a farm was established patterned after a California fruit plantation. In order to carry out this experiment successfully, Sapporo, situated near the centre of the island, was selected as the seat of control here. The first thing to be done was to cut a road through a trackless wilderness for nearly seventy-five miles from Hako- date, and other highways had to be opened, so that in all nearly one hun- dred and fifty miles of road were built. In addition to this expense large sums were laid out in mills to saw lumber, and in machinery of one kind and another to run the work of building houses and bridges across the numerous streams intersecting the country. From such a beginning, and with this worthy object, sprung into existence a capital with houses of boarded walls and shingled roofs, similar to the homes of our own Far West. The building of railroads next engaged the attention of the Japanese, and now Sapporo has connection by rail with Otarunai, on the north coast, 114 THE FAR EAST. twenty miles distant ; to the Cola mines of Poronai, thirty-five miles away ; and southward, to Shin-moraran, a good port on Volcano Bay. Along these same routes are lines of telegraph, which have been of great benefil in opening up this country. The natives taking kindly the efforts of the government, wonderful A FISHERMAN. results have followed. The trains into Sapporo from either direction rush through thousands of well-tilled farms, where a little more than a quarter of a century ago stretched vast forests, which were the lairs of wild beasts. Crops natural to the temperate zone, Indian corn, melons, cucumbers, onions, asparagus, and others, yield good harvests ; fruit trees grow abun- dantly. Horses, cattle, hogs, and some sheep are among the domesticated JAPAN. 115 animals. So here, in a climate that causes the ground to be covered more or less with snow for half the year, with the simple means at their com- mand, by the assistance of their conquerors the Ainos have builded for themselves a thriving agricultural country, a region of pleasant surprises to the newcomer. Away from this district the Ainos remain about the same as in past generations, primitive in their customs and gentle in their associations. They number in all about twenty-five thoiisand. Much of the scenery in Hokkaido is picturesque and interesting, particu- LANTERN MAKERS. larly on the northern shores, but the southland claims us, and, with a brief sojourn among the " Yezo hills," we bid adieu to its lakes, mountains, vol- canoes, and picturesque people, to recross the Strait of Tsugaru, clouds of strange-looking sea-fowl screaming over our heads as the little steamer heads for the main island. Upon reaching the shore of Hondo we take the grand trunk line for Tokyo, the first place of interest which we pass being Sendai, the " city of enchantment." We then pass through the region of the lacquer-tree, which affords that varnish so much used in Japan. It resembles our ash to a considerable extent, and it is its sap which is so extensively used to 116 THE FAR EAST. finish wood. It also has an oil and vegetable wax that are valuable for lighting purposes. Another tree of especial value growing in this country is the camphor, which is an evergreen belonging to the laurel family, and has great clusters of yellow flowers considered with great favour. But the gum obtained from this tree is what makes it the most valuable. This sub- stance is obtained by cutting the wood into small pieces and then extract- FEEDING SILKWORMS. ing the sap by steaming the chips in a wooden trough until the sap oozes out and is caught in a vessel placed for that purpose. Even going at our slow rate we soon reach Fukushima, the centre of the silk industry. This occupation is almost entirely monopolised by girls and women, as they are better adapted to it on account of their lighter touch and greater patience than the men. Groves of mulberry-trees are everywhere to be seen. The homes of the people have a busy appearance, with the women stripping leaves and reeling silk, while rows on rows of white and yellow cocoons are placed on mats exposed to the sun's rays in order to "kill" the chrysalis. Three weeks of constant care, day and JAPAN. 