L H 2 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE WASON COLLECTION THIS BOOK IS THE GIFT OF Mxon, Griff is Cornell University Library DS 810.L42 Hiahways and 'i°'",S?,,S|t|||l{niP™'||||f| I 1924 023 222 205 DATE DUE MT f GAYLORD PRlNTEOrNO.S.A. Cornell University Library The original of this bool< 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/cu31924023222205 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN By permission. "l OLD CEREMONIAL COURT DRESS. (See page 148.) (Princess Kitashirakavva, who is by marriage the Countess Kanroji.) HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN By LADY/iLAWSON MEMBER OF THE JAPAN SOCIETY AND OF THE RED CROSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN WITH A FRONTISPIECE AND FIFTY- NINE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTO- GRAPHS TAKEN BY THE AUTHOR NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS \aI- ^j>/ / ^ (All rights reaenrved.) PEEFACB THE future of the British Empire, with its great Asiatic possessions, is so intimately associated with Japan, that any Hterature which may help to make the people of the Sunrise Land better understood by my countrymen at home and abroad needs little or no apology for its appearance in book form. I naturally feel somewhat dif&dent in placing the work of a com- paratively inexperienced writer before a public which can take its choice among the works of world-renowned travellers and authors ; but I had every opportunity of seeing the Japanese as they really are, and of observing their manner of life and thought during two long de- lightful visits, and I hope that my experiences, as re- corded in the following pages, may be of some little interest. In connection with the pictorial part of this work, I may admit that I am fond of the camera, and in Japan used it freely. The spirit of the East must, I think, have entered into my small Kodak, for it never failed me as my larger camera did, and I could unstrap it and take in at a shot the most transitory glimpses of wayside comedy and tragedy or picturesque home life. Often, too, it played an effective if unobstrusive part in the interior of an old temple, when I quietly placed it unnoticed on a shelf in a dark corner, and, while engaging the attendant priest in conversation, I gently manipulated 6 PREFACE the bulb of the long tube which controlled the shutter for a time exposure. By its aid I took over three hundred pictures, many of which illustrate this book. I am more than pleased to acknowledge here my indebtedness to my friend, Professor James Main Dixon, of the University of Southern Cahfomia, who spent thirteen years as Professor in the Imperial University of Japan in T6ky5, and received the Order of the Eising Sun for services rendered to the Government. His great kindness in giving me help with many statistical points, not only tended to the completeness of the work, but by reason of the spontaneous goodwill with which they were furnished, made my own task easier and certainly more pleasant. My thanks are also due to many kind friends in the War Office and Navy Department, and also in the Foreign Office at Toky5, who were unwearied in their efforts to teach me the inner symbolic meanings of things Japanese in the Highways and Homes of Japan. KATE LAWSON. September, 1910. o/o Messrs. H. S. King & Co. 9, Pall Mall, London, S.W. MEDAL OF THE BED CROSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN. CONTENTS CHAPTER I FAaE First Impressions . . . . . . .25 Arrival in Japan from India — The charm of contrast — The reincarnation of old impressions — Coaling at Nagasaki, the first port of Japan; interesting because done by women — Famous tortoise-shell shops — The Mitsu Bishi dockyards and engine-works — Nagasaki to Kobe — The incomparable Inland Sea — Square-sailed junks — Arrival at Eob^ — Good climate — Best golf-links in Japan — First sight of cherry-blossom — Cleanliness of the people noticeable after India — Prevailing light-heartedness — The universal smile — Photographed by the police at Arima — Fondness of the Japanese for being photographed — " Do itashimasMte " as an expedient — By rail to Kyoto, the heart of Japan — Temples, monasteries, pagodas, bell-towers, and beautiful gateways — Visions of feudal times — Japanese friends — Invited to private functions in Japanese homes — First and second visit to Japan. CHAPTEE II TOKyo . . . . . . . .33 Characteristics of the capital of Japan-^-Its peculiar fasci- nations — The Begent Street of Tokyo — Bad architecture — The Castle hUl and moat — One and a half miUions of human beings — Bathing habits universal — Public bath-houses — Fires — Fire look-out stations — Story-tellers' halls — Street life — Shopping — Bargaining a fine art — A Japanese laundry — Street signs — Flower fairs — A chrysanthemum Madame CONTENTS FAQE Tussaud's — Cherry-blossom Sunday in Uyteo Park — The Vanity Fair of Tokyo — The Shiba temples — A native bazaar — The Welcome Society. CHAPTEE III The Japanese as Hosts . . . . . .49 A dinner at the Koyokwcm, (Maple Club) — Four hours on the floor in Japanese style — ^Lacquer trays and low tables — Soy and chopsticks — The menu, largely fish — The piice de risistamee, a live fish — Hot saki — Its effect — Professional dancers — Paper lanterns — Eel dinners at the Golden Carp — The season in Tokyo — Two Imperial garden parties — Change in social position of ladies — Mesdames Togo and Oyama — Description of Field-Marshal Oyama — Visit to Baron Takazaki, the Poet-Laureate — An open-air enter- tainment at the Fukuzawa College — Kindergarten pupils sing — Japanese naval officers as hosts — A captured Eussian gramophone — Pleasant recollections of the battleship AsaM Team. CHAPTEE IV At a Japanese Inn . . . . . .61 Life in a native inn — The spotless tatam/i (floor-matting) — Baths — Early sliding back of shutters — Nippon-cha (tea) unsatisfying — Breakfast of rice and fish — Sleeping arrange- ments, wooden pillow and quilts — The honourable rats — Fusiuma and shoji screens — Travelling in Itago — Boating on the lake — Excitability of the Japanese — Food unsatisfying — Seaweed as an article of food — Nuts — Milk without a cow — Charges at an inn — Japan the land of waits — Bland im- becility on occasion. CHAPTEE V Country Eamblbs . . . . . . .68 From Kyoto to Nara by way of the tea-plantations of Uji Practical notice-board at railway stations — Stone-lanterns and oryptomeria at Nara — Kagv/ra dance by Shinto priestesses — Tame deer — Great image of Buddha Fine wistaria — Eapids of the Katsura-gawa — "Squeezers" Lake Biwa — Canal tunnel at Otsu — The great pine at CONTENTS Karasaki — Fish-traps — Hakone district — Miyanoshita — Ogigokuor "BigHell"— Atami, the "Eiviera" of Japan— A fresh geyser — " Push-man-tram " from Atami — A visit to the old fort of Konodai, near Tokyo — Scene of two great battles — A Japanese castle — Views of the plain of Tokyo — Isle of Enoshima — Cavern of the goddess Benten — Ascent of Fujiyama — Active volcanoes — Beauties of Nikko — Chuzenji, the " Simla " of Japan — To Ikao by Yumoto — Copper mines of Ashio — Haruna, the " Village of the Gods '' — Profusion of wild flowers — Karuizawa — Its present popularity with foreign residents due to its cUmate — Surrounding landscape — The old fort and moat — Flowers — Fauna — Ascent of Asama-yama — Eecent descent into the crater — Myogi-san — Its beauties, like an old kakemono — General remarks on the scenery of Japan. CHAPTER VI Gardens and Flowers of Japan . . . . .85 False idea of a Japanese garden as a paradise of flowers — Rather a paradise of rocks and stones — Miniature of some favourite landscape — Perfect proportion and the proper placing of objects the great desiderata in a. garden — Odd stones highly esteemed — Sense of balance never at fault — iEstheticism of Japanese landscape gardens — Absence of velvety turf — Dwarf trees — Dwarf maple flourishes in England — Close connection of gardening with tea-ceremonies — Essentials of tea-party, tranquillity, refinement, dignity — Description of the room — Eoi-cha or strong tea — Etiquette of the Solemn Tea Ceremony — Ikebwna or the arrangement of flowers — Plums, peaches, cherries, wistaria, azaleas, irises, tree-peonies, lotus, maples, chrysanthemums — The Imperial chrysanthemum party — Wonders of chrysanthemum pro- duction in the Imperial gardens — The Japanese the most aesthetic people in the world — They make a religion of nature — The art ideals of the Japanese belong to Ruskin's school — It is true art in theory and practice. CHAPTER VII Abt and Aet Industries ...... 100 Kyoto or Saikyo the most fascinating place in Japan — Numberless curio shops — Conscientiousness of Japanese 10 CONTENTS p workmanship — Meaning of the sacred mirror — Visit to a cloisonne factory — The making of cloisonn^ — Pottery in- troduced from Korea, porcelain from China — Old Satsuma ware — Fraudulent articles — Lacquer introduced from Korea, but brought to perfection in Japan — New lacquer poisonous — Processes of its manufacture in Kyoto— Egg-shell lacquer at Nagoya — ^Largest piece of gold lacquer in the world — Art of metal-casting very ancient — Nothing more characteristic of feudal Japan than the sword — Its keen edge and expert handling — Blades separate from hilt and scabbard — ^A pin- hole in the haft — Larger blades not entirely of steel ; only smaller blades — Various surface colours : white, sky-blue, and black — The cutting edge made of special quality — The Wardour Street of Tokyo — Schools of sword-making — Masamune blades the best — The unlucky blades of Mura- masa — Damascening — Wonderful utilising of bamboo and paper — Printing on cottons and silks — Japanese unexcelled as embroiderers — Deftness with the hands and fingers — Japanese artists dispense with the maul-stick — Their drawings Ime — PaUure of modern Government schools of art — Appreciation of pictorial art — Practical rules for judging a painting — Sculpture in wood and ivory — Nedzuke — Old prints — Colour printing. CHAPTER VIII Jdjutsd : THE Aet of Sblf-Dbfbnce . . 116 Professor Kano, the leading exponent of the art or principle of judo or jujutsu — The term implies moral as well as physical training — Disturbing the equilibrium of an opponent the first requisite of the art — How to fall down properly — A clever discovery : use of the edge of the palm instead of clenched fist — No "weaker sex" ia jujutsu — An afternoon exhibition of jujutsu in Tokyo — The art of the weaker skilled antagonist against the strong unversed bully — The different throws — Development of wrist power — How to get rid of an unwelcome visitor — The struggle formerly ended in strangling an opponent — Strengthening of the muscles of the throat so as to make hanging impossible — Precautions against accidents. CONTENTS 11 CHAPTER IX PAOE Sports, Pastimes, and Games ..... 125 Police fencing — A visit to the chief police-station at Kojimaohi, Tokyo — The Japanese the finest acrobats in the world — Clever jugglers — Stone and sand artists — Fortune-tellers — ^Wrestling, the national sport of Japan — Few outdoor recreations — Kite-flying — Falconry a thing of the past — Imperial wild duck hunting party — The game of Teen — Indoor recreations : billiards, cards — Game of checkers {go) and chess (aMgii. CHAPTER X LANOTJAaE AND EDUCATION ...... 136 Similarity of characters in writing both in China and Japan — Sokitsu's system of bird-tracks — Introduction of Chinese words — Ideographs and the Tccma — Structure of language opposed to European ideas — Mastery of the phraseology a life study — Peculiarities: no articles, no plural, no "Yes" or " No " — Three modes of expression for the lower, middle, and upper classes — Honorific "O" — The Japanese are not good linguists — Need of Esperanto or Volapiik — Omniveroua readers — Fondness for foreign literature — Difficulty in ac- cepting Christianity — The Buddhist scriptures of Japan — A circulating library — Education compulsory — Moral education the basis — The welfare of juvenile Japan is studied in every way — In the schools European and American models followed — Athletic exercises — The Im- perial University at Tokyo — Intellectual qualities rank higher than moral among the Japanese — Marvellous thirst for knowledge — Japan has preserved her individuality in spite of influxes of foreign thought. CHAPTER XI Japanese Women, Dkess, and Family Mattbks . . . 147 Japanese artistic sense of beauty — Loss of true perception of beauty and relation of colour in using foreign materials — European costume prescribed as the official dress — The old ceremonial Court dress — Assisting a lady of the Court to 12 CONTENTS FASE dress — False curls for the baroness — Town costume of gentlemen — Blacking of teeth — Too much paint and powder — Toilet box— Hair and hairdressing— Chignon coiffwre going out for women — Girls' names — Proper names — Two types of Japanese face — Heavy clogs — Serenity of Japanese women — Simple dress and housekeeping — The geisha, their wit and charm — The improved position of Japanese women — Nurses, clerks in railway ticket-offices, typists, and steno- graphers — Gravity of the children — Baby Buddhas — " Treasure-flowers " — Girls' Festival on March 3rd — Boys' Festival on May 5th — Floating paper carp — Cicadas {serrvi) — In Japan " they neither kiss nor cuss." CHAPTEE XII Marriages, Funbeals, and other Formalities . . . 158 Choice of a wife — Use of an intermediary inakodo) — The secret glimpse {rmm) — Lucky and unlucky days for weddings — Bridegroom's gifts — Eetum gifts from the parents of the bride — The ceremony, sansankudo or " three- times-three " — Bobe worn by the bride — The marriage feast — Entertainment given a week later — Marriage a business contract — Ideal wife submissive to husband — Divorces easily obtained — Etiquette of funerals — Funeral processions — Funeral gifts — Visits to the grave — ^After observances — The Japanese are a punctilious people — Men's etiquette is of first importance — Introductions — Meetings on the street — Visiting — Universal giving of presents — Polite conversation — Etiquette of the tea-table — The spirit of politeness prevails everywhere in Japan. CHAPTER XII Feasts and Festivals ...... 170 New Year Festival — Symbolism of the pine-trees, ferns, fruits, &c., used in decoration — Battledore and shuttlecock — Popularity of "mimics" — Open-air fairs — The moc^ cakes — The Bon Matsuri, the Festival of the Bead — Ancestral tablets (iha£) — Illuminations at Kyoto — Quaint minor festivals — ^Wayside comedy and tragedy — Procession with pots — Buddha's birthday bath — Faith and works — CONTENTS 13 PAGE The TwnaXiata Festival, to insure good caligrapby — The Moon-gazing Feast — The Laughing Festival — The Good Luck Festival—" Days of the Bird," &o. — The festival of the fox — Inari, the rice-goddess — Beligious festival at the great Inari Temple, Kyoto — The opening of the river, the great summer festival at Tokyo — A moving panorama. CHAPTEE XrV Some Special Shinto Festivals . . . . 180 Beligious festivals — STwnto and Buddhism — A Shinto temple — Simplicity of the building and worship — Resem- blance of the Buddhist and Boman Catholic rituals — The Aoi festival at the Shimto temple of Shimo-gamo, Kyoto — Description of the ceremonies — They are followed by sports — Shokonsai autumn festival, a Japanese All Souls' Day — Celebration at Yokohama — Beisai or " Spirit Festival " in Aoyama Cemetery, Tokyo — Bemarkably impressive occasion — Purification and the transmigration of the spirits — Noble tribute to human immortality — Another Memorial Service at Uyfeo Park in honour of naval ofBtcers and men — Offerings and their significance — Speech by Mayor of Tokyo and reply by Togo — A soul-stirring panorama. CHAPTEE XV Japanese Music ....... 190 Japanese music opposed to Western ideas — Military musicians and war dancers in ancient times — Chinese music introduced — The Icoto, the drum, and the flute — The Court musicians of Kyoto — The No performances — Origin of the musical drama of the present day — Folk-songs — Blind musicians — ^Development of European music — Thin- ness of the native music — The favourite instrument (acmmen), probably a modem importation from Manila — Odd effect of their songs — Difference of musical scale — The Jcoto (harp) an equivalent of our piano — Two kinds of biwa (guitar) — BUnd biwa players or zato — Flutes, flageolets, and the sho — A musician expert's opinion regarding the influence of European music upon Japanese 14 CONTENTS CHAPTEE XVI PAGE The Drama . . . . . • • 199 Three kinds of drama : the No, Joruri, and KabuM — Description of a No performanoe ; it somewhat resembles a Mystery Play— The Odori dance— The Joruri or puppet show — Female parts taken by men — ^Actors not recognised socially as in England — Favourite plays — Famous actor, Danjuro — Authorship of no importance — A star often makes his own play— The memorable tale of the " Forty- seven Eonin" {chusMngwa), the most famous of national dramas — Legal limit of a single performance is now eight hours — The Eobikiza Theatre at Tokyo — Description of the interior — The Hana michi (flower paths) — Eevolving stage — Eealistic effects. CHAPTEE XVII Akimal Life in Japan ...... 208 The Japanese do not love animals for their own sake as we do in England — The antlered deer at Nara — The iU-used horses of Japan — An incident in Yokohama — Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — Horse and mare provinces — General Grant's gift — Gift of the Kaiser — The cavalry in the Eusso-Japanese War — Oxen — Japan not a pastoral country — Scarcity of sheep — Dogs — Kyoto ohm Stumpy-taUed oats — The education of the oat — Poultry a failure — Long-tailed Tosa fowls — Pink-eyed rabbits — Two kinds of bear — Monkeys with crimson faces — Snakes — Domestic animals not treated as dumb friends. CHAPTEE XVIII Pearl-Fishing and Other Kinds ..... 216 The pearl fisheries off the Ise coast — ^Area of five acres of sea-bed leased from the Government for artificial production — Women clivers at work — Inserting a foreign substance in the oyster-spat — Splendid financial results — Difficulties from seaweed, &o. — Cormorant fishing on the Kisogawa river at Gifu— Pishing by torchlight— Metal rings for the birds- Twelve cormortmts held by strings — Skill of the men Eefuse of fish is sold as manure — Dried bonito — Pishing- CONTENTS 15 FAOE tackle in Japan — The Japanese the premier maritime people of the Orient. CHAPTER XIX SUPBESTITIONS ....... 223 Many superstitions oonneoted with animal lore — The fox, the representative of Inari the rice-goddess — The three kinds of badger, the tamuki, m/ujma, and mwmi — ^Behef in demoniacal possession — Wrestlers are proof against fox possession — Women of the lower classes often victims — The dog, the protector of mankind in Japanese legend— " The Blue Bird " — Dog-charms — Imperial guards called the hwyahito — The "Korean dogs" of the Emperor and Empress, the lion and the imioorn — The Tengu, the Celestial Dog, the demon of the mountajns and woods — Festival in honour of the Tengu TaJeagami — Cat legends — The Japanese nekomata or bewitching cat, a dangerous demon — Begarded as a mascot by Japanese sailors — Pre- cautions against evil spirits — The classic symbols of luck — The mamji, the talisman against bad demons, adopted as their crest by several damvyo — Temple images rubbed out of all recognition by hopeful sufferers — Binzuro, a favourite god, at Eyomizo Temple, Kyoto — The True Lover's Shrine at Kiyomizu — The Image of Jizo-Sama, protector of little children, at Asakusa Temple, Tokyo — The " Plowing Invocation " — In matters of superstition the Japanese show imaginative power. CHAPTBB XX The Blind Folk of Japan .... 234 Condition of the blind pitiable until 900 a.d. — Blind prince, Amago-no-mikoto, improves matters — Bank assigned to them — The monastery at Hieizan a centre for the blind — Blind men as Governors of provinces — A return later of hard times — Allowed to travel at the public expense — FoUow trade of massage — Musicians and story-tellers — Blind poet Seminaru — Blind men as spies — Personal experience of native massage at Miyanoshita — Expert players at checkers — What the present Government and private enterprise are doing for the blind — Eeasons for the prevalence of defective eyesight in Japan. 16 CONTENTS CHAPTER XXI DlSAOBBBABLES IN JAPANBSE LiFE ..... 242 The atrocity of the smells — No sewerage system — Befuse is of coimnercial value — A Japanese farmer ranks low in the social scale — Tokyo mud — The golden rule of health is to drink no unboiled water — Bad ventilation in Japanese houses — The Japanese love draughts — Effects of charcoal fumes on Japanese women — Uninvited guests — The wicked flea — Card-playing — Noise — Pear of burglars — Experience in yadoya on a pilgrim route — Odours overpowering — Breach of the police regulations — The honourable rats of the house — Dampness of the climate — The photographer's lot is not a happy one — Native food not satisfying ; absence of meat, milk, and bread — Flowers without perfume — No singing birds, except the nightingale in the bills — Fruits flavourless — Insect lite — The mosquito on the war-path — Croaking of frogs — Earthquake the greatest of all disagree- ables — The saving grace of htmiour. CHAPTER XXII Earthquakes fbom a Japanese Point of View . . 250 A land of earthquakes — Associated with active volcanoes — Chair of Seismology in the University of Tokyo — Earth- quakes to be traced to the strain upon great mountain chains — Earthquake centres follow the outside arc of such chains — Visit of Professor Omori to North-West India to study the action of earthquakes there — His conclusions — Lessons to be learnt — Construction of chimneys, walls, roofs, verandas, &c. — Parabolic curve is present in ancient Japanese castles — Pagodas embody a scientific principle — Bell-towers — Possibility of definite prediction of seismic convulsions — Actual experience of an earthquake in Yama- gata prefecture, lasting three and a half minutes — Nearly fourteen hundred shocks annually in Japan — Credited by the public to the movement of a huge fish — Danger in modem brick and stone — International Seismological Association. CHAPTER XXIII The Abmt and Navy ...... 259 Enormous expansion in Japanese armaments — Numerical strength doubled — Military pride fostered by the Govern- CONTENTS 17 PAGE ment — War Office and Education Department work hand- in-haind — Besemblance between the Japanese and our own Gurkhas — Imperial Eeview at Tokyo — Personal experiences there — Fighting strength of the Army— Becruits receive a written moral code — Kipling's impressions written in 1891 — A lofty patriotism still prevails — Great military and naval preparations La hand. CHAPTER XXIV The Bed Cross Society of Japan .... 266 Origin of the Society — Enlarged Charity Organisation of the Satsuma rebellion — Beorganised in 1886 under German auspices — Intimate connection with the Imperial Court — Membership an honourable distinction — Besembles Primrose League of England La some of its methods — Total number of members nearly a million and a half — Hospital ships — Central hospital at Shibuya ia Tokyo — Uniform and discipline of nurses — Its services both in peace and war — Its high efficiency — First-aid dressings — KaJcM sufiferers — Description of the Annual General Meeting in Tokyo — The Empress Haruka is Patroness-in- Chief of the Society — Executive ability in 1904-1905 — Mortality in the Army greatly reduced through the agency of the Bed Cross Society ; the most splendid victory of the campaign. CHAPTEB XXV JOUENALISM AND JoUENALISTS ..... 277 Joiunalism of recent growth — Centre in Grnza, near Shim- bashi, in the capital — Gained an impetus by the meeting of the Diet and the war with China — At first at the mercy of the Government — Dummy editors — The Osaka AsaJd has a circulation of 300,000 — Description of newspapers — Japanese newspapers not strong financial concerns nor organs of powerful political parties — Socialism and the Press — A twentieth century Buddha or Christ — Allied to education and correspondence schools — Magazines, the Twiyo and BtmgoA-Kwrahvr—ksixiteaess of the Government in its attitude to the foreign press — The art of muzzling the war correspondent in 1904-1905— The use of wireless 2 18 CONTENTS PASB telegraphy in the Ensso- Japanese War— Cost of telegraphing war news to a newspaper — In war-time the Government controls the telegraph lines and mails — Newspapers are under a censor — The gogavya, or news-boys, with six bells — Number of newspapers in the Island Empire. CHAPTEE XXVI New Japan in Commbece ...... 289 Banks and banking foreign to feudal Japan — Yokohama and its banks — A few native firms formerly conducted some banking business — The M^iji era began with a practically moneyless national condition — Utter absence of organised capital — Japanese coins not seen in the ports till 1880 — Personal seals, not signatures, required in native transac- tions — People's banks — Six special banks — The Hypothec Bank — Three Commercial Kings — Banking and shipping now largely State controlled — The factory system — Visit to a match factory near Osaka — Low wages — Inexhaustible mineral wealth — Lack of commercial honesty — Comicalities of bogus trade marks — Hatred of actual stealing — Old Japan not a commercial country. CHAPTEE XXVII The Debt op Japan to China ..... 298 A recent break with Chinese Ideals — Chinese literature no longer in the school curriculum — SMnto the native religion — Buddhism an importation from China — By the seventh century Chinese customs and learning had overspread Japan — Ideographs, calendar, cotton, sUk, tea all brought in — Kyoto became the capital when Chinese influences were at their height — The Buddhist cult — ^A story of crucifixion — The rhymeless short ode a native product— Very few things in their civilisation not Chinese — Examples of their lyric poetry — Ycmiato damaahii — Printing introduced from China — Chinese influence on law, education, painting, music, and architecture — DiSereuce in character between the Chinese and the Japanese. CONTENTS 19 OHAPTEE XXVIII PAGE Japan's Debt to Britain ...... 309 Will Adams, the pilot— His grave near Tokosuka— The story of his life — English firms commissioned by the Japanese Government — Pounding of the Imperial College of Engineering — Dr. Henry Dyer and his staff— Englishmen in the Imperial University— JEnglish instructors in the Navy — British scholars — Japanese confidence in the British — Debt to Britain, not only in the Navy, but in Commerce — Appreciation of Great Britain as an ally. CHAPTEE XXIX Makbks of New Japan ...... 316 Types of statesmen — Three great modem statesmen, Cavour, Bismarck, Ito Hirobumi, makers of Italy, Germany, Japan — It5's native province, Choshu — Influence of Bai Senyo and of Yoshida Torajiro, E. L. Stevenson's hero — Ito's early visit to London — Kido's support — Else to power after the Eestoration — Home and Finance Minister — Attack of " German measles " — Thrice premier — His progressive principles — Made a Prince of the Blood in Korea — Descrip- tion of Ito as seen in 1905 — A clever conversationalist — Inouy6 Kaoru, Ito's lifelong friend — One of the four elder statesmen — Fond of art— Marquis Matsukata, an Oxford LL.D.— An expert financier — President of the Eed Cross Society — Marshal Prince Tamagata, another of the four Seniors — His popular qualities — DisUkes government by party — The two veterans, Counts Okuma and Itagaki — Fukuzawa, a great journaUst — The mihtary and naval heroes — Marshal Oyama, a fine old fighter — Old china his hobby — ^Admiral Togo — His personality. CHAPTEE XXX The Fdtueb of Japan ...... 330 The nation not puffed up with success — Chivalrous treat- ment of their Eussian prisoners — Noted for insight into character — Their devotion to the best — Ya/mato da/mashiA — Their solidarity — Weakness of an isolated individualism — 20 CONTENTS While imitators of the Chinese, they have always added their own interpretation — Their reverence and belief in the permanence of spirit — Not liked nor trusted by modern China or Korea — Japan's harshness as a ruler — Disreputable Japanese in Korea and Manchuria — The good side of being imitative — The national bond to England — Self-control — — Lack of moral courage — "Defective commercial integrity" — The spirit of bushido — Shrewd and secretive — TJp-to-date in everything, even airships — A new engine of war — Effec- tive use of balloons — Her intense national ambition — Old customs are being revived-— Japan has accepted the new without sacrificing the old — The future is bright; it depends upon peaceful expansion, not militarism. INDEX 343 METHOD OF HOLDING CHOPSTICKS. |The lower stick is immoTable, the upper works to and fro like a pen. (See p. SO.) LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS OLD OERBMONiAii oouET DBESs. {See p. 148) . Frofitisptece Frincess Kitashirakawa, who is by maniage the Countess Kanroji. FAQE MEDAL OP THE RED CEOSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN . . 6 METHOD OP HOLDING CHOPSTICKS 20 TO FACE PAGB " MOTHEB SATS I MUST NEITHER TALK, LISTEN, NOE LOOK" 29 After the celebrated earring at Nikko, which represents India, China, and Japan as the cunous triad whose effigies are amongst the most usual objects of devotion met with on the roadside in the rural districts of Japan. They symbolise Oriental reserve : " No can hear, no can talk, no can see." BEOTHBES . . . . . . .29 A JAPANESE " HOW DO YOU DO ? " . . .31 THE AtJTHOE A LA JAPONAISE . . , .32 The ftimoJio^hould be folded from deft toaright. It is only arranged from right to left in the case of a dead person. YOUNG JAPAN EECBIVES THE OEDEE OP THE BATH . 37 A FLITTING. . . . . . .39 A JAPANESE "EOBINSON CEUSOE " . . .39 BASKET-MAKING . . . . . .41 THE UMBEBLLA MAKER . . . . .41 A JAPANESE lEONING BOAED . . . .43 A CHRYSANTHEMUM MADAME TUSSAUD'S . . .45 In this set piece Marshal Oyama is in the centre, with Generals Kodama, Kuroki, No^, and others round him. The painted back- ground represents Shimbashi Station, and the entire group occupied one large marquee, dimly lighted, so that 2^ minutes' exposure was required in taking the.photograph. " GEISHA " AT THE MAPLE CLUB, TOKYO , . .52 Their faces are covered with O shvroi ("the honourable white- wash"), so that the features are hardly discernible. PEINCESS OYAMA IN HEE OWN HOME . . .54 21 22 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO HifJE FAen NATIVE INN {yaDOVa) IN THE INTBEIOE . . .61 The anthor stayed here for some weeks, waited on, hand and toot, by the three niawn in the pictnre. A FAIR BUEDEN . . . . . .64 Travelling by hago. ON THE WAY TO THE HILLS . . . .71 The author in "chair," a mode of locomotion in mountainous districts which is better suited to British anatomy than the native hago. THE " CLOVBLLT " OF JAPAN, IKAO . . .80 The main street of this watering-place in the hills consists of a series of steps and stairs. EBFLECTIONS . . . . . .82 At Fuji-Haruna, near Ikao. THE GAEDBNS OF THE IMPBEIAL PALACE, KYOTO . . 86 As a rule, no cameras are allowed within the precincts of the Imperial Palaces, so that this photograph is unique. THBEB SWEETMEAT SELLBBS AT KYOTO . . . 100 THE LABGEST PIECE OF GOLD LACQDBE IN THE WOELD 105 JUJUTSU ....... 122 The " Somersault Throw." _ Two leading jujutsu professors in Professor Kano's school at Tokyo, JUJUTSU . . . . . . . 122 Holding an opponent down lengthwise. POLICE FENCING {kENJUTSU) .... 126 A general mSl^e. STUDENTS ON HOLIDAY IN THE INTEBIOE . . . 145 During the summer vacation at the Universities in Tokyo and elsewhere, thousands of Japanese students take walking tours in the interior with staCf in hand and knapsack on back. TATTOO AND A HAT ..... 150 Grooms in a racing stable at Yokohama. Tattooing is now illegal. IN WINTBB DBBSS ...... 153 A dear little shaven-pated baby, looking out on Uf e from the folds of his mother's Mimano. A winter coat arranged for a baby is called in&nimko and the head covering is zukvn. IN THE GARDEN WITH DOLLY .... 155 This tiny mite, eighteen months old, is the sweetest of Nippon babies, and a great friend of the author's. JAPANESE " TAG " . . . . . . 155 Trying to take a prisoner. Kotorot Storol ("Catch Babyl") theyoory. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 23 10 FACE PAGE THE "boys' festival" DISPIiAT IN A JAPANESE HOUSE 156 A COUET LADY IN OLD CBBEMONIAL WEDDING DBESS . 161 The broad white fillet (the sign of ShimtS) corresponds to our wedding veil, and is removed after the ceremony, just as the veil is lifted. Note the broca^ded tobacco-pouch tucked into kimono and containing the hiseru or tiny doll's pipe which Japanese ladies from the highest to the lowest always carry. (By permission.) A JAPANESE FUNBEAL ..... 164 The symbolio lotus plays an important part in all funerals. A JAPANESE FUNBBAL ..... 164 A SHINTO CBMETEET . . . . 175 Prayers are written on the streamers. IN A JAPANESE GEAVETABD .... 175 The " dead " names of the deceased are on the wooden tablets behind. A votive lantern (UiMdoro) is seen on the right. FEEDING THE PIGEONS, THE MESSENGEES OF THE GODS, AT THE ASAKiJSA TEMPLE, TOKYO . . . 178 SHINTO SHEINB CONTAINING SACEED MIEEOB {kAGAMi) ONLY ....... 181 This is exposed to view once a year on the day of the enshrined deity's annual teitival, when this photograph iras taken. NOBLE IN SHINTO PEOCBSSION DEBSSBD IN ANCIBNT OOUBT COSTUME, WITH BOW AND AEEOWS . . 182 THE IMPEBIAL CHAEIOT IN A GBEAT SHINTS PBOCESSION 182 Attendants carrying offerings to the temple. A TEMPLE SCENE ...... 184 A newly-made widow presenting her piece of tdkaM in memory of her husband. In Japan it is the custom to send congratulations, not condolence, to the relatives of soldiers who die on active service. This accounts for the happy expression on the face of the widow. SHINTO OFFICIALS IN ANCIENT COSTUME . . . 188 STEOLLING MUSICIANS, WITH THE ITOTO (hOEIZONTAL HABP) AND GAI^ICI OB CETSUKIN (CHINESE GUITAe) . 194 They are husband and wife. The husband plays the Ttoto. INTEBIOB OF TEMPLE AT THE GEAVE OP THE FOBTY- SEVEN EONIN, SHINAGAWA .... 203 The trefoil crest of the Tokugawa Shoguu is prominent. SHELL SHOP AT iiNOSHIMA, THE SACEED ISLAND . 217 24 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO PACE FAQE A WAYSIDE SHRINE IN THE INTBEIOB . . . 231 MASSAGE BY A BLIND AMMA .... 238 A PILGEIM {/UNREl) ..... 245 Each August hosts of pUgrims in white clothes and huge straw hats, with pieces of straw matting for rain-coats bound across their shoulders, take long pilgrimages to famous shrines and to summits of sacred mountains. After purification in the lake, they pass under the torn, or temple gateway (literally, bird perch), say a prayer in the temple, and climb to the summit. PBOFESSOE OMOEI WITH HIS FAMILY . . . 252 PEOPESSOE OMOEI WITH VIBEATIN& EECOEDEE AT THE SBISMOLOGIOAL INSTITUTE, TOKYO . . . 255 EAETHQUAKB-PEOOP BUILDING IN THE GBOUNDS OP THE IMPEEIAL UNIVEESITY, TOKYO . . . 255 Used as a Selsmological Observatory. BABTHQUAKE CEACKS ..... 257 Fissures 3 feet wide daring an earthquake in the Yamagata Pre- fecture (North Japan). OPBEATING-EOOM IN THE EBD-CEOSS HOSPITAL, SHIBUYA, TOKYO ...... 270 A NATIONAL HOLIDAY IN THE GINZA, TOKYO . . 278 A JAPANESE NEWSBOY (gOGAIYa) WITH " EXTEA SPECIAL " 287 This boy carries fire bells. THEEB BUDDHIST PEIESTS (bOSAJV) . . . 300 There are thirty-five sects of Buddhism in Japan, and it is still the dominant religion among the people. Buddhism and Shintoism are BO blended that the temples of both are frequented without dis- crimination. The moral influence of the priests is not weighty. They act as castodians of graveyards and performers of funeral rites. PIBLD-MAESHAL OYAMA IN HIS GAEDEN . • .327 ADMIEAL TOGO AT A GAEDBN-PAETY IN TOKYO . . 329 Admiral Kamimura on his right. FLOATING CAEP {nOBORj) ..... 339 ASCENT OF THE DIEIQIBLB BALLOON, THE YAMADA KIKYU, NEAB TOKYO ...... 340 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN CHAPTEE I FIBST IMPEESSIONS Arrival in Japan from India — The charm of contrast — The reincarnation of old impressions — Coaling at Nagasaki, the first port of Japan: interesting, because done by women — Famous tortoise-shell shops— The Mitsu Eishi dockyards and engine-works — Nagasaki to Kobd — The incomparable Inland Sea — Square-saUed junks — Arrival at Kob^ — Good climate — Best golf-links in Japan — First sight of cherry-blossom — Cleanliness of the people noticeable after India — Prevailing Ught-heartedness — The universal smUe — Photographed by the police at Arima — Fondness of the Japanese for being photographed — " Do itashi- masMte " as an expedient — ^By rail to Kyoto, the heart of Japan — Temples, monasteries, pagodas, bell-towers, and beautiful gateways — ^Visions of feudal times — Japanese friends — Invited to private functions in Japanese homes — First and second visit to Japan. WHEN I first landed on Japanese soil at Nagasaki, I felt all the delight which attends the realisation of a long-imagined dream. Everything was strange and yet familiar : the scenery was like an old picture on a Japanese screen or hahemono come to life, and the dainty little inhabitants were but the re-incarnation of old friends seen on paper fans and teapots. My first im- pressions had all the charm of contrast, for I had been correspondent in India for two years when I was asked to proceed to Japan, and the change from the melancholy, 26 26 HIGHWAYS 3lND HOMES OF JAPAN the vastness.and the subtle languor of our great dependency, to the smiling landscape of the Island Empire, peopled by- simple and yet cultured little folk, was a striking one. The first sight that meets the eye as one approaches the shore at Nagasaki, is an army of girls crouching in barges waiting to load hners with fuel, and before the ship has come to anchor these big coal barges bear down upon her. Coaling is an interesting sight, being done entirely by these girls. A rough ladder is placed between the ship and the foremost barge, and on each rung of it a girl takes her place. Men in the barge quickly shovel the coal into shallow baskets, holding half a bushel each, to the sound of a monotonous chant. These baskets then pass from hand to hand up the living ladder with marvellous celerity. Each girl seizes one, and swings it straight up in front of her, above her head, when it is caught by the next girl : and so it goes on, from girl to girl, never stopping until it finds a place in the bunkers of the liner. Down a second ladder of small boys the empty baskets pass in similar manner back into the barge to be refilled. Barge after barge is emptied, the monoto- nous chanting never ceases, and the living elevator goes on hour after hour with its never-ending stream of baskets, until the last bunker is full, when the ladders disappear as if by magic, and the ship is ready to proceed on her voyage. To give some idea of the extraordinary celerity of the process of coaling at Nagasaki, let me quote the following figures : A Pacific mail steamer recently "bunkered" 2,300 tons of coal in six hours and a half, an average of 353| tons per hour, or nearly six tons per minute — an almost incredible record. Our own good ship. The Empress of India, had 1,500 tons put on board in five hours — five and a half tons per minute— a sufficiently rapid performance, one would imagine. After viewing the coahng we landed, and at once made FIRST IMPRESSIONS 27 our way to the famous tortoise-shell shops, where we were much impressed by the beauty and variety of the shell employed in the manufacture of bijouterie of all kinds. Models of ships, jewel-cases, caskets, blotters, and countless knick-knacks, both useful and ornamental, were brought out for our inspection. The shell used is imported from China, and ranges in colour from pale amber to dark brown. In some specimens the colours are blended, and the Japanese manipulate these varie- gated shells so cleverly that the finished article appears to represent a landscape. For example, the tray in a toilet-set which was bought by one of our party, was an almost accurate picture of Fujiyama. These sets, con- sisting of about twenty pieces, cost anything over £60, and are true works of art. Half-way up the harbour lie the magnificent Mitsu Bishi dockyards and engine works, with about 5,000 employes — the finest of their kind in the Far East. There are three leading shipyards in Japan — at Nagasaki, Kob6, and Osaka — which employ in all 25,000 men, and nothing in the recent history of the Japanese is more amazing than the growth of shipbuilding. The largest dock is the one at Nagasaki, belonging to the Mitsu Bishi Company, measuring 728 feet, and from it have been successfully floated battleships of 20,000 tons. They are unable to meet orders ; there are merchant vessels being made for India, boats on the keel for the Chinese Government, and submarines being completed for Japan. If the Japanese were not hampered by lack of cheap iron and steel, they would be formidable rivals to English yards in competing for foreign orders. They are at present spending large sums to create steel foundries, so that within its own borders the country may be able to supply the steel used for war material. I was told while at Nagasaki that the Japanese Government helps the 28 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN great shipping companies and yards in every possible way, not only by official subsidies, but by taking shares, and regarding them as a practical department of the Government Service. This seems to be vnse policy, for shipping forms an essential part of the national defence in an insular kingdom, and a mercantile marine working with Government funds can wage war against other shipping lines not so happily circumstanced. Nagasaki, at the head of the beautiful fiord-like bay called Tama-no-Ura{" the Jewel Shore") by the Japanese, was for centuries the only spot where intercourse with the outside world was permitted, and for a time she was an important commercial centre ; but when other ports in Japan were opened to foreign trade her trade declined, and now she relies chiefly as a shipping port on her safe anchorage, unlimited coal supply, and first-class docking facilities. From Nagasaki to Kobe the distance is 387 miles, the greater part of which is occupied by the passage of the incomparable Inland Sea. The western entrance to this sea is through the Straits of Shimonoseki, 15 miles in length, a narrow channel which winds in and out among the " crumpled hills," one enchanting vista after another opening before the delighted traveller, as the ship swings round from point to point. The Inland Sea is a broad lake 250 miles long, its width varying from 8 to 35 miles. In it are over 1,000 islands of every conceivable size and shape, beautiful green islets with picturesque hill-tops; and as we steamed past peaceful shores and wooded slopes, the square-sailed junks creeping idly across the water, with coolies in loose kimono and blue cotton head-covering, completed the charm and novelty of the picture. On reaching Kobe, the port of Osaka and Kyoto, I said goodbye to the good ship which had carried me " MOTHER SAYS I MUST NEITHER TALK, LISTEN, NOR LOOK." After the celebrated carving at Nikko, which represents India, China, and Jnpan as the curious triad whose effifiies are amongst the most usual objects of devotion met with on the roadside in the rural districts of Japan. They symbolise Oriental reserve : " No can hear, no can talk, no can see.