117 night, are required to hatch the eggs, and even then many of them are lost. Leaving this region behind, we reenter the country of rice-fields and tea-plantations, where young girls are to be seen gathering the leaves of the last-named plants, and putting them on drying-mats. The branch road running to Nikko is reached, and we find ourselves travelling the same route taken in coming up. Again we view the plantations and the flooded fields, the level patches of deep green stalks, the stacks of ripened grain belted with their natural fringes, until we are familiar with it all, and hail with gladness the reappearance of Tokyo's vast expanse of homes, business houses, and public buildings. CHAPTER XIII. SHADOWS OF DEPARTED POWER. THE day has already come when the stranger can travel to all parts of the island empire without hindrance, though until very recently the one way open to him was the Tokaido, the imperial grand trunk of the main island. This word means, as has been said, " Eastern Sea Road." Along this historic highway were scattered in ancient times several cities of importance, among which may be mentioned Odawara, now but a shadow of its old self, Atami, Okitsu, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Okazaki, Nagoya, while but slightly removed are the great silk-maldng, tea-raising, and pottery-producing regions of Uji, Gifu, and Banko. Following this great highway, the traveller beholds miles of unob- structed view of the Pacific, with its silvery beaches on the one hand ; on the other, ranges of mountains crowned with snowy crests ; while he passes over reedy plains or through beautiful towns, his pathway bordered for the greater part of the distance by lofty cryptomerias. These vener- able and gigantic trees were planted by command of that noted shogun (general) whose tomb we visited at Nikko, lyeyasu. This was done about 265 years ago, or very soon after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. It is true many of the original trees have fallen away for others of a more recent planting, but the majority standing to-day bear the ancient grandeur of that far-distant day. If the fame of that deified warrior rests largely upon his prowess with arms, he is to be credited with many humane acts, among which ranks high the planting of these cedars of Japan along her most frequented highways. The prime object in doing this was to prevent sunstroke to the numerous travellers passing along the road. How many tired and perspiring pedestrians have blessed his name, for this work is beyond estimation, but the number must be legion. This grand thoroughfare is the equal, if not superior, of that leading to Nikko, of which he was the originator. Beginning with the seventeenth century, twice each year gorgeous retinues of daimios (nobles) passed over 118 JAPAN. 119 this route to offer to the shogun at Tokyo, then called Yedo, their renewal of fealty. As is the case with many other old roads in Japan, much of the ancient glory of the Tokaido has departed with the advent of the railroad, which runs for long stretches within sight' of it. This modern rival for the patronage of travel was begun in 1872, and completed seventeen years later. The difference between the old way and the new is aptly shown by ■j'^^p^n^ :^-it^-^^'i.:J^ ^"l^w ^p0^m.: -^ , ' ^-z^-- ''%:..- "^^ i^^i^Bm * - -,■ -tr:> (jL '^^^^^■^flkfe mBBfc^^^^MBft., fHy^SHh mjiwaL^jem yO MEl GATE, NIKKO. the fact that while it formerly took seventeen days to perform the journey, it can be compassed in as many hours by the steam horse. Wishing to stop over at Tokyo until another day, before resuming our journey to Yokohama, and thence along the renowned Tokaido to the west- ern country, we improve the opportunity to see the yasMki, or " spread-out house," as the Japanese word means. Now Japan can claim as the orig- inal productions of her own artists and architects three forms of build- ings, or structures. One of these is the torii, found at the entrance of all Shinto shrines, and which has been described. The second of the list is the shiro, or castle, which claims a high place on account of the vast extent of the work, and the great size of the stone used in its building 120 THE FAR EAST. material. The castle of Ozasaka, built by HideyOvShi, contains stones forty feet in length, ten feet in width, and five or six feet in thickness. In the highest part of the citadel of Tokyo are stones over sixteen feet long, six feet high, and three feet thick. What makes the size of these blocks of granite seem most remarkable is the distance from which they have been brought, — as far away as Hiogo, more than two hundred miles distant. They were drawn neither by steam nor by beasts, but by human arms, and were raised to their lofty positions by the same power. The third of these products of Japanese skill, the yashiki, has a unique and striking appearance. This consists of four lines of houses arranged in the form of a hollow square. In the centre of this front wall are erected mansions for the daimio and his ministers, while the outside dwellings are occupied by their retainers. The array on the frontage has the appearance of a single building on foundations of stone, with rows of grated windows. The hollow interior is filled with gardens, walks, and fire-proof warehouses. A ditch or moat, usually eight to ten feet in width, and varying in depth from three to twelve feet, filled generally with running water brought from a long distance, encircled the yashiki. The lotus-flowers were allowed to grow along the rims of the moats. In case the castle stood on an elevation the slopes were grassed over, while the escarp was faced with blocks of stone. Often miles of frontage of these yashikis were to be seen in the larger towns, under the old regime, making a most monotonous appearance. The result to the two-sworded gentry living within them can only be surmised. " Some of these yashikis covered many acres of ground, and the mansions of the Go Sank6 families and the great clans of Satsuma, Kaga, Choshiu, and Chikuzen are known at once upon the map by their immense size and commanding positions. Within their grounds are groves, shrines, cultivated gardens, fish-ponds, hillocks, and artificial landscapes of unique and surpassing beauty. The lord of the mansion dwelt in a central building, approached from the great gate by a wide stone path and grand portico of keyaki-wood. Long, wide corridors, laid with soft mats, led to the master's chamber. All the woodwork, except certain portions, stood in virgin grain like watered silk, except where relieved here and there by a hard gleam of black lacquer-like enamel. The walls were gorgeously papered with gold, silver, or fanciful and JAPAN. 121 coloured designs, characteristic of Japanese art, — among which, the pine, plum, and cherry tree, the bamboo, lily, the stork, tortoise, and lion, or fans, were the favourites. The sliding doors, or partitions, of which three sides of a Japanese room are composed, were decorated with paintings." With the advance of Japan along new lines, these structures, the outcome of the Japanese tent in the early days of Yedo, are growing yearly less frequent in Tokyo. In the light of modern civilisation there is no call to replace those the hungry flames destroy. We are impressed ihore than ever by the size of Tokyo, which is about equal to that of London. An odd feature to us is the general lack of sidewalks, the pedestrians passing along in the middle of the streets, without particular danger to themselves. The drivers of vehicles of numerous kinds carry horns, which they blow to warn aside any foot- passenger who may be in their way. The Broadway of Japan is the Bund of Tokyo, along which an odd mixture of humanity is constantly passing and repassing, the representatives of many races of men and many condi- tions in life. In the midst of this surging mass we caught sight of an undersized man, dressed in a sort of mixture of Oriental and Occidental fashion. Notwithstanding his singular dress, a glance showed that he was an American, and the load of books under his arms that he was a scholar. Upon inquiry, we learned that he was the celebrated Lafcadio Hearn, the author of several books upon Japan, and at present a professor of foreign literature in the vmiversity. In fact, he is the only foreigner left in the Japanese institutions of education, where a few years ago American and European teachers were common. But that was before the Chinese-Japanese war, and even this man of letters might not be the exception had he retained more of his Americanism and adopted less of his chosen country. The train leaves Tokyo for Yokohama at 1.30 p. m., and bidding the capital good-bye for another period, which may be longer than our first, two hours later we are again threading the streets of the latter city. Here we plan a tour into the heart of Japan, intending to visit the historic spots of the empire, which were the battle-grounds of the days of feudal- ism. In order to do this to our greatest satisfaction we shall, travel i little by rail, preferring the jinrikisha, or that still more primitive mode, travel by foot. . ' ' , 122 THE FAR EAST. If not particularly attractive in itself, Yokohama is favoured with beautiful surroundings. Twelve miles from this city is Omori, where Professor Morse discovered mounds of shells similar to those found in Florida, New England, and Denmark. Near by are the temples of Ikegami, which annually are the scene of one of the grandest religious pageants to be seen in Japan. A popular seashore resort is at Honmoku, on the beach of Mississippi ^ 1 ^.M ^^' sHB"*^^ MAIN STREET, TOKYO. Bay, where is found that famous tea-house of Tsukimikan, which means. "Moon House." Another fine bathing place is'Yamashita, which is con- ducted in a more primitive manner. Boating is very much in vogue at the former place, which has a fine beach. Twenty miles from Yokohama lies the shadow of that city of sacred memories and relics, Kamakura, which was the capital of the shoguns for nearly three hundred years, beginning in 1192. In the zenith of the prosperity and military glory, a million inhabitants lived where to-day are plains covered with forest, patches of rice, and fields of tasseled corn. JAPAN. 