* BROTHERS. To face p. 29. FIRST IMPRESSIONS 29 safely from West to East, and at once made my way to the Oriental Hotel, a most comfortable caravanserai. There I spent a week both profitably and pleasantly, for Kob6 has many attractions, including the driest climate of any port in the Empire, and some really well-laid-out golf-links — the best in Japan — which are a rendezvous for foreigners all the year round. I was warned by friends to buy nothing in the shops, which are full of porcelain and bronze monstrosities, cheap goods produced for the foreign market. One day I was told that the first cherry-blossom had appeared, and I got no peace from my Japanese friends until they saw me safely into a jinrikisha (literally, man- power carriage), the hansom cab of Dai Nippon, en route for a famous cherry-orchard some four miles off. Never shall I forget my first sight of the wonderful cherry- blossom of Japan. Poets have sung its praises since the earliest ages, and there is on record a conversation between a great prince and a Japanese statesman, in which the claims of the sakura as the national flower are set forth in contradistinction to the ume, or plum- blossom, which is really of Chinese origin. We passed through lovely valleys and orange-groves, and everywhere I was impressed by the prevailing cleanliness. The picturesque balconied houses, the chubby clean children with either dolls or babies strapped to their backs, and the pretty bright women and girls appealed specially to me after two years spent among the depressed and dirty natives of India; all was novel and charming. One seemed to inhale the joie de vivre from these happy, light- hearted inhabitants of the Sunny Kingdom, and during the whole of my stay in Japan I never lost that feeling of youth and gaiety which seems to be inherent in the nature of the Japanese. In India, as I have said, the native is depressing and depressed, and even the native 30 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN dog shares in the general wretchedness ; but in Japan it is just the contrary. Everything is met with a smile. If two jinrikisha collide, the coolies do not use bad language or look surly; they doff the huge inverted bowls which serve as their hats, and they politely bow and laugh. Laughing becomes second nature after a little practice, and for months after I left Japan I found it necessary to correct myself of the habit of smiling in- voluntarily when jostled by passers-by — a habit which might have led to unpleasant consequences in San Francisco or New York. One incident during that first visit to Kob6 stands out in my memory. I had gone by kuruma (the polite name for jinrikisha among the upper class in Japan) to Arima, a favourite summer resort fifteen miles inland, famous for its mineral springs and bamboo groves, and I was resting quietly in the tea-house when to my amazement several men approached, and announced that they came from the police, and were instructed to photograph me. This information was conveyed to me mostly by panto- mimic signs, for their chief knew only a few English words, and at that time I had not yet learnt to speak Japanese. I rose to the occasion like a bird, and said that we might as well have a pretty picture a la japonaise, as I should like half a dozen copies for my friends. So three smiling nSsan (waitresses) grouped themselves round me (no need to tell them to " smile and look pleasant "), and the photograph was duly taken, after which, with many a polite sayonara, the police agents took their leave. It turned out afterwards that I had been seen speaking to French people in the hotel, and at that particular time the French were looked upon with suspicion, owing to the Saigon authorities having allowed the Eussian ships to coal there. Hence the above-mentioned incident. A JAPANESE "HOW DO YOU DO ; FIRST IMPRESSIONS 31 It was at Kobe that I first discovered the fondness of the Japanese for being photographed. In a temple near the Daibutsu at Hiogo, the old town, I posed two Japanese girls formally saluting ; before the photograph was taken there was a crowd of over two hundred, smiling good-humouredly at the foreign lady. In after-days I often came upon a ready-made picture in an out-of-the- way village, and the expression on the faces was delightful until I was ready to " snap," when in some mysterious way my subjects grew stiff tod wooden, like inanimate dolls. So I adopted the expedient of making all ready, and just at the last moment I looked up and said : " Do itashimashdte" ("Pray don't mention it," the equivalent of the French "II n'y a pas de quoi "). Invariably the stolid faces would relax into broad smiles, and when these were reduced to the proper width, I got a successful picture. From Kobe I travelled by rail to Kyoto, through the great tea country. On every side were orchards of the purple-flowered Paolownia imperialis, grown for its hard wood — kiri — which is used for making the ubiquitous sandal. I managed to obtain seeds and sent them to friends in the Scilly Isles, where they flourish exceed- ingly. The fields were yellow with mustard, with mulberry and citron trees as a background. And so we came to Kyoto, the heart of Japan, for centuries the gilded prison of the Mikado, which remains faithful to its traditions and yields but slowly to foreign fashions. Here the arts still flourish, and it is still practically the religious metropolis of the nation. The hill-sides are covered with temples and monastery grounds, and I walked on the brow of the hill for miles, from one temple enclosure to another, down broad tree- shaded paths, through bamboo groves, past pagodas, bell-towers, and gateways made beautiful by carving and 32 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN painting. Of all places in Japan I best love Kyoto, with its narrow winding streets and beautiful landscape gardens, where I could always conjure up visions of mighty daimyo with their attendant samurai wending their way along the Tohai-do (eastern sea-road), to or from the yashiJci, as the houses of these old nobles round the Shogun's palace at T6ky5 were called. Here, too, more than anywhere else, I grew to understand that inherent love of flowers which is so marked a charac- teristic of the Japanese, and in spring and autumn, at the coming of the cherry-blossom and of the maple, I entered into the joy of the people and felt that I was indeed in Japan. I had made up my mind before leaving India to see as much as possible of the inner life of the people of Dai Nippon, and soon after my arrival I discovered that I must identify myself either with the Japanese or with the Europeans — it is impossible to be persona grata with both ; for most residents affect indifference to things Japanese, listening with an air of boredom when one waxes enthusiastic over the art and traditions of Japan, so that I found it somewhat depressing to spend much time with people who tried to persuade me that there was nothing worth seeing in the country, until some- times I felt as if I had made a mistake in going there. Consequently I made the most of various letters of introduction from kind Anglo-Indian friends to officials in the Foreign Office and Naval Department at Toky5, and in this way I soon made many Japanese friends; and both during my first visit, and my later and more recent one, I was admitted to private functions in Japanese homes, at which no foreign lady had ever before been present. The chapters following this one are mostly written from notes taken during my second visit to the Island Empire. THE AUTHOR A LA JAPONAISB. The kimono should be folded from left to right. It is only arranged from right to left in the case of a dead person. To face p. 32, CHAPTBE II TOKYO Characteristics of the capital of Japan — Its peculiar fascinations — The Begent Street of Tokyo — Bad architecture — The Castle hUl and moat — One and a half nailhons of human beings — Bathing habits universal — Public bath-houses — Fires — Fire look-out stations — Story-tellers' halls — Street life — Shopping — Bargaining a fine art — A Japanese laundry — Street signs — Flower fairs — A chrysan- themum Madame Tussaud's — Cherry-blossom Sunday in Uy^no Park — The Vanity Fair of Tokyo — The Shiba temples — A native bazaar — The Welcome Society. TOKYO (Eastern Capital), formerly Yedo or Edo, the fifth city of the world in population, possesses a fascination all its own, and one learns to love its crowded streets, which stretch for miles right out into the country in an aimless and inconsequent manner bewildering to the methodical mind. The distances are immense, all the thoroughfares looking exactly alike with their one-storey houses and grey roofs. The longer one remains, the more satisfying is it to see how uninter- ruptedly the old life of the people goes on, notwith- standing the influx of European ideas. During endless wanderings through these narrow alleys, escorted by a crowd of all ages, one sees at every turn curious scenes and interesting little customs of Old Japan, and the people to-day crowd round a foreigner as eagerly as if she were a rara avis. Their inquisitiveness is insatiable, 3 33 34 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN and I had to submit to questions of the most personal nature, such as: "Where do you come from?" {DoJco kara ihamasu ?) — "Howmany children you got?" — "Are you Christian?" — "Are you from England?" — "How old are you ? " — and could only comfort myself with Professor Chamberlain's explanation that "to ask such questions is the Far Eastern way of showing interest." I found, however, after a time, that this was not altogether the case, for while my Japanese acquaintances were ready enough to ask the afore-mentioned questions, and others of a more generally abstract and interesting character, they were altogether averse to answering any. It was marvellous how little information — especially on points of national, or rather international, interest — I could obtain in reply to any questions I might put ; and I came to the conclusion that this same love of asking questions was not a matter of interest in me personally, but was part of the national propensity to glean infor- mation from Westerners, which may be utilised later on for their own benefit. They put it away in a cell of the brain for the time being, and out it comes at the proper time. Meanwhile, what they choose to tell you, they tell, and there's an end of it ; wild horses would not drag from them anything more. ... Two railway lines lead into Tokyo, and both termini lie on the outskirts of the city and are at a most inconvenient distance apart, although they are now connected by tram- ways. Uy^no Park Station is away to the north-east, but it was at Shimbashi, in the Tsukiji quarter, that I arrived from Kyoto. Tsukiji, by the way, means drawn out or reclaimed, because this region was drained and reclaimed from the bay. From Shimbashi the route to everywhere is through «the Ginza — the Eegent Street of Tokyo — and its hideous brick buildings in foreign style gave me an impression of utilitarian ugliness, which it TOKYO 35 surprised me to find in the capital of an artistic nation like the Japanese. But friends explained to me later that these buildings were erected by Government order to check the conflagrations, which used to devastate that part of Tokyo periodically, and destroy the entire quarter. The absence of canals rendered the people powerless to extinguish the flames, so that what Tokyo has lost in picturesqueness by the substitution of brick for wood, she has gained in greater safety. The iron chimneys are another eyesore in a Tokyo landscape, or rather town- scape — tall, stove-like abominations which dominate the sky-line in all directions ; for every house built in European style has its chimneys of this description, on account of the danger to heavy brick erections from earthquakes. I quite grieved over the disillusionment caused by bad architecture and factory chimneys, which I could not associate with such lovers of the beautiful as the Japanese, and I was only consoled when my 'rikisha boy took me out past the Castle hill and the moat. This feudal relic, the Castle moat, is the most beautiful thing in Tokyo : the water, always perfectly still, reflects the willows and cherry-trees on the outer side, and is crossed by light, graceful bridges of wood. The walls rise straight from the water, crowned by ramparts and white gateways in the ancient style. These gateways are wonderfully picturesque with their black-tiled overhanging roofs, and they remind one of the days of Old Japan — Yamato damashii — when they were the guard-houses for the yashiki, of the daimyo. The lotus-beds which formerly filled the moat were pronounced malarious, and uprooted some time ago. Above the moat towers the Castle hill, crowned by the Palace itself — not the old Castle, for that was burnt down before the Eevolutioh, but by a new building, Japanese in general plan, with incongruous glass windows and gorgeous German furniture. 36 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN On one of the hills near by is the Aoyama Palace, where the late Empress-Dowager Bisho lived in state, keeping up the old Court customs to the end. In the same quarter are the Crown Prince's palace, the Peers' School for Boys — the Japanese Eton — and the Peeresses' School, and many other fine buildings both public and private, each one with a beautiful garden.* The numerous gardens and the many public parks give an atmosphere of greenness to the city which is most alluring. There are trees everywhere, planted and pre- served with the care peculiar to the Japanese, and during my walks I often came upon one solitary tree hung round with Shinto symbols, as if it were a sacred thing. No one can write about Tokyo without remembering that in this " city of distances," which contains one and a half millions of human beings, nearly one million, by actual figures, go daily to the public baths ; so that, as there are many thousands of private baths, it is probable that every living soul in the city indulges in what is literally a daily tub, for all the baths in Japan are made of new sweet-smelling pine, kept white by constant scrubbing. I never enjoyed my bath more than I did in these oval tubs, for the wood keeps the water hotter than marble or zinc, and is pleasanter altogether. Truly, the bath is the greatest of all Japanese social institutions ; in the capital alone there are between eight hundred and nine hundred public baths,, showing that cleanliness ranks equal with godliness in the Land of the Eising Sun. As all the world knows, mineral springs abound all over the country ; and down every hill-side there is a pipe which leads the water into a wooden tub by the side of the road. This tub is a public bath. Near the city, the * Princes and nobles often have two residences, one being built and furnished in stiff Western style, and the other, chiefly used in summer, on the Japanese model. YOUNG JAPAN RECEIVES THE ORDER OF THE BATH. To face page 37. TOKYO 37 police regulation requiring a small bamboo screen to protect the bathers is enforced, but out in the open country it is more honoured in the breach than in the observance. One day during a morning walk I came upon young Japan receiving the Order of the Bath from his mother, who was trying to get his head well under the hill-side pipe, out of which the extremely hot mineral water was pouring. Most people would have objected to her well-meant efforts, for the water seemed scalding. The Japanese are evidently inured, for they take baths at a temperature of from 113° to 128° and come out parboiled and smiling. At all medicinal springs the baths are owned and maintained by the State, and are free to the people. These public bath-houses have roofs and sides of solid wood, and men, women, and children meet in the hot tank as they do in the market-places of Europe. This mixed bathing is now forbidden, but the law is cleverly evaded in out-of-the-way places. The police say that men and women must not bathe together. The bathers keep the law by placing a long bamboo pole across the tank, and men and women sit contentedly, separated only by this pole, and spend the day talking, smoking, and sipping multitudinous cups of tea. The law has been complied with. In villages, the home-bath is sometimes placed outside the doorstep, so that the bather can see all that goes on, and I remember feeling rather disconcerted the first time I saw a face peeping at me over the edge of one of these family tubs. Fires used to be almost everyday occurrences in Tokyo, and the old proverb ran, "Kaji ga Yddo no hana do" (Fires are Yedo's flowers). Now that houses are being built of stone rather than wood, and kerosene lamps have been superseded by electric light, they are not so frequent. It will readily be understood that the con- 38 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN junction of oil lamps and earthquakes in this earth- quake-shaken city was a fruitful source of danger. Modem T5kyo has wide streets and solidly built houses, and if she is less picturesque she is also less of a firebrand than in the days of ancient Y6do, when a thousand houses were often burned down in a night. Fire look-out stations are conspicuous objects in every part of the city, and a constant ;watch is kept over each district by means of a high ladder set upright in the ground close to the fire-engine building. This ladder is crowned by a small railed platform, above which hangs a bronze bell, and when an outbreak is discerned the watchman gives the alarm by striking the bell one stroke if it is in his own district, two if it is in the next, and so on. The modern firemen (hiJcesho), in their woollen uniforms, are active and efficient, and the new fire-engines are a great improvement on the former small hand machines, but in many parts of the city want of water is a great difficulty, especially in February when the wells are low. I saw several fires when I was in Tokyo, and I recall one night in particular. I had just finished dinner when I heard the clang of the alarm-bell (hansho), which heralded a fire of rather greater dimen- sions than usual. Catching up a wrap hurriedly, I joined the crowd. The excitement was something phenomenal. The people seemed to have lost their heads, and ran hither and thither, tumbling over each other in an aimless fashion, reminding me of our old favourite, the clown in the circus, who with all his seeming energy yet accomplishes nothing. Several fire-companies were already at work. In the midst of the smoke could be seen the standards or crests (mattoi) of the various brigades, wooden banners with a strange device, held by the intrepid bearers high above the heads of the A FLITTING. *.a,-v^ A JAPANESE "ROBINSON CRUSOE." To face p. 39. TOKYO 39 workers. These bearers, like the captain of a sinking ship, must be the last to leave the post of danger, and sad tales are told of brave lives thus lost. Meanwhile, on all sides of the burning area, residents, aided by their friends, were scurrying to and fro like rats, hastily removing their household effects to a safe distance ; for a Japanese fire generally means the destruction, not of one building, but of many. The damage done by these fires is minimised by the simplicity of Japanese life; and during that midnight flitting from the burning quarter I saw more than one family pile quickly on one small cart the whole of their belongings — first the paper screens which formed the walls then the straw mats that covered the floor, next the quilted gowns that formed their bedding, with a few kimono and other small effects, till nothing remained but the roof, corner posts and rough flooring. There were no unnecessaries, such as draperies and bric-a-brac, to hamper their movements, for in Japan the household treasures, and all objects of "bigotry and virtue," are not scattered promiscuously about the house as with us, but are kept in a fire-proof cellar or outhouse (kura), and brought out one by one to be admired and enjoyed on high days and holidays, or for the entertainment of an honoured guest. When I dined with Japanese friends, part of the after-dinner entertainment always consisted of the exhi- bition of some such prized heirloom — an ancient fan, a Satsuma vase, or a piece of real old lacquer, which the host fetched from the Jcura and placed with great solemnity in the midst of his guests, who remained wrapt in silent admiration for what seemed to me an embarrass- ing length of time ; there was none of the Western spraying of adjectives over it — our appreciation was a foregone conclusion. Among the features of Tokyo native life are the story- 40 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN tellers' halls, which, perhaps, properly belong to the later chapter on the drama. The Japanese do their novel- reading by proxy, and there are fifty of these story-tellers' halls licensed in the capital. I went once only to a reci- tation, for it seemed waste of time and money to sit gazing at gesticulations and grimaces of which one under- stood not the meaning. This historical recitation, with or without the accompaniment of a biwa, or Chinese lute, seems to have survived from a period prior to the intro- duction of writing, when professional reciters held office at Court. Later, when the development of writing made this office useless, it was dropped ; but tales were still written and recited to the people, and sometimes these recitations included performances by puppets. These, which were called gidaya, became most popular, and, even to this day, there is no entertainment in Tokyo which rivals these halls. They represent to the Japanese what a good music-hall does to a European. Let me describe my one experience of them. We paid only a few sen for admission, although, once in, the hat was passed round more than once. We found a reciter sitting on a little platform with the ubiquitous hibachi in front. From the laughter of the squatting audience, it was evident that some good joke was in progress, and I was sorry that it was all passing far, far above my head. The entertainer of the moment was not reciting a set piece, so we were told, but was simply telling love-stories, spiced with ready-made jokes. He was not the star, the professional reciter ; that joy, in a Japanese story-tellers' hall, is always reserved for the last item of the evening's programme. After a short time (we had purposely timed our arrival late) the great man of the evening arrived, and with dignity took his seat on a raised platform. We duly noted that he was attired in gorgeous ceremonial dress BASKKT-MAKING. THE UMBRELLA MAKER. To face p, 41. TOKYO 41 of bright-coloured silk hahama, and that the audience seemed breathless with excitement. It was aggravating not to know what it was all about, and I am afraid I felt rather bored before my friends were ready to depart. I left feeling sympathetic with foreigners who visit our theatres and music-halls without an interpreter ; and yet, if our topical allusions were interpreted to them, they would not be much the wiser. The streets of Tokyo were to me a never-failing source of amusement. Pavements are conspicuous by their absence, except in the wide streets where there are tramway lines, and the people walk calmly down the centre of the street, only stepping aside when the hai- hai ! hai-hai ! of a 'riJcisha man warns them of approach- ing danger. The streets are always crowded, especially at nights, when the lower classes do their shopping, and red and white paper lanterns are hung out over booths stocked with every imaginable article — flower-hairpins, cakes, charms, &c. But even in the daytime the streets are thronged, for the number of perambulating merchants is incredible. All food is hawked. There is the itinerant hot-food man, with his head inside his portable booth, marching serenely up and down, almost hidden by steam ; the fish vendor, with his wares in shallow tubs slung by ropes to the ends of a long pole, which he carries across his shoulders ; the vegetable man, with two baskets full of greens carried in the same way ; the bean-curd man, with his most delectable tofu packed neatly in boxes ; the sweatmeat seller, with the favourite midzu ami, a sweet paste made from millett ; and the ordinary street pedlar, carrying everything from pottery to pickles. Last, but not least, may be seen the picturesque figure of the flower-seller {hcma/ya) coming jauntily along with a cigarette between his lips, crying at intervals "Hasu-no- hana" (Flowers to sell). A Japanese flower-seller is a 42 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN walking flower-shop. On a pole across his shoulders are hung two bamboo baskets, on which are artistically arranged quantities of all the flowers in season, so that the man is hidden behind a mass of bloom. These flowers are set in tubs filled with water, and the corners are made decorative with bamboo flower-holders filled with great branches of blossom or foliage. On a wet day the streets seem to be peopled with veritable Eobinson Crusoes, for the Japanese coster- monger, as well as the coolie, goes out dressed in a straw rain-coat (rnino), which is a thatch of two connected capes, one fastening at the neck and the other at the waist; and his flat hat, like an inverted bowl, measures 2J feet across. Every shop serves also as the family living-room, and is never shut, as in England. It consists of one great room open to the passer-by, and is raised about 18 inches above the roadway. There are no shelves or counters, and customers, having removed their shoes at the thresh- hold, sit on the straw mats which cover the floor, while boys bring for their inspection, from some mysterious back region, basketfuls of rolls of silk or crape, wrapped in the coarse yellow cotton cloth which every visitor to Dai Nippon learns to know so well. Shopping in Japan is as good as a play, for bargaining has been reduced to a fine art, and the shopkeepers are quite disappointed if a customer does not indulge them in this propensity. I went with a rich American friend to a famous silk shop, where she wished to buy an obi (sash). These are sold in lengths of four yards and a half, and the finest, of pure silk with gold thread interwoven, are handed down from generation to generation. We were shown one for ■yyhich the price asked was 250 yen (£25) . As usual, we said " TaJcai" (Too much), and then, more emphatically, " Takusan taJcai " (Quite too much). After that the fun of A JAPANESE IRONING BOARD. TOKYO 43 the fair began in earnest, and we expended much vocal energy and drank many cups of pale tea before we finally bought it for 90 yen (£9). My friend offered a note for 100 yen in payment, upon which the inevitable sorohan, or abacus, was brought into play. This is a square frame with wires running across it and beads on the wires. It is divided into two parts, the beads in one division representing units and in the other tens. The Japanese use the sorohan to make the smallest and most simple of calculations, and depend so entirely upon it that they cannot do any mental arithmetic what- ever. This is true even of clever educated Japanese. Not only did our shopkeeper produce one in order to calculate the amount to be returned out of 100 yen, when the price of the ohi was 90 yen, but even in the banks the shroffs use them on every occasion, working out the change for a shilling on the sorohan. The workshops add much to the liveliness of the streets, for they are open-fronted, and the passer-by sees at work carpenters, rice-pounders, and makers of umbrellas, toys, fans, images, kites, baskets, and artificial flowers. The good housewife may also be seen at work, scrubbing or chopping the too odoriferous doAkon (radish), while her children play about in the dust near by ; and a Httle further on laundry work is in progress, and another busy housewife is to be seen spreading her unpicked kimono in the sun to dry. In Japan the rice for family use is boiled all night, and in the morning the clothes that are being washed are dipped in the rice-water and then spread out flat on wooden boards to dry in the sun. The rice-water acts as starch, and the wooden board as an iron, and the dry cloth comes off the board like a new piece of cloth fresh from the loom. One of the most important items of household work in Japan is the preparation of the rice, and this, like everything else, is done in public. It is 44 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN cleaned by hand, one worker sifting it through a basket, while a second one uses a huge fan with a long handle to blow away the dust. No one can pass along the streets of the capital without noticing the quaint shop-signs, and I cannot resist men- tioning the following, of which I took particular note during my walks . SuPEBiOR Cow OP Kobe ; the explanation of which is that the country around Kobe produces excellent beef, which is canned and sold throughout the country. ToNSOEiAN Pabloue, over a barber's shop. European Fashion Ornaments, over a tailor's. Hen Meat, over a poulterer's. For the Adorning, above a draper's establishment. Higher Washman, for a laundry. FuLiSH BuTBR, Griam, Milk, intimates that dairy products are for sale; but whence the "Fulish"? A very nice restaurant in the capital, situated in the main street of the populous district of Kanda, had the absurd sign in large letters over the door — A Grog Shop. A Pot House ; which was meant to inform the public that its table was good both for cooked meats and liquors. The advertisement for Fuji Beer is also very quaint : " The efficacy of this Beer is to give the health and especially the strength for Stomach. The flavour is so sweet and simple that not injure for much drink." The following from a Japanese tailor's card, handed to me in the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, is good : "I have learned sewing the ladies dress of the French or present fashion shape for the many years and I have opening of a shop and can work how much difficult Job insure, please try, once try. Our shop is best and obliging worker that has everybody known." Another amusing example of English as she is Japanned is afforded by the signboard outside the offices, of the A CHRYSANTHEMUM MADAME TUSSAUD'S. In this set piece Marshal Oyama is in the centre, -with Generals Kodarna, Kuroki, Nogi, and others round him. The painted background represents Shimbashi Station, and the entire group occupied one large marquee, dimly lighted, so that 2^ minutes' exposure was required in taking the photograph. To face p. 45. TOKYO 45 Carter Paterson of Yokohama, which I copied verbatim, standing on a high ladder : " Eemoved baggage, to lent waggon, a contract of coolie or common labourer. Delivery of the articles or the goods and a message in this City. Besides that we shall to manage with cheapest for transportation baggage of the carriage." In a later chapter will be described the full matsuri or flower festivals of Japan ; but even more fascinating than these are the en-nichi, or flower fairs, twelve or fifteen of which are held in different parts of T5kyo in the course of the year. These take place at night, and just as dusk falls the flower-sellers begin to arrive, pulling two-wheeled carts laden with plants. They immediately set to work to arrange these artistically, and soon after- wards vendors of less perishable goods join them, so that, with a background of flowers, one sees a china merchant sitting on the ground among his bowls and teapots, or a second-hand dealer with imitation bronzes displaying his wares on a mat. Although the curio-hunter can get little for his money, the flower-lover may pick up for a few sen a dwarf-tree of pine, maple, or plum, which at a prize show would fetch its weight in gold. The child-like enjoyment of the orderly crowds is something good to witness, as they walk up and down admiring and bar- gaining by the light of primitive torches (tins of oil mounted on wooden stakes), which cast flickering shadows on the budding plum-trees, brilliant peonies, azaleas, magnolias, or chrysanthemums. Another kind of fair takes place in November at Dango-Zaka, just outside Tokyo, and during that month every self-respecting person in the capital makes at least one pilgrimage to this haunt of the chrysanthemum growers. The entire suburb is devoted to the kiku, the national flower par excellence, and there is a perfect colony of tents, each hiding some particular novelty in 46 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN the training and exhibition of that florist's particular fancy. The large central tent is a sort of chrysanthe- mum Madame Tussaud's, for groups of historical or mythological figures are made out of chrysanthemums, the small-flowering ones being used. The figures are life-size, the faces and hands being wax, and all clothes and accessories are living flowers which are trained so closely over a framework that the mechanism is invisible. Bound this central tent are grouped many others, each containing some flowering marvel or eccentricity, and on both sides of the pathway are the usual penny shows, amongst them the inevitable enter- tainers, jugglers, acrobats, fortune-tellers, and their like. More beautiful, because less artificial, is Cherry- blossom Sunday in Uyeno Park, a universal holiday, and the scene remains in my memory as a fairy-like dream of huge double rose-pink blossoms against a background of dark pines. Gaily dressed crowds sip innumerable cups of tea under the famous trees, and before wending their way homewards, hang on the branches poems of exactly thirty-one syllables, which are inscribed on the narrow thick pieces of paper specially prepared for the purpose. Uyeno Park, the Hyde Park of Tokyo, formerly belonged to a monastery, and groups of temples were founded by Tokugawa lyeyasu to protect his castle. After the Eestoration it became Government property and is now a public park. Another resort where people "most do congregate " is the Asakusa Temple, the Vanity Pair of Tokyo. The avenue leading up to the gate of the temple is lined with shops and booths and penny shows, and on entering the temple grounds the first duty of the visitor is to feed the pigeons, the messengers of the gods, with corn bought at a side-stall. Inside the temple, the worshippers, having thrown a copper into the offering-box, bow and TOKYO 47 clap their hands as they murmur the usual formula "Namu Amida Butsu " (Hear me, Great Lord Buddha) ; but the decorations here are gaudy and unsatisfying, and very different from the gorgeous but artistic splendours of the Shiba temples, which lie in the shadow of dark pines, on the other side of the city. These, however, were shorn of one of their chief orna- ments in April, 1909, when the Zojoji, the famous Budd- hist temple situated in Shiba Park, was burnt to the ground, the damage being estimated at 40,000 yen. It was the second show temple of Japan, ranking next to the great temple of Nikko, and its loss was brought about by a beggar, who lit a fire in a hole under the wall where he had long been in the habit of sleeping. Behind the temples, in a shady grove at the top of a mossy stairway, stands the Octagonal Hall (HakJcaku-do) , which contains the largest piece of gold lacquer in the world. In it rest the ashes of the Second Shogun, great lyeyasu's son. It is forbidden to photograph this interior, but a timely gift to the priest overcame the difficulty. Across the road from Shiba is a unique bazaar, the Kwankoba, where many merchants sell under one roof, each renting a small place in which he displays his wares independently of his neighbours, just as is done in an English market. Here may be bought all those delightful little inexpensive things, from a needle to an anchor, which the foreigner finds it most difficult to obtain. Here, too, the national propensity for bargaining is in abeyance, for each article is marked plainly with its actual price. No chapter about Tokyo would be complete without a mention of the Kihin Kai (Welcome Society), which has its headquarters in the Chamber of Commerce buildings at Tokyo. All visitors to Japan join the Welcome Society as a matter of course, and find it a boon and a blessing during their stay. Through it they can obtain permits to 48 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN visit Government buildings, Imperial palaces and gardens and other places of special interest where an introduction is necessary ; in fact, the paternal care shown by its Presi- dent, the Marquis Matsukata, and the Board of Officials, smooths the way of the stranger in Japan. CHAPTEE III THE JAPANESE AS HOSTS A dinner at the Koyokwcm (Maple Club) — Pour hours on the floor in Japanese style — Lacquer trays and low tables — Soy and chop- sticks — The menu, largely fish — The pidce de resistance, a live fish — Hot sak4 — ^Its effect — Professional dancers — Paper lanterns — Eel dinners at the Golden Oarp — The season in Tokyo — Two Imperial garden-parties — Change in social position of ladies — Meadames Togo and Oyama — Description of Field-Marshal Oyama — ^Visii to Baron Takazaki, the Poet-Laureate — An open-air entertainment at the Fukuzawa College — Kindergarten pupils sing — Japanese Nava officers as hosts — A captured Eussian gramophone — Pleasan recollections of the battleship AsaM Team,, THE Koyokwan, or Maple Club, is the rendezvous for aristocratic Tokyo, and there the most elaborate and costly entertainments take place. The Club-house is situ- ated in its own beautiful grounds, on the slope of a hill near the Shiba temples, and commands a lovely view of maple-trees and the bay beyond. Almost the last invita- tion which I accepted before leaving Tokyo was to this Club, and a description of it will serve as an example of a formal Japanese entertainment. The invitation was for three o'clock, and on driving up to the door in huruma we were met by several nSsam,, or waitresses, who relieved us, not only of our hats, but also of our shoes, and then led us down a corridor of polished cedar-wood, and upstairs to a beautiful large room, decorated entirely with the tiny Japanese maple leaf ; the carved screens, crape cushions, 4 49 50 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN porcelain dishes, fans, sweetmeats, and even the dresses and hairpins worn by the nSsan all displayed the much- loved momiji. In the tokonoma, or raised recess, where the kakemono, or hanging picture, is always shown, there was a single flower in a bronze vase. Of course I sat on the floor in Japanese style, and tucked my feet away somewhere in the soft cushions, leaning one arm on the padded elbow-rest provided ; but this posture is not suited to British anatomy, and even after a comparatively long residence in Japan, my wearied limbs protested painfully, long before a four hours' enter- tainment came to an end. In front of each guest were set the tabako hon, a tray holding a tiny hibacM, or open brazier with live coals, and a section of bamboo as an ash- tray. Then a file of nSsan brought in iea and sweetmeats on lacquer trays, and next they set before each guest an osen, or table, not 4 inches in height, on which stood a covered bowl containing the first course, a tiny cup of shoyu (soy), a universal condiment in which the food is dipped. It is a sauce made from a fermented mixture of barley-meal, pounded beans, and yeast, and it is a standing dish at all meals. Beside the cup of soy was an envelope containing a pair of white pine chopsticks. We broke apart the chopsticks, which were split for only half their length to show that they were unused. Here, again, twelve months' residence in the country had not provided me with the practice which makes perfect — the art of eating with chopsticks is as unsatisfactory to a beginner as eating soup with a fork — and the slippery morsels would occasionally escape from my grasp and land on the tray. Then an amused smile would flit over the faces of those present and they would offer a spoon, which, however, I never deigned to accept. The dinner began with fish soup, and then a live fish — the pi&ce de resistance at the feast — was brought in for THE JAPANESE AS HOSTS 51 inspection before being cut up and eaten alive (the mark of honour to a distinguished guest), and also the inevitable lacquer bowls filled with rice. Many and various were the dainty courses which followed, including sweet pota- toes (satsuma imo) , shrimps (2/oA;Me6i), water melon (suika), figs {ioM jiJcu), pounded chrysanthemum blooms, rose- coloured ginger, and weak green tea,* until at last there were nearly two dozen in front of each guest, stretched out in front of him. Some of these were excellent, especially a jelly made of seaweed, and a sort of pudding, called tqfu, made from beans. Every course was accompanied by cups of hot saM, which played the part of a loving-cup to the general com- pany, each one saluting the others in turn, by the cup being raised to the forehead and emptied in three pre- scribed sips. When my turn came, I handed the lacquer bowl to the host as he knelt in front of me, bowing to the ground. He drank the contents, rinsed it in a silver bowl, refilled the cup, and passed it back to me. I just tasted it, and after three more salutations he returned to his place. This saM, or rice-brandy, tastes and looks like the weakest sherry, although it smells like alcohol. As it is the one liquor which does not improve with age, the newest is the best. It is kept in wooden tubs, and drawn off into open- mouthed porcelain bottles, which are set in hot water if warm saM is desired. The lacquer cups in which it is served hold barely a tablespoonful, but by repetition the Japanese imbibe pints. Its first effect is to loosen the tongue ; its second to turn the whole body bright crim- son. Sometimes when travelling alone in the interior, I have alighted at a yadoya (inn) with Tomo, my faithful * Japanese tea is specially prepared, and the water must be boUed and then allowed to become liike-warm, before being poured on the tea-leaves. It should be allowed to stand one minute only before it is poured off, and no milk or sugar is taken with it. 52 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN rikisha coolie, who had all day been pale-faced and taciturn, and I have found him an hour afterwards when off duty squatting over the hihachi (open brazier) in the entrance-hall, dressed (or undressed) in a scanty hi/mono, chattering nineteen to the dozen and with face and hands a flaming red. Bevenons dnos moutons. About half-way through the feast two charming geisha in maple-leaf ki/mono entered, kneeling with koto and samism, and played sad, slow airs, while several mcdko, or professional dancers, danced the song of the maple-leaf, chanting a poem in its praise, as they glided from one perfect pose to another. These maiko and geisha are present at all entertainments, and are trained to amuse and charm the guests with their accomplishments and witty conversation, in the absence of the wife and daughters of the host. Until quite recently, the geisha were the most highly educated of Japanese women, and some of them made splendid marriages; but now that the Japanese lady has donned European dress, and accompanies her lord and master to social gatherings, the functions of the geisha are rather at a discount, and the wife is more to the fore. By the time the dance was over, twilight had fallen, and andon, or saucers of oil burning inside square paper lantern frames, had been lighted in each corner of the room. This real Japanese entertainment had charmed us all, and we left with endless bows and many a sayonara, finding as usual in our jiwikisha little vFOoden boxes containing some of the dinner which we had not touched. Most delightful are the eel-dinners often given to visitors in the tea-houses near the Eiver Sumida, and even Sir Edwin Arnold has written appreciatively of the broiled eels of the Golden Carp. Just as at the "geisha" at the maple club, tokyu. Their faces are covered with o shiioi ("the honourable whitewash"), so that the features are hardly discernible. THE JAPANESE AS HOSTS 53 Bestaurant de la Biserve at Beaulieu each Visitor chooses his own fish as it swims about in a large pond, so in T5kyo a guest who enters such a tea-house is taken at once to a pool of wriggUng fresh-water eels, and asked to point out the one preferred. This is triumphantly carried off on a long knife to the kitchen and cooked while one waits. The dinner begins with eel soup, after which black eels and white eels, cooked in various ways, succeed one another rapidly. The fish, cut in square pieces, are dipped in different kinds of sauces and broiled over a charcoal fire ; and when served with rice they look most appetising, and make an excellent dish. Chicken is also cooked in the same way over the hibachi, the morsels being served from the iron plate as fast as they brown : my favourite dish in Japanese inns was this tori-nabS (chicken in the pan). Garden-parties are the favourite form of hospitality in the metropolis of Japan, where the social season begins in October and ends in May. Besides two Imperial garden-parties in April and November at the time of the cherry-blossoms and chrysanthemums respectively, several of the Imperial princes entertain in this way, and the foreign embassies and the ofSx;ial ministerial residences have beautiful grounds. Social etiquette is strictly adhered to, and card-leaving and visiting go on as briskly as in any other capital. At the houses of the Imperial princes the visitor inscribes his name in a book in the hall just as we do in this country with our own royalties, and after each State ball guests must call at once upon the princess who acted as hostess, or their name vnll be struck off the list. Every one at Court dances well and enjoys the recreation, and they go through the figures of a quadrille with the same precision and attention to detail which they carry into every department of life. The modern Mairquises, Counts, and Barons in Japan 54 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN to-day are fashionable men-about-town, dressed in smart London clothes, who play billiards, poker, and tennis, attend dinners, concerts, and races, and can converse in one or two foreign languages and read foreign newspapers at their Club. Three Japanese ladies, social leaders of the Court circles, have graduated in America, at Vassar College, and many high officials are married to English, American, and German women ; indeed, the change in the social position of women within the present generation is incredible, English governesses having done much to introduce new ideas into many a Japanese home. Some still adhere to the old traditions, however, and among these is Madame Togo, and the contrast between the simple Japanese home of Admiral Togo and the stately, well-appointed residence of Marshal Oyama is very striking. Madame Togo, who is pre-eminently sinvpatica and lovable, always accompanied me across soft tatami (floor mats) to the threshold vyith many a kindly sayonara, and even attempted with true Japanese poHte- ness to assist in the operation of buttoning the shoes which I left outside, more japonico, on entering, while the entire household prostrated themselves according to the pretty fashion of Dai Nippon. Princess Oyama, equally kind, said " Good-bye " in a handsome drawing- room with luxurious velvet-pile carpets and English furniture. A well-trained man-servant opened the door, before which stood a handsome carriage and pair of horses waiting to take "Oyama San" to an Imperial luncheon. My first thought on being presented to the burly Field- Marshal was that his name was singularly appropriate, for "Oyama" means literally "big mountain." In appearance he is almost boyish-looking, owing to his fresh colour and the absence of moustache or beard to PRINCESS OYAMA IN HER OWN HOME. To face p. 54. THE JAPANESE AS HOSTS 55 his weather-beaten face ; and it is difficult to realise that this erect robust man has endured not only the natural hardships of sanguinary campaigns, but also peculiar anxieties and responsibilities in connection with the fate of his beloved country. Marshal Oyama speaks a little English, but seems to prefer French, and in that language he described the hardships endured in various campaigns, when to dine off beans cooked in an empty beef-tin over a camp-fire was luxury indeed. What a contrast to the splendid Oyama banquet at which I first saw him in Uy^no Park ! An interesting personality who received me in his home at Tokyo is the Poet-Laureate, Baron Takazaki, who lost his only son in the Eusso-Japanese War. He speaks French and English well, and during my visit he showed me many interesting letters received from prominent people in all parts of the world, among which were the following lines sent by the late Mr. John Hay, Secretary of State in Washington, a fortnight before his death : — " I, a grey poet of the Sunset Land Greet you who sing by Nippon's shining strand. Out of the shadows of the day that's done I hail you, Poet of the Eising Sun 1 " He copied this out, and in return I wrote in his book a verse of poetry composed by Oliver Wendell Holmes for my autograph album in the early eighties, when I was visiting Massachusetts and was honoured by his friend- ship : — "A few can touch the magic string And noisy Fame is glad to win them : Alas I for those who never sing And die with all their music in them." The Japanese bard quite appreciated the sentiment 56 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN contained in these lines, which appeal to all who feel poetic inspiration and cannot express it in words. Baron Takazaki has a keen sense of humour, and one amusing story which he told us was about a sartorial difficulty in connection with an evening party given by the Governor of Osaka. The words " evening dress " were written on the invitation cards, and although the Japanese in that part of the country had adopted frock- coats and tall hats, they could not manage evening dress. So some of those invited instructed their tailor to turn back their frock coats temporarily to resemble swallow- tails, and thus attired they hoped to pass unchallenged. But alas and alack ! The official Cerberus at the gate detected the fraud and they were ignominiously turned back. Baron Takazaki also gave some instances of the curious topsy-turveydom which is shown when Japanese thoughts are translated into English phrases. Thus in the Peers' School^a boy once vsrrote on his examination paper : — " Pins are very useful things. Not for Japanese but for other people. Many people's lives are saved by pins by not swallowing them." Another definition peculiarly Japanese was the fol- lowing : — "A mountain is a large piece of ground that sometimes grows in the night. Sometimes they convulse them- selves, which is called volcano." (Fuji is said to have risen up in a single night two thousand years ago.) And again this delightful example of inverse ratio : — " Salt is what makes potatoes very horrid when there isn't any." I told the Poet-Laureate of my own experience in Yokohama, when I was sketching a street corner from my balcony, and such a large crowd collected that the entire street was blocked. Instead of making the crowd THE JAPANESE AS HOSTS 57 move on, the policeman came to me and politely requested me to stop painting and go inside, as "I was blocking the street." This was a real case of topsy- turveydom worthy of the land where in newspapers a large full stop is put at the beginning of each paragraph, and in books " Finis " is printed where we should put the title-page. When I spoke of the great deeds of his countrymen by land and sea, this Wise Man of the East said that he would like to pin on each man's breast the soldier's well- known proverb — "Eatte habuto no wo wo shimero " (After victory the string of the cap of war must be tied tightly), for success must not make them lax and careless. He is persona grata at Court, and showed us a poem composed by the Empress on the death of his son Motohiro before Port Arthur, of which the opening lines were: — "We mourn for him, the son, who lost his life For his dear country on the battle-field ; Yet "tis the father's heart that grieves us most." On New Year's Day in Japan a subject is given to the pubhc, and thousands of poems are sent in for com- petition, the Emperor and Empress invariably composing one themselves. And so we spent a delightful hour, and at the close of this interesting visit Baron Takazaki presented me with a saM-cxi'p of beautiful old red lacquer, saying in reply to my suggestion that he should pay England a visit, "Ichu no hoAoadzu taikai o shvrazu," which means " A frog in a well does not know the great ocean." One of the prettiest alfresco entertainments given every year in Tokyo is the garden-party in connection with the Keio-Gijiku College, which is held at the charming villa of Mr. S. Fukuzawa, whose wife is the only daughter of Viscount Hayashi, His father, Mr. Fukuzawa, the founder 58 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN of the college, well-known as the " Grand Old Man " of Japan, was foremost in introducing Western civilisation into these islands, and did so much for the cause of education in general that a grateful Government offered him a title — an honour which he declined to accept. Another son, one of the leaders of modern Japanese thought, is the able and energetic editor of the Jiji Shimpo, the Times of that part of the world. On one occasion when I was present at this annual function. Admiral Togo was the guest of honour, and most of those assembled to welcome him were graduates or students of the Keio-Gijiku College. It was a pretty sight when the Kindergarten attached to the college took up their places in front of Togo Taisho and the other admirals, and sang with lusty patriotism the Nippon Kaigun (Japanese Navy March), while the illustrious guests beamed kindly on these embryo admirals and generals. In the brilliant sunshine all nature looked smiling and gay, and the scene in the picturesque grounds was like a moving kaleidoscope — flags fluttering, white marquees scattered about, and everywhere animated groups of dainty Japanese maidens in their prettiest f&te dresses, and children in the gayest colours imaginable, looking like walking dolls in their flovnng gowns and long sleeves. Many were present at this omnium gatherum whose names will evermore be inseparably connected with the history of New Japan, and remembered with honour long after the present generation has passed away. All were distinguished by an unaffected sincerity and direct simplicity of bearing that by its very absence of affectation impressed one with a sense of power, self- reliance, and self-conquest. Japanese naval officers make the best hosts in the world, and a luncheon-party on board the Asahi-kan may THE JAPANESE AS HOSTS 59 serve as an example of the spontaneous courtesy and delightful hospitality which characterises their entertain- ments. The ship's launch fetched me from the little pier at Yokohama, and in the crisp autumnal air, it bounded merrily over the blue waters of Tokyo Bay, passing several warships before the Asahi was reached. This fine battleship, at one time the flagship of Admiral Togo, was built at Clydebank, where she was launched in 1900, and she ranks second to none in contributing to the success of the Japanese Navy. In the battle of the Sea of Japan she was fourth in the line of six ships forming the first squadron under the immediate command of Admiral Togo. The renowned Commander Hirose, who so nobly died in the attempt to bottle up Port Arthur, went forth from the Asahi, having previously composed a sM, or Chinese poem, according to ancient custom, which was intended by him to be the final expression of his desires, and which proved to be a forecast of his fate. As translated to me by an of&cer on the Asahi, this stirrup-cup runs as follows : — "Would that I could be born seven times, And sacrifice my li£e for my country I Eesolved to die, my mitid is firm, And again expecting to win success, Smiling I go on board 1 " After inspecting the ship, where we saw sailors in some places knitting, making artificial flowers, and carving models of ships, we sat down to a cheery lunch in the saloon, our hosts beguiling the time by narrating incidents that occurred " during the battle " — stories of thrilling interest, told with simple modesty. Then they brought forth a Russian gramophone found aboard the captured Eussian ship Orel, which is still after more than 60 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN five years a source of amusement to them, and it emitted various sounds which might have been either a Eussian march, or a growHng protest against its presence on a Japanese warship. After this came a few songs, some parting gifts of photographs, and then the homeward voyage in the comfortable launch, our hosts acting up to the well-known injunction to " Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest " by sending us off with bouquets of roses and other souvenirs of a charming afternoon, spent on one of the finest battleships in the Imperial Japanese Navy — in truth, one of the finest battleships in the world. NATIVE INN [yaDOYa) IN THE INTERIOR. The author stayed here for some weeks, waited on, hand and foot, by the three nJsa;i in the picture. To face p. 6t. CHAPTEE IV AT A JAPANESE INN Life in a. native inn — the spotless tatam/i (floor-matting) — Baths — Early shding back of shutters — Nippon-cha (tea) unsatisfying — Breakfast of rice and fish — Sleeping arrangements, wooden pillow and quilts — The honourable rats — Fuawma and shoji screens — Travelling in kago — Boating on the lake — ^Excitability of the Japanese — Food unsatisfying — Seaweed as an article of food — Nuts — Milk without a cow — Charges at an inn — Japan, the land of waits — Bland imbecility on occasion. IWONDEE if the ordinary globe-trotter, who ambles along the beaten track at the heels of a guide, ever realises the absolute joy of breaking away from con- ventional hotel routine and studying the real life and atmosphere of the Japanese at home. I can vouch personally for the charm of this, having for several weeks lived in a native inn {yadoya) in the heart of the moun- tains, away from all English-speaking persons ; and the experience was delightfully characteristic of the country. Arriving on pony-back at such a house, the visitor must first take off her shoes outside the entrance, and either walk stocking-footed across the polished floors, or use the heelless moleskin slippers provided by the inn ; for, as the common saying goes, they " do not make a street of their houses," and the spotless tatami (floor- matting) would suffer sadly from contact with muddy shoes. 61 62 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Then comes the inevitable question : " When will you have your bath?" this being the beginning and end of everything with the Japanese, who indulge in a bath at 6 a.m. and a bath at 6 p.m., while at eleven o'clock "a sound of revelry by night" indicates that the last splashing and tubbing of the household is in process in the lower storey. Early in the morning, before five o'clock, I was roused from slumber by the sliding back in their grooves of the wooden shutters (amado) which compose the front and sides of the inn. After that to woo sleep was impossible, for the daily life of the house had begun, and every sound penetrated through the sliding paper-screens which formed the bedroom walls. So I clapped my hands — a bell being an unheard-of luxury — and immediately with a series of " Hei ! Hei ! Hei's ! " a rosy-cheeked little creature, in a scanty kimono with voluminous sleeves, shuffled in with an early cup of tea. Her height was just 50 inches measured by my yard tape ; but her elaborate coiffure made her look at least 6 inches taller, and she was all smiles, good humour, and inquisitiveness. In this Arcadia a daily paper and some Nankin (China) tea were the sole luxuries I allowed myself, for although the pale green tea of the country (Nippon-cha) is occasionally refreshing on a railway journey, it is somewhat unsatisfactory as an everyday article of diet. There is nothing hidden in the life of a Japanese household. Looking out on the lovely lake in front, I could see the women washing their faces and personal clothing at the end of a small wooden pier, which runs out from the lowest floor of each house. Meanwhile, inside the building, the kettle was boiling over a char- coal fire ; and after a breakfast of rice, pickled fish, and innumerable cups of tea, the inmates settled down like AT A JAPANESE INN 63 modern Buddhas to enjoy their kiseru (small pipes) before beginning the day's work. Futon (quilts) were hung in the sun, fish, rice, and vegetables were washed in the lake, and if the day was suitable the men went a-fishing with their nets. I found that I could live luxuriously for weeks on masu (salmon trout), tori (chicken), and omelettes worthy of any chef. The natural simplicity of the people in these mountain resorts was unspoilt by foreign influence, so that it was a perfect joy to live among them. They sleep on the floor with a wooden pillow (makura) under the neck, and Sb futon (quilt) to cover them. As a special act of grace my landlord always gave me four of these futon, wadded with cotton, which formed a thick mattress. In the night-time, however, it was alarming to listen to the activity of the " honourable " rats, who seemed to be under the futon and all round it, although in reality they were careering overhead between the outer and inner roofs. Still, one feels helpless, and an easy prey for any domestic animals, when lying on the floor, instead of being installed in a respectable bedstead. In the daytime my bedroom was a vacuum, for. it had neither walls, nor furniture, nor anything ; the room was simply an area of 12 feet square, covered with soft tatami, which are made of rushes, and fitted closely together. These primrose-coloured mats are always of the same size — 6 feet by 3 feet — and the size of a room is calculated by their number, so that one speaks of "a six-mat room" or " an eight-mat room." At night, thick sliding screens (fusuma) are put up to divide these spaces, and lighter frames covered with rice-paper, which are called shoji, shut them off from the outer verandas. At odd moments — irrespective of the stage to which one's toilet has advanced — the entire family appear, with AT A JAPAJfESE INN 65 self-control being entirely an acquired virtue and a thing apart from their real character. As one well-known writer puts it, " their physical activity is greater than their mental." The theory of environment as a factor in moulding a nation's characteristics is exemplified in all parts of the world. The people of mountainous countries are invariably hardy, patriotic, and imaginative — and in this connection we may remember that our best soldiers in the Indian Army come from the hill districts of India ; the inhabitants of low-level countries, like Holland, are phlegmatic and lethargic, with lower ideals ; while in a land with mud-soil and much dust, hke Eussia or China, the people are mere clods, mud-headed, and unimagi- native. So also in volcanic regions, the subterranean fires burning beneath the surface seem to influence the dwellers in these lands and make them inflammable and volcanic. Generally speaking, the food is imsatisfying to foreigners, but things are rapidly improving. Fowls are now widely used for the table, and the consumption of pork and beef, as well as bread, is increasing. Eice is, however, still the staple food of the people, but in the poor mountainous districts millet often takes its place. With the rice are served soups containing fish, eggs, vegetables, and above all, beans — ^bean-curd, bean-cake, beans of every variety, and cooked in every possible way. Another favourite ingredient in the national soup is seaweed, which is to the Japanese a sea-vegetable, and the story of its adoption as an article of food is interesting. Seventeen hundred years ago, when Jingo Kogo, the heroic Empress of Japan, was leading the troops of her dead husband against the Koreans, they were at one time hard beset on the borders of the ocean. Especially were the warriors concerned for the fate of their horses, which had no fodder. She ordered them to 5 66 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN pluck bunches of honta-wara, a nourishing sea-plant, from the shore, and give it to the steeds. The animals ate and were invigorated ; and vrere thus enabled to rush victoriously to battle. From that day to this the honta-wara has been a favourite food, and it also figures as an offering to the gods and spirits of ancestors at religious festivals, besides being included in the New Year arch, as an emblem of good fortune. It is interesting to remember that the son of the Empress Jingo, born at the end of the Korean campaign, was Hachiman, the god of war — the Japanese Mars. Chestnuts and hazel-nuts are also largely eaten, and the walnut is made into a sweetmeat. With their usual cleverness, the Japanese have dis- covered how to provide themselves with milk, without calling in the aid of the cow. This milk is made of the sqja bean. The bean is first soaked, then boiled in water, and, after the liquid turns white, sugar and phosphate of potash are added, and the boiling is kept up till a sub- stance of the thickness of molasses is obtained. It is difficult to distinguish this bean milk from condensed milk, and, when water is added, it looks exactly Uke the fresh. The charges at a yadoya vary considerably, and to a foreigner may be anjHjhing from Is. to 3s. per day, a day's board including supper, breakfast, and bed. The noon- day meal costs about 6d. extra. When payment of any bill is made in Japan, the coin is always wrapped in paper, and on leaving the inn, cha dai (tea money) is given to the proprietor (this is also put in paper) — not to the servants as in other countries — and this " tip " is receipted like a bill. The stranger soon finds out that he must never be in a hurry in Japan, which might truly be called the land of waits, for even the word tadadma (immediately) may AT A JAPANESE INN 67 mean any time within the next six months ; and if a foreigner is inclined to show anger or impatience, the Japanese only laugh, and move not one whit the faster, however loudly he storms. I might parody the words of Omar Khayyam and apostrophise the ordinary jinrikisha coolie, travelling slowly along country roads, somewhat after this fashion : — " The Moving Coolie crawls ; and having crawled Moves on : nor all thy Cleverness nor Wit Shall Inre him on to hasten haU a step, Nor all thy rage succeed in hurrying him." The people are shrewd, self-contained, and secretive to a degree, and in the interior the traveller might imagine the unsophisticated native to be the most stupid of mortals, if he did not occasionally surprise a rapid fur- tive glance which showed that this stolidity was assumed; and in all fairness it must be allowed, that although elaborate politeness must necessarily imply a certain amount of insincerity, it is nevertheless very delightful to find among all ranks a soft courtesy full of antique grace, which lends charm and refinement to the commonest acts of life. Naturally, there are some drawbacks to life in a Japanese inn, as, for example, what one writer calls the "bland imbecility" of the Japanese when they do not wish to understand, or intend to evade any particular service required. There are also myriads of uninvited guests swarming in the spotless tata/mi and futon, who have to be reckoned with as uncomfortably aggressive factors in one's daily existence. But, apart from these pin-pricks, life in a yadoya forms not the least attractive chapter in a traveller's programme, and it affords an excellent opportunity of studying at close quarters the habitual life of the clean, courteous, and friendly little people of these picturesque Islands of the Basing Sun. CHAPTBE V COUNTEY RAMBLES From Kyoto to Nara by way of the tea-plantations of Uji — Practical notice-board at railway stations — Stone-lanterns and orypto- meria at Nara — Kagwra dance by Shinto priestesses — Tame deer — Great Image of Buddha — Fine wistaria — Eapids of the Katsura- gawa — " Squeezers " — Lake Biwa — Canal tunnel at Otsu — The great pine at Karasaki — Fish -traps — Hakone district — Miyano- shita — Ogigoku or " Big Hell " — Atami, the " Eiviera " of Japan — A fresh geyser — " Push-man-tram " from Atami — A visit to the old fort at Konodai, near Tokyo — Scene of two great battles — A Japanese castle — Views of the plain of Tokyo — Isle of ifeno- shima — Cavern of the goddess Benten — Ascent of Fujiyama — Active volcanoes — Beauties of Nikko — Chtizenji, the "Simla of Japan " — To Ikao by Yumoto — Copper mines of Ashio — Haruna, the " Village of the Gods" — Profusion of wild flowers — Kami- zawa — Its present popularity with foreign residents due to its climate — Surrounding laaadscape — The old fort and moat — Flowers — Fauna — Ascent of Asama-yama — Eecent descent into the crater — Myogi-san — Its beauties, like an old kakemono — General remarks on the scenery of Japan. THEEE are many charming expeditions in the neigh- bourhood of Kyoto, the old capital of Japan, and one of the most fascinating is to the ancient city of Nara, still a holy place of pilgrimage. The railway between the two places runs through the famous tea plantation of Uji, where whole hillsides are covered with low, thick tea-bushes, most of them care- fully protected from the sun by matted awnings. Here 68 COUNTRY RAMBLES 69 the finest Japanese teas, which cost from 12s. to 14s. per lb., are grown and prepared, only the youngest leaves or buds being nipped off for use by the pickers : these choice teas are not exported, being consumed by the Court circles and rich Japanese. All this is, so to speak, garden cultivation, for each family works independently in quite a small way, more japonico, and there are no large firing or selling establishments as in Assam and Ceylon. By the way, one of their practical common-sense ideas might well be adopted by our railway companies at home. As one enters every station there is a notice-board which states the name of that station and also the name of the next, so that each passenger sees at a glance whether he must prepare to alight or not, and there is no scramble for hats and veils and impedimenta of sorts, with (in some instances) a considerable amount of strong lan- guage. The approach to Nara is between lines of moss-covered stone-lanterns along a grand old avenue of tall, needle- like cryptomeria up to the temple of Kasuga. There the young Shinto priestesses perform with slow gliding movements the sacred Kagura dance, to music provided by an orchestra of three priests with drums and flute. Then after feeding the tame deer that roam about the temple grounds, and visiting several other Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, not forgetting the Daibutsu or great image of Buddha — 53 feet high — we finally picnic out in the lovely park amidst ideal surroundings, seated under a trellis of wistaria, whose giant festoons, 4 feet in length, hang over us, while wild azaleas of every conceivable colour are massed in front. The Japanese, by the way, have named wistaria /ti/i, or peerless, after their sacred mountain, and they train it over bamboo so that it forms a roof or canopy. Some- 70 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OP JAPAN times an open-air tea-house consists of nothing but a frame, with purple or white wistaria growing over it ; and one marvels greatly that English gardeners do not treat wistaria in the same way when erecting arbours, for it is economical as well as ornamental. Another delightful day may be spent in shooting the famous rapids of the Katsura-gawa, an exciting experience after heavy rains. The boats take about an hour and a half to make the descent of thirteen miles, and the scenery throughout the passage is charming, the river rushing between numerous rocks and islets, v?ith precipitous wooded hills rising abruptly on either side, bright in May with scarlet azaleas, wistaria, and the beautiful iris japonica (shobu). These flat-bottomed boats are called " squeezers," because their thin, elastic boards bend with every motion of the water, and " give " when they meet a sunken rock. They are guided by boat- men with bamboo poles in front and one yulo (Japanese oar) at the stern. Lake Biwa, a beautiful sheet of water with an area equal to that of Lake Geneva, is within a short distance of Kyoto, and I spent several days in exploring its beauties, and on one occasion I made the return journey to Kyoto through the great canal tunnel, one of the most remarkable works of modern engineering in Japan. This tunnel connects Lake Biwa with Ky5to, piercing the mountain that bars the southern extremity of the lake, and conveying the water by a fine aqueduct to the old capital, where it emerges on the hillside behind the Nanjenji temple. It was here, at the little town of Otsu, that Nicholas II. of Eussia, the then Czarevitch, nephew of Queen Alexandra, when returning from the formal opening of these works, was nearly murdered by a police- man, who thus attempted to avenge the appropriation of Saghalien by Eussia. It may be remembered that two ON THE WAY TO THE HILLS. The author in " chair," a mode of locomotion in mountainous districts which is better suited to British anatomy than the native kago. COUNTRY RAMBLES 71 kuruma men seized the would-be assassin ; and during my first visit to Japan I visited one of these men (the other is dead) at his home in the Kyoto district, where he Hved comfortably on the pension awarded him. The tunnel, two miles long, is a bold example of engineering, and our sampan, hghted with torches that gave a weird and romantic effect, glided silently along the canal, which is well ventilated by eight air-shafts piercing the mountain. At Karasaki, on the shore of Lake Biwa, we saw the largest pine-tree in the world, 90 feet in height, with boughs trained laterally d la japovmse, so that they measure 288 feet by 240 feet across, and resemble a flattened banyan. Very noticeable in the lake were the curious, arrow-shaped fish-traps (m) into which the fish are driven, and being once in cannot get out again. A most delightful tour was one I made in the Hakone district, a region which comprises a considerable area of beautiful mountain, valley, and lake scenery, -with, hot springs bubbling up all round. The favourite summer resort in that part of the country is Miyanoshita, the Japanese Harrogate, famous for its delightful natural hot baths and sulphur springs, which are specially good for skin diseases and rheumatism ; while artists revel in the beauties of Lake Hakone, 6,000 feet above sea-level, where entrancing views of the sublime cone of Fuji-san are reflected in the blue waters, and boating and fishing can be enjoyed to the utmost. I stayed for several days in the Europeanised native "Hoteru" — the Japanese cannot pronounce I, so this is their best attempt at the word " Hotel " — at Hakone, loveliest of Japanese villages, with its thatched roofs, and red torii, and wayside shrines ; and many a dehghtful hour was spent in the hotel garden with sketch-book and camera, looking out over the cool blue waters to the 72 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Emperor's island palace, and enjoying alfresco meals in the little tea-house built out over the lake. One morning we rowed to the other end of the Hakone Lake, a distance of six miles, the object of the expedition being to visit Ogigoku, or "Big Hell," a volcano which, instead of being in active eruption, is a mass of boiling mud under a thin crust. After leaving the boat, our way lay up a narrow path, through woods and bamboo groves, until, after crossing a ridge, we found ourselves in a steep, desolate valley, with ash- heaps, sulphur hillocks, steam holes, and roaring, boiling water under our feet. It was altogether a weird scene of desolation, well deserving the name of "Big Hell." The path between the seething masses of mud was so narrow that we were cautioned by the guide to beware where we trod, more than one traveller having lost his life by stepping through the thin crust, which is cracked in every direction, and sometimes has wide fissures. At the top of Ogigoku we had tiffin, daintily put up by the hotel proprietor in white wooden hento baskets, vrith quaint Hliputian china pots for mustard and salt and pepper, and butter and cheese, which fitted one into each other like a Chinese puzzle. I afterwards bought specimens of these compact accessories to a Nipponese luncheon-basket for friends in England, who were delighted with them. Having sipped a cup or two of green tea, as a wind-up to the picnic, we proceeded on our way through this valley of desolation, by zigzagging down a narrow path cut in the cliff, until a sudden bend brought about a transformation scene. In place of sulphur and steam, before us were thickets of azalea and other flowering shrubs of every colour, and through this wooded paradise we soon reached Miyanoshita, where our ponies were waiting to take us back to our lake dwelling at Hakone by road. COUNTRY RAMBLES 73 The famous sulphur baths at Miyanoshita are suppHed by boiling water from Ogigoku, which is conveyed from the slumbering volcano through two or three miles of bamboo piping, and is still too hot to use when it reaches the baths. Eighteen miles distant across the mountains from Miyanoshita is Atami, the Eiviera of Japan, and with four others I started one day on pony-back for this charming watering-place. After an exhilarating gallop up hill and down dale over grassy downs, we drew rein at the summit of the Ten Provinces Pass, and gazed over a vast extent of country, which includes ten provinces, with the Sacred Mountain towering grandly in the distance, and the long rollers of the open Pacific sweeping in to the golden sands thousands of feet below. Atami possesses sulphur and iron baths, and a wonderful geyser in the centre of the town, which bubbles up intermittently every four hours for thirty minutes. The Embassies and Legations fly from the raw cold of Tokyo in January, to the soft, balmy air of this attractive sea- side place, full of the fragrance of orange groves, and sheltered from cold winds by an amphitheatre of cliffs and mountains. On the day previous to our arrival, much excitement had been caused by the birth of a new geyser in a corner of the hotel garden, and the aged proprietor explained to me that for months past the ground in that particular spot seemed unnaturally warm, and that when the coolies began to dig there, an immense volume of water suddenly shot up into the air, to a height of 40 feet. Within half an hour the police were on the spot, and the boiling fountain was safely imprisoned within wooden walls, destined, no doubt, to become a source of future profit to its lucky owner. In regions of volcanic activity every little indication which may portend a fresh 74 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN outbreak of more or less dormant subterranean forces, and every eruption of a geyser, every tremor of the earth's crust, is watched with anxiety. It may be nothing, or it may be the prelude to a serious eruption ; and in this particular instance the appearance of the new geyser at Atami was followed within a few days by a somewhat serious earthquake in the neighbourhood, many houses and bridges being destroyed. The return journey from Atami to Tokyo is made for eighteen miles by a curious railway, called the Push- man-tram, which runs along the picturesque sea coast. Each car is hauled and pushed up the incline by coolies, and then allowed to run down the next hill on its own impulse, and when skirting precipices and rounding sharp curves this becomes somewhat exciting. Most people in Tokyo find their way at one time or another to the little tea-house on the top of Atago- Yama, near Shiba, and there, looking over the great city eastward, across the plain of Musashi, two clumps of pine-trees are to be seen skirting the horizon some miles in from the head of the bay. The more northerly of these marks the site of the old fort of Konodai, famous in the time of the Ashikaga dynasty, when it was the scene of much fighting and of two notable battles. A ten-mile drive in jinriJcisha along a good military road, brought us to Ichinoya's pleasant hotel, where an excellent Japanese lunch awaited us. After having done full justice to it, we walked along the high-road until we came to the avenue leading to the Konodai monastery. It consisted of sugi-trees, varied now and again by biwa or loqtiats and matsu. There are signs, of former care in the planting of the trees and in the orchards which nestle on either side of the road, but everything now is in decay. Ahead, through the trees, could be seen the belfry on its four white pillars, and a little COUNTRY RAMBLES 75 further on the temple, which, with the monks' apart- ments, forms two sides of the courtyard. At the opposite corner is a small building containing a revolving book- case, similar to those found at Asakusa and elsewhere. The Buddhist sacred writings, which it formerly held, have been removed to Tokyo. Entering the courtyard by the side gate, we mounted the stone steps at the back of the building, to the few rooms still occupied by the priests of the monastery, who are always ready to act as guides. The first things we visited were the interesting relics which belonged to Satomi Awa-no-kami, and were dug up about two hundred years ago. The stone chest which contained them is still shown buried in the ground in the immediate vicinity. Forty-eight articles in all were dug up, forty of which the Prince of Mito, to whom they fell, presented to the Shogun in power, leaving the remaining eight in the hands of the monks. Three of these were unfortu- nately burnt in the fire, which took place in the second year of Ka/yei — that is, sixty years ago. The articles lost in the fire were : A war drum made of leopard skin, a bell of gold and silver, and a cup of white jade. The five articles which remain are as follows : — 1. A large hot-water urn with its lid broken, of nambom, or foreign iron. 2. A broken piece of old shippo (enamelled) ware. 3. A spear forged by Awoi Shimosaka. 4. A small shrine containing a statue of Bishamonten. Satomi is said to have carried this about with him as a talisman. 5. A larger shrine, with intricate colouring, containing three figures : Shaka Buddha in the centre on the simple lotus, with Fugen Bosatsu to the right on an elephant, and Monjiu Bosatsu to the left on a lion. Following the guide out of the temple, we entered 76 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN the wood overhanging the river, and were there shown a monument erected to the memory of Ogasawara Sanemori, ninth in descent from the Emperor Seiwa, and owner of Katsuyama Castle in Echizen. It formerly stood in the enclosure of the temple in the village of Sekiyado, but it was brought to the temple at K5nodai in the second year of Kwambun (a.d. 1662). Close to it there is a hole in the ground at the roots of two trees. It looks as if it had been gradually filled up, and but little space is now left. Like Wallace's cave on the banks of the River Ayr, which it very much resembles, it is said to be the entrance to an underground passage of considerable length. That this passage, however, leads as far as to Narita, eleven ri off, as local tradition has it, is not very credible. Further on we saw the Yo-naki Ishi — or " stone that cries in the night" — small, upright, and smooth, measuring about 2 feet by 1 by If feet. Formerly it gave warning in the night of any success or disaster that should happen to the inmates of the castle. The two battles for which the place is famous were fought close by, in the locality known as Sakura-ga-jin, which stretches from here to eight cho beyond. The first battle took place in the sixth year of Tembun (a.d. 1537), when Satomi Yoshihiro and his allies fought against the Hojo of Odawara. It is interesting to trace the dry moat, which does not seem indeed ever to have contained water. Nor, as far as I could learn, was the castle a stone fortress, but rather a kind of fort — half earthwork, half stockade. Beside the tomb of Hirotsugu is the stone chest previously spoken of, which contained the relics ex- hibited in the monastery. Satomi Shogoro Hirotsugu was the eldest son of Satomi Echizen-no-kami Tadahiro, and he was killed in his first battle when only fifteen years of age, by Matsuda Sakyonosuke, a native of Sagami. So grieved was Sakyonosuke at what he had COUNTRY RAMBLES 77 done that he became a monk, and having built himself a cell in the neighbourhood, he passed his time in religious exercises for the soul of Hirotsugu. In the Y6do Meisho Dzuye we are told that a little aside from the road leading from Yedo to Sakura in Shimo-osa, at a place called Kata Ikeda, not far distant from Makayama on the main road, there is a Shinto temple called Asowa Myo-jin, whose presiding deity is this Hirotsugu. The guide also pointed out a hollow, now covered with underwood, where the garrison of the castle used to meet to discuss matters, and fix upon the operations of the morrow. The name it accordingly received was Sen-jo-jiki — the place of the thousand mats. When we had mounted the high bluff on which the fort stood, we could see the Eiver Tonegawa, many feet below, sweeping along past rice-fields, which once formed part of its bed. Along the outer edge of the bluff are three shogi-dzuha or camp-stool mounds, the last of which has the finest situation. From here, when the wind blows in from the sea, a host of snow-white sails are seen on the river. A short distance from Tokyo, in another direction, lies the island of jfenoshima, the Capri of Japan, sacred to the foam-born goddess Benten, patroness of eloquence, wisdom, and music, whose mystic caverns honeycomb the cliffs. Here one can dream away a summer's day among the beautiful temple groves which crown the wooded hill above the sleepy hamlet, partaking of a fish dinner on the terrace of the small inn at the summit, and gazing out over the clear blue Pacific at the fishing-boats drifting idly on its surface. In the one steep street of the village are to be bought every conceivable kind of shell, and also the famous glass-rope sponges (Hyalonema), a speciality fished from the sea, which is as delicate in structure as the finest lacework, and resembles isinglass. 78 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN A common sajning in Japan is that there are two kinds of fools — those who have never been up Fuji, and those who have been up twice, and during August crowds of visitors make the ascent, this being the only month when it is practicable, and allowed by the authorities. Starting in the morning by train for Gotemba, one may reach No. 8 station before night, see the sun rise from the rim of the crater at the summit, 12,296 feet above sea-level, and reach Tokyo again the following evening. There is nothing difficult or dangerous in the expedition during summer-time, and a friend, who is a well-known Alpine climber, described it tersely as a stroll over an ash-heap ; for after the ponies are left behind the ascent resolves itself into a long and arduous scramble over sharp loose cinders, and is hot, dusty and monoto- nous, wearing out boots and temper alike, even although the former are protected by waraji (straw sandals). Japan possesses three great volcanoes : Asama-yama, Aso-san, and Fuji-yama, and of these the first two are active, while Fuji, the Holy Mountain, is dormant only. Lately there have been ominous tremblings of the earth, and a greater volume of steam in the crater ; and this increased activity may portend that Fuji-san is waking from her long sleep, and that in this, as in other parts of the world's crust to-day, there are strange subterranean forces at work. It is just over two hundred years since, in 1707, she last manifested her power, and covered Tokyo, eighty miles distant, with a fine layer of ashes, in exactly the same way as Vesuvius has more than once laid waste the smiling country round Naples. The name Fuji is probably synonymous with Huji, meaning " fire," a word used by the Ainus of Northern Japan, Fuji-yama being literally Fire-goddess Mountain. Five hours distant by rail from Tokyo, in the heart of the mountain, is Nikko (sunbrightness), 2,000 feet above COUNTRY RAMBLES 79 sea-level, one of the places nearest and dearest to the heart of the patriotic Japanese, for in its golden shrines are the tombs of the First and Third Shogun, lyeyasu and his grandson lyemitsu, and it is a holy place of pilgrimage to the people in general. The Japanese proverb says : " Nihhd wo minai uchi wa kekko to iu-na " (Until you have seen Nikko, do not say kekJco — i.e., beautiful), and this applies not only to the world-famous temples, but to the grand mountain scenery, the superb avenues of gigantic cryptomeria, averaging 150 feet in height, and the beautiful lakes and waterfalls in its vicinity. The mausoleums are undoubtedly the most perfect assemblage of shrines in the whole Empire, for when they were built in the seventeenth century, Japanese carving and painting on wood were at their zenith; and the gateways, bell-towers, drum-towers, and other buildings, are all decorated with wonderful carvings of animals, plants, and other objects. Solemn groves overhang the turbulent mountain river, Daiya-gawa, spanned by the sacred bridge with its perfect arch of red lacquer, which connects the town of Nikko with the Buddhist temples surrounding the great tombs. Nikko is blest by Nature and Art alike above all other spots in Dai Nippon, and although the revenues assigned for the upkeep of this great landscape garden have been sequestered by a Government afraid lest the glory of the Tokugawa should be immortalised, it is still unrivalled as a miracle of artistic perfection. The great annual festival of the temples is held on the 1st and 2nd of June, when the sacred palanquins (mikoshi) containing the divine symbols, are borne in procession, and the people dress in ancient costume with masks and armour, observing an elaborate ceremonial of mediaeval pageantry. 