123 Kamakura had a most eventful history. In 1333, two Japanese warriors, named Ashikaga and Yoshisada, after a long siege, captured and nearly destroyed the city. Then the former established a new dynasty of shoguns. Among the historic curiosities of this place is the temple of Hachiman, standing on a high plateau, which is reached by a path leading up fifty- eight stone steps. The hero deified here was a god of war. This temple, plain in its architecture, contains many relics of the long and sanguinary VIEW ON THE BLUFF, YOKOHAlVi_, wars of the old regime, and is a treasury of military collections to be prized. In reaching this sacred spot the visitor passes through a cluster of ancient trees, among which is a venerable icho, over twenty feet in circumference, and asserted to be over a thousand years old. This noble patriarch has a wide-spreading foliage that, under the touch of the autumn frost, turns to leaves of gold. Beyond this spot is a grove of great religious interest, holding within its sacred precincts the best image of the Great Buddha to be found in Japan. In the park at Nara is a larger representative of the head of the leading 124 THE FAR EAST. religion of tlie Far East, but this image is acknowledged to be the better work of art. There are many notable images of Buddha to be found in the Land of the Gods, but not one which can compare with this in its impressive presentation of the principles of Buddhism, in its historic associations, and in its size and work as a masterpiece of art, — sitting here on the deserted plain of Japan's ancient capital, with its mighty but reposeful face turned toward the sea, with a look fitting its august mys- tery. This image was made in 1251, and at that time was covered by a ROAD TO THE TEMPLE. temple, one hundred and fifty feet square. A tidal wave, in 1369, swept away the building, but left the statue uninjured. The temple was soon after rebuilt, but as if the elements held some especial enmity against it, for the second time it was destroyed, 1494, two years after the discovery of America by Columbus, and it has never been reconstructed. Though standing in the open air, the Bronze Buddha remains to-day in an excellent state of preservation, and is surrounded by a park, cared for by individuals. It is a perfect symbolisation of calm resignation and com- plete mastery over all the passions and tempests that beset the human frame, while an intellectual light pervades each of its mighty features. JAPAN. 125 Buddha is represented to have had great love for all dumb creatures. A noted Japanese warrior and king, named Yoritomo, is credited with con- ceiving the idea of placing here at his capital an image of his god which should outrival that at Nara. He died before he could carry out his plan, but one of the ladies at his court finished the work of collecting funds, and Kamakura's "Buddha" was cast in bronze on the spot by Ono Goroe- mon. Its height lacks only five inches of fifty feet, while its greatest A RUSTIC TEMPLE SHKINE. girth is ninety-seven feet and two inches. The width from ear to ear is seventeen feet and nine inches. The eyes are of unalloyed gold ; the fore- head is embossed with silver that would weigh thirty pounds. As its name implies, the image is cast of bronze, the parts carefully brazed together. In the hollow of the interior is a small shrine, and a ladder leads up into the head. Amid a solemn silence, the supplicant enters into the awful presence of the graven god, and prostrating himself before the shrine pleads for its 126 THE FAR EAST. favour. How many thousands have here each year offered up their prayers to the divine ruler through this object of worship, there is no way of knowing ; but since the image was first placed here the number must be beyond the most daring calculation of man. A short distance from Diabutsu, the Great Buddha, is a temple standing on a summit overlooking the plain of Kamakura, noted principally for holding a wooden image, gilded and lacquered, and thirty feet in height, known as the goddess of mercy, — Kwannon. This deity has modestly sought shelter from the common gaze behind closed doors, and who would look upon her must pay a small fee. At this temple there is also a popu- lar idol, the god of money. He does not sit, as an American might expect, upon typical money-bags, but rests on two sacks of rice, the Japanese idea of prosperity, and holds in his hand a mallet. The superstitious believe he has power to help them in affairs of finance. Another potent image, let the believer tell it, is a god who possesses the power to cure the- ills of the human body, providing the afflicted simply rubs that part of the figure where hjs ills are located. It requires no great strain of the imagination of the modern visitor, as he wanders amid these relics of other days, — temples of a thousand years looking as if they h^d been reared yesterday, and images remarkable as works of art though hideous in themselves, — to imagine himself walking along the well-ordered paths of these ancient groves, where so many feet have pressed the sod, and under such conflicting emotions as he of neces- sity can know nothing. Everywhere one turns one is confronted with sights and traditions of gods and goddesses, all of whom seem strangely out of time, and yet as miraculously having something to show for the superstition that gave them being. CHAPTER XIV. THE WONDEKS OF ATA.MI. THE Tokaido railroad swings to the northward, and climbs the ridge reaching away to Fujiyama at Gotemba, in order to pass around one of the most interesting historic points in Japan, Hakone Lake. This charming sheet of water is held, at a height of over 2,300 feet above the sea, in a basin that was once the crater of an active volcano. Shel- tered by the adjacent grassy peaks, the resplendent beauty of the sunny slopes of the Peerless Mountain are clearly reflected in the placid bosom of this Loch Lomond of the Far East, situated in the midst of a scene upon which nature has lavishingly bestowed her treasures. Hakone Hills, as well as possessing great historic interest, have become a noted health resort, on account of the numerous hot springs to be found in this thrice- favoured locality. There is a double charm in lingering about these springs, which the tourist and health-seeker is not apt to deny himself. While some of these outlets of the spongy earth are perfectly clear, others are dense with the sulphur they contain. The odour several of these emit is detected miles away. Not only is this a beneficial retreat for the invalid, but it affords a profitable location for the innkeeper, while a con- siderable supply of sulphur is sent to the markets. Formerly this region was known as Kojigoku, or " Little Hell," but the emperor, on a visiij^ to the place in 1877, changed this to Ko-waki-dani, which means " little boiling valley." If one at first wearies of the softness of a Japanese landscape and the dreaminess of its atmosphere, and looks back with longing to the rugged wildness of an American scene, he eventually learns to admire this languid beauty. It may be a loss of energy in the end, but it is a robbery we do not feel. At Kodzu we turn to the south, to find, at the end of an avenue of noble pines, on the shore of the sea, that silent, dejected town, Odawara, a queen 127 128 THE P^AR EAST. sitting in mourning over her departed grandeur. Formerly this was the stronghold of the Hojo clan, one of the early factions of warlike power, and it was the last place to hold out against the triumphant forces of lyeyasu. Becoming a part of the territory belonging to this conqueror, when he took up his capital at Yedo, Odawara dwindled into an insignifi- cant town. Eventually its situation made it a promising commercial city, when a second enemy worse than the first, the cholera, left only a handful IN A nobleman's garden. of its inhabitants, and it has never recovered from this visitation of disease and death. Atami, tbat strange but popular little village by the sea, next attracts our attention, and we leave Odawara in her gloom to follow a road run- ning in and out of numerous orange groves, but losing sight of the water only at rare intervals. Now and then we catch sight of lines of fine specimens of one of the most interesting trees in Japan, the Tiamamatsu, or coast fir. These trees seem to have an especial liking for the sea- JAPAN. 