80 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Bight miles from Nikko, higher up in the mountains, is Chuzenji, the Japanese Simla, where the Embassies and-Legations go in summer to avoid the damp, steamy heat of Tokyo. The lake, 4,375 feet above sea-level, is situated at the foot of Nantai-san, a sacred mountain which 10,000 pilgrims ascend every August; and on a bright summer day the scene is ideal — gaily-painted boats from the different villas conveying fair passengers from one private pier to another, with flags of all nations fluttering behind, and a feeling of light-heartedness everywhere. Still, bridge parties and fashionable hotel life do not breathe the true atmosphere of Japan, and it is almost a relief to move on seven miles to Yumoto, a quiet and remote native spa with hot springs going off all round. The atmosphere is nearly all sulphuretted hydrogen, and hot sulphur bubbles up freely even in the bed of Yumoto Lake itself, so that no fish can live in it. From Yumoto I rode sixty miles across country to Ikao, a watering-place frequented chiefly by the better class of Japanese. The journey on pony-back was a rough one, as heavy rains had fallen. We stayed one night en route at Ashio, in order to visit the famous copper-mines, and another at Maebashi, Ikao being reached on the morning of the third day. Ikao, which reminded me forcibly of Clovelly in Devonshire, is a little town 3,000 feet above the sea, clinging precariously to the soft hillside, with one preci- pitous street like a steep stone staircase ; and the mountain on which it is built drops away so suddenly into space in front, and rises so abruptly behind, that we on this elevated platform, " summering high among the hills of God," gazed almost breathlessly at the world mapped out beneath our feet. Sulphur springs abound, and rise boiling from many an opening in the volcanic hills around, while from a THE "CLOVELLY" OF JAPAN, IKAO. The main street of this watering-place in the hills consists of a series of steps and stairs. To face p, 80^ COUNTRY RAMBLES 81 lovely glen near the town there flows a stream of warm mineral water, which is led through bamboo pipes into all the inns and houses for the benefit of visitors. Twice a day at least every self-respecting man, woman, and child in Ikao sits up to the neck for twenty minutes in this health-giving " Yu," impregnated strongly with sulphides of iron and soda ; and the immediate effect of these medicinal baths is exhilarating and refreshing to mind and body alike. Nowhere in Japan is there a greater profusion of wild flowers during August than on the moorlands between Ikao and that most beautiful of all Japanese villages, Haruna, the " Village of the Gods." Lilies of all kinds abound — the Lilium auratum, the tiger-lily, the white lily, and the "day lily " (a yellow lily peculiar to Japan, and so named because it only lasts twenty-four hours) ; and among other flowers, the fimkia, kikyo, iris, wild clematis, spirea, campanula, hare-bell, and wild hy- drangea, make the hillsides gorgeous with colour, and send us back rejoicing to our hotel day after day laden with whole sheaves of floral plunder. From Ikao I travelled by 'rikisha and rail to the com- paratively new mountain resort of Karuizawa, which lies in the shadow of that great active volcano Asama-yama, and is now the principal summer retreat of the foreign residents of Tokyo. Its popularity is chiefly due to its cUmate, which acts as a tonic after the damp heat of the capital ; and observations show that in summer the mean August temperature there is 70"3° F. or almost 8° F. lower than the mean August temperature for Tokyo. In addi- tion, there is to be considered the greater relative cool- ness of the nights. The rainfall is 8'36 inches at Karuizawa, as against 3"8 inches at T5kyo, an excess due to the heavier character of the showers ; but the porous nature of the volcanic soil prevents the surface accumu- 82 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN lation of water even after heavy rains, and this con- tributes to the rindoubted healthiness of the place. The humidity of the atmosphere in Japan is alv^ays more or less objectionable; and usually on the main island, at least, a small rainfall means simply that the moisture remains in the air as vapour, instead of being condensed into rain. Places \?ith a heavy rainfall, like Nikko and Karuizawa, may thus fulfil many of the con- ditions of a good summer retreat. And while the daily variation of temperature at Karuizawa is comparatively large, yet it is pretty steady in fine weather, and can be depended upon and provided against. Only on wet, drizzly days does this variation become small, and then the mean temperature is low. The nights at Karuizawa are always cool and refreshing. In old days Karuizawa was of some military import- ance, and the lines of the fort and moat can still be distinctly traced. The Tokngawa Shogun seem to have dismantled the fort, and it is certain that they took the village under their immediate government. Like all historical places, Karuizawa retains a certain charm, and in summer its ancient groves are the favourite haunt of the nightingale {'dguisu), whose note is heard in the woods until the middle of August, when the bird flies to other haunts. The neighbourhood abounds with deer, quail, snipe, pheasant, and hare, and there are one or two good trout- streams. The luxuriance of the wild flowers is almost as marked as at Ikao. In the end of July the sweet- scented pink {Dia/nthus sii/perhus) is found everywhere, and, most beautiful but most deadly, the pink-coral berries of the Coriaria japonica attract the eye. This plant abounds in the valleys to the north of Karuizawa, and is called in Japanese do-ku-utsugi — i.e., poisonous shrub. Every year one hears of cases of children being REFLECTIONS. At Fuji-Haruna, near Ikao. To face p, 82.. COUNTRY RAMBLES 83 poisoned by eating the berries. The poison, known as coriamyrtm, can even be communicated by snails who feed on the plant, and so virulent is it that a very small dose, acting either internally or hypodermically, is fatal to human life. Varieties of this plant are said to furnish the famous root poison of the New ^ealanders. Blue- bells, and the Japanese scabious (Scabiosa japonica), called by the natives matsumushiso or cricket-flower, also add to the brightness of the landscape. Various hot-springs are to be found in the well-wooded valleys to the north and west of Karuizawa. About a mile from the village we find the hot-sulphur spring of Yunosawa, and three miles further on, a bath-house has been erected at the hot spring of Kose, whose tempera- ture is 91° F. when the air temperature stands at 72° F. Asama-yama should be ascended by moonlight, but I was not lucky enough to accomplish this. Leaving Karuizawa after an early lunch, a pleasant hour and a half's ride brought us to the foot of Ko-Asama, the little cone at the eastern base of the great volcano. There we left the horses, and proceeded on foot up a steep gravel ascent which proved to be the worst bit of the climb. To the right and left were a few stunted trees and blueberry bushes, but even these were left behind before we reached the regular zigzag path leading up the shoulder of the mountain to the rim of an outer crater, whose sides still show some signs of activity. A slight descent, followed by the final pull, brought us, in about two hours from the time of leaving the ponies, to the great roaring mouth of Asama, which is more than 1,000 feet across, as measured by Professor Milne. The sight and sound were sufficiently awe-inspiring, and must be even more so during the darkness of night, when the sides of the crater are luminous, and glowing masses of red-hot matter can be seen some 745 feet below. 84 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OP JAPAN During the summer of 1909, a daring American pro- fessor, helped by several friends, was swung over the side of the crater in a chair attached to ropes with pulleys, and actually descended into the crater — a feat never before attempted. On our way down we had a fine view of the strangely fantastic Myogi range of mountains. These mountains are really unique in their formation. The visitor, after a day among their eccentricities, realises that he has seen a reproduction in nature of Ancient Japan as it is pictured in his kakemono scenes at home. Even old travellers find there a sight that they confess to be unrivalled. Towering precipices, deep gullies, stone pinnacles as thickly scattered as pine-trees, holes that seem to have been driven by supernatural cannon-balls through walls of rock ; these are the beauties of Mjogi- san. In the scenery of Japan there is nothing majestically grand, but everything is delicately beautiful and in perfect harmony : it may be called a land of minute prettinesses, where every step provides a new picture, and there is an unconscious appeal to a sentiment deeper than mere admiration. Its crumpled hills of intensest green, its temples peeping from wooded slopes, and the terraced fields of rice and grain covering every lower level, exercise a fascination which defies analysis, and everywhere there are signs of human life and achieve- ment in this Land of the Lotus, peopled by little folk who spend their days in cultured simplicity. CHAPTEE VI GABDENS AND FLOWEES OP JAPAN False idea of a Japanese garden as a paradise of flowers — Bather a paradise of rooks and stones — Miniature of some favourite landscape — Perfect proportion and the proper placing of objects the great desiderata in a garden— Odd stones highly esteemed — Sense of balance never at fault — ^stheticism of Japanese landscape gardens — Absence of velvety turf — Dwarf trees — Dwarf maple flourishes in England — Close connection of gar- dening with tea-ceremonies — Essentials of tea-party, tranquillity, refinement, dignity — Description of the room — Koi-cha, or strong tea — Etiquette of the Solemn Tea Ceremony — ITcehana, or the arrangement of flowers — Plums, peaches, cherries, wistaria, azaleas, irises, tree-peonies, lotus, maples, chrysanthemums — The Imperial chrysanthemum party — Wonders of chrysanthe- mum production in the Imperial gardens — The Japanese the most aesthetic people in the world — They make a religion of nature — The art ideals of the Japanese belong to Buskin's school — It is true art in theory and practice. UNTIL my arrival in Japan I was under the impression that a Japanese garden meant a paradise of flowers, outvying in colour and design anything that a European gardener could accompHsh. But it is more truly a paradise of rocks and stones, which reproduces in miniature some celebrated landscape, generally one which includes the Holy Mountain Fuji ; and flowering shrubs are merely planted incidentally, here and there, to " show up " the line of the rocks. The shape and size of each stone have a meaning ; m 86 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN and a guileless-looking round substance in the centre of a pool may be the high altar of sestheticism, and bear an awe-inspiring name, such as "the Stone of Ecstatic Contemplation." In fact, the cult of the landscape garden in Japan is not only a fine art, but almost a religion, which many Japanese take more seriously than Shintoism or Buddhism. Perfect proportion is the high priestess, and the proper placing of objects is the chief end of man. The owner of a garden will pay a large sum of money, sometimes as much as ^100, for a stone of a particular shape which conforms to certain rigid rules, and until that stone is found, the garden is not complete. Nay, more ! He will wait any length of time for a common pebble of the precise configuration necessary to the scheme of such a garden. Their sense of balance is never at fault, and they erect rock and tree and shrub exactly in the right places, so that by this same per- fection of proportion they gain immensity of distance, and the eye rests on the whole with a feeling of perfect contentment. All Japanese landscape gardens are aesthetic to the last degree, most of them being masterpieces of the celebrated Kobori Enshu, who lived in the time of Hideyoshi, the sixteenth-century Napoleon of Japan, and the artful disposition of lake and lantern, pebble and pine, symbohses a great aesthetic principle or truth, for "beauty is truth, truth beauty." Love of beauty and love of nature are undoubtedly the heritage of the humblest Japanese. Every detail in their woods and gardens is an illustration of art concealing art ; every- thing appears to be perfectly natural, yet the shape of the largest as of the smallest tree is guided by the artistic fingers of the gardener — or perhaps a better name would be, the designer of the garden. THE GARDENS OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE, KYOTO. As a rule no cameras are allowed within the precincts of the Imperial Palaces, so that this photograph is unique. To face p. 86. GARDENS AND PLOWEES OF JAPAN 87 In one garden I saw a rushing waterfall and a gigantic forest (of dwarfed pines) with a boundless sea beyond, and I realised with a start that all this was contained within a space barely 5 feet square. Pine-clad hills, promontories, bays, islets, and groves with tiny, shrines, met the eye in quick succession, while near by at our feet, gold-fish rose to the surface of a miniature lake in expectation of being fed. Paths of flat-topped stones that had been brought from all parts of the country, led us over old stone bridges guarded by stone lanterns to picturesque pavilions, each one built to command some particular point of view, and we saw the Pavilion of the Sunset Glow, the Mound of Contemplation, and the Moon-gazing Platform from which the inmates are wont to watch the moon rising over the pine-trees. All this is sui generis to the eye and mind of a European, and it is quite idyllic as showing poetical sentiment for things both great and small. The Japanese are the foremost landscape gardeners in the world, and in these latter days of lady gardeners galore, we must always remember that Japanese women led the way, long before English people dreamt of send- ing their girls to be trained professionally as Daughters of Ceres at Studley and Swanley Colleges. In Japan, miniature bamboo usually takes the place of turf, and in the Imperial Gardens one misses the long stretches of velvety turf which delight the eye in England. Pines are seldom allowed to grow after their own sweet will, being twisted into many strange fantastic shapes, and much time is spent every year in trimming and training them. Dwarf trees are an essential in miniature landscape gardening, and it seems probable that the practice of manufacturing them originated to fill the obvious gap which the lack of them must have created in every 88 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN artist's scheme. Certainly the tiny trees have flourished in Japan since the beginning of the eighteenth century, and those sold in England, varying in height from 4 inches to 2 feet, are from twenty to seventy and even a hundred years old. The very mention of dwarf trees brings clearly before my mind's eye the garden of Count Okuma, in the suburbs of Tokyo, where I spent a long summer afternoon amidst dwarf camellias, azaleas, maples, and trees of all sorts and conditions, each one a chef d'ceuvre of the gardener's art, representing years of careful training both of root and branch. Dwarf trees require plenty of air and do not flourish in over-heated rooms. They need also a great deal of care in the matter of watering ; for over-dryness kills them, whilst too much water spoils their shape. The secret of the actual process of dwarfing trees has been well kept, but probably the following story which was told to me in a Yokohama nursery-garden is the true one. A slice is cut off the top of an orange and the inside pulp removed. The treelet, with a suitable quantity of mould, is planted in the orange and duly watered, thus keeping the orange-peel soft. As the tree grows, its roots push their way through the rind, and as each one appears it is cut off and the end varnished, whilst the tiny secondary roots are sufficient to suck in the necessary nutriment from the earth. The pruning and varnishing of the large roots is effectual in retarding the tree's general growth without killing it. Each branch as it appears is pruned, and bent to the exact shape which the Japanese artist has in his mind's eye, new branches being engrafted to fill any gap. After being thus twisted and bent, each tiny branch is bound with covered wire in late spring, whilst the running of the sap is in progress ; this is removed when the branch has become set in the required curve. GARDENS AND FLOWERS OF JAPAN 89 In the case of dwarf pines, the long, bare stems are bent until they assume a zigzag appearance, unnatural perhaps, but very fascinating and attractive. Sometimes the surface roots are lifted up and trained as arches to fill in the spaces left by the natural growth of the pine. Greatly prized in the dwarf flowering plum-tree, which blooms just at the New Year in Japan, and takes the place of our own holly and mistletoe, and thousands of these little trees, covered with white or crimson blossoms, are sold in the streets of Tokyo on New Year's Eve. The poorest 'rikisha coolie will spend twelve sen (3d.) to purchase one of these treasures, and he gazes upon it with love and reverence as the hour of rice and chop- sticks approaches after his day's work. The dwarf maple, though not so dear to the heart of the Japanese as the symbolical pine- or plum-tree, does extremely well in England, and miniature azaleas in tiny blue and white Japanese pots make a charming table decoration. The idea of landscape gardens arose in connection with the cha-no-yu, or tea ceremonies, first inaugurated by a monk, and afterwards utilised by the Shogun as a power- ful weapon to keep themselves in touch with one another both socially and politically. These tea ceremonies are closely connected with the inner life of the aesthetic Japanese, and it is no exaggera- tion to say that they have influenced art, manners, and social customs to an extraordinary degree ; for the best designs of metal work and china are based on the austere rules laid down by the old masters of these ceremonials. The architecture of the houses follows the standard of pure simplicity required by the canons of the art, and the spirit of the honoured guests must be tranquil, refined, dignified, and detached from all earthly cares. The size of a tea-room is limited to 9 feet square 90 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN (four and a half mats), and no servants are allowed to help the host, who must with his own hands make up the fire, light the incense (kohako) and brush the mats. For cha-no-yu the tea-leaves are pounded to a fine powder, " honourable " hot water is poured upon this, and the mixture is beaten up in the tea-bowl (cha-wan) with a small bamboo whisk {cha-sen), and handed with all solemnity to the chief guest. He takes three sips slowly and deliberately, wipes the rim, and passes it to his neighbour, who in his turn must drink at the very same place, to signify the Kiss of Brotherhood. The expensive powdered tea, called koi-cha or strong tea, which is first used in the Solemn Tea Ceremony, is made by pouring upon tea-leaves water that has been brought to the boil but is now tepid. It looks like thin spinach, and is more like tea soup than ordinary tea. It is certainly an acquired taste, and when I first partook of it at the formal Tea Ceremony before witnessing the Miyako-Odori (a theatrical performance like an Empire ballet) at Kyoto, I found it most unpalatable and nauseous. Koi-cha is always served in a large cup of irregular shape, about 4 inches in diameter and depth. The host drinks last, and apologises for the poorness of the infusion ; this is a mere formahty, of course, but one that is never omitted. The teacup is then handed round and admired, and when the host receives it again, he proceeds to re-arrange the hearth, and burns fresh incense in the censer. Pipes are filled, and kashi (sweet- meats) and usu-cha (weak tea) are offered to each guest separately, small teacups being used. The guests may now drink as they please, and the conversation becomes less stilted and formal. In half an hour or so the guests rise to take their leave, and are profuse in their thanks for the hospitality shown them ; their host then bids them farewell with deprecatory remarks, compliments, GARDENS AND FLOWERS OF JAPAN 91 and good wishes, bowing low twice or thrice in succession. The most elaborate etiquette surrounds each act of the ceremony, patient and reverent study being accorded by each devotee to the position of the fingers, and the manipulation of the different utensils ; and one of the fundamental points on which the many schools of to-day agree to differ, is in the use of the inward or the outward sweep of the hand in lifting the various implements. It is interesting when visiting the Peeresses' School and the Women's University — called Daigaku Onnu, or Greater Learning for Women — in Tokyo, to see that the youthful aristocrats of the rising generation are being taught this same ceremonial tea-making, in addition to other Japanese accomplishments such as the arrange- ment of flowers ; and it shows that in spite of the intro- duction of foreign fashions, the old ceremonial rites are as much in vogue with the upper classes to-day as they were when first elaborated in the sixteenth century by the Shogun Hid^yoshi. Ikebana (the arrangement of flowers) has for centuries been regarded as a fine art in Japan, where flowers bloom all the year round, and are to the people a source of unending joy ; and it takes a lifetime to master the intricacies of the aesthetic rules and principles governing floral art, which have been derived from close study of natural laws, and form an exact science in themselves. In a Japanese bouquet, branches of foliage are employed to form a vertical central mass, and other flowers are disposed on either side in balancing groups, the lines taken by the different stems forming the basis of all compositions and standing out individually like the carved foliage in an architectural screen. The arrange- ment may be three lines, five lines, seven lines, and so on, every tiny leaf and bud being artistically trimmed and forced in the required direction until perfect balance 92 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN is attained, and the flowers in this scientifically arranged bouquet look as if growing in a state of nature. Truly the perfection of art is to seem natural, in this as in everjrthing else in life. Almost every month is known by its special flower, and flower-viewing excursions are favourite occupations of holiday seekers, aU of whom — whether they be rich or poor, high or low, young or old — show an intense appreciation of Nature's spiritual beauty and symbolic meaning, which inspires even the humblest to write an ode or sonnet in praise of the blossoms, and to tie the poem to the branch of the finest tree. The Chinese Calendar, formerly used by the Japanese, fitted in with the poetical succession of flowers, so that Haru, the Japanese spring, opened with the New Year in February, and was heralded by the appearance of the fragrant white plum-blossoms {ume no hana) . Hundreds of people travel to Sugita near Tokyo to see the ume — "the eldest brother of the 'hundred flowers" — in full bloom on trees one hundred years old and more than one thousand in number; and as a festive decoration, the plum, in combination with evergreen pine and bamboo, forms a floral triad called the Sho-chikurbai (pine- bamboo-plum) — significant of enduring happiness. Quickly following the plum comes the peach-blossom (momo) ; and in April — the third month of Old Japan — appears the cherry-blossom (sakura), which clothes the whole country with masses of soft but brilliant pink. This is the signal for a national holiday, and all classes unite in worshipping the king of flowers, either at Arashiyama, near Kyoto, or at Mukojima, a celebrated avenue along the east bank of the Sumidagawa at Tokyo, which is lined for more than two mijes with double rows of cherry-trees, and may be called the Eotten Row of the Japanese, when they go for a 'rikisha drive. In England GARDENS AND FLOWERS OP JAPAN 93 the cherry is cultivated for its fruit, but in Japan for the beauty of the blossom only ; and a favourite proverb expresses the people's pride in their national flower by saying, "Among men the samurai, among flowers the sakura." After this spring carnival, the wistaria (fuji) is in bloom, and this glorious creeper, trained over bamboo trellis-work, produces flowers 4 feet in length, which form a deep fringe round arbours and tea-houses along the river-side and in the parks. The famous wistaria vine at Kasukabe, near Toky5, is five hundred years old, and the blossom well deserves the name of fuji (peer- less,) for nothing could be more exquisitely graceful than the great pendant clusters of purple and white, under which we sipped the "honourable" tea in the brilliant May sunshine. Azaleas (tsutsuji) are also in full flower at this time of the year, and their flaming tints of orange, lilac, scarlet, crimson, and magenta, appear to cover whole hillsides. Nara Park was a mass of bloom when we picnic-ed there one May, and so close did the bushes grow that we could not move without crushing their delicate blossoms. In June the iris (shobu) fetes commence, and I went more than once to pay homage to these stately flowers in the famous iris garden at Horikiri. The Japanese varieties are unusually large, like giant fleur-de-lis, and as they need irrigation they are planted in patches divided by little ditches, which resemble so many tiny rice-fields in an acre of level meadow. We had tea in a summer-house on a grassy knoll, and from this elevated position we looked down on the flower-beds spread at our feet like a richly variegated carpet of purple, white, and gold ; while narrow wooden bridges, hills, lakes, tea-houses with their festoons of red lanterns, 94 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN and nisan (waitresses), looking like large butterflies in their iris-painted kimono, lent additional picturesqueness to the scene. Among summer flowers are the tree-peony (botan) with marvellous flowers 12 inches in diameter, and the lotus (hasu), closely connected with the Buddhist religion. The latter grows chiefly in lakes attached to temples, especially those dedicated to the goddess Benten, the Japanese Venus, as in Lake Shinobazu at Uy6no ; and its pink and white blossoms are also seen in ditches beside railways, and near marshy ground in the interior. Just as the peony is the representative flower of China, so the lotus is the national flower of India, the source and centre of Buddhism ; and in Japan it is used for obsequies and sacred ceremonies rather than on occasions of rejoicing. In the gilt statuettes of the saint which are found in every pious household, he appears seated on a bed of lotus leaves. This lotus must not be confounded with Homer's lotus, which is a prickly shrub, bearing luscious jujube- like dates, and which worked disaster on the companions of Ulysses : — " Whoso did receive of them, And taste, to him the gushing of the wave, Far, far av^ay, did seem to mourn and rave On ahen shores." The Japanese lotus, like the Egyptian lotus, is a water- lily. In the dog-days in Japan, the broad moats that encircle with a triple spiral the Imperial Palace, built near to where the inner castle of the Tokugawa Shogun once stood, were formerly ablaze with the exquisite pink and white blossom of the lotus, but modem sanitary science has plucked them up by the roots. In every temple there is a pond devoted to the culture of the plant. A thousand odd years ago, the Buddhist bishop, GARDENS AND FLOWERS OF JAPAN 95 Henzen, who was of royal descent, being grandson of the Mikado Kwanmu, wrote the following lines, when in retirement at the Abbey Kwazanji, near Kyoto : — " Oh, lotus leaf 1 I dreamed that the wide earth, Held naught more pure than thee — held naught more true. Why, then, when on thee rolls a drop of dew Pretend that 'tis a gem of priceless worth ? " (Paraphrase by Basil Hall Chambbelain.) In November, the month of maples (mondji) and chrysanthemums (kiku) — the tea-plant and camelUa are also in bloom, but there is no rejoicing in their honour — the chrysanthemum Imperial garden-party is held, if the weather permits. The weather never did permit when I was in T5kyo, so that I could never do more than solace my disappointment by accompanying the other invited guests, on the day succeeding that for which the Imperial invitation had been issued, to the beautiful pleasure- grounds surrounding the Akasaka Palace, where we saw the national hiku, the flower par excellence of Japan, to perfection. There the Emperor, the Tenshi Sa/ma, lived for many years while his present palace was being built, and the Imperial garden-parties are always held in these grounds. The park surrounding the Palace was once the pleasance of a great Dai/myo, and it is very spacious and picturesque, with gently undulating hills and dales, groves of bamboos and camellia-trees, bright parterres of flowers, rustic bridges, tea-pavilions, and clumps of dwarfed pines, which lend a peculiarly Japanese aspect to the landscape and are reflected clearly in the miniature lakes and ponds. Each tree is planted in exactly the right position according to rigid rules laid down by the canons of taste in the days of lyeyasu Tokugawa, and the eye rests on the perfect proportion of the whole with a strange sense of repose and satisfaction. The tender 96 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OP JAPAN green of the bamboo alternates with the darker hues of the pine, and the flaming glory of the maple lights up the picture with a beauty peculiarly its own, these flashes of loveliness burning themselves into one's memory with the vivid permanence of a photograph. Gazing on the glowing wonders of the momiji (maple) we remember the old classical verse which describes them so beautifully : — " The warp is hoar-frost and the woof is dew, Too frail, alas 1 the warp and woof to be ; For soaarce the woods their damask robes endue When torn and soiled, they flutter o'er the lea." The display of chrysanthemums in the royal demesne varies little from year to year, and is truly splendid as regards colour and form, the many-hued and multiform blossoms being well exhibited in pavilions shielded from sun and wind by matted awnings, and silken hangings decorated with the Imperial emblem. One of these pavi- lions was, as usual, devoted to itogihu (literally, thread chrysanthemums), the straight, wiry petals of which resemble the English blooms seen in our own Temple Gardens more nearly than any other of the marvellous developments under Japanese gardeners. Under another awning near by were seen the senrmzaki (many on one plant), where blossoms are trained over trellis- work like a vine, the slender stems being supported by bamboo. Each plant bears a fanciful and poetical name taken from the purely classical Japanese odes called uta, and I noticed the Mbari no toko (bed of skylarks), a lovely golden kiku with 795 white flowers, the shiraga (grey hair), with 532 white blooms, and the crimson kuni-no- katame (guard of the country), with 918 flowers on a stem, this plant being 7 feet in height and 14 feet single in diameter. GARDENS AND FLOWERS OF JAPAN 97 The Japanese pay great attention to the leaves, which must conform to Japanese canons as regards colour, number, and position, and they spare no trouble during their growth to produce the desired result by means of special manure and careful all-round manipulation, so that eventually they obtain the right number of leaves in the ordained place, and flowers of the proper shape, borne precisely where they ought to be borne. The range of colour was endless, there were clusters of compact stars in pink and white, purple and gold, or amber and crimson. Some of the closely curled blooms looked more like peonies or cabbage roses than the chrysanthemums familiar to us, so strange and almost artificial looking were they. In the flower tent devoted to icM rin (single blooms), the most conspicuous were the sahura kagami (the mirror of cherry-blossom), a truly magnificent specimen bloom of piu:e white, with a fringe of deep pink ; the schichi ho den (palace of seven treasures), which is shaded from yellow to red; the Jcogane no tama (golden jewel) of bright yellow ; and last but not least, tora asobi (tigers' gambols) the only specimen of the ito-gihu, or thread chrysanthemum, among all these velvety curly-petalled varieties. Passing on from this tent, we caught a glimpse of a wonderful old pine-tree, like the Earasaki no matsu on Lake Biwa, with ancient twisted branches, venerable and complete, and then we found ourselves standing before the chef d'oeuvre of the whole collection. This was the Eamijiyama chrysanthemum (called after the Kamiji Mountain, near the Ise shrines), bearing 650 flowers of velvety red. This variety was cultivated by the Imperial gardeners from the seed, in contra- distinction to other exhibits which have been grafted in the usual way from the plant. It was forced with 7 98 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN oilcake plentifully mixed with rich soil. Beside it were the kmtaJca (golden kite) with 730 yellow blooms, and the miJcasa with 738 flowers of a yellowish red colour. Guests leave the Palace grounds by a path on the opposite side of the lake, which leads them along the ancient public road. We retraced our steps regretfully, our minds filled with a deep sense of the satisfying charm of all we had seen; feeling almost inspired to write a poem of appreciation in praise of the exquisite beauty of our surroundings, and pin it more japonico to the branch of a tree, as we passed from one faultless effect to another. Generations of culture and refinement have made the Japanese the most aesthetic people in the world. To understand properly the sestheticism of Japanese art, it is necessary to remember that the Japanese have made a reUgion of nature as did the people of ancient Greece. They may be described as the Epicureans of the twentieth century, since they understand better than any other people, how aesthetically to make the best of life. There are two schools of modem sestheticism, the one, of which Kant is the best known opponent, is German, and is based on the dictum that for purposes of pure art usefulness must be set aside, and hence that the supremely useless is the supremely artistic ; the other is the saner school, of which some of the best known teachers are Euskin, Leighton, Millais, and Morris, whose creed is that to sever usefulness from art is to kill art, and that true art is a great moral instructor. It is to this latter school that the art ideals of the Japanese belong. Everything Japanese is artistic, every step provides a new picture, every child in the street has an artist's eye. The little girls arrange their GAEDENS AND FLOWERS OP JAPAN 99 bouquets as though they were students of Euskin, and each and all in Japan make the harmony of colour a perfect study. The art of Japan is true art, both in theory and practice, for it refreshes the national spirit, and makes people better fathers and mothers, and the true inter- pretation and outcome of the spirit of the Japanese national art will, when it is understood by the world at large, be as great a surprise as was the Japanese way of fighting. CHAPTEE VII AET AND AET INDUSTEIES Kyoto or Saikyo the most fascinating place in Japan — Number- less curio shops — Conscientiousness of Japanese workman- ship — Meaning of the sacred mirror — ^Visit to a cloisonn^ factory — The making of cloisonne — Pottery introduced from Korea, porcelain from China — Old Satsuma ware — Praudxilent articles — Lacquer introduced from Korea, but brought to perfection in Japan — New lacquer poisonous — Processes of its manufacture in Kyoto — Egg-shell lacquer at Nagoya — Largest piece of gold lacquer in the world — Art of metal-casting very ancient — Nothing more characteristic of feudal Japan than the sword — Its keen edge and expert handling — Blades separate from hilt and scabbard — A pin-hole in the haft — Larger blades not entirely of steel ; only smaller blades — ^Various surface colours ; white, sky-blue, and black — The cutting edge made of special quality — The Wardour Street of Tokyo — Schools of sword-making — Masamun^ blades the best — The unlucky blades of Muramasa — Damascening — "Wonderful utilising of bamboo and paper — Printing on cottons and silks — Japanese unexcelled as embroiderers — Deftness with hands and fingers — Japanese artists dispense with the maul- stick — Their drawings Uve — Failure of modem Government schools of art — Appreciation of pictorial art — Practical rules for judging a painting — Sculpture in wood and ivory — Nedzuk^ — Old prints — Colour printing. KYOTO, unspoilt by foreign influences, and full of poetry and art, is undoubtedly the most fascinating place in Nippon, and I fairly revelled in the delightful atmosphere of Old Japan that clings to the quaint capital from the old Imperial days, when the daimyo and the 100 THREE SWEETMEAT SELLERS AT KYOTO. To face p, loc. ART AND ART INDUSTRIES 101 Shogun had not yet become dominant. The modern term for the city among Japanese is Saikyo (Western Capital) . Nippon, by the way, is the Japanese rendering of the two Chinese symbols which mean sun-origin, that is, " the land where the sun comes from." The Chinese pronunciation of the same symbols is Jik-pen, which gave Marco Polo his Zipangu, the final syllable gu standing for " country." Kyoto abounds in curio shops, and the study of cloisonne, porcelain, lacquer-work, damascening, inlaid bronzes, carved ivories, silks, and embroideries, is a liberal education, and enables the curio-hunter to differentiate between good work and the shoddy imitations made for foreign markets. But my purse did not run to curios, and I preferred to visit the small everyday shops, where I could pick up, for a few sen, articles in common use among the Japanese, but quite unknown in Europe. All good Japanese work is as well finished in the parts that are unseen as in the parts that are ; the pattern on the bottom of a tray is as carefully drawn as the one on the upper surface, and the spray inside a jar is as beautiful as the one outside. This excellence of work, whether seen or unseen, springs from the long training of the people in the principles of Shinto, the very essence of which is contained in the old scriptural injunction, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might." Even their great emblem, the sacred mirror (kagami) symbolises the idea that thoughts and deeds should be open and capable of being revealed, and in their shrines every part is perfect in finish, no inferior work being allowed ; so that conscientiousness becomes second nature with the Japanese, and influences them in the workshop as well as in the temple. 102 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Cloisonne is perhaps the most interesting, as it is the most tedious of all the art manufactures, and it requires skill and training of the highest order. One afternoon I went, according to the card given to me, to a cloisonne factory, but what was my surprise when the boy stopped before a private house, and we were ushered upstairs into a quiet room, where about half a dozen men were squatting on the floor, all working independently with a few tools, covering vases and bowls with artistic designs without a copy and without any design before them. Each was an artist in his own way, fully conscious of his responsibility in bringing his owa particular bowl or vase to perfection. There was no overseer or foreman ; the proprietor received us downstairs, but he did not superintend the work, and the workers were too deeply engrossed even to stare at the foreign visitors. We almost laughed at the idea of our Japanese friends calling this abode of peace a factory, for there was no noise, no dirt, no whirring machinery ; it was simply an upper chamber, spotlessly clean, where tranquillity reigned. As is usual in Japan, cups of green tea were served to us. A few choice articles were then exhibited one by one, but we were not pressed to buy, and presently we entered into conversa- tion with the various workmen. Before leaving, the proprietor explained the process, and a very fascinating one it proved to be. The design is first etched on a copper foundation, and thin wire is laid along this design with a cement that after firing becomes still more firmly united to the copper ; then the various coatings of enamel in the various colours are poured into the spaces between the wires, and after being fired the surface is ground and polished with charcoal and deer-horn. Then it is again ART AND ART INDUSTRIES 103 fired and again polished, with endless patience and interest on the part of the worker, until after many weeks the master enameller is satisfied that it is flawless, and worthy to be placed before a connoisseur. One of the arts brought in olden times to Japan from Korea was that of pottery, for the Japanese, always ready to learn from others, invited Korean artists to settle in their country, and these exiles founded many schools. So also the art of porcelain-making was introduced from China at the close of the sixteenth century, and is carried on much the same as in other countries, " the seven stages " of a pot or vase after it leaves the potter's wheel being drying, glazing, firing, decorating, painting, gilding, and burnishing. Old Satsuma ware (which is semi-porcelain) has now become rare in Japan, and high prices are asked for the smallest pieces. It is distinguished by the poetical beauty and tenderness of the designs, which generally include chrysanthemums, peonies, and the plumage of pheasants and peacocks; another characteristic is the dull gold pencilling. Gaudy modem Satsuma with crude colourings, such as finds a ready sale among Western nations, would not be tolerated in a refined Japanese house ; and it is to be regretted that Kyoto manufacturers should degrade their art by following foreign models and imitating their designs. A Government official in Kyoto told me that there are two factories established there for the express purpose of simulating old works, and producing deceptive copies of valuable pieces, the articles being dipped in a dirty mixture to give them the appearance of age, and sent out with forged trade marks. In the same way bronzes are buried for a few days in a certain kind of earth before they are sold to Western 104 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN dealers as " antiques," and no doubt many valued specimens in European museums are frauds. The assertion that " while the Japanese have invented nothing, they have improved upon everything that has come before their notice," is borne out by their lacquer work, which, like many other processes practised in the country, was first introduced from Korea, and has been brought to a degree of perfection unknown elsewhere. It ranks next in interest to cloisonne, and requires an equal amount of patience and labour. New lacquer is so poisonous to many persons that they suffer from a kind of fever after visiting a lacquer factory, so I contented myself with watching the grinding and polishing and final stages in an upper room in Kyoto much like the cloisonn6 factory, where a lacquer-worker showed me choice specimens of real old lacquer, and explained the processes of its manufacture. It seems that the juice from which lacquer is obtained comes from a tree called rJiMs vernicifera (urushi), which abounds in Japan and China. During the summer months the tree is "tapped " in much the same way as a maple tree is treated for its sap, and after the fluid has been strained, and stirred in a tub, a certain amount of heat is thrown on its surface to evaporate the water, and iron filings are added to produce a fine lustre. It is then set in the sun to thicken and blacken, and tubs of this varnish may be seen in the streets of every city. In a liquid state it is highly corrosive, and a single drop on the skin will eat its way through to the bone, producing a serious wound. When it is ready for use, the wood is covered with coat after coat of this varnish, which becomes as hard as crystal. Between the coats the article is carefully "rubbed down" with a "cutting-stone," and ground with hard charcoal, so as to get a perfect smooth-grained THE LARGEST PIECE OF GOLD LACQUER IX THE WORLD. 'Jo face p. lOji ART AND ART INDUSTRIES 105 surface for the subsequent work, and there may be as many as twelve or twenty coats before any decoration is added. After two finishing coats of fine black lacquer, the designs are impressed on the article, and then a trans- parent lacquer, coloured yellow, is appHed, in order to furnish a yellow ground for the gold which is to be laid on. This is covered by successive coats of the same lacquer, and polished with ash of deer's horn, until a smooth surface is again obtained, beneath which are the gold and decorations. Lacquer takes a polish like marble, and is indestruc- tible ; and in this wonderful art Japan is still unrivalled, for lacquer is made in Kyoto to-day which is as good as that made in days of yore — at least, so say the con- noisseurs. A good piece of lacquer should be very light in weight, and the grain of the wood should not show through the varnish. At Nagoya I saw the famous egg-shell lacquer, so called not because it is thin, but because it is really made of the inner paper-like membrane of a hen's egg, which is powdered down on a fresh coat of lacquer, just like gold-leaf. It is then dried in and varnished with trans- parent lacquer, making a delicate cloudy background on which gold or silver is applied in the usual way. I was shown this first at the house of a Japanese acquaintance, who seemed to prize it highly ; I have never seen it in Europe. The finest and largest existing piece of gold lacquer is the great casket containing the ashes of Hidetada, ly^yasu's son, the second Shogim, on Shiba Hill. It is strictly forbidden to photograph it, but the priest who accompanied me up the mossy stairway proved most complaisant, and kept the public out while I took a six minutes' exposure of that wonderful piece of work. 106 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN The art of metal-casting is very ancient, and was at its zenith in the old feudal times, when a warrior's armour was adorned with metal ornaments of exquisite beauty, such as we still see in private museums and curio-shops throughout the country. Nowadays the descendants of the old metal workers in Kyoto may well cry "Ichabod," for instead of decorating sword- guards and knife-handles, their skill must be expended on insignificant articles of everyday use, such as flower vases and incense burners. They are past masters in the art of enriching metal work by such processes as dama- scening, chasing, hammering, and inlaying, and produce the most beautiful colour effects by the combination of different metals. An old man from whom I purchased one or two specimens of damascene work spoke sadly of the days when his skill was exercised on fine sword- guards for the sa/murai, and seemed to think it waste of time to turn out modern knick-knacks. Nothing was more in evidence in Japan during the long period of feudalism that ended in 1868, than the sword (katana), often called " the soul of the samurai," who were skilled in its use, and prized a good blade above everything. So keen was the edge and so dexter- ously did they use the weapon, that, in early cases of assassination of foreigners during the troubled times which followed the granting of treaty ports, it was often supposed that the victim had been set upon by three or four assailants. In most cases only one samurai had been at work ; but in the few minutes necessary to carry out his purpose, he had slashed his victim to pieces. Japanese blades {jiita) are kept entirely separate from the hilt, scabl^ard, and other accessories. The head or haft of the blade, which is perforated, enters the hilt and is fastened to it by a wooden bam.boo pin, and it bears the maker's name inscribed upon it, and likewise ART AND ART INDUSTRIES 107 certain file marks, which help to identify the sword. When not put up and on display, the blade, after being smeared with clove-oil, is wrapped carefully up in cloth and placed in a box, and the furnishings are laid away separately. A good blade may have worn out a score of hilts and scabbards ; or it may have half a dozen that will suit it. The smaller blades are made entirely of steel, but the longer hatana have an interior of compara- tively soft iron to give the blade more elasticity, and they differ in surface colour, being divided in this respect into three classes : {a) white, (6) sky blue, (c) black. The cutting edge [shinogi) is of a different temper from the ridge at the back or blunt edge called mune, and is made of a special quality of steel. The Wardour Street of Tokyo is the long street leading to Shiba, where one comes across wonderful collections of mediaeval chain armour and steel helmets. Among the most beautiful specimens of Japanese art there I saw richly inlaid sword-guards and sheaths, elaborately worked in gold or silver. The prices were extremely moderate, for ancient armour was a drug in the market when many of the poorer samurai were com- pelled to part with their treasured accoutrements for rice. The American friends who accompanied me pur- chased several swords of very fine temper for low prices, but the work of the celebrated artificers of these blades still commands a fancy price, their reputation surpassing that of the finest Damascus blades. The names of some few of these swordsmiths — such as Norimune, Saiyo, Masatsune, Kanenji, Yasutsuna, Munemitsu, and, most famous of all, Masamune — have been handed down for many generations, and those blades which are marked and recognised are treasured as a Stradivarius would be by a musician. The work of Masamune, the most skilful of all the 108 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN swordsmiths of Old Japan, has never been surpassed either before or since his time. He was born in 1341 A.D., and was himself, as might well be conjectured, the son of a smith, Yukimitsu, and therefore bred to the art, serving his apprenticeship under Shintogo Mune- mitsu, after the death of his father. The Masamune blade is distinguished by a jiita or blade of pale colour, and an irregular kitaeme (a certain grain as in wood). The edge is of a clear white colour, and the blade is full of silvery powdery spots called niye, with a surface appearance of what the Japanese call moi (haze or mist) . The steel is good and of fine quality. Masamune adopted the only less famous Sadamune, and nearly all his other pupils are famous in the annals of sword manufacture. From the list of master swordsmiths I have specially omitted the name of Muramasa, whose blades at one time enjoyed the highest reputation and even now command a high price, although they are no longer included on the roll of honour by the Japanese. Misfor- tunes came upon several members of the Tokugawa family and other purchasers of swords forged by him, and as his morals and character were bad, it was supposed that his evil spirit entered into the blades he fabricated, and weapons bearing his name were broken in pieces if offered for sale. On one occasion it is said that a dealer in swords, having obtained a Muramasa blade, effaced the name and thought he could sell it as a Masamune blade, but his wife anticipated him by com- mitting suicide with it. Damascening results from a dovetail cut being made in the metal, into which a wire is hammered. This inlaid wire may be of gold or silver, and when ground down it appears as a line on the surface. In the same way mixed iron, copper, and gold, and solid lumps of ART AND ART INDUSTRIES 109 gold and silver in bronze, make a perfect colour harmony in metals, and in no art do the Japanese display more variety and delicacy than in the colouring and inlaying of bronze and other metals. They are the only people who seem to pay no regard to the commercial value of mate- rials, but use them for their art qualities alone, mingling a variety of substances, such as zinc, bismuth, gold, silver, lead, and copper, without regard to their cost, and sorting out and combining their colours with all the care of the painter. Doubtless heredity is an important factor in the success of the Japanese workers, the different branches of handicraft arts being handed down in families from father to son. The boy begins his life- work when a child, and serves a long apprenticeship under the trained eye of his father, neither time nor money being of any account until he is considered worthy to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors. The two materials which furnish more useful articles in Japan than any other are bamboo and paper, the former being utilised for teapots, trays, boxes, saM- bottles, tooth-brushes, baskets, water-pails, fishing-rods, fences, and a thousand-and-one necessaries ; while paper is inlaid in cabinets as tortoise-shell, sold as leather in pocket-books, tvvdsted into string for small parcels, used instead of glass for windows, and prepared with oil to make umbrellas, water-proof coats, and aprons for jm- rikisha. Paper is manufactured from the bark and young twigs of the Broussonetia papyrifera, or paper mulberry. The processes of printing on cottons and silks are many and various, and speaking generally it may be said that they are conducted with the simplest of tools, an enor- mous amount of hand labour being devoted to them. A speciality are the charming artistic fabrics known as cotton crapes, which are woven in the usual 13- inch Japanese width, and sold in kimono lengths of 110 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN 11 yards, the colouring and designs of these inexpensive printed goods being really exquisite. I became quite a connoisseur on this subject, for some friends initiated me into the different processes, which are ingenious and highly interesting. For example, in figuring a roll of silk, the pattern is first drawn by hand carefully with indigo, after which the fabric is stretched flat over bowed pieces of bamboo ; then a raised outline is given with a sort of glutinous bird-lime, which is attached to a maul-stick held in the worker's hand, and dropped like a thread upon the material. Dyes of various colours are now painted in the spaces enclosed by the raised pattern ; and the dyes having dried, the colours are exposed for about five minutes to the action of steam in a steam bath, and the mucous matter is removed by rinsing out the whole roll of silk in clear water. In this way, by semi-mechanical work, results are achieved which are not possible in a purely mechanical process, and the Japanese add to the artistic character of their products by combining printing, weaving, and embroidering on the same article. By this process also, silk crape, a favourite material, is often figured by a resist being stencilled over parts of the sur- face ; then by dying, a white pattern is produced on the unprotected half, and this may be enriched by embroidery. As embroiderers the Japanese are unexcelled by any other nation, not even excepting their neighbours the Chinese, who first taught them the art, but whose work is soulless and expressionless as compared with that of Japan. Their variety of stitches is endless, one kind consisting wholly of raised dots, similar to those used for the centre of flowers in this country ; and they simulate the plumage of birds, the hair of animals, and the bloom on fruit, in a way impossible to any other people. No doubt this extraordinary deftness of hand and of fingers is the result of using for successive ages the brush ART AND ART INDUSTRIES 111 in writing. Almost every Japanese can sketch an object or draw a map, and the most uneducated do this with surprising accuracy. In learning to write the difficult characters of their language with a brush and the unre- strained use of the arm, the Japanese are continually training both eye and hand to accuracy of touch, freedom of motion, and an easy execution of lines and curves, which are most valuable aids to high drawing power in after life. We find that artists in Japan dispense altogether with the maul-stick, preferring to use the brush freely without a rest, and by this " free-hand " drawing the most wonderful results are obtained in an incredibly short space of time. To an inborn passion for the beautiful even among the lowest, they add an eye so keen and observant that they have caught certain movements and poises of birds on the wing which other races have not detected. Who can deny that their drawings live, and yet these are not sketched, as ours are, direct from the model, but from memory ; for the Japanese are taught to study Nature in all her moods, and to store up every detail in the treasure- house of the mind, so that, when called upon, they can depict with amazing exactitude a group of fisher boats or the flight of birds. Critics say that their landscapes lack the inimitable charm of their drawings of birds, fishes, insects, and flowers, and that painting as an art is on the decline. Certainly the schools established by Government to teach drawing and painting in the foreign style have been a failure, nothing worthy of artistic notice having been produced ; but in this Japan has half unconsciously been going through a transition stage, and the union of essen- tially Japanese subjects with European treatment is not a happy one. Fortunately artists are now being encouraged to study the old masters and the old methods, and efforts 112 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN are being made to arrest the degradation of art caused by the sudden adoption of Western principles which were not understood by the Japanese, and which tended to destroy all perception of the beauty and relation of colour in this most artistic of nations. The art of the past has never found a higher appreciation than at present, and although the future of Japanese art is still on the knees of the gods, the old power both of painting and of sculpture is still alive. That the Japg^nese have a true appreciation of pictorial art is well shown by the following interesting summary of practical rules culled from the Gwaku Sen Ean, a treatise published in the year 1760 : "A picture should not be examined by the light of a lamp ; or during times of feasting and drinking ; or on a day on which there is rain, smoke, wind, snow, clouds, or mist ; or in the twilight ; lest the intention of the painter be made in- visible or the picture be injured. Ordinary people are ignorant of the manner in which a painting should be looked at ; they put their hands upon it or put their face very close. But to study a picture properly, it should be hung upon a wall and seen first at a distance — afterwards nearer — to observe the touch and colouring. The silk mounting need not be regarded, since counterfeits are always adorned with rich brocades to deceive the eyes of the onlookers. First distinguish whether the painting is Chinese or Japanese, then examine the silk or paper, then the effect of the painting ; then judge of the period of its execution — whether recent or antique ; notice the colour of the ink, and lastly find the meaning of the artist, but do not look at the stamp. Eoll up the picture and put it in a box, and later on — at midday — examine it again with care, and after comparing the opinion so formed with the stamp, see if there be any agreement between the work and the name." ART AND ART INDUSTRIES 113 When Japanese sculpture in wood or ivory is spoken of, the first idea that presents itself is connected with the nedzuM, which of all the art objects found in Japan is perhaps the most essentially Japanese. The nedzuM is the button by which the tobacco-pouch, or the inro (medicine- box) is suspended from the girdle, and it gave occasion for much art and ingenuity, being the object most loved by the common people, as the sword-hilt was by the nobles. If Japan had given us nothing but the ned- zuM, we should still have no difficulty in differentiating the bright versatility of her national genius from the comparatively sombre, mechanical, and unimaginative temperament of the Chinese. Old Japanese prints now command very high prices — as, for instance, £340 paid during 1909 at Sotheby's for a complete set of ten sketches by Hokusai — and thanks to European influence, there has been a distinct revival of the process in Japan, where, since 1840, it had been on the decline. Many recent sales in London prove that Western admiration for beautiful colour-prints is not the mere passion of a few votaries, but a genuine enthusiasm which in the auction-room becomes a financial reality. The wood-blocks used are generally cut from the cherry-tree {sakura), which has a grain of peculiar evenness and hardness. A design is drawn by the artist with a brush on thin paper, which is then pasted down- wards on the block. The engraver, who is very rarely the designer, then cuts the outlines into the block with a knife, afterwards removing the superfluous wood vnth chisels. Great skill is shown in this operation, which produces perhaps the finest facsimile reproduction of drawings ever known without the aid of photography. In printing with colours a separate block is made for each tint, and the colours are mixed on the block for each operation with rice paste as a medium. The intelligent 8 114 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN craftsman (who, again, is neither the artist nor the engraver) can thus regulate the result and produce very beautiful and artistic effects, such as can never be obtained by any mechanical device. An accurate register of each block in succession is then obtained, mainly by the skill of the printer, upon whose care a great deal depends. To the ordinary mind it seems unfair that the names of the engravers who cut the designs are not known, the reputation of these craftsmen being curiously subordinated to that of the designers in all Japanese work of the kind. Many of the great artists produce books elaborately illustrated by the same process, and these specimens of printing in colours from wood blocks have never been excelled in grace of form and beauty of design by the best work of European woodcutting of any period. This method of colour-printing is one of the few indigenous arts of Japan, and tradition ascribes its in- vention to Idzumiya Gonshiro, who about the end of the seventeenth century made use of a second block to apply a tint of red to his prints. It is certain that in 1695 portraits coloured by this process, were sold in the streets of Y6do. Kiyonobu also worked about this time, and his pupils — Kiyotsune, Kiyomitsu, Kiyomasa, and Kiyomine — carried on his tradition until the end of the eighteenth century. The next artist of importance was Harunobu, (1760- 1780), a very popular artist, whose colour-prints fetch large prices to-day at Sotheby's on account of their imaginative and tender charm. Other favourites are Shunsho, the first master of Hokusai; Eishi, the founder of the Hosoda School ; Utamaro, whose prints of beautiful women were collected by Dutchmen while he was still alive, and have had in our own day a vogue greater, perhaps, than those of any of his fellows ; Tokokuni, who especially devoted himself to actors and the drama ; and lastly Katsushika ART AND ART INDUSTRIES 115 Hokusai — ^his earlier name was Katsukawa Shunro — the greatest of all the artists of the popular school, whose most famous series of broadsheets is the " One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji," known as Fugaku Hyak-kei. Hokusai died at the age of ninety in 1849, and in the hands of the great landscape painter, Ichiryusai Hiroshige, as well as the pupils of Hokusai, the process was technically at its greatest height at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The qualities lacking to Japanese artists are depth, distance, and aerial perspective, and undoubtedly Hiroshige went further than his fellows in expressing a sense of receding spaces in landscape. After his death in 1858, the badness of the imported colours, and loss of dexterity in printing brought about a dechne for a time ; but since 1880 there has been a dis- tinct revival, and the prints of the present day are cut with great skill, and the designs are excellent, while the engraving is as good as ever. The colours used, however, are almost invariably of cheap German origin, and they cannot compare with the old native productions, nor do any living artists possess the vigour of conception and breadth of execution of the older masters. CHAPTBE Vill JtyjUTSU:* THE AET OP SELF-DEFENCE Professor Kano, the leading exponent of the art or principle of judo orjujutsu — The term implies moral as well as physical training — Disturbing the equilibrium of an opponent the first requisite of the art — How to fall down properly — A clever discovery : use of the edge of the palm instead of clenched fist — No "weaker sex" in jwjutsu — An afternoon exhibition of jujutsu in Tokyo — The art of the weaker skilled antagonist against the strong unversed bully — The different throws — Development of wrist power — How to get rid of an unwelcome visitor — The struggle formerly ended in strangling an opponent — Strengthening of the muscles of the throat so as to make hanging impossible — Pre- cautions against accidents. IN these latter days we hear a great deal about the Japanese art of self-defence, jujutsu, or judo, as Professor Kano, one of the most modern of Tokyo ex- ponents, prefers to call it. Now that the Japanese have gained a foremost place in the family of nations, and shown the world that they are destined for great things, people are inclined to over-estimate the lessons that may be drawn from their daily habits, and travellers who return to England after a lengthened sojourn with our Far Eastern allies find that Japan &ndi jujutsu seem to be synonymous terms in the minds of athletic friends, whose first question invariably is : "Did you leaxn jujutsu ? " * This is the correct spelling as given by the Educational Depart- ment, Tokyo; U6 JUJUTSU: THE ART OF SELF-DEFENCE 117 I, like every one else, followed the fashion in taking lessons in Tokyo, and can speak feelingly on the subject, having being maladroit enough to sprain a finger when being "thrown " before having mastered the science of how to fall properly. Professor Kano explained to me during my lessons that the old word jujutsu is in vogue only among foreigners and others whose knowledge of the art is derived from hearsay, whereas Japanese students and those who practise it invariably use the newer word, judo. In olden times, the term jujutsu was applied to any form of fighting without weapons, and sometimes we find it called taifutsu or yawara, and more xaxely judo. Jujutsu {jutsu=axt) means literally the art of pliancy, or of conquering an opponent by using pliant means, instead of opposing strength to strength ; jucUo {do = doctrine) is the principle or doctrine behind jujutsu, by the application of which jujutsu is practised. This ancient system of bodily training, which has existed for over two thousand years, was in the old feudal days practised only among the samurai under an oath of secrecy, and was passed down in that aristocratic fighting class from century to century. To-day it is taught to all Japanese boys and girls from the moment they enter a school ; all soldiers, sailors, and policemen go through a compulsory course by Government order, and there are millions of graduates throughout the Empire. I can quite understand that one who has been obliged to practise it at school continues it in after life of his own free will, for in this case virtue is its own reward, and nothing can equal the exhilaration and feeling of renewed life in one's veins after twenty minutes' exercise and a bath and rub down. It must of necessity be a good form of physical training, for it is the only one the Japanese soldier receives, and all the world has known big 118 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN powers of endurance during a long day's march through the most bitter weather, since the campaign of 1904-1905. It is difficult to explain to any one who has not visited Japan, the peculiar training, mental and moral as well as physical, which the term judo conveys to the Japanese mind. In good old-fashioned English, it is enough to say that there is mental as well as physical drill and discipline of the mind in the practice of jujut§u, for there must be good temper, coolness, patience, agility, and also quick- ness of intelligence as a mental attribute. In the language of Japan, however, as taught to me in Tokyo, this is worded differently. In my notes I read some- thing like this, taken down in the class-room verbatim from the Japanese professor of jujutsu : jujutsu, or judo, includes all the attributes of Bushido — valour, chivalry, self-control, loyalty, and politeness — and by it young men are taught the lofty and punctilious code of honour followed by the samurai, the warrior nobles of Japan. In the class-room they learn to be prudent, wise, for- bearing, and self-respecting, and by pursuing the same process of reasoning throughout their life they attain success as politicians, diplomatists, and leaders of society. For instance, one of the first points of importance in the study of jujutsu is to attack in such a way that your opponent is led to under-estimate your powers, and loses the victory by not putting forth his full strength ; or vice versd, all his self-confidence is destroyed, and he credits you with greater skill than you possess, and allows you to beat him, although he is really your superior. It can readily be understood how the application of these rules may be helpful in the political arena, and doubtless the principles of jujutsu were brought into play in inter- national politics during the historic conference at Portsmouth. JUJUTSU: THE ART OF SELF-DEFENCE 119 In ordinary wrestling, the man with the greatest muscular strength is almost certain to win, although skill and agility may count for much ; but in jujutsu, although strength is of some consideration, very great stress is laid on the study of scientific principles by which one's opponent may be rendered powerless to resist attack, and one's own muscular strength may be utilised to the uttermost. The first point is to disturb the opponent's equilibrium, and by skilful management — by pushing or pulling — to cause his body to stand on a very insecure basis. The best judo or jujutsu man is the one who can bring his adversary to this basis and not allow him to fall down, keeping him in several insecure posi- tions, one after the other, at will, the opponent being powerless, able neither to recover his equilibrium nor to fall down. In this, skill is more important than strength, for in such a case the touch of a finger on his chest, either pushing or pulling, will cause him to lose his balance. In jujutsu the muscles are strengthened and developed by constant use, and in this way jujutsuha (people who practise jujutsu) become better men physically ; but the final aim of its teaching is a knowledge of the principles of pliancy and an ability to apply them physically and mentally. Before being taught the ordinary forms of attack, the novice is initiated into the proper way of falling down, which is a science in itself. In falling, the pupil is instructed to touch the mat with the fingers pointing inwards, for in this position the wrist-joint stretches naturally, and the elbow-joint bends instead of stretching ; whereas, if the mat is touched with the fingers pointing outwards, the wrist-joint may curve unnaturally, and the elbow-joint also turn in a dangerous manner. When one falls heavily, the muscles of the arm may be unequal to the task of keeping the body from injury, and the pupil is taught to roll over like 120 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN a wheel, making the outer edge of the hand, the arm, elbow, shoulder, and back, act as points in the circum- ference of the wheel. After this complete turn-over, he alights on his feet, receiving on the soles of the feet the residuum of the force of his fall, which has been greatly decreased by the turn-over. Or if he is upset in a con- trary direction, he receives the residuum of the force of his fall on the palms of his hands. In jujutsu the clenched fist is not used as in boxing. The Japanese tried boxing many hundreds of years ago, and, with originality — not the imitativeness for which the world credits them — they discovered, and it was clever of them — " real 'cute " as om: American cousins would say — that a blow from the httle finger edge of the palm was much more deadly, because a blow from the fist distributes itself over too great a surface. One of their most deadly and most scientific thrusts consists in nothing more than two fingers struck with precision against the abdomen. I have heard much about the clever- ness of the Japanese since my return from the Land of the Rising Sun, but privately I have always thought that one of their cleverest achievements was their discovery, long before they were a civilised power, that the clenched hand has less deadly power than the edge of the palm. That being the case, of course the first thing is to harden that particular part, and during my initial enthusiasm for the art, EngHsh friends might have laughed to see me on the veranda outside my room, reading a book held in one hand, and striking the other violently meanwhile against any hard substance. It seemed ridiculous, but one day I was consoled by watch- ing an athletic-looking newly-arrived Englishman at the hotel doing exactly the same thing. I felt then that what a strong man did publicly and without any evident feeling of abasement, one of the weaker sex JUJUTSU: THE ART OF SELF-DEFENCE 121 might also venture to do. But the term "weaker sex" reminds me that this same jujutsu precludes that term altogether. There is no " weaker sex " in jujutsu, for a woman who is skilled in the art is the equal of any man her own size and weight. Women of the samurai class long ago practised jujutsu, and I have often thought that these ancestresses of the heroes of Mukden have had much to do with the success of the Japanese army in the field. The Japanese women of to-day are as strong as any in the world, and can hold their own with any men of their own size. They exercise in the same way as men, although professors take them along more slowly, until certain that there is no constitu- tional weakness. One afternoon exhibition of jujutsu stands out vividly in my memory, when I went by invitation to one of the hundreds of schools in Tokyo where the professor was a personal friend of mine. The building was crowded, and after taking off my shoes outside in the usual fashion, I was conducted by two of the chief assistants into the large hall, and seated on a low dais of polished wood, raised about 2 feet from the matted flooring, or the arena, as one might well call it. Here cups of Japanese tea were served, and in addition I received a large photo- graph (evidently faked) , showing hundreds of jujutsuka in all the best positions, with an Imperial prince in the foreground. It is still in my sitting-room, and I look at it with awe and wonder, and wish I could manipulate such a photograph. Bach couple must have been done separately, enlarged, reduced again, and then put in position, like the inimitable puppets at a story-tellers' hall. On this particular afternoon, the most advanced students were put forward, and did their best tricks. An ordinary turn seemed to take four or five seconds, and a match consisted of five turns. 122 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Presently, among the crowd, I saw a great, tall German attach^, whom I knew well — I must not particularise further — and a little time after he reappeared in the loose dress of a jujutsuka, ready for the fray. After a short talk with the professor, the action of the play, for one particular couple at least, proceeded with remarkable rapidity. I saw his antagonist, a tiny Japanese woman in Turkish trousers and a short loose coat, brought forward by the professor, and with the customary bows, she advanced and retreated, inviting in this way trial of skill by combat. Before one could say Dai Nippon Ba/nzai the stalwart warrior was laid on the matted flooring. This occurred six times running, and each time Madame Bai Nippon stood over him triumphant, while he patted the tatami, according to custom, to show that he was the vanquished. The truth is that jujutsu is entirely a matter of skill, not strength, and one may call it the art of the weaker skilled antagonist against the strong unversed bully. This is definitely proved by the undoubted fact that the well-trained jujutsuka is able to defeat the boxer at all points. I have seen a small Japanese touch an opponent of great strength in the gentlest manner, as if he were brushing aside a troublesome fly, and down that opponent went, without bruise or disfiguration (that, too, is one superiority of jujutsu over boxing), not knowing why he fell. The leading exponents of the art do not unfold all they know even to their best assistants, for secrets such as are involved in apparent death by choking and subsequent recall to life are dangerous in the hands of all except the select few who are past masters of the art. The best known among ordinary modes of attack are the somer- sault throw (tomoenage) where the man on the ground throws his opponent by placing the ball of one foot in the lower part of the other man's abdomen; the loin The "Somersault Throw," Two leading /jy'/ifeu professors in Professor Kano's school at Tokyo. JUJUTSU. Holding an opponent down lengthwise. JTJfJUTSU: THE ART OF SELF-DEFENCE 123 throw (koshinage) a side throw produced by the pressure of loin against loin ; the thigh throw (o sotogwri) of which the literal translation is " cutting down with a wide sweep " ; the knee-wheel Qhizaguruma) , in which the knee acts as the medium of dispatch; fracture of the elbow joint (udeMshigi) , a result attained when a wrestler is either standing or reclining; garrotting from behind (ushiro shime) ; ordinary choking (mae shime) ; holding an opponent down diagonally (hesagatame) ; and holding an opponent down lengthwise (tategatame). An important point is the development of wrist power, and the novice practises daily to achieve it ; for many of the most useful tricks in this mysterious art of self- defence depend on strength in the wrist. For example, if a policeman wishes to urge a reluctant prisoner forward, or if Madame Dai Nippon would like to get rid of an unwel- come visitor, the modus operandi is the same, and consists in forcing the arm to bend the wrong way. Madame shakes hands with her visitor, throws his arm up, with her own under it close to his side, in such a position that she can cause exquisite pain by forcing it higher and higher, and in this way she easily gets him outside the door. Contests are frequently arranged in Europe and America between jujutsuJca and boxers, and as the rules and principles of these two exercises differ greatly, dis- putes nearly always arise unless preliminary regulations are drawn up in detail beforehand. The Japanese method of applying maxims received in physical training to mental and moral teaching is pecu- liarly characteristic of a country where, in many other arts beside jUjutsu, we find happily blended the prosaic and symbolical, the practical and the poetical, the conven- tional and artistic ; and it partly explains the unique position which Japan holds among the nations of the world. 124 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN In former days, jujutsu was undoubtedly a fight to tlie death, for after throwing an opponent, his adversary leapt upon him and tried to strangle him. Even at the last moment, if the fallen were the stronger, he might succeed in strangling his conqueror, the strangula- tion of professed jujutsuha being most difficult to accom- plish; for by muscular contraction he can make his throat like a rod of iron, an adamantine mass of muscle upon which the grip of the fingers makes not the slightest impression, and this peculiarity has given rise to the saying that a professor of jujutsu could never by any possibility be hanged. Strange, indeed, it is in Professor Kano's class-room to see small boys wresthng with strong men and throwing them almost automatically with a touch of their fingers, by a balance of muscles so perfect that the enemy, whatever he may do, must topple over. It seems miracu- lous to see a strong man thrown through the air by the merest touch, absolutely at the mercy of his small oppo- nent, and we realise how easily fatal results might ensue if a pupil were vindictive or hot-tempered ; but the pro- fessor, knowing this, is careful to withhold certain deadly secrets until a pupil has been tried and thoroughly tested. In Japan, the fight always takes place upon a floor laid with a double thickness of soft matting — and even with this precaution it is wonderful that accidents do not more often occur — in a class-room crowded with several hundreds of jujutsuha, each couple practising con amore the aristo- cratic art handed down in the noble families of Old Japan from time immemorial. CHAPTER IX SPOBTS, PASTIMES, AND GAMES Police fencing — A visit to the chief police station at Kojimachi, Tokyo — The Japanese the finest acrobats in the world — Clever jugglers —Stone and sand artists — Fortune-tellers — Wrestling, the national sport of Japan — Pew outdoor recreations — Kite-flying — Falconry a thing of the past — Imperial wild duck h^lnting party — The game of Teen — Indoor recreations : billiards, cards — Game of checkers {go) and chess (shogi). THE physical powers of the Japanese police are developed not only by the prescribed course of jujutsu, but also by daily practice in fencing, and the consequence is that the greatest experts in these two arts are to be found in the police force. Nearly all the police belong to the samurai, the aristocratic fighting class of Old Japan, and so they take kindly to the military accom- phshments which are thrust upon them. An exciting hour may be spent in watching Jcenjutsu (fencing) at one of the police stations. On one occasion I went to the chief office at Kojimachi, just beside the British Embassy in Tokyo, where the inspector had promised to have the fencing master and his men in readiness for the visit. It proved most in- teresting, all the exercises being gone through for my special benefit. The fencers dress in ancient style, with helmets (men) and body armour (do) made of kawa (skin), their singlesticks 125 126 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN being called in Japanese shinai, and the sword katana. I took photographs of exercises in which double bamboo sticks were used, this style being called ryoto-ryu (double- sword system) ; and of others in which singlesticks were used, a style technically known as itto-ryu (single-sword system). All the ordinary rules of fencing are observed, andthere is no apparent difference between the fencing of the policemen and any other. The Japanese are, above all things, thorough ; and in this, as in actual warfare, they throw themselves heart and soul into the combat with the utmost fervour, springing with cat-like move- ments, and yelling as the excitement increases, until at length one or other of the combatants is defeated. "When the exercises were over I thanked the police heartily for the favour shown to me, and begged their acceptance of two large boxes of Asahi cigarettes with which I had armed myself, for it must be remembered that whatever services a Japanese policeman renders, he is not of the class to whom money can be offered. I left the station with many a pleasant Sayonara and " Please come back soon" (Hayaku o haeri nasai) , anA. " Don't forget the photographs " — an injunction which I was not allowed to forget, for their appetite for photo- graphs is almost insatiable. Within two minutes I had occasion to turn back for something left behind, but not a man was to be seen ; and from the tremendous splashing to be heard on all sides it was clear that the entire group — twelve in all — had, with true Japanese celerity, betaken themselves to the bath. Naturally all this physical culture makes for skill in manual exercises, and the Japanese are the finest acrobats Qcaruwazashi) in the world. Many of the Tokyo firemen (hikesho) are really acrobats by profession, although in the days of low wooden houses their acrobatic agility was of little use, the houses on which they had to work being POLICE FENCING (kENJUTSU.) A general melee. To face p. iz6. SPORTS, PASTIMES, AND GAMES 127 rarely any taller than themselves. During the New Year Festival these firemen are much in evidence as acrobats, one of their favourite performances being to climb a tall ladder which is held upright by their friends, while they stand on their head at the top. Marvellous balancing feats take place as interludes in theatres, and similar entertainments are given at garden-parties and flower festivals. I have seen an acrobat balancing a bamboo on one shoulder, and a mere baby climb it and go through wonderful performances at the top. The Japanese acrobats who appear in European music- halls and circuses from time to time give, I think, a fair idea of the entertainments to be seen in Japan, and are to me alarming enough, for I always shrink from these nerve-harrowing performances. The effect, however, is heightened when one sees a four-storey family among the flickering shadows of a temple grove, where the move- ment of the waving branches seems as if it must cast the topmost Benjamin willy-nilly to Mother Earth. Fantastically dressed jugglers are first cousins to these acrobats, and on the occasion of a great festival the avenue leading to the temple is lined with clever con- jurors, who swallow knives, produce eggs by the dozen and paper by the yard, and change sacks of grain into growing plants, like veritable magicians. Near by is the sand-artist, with bags of different coloured sands, by means of which he makes beautiful pictures on a cleared space of ground : he is the Japanese equivalent of our English street-pavement artist. First he dredges the surface with a sieve full of clean white sand, and then sifts a little thin stream of black or red sand through his closed hand, painting soldiers, dragons, storks, and temples quickly and surely, and by virtue of a trained hand and eye producing an excellent free-hand drawing. This charming art, which has existed for nearly five 128 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN hundred years, originated in the artistic arrangement of stones on a black lacquered tray in such a manner as to represent natural scenery. This was a favourite pastime in old feudal days at the Court of the