129 brine, for they press their way down to the very edge of the water, often dipping their arms into the bay. Atami lies between the arms of two verdant hills, that vie with each other in keeping their charge from slipping into the sea. This delightful resort is noted for two attractions above its minor charms, its lilies and its geysers. Artificially, Japan is the very paradise of flowers and birds. The lead- ing figures in the decorative art so common and highly perfected are these fairest gifts of nature, until the canvas literally glows with the one and awakens with the songs of the other. Japanese fiction abounds with vivid pictures of the plum and cherry blossoms ; we see in fancy a land brilliant with the varying colours of flowering buds, and the lives of its p,eople a continual round of floral picnics. The four seasons are those of the chrysanthemum, peony, iris, and wistaria. Thus we are led to expect everywhere the beauty and fragrance of flowers, the song and music of birds, which shall make of this fortunate country an Hesperian garden. But the real Japan is remarkably silent of songsters, and barren of the flowering plants. " There are no pastures dewed with daisies and .starred with buttercups and dandelions and cowslips ; no glades carpeted with bluebells ; no golden plains of orange-scented gorse ; no groves of laburnums and lilacs ; no fields of glowing poppies." The ever pervading love for the beautiful has been inculcated through a longing for it rather than possession of it. Groves of fir and pine, both red and black, clothe nearly all the slopes of the indented mountain ranges, and, where these hardy trees cannot find sustenance, the clinging azalea carpets rock and precipice to the very brink of the tumbling cataract. This shrub is the only flowering plant that is really to be considered of supreme importance. Even this has that love for its native haunt that it will not thrive except where nature has given it root. These favoured spots are few and far apart. Of course we are speaking now of what na,ture and not man has done for Japan. Even in the last situation, when we come to the core of truth, we find that the oft-praised cherry is conspicuous for its want rather than for its richness of blossoni. "What is true of this applies to the plum. The beauty of a well-ordered grove of cherries is not to be gainsaid, but it is of a lower grade than that of an American apple orchard. The fruit 130 THE FAR EAST. being worthless, and there being a scarcity of flowers, the people bow to the cherry-tree in worshipful adoration. We see this same idea illustrated in the matter of the leading, and, it might almost be said, of the only universal fruit of Japan, the pear, which is really a second-class , article. There being no better subject to outrival it, it is eaten everywhere in the empire, and given a conspicuous place on every fruit-stand. It is carefully cultivated in groves and orchards, whither visitors are invited in the season of ripening. These orchards lEIS GARDEN. are objects of beauty in themselves, being planted with checker-board uniformity, and carefully trained, laterally, along trellises of regular height and form. Natural archways, reaching for long distances, are places of great beauty both in flowering and fruiting seasons. So it is, the empire over. Let flowers be scarce or plentiful, the love for them is the growth of many generations, and there is no person so high or humble who does not treasure the knowledge and worship of them in his heart. Wherever the floral giver bestows her gifts, she does it with a liberal hand, and if the slopes of Hakone are resplendent during the spring with uncultivated gardens of wild azaleas in their pink, white, and variegated JAPAN. 131 hues, so are the hedges and hillocks, the vales and plains, of Atami, decked to profusion with miniature groves of hydrangea in their glowing foliage, and blue, white, and lilac blossoms, with lilies of gorgeous colouring burst- ing upon the landscape like waterfalls, whose foam is of many hues. The princess of these floral showers is the magnificent white lily that proudly lifts its snowy crest, nearly a foot in diameter, to the height of a tall man. Its stems are pink, and its broad leaves are splashed with crimson stains. VIEW AT ATAMI. Of less haughty showing, and of more modest beauty, are the orange, white, or soft-tinted pink flowers that seem everywhere present. Not content with beautifying the earth, these lilies venture to the very edge of the seashore, and their sisters, in scarlet dress, spread out over the rocks, until all their bleak barrenness is concealed under a coverlid of daz- zling brightness. While the lily is the object of beauty at Atami, the wonder of this place is its remarkable geyser. This sulphur spring, which has been the 132 THE FAR EAST. source of prosperity where was once poverty, is located near the centre of the village, and within a short distance