Shogun, and it was called Bon-seki — bon being the Japanese for tray, and seki for stones. Nearer our own time various coloured sands were added to the stones, and this development of the art was called Bon-kei. When sand alone is used, the picture is called Bon-gwa. It is amazing to watch the deft manipulation of sand in a fine hair-sieve by a skilful worker, and to see the most delicate shades of mist and cloud produced almost spontaneously, while a few quick, firm touches with an ordinary feather create a stormy sea with rolling breakers ; or, most effective of all, the sub- lime outline of Fuji appears towering grandly against a black sky. As already mentioned, this art is now practised in the open street, and on one occasion near the Nikko temples we came upon an unusually intelligent sand-man who seemed quite fascinated when I told him that a "foreign" artist — meaning Victor Hugo — used ink, cigar-ash, and coffee-grounds with wonderful effect in painting some of his most striking pictures. The sand-artist carefully copied the name — Victor Hugo — in his note-book, and who knows but that his receptive mind may improve upon the idea of cigar-ash and introduce a new school of painting in the near future. Among others who are to be found in the environs of a temple during a matsuri (festival) are the fortune-tellers, who in Japan as in Europe drive a thriving trade among the credulous. On one occasion only I approached the table of Destiny, and the seer — always a man in Japan — directed me to choose a strip of bamboo from a jar on the table. I handed the strip chosen to him, and after poring over it with much solemnity for quite three minutes, he SPORTS, PASTIMES, AND GAMES 129 proceeded to write my " fortune " in cabalistic characters in the of&cial-looking volume before him. Then, having graciously condescended to accept my fee, he detached the leaflet, and with a ceremonial bow he handed it to me. It was deciphered for my edification by the Japanese friends who accompanied me on that occasion, and if one- half only is true, I shall some day be the happiest and most fortunate of mortals. Wrestling {sumo) is the national sport of Japan, and professional matches attract enormous crowds, the wrestlers being a survival of the old feudal times when the daimyo or nobles had their champion wrestlers, just as nowadays our English nobility have race-horses. As a class they are enormously fat men, with long hair twisted round their heads in plaits, and during a contest they are naked, with the exception of a loin-cloth. After entering the ring — it is a circular mound in Japan — they squat upon their haunches and await the coming of the umpire. "When that functionary arrives, dressed in his best kimono and armed with a fan, the wrestlers throw themselves forward, resting their weight upon the fingers and toes, and eye each other until the signal to commence is given ; then they fall to in the approved Grseco-Boman fashion, observing " the forty-eight legal grips or positions." One essential difference, however, is that a throw is not necessary to win, for according to the rules of Japanese wrestling, a competitor has lost if he is pushed outside the limits of the circle, or if he touches the ground with any part of his body except his feet. When this occurs the umpire drops his fan and names the victor, who must then fight others until he is conquered himself or comes out champion at the end of the day. In European wrestling a combatant loses when both his shoulders or a shoulder and a hip (according to the 9 130 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN different styles) touch the ground. As the losing position can only be obtained with great difficulty, European wrestlers sometimes resort to the device of throwing themselves upon the ground with their arms and legs stretched out, or they crawl on their hands and feet, and the other wrestler has to creep about on the top of his opponent watching for an opportunity to twist him round and force him on his back. In the opinion of impartial judges, Japanese wrestling is the more rational of the two, being a nearer approach to the condition of a real fight ; for if two men were in earnest, the one opponent would not commence by throwing himself upon the ground and so putting him- self at the mercy of his adversary. A stranger visiting Japan and ignorant of the rules of sumo, has difficulty in understanding which wrestler has won at the con- clusion of a match, for all he sees is one fat and flabby man being pushed out of the ring by another even fatter and more flabby. What a contrast to European professionals, who are trained down until nothing is left but bone and muscle ! Wrestlers are a class quite by themselves, and the business is handed down in the same famihes from generation to generation. Newcomers to the Island Empire gaze in amazement at these huge mountains of flesh, towering head and shoulders above all ordinary Japanese, and they marvel exceedingly, and wonder how this has been achieved. Truly not even the magician jugglers of Dai Nippon could work the miracle in a life- time, and it is only explained by the fact that the profession is hereditary, and that for centuries these wrestlers have been eating meat and using all means possible to increase their bulk and make themselves large and coarse. It is Hkewise interesting to know that the position of wrestlers' umpire belongs to one family SPORTS, PASTIMES, AND GAMES 131 alone ; if an outsider wishes to join that particular profes- sion, he can only do so by entering the family by adoption. With the exception of the national sport of wrestling, and the physical training afforded by jujutsu and fencing, the Japanese indulge in hardly any outdoor recreations. The want of good horses has prevented them from culti- vating the only active sport in which the East meets the West — polo. They do not hunt ; they do not, as a class, shoot ; in fact, they make no profession of sport or games like the Anglo-Saxon nations. To them cricket, football, golf, tennis — in fact, all games are terra incognita. Even rowing, as known in Europe, does not enter into the experiences of any but men in the Navy ; for a sampan is propelled from behind by one long oar. I rarely saw a pair of ordinary oars used in Japan, unless in going to and from a battleship. Boat-races are unheard of, and not only this, but there is no racing on the flat, except between human ponies inside the shafts of jinrikisha. It would almost seem as if the Japanese had an inherent dislike to competition in public ; to them the joys of silver cups and trophy shields are unknown. The only combats I ever saw were aerial ones, not aeroplaning as yet — although from all accounts that may come soon — but kite-flying. In the cold winter months, when the river-beds are dry, it is a strange sight to see men of all ages, fathers and grandfathers, indulging in this pastime and as keen as boys when the great rectangular kites float upward. The strings of these monster kites are covered with powdered glass, and the object of the sporting competitors is to cut the strings of their opponents' kites, the one in at the death being the victor. These wonderful Japanese kites, made like fantastic birds, fish, and demons, are cut loose by others of their kind, and soon thousands of weird- looking objects are floating about in mid-air. I remember 132 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN watching one of these kite combats on a bitterly cold day from the principal bridge over the Kamogawa at Kyoto. The enthusiasm of the greybeards, as they careered up and down the river-bed, was something phenomenal, and I felt as excited as if I were witnessing a neck-to-neck finish at the Grand National. Until the Eestoration, falconry was universally indulged in, and it is interesting to note that this is the only European art of historic times identical in all its methods with that of Dai Nippon. At Nikko I was shown a series of pictures illustrating the pastime of hawking as carried on in lyeyasu's time, and the similarity of the hoods, jesses, and other falconer's gear, with those in use in Europe, was very remarkable. No doubt both Europe and Japan derived the gentle art from a common original source — Assyria — whence it has spread through the whole world, Bast and West. Since the Eestoration in 1868, however, falconry has become a thing of the past, extinct with the old feudal system; for the new laws of trespass, which are strictly enforced, preclude any, except the few who have great estates, from indulging in the pastime. Also, the great increase in cultivation is not favourable to cross-country flights. Old Japanese writers on falconry mention the goshawk, peregrine, sparrow-hawk, osprey, and the grey shrike, last but not least. There is a form of hospitality offered periodically by the Emperor and Empress to those belonging to Court and official circles in Tokyo, which is rather interesting to sportsmen. This is an Imperial wild duck hunting party (kamo-gari) , for which formal invitations are issued. The invited guests of both sexes assemble much as they do at a meet in Europe, and are allotted positions down the sides of narrow canals which have been made solely for the purpose of attracting the duck. Then the SPORTS, PASTIMES, AND GAMES 133 beaters do their duty by driving the duck down these narrow canals, and large bags are made. The idea is something like a pheasant battue, which has never seemed to me a very sporting form of amusement, or like a deer drive in the North of Scotland ; only instead of a narrow passage between fir-trees in the latter case, down which deer are driven, the small canals serve the same purpose with wild duck. After luncheon in the open, sport is continued during the afternoon, and the guests depart with a share of the trophies of the day's sport from the Imperial game-bags. The children of every country play games with their hands, and Japan is no exception to the rule ; indeed there, not only the children, but also the 'rikisha boys and geisha, may continually be seen playing, in one or other of its four forms, the ancient game of ken (fist). This game closely resembles the Italian moro, and in its simplest form, as first introduced from China, it consisted in two players putting out their hands simultaneously, and at the same moment calling out a number which they guessed to be the sum total of all the fingers held up by both. This is now obsolete, and there are four kinds of modern ken — stone ken, snail ken, fox ken, and tiger ken. The first two are beloved of children, and also of kuruma boys, who very often play a round of stone ken to decide their turns. In this only the right hand is used, the clenched fist representing a stone, which can dull the scissors, represented by two fingers spread apart, and the scissors can cut the paper, represented by the open hand, which in its turn can wrap the stone The tiger ken is more elaborate, and is like a charade played by three characters — the tiger, a man, and his mother. Fox ken is played chiefly by the geisha, who by stereotyped pantomimic movements of the hands depict swiftly and gracefully the tale of the fox who bewitches 134 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN a chieftain, and is shot by a hunter, who then pays homage to the hberated chieftain. As regards indoor recreations, there is no end to the variety. In the Nobles' Club (RohumeiTcwan) at Tokyo there are billiard tables as in an English club, and many of the members are skilful players. Cards (karuta) are very popular among all classes of society, and are con- tinued all night long in a yadoya, as I knew to my cost when kept awake by the endless chatter and laughter of card-players. Another game of chance which is universally played is go (checkers), and Japanese newspapers publish diagrams day by day, showing difficult positions and how to play them, just as some of our home papers insert chess problems. Formerly each great daimyo had his champion go player, whom he used to match against the champions of other feudal clans. The game of go is known in China as Wei ch'i, and it was transplanted from that country with only a slight difference in the method of counting the score. In all other games, such as draughts or chess, the pieces are arranged on the board before the game is commenced, and are then moved by the players; in go, however, the game is started with the board empty, and the pieces are placed on it by the players as the game proceeds. The object of the game is either to surround and destroy the pieces of the adversary, or to enclose an empty space on the chequer board, which is then considered to be the player's territory. The implements of war are 180 white discs cut from a cockle shell, and 181 black ones made from a black pebble, and the field of action is a large chess-board measuring 19 in. by 19 in., which is divided into 361 squares. The players alternately place a disc on the board, these being put on the intersections of the lines and not in the spaces. The game is won by the player who succeeds in occupying or surrounding SPORTS, PASTIMES, AND GAMES 135 the larger space, and it requires strategical skill, and reminded me of a German war game. In Japanese chess (shogi) as in the Chinese game, the pieces are not distinguished by different shapes as in the European game. The Chinese chessmen are round flat pieces of wood, with the name written on the surface and with only a distinction of colour to differentiate the two sides. In Japan the chessmen (also of wood) are of a pentagonal form, with a vertex pointing forwards towards the adversary. This slight detail is of great importance, as we shall see later on. The Japanese game, like the Chinese one, varies somewhat from the European in the movements of the pieces. These differ- ences are not of any interest to the ordinary reader, who does not wish to make a comparative study of chess in different countries or to work out the origin of this fasci- nating game. But there is one peculiarity in Japanese chess which is not found in any other variety of the game in other countries. In Japanese chess, when a piece or pawn is taken, it may be used against the adversary, and even a tyro at chess will understand the great importance of this rule, as the loss of a piece really means a difference of two pieces or pawns in the relative forces of the adversaries. Now we see the im- portance of the pentagonal form of the chessmen with an angle or vertex directed towards the adversary, for the captured piece, being of the same colour as the adversary's men, could not be distinguished if its angle were not directed in an opposite direction. A friend who travelled vsdth Prince Arisugawa and his suite when they returned to Japan after their visit to Europe in 1905, remarked to them that the Japanese applied this principle of their chess game to the more serious game of war, in capturing the Eussian vessels and using them against their adversaries, and his remark was received with appreciative laughter by the Japanese. CHAPTEE X LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION Similarity of characters in writing both in China and Japan — Sokitsu's system of bird-tracks — Introduction of Chinese words — Ideographs and the hama — Structure of language opposed to European ideas — Mastery of the phraseology a Ufe study — Peculiarities : no articles, no plural, no Yes or No — Three modes of expression for the lower, middle, and upper classes — Honorific " " — The Japanese are not good linguists — Need of Esperanto or Volapiik — Omniverous readers — Fondness for foreign literature — Difficulty in accepting Christianity — The Buddhist scriptures of Japan — A circulating Ubrary — Education compulsory — Moral education the basis — The welfare of juvenile Japan is studied in every way — In the schools European and American models followed — Athletic exercises — The Imperial University at Tokyo — Intellectual qualities rank higher than moral among the Japanese — Marvellous thirst for knowledge — Japan has preserved her individuality in spite of influxes of foreign thought. ALTHOUGH the spoken languages of China and Japan are utterly dissimilar, both in sound and structure, yet, strange to say, both nations use the same system of characters in writing — a system supposed to have been invented by a man named Sokitsu, who had been study- ing the footprints of birds. At first sight this famous invention seems crude, and the characters look like bird- tracks and nothing more, but a little study reveals order and beauty, as well as method in the system, and those who understand it best admire it most. It was brought 136 LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION 137 to Japan from Korea in the sixth century, when teachers of Chinese came over from the Hermit Kingdom (now a Japanese province), bringing copies of some of the Chinese classics. The Chinese ideographs were in all probability originally hieroglyphics or picture signs ; to- day, after more than thirteen hundred years, it is still possible to see pictures in them. The study of Chinese spread rapidly among the Japanese, and many Chinese words were introduced into the language. With the opening of the country to trade, to foreign inventions, and to modern science, has arisen the necessity for a limitless addition of scientific terms. To meet this want, the Japanese have gone to Chinese, exactly as we have to Greek (as in telephone, phonograph, and the like), for terms relating to steam, electricity, and navigation. Words of Chinese origin now outnumber the purely native, for the process of borrowing is still going on ; any new idea that arises, such as automobile, is written d la chinoise - ji-do-sha (self -moving carriage). To represent the purely native elements of the language, the Japanese developed a system of characters called kana (borrowed names). These would somewhat resemble a European alphabet, were it not that the Japanese alphabet is not an alphabet at all, but a syllabary, with no means of representing any detached consonant except the letter n; consequently the kana is a very clumsy medium for representing the sound of an English word. A name like " Stopford Brooke " lengthens out into an extraordinary number of syllables when translated into Japanese : Su-top-pu-fo-ru-do Bu-ruk. " Milson " would require four symbols : Mi- ru-so-n. " Hotel " on Japanese lips and in Japanese print becomes Ho-te-ru — and this, by the way, is n,ow the common name for the better class of Japanese inns. 138 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN At the Japanese foreign restaurants the bill of fare contains soppu (soup), hoteretsu (cutlets), bifushiteki (beefsteak), jami, all English words shghtly Japanned by being written in the kana, each word being broken up into distinct syllables which are represented in the native writing by a symbol. The Eoman writing used by us gives the equivalent of these syllables. The whole structure of the language is opposed to European ideas, and although it is easy to pick up words and sentences for daily use, the mastery of the phraseology is a life study. The verbs come at the end of a clause, and as the sentences are long and involved, the intro- ductory details are apt to be forgotten by the time the final verb is reached. There are no articles, and pre- positions follow the words they govern; there is also no plural in the Japanese language, so that it is more correct to speak of " several geisha " or " all the amado " than of " several geishas " or " all the a/mados," as many writers do. Although so difficult to master, yet the language is easily pronounced and musical, all the Eoman letters, except ch, having the Italian values. There is no I in Japanese, this letter being considered a form of r, and so pronounced in Western provinces. To my huruma boy I was always the "rady" who " empfoyed " him, and he brought me " ramune " (lemonade) or lighted the " rampa " (lamp). There is also no Yes or No in the language, so that "Can do," "No can do," "Can go," No can go," are common Japanese expressions, and become part of one's life in the Sunrise Kingdom when giving daily orders to 'rikisha boys. Translations of their own phrases " Where-go," " "What-do," come naturally to the lips of coolies whose own language is supposed to contain only verbs and substantives; every Japanese boy first thinks out what he is going to say in his own language. LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION 139 then he translates his Japanese thought into English prose, and sometimes he achieves sm:prising results. If Tomo, my kurumaya, wished to go and wash his hands, he used to say, " Hands having washed will probably come. ' ' When he said " Ohayo ' ' (Good morning), he gene- rally added, "Bodily feelings good?" (I hope you feel well), and when he considered it was time for lunch, he gently insinuated that "honourable inside empty became." The pages of all modern Japanese books and news- papers are printed with a combination of Chinese characters and more or less of these Japanese syllabic signs or kana. All newspapers and all books, including the Japanese Bible intended for the uneducated, have the kana printed by the side of every Chinese character, so that its sound may be known even if readers have never seen it before. If the people were not helped in this way, a knowledge of at least three thousand Chinese characters would be required before they could read an ordinary newspaper. A well-educated student should know from five to six thousand ; in a word, he must spend ten years, studying hard all the time, before he has learnt to read sufficiently well to pursue his researches into science or philosophy. Few foreigners succeed in mastering the Chinese characters to such an extent that they can read and write them with ease. About five years ago there was some talk of abandoning them altogether and adopting Eoman letters ; but in a matter of such importance the Depart- ment of Education intends to make haste slowly, and any sudden change seems unlikely. Japanese in Eoman letters is being taught in all the higher elementary schools, however, and this may be the thin end of the wedge ; under the present system the Japanese student is too heavily handicapped in his pursuit of knowledge, and some modification must come in time. 140 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN The intricacies of the language are the more amazing when one remembers the simplicity of modes of life and thought in Japan ; and to add to the confusion, the lower, middle, and upper classes have each a different mode of expression, so that a superior tradesman cannot understand the Court language, and he will be offended if addressed in that of the lower classes. Once after staying for three months in native inns {{yadoyd), I returned to the Imperial Hotel at Tokyo feeling pleased that I could Speak to my room-boy in Japanese, but this very superior product of the capital calmly stigmatised my efforts as coolie-talk, and continued to reply in excellent English. His choice of expressions was sometimes unintentionally comical, however, as when he gravely gave the informa- tion that a friend had "gone out on Shanks' s mare." In Japanese conversation the equivalents of " you " and " I " are rarely heard, the idea being conveyed instead. In speaking of himself, a Japanese uses a phrase with a depreciatory meaning, such as " un worthi- ness " or " beneath notice," and when referring to you as his guest, he conveys a complimentary idea by the word " honourable." In this way, " Come in " may be translated as " Condescend honourably to enter unworthy house " ; " Good-night " becomes " To receive honourable sleep condescend," and "Please sit down "is expressed by the words, " A little honourably-to-place down." Even a dog gets the honorific prefix o, and if you call him, you say politely o ide, just as when addressing a child. The Japanese are not good linguists, and the necessity laid upon them to learn several languages if they are to cover the whole field of their activities, is a cruel task. To them Esperanto, or Volapiik, or some international language code, would come as a godsend. Just as to us their language is topsey-turvydom, from the strangely LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION 141 involved order, so the converse proposition must hold good, and our language must be all upside-down to them. But they are omniverous readers, and people grow accustomed in Dai Nippon to the room-boy in an hotel, or the 'rikisha coolie, pulling out a small dictionary on the least provocation and astonishing one with some far-fetched expression. I was, however, a httle surprised once after buying a kimono to receive an evening call from the young Japanese who had sold it to me, asking for an interview, or rather, as it was expressed, " to hang on my honourable eyes." It presently transpired that he desired to talk about literature, and to read "the very best English book." I suggested " Macaulay's Essays." "Oh! Lord Macaulay?" said the youth; "have read many times." I then mentioned several others, but this walking encyclopsedia had already purchased all those I named. And he is only one of thousands of such book- worms in Japan. The book par excellence is Smiles's " Self-Help," of which the Japanese translation is pronounced by a learned professor of Tokyo University to be better than the original. All Smiles's books are in great request, as are also Carlyle's " Heroes and Hero- Worship," Goldsmith's " The Vicar of Wakefield," Dickens's " Christmas Carol," Bunyan's " The Pilgrim's Progress," and Dumas' "Monte Cristo," which have all been translated into Japanese. Herbert Spencer's philosophy is also very popular, and " The History of Napoleon." There is no complete translation of Shakespeare, but " Julius Caesar," " The Merchant of Venice," and many other plays are to be had in the vernacular ; and Tennyson's "Enoch Arden " and Scott's "Lady of the Lake" and " Guy Mannering," represent their respective authors in the Sunrise Kingdom. Plato's " Symposium" 142 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN is in frequent request among the gilded youth of Japan : one wonders how many clerks in England have read it. The Bible is, sad to say, not popular, partly because the Japanese get confused between the many different expounders thereof — and do not know whether to become Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Bap- tists, or Eoman Cathohcs. "Plenty many topside-joss pidgin-man," as the Chinese call a clergyman in pidgin- English — and, by the way, how delightfully expressive is the translation, " God's business man " ; almost as much so as " the sky pilot " on the Hps of an English sailor. A student once said to me that the Japanese would never accept Christianity because it belittled filial piety, which they regard as one of the greatest virtues, and in support of his argument he quoted the verse that a man shall forsake his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. To the Japanese mind it is incomprehensible that any man should consider his wife more important than his mother and father, whom he reverences with the deepest feelings of his nature, and to whom that same wife is in subjection. Japanese books fully maintain the national reputation for upside-downness, for, as most people know, they begin at the end, and the pages read from right to left — not from left to right as ours do — and vertically instead of horizontally. A Japanese volume may be no longer than a magazine article, but the entire book — fiction, travel, or biography — may run to over a hundred volumes. A well-known novelist has published one of his books in 106 volumes, and he has written in all over 300 works. The Buddhist Scriptures of Japan fill 6,777 volumes, and as it would be impossible to read these Bibles during a lifetime, the pious one who wishes to have the credit of having done so without turning a page, adjourns to a LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION 143 temple where the volumes are kept in a huge revolving cylinder with capstan bars. He presses against the bars, and makes the library turn round three times, after which he is considered to have read all the volumes, and it is counted to him for righteousness. Education has been compulsory in Japan since 1871 — the year after it was made compulsory in England — and moral education is made the basis of school curriculums in a most striking way. The child's relations with its family, its fellows, and the State, provide the subjects for the earliest training, and the aim is to form the child's character, and make it realise itself, before teaching it definite facts and how to do things. Japan is a poor country, with insufficient money to spend on education, but much thought is given to the spending of that money. When a school is built, plans must be sent to the authorities to show that the site is suitable, and that there is adequate space for playgrounds, and a sample of the water must be forwarded. School-books must be printed in regulation type, with standard spaces between the words and lines, and the lines must not be more than a certain length, "to check the increase of myopy." During my stay in Japan, I was greatly struck by the way in which the welfare of the children is studied in every possible way, and in England we may well learn from our Par Eastern Allies to look after the little ones, morally and physically, for on them the future welfare of the country depends. The schools throughout the country are worked on an excellent system, and to a great extent European and American models have been followed. The Empress has come forward prominently as a patroness of the higher education of women, and Japanese students show intellectual ardour and eager receptiveness. All school- 144 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN girls wear the hakama, a sort of divided skirt, above the kimono, by order of the Empress, and they are now being educated according to the best methods of modem times. The " Three Little Maids from School " will not remain little much longer if they continue to indulge in athletic exercises, as they are now doing in all educational establishments throughout the Empire, fencing, gym- nastics, and musical drill being part of the daily repertoire. Many of the head mistresses have been educated in America, and they are introducing American ideas to an astonishing extent. The dear Uttle Japanese maid with Americanisms and the American accent tacked on to her dear little kimono is very funny, and there is no doubt that the influence of the Stars and Stripes is paramount in connection with education in Japan. In the case of the well-to-do classes, a child enters a primary school at six years of age ; six years afterwards (at twelve) he enters a middle school; five years later he enters a university; and in three or four years he graduates (at twenty or twenty-one). Great attention is paid to physical, as well as to mental, development, and one hour daily is devoted to drill, for which the Government supplies rifles. In the Military Academy for Cadets at T6ky5, army officers act as instructors for trapese exercises in the spacious parade-ground, and jajutsu and fencing are practised in a covered hall. Young Japan is certainly growing up taller and better developed than his father, and miUtary ardour is encour- aged from the earliest age. It is quite a common sight in Tokyo to come upon a squad of Httle fellows scarcely past babyhood drilling with wooden swords and toy belts and caps, while a mighty atom about six years old gives the word of command in a shrill treble voice. The Imperial University at Tokyo— called Daigaku or Greater Learning — consists of six colleges, in which are STUDENTS ON HOLIDAY IN THE INTERIOR. During the summer vacation at the Universities in Tolcyo and elsewhere, thousands of Japanese students take walking tours in the interior with staff in hand and knapsack on back. LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION 145 taught law and politics, literature, science, engineering, medicine, and agriculture on the German model, with 210 professors (almost all Japanese, the once numerous foreigners having been superseded), and 2,500 students. On this university alone the Government bestows annually a grant of £130,000, and it has also estab- lished throughout the country agricultural schools, laboratories, and stud-farms. Students are gradually adopting the European style of dress, and wear blue serge suits and peaked caps even in the country districts. It is a strange fact that intellectual qualities are apt to be rated higher than moral by the Japanese people. If a student is termed a liar by a friend or instructor, he merely laughs, for a clever liar is a clever fellow. But call him a fool or foolish, and he may want to kill you. There is a bitter flavour about their baka bakayero, which makes it much more than the equivalent of our " fool " ; while the word usotsuhi is but a weak rendering of our "liar." And so we find that Mr. Eox (Kitsune- san) enters largely into Japanese folk-lore, is highly esteemed for his cleverness, and is even honoured with temples. It is an undeniable fact that in education the Japanese are in advance of the Bnghsh, especially when the highest and lowest ranks in Japan are compared with the corresponding ranks in England. The chief reason for this seems to be that boys in England, as a class, are not particularly anxious to learn, whereas the Japanese of all ages are consumed by an ardent desire to extend their knowledge and improve themselves. Athletics play a very subordinate part in Japan compared to the prominence accorded to them in English public schools and colleges — learning comes first. Nothing is more remarkable in this remarkable people than their marvel- lous thirst for knowledge, and successful grappling with 10 146 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN the almost superhuman difficulty of a highly complex education, arranged on a different plane of thought from that to which their minds were habituated by previous bringing up and by heredity for over twenty centuries. The strange juxtaposition of Bast and West, of indi- genous and European civilisation, never ceases to impress one in modern Japan. But although she has welcomed all the various schools, and assimilated whatever ministered to her mental needs, yet her individuality has not been submerged beneath the tide of Western ideas, and she has been true to old tradi- tions in spite of repeated influxes of foreign thought; she has accepted the new without sacrificing the old, and the adoption of a foreign mode of thought has not so greatly affected the national life as is generally supposed. The management of her public schools shows an admir- able union of the best of English, American, and German methods, and the whole civilised world stands amazed at the changes that have^ come, and the barriers and prejudices that have given way, before the spread of education in Japan. CHAPTEE XI JAPANESE WOMEN, DBESS, AND FAMILY MATTEKS Japanese artistic sense of beauty — Loss of true perception of beauty and relation of colour in using foreign materials — European costume prescribed as the official dress — The old ceremonial Court dress — Assisting a lady of the Court to dress— False curls for the baroness — Town costume of gentlemen— Blacking of teeth — Too much paint and powder — Toilet box — Hair and hair- dressing — Chignon coiffure going out for women — Girls' names — Proper names — Two types of Japanese face — Heavy clogs — Serenity of Japanese women — Simple dress and housekeeping — The geisha, their wit and charm — The improved position of Japanese women — Nurses, clerks in railway ticket-offices, typists, and stenographers — Gravity of the children — Baby Buddhas — " Treasure -flowers '' — Girls' Festival on March 3rd — Boys' Festival on May 5th — Floating paper carp — Cicadas {send) — In Japan " they neither kiss nor cuss." ALTHOUGH the Japanese have put aside much of their mediaeval and Oriental picturesqueness in becoming one of the great civilised world-powers, they yet retain that romantic love of country and artistic sense of beauty which make them the most interesting people in the world ; and the land of the cherry-blossom is still fas- cinating and full of surprises to the present-day traveller, who never exhausts the exquisite charm of this Island Empire of the Far East. Up to the last week of my stay I was continually being confronted by something which had hitherto escaped my notice, although it might be wholly common in the life of the Japanese ; and the 147 148 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN union of art and beauty with all that is most modern in science is irresistibly attractive. Strangely enough, a true perception of the beauty and the relation of colour seems to forsake the Japanese when they use foreign materials, and the people who have all their life worn harmonious colours in their own picturesque national dress choose the most crude hues when they don European costume. This has been pre- scribed by Government as the official dress, and the Empress and her suite have adopted Western fashions, being followed to a certain extent by the up-to-date ladies of the capital. European clothes must indeed be trying to women accustomed only to the loose, simple, and comfortable garments of their own country, and the Imperial garden-parties have suffered sadly in picturesqueness by the change. The old ceremonial Court dress for ladies consisted of a loose divided skirt or hakama of the heaviest scarlet silk, under a long wide kimono of purple, brocaded -with crests of the Imperial chrysanthemum in white. No obi, or sash, was worn, and the neck was closed high with folds of silk, several xmdev-kimono of white and scarlet silk revealing themselves beneath the long, square sleeves of the rich brocade kimono, whilethe hair was dressed with camellia oil and rolled back from the face, falling stiffly behind. The wearer carried an old Court fan, composed of painted sticks of wood, wound vyith long cords of different coloured silks. Dazzling effects of colour, as may be imagined, were obtained with gold and silver brocades embroidered in colour, and, in these latter days of sombre, close-fitting gowns, a lover of beauty feels grateful to the few peeresses who make no concession to the new ways, and still appear at the Imperial garden- parties in brilliant old ceremonial dresses. On one occasion I assisted a Japanese lady of high WOMEN, DRESS, AND FAMILY MATTERS 149 degree — the wife of a Minister of State — to don her first Parisian toilette, preparatory to having an audience with the Empress. The lovely dress of grey silk, embroidered in white with the private crest of the Empress — the fuji or wistaria — was easily adjusted; but when it came to fixing the large picture hat trimmed en suite, we gladly availed ourselves of a small box of false curls, which were discovered at the bottom of the hat-box, placed there by the Paris modiste, who had thoughtfully provided for any deficiency in the Japanese coiffure. How amused we were, and how the dear little Baroness laughed, and appreciated the gift of a box of hair-curlers, which I sent next day. Her son, an officer in the Imperial Guard, was taught how to manipulate these, and he afterwards initiated his mother into the mystery. One thing may be noted, that Europeans who wear the kimono without knowing what each colour, fold, and cord signifies, look just as ridiculous to the Japanese as a Japanese lady who adopts European dress appears in our eyes. Horrified indeed was the expression on the face of my cicerone in Kyoto when I appeared in my first kimono, and she was obliged to point out to me that the kimono must be folded from left to right, and that it is only arranged from right to left in the case of a dead person. Although the Empress now wears only European dress, her gowns are of Japanese materials, and even her flounces are worked in Tokyo at the lace school started under her patronage. At indoor state functions, low bodices and court trains are de rigueur, and the Empress and Court ladies wear diamond tiaras, riviires, and brooches galore. The town costume of the Japanese gentleman consists of a loose silk robe or kimono, extending from the neck to the ankles, and gathered in at the waist, round which is 150 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN fastened a girdle or obi of brocaded silk, about 3 inches in width. Over this is worn a loose, wide-sleeved jacket, decorated with the wearer's armorial device. White cotton socks, cleft at the great toes, and wooden clogs complete the attire. The women wear a loose robe, overlapping in front, and fastened with a broad, heavy girdle of silk {obi), often of great value. In winter several of these robes are put on, one over the other. Hats are seldom worn, except by those who follow European fashions, or in the heat of summer. The poorer classes wear nothing more than a loose cotton gown, tied at the waist, and a loin-cloth, fre- quently working only in the loin-cloth. Indeed, during the summer heat, the airy costume adopted by the genial Japanese is decidedly of the impressionist kind, and his sartorial obligations are often limited to tattoo and a hat, although, occasionally, a cigarette may be added. The custom of blacking the teeth, which used to be in vogue among married women, is fortunately fast going out of fashion in the Japan of to-day. Why or how it ever came in is a puzzle, for surely of all barbaric practices it is the most disfiguring. Unfortunately, however, the women still cling to the excessive use of paint and powder, especially o shiroi (honourable whitewash) , and the consequence is that the faces of few Japanese women of thirty present a healthy appearance. Modern education is, however, bearing good fruit in this, as in other allied matters, and of late years a great improvement has certainly taken place in the towns. Considering her love of detail, it might be thought that a Japanese lady's toilet arrangements would be of a com- plicated and extensive order. But such is not the case, TATTOO AND A HAT. Grooms in a racing stable at Yokohama. Tattooing is now illegal. To face i\ ISO. WOMEN, DRESS, AND FAMILY MATTERS 151 for the whole can be packed away in a box measuring 1 foot long, 6 inches broad, and from 2 to 3 inches deep. Such a box will hold a small looking-glass, and some three or four combs of different sizes, made of wood, and remarkably plain ; a small razor, a pair of scissors, and another of pincers; pots of hair-oil, rouge and face-powder; some paper strings for tying up the hair, and perhaps a lock or two of false hair. Hair- brushes are unknown, and jewellery is not worn. A Japanese woman's hair is invariably glossy black, with a beautiful blue-black metallic lustre about it, and as it is kept soft with much washing and ointments, it makes up well. Camellia oil is perhaps the favourite of all oils for the hair, but when the more complicated kinds of coiffure have to be built up, a sort of gummy preparation is found necessary. The former universal chignon coiffure of the women, stiff with oil, which was done up by the hairdresser once or twice a week, is rapidly giving place to the simpler Grecian knot. Few Japanese ladies care about employing professional hair- dressers, for the latter are sad gossips, and often create considerable mischief. But women of the lower classes delight in visiting the hairdresser's, and two or three of them may often be seen sitting together in public, waiting for their turn, and all the while talking scandal. When a girl is seventeen years of age she gives up wearing flowers in her hair, but she may retain bows and rosettes for ten years longer, although these get smaller and smaller as she grows older. How poetical are the names given by this nature-loving and flower-worship- ping people to their daughters ! Haru San (spring), Yuki San (snow), Hana San (blossom), Kihu San (chrysanthemum), cho San (butterfly), ShiJca San (antelope), Ume Sam (plum), O Tsura Sam (crane), 152 HIGHWAYS AJSTD HOMES OF JAPAN Yuri 8cm (lily), and many others