of the seashore. It is not active all of the time, and occasionally for days it is as silent and motion- less on the surface as if its powers had been spent. Then a low rum- bling, swiftly increasing in volume until it can be heard for a long distance, proclaims its coming ; the earth quivers and shakes for rods around ; and the hot, sulphurous stream bursts forth, rising several yards into the air. This upheaval lasts for ten, sometimes fifteen, minutes, when the power underneath seems suddenly to collapse, and only a dense cloud of white mist remains to mark the scene. These displays come with clockwork regularity every four hours, except during those rare periods when the interior forces seem to be taking a vacation, and, though continuing less than a quarter of an hour, present a vivid and impressive phenomenon the beholder will not soon forget. Baths in this oyu, hot water, are considered very beneficial, and Atami is continually thronged with health- seekers. Atami would not be a Japanese town did it not have its temple. The latter stands just back of the village, embowered in the green woods, where visitors delight to wander on the hot, sultry, do-yo days of August. The first among these ancient trees to attract attention is a venerable camphor, supposed to be the largest of its kind in Japan, and possibly the oldest. Its years and weight have separated its trunk so it has two bodies, looking at first like the trunks of twin trees, whose united girth is over sixty feet. If betraying evidence of its great age in its body, the ancient giant shows a vigorous old age in its huge canopy of dense foliage overhead. As we sit under the cooling shadows of this famous tree, accompanied by our inseparable guide, we recall the strange story told us in the moun- tains of the north regarding this king of the greenwood, as well as of the temple on our right, now slowly falling into ruins, and of the geyser in the distance, at this moment sending forth its torrent of steam and hot water. Our companion must be a mind-reader, for he begins to repeat with great fervour of speech and token of faith the story. Not always has Atami been the thriving and happy town of to-day, and away back in the period of its poverty and distress there lived here a very good and pious man, whose one great source of sorrow was the JAPAN. 133 extreme suffering of his people for the simple necessities of life. In those days there were not the many ways of earning a livelihood that we have now, and the inhabitants were fain to depend on their catch of fish for food. Even the sea was fickle, and often its tides carried the finny tribes of its kingdom to other places, so that the people living at Atami fre- quently went hungry. This holy man had taken up his abode in a temple on this hilltop, so that he might get a wide view of the bay, and warn the people when- IN A TEMPLB COURT. ever the spirits of the deep frowned upon the land. You see yonder the ruined walls of his temple-home. During the warm season this devout priest loved to sit here under this camphor-tree, which was then hale and hearty, spreading its wide branches to the gateway of the temple. One day, while a famine was on his people, who were groaning and complain- ing in their hopelessness, the faithful priest, worn with watching and praying, fell asleep at his post. While he slept, he dreamed that the seashore was heaped with fish of many kinds that were delicious to the palate. In . his joy he started 134 THE FAR EAST. toward the scene, wlien a great noise and commotion in the water stopped him. Huge clouds of steam filled the air, so that he could hardly see the bay, which was churned into foam by some terrible power under- neath. He saw now that the fish all lay on their backs, deady every one of them having been scalded to death by the boiling water. His distress was so great at this sight that he awoke ; but with his eyes wide open he looked on the same strange spectacle, only the dead fish were piled deeper on the seashore, while the vol- canic forces sent spouts of hot water high into the air. He closed his eyes to shut out the sight, and prayed that this awful visitation of hor- ror and desolation might not be felt by his people. In the midst of this unselfish prayer he heard a terrific crash behind him, and upon turning around, in new fright, he saw that the huge camphor-tree had split in twain from root to branch ! As he looked upon it dumfounded, lo ! a beautiful goddess stepped from the heart of the riven tree, and, handing him a branch from its broad arms, said, in a voice of peaceful intonation : A SHINTO PRIEST. :\^Ay^\:\ ,i^.,-,;m