as pretty rise to my memory. The personal names borne by men are interesting. Corresponding to our Christian or given name is the zoJcumyo or tsusho, the " common " name. An eldest son is tard, a second son is jird, a third son is sahuro — thus " Kentaro," " Ichijiro," " Tsunesaburo " — or the apel- lation is used without a prefix, as " Shichiro "for a seventh son. Closely allied to the tsusho is the nanori, vrhich V7as formerly associated v^ith religion, and used only on solemn occasions. These nanori or jitsumyo, however, came into ordinary use, and displaced the zohumyo. Examples are " Masashige," " Tamotsu." The family name or surname became general only in mediaeval times, and is usually local in its origin, as Nishimura, " west village " ; Tanaha, " among the rice- fields," Oyama, "large mountain." There are ancient, aristocratic family names, like Minamoto or Tachihana, but these have now become widely diffused, and merged into the uji or mydji or ordinary surnames. Noms de guerre are common, especially for literary men, artists, actors, and the like. Thus Danjuro is not a real name, but only an " artistic name" for the man who ranked as the Garrick of the modern Japanese stage. There are two distinct types of Japanese face. That which we see in art designs is the aristocratic and rarer type, with an oval face, a well-shaped nose, and slightly oblique eyes ; the expression is immobile or reserved. The commoner type is round-faced, flat-nosed, and good- humoured in expression. The heavy clogs (geta) they use, and their habit of carrying young brothers and sisters, cause the women to have excessively thick ankles and flat feet, and they lose any pretensions to good looks after the first bloom of youth is over; but, as young IN WINTER DRESS, A dear little shaven-pated baby looking out on life from the folds of his mother's kimono A winter coat arranged for a baby is called namcUo and the head covering is ziiUii, To face p. 153, WOMEN, DRESS, AND FAMILY MATTERS 153 girls, with rosy cheeks and fascinating manners, they are very attractive, and the children are always lovable and bright. The habitual sweetness and serenity of Japanese women is most noticeable, and is to be accounted for by the fact that they are not weighted with small worries. The fashion of their dress remains always the same, and on that subject they are saved much anxiety as to whether sleeves are worn high on the shoulders, or full at the elbows, and such minutise. Then, too, all housekeeping in Japan is immensely simplified, for there are no knives, forks, tables, chairs, or beds to be cleaned and dusted daily. Besides this, the custom of always taking off clogs or shoes worn in the street and leaving them outside the house before entering, keeps out all dirt and mud. Formerly Japanese women were depicted by writers of fiction as soulless dolls, but this erroneous idea has been exploded long ago ; common-sense teaches that such inane personalities could never have produced the heroes of Mukden and Port Arthur ; and although the Japanese wife has hitherto been a study in self-effacement, self- extinction, and passivity, her position is gradually changing, and a new idea of the elevation of woman is developing throughout the country. Hitherto the Japanese men have had to depend on the geisha class for the delights of female society, just as the Athenians of Pericles' day looked to the Hetaira ; for Japanese wives were not taught accomplishments, and when entertainment was required resort was had to these geisha or singing girls, who amused men by their witty conversation and personal charm. The geisha are a class apart, and stand half-way between actors and yujo (ladies of the Yoshiwara), their social status being that of a Parisian actress ; indeed they practically take the place 154 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN of actresses, who were by convention banished from the Japanese stage. They wear flowers in their hair, and are attired as ordinary Japanese ladies, and not in the brilliant colours affected by the yujo. Western influence has been most felt in the elevation of women, and perhaps this is the noblest message that Christianity has given. It is from a female divinity, the Sun Goddess, that the Mikado traces his lineage, and female sovereigns reigned in Japan even when there were male candidates. As late as 1763, a female Mikado ascended the throne of her fathers ; since the Eestoration tlie Japanese have not only confirmed the equality of the sexes in law, but they have adopted that attitude of respect which the West pays to women. After the Eusso-Japanese War of 1904—1905, Japan faced the problem of what is to be done with her super- fluous women, for in many thousands of homes the bread-winner did not return, and throughout the Empire women were forced to work for their living as they had never done before. They have brought all their natural shrewdness to bear on their new position, and they have adapted themselves to professions for which they are naturally fitted, such as nursing and medicine ; and at railway stations they are now employed as clerks in the ticket offices, and in shops as typists. Certainly as steno- graphers and typists Japanese women should excel, for shorthand is taught in all girls' schools and in the Women's University, and the pupils show remarkable facility in mastering it, notwithstanding the peculiar difficulties of Japanese shorthand. In this land of topsy-turveydom, I sometimes wondered if the children were the grown-ups, and the grown-ups the children ; for the tiny bundles of humanity carried pickaback seemed much more solemn, grave, and con- templative than their laughing elders, who chattered 5>xr WOMEN, DRESS, AND FAMILY MATTERS 155 and made fun like a pack of irresponsible school- children. The babies witness everything that goes on, and the mothers or sisters, on whose back they are carried, pursue their wonted occupations regardless of the burden behind. A little girl of seven or eight may often be seen playing at battledore or skipping-rope, and jumping and running about, with a baby on her back sleeping peacefully through all the noise ; and those who are too small to carry real babies have big dolls strapped on in similar fashion. As soon as she can walk alone, the little Japanese girl has her doll tied on in this way, and learns to carry it steadily and carefully, before she is trusted with her baby brother or sister. The game of life is played out in all its moves before these baby Buddhas with shaven crowns and wise serene countenances, who watch everything with their black beads of eyes, and take part in shopping, cooking, washing, gossiping, and all the affairs of life. Nippon babies are called " treasure-flowers," a pretty and poetical idea worthy of the land where the people hang poems in praise of the blossoms on plum-trees — a land which is truly, as Sir Rutherford Alcock calls it, " The Paradise of Babies." They swarm everywhere in the most crowded thoroughfares, never rebuked, never ill-treated, never in the way, with grave, formal manners, looking like dignified burlesques as they toddle along in their flowing gowns and long sleeves. I often longed to hug and caress them as I would an English baby, but alas ! any such liberty would be attended with disastrous consequences, their fear of strangers being almost unconquerable. The Japanese inherit a democratic impurity of blood from their mixed ancestors — the Mongols and Malays — scrofula being prevalent everywhere; so that although 156 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN their personal cleanliness does much to keep down this evil, skin diseases are spread by the universal custom of shaving their babies' heads, and the mothers do nothing to stop v?hat they regard as an evil spirit coming out of the child. They love to dress their " treasure-flowers " in the gayest colours imaginable, like walking dolls, red being pre-eminently the colour of youth in Dai Nippon ; and a crowd of children in their holiday clothes is like a moving kaleidoscope of parroquets or butterflies. Two days in the year are specially set apart — March 3rd for girls, and May 5th for boys. During the girls' Festival of Dolls (Hina Matsuri) each family dons its richest clothing and keeps open house for a week ; and numbers of costly dolls that have been handed down from generation to generation, vrith their rice-bowls, teapots, miniature tables, and other household furniture, are dis- played in a row, food and gifts being placed before each. These gorgeous images are dressed in correct costumes representing the Emperor, Empress, and nobles of the old Kyoto Court. May 5th is gala-time for the boys, and children's parties and picnics prevail. From every house in which a boy has been born during the year, or where there are young boys, a bamboo pole is suspended, bearing a huge hollow paper carp (nobori), symbolic of success in surmounting life's difficulties. The boys' effigies are those of heroes, generals, gods of strength, and wrestlers, and their toys are the weapons of a daimyo's armed procession. In the present day Japanese children play most of the time-honoured children's games of the West, such as " prisoner's base," "fox and geese," and "tag," and the boys are adepts in the art of kite-flying, while the girls blow soap-bubbles {tamaya) in the daytime, and hunt fire-flies {hotaru-gari) at dusk, with circular fans, pursuing WOMEN, DRESS, AND FAMILY MATTERS 157 myriads of these flickering lights as they drift over the rice-fields in the warm, heavy air. In summer-time they go out a-fishing day after day for semi (cicadas), which they catch on the trees, snaring them with a rod and bird-lime; and they carry home these vociferous grass- hoppers in small bamboo cages, content to hang them up and listen to them chirping " mi-mi-mi " all day long. This sport is called mushi-gari (hunting grasshoppers). Young Japan ceases to be interesting when he dons a flat cap, European shoes, and blue spectacles, but in babyhood he is irresistible ; and my heart went out to these dear little shaven-pated picaninnies, placid and plump, looking out on life from the folds of their mother's kimono, with tiny twinkling almond eyes and funny little snub noses. Tranquil and serene is the ordinary atmosphere of Japan, and gentle and courteous are its delightful little people, whose equability is such that they do not require one " swear word" in their whole vocabulary. For this is a land where "they neither kiss nor cuss," where one never hears a coolie quarrelling nor a baby squalling, where peace always reigns. CHAPTBE XII MAEBIAGES, FUNERALS, AND OTHEE FOBMALITIES Choice of a wife — Use of an intermediary {nakodo) — The secret glimpse (mim) — Lucky and unlucky days for weddings — Bride- groom's gifts — Eeturn gifts from the parents of the bride — The ceremony, smiscmkudo or " three-times-three " — Kobe worn by the bride — The marriage feast — Entertainment given a week later — Marriage a business contract — Ideal wife submissive to husband — Divorces easily obtained — Etiquette of funerals — Funeral processions — Funeral gifts — Visits to the grave — After observances — The Japanese are a punctilious people — Men's etiquette is of first importance — Introductions — Meetings on the street — Visiting — Universal giving of presents — Polite conver- sation — ^Etiquette of the tea-table — The spirit of politeness prevails everywhere in Japan. WHILE Japan is by far the most liberal country in the Orient in respect to her treatment of women, yet the haphazard individualism that so often determines choice in marriage among Occidentals is naturally absent. The selection of a wife is a very serious matter for the whole family, for the young wife comes into the larger household, and has to accommodate herself to all its conditions. Japan is a land of mothers- in-law, who rule the roost, and a girl when she marries really enters upon a long apprenticeship where her husband's mother is the reigning spirit. The choice of a husband or wife is left to the parents of the young people. When a son attains a suitable age, 158 MARRIAGES AND OTHER FORMALITIES 159 his parents, with his concurrence, ask their friends to inquire after a wife. As soon as a friend hears of a girl who might suit, he makes full inquiries regarding her character and daily conduct, and then reports to the parents of the young man. If the parents are satisfied, they appoint some friend known as ndkodo to settle matters. Marriages conducted without a nahodo or intermediary are not uncommon in Japan, but as yet the results have hardly been such as to justify a departure from the national custom. It is the duty of the intermediary to go to the parents of the girl and propose an alliance, and a direct refusal to such an overture is considered very rude, even where the parents are unwilling to enter into terms. Consequently, a few days are usually allowed for a full consideration of the matter, and during this time inquiries are made regarding the character and conduct of the young man. If the parents of the girl are in their turn satisfied, they inform the intermediary of their compliance, and he arranges for the miai, or secret glimpse. On this critical day the girl goes in all her finery, accompanied by her mother and an attendant, to some public place, say to the garden of a Shinto temple. The young man is there already, expecting her arrival, and, seated on the bench of a tea-house, observes the party as it goes by. He is pointed out to the girl, who casts a short glance at him ; and if both are pleased, the wedding-day is fixed without delay. Sometimes the rmai may take place in a neighbour's house or at the theatre, and if it has been satisfactory, the intermediary calls next day at the bride's house with presents, in token that all is arranged. The calendar registering the days on which a marriage is unlucky and lucky is said to be of Buddhist origin, as we hear of no such thing in primitive Japan, and a priest 160 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN in China, named Ichigyo-Ajiari, gets the credit of having originated the superstition, which was imported into Japan full-blown. Kwemmu Tenno published an edict in condemnation of it, but like most edicts of this kind it did little good ; and these days continued to be inserted in calendars until the reign of the present Emperor, whose Government has exerted itself to suppress this and similar absurd publications. But a superstition which took firm hold of the minds of people so long ago as eleven centuries will not die out immediately, and lucky days continue to be preferred. There is a par- ticular dislike to the month of May, as in the Occident, for there are no lucky days in that month. Our marrying month of June is also taboo, however, as are January and November. In October people do not think of undertaking a wedding or betrothal, for all the gods are supposed to be absent visiting the gods of Izumo. Wedding presents are in order as in European countries, and the bridegroom sends gifts, not only to his future wife, but also to her father and mother, who in turn send gifts to his parents. About five days before the wedding, the bride's belongings are sent to her future home, and the messengers on this occasion expect to receive a present in money, and to have some food provided for them. The near relatives of both parties, and often the inti- mate friends of the bridegroom, are invited to the wedding, and on the eventful day the fathers of the young couple station themselves in the evening at the entrance of the bridegroom's house, and await the arrival of the bride in norimono, jinriMsha, or basha (carriage). She is forthwith conducted to the room where her paraphernalia were carried a few days A COURT LADY IN OLD CEREMONLAL WEDDING DRESS. The broad white fillet (the sign of ShiniO) corresponds to our wedding veil, and is removed after the ceremony, just as the veil is lifted. Note the brocaded tobacco- pouch tucked into the kimono, and containinjj the kiscrii or tiny doll's pipe which Japanese ladies from the highest to the lowest always carry. (By permission.) To face p. i6i— MAERIAGES AND OTHER FORMALITIES 161 previously, and here she rests awhile and arrays herself in her wedding garments. The really important ceremony then follows in a private room, where only the intermediary, who is always a married man, and his wife, are allowed to be present with the young couple. Two young friends, a boy and a girl, are also present in the capacity of attendants. Each person present is provided with a peccdiarly shaped, highly ornamented, and symbolic vessel containing saM, and the intricate ceremony which follows is called sanscmkudo, or " three-times-three." The participants drink from three shallow cups of graduated size, which rest in an inverted position, the one above the other, upon a special form of tray, the smallest being undermost. The intermediary, who sits facing his wife, with the bride and bridegroom on the right and left, presents the tray and cups to the bride. She lifts the uppermost cup and holds it before her, while the young attendants, one on each side, simultaneously pour in a little sakS, which she then drinks. The cup now passes to the bridegroom, to whose side the young attendants move ; and the same operation is performed. It then passes back again to the bride, and so on to and fro, till each one has gone through the ceremony three times. The first cup is then removed, and exactly the same series of operations is gone through with the second cup, and finally with the third. The bride is expected to wear a white silk robe called shirormiku, and to have on her head the watabo katsugi, a long veil descending nearly to her feet. The white dress is said to signify that the bride means to die in her husband's house, and will never be divorced. The bridegroom wears a suit called kamishimo, consisting of a loose coat and trousers. During the celebration of the scmsankudo the guests 11 162 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN assemble in the principal room, which is gaily lit up with candles, and they take their seats in the order which their intimacy with the two families and their social position may warrant. Then the bride is conducted into the room by the wife of the intermediary, and the bride- groom by the intermediary himself, and the newly married pair then drink the sakadzuki with the guests in turn. The feast is generally begun in silence. When it is all served, and the sah& has gone round freely, the company breaks into mirth and laughter, and the intermediary sings a song of joy. Every one in the room then offers congratulations, and music, dancing, and other amuse- ments follow. As the guests leave, they are not accom- panied to the door by the host, for on the occasion of a marriage or death this courtesy is dispensed with. During my second visit to Japan I was most anxious to be present at a Japanese marriage. I found, however, that it was an unheard-of thing for a foreigner to receive an invitation to the actual ceremony, and the utmost that a friend in the Foreign Of&ce at Tokyo was able to do for me, was to send me a card for the entertainment which is always given about a week after the wedding in the bride's house. Accordingly I dressed myself suitably in dark blue, for bright colours are not worn by married women in Japan — on one occasion I unwittingly offended against the canons of good taste by calling on the wife of one of the ministers carrying a red parasol — and I spent a thoroughly enjoyable time among the relatives and friends of the happy couple. Congratulations were offered to them as in Europe^ and " all went merry as a marriage-bell " ; indeed, I never saw the customary minutiae of rigid etiquette obtrude themselves so little as at that festive gathering. From all this it will readily be understood that marriage in Japan is not a love match as we understand MARRIAGES AND OTHER FORMALITIES 163 it, but a business contract. The wife is not a comrade and helper, but a convenience — patient and self-sacri- ficing, and combining all the accomplishments of cook, housemaid, and valet in one. Formerly she was kept entirely in the background; she did not even sit down in her husband's presence, and she walked a few paces behind him in the street. In a word, the ideal Japanese wife submits to everything, resents nothing, and serves her husband on bended knee. In the lower ranks of society the position of the wife is relatively superior, and the wife of a poor man is treated almost as his equal, while the wife of a great man is his very humble servant. The lot of a high-born Japanese woman is through life a very humble one, for she is always subservient to some man, and, following the rule of Confucius, has to yield not only obedience but humble service as well, first to her father, then to her husband, and finally to her eldest son. It is tragic when a girl who has received a liberal education and acquired European ideas and accomplish- meijts marries a man steeped in the ancient customs of his country, narrow-minded and unprogressive. Such a girl finds no scope for her new energies and aspirations, her life with her husband is "cribbed, cabined, and confined," and although she submits and obeys, her heart often breaks in the process. Suffragettes would have a poor chance in Japan, where the Government does not permit women to attend political meetings, lest pontics should injure the domestic graces. Divorces are easily obtained, and the nuptial tie is little respected among the poor ; but women of the well-to-do classes are modest and virtuous. It has been reckoned that one in every three, or 33 per cent., of Japanese marriages end in divorce. The seven reasons for divorce are the ordinary ones, as with us, leprosy, a 164 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN woman's disabedience to her father-in-law or mother-in- law, her barrenness, jealousy, stealing, and talking too much or disrespectfully. A great change is taking place in the cities, where the more enUghtened and educated have come out of their guarded seclusion and are adopting European home-life. If his wife is in European dress, a Japanese will now allow her to walk beside him, and will show her courtesy — but when she is in kimono and geta, she is still the Oriental wife, a devoted slave to him, and his father and mother, and any elder brothers and their wives who may live in the house. In travelling by rail one often now sees a Japanese husband kind and considerate, and paying his wife all the petits soins characteristic of Western civilisation. Turning from marriages to funerals, the Japanese people show great respect for their departed friends, and funerals are carried out with much ceremony. Those who attend a funeral are expected, as in the Occident, to wear only black, and any colour or ornament is regarded as out of place. They present themselves at the house one hour later than the time mentioned in the invitation, and always carry presents with them, enclosed in a paper bag and tied with a mauve midzushiki. The immediate relatives of the deceased, both male and female, are dressed in white : they have spent the night in sleepless watching — the " wake." As the procession moves off to the temple the following order is observed. First comes the officiating priest, either on foot or borne in a chair. Then follows the coffin, which is accompanied by the male children of the deceased, bearing vasps of flowers, and the ihai, a small stand on which is inscribed the name of the dead man — his posthumous name, which goes down to posterity. These ihm have been in use since the eighth century, and A JAPANESE FUNERAL. The symbolic lotus plays an important part in all funerals. A JAPANESE FUNERAL. To face p. 1C4. MARRIAGES AND OTHER FORMALITIES 165 came in after the introduction of Buddhism. Behind the relatives are the friends, according to degrees of intimacy. On arrival at the temple, the coffin is taken into the central hall, and the priests, clad in their richest robes, perform the funeral rites, chanting in Sanscrit from the sacred books. The religious service finished, the relatives, and after them the friends of the deceased, advance to the coffin and burn some incense tapers before it ; then bowing several times reverently, they return to their seats. The coffin is thereupon carried to the grave, and all the mourners cast a handful of earth upon it after it is lowered into its resting-place. Next day, the women of the family, dressed in white, pay a visit to the grave. Formerly it was usual for a family in which the father, mother, grandfather, or grandmother had died, to stay at home for fifty days, the tomb being visited daily by one at least of their number. Once a week the Buddhist priest comes to read to them out of the sacred books, and once a week, also, they entertain their friends, who bring presents with them, in order that the family may not be put to too great expense. The first, third, seventh, thirteenth, thirty- third, fiftieth, and hundredth anniversaries of the death are always religiously observed by the lineal descendants. Even the poorest manage to obtain a gravestone, which may be either a solid granite monument with an elaborate carved Buddha, or a simple upright stone pillar inscribed with the " dead name " of the deceased. But whether they belong to rich or poor, the narrow streets of the dead are exquisitely neat. I never visited a Japanese graveyard without seeing numbers of visitors who were arranging fresh flowers in the bamboo flower- holders or were lighting fresh incense sticks beside the tomb. Posthumous names are conferred after death, some of the most celebrated names in Japanese history 166 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN being posthumous titles, never borne by the individuals when alive. Japan is the home of formalities, and the Japanese observe the minutias of etiquette with the utmost care. The actual forms of good breeding differ in many respects from those followed in the West. In the first place, the hand is not used for salutation. Japanese hands are not particularly pleasant to the touch, as they are usually kept moist in the bosom. The large, open sleeves allow the wearer to slip his hands under his kimono ; and he uses them for the purpose of keeping his body warm. In rooms during the cold weather — and the vdnters all over the main island are apt to be very cold — the guests huddle round the charcoal brazier and toast their fingers, not their feet. Salutations never include handshaking. When a Japanese observes a friend approaching, the first thing he does is to remove any wrapping he may have about his neck. The act has often a comical effect to a foreign newcomer, who wonders as he notes the seriousness with which a Japanese acquaintance sets about unwinding his big muffler. But it is impossible to prevent him from proceeding with the operation, and when he is relieved of this incubus he steps a few paces to the right, places his hands on his knees and bows respectfully, inclining his body at a right angle, and at the same time drawing in his breath, as a sign of respectful attention. On entering a friend's house, a Japanese gentleman places both hands on the mat, with the thumbs and index fingers touching each other, and kneeling with the back not too high, bows respectfully, and asks after the health of his friend and of his family. It is polite to bow repeatedly, and in cases where the acquaintanceship is slight^ the bow is made without speaking. In talking with an old man, with one higher in rank, with parents MARRIAGES AND OTHER FORMALITIES 167 or with teachers, a young man does not sit erect, but bending forward, rests his hands on the mats. Young people when out walking with their parents, with their elder brother or elder sister, must follow behind, at a distance of one or two paces ; and when a man is walking with one of higher rank, he is also expected to walk a little behind him. In walking on the street, or through the passages of a house, a Japanese prefers to keep to the left side. Formerly, when swords were worn, to pass to the right of another was to incur the danger of striking him with the sword, and so the rule to keep to the left became a universal one, and applies now to jinrikisha on the common way. Thus the English, and not the French, rule of the road holds good in Japan. The rules for calling differ slightly in various parts of the country. In most places, when a Japanese visits a friend or relative with whom he is not very intimate, he takes a present with him, and if there are young children, he never fails to remember them and take some small gift. In visiting a man of high rank, he carries with him a calling card, or " name-paper" as he calls it, on which his address is written. When he enters the friend's house, he takes his seat humbly at the entrance to the room until the master of the house prevails on him to come forward. Etiquette demands that he should refuse several times before yield- ing to the host's solicitations, so he continues to say, " This is quite sufficient, thank you ; please do not trouble." This deprecating manner is known as kenson, and is very highly praised by ancient Chinese philo- sophers, by whom it is reckoned among the most valuable of the virtues, and in Japan one who behaves in this humble and decorous fashion is looked upon as a kuM-sM, or gentleman. 168 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Conversation is commenced by the visitor asking pardon for having neglected to visit the host for so long a time. He then expresses his gratification at the con- tinued health and happiness of his friend and his friend's family, and taking out the presents he has brought, he offers them, saying, "Here is a trifle that I hope you vpill deign to accept," and bowing during the intervals between speaking. Meanwhile the host has offered tea, cake, and smoking materials, which, however, it is good form not to touch immediately after they are offered, but to wait a little. The deprecating manner applies to the whole time of the conversation. Say that the host has recently lost his wife, and that his guest offers condolences, he may even pass the matter off with a laugh, as if to say, " Do not let my griefs cause you melancholy." Everything he has is belittled so that his guest may feel no chagrin. Money must never be paid to an acquaintance except under cover — this is a most binding rule, and holds good with everything, not merely with presents. Of course, Japan is the land of gifts, or shmjo, which are always in evidence, although servants seem the worse for receiving them, and serve less diligently for a space of time after- wards. A good servant is never bought with shinjo, however valuable ; you must gain the respect of your Japanese boy in order to hold him. The present which a Japanese takes with him in visiting a friend whom he sees only at intervals usually consists of tea, cakes, candles, or some of the products of his native district, and the paper in which it is wrapped is tied with a string called midzushiki, coloured white and red, in which a small spear-headed piece of paper known as no-shi, is fixed on the right-hand comer. The characters for so-Mn (trifles) are vrritten on the upper half, with the name of the giver on the lower half. MARRIAGES AND OTHER FORMALITIES 169 When a friend or relative leaves home on a journey or to reside in a distant place, it is right to offer him a present, called hana-muke or sen-betsu, which generally consists of money or of articles which may prove useful in his travels or in his future place of residence. But presents in money are apt to give offence, as they are usually made only to inferiors, and great care must be taken in offering such. As regards the etiquette of the table at a Japanese tea- party, the cake must be picked up with the chopsticks, put in a piece of paper, and broken as bread is eaten at a European dinner. Polite people divide it into two pieces, and eat the right piece first, and they are careful to carry sheets of paper with them for this purpose. A well-known writer says that "etiquette is the Kaiser of Japan," and certainly no Berlin officials, civil or military, could be more punctilious in matters of ceremony than the Japanese in similar positions. Polite- ness is the keynote to etiquette in the Land of Gentle Manners, where " Suaviter in modo " is a motto seldom forgotten, and the people in general hate, above all things, to act or speak with unnecessary harshness or roughness. Formerly, when the two-sworded men could cut down any peasant or underling who showed insolence, it paid to be excessively courteous, and among these samurai themselves there was much formal courtesy, as became honourable warriors. To-day the spirit of politeness still prevails everywhere, and invades the empire of the commonplace, investing the ordinary acts of daily life with poetic delicacy and refinement, and lending a charm to the most prosaic precepts and practices of this utilitarian and industrial age. CHAPTER XIII FEASTS AND FESTIVALS New Year Festival — Symbolism of the pine-trees, ferns, fruits, &c., used in decoration — Battledore and shuttlecock — Popu- larity of " mimics " — Open-air fairs — The mochi cakes — The Bon Matswri, the Festival of the Dead — Ancestral tablets {ihoA) — lUuminatioris at Kyoto — Quaint minor festivals — Wayside comedy and tragedy — Procession with pots — Buddha's birthday bath — Faith and works — The Twnahata Festival, to insure good caligraphy — The Moon-gazing Feast — The Laughing Festival — The Good Luck Festival — " Days of the Bird," &o.— The festival of the fox— Inari, the rice-goddess — Eeligious festival at the great Inari Temple, Kyoto — The opening of the river, the great summer festival at Tokyo — A moving panorama. THERE are about a dozen public holidays in Japan, when banks and schools and public offices are closed, but for the people each month has some special festival (matsuri), celebrated more or less universally throughout the country. The greatest of all is that of the New Year, and at no time is Tokyo more fascinating than during Christmas week, when preparations for this Festival are in progress, and the rigid and minute etiquette which governs every act of Japanese life is brought prominently before the eyes of the stranger. Every evening we sallied forth to visit the different out-of-door fairs at the temples of Asakusa, Kanda, and Shiba, and watched the holiday-makers crowding round the stalls, eager to 170 FEASTS AND FESTIVALS 171 securfe for themselves health, wealth, and happiness in the coming year, by the purchase of trifles — light as air but full of symbolic meaning — with which the houses were to be decorated. At these fairs might be bought " ships of happiness " made of plaited grass, laden with bags of rice to denote wealth, and daintily decorated with bits of pine and the inevitable scarlet lobster, this whole shipload of bliss costing 15 sen, or about 3Jd. Before New Year's Day, each doorway was decorated with an arch of evergreens and flowers, which, like everything else in Japan, had to be arranged with due regard to symbolic meaning. The me-matsu, with its reddish stem, is placed on the right, the o-matsu, or black pine, on the left, and behind these, as another emblem of hale old age, are grouped cut bamboos (take-no-ike). These bamboos are usually 6 feet apart, and are bound together with grass rope {natoa), while tassels of rice straw are festooned across to keep out evil spirits. Above the lintel are fastened the symbolical rice-cake, a scarlet lobster or yebi whose crooked back signified bent old age, a lemon representing a prosperous family tree, seaweed to bring good fortune, a fern leaf tjrpical of happy married life, the fronds springing in pairs from the stem, and gohei, curious strips of white paper, the sign of Shmto. The Japanese taste for punning, like the play upon words in English heraldry, shows itself here as everywhere else : a small piece of charcoal {svmi) finds a place on the arch solely because the word swmi has the second meaning of " homestead." Over each door two Japanese flags of silk crape, showing a red sun on a white ground, are crossed in compliance with the police regulation for high-days and holidays throughout the Empire. Last comes a lucky bag, made of white paper, tied 172 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN with a red-and-white string — the colours used in making a gift. The fuJeudzutsumi, as it is called, contains roasted chestnuts, herring roes, and some seeds of the torreya nucifera, such as are used in making sweetmeats, and a stock of dried persimmons. These New Year arches are allowed to remain for a week, and are then cut down ; in some places they are removed on the 3rd day of January. In addition to the green arch, there is another favourite decoration which shows how highly things maritime are esteemed by the people of Japan. Pishing and fisher- men — boats and nets — sea organisms of all kinds — come into the daily life everywhere, except perhaps in the remotest and most sparsely populated mountain districts. So luck at the New Year naturally takes the form of a Lucky Ship, the Kaikoku-jime, made of twisted straw, and containing representations of bales of grain, bits of green, and small ornaments. On the second night of the New Year I was instructed to do as every one else did, and sleep on an image of takara buni, the ship of riches containing the ef&gies of the Seven Gods of Wealth. This is supposed to insure good fortune and good dreams throughout the year, and the people take other precautions to avert ill-luck, which recall to mind the superstitions of the auld wives of the Western Hebrides. The favourite game at the New Year season is the picturesque Japanese battledore and shuttlecock (oibane). Gaily dressed in their finest kimono and obi, the girls send the little black-and-white winged shuttlecocks into the air, all the while singing a song : — " Hito-go in futa-go — mi watashi yo-me-go. Itsu yom musashi-nanatsu no yakushi Knktyno-1/a ia — to iiti'' Kokono-ya ja — to yo. FEASTS AND FESTIVALS 173 These verses count the numerals up to ten, hitq being " one," and to " ten." Another diversion is mumming ; a boy covers his head with a shishi or hon's mask, and dances about, to the great amusement of the youngsters. The Japanese have a pronounced predilection for the grotesque, and the most popular amusements at this time are representations by single " artists " or v^hole groups, whose great achieve- ments consist in extraordinary contortions of the limbs and faces. The one who can imitate best the grotesquely carved images of the "god of riches" pleased or scowling, according as he has found treasure or not — and the popular household god, Daruma — of a most mournful cast of countenance — is sure of a clamorous reception from the audience. Amongst these " mimics " the most renowned formerly was Morimoto, who produced astounding effects with his facial contortions, raising his lips and chin above the tip of the nose, and burying his mouth in the folds of his cheeks. His successors practise the art after much the same fashion, and their efforts seem to be greatly appreciated by the people of Tokyo during the New Year celebrations. The flower appropriate to the New Year is the ruddy plum-blossom, which appears above the snow, and is the promise of the more highly esteemed cherry-blossom. The streets of Tokyo are crowded night after night with merry-makers, roaming aimlessly and happily from one picturesque booth to another, lanterns and torches flaring brilliantly and casting strange flickering shadows on the wares exhibited, so that the commonest objects look weird and fantastic; and at these night-fairs I picked up all manner of quaint articles in use among humble folk, which were pretty and ingenious and not to be seen in the ordinary shops. The New Year Festival comes to an end on 174 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN January 11th, when the mochi cakes, which were made a fortnight before amidst dancing and laughter, are cut up and eaten. I can hardly describe them as palatable, for it is difficult to imagine anything tougher or more indigestible, and they are not likely to be introduced into this part of the world to add to the gaiety of our English New Year. Next to the New Year Festival in popular estimation stands the Bon Matsuri, the Festival of the Dead, which is celebrated in the middle of August. According to Buddhist belief, the spirits of the dead then return to their earthly homes for three days, visiting their families and being welcomed by them. The front of every house in which a death has occurred during the year is decorated vnth lanterns and paper strips. Inside, offerings of food and lighted tapers are set before the miniature household shrines, and the ihai (ancestral tablets) are placed on a stand, which is decorated in a festive way with branches of green foliage. The road to the cemetery is illuminated, and incense sticks are burnt, so that the returning souls may not miss their way. To me this festival, seen in Kyoto, was one of the most striking things in all Japan. As I witnessed the joyous celebrations and the almost hysterical gaiety of the people, I found it hard to believe that the object of these festivities was to perpetuate the memory of the dead — an idea which to the Western mind is associated with mourning rather than rejoicing. To the Japanese the immortality of the soul is a real fact ; they believe abso- lutely that during the three days of this festival the spirits of the departed are actually present with them. Henee there is no occasion for grief or mourning, but rather for rejoicing ; and they do all in their power to extend a hearty welcome to their honoured guests. They believe in a purgatory, a place where people have to < >• > < 5 a a z < o-s o ^ 11 ■^^» T!'n' f" FEASTS AND FESTIVALS 175 expiate their sins by the pangs of hunger, and their one idea is to do their utmost to relieve these pangs during the three days' visit which the spirits of the departed are allowed to pay annually to their earthly homes. In some country places, so absolute is the belief of the people in the long journey undertaken by their returning relatives, that tubs are placed outside the door, with toy horses, which are intended to help the travellers on their way. On the night of the third day the spirits are sup- posed to return to their graves, and they are guided back to their resting-place by illuminations all the way to the cemeteries. The abodes of the dead are specially decorated with fresh flowers arranged in the bamboo sticks, which are a feature of every Buddhist grave, lighted torches and burning incense also bearing witness to the loving attention of friends still on earth. In the country is still danced the Bon-odori, the special dance of Bon, when men and women alike, in fancy costumes, form in line and dance in and out, doubling like hares, and clapping hands meanwhile. The Japanese believe that the journey of the dead is taken over the sea, and formerly, at places on the coast, straw boats containing food offerings were taken to the water's edge and cast adrift after being set alight. This quaint custom is described as still taking place, in two recent novels ; but, as a matter of fact, the Government stopped it long since, owing to the damage done to shipping by the burning of junks and piers on festival nights. Picturesque it must have been, doubtless, but for me the scene in Kyoto was beautiful enough when the third night of the festival arrived. Never have I seen that joyous city more gay and bright. The streets were crowded by a merry throng, each one carrying a lantern ; and the whole city was brilliantly illuminated, bridges, hillside, dwellings, and temples alike, in order to do 176 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN honour to the departing guests, and to light them back to their tombs. There are many quaint minor festivals, some of which I came across promiscuously when travelling in the interior, and they reveal unconsciously what one may call the wayside comedy and tragedy of Japan. For instance, one day on the shores of Lake Biwa I saw an extra- ordinary procession advancing towards me. Women were walking in line, each one bearing on her head one, two, three, or more pots. I noticed that those who carried more than one pot looked rather ashamed, and my curiosity to know the meaning of the whole ceremony was increased. The problem solved itself when I learnt that each pot represented a husband. It is a matter of honour to a Japanese woman to have had only one husband, for to have had more than one may imply divorce, and that spells silly chattering or shrewishness in a land where the husband can obtain his freedom if his wife talks too much or nags. They say on Lake Biwa that Nemesis once overtook a woman who put several little pots (otherwise husbands) inside one big one (intended to represent her spouse for the time being). " Murder will out," as the saying goes, and sure enough she tripped and fell and all the little pots came tumbling down. We can imagine what the neighbours said, for human nature is the same in Japan as in Europe. Again, on another occasion, I saw a crowd of people round a tub in the court of a temple. In this tub was seated an image of Buddha, and I noticed that each devotee, after giving a contribution to the temple, seized a long-handled ladle and poured some of the contents of the tub over the image, after which he carried away a portion of the liquid in a small vessel. On inquiry I learned that it was Buddha's birthday, and that the FEASTS AND FESTIVALS 177 " bath " consisted of a decoction of hydrangea made by the priests, called ama-cha, or sweet tea, which is con- sidered to be efficacious in cases of sickness. One aged Japanese appeared to be particularly careful about his bowl of ama-cha, and I was told that it was for his equally aged wife, and was intended to cure her of — Aimo Domini. Faith without works is dead, we are told, but here were faith and works together, for that old man had to carry the lacquer bowl several miles across country to his ailing wife. In the month of July, according to Japanese myth- ology, goddesses wash their garments in the Milky Way, the Eiver of Heaven (Ama-no-gawa) . This, in Japan, is considered to be a grand opportunity for all boys and girls whose ambition it is to improve their penmanship — caligraphy is an art the Nipponese have always highly prized^and they accordingly write carefully their requests on a strip of paper, which is tied to a bamboo branch, and exposed on the roof during the first seven days of July. The branch is called tanabata, and the festival is the Tanabata Festival. On the evening of July 7th, the branch is thrown into the river, and the people believe that it floats until it reaches the Eiver of Heaven, where the goddesses read it and grant the requests written on each strip. A feast peculiarly Japanese takes place on the 15th of August, and in Europe there is certainly nothing corresponding to it. This is the Moon-gazing Feast, when literary people meet together, and offer Tsuki Sama (the honourable moon) rice dumplings and bouquets of suzuki grass, with original verses thrown in gratis. These moonlight feasts are very popular even in far out-of-the-way districts, where one would imagine that the rustics hardly knew the difference between the moon and the sun. Even in these parts, however, the 12 178 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN coTintry people watch with rapture the reflection of Tsuki Sama in a lake, or her gradual appearance over a mountain-top. One other strange festival is recalled to my mind — the Laughing Festival — celebrated among the people of Izumo. Old men and young assemble in the village and march to the temple, carrying aloft boxes of persimmon and oranges. Arrived there, the oldest man calls on the crowd to laugh, and there is merriment and feasting for the rest of the day. And yet again. In Tokyo there is a very popular festival, held in a temple not far from Asakusa, where thousands flock to pray at the shrine, and to buy the charms which will bring good luck during the year. There are three kinds of charms : potatoes ready to sprout, denoting ambition ever alive ; millet dumplings, meaning that you will keep all you possess ; and a small rake with a square rice measure tied to it to signify success in the rice-fields. This matsuri is held during the " Days of the Bird," in November, and the streets are crowded with holiday-makers during this time. In talking of the " Days of the Bird " and " Day of the Horse," &c., I should explain that the days of the Japanese month are called after twelve beasts and birds, namely, the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog, and bear. If the first day of the month falls on "tiger" the fourth vyill be on " snake," and so on. The fox (kitsune) is worshipped all over Japan, and adored for his cleverness. As the representative of the rice-goddess, he meets with every attention from country- folk, and his festival is celebrated throughout the Empire with decorations, illuminations, and beating of drums. The goddess Inari enjoys a reputation in Japan second only to that of Ama-terasu, the Sun Goddess, whose FEEDING THE PIGEONS, THE MESSENGERS OF THE GODS, AT THE ASAKUSA TEMPLE, TOKYO. To face p. ! FEASTS AND FESTIVALS 179 nephew was the first Mikado, and whose temple at Ise is the Japanese Mecca. The connection between the two goddesses is very close, and at Inari's temple in Kyoto a magnificent litter is kept, in which the sacred image of Inari is taken every year in a triumphal procession to visit Ama-terasu at Ise. Inari Sami commands respect from even the lowest class in Japan, and the Inari temples are well kept and crowded with worshippers as a rule. The door of every Inari shrine is guarded by two faithful stone foxes, sharp nosed and alert, and behind these temples the many fox-holes are undisturbed, and the foxes may come and go, no man daring to make them afraid. Each spring, behind the great Inari temples at Kyoto, a religious procession may be seen wending its way up the hill through the woods, past countless statues of foxes and rustic shrines, the white-robed attendants carrying on poles an elaborate shrine covered with tassels of hemp and other Shinto emblems. The temple itself is surrounded by the sacred fox-holes, and a whole avenue of torii presented by farmers and others anxious to pro- pitiate the goddess. The great summer festival at Tokyo is the opening of the river towards the end of June. Gaily decorated boats go up the Sumidagawa by thousands at sunset, past illuminated tea-houses crowded with people in their gayest holiday clothes. The river, presenting a series of everchanging pictures, like an endless panorama, seems like one long glittering line of light ; musicians and hawkers of all sorts row in and out among the merry- makers, and there is generally a fine display of fireworks to add brilliancy to these water fetes, which are, I think, among the most characteristic and picturesque of all the festivals in the Land of the Lotus. CHAPTEE XIV SOME SPECIAL SHINTO FESTIVALS Eeligious festivals — Shinto and BudcLhism — A SMnto temple — Simplicity of the buUding and worship — Eesemblance of the Buddhist and Koman Catholic rituals — The Aoi festival at the Shintd temple of Shimo-gamo, Kyoto — Description of the ceremonies — They are followed by sports — Shokonsai autumn festival, a Japanese All Souls' Day — Celebration at Yokohama — Beisa/i or " Spirit Festival" in Aoyama Cemetery, Tokyo — Eemarkably impressive occasion — Purification and the trans- migration of the spirits — Noble tribute to human immortality — Another Memorial Service at Uy^no Park in houour of naval officers and men — Offerings and their significance — Speech by Mayor of Tokyo and reply by Togo — A soul- stirring panorama. LIFE in Japan seems like one continual holiday, and day after day the visitor sees a different temple or district en fSte in celebration of its own particular matsuri or religious festival. At these times the streets are filled from early morning until midnight with chattering, smiling crowds, the children dressed in their brightest holiday attire of painted crape, with obi (sashes) of the most dazzling colours. The two prevailing religions in Japan are Shinto or Kama no Michi (the way of the gods), which is the indigenous faith, and Buddhism, introduced from China in A.D. 552. The characteristics of Shmtoism in its pure state are " the absence of an ethical and doctrinal code, of idol-worship, of priestcraft, and of any teachings con- 180 SHINTO SHRINE CONTAINING SACRED MIRROR (kAGAMI) ONLY, This is exposed to view once a year on the daj' of the enshrined deity's annual festival, when this photograph was taken. To face p. iSr,. SOME SPECIAL SHINTO FESTIVALS 181 cerning a future state, and the deification of heroes, emperors, and great men, together with the worship of certain forces or objects in nature." The principal divinity is the goddess Amaterasu, from whom the Mikado is held to be descended. The temples are simple, the chief ornament being the metal mirror (kagami) on the altar. The spirit of the enshrined deity is supposed to be in a case, which is exposed to view only on the day of the deity's annual festival. The worship consists merely in washing the face in a font, striking a bell, throwing a few small coins into the money-box, and praying silently for a few seconds. Nevertheless, long pilgrimages to famous shrines and to summits of sacred mountains are taken to accom- plish this. Shintoism is rather an engine of government than a religion ; it keeps its hold on the masses chiefly through its connection with patriotic ideas and reverence for ancestors. Buddhism, which, in its outward aspects and ritual, bears a striking resemblance to Eoman CathoHcism, is the dominant religion among the people, there being thirty-five different sects. The two religions of Budd- hism and Shmto are so blended, however, that the temples of both are frequented without discrimination, and the symbolism of each has been modified. One of the grandest and most imposing of the Shinto ceremonies is the Aoi Festival of the Kamo Temples, held annually at Kyoto, the old capital, on the 15th of May ; and it is specially interesting as a relic of the time when the Emperor took part in it personally, instead of sending a representative. The festival, which was estab- lished more than two thousand years ago, owes its name to the aoi or hollyhock, vrith which those in the pro- cession decorate their heads. This was the first great festival I saw in Japan, and it 182 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN was indeed imposing. With two friends I went to see the nobles and the priests appointed for the various functions by the Imperial Household Department assemble at the Imperial Palace at 7.30 a.m. They were attired in ancient Court costumes, which never see the light of day except on this occasion, and the pro- cession started from the main gate of the Palace about eight o'clock. The mounted nobles are followed by a number of servants in ancient costume, some holding tengai (state umbrellas), while other attendants, dressed in white, carry baskets containing sacred things ; and behind these comes the Imperial chariot, drawn by a beautiful black bull profusely decorated vdth crimson cords and with the Emperor's sixteen-petalled chry- santhemum crest on the white silk coverlet. We had a splendid view of the procession from Shimo- gamo bridge, and when it had passed, we followed the huge crowd to the ancient Shinto temple of Shimo-gamo, where a religious ceremony took place. The Emperor's representative presented the Emperor's letter to the temple, after making Sampai-hyuhai — three ceremonial bows and nine bows — ^while the Lord Abbot and High Priests, in quaint yellow costumes, carried out the customary rites vnth great solemnity. The festival ended with some amusing horse-racing, rather like a gymkhana ; the chief performers being the terrified priests in their antique costumes, who were sometimes carried by their untrained and unmanageable steeds far past the winning-post, clinging for dear life to the horses' heads, and in more than one instance crashed into jinrikisha and bamboo fences promiscuously, to the extreme peril of thousands of spectators in general, and of the unfortunate riders in particular. In this con- nection it is interesting to note how naturally the Japanese combine sports and games with religious i^^^ NOBLE IN SHINTO PROCESSION DRESSED IN ANCIENT COURT COSTUME, WITH Bt)\V AND ARROWS. THE IMPERIAL CHARIOT IN A GREAT SHINTO PROCESSION. Attendants carrying offerings to the temple. SOME SPECIAL SHINTO FESTIVALS 183 ceremonies ; for one generally finds the courtyards of temples lined with shooting-ranges and penny peep- shows. As has been well said, their pilgrimages are picnics, and their religious festivals fairs. Another most impressive Shinto ceremony is the autumn Shokonsai, the festival in honour of those who have died in battle, which takes place in October, and is virtually the All Souls' Day of Japan. From early morn the streets of the native town in Yokohama were alive with crowds of gaily-dressed people, all wending their way to the old temple, set high on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where, having prayed and made an offering at the tiny shrine, they wandered happily about the temple grounds until the ceremonies began. Japanese officials in European costume, with silk hats and frock coats, marshalled our small party of three — the only Europeans present — to a tent, where we were hospitably entertained vsdth tea, before being shown to seats within the sacred enclosure. Here about twenty Kannushi or Shinto officials, resplendent in white, were ranged near the shrine, headed by a dignified-looking Lord Abbot, wearing a quaint ceremonial gown of yellow with the curious head-dress worn by the Court nobles. After blessing the people by waving over their heads branches of sakaki (cleyera japonica), the sacred tree of Shinto, the priests in turn advanced and recited certain formal addresses and petitions; and then followed the presentation of trays of rice, fish, fruits, vegetables, sea- weed, rice-beer, and various kinds of meat. After this a great army of people passed up to the altar, each one receiving a spray of sakaki from the priest, and leaving it there in memory of their loved ones. Groups of old soldiers, some of them on crutches, vsdth both limbs amputated, went up to do honour to dead comrades ; but no outward sign of feeling was visible on 184 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN any face. It is an interesting sidelight on the national character, that in Japan congratulations, not con- dolences, are sent to the relatives of those who die on active service, and it explains one of the fundamental causes of their astonishing success both on land and sea. One of the first articles of faith in the Shinto religion is a belief in the continued existence of the dead — "the more alive vyhom we call the dead," as the late George MacDonald expressed it — and this recognition of the truth of immortality found practical expression in a beautiful and mind-compelling Beisai (Spirit festival) vyhich I v?itnessed at Aoyama, the national military cemetery at Tokyo, in which many of Japan's noblest dead are laid to rest. Like everything connected with Shinto, the ceremony, although severely simple, was full of symbolic meaning, and the wings of mystery seemed to hover over the vast assembly as the significance of the touching rite gradually revealed itself. The marquee on one side of the shrine was filled with members of the Imperial Family, Ministers of State, a few high officials, some hundreds of naval and military officers, and the various Ambassadors and Consuls ; while in the one opposite were the bereaved families. It was my good fortune to be the only foreign lady privileged to sit among them. A Saishu (the chief priest who officiates at funeral rites), with six assistant priests, occupied chairs inside the central pavilion, the Chief Priest and his assistants being dressed in saii (white ceremonial gowns) and hamrrmri (hats with a stiff back ornament formerly worn also by Court nobles), and the remaining priests wearing jd (robes of purification) and eboshi (black caps bound with a white fillet) . As inscribed on the official tablet in front of the altar, the full name of the Beisai read as follows : " MHji san A TEMPLE SCENE. A newly-made widow presenting her piece of sakaJd in memory of her hnsband. In Japan it is the custom to send congratulations, not condolences, when a soldier dies on active service. This accounts for the happy expression on the face of the widow. To face p. 184. SOME SPECIAL SHINTO FESTIVALS 185 ju shiohi hacM nen sen-eki Kaigv/n shibotsusha reisai" or " A festival to the spirits of officers and men of the Navy who were killed and died in the war of the 37th and 38th years of M^iji." Behind the central pavilion containing the table of offerings (shmsen) stood the Mmorogi or sacred enclosure, in which were planted branches of sahaki (the sacred tree of Shmto) tied up with hemp, the idea being that this was the meeting-place of the assembled spirits ; and one felt closely in touch with the unseen world when listening to Admiral TogS's eloquent address to the spirits of his dead comrades, who were supposed to be gathered together within this " Holy of Holies." The proceedings commenced by the service of " purifi- cation " — shubatsu was the word used by the Chief Priest, who afterwards explained the ceremony to me at his house. This consisted in waving sahaki tied with hemp over the heads of the vast concourse of people, after which mitama utsusM (the transmigration of the spirits), was performed by the Chief Priest, who read some sacred words in front of the shmsen. Meanwhile the Naval band (Kaigun gakutai) continued to play weird dirges, and twenty different offerings were brought in separately on small trays, and handed from one priest to the other with rigid etiquette — sakS on the first dish, and then in quick succession sonaemochi (two large rice-cakes), tai (sea-bream), koi (carp), daikon (radish), and na (greens), awamochi (small cakes), yama- no-mono (literally " products of the mountains," such as potatoes), ringo (apples), yasai (vegetables), kaki (per- simmon), kamo (wild duck), shigi (snipe), nori (seaweed), kambutsu (dried vegetables), koridofu (frozen bean-cake), uba (yellow bean-curd), and fu (wheat-cake), kampyo (dried gourd), mushigwashi (sweet-cake), higwashi (dried confectionery), uehi-gwashi (compressed cakes shaped like fiowers), nddzu (water), and, last of all, shio (salt). 186 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN These offerings having been presented, the Chief Priest recited a formal address to the dead, after which Admiral Togo approached the altar and made a profound bow (saikeirei) before proceeding to read his invocation to the spirits of the departed, which closed with a prayer that they would "come and receive the offerings made." Then to the sound of music the Imperial Princes belong- ing to the Navy advanced and saluted their dead com- rades, lajring saJcaM on the altar as a mark of homage, in which rite they were followed by Admiral T5go, Mr. Saegi (a son of the late Commander Saegi) representing the bereaved families, the Vice-Admirals and Ministers of State, and the Chief Priest. The offerings were then removed, to be afterwards divided among the priests and the families of the deceased, and the Kaigv/n gakutai continued to play slow, mournful music, while the last stage of the solemn function was enacted. This rite was called the shorei or " ascension to heaven of the spirits," and it consisted in the recitation of another formal address, after which they were free to return to the upper regions. As the great army of sorrowing relatives pressed on towards the altar, each one received a spray of sakaki from the priest to be laid there in memory of their loved ones — fathers and mothers thinking of their sons, and widows of the husbands who would never return to them ; and I also was invited to pass up with the others and offer a last tribute of respect.* At various shokonsai, or memorial services, the absence of all outward feeling has been most noticeable, even in the case of newly-made widows ; but at Aoyama the chord of personal sorrow vibrated to the touch of Admiral Togo as he feelingly recited the saibun, and the Japanese * This Shmtd ceremony is described at some length as I was the only foreigner present unofficially. SOME SPECIAL SHINTO FESTIVALS 187 ladies sobbed audibly, while many men's eyes were dim with tears. Even as a stranger I felt a sympathetic lump in my throat as I sat among the great crowd of those who had loved and lost, and realised the comfort which they who mourn derive from this belief in a future state which was the dominant note at Aoyama. I have vpitnessed funeral rites in many lands, from the stately service in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral to the hillside kurd of aboriginal tribes in Southern India, but none have more clearly shown forth the reality of immortality than this Beisai, which contained all the elements of Christianity — Paith, Hope, and Charity (which is Love) — and in which there was a grand suggestion of the Infinite, which helped one to under- stand the patriotic sacrifice of lives laid down gladly for Emperor and country regardless of individual aims and ambitions. Yet another Shmto ceremonial — perhaps the most dramatic and picturesque of all on account of its historical association with olden times — was a solemn memorial service in Uy^no Park, Tokyo, in honour of the Naval Officers and men who fell in 1904-1905. The large pavilion was completely filled with the officers of the Combined Fleet, and the scene as one looked down on the vast sea of upturned faces will ever be remembered by those present. In the brilliant sunshine a representative Japanese gathering of nearly 100,000 people was congregated co offer homage to their beloved dead, and the few foreigners present must have felt that it was a privilege to take part in this veritable Kohumin Kwai, or National Assembly, where one heart only seemed beating in the throng — a heart animated by a spirit of patriotic devotion that was good to behold. 188 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN As explained to me by the chief Shinto official, Mr. K. Ogasawara, this ceremony dates back hundreds of years to pre-Tokugawa days, and has always been performed according to the Ogasawara ritual by a representative of the family, as a greeting of welcome to victorious generals, such as Nobunaga, Hid^yoshi, and lyeyasu, on their return from the battlefield. On this occasion Admiral Togo was seated in front of the pavilion on an ancient war-stool {shogi), which was made in Yedo (the old name of Tokyo) about three hundred years ago, and which has always been the camp- stool literally of the chief of the house of Ogasawara on the field of battle. It was of black wood, with gold enamel and brass mountings, the seat being composed of rich brocade {tsudzurenoninshiki), with a design of dragons and aoi (hollyhock, the badge of Shmto), woven in gold thread ; and notwithstanding the perils to which it has often been exposed by ardent curio-hunters, it remains to-day a valued heirloom in the house of Mr. K. Ogasawara. He and three assistants were dressed according to ancient style in quaint green costumes called hitatare with small swords (aiJcuchi), and eboshi, or black caps, bound round the head with a broad white fillet. They approached Admiral T6g5 bearing wine- vessels (choshi), and a white tray (sambo), on which were arranged, according to rigid canons of etiquette, a pair of white wooden chopsticks resting on a small dish, three white saM bowls one above the other, and three other dishes with offerings of uohiawabi (haliotis or ear-shell), kacMguri (dried chestnuts), and kombu (edible seaweed), all these dishes being beautifully ornamented with kaishiki (papers) cut according to Shinto style. The significance of these offerings lay in a play on the meaning of words, a practice of which the Japanese are very fond: uchiawabi being chosen because of the verb uchiau, SHINTO OFFICIALS IN ANClEXT COSTUME. To face p. i88. SOME SPECIAL SHINTO FESTIVALS 189 to fight ; kacMguri from the word hachi, a conquest ; and kombu fr6m the verb yoro-kobu, to rejoice or to congratulate. The sakS was carried in a large metal wine-vessel covered with sM chooho (four butterflies), and was poured by an assistant into the choshi (a metal wine-vessel with a long handle), and from the choshi by the chief of&cial into the small doki from which Admiral Togo drank. After eating some awabi, Admiral Togo quaffed the first cup of saM; then he partook of kacMguri and drank for the second time from the ceremonial cup ; and finally, after he had tasted kombu, the cup was filled for the third time by Mr. K. Ogasawara, while enthusi- astic shouts of " Bcmzai ! " (the national shout of triumph, meaning " May the Emperor live for ever ! ") rose from the crowd beneath. This rite having been performed, the Mayor, Mr. Ozaki, recited a formal address of welcome, couched in the language of a bygone time, the phraseology being part of the ritual; and then the Kvmigayo ("The Mikado's Beign "), the national anthem, was played with great solemnity. Admiral Togo replied to the Mayor's speech in a few earnest words spoken with much feeling, during which one might have heard the proverbial pin drop as the vast audience listened spellbound. Then, as he turned to leave the dais, they seemed to recover from the magical effect of his voice, and one great hoarse shout went up to heaven in grateful thanks for the battle fought, the victory won. Not even in Japan could anything more perfect be imagined than this grand drama enacted in the sunlight in Uy6no Park, a spectacular play without words, full of symbolical meaning; and even the stranger within the gates could realise and sympathise with all that this soul- stirring panorama meant to the heart and soul of the nation. CHAPTEE XV JAPANESE MUSIC Japanese music opposed to Western ideas — Military musicians and war dancers in ancient times — Chinese music introduced — The Icoto, the drum, and the flute — The Court musicians of Kyoto — The No performances — Origin of the musical drama of the present day — Folk-songs — Blind musicians — Development of European music — Thinness of the native music — The favourite instrument (sa/misin), probably a modern importation from Manila — Odd effect of their songs — Difference of musical scale — The Teoto (harp) an equivalent of our piano — Two kinds of hiwa (guitar) — Blind hvwa players or zato — Flutes, flageolets, and the sJio — A musician expert's opinion regarding the influence of European music upon Japanese music. THE common idea is that the Japanese are an unmusical nation, and yet from the earliest times music has been associated with their religion and with their military campaigns. They themselves think that they are exceedingly musical, and perhaps a more just criticism is arrived at if we say that their playing and singing is utterly opposed to all Western ideas of music. Dancing accompanied by music was one of the most important forms of worshipping the hami (gods) in Old Japan, and it still plays an important part in both Buddhist and Shinto ceremonial temple services. Apart from religion, history records that Japanese warriors have always been accompanied by military musicians 190 JAPANESE MUSIC 191 and war dancers, whose function it was to stir np a martial spirit, and there are still in existence a large number of songs {kum6-uta) specially composed for the soldiers of bygone ages. The old idea of associat- ing the poetic and military arts has not yet entirely departed from the army of Japan, for I was told by a war correspondent that during the Eusso-Japanese cam- paign, Pield Marshal Oyama on one occasion planted a cherry-tree to commemorate a victory, and ordered each of his staff to write a poem celebrating the occasion. The purely Japanese music is wholly indigenous, having originated far back in primitive ages ; traditions handed down from primeval times tell how singing and dancing were performed in front of the cave in which the Sun Goddess, by hiding herself, had withdrawn all illumination from the world. Early in the seventh century, when intercourse began with China, Chinese music was introduced, and it undoubtedly influenced Japanese music, except in religious services in Shinto shrines, where the national type has been preserved with great purity to the present day, as the suffering ear of the European visitor can testify. From early times, dramatic dances, with music, were performed at Imperial festivities, the Chinese and Korean varieties side by side with the purely Japanese, and the chief instruments used were the koto (harp), the drum, and the flute (nicMriki). We read of an Empress dancing at a Court fSte to harp music played by the Emperor, and of two Imperial princes composing dances called tatsitma/i. In certain noble families attached to the Court, musical accomplishments were handed down from father to son, as a kind of monopoly, so that inferior people thought them quite beyond their reach. The Court musicians of Kyoto were a feature of the Imperial 192 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN capital, and Hid6yoshi himself performed the no dance before the Court. During the Tokugawa Shogunate, the national music consisted of three kinds : the refined Court music, the no performances played at temple services, and the samgdn- gaku (vocal music accompanied by the samisSn), which was popular among the lower classes. The sangSn was a three-stringed musical instrument brought over from the Loochoo Islands, and it was especially popular among the Guild of Blind Shampooers (called kengyo and koto according to their rank). Towards the end of the sixteenth century, a kengyo played skilfully on the sangin to harmonise -with the singing of jorv/ri (dramatic recitations), and this musical art, apphed to a puppet-show, constitutes the musical drama of the present day. Folk-songs Qia-uta or ka-uta) were very popular throughout the Tokugawa era, and many of these were composed by blind musicians, and sung to the koto (harp). European music was primarily introduced into Japan through mission teachers, who gave lessons on the piano in the girls' mission schools. When their pupils married, they carried their new accomplishments to their own homes, and other pupils took their place, until gradually the study of European music became universal, and to-day playing and singing in foreign style forms part of the regular course of study in all primary schools through- out the Empire. The development of Occidental music is also due to the military bands, many of whose members have studied in France and Germany, and learnt to play the violin, viola, and 'cello. Foreign orchestral music has been adopted by the Imperial household as a regular part of its musical programme, and the Emperor is enter- tained with European music performed on European instruments. JAPANESE MUSIC 193 Japanese instrumental music is thin and unsatisfying, and much of it is excruciating to an ear trained in the harmonies of Mendelssohn or Chopin. One hears e^fery- where the twanging of the sandsSn, a three-stringed light banjo, which is commonly used in the highways and bjrways, and is the favourite among the people. It seems to have been introduced from Manila within the last two centuries. Japanese girls sing in a strident falsetto voice, utterly opposed to all our ideas of music, and many a time, in the interior, I have sat on the veranda of an upper room in a yadoya, listening to the laughter, and the choruses of songs and measured hand-clapping of the general company, that proclaimed some Japanese festivity in a tea-house near by. If a student is asked to favour the company with a song, he adjusts himself carefully in his seat d lajwponaise, which means that he turns in his toes, rests upon the very edge of the chair, and presses with his palms on the corners of the seat or upon his own knees. Then he opens his mouth, and from the throat emits gurgling sounds in an impure tremolo. It may be a little uta, per- haps, addressed to the Japanese pine, " Matstt-Ur-u-w no-o-o mi-mi-do-o-ri," and so forth; then it suddenly closes with a gasp as if the lung power had failed. On one occasion an Englishman who had spent many years in the coimtry was asked to give a sample of Japanese music before a distinguished gathering at one of the European embassies, and he reproduced a song of this kind. But the company thought he was fooling them, and he was saved from embarrassment only by the opportune presence of a friend who had also served in the Japanese Government, and whose solemn assurance that the song was true to life set the doubters at rest. On another occasion he was not so fortunate. He gave the same song at a sacred concert in a church in the north of Scotland, and one old gentle- 13 194 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN man was so scandalised with the mockery, as he con- sidered it, that he left the place in high dudgeon. So much for the quality of Japanese music and its effect on foreign ears. The Japanese scale differs from ours ; but exactly how, experts do not agree. According to Mr. Izawa, who for many years was at the head of the Academy of Music in Uyeno, the second, fourth, and sixth intervals in Japanese classical music are identical with the same intervals in the modern European scale, but third major is sharper and seventh is flatter. The popular music, such as is ren- dered on the samisSn, varies from this, and, like the scale of mediaeval Europe, has for its chief characteristic a semitone above the tonic. Did it get this peculiarity from the Spanish at Manila ? Be that as it may, the Japanese find the old-fashioned minor airs of Scottish music most easily adaptable to their needs. Many of the old Japanese tunes end in the minor key, as on re, often with a weird effect. The instrument favoured by aristocratic young ladies in Japan, and so corresponding to our piano, is the koto or horizontal harp. It is many feet in length, and rests upon the floor. The width has to allow for thirteen strings, which are strung over adjustable bridges like our violin, and it is struck, not by a bow, but by thimbles attached to the thumb and fingers. The body of the koto is arched and hollow, like the violin ; whereas the drum of the samvis&n is of skin, and the strings are struck by a broad plectrum held freely in the hand. The koto has been gradually evolved from a Chinese model vfith six strings. Ancient koto exist with only seven strings ; it was Yatsuhshi, the father of Japanese music, who in the seventeenth century gave it its final elaborate shape. No nice Japanese family is without its handsome koto, with beautifully grained dark wood, and STROLLING MUSICIANS, WITH THE KOTO (HORIZONTAL HARP) AND GAKKI OR GETSUKIN (CHINESE GUITAR). They are husband and wife. The husband plays the koto. To face p. 194. JAPANESE MUSIC 195 after dining at a private house in Japan, the daughters bring in their koto from an inner room, and with graceful bashf ulness entertain their guests with the latest style in koto playing. For just as in England new songs come out and are sung everywhere for a time, so in Japan new styles for the koto are constantly being invented, some more abstruse than others. The Ikuta and the Yamada are most in favour at present, and are taught in girls' schools throughout the Empire. At elaborate entertainments, the koto is not employed by itself, but is often accompanied by the sangSn and the shakuhachi or the kokyu (three- stringed violin) played in concert, forming what is called the sangokugasso (three musical instruments played in concert). The biwa, a stringed instrument resembling a guitar, is traced back to Hindustan by antiquaries. Among the Seven Deities of Good Fortune appears one goddess, and one only, the fair Benzaiten, and she also hails from India, whence so much that is religious and aesthetic has come to Japan. Benzaiten is the patroness of music, and appears in art with a biwa in her arms. The wood commonly used for the biioa drum is sendan (melia japonica). The four silken strings of the instrument are arranged in pairs along the handle, which is provided with pillow attachments at regular intervals, about a quarter of an inch high, used for purposes of modulation. The modulating scheme is simple, and allows of only twelve or fourteen graduated tones ; but, by varying the tension through finger pressure, various trillings and cadences are made possible. At its best the bi/wa is loved by its votaries more than any other native instrument, for sounds can be drawn from it that are at once penetrating, deep, and resonant, and although the high notes are few, some good soprano effects are possible. During all these centuries since the 196 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN beginnings of feudalism, the hiwa has been used to stimu- late clan pride and fan the enthusiasm of warriors. The Kyoto or Taira type is, indeed, the earliest, and takes us back to the Western capital as it flourished in all its glory in the twelfth century. Biwa music was in demand at all the gatherings of the clans, when the samurai feasted and caroused ; they carried their pet instruments even to the camp and battlefield; and on the downfall of the great Taira clan at Dannoura Bay, the memories of its glories were kept alive in the plaintive strains of the hvwa. The Satsuma hiwa players carry an instrument smaller in size and with a larger plectrum, invariably made of box- tree wood. The young swashbucklers of Satsuma favour this kind of biwa, and he who would gain a name for gallantry and accomplishments tries to become pro- ficient in strumming upon it. Such a youth goes out into the streets, and pulling up his loose samurai trousers and getting his sword into a horizontal position, plays his best. In the island of Kyushu further to the north nestles the historic province of Chikuzen, where the hiwa is highly esteemed and its cult carefully perfected. Although less popular generally than the Satsuma instrument, it is associated with more delicate handling, and it not only possesses the qualities that attract in the Kyoto and other biwa, but can boast of a charm and finish all its own. Only male players wield the Satsuma plectrum, but in Chikuzen some of the most accomplished musicians are women, and the strains they bring forth vary from the vivacious to the melancholy, from the buoyant to the grave, from the light and graceful to the rich and sonorous. Many of the biwa players in Japan are blind men, and are known as biwa-hosfd or gato. Often on the country roads the traveller meets a zato carrying his biwa on JAPANESE MUSIC 197 his back, his mind stored with legends and folk-lore, to all of which he loves to give musical utterance. Music, and shampooing or massage, are indeed the two callings followed by members of the Blind Guild. The songs they chant mostly celebrate the glories of the house of Taira, and were composed by a poetess of note. Their favourite instruments for accompaniment are not only the biwa, but also the samisSn, and the koto. These hiwctrhoshi or zato used to be esteemed by all the people, and occasionally they had the honour of receiving invitations to perform from Emperors and Shogun. Others who had become blind late in life, unable to compete with the blind musicians — for the most skilful musicians were those bom blind — took to story-telling as a profession, or made poems in Japanese and Chinese. Here is a native tribute to the musical gifts of the zato. " How often," writes a student, " on cold vpinter nights, when shut indoors by the driving snow, have we listened to a zato as he played his biwa by the fireside — its charm- ing effects were simply astonishing. At the height of the blind musician's magic art, the listeners were completely at his will, and were carried off to an unseen and spiritual world, where heroes and demigods move in the glory of idealised manhood, amid real scenes transmuted into fairyland. A listener from the Occident is at a disad- vantage, for he cannot understand the language, which becomes merely an incantation, nor is he sufficiently acquainted with the mode of life in the Sunrise Land, with its dreams and its fancies, nor possibly has he delved into the historical significance of the tales. Moreover, to his ears, attuned to rich Italian strains, the notes of the biwa may sound merely weird and fantastic. Yet if he possesses a sympathetic mind, and his eye glances over the audience, evidently deeply touched, dewy tears glistening in their faces and sometimes trickling down 198 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN their cheeks, he must feel that here is soul speaking to soul, here is divine music." There are several wind instruments, which are often heard in the evening, and sound pleasantly in the quiet valleys. There is the flute oxfue, played exactly like ours. Then there is a flageolet, the shakuhacM, shorter than the fue, and a smaller instrument, the hichiriki. One Japanese wind instrument has an intense quality all its own. This is the sho, a kind of mouth-organ with seventeen pipes, that come together at the base, and leave only one orifice for playing upon. The sounds pro- duced have often both depth and resonance. In concerts the accompaniment of wind-instruments generally con- sists of a dozen flutes, a dozen flageolets, and a dozen sho. I have already remarked that the Japanese consider themselves a musical nation, and in proof of this I shall quote the words of one of Japan's greatest musical experts, Suy6haru Togi, who, in a recent book, referring to the influence of European music upon the musical profession in his own country, writes as follows : " We cannot, of course, tell in what direction, or to what extent, our music may be developed in future through the influence of this new and important element, but we have sufficient faith in ourselves to affirm that Japanese musicians will surely adapt and assimilate in the future, as they have done in the past, only the choicest parts, and thus enrich our national music, with all its distinc- tive characteristics preserved, but perfected." CHAPTER XVI THE DBAMA Three kinds of drama, the No, Joruri, and KdbuM — Description of a No performance ; it sometimes resembles a Mystery Play — The Odori dance — The Joruri or puppet show — Female parts taken by men — Actors not recognised socially as la England — Favourite plays — -Famous actor, Danjtiro — Authorship of no importance — A star often makes his own play — The memorable tale of the " Forty-seven Bonin " {cMsMngura), the most famous of national dramas — Legal limit of a single performance is now eight hours — The Kobikiza Theatre at Tokyo — Description of the interior — The Hcma m/icM (flower paths) — Eevolving stage — Eealistie effects. THERE are three kinds of drama in Japan, and the first is the historical and lyric No, which is the one favoured hy the aristocracy. It is refined, but not stimu- lating, and stands midway between the pantomimic dance and the lyric drama proper. The middle and lower classes of society prefer the plays known as Joruri, or the Kabuki, tragic melodramas full of incident. Present-day Kabuki may be either historical drama belonging to feudal times, or lighter drama on more up-to-date subjects, corresponding to our society play. There is pure comedy and musical extrava- ganza as well, but the Japanese playgoer prefers the historical tragedy ; and although these melodramas are sometimes coarse and vulgar, they please the people, especially if they have an unhappy ending. 199 200 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN A good No performance is exceedingly impressive, more so than the Kagura dances of the Shi/nto shrines, be- cause these are spoilt by the tawdry appearance of the priestesses who take part, with heavily powdered faces and grotesque dresses. The No performers, on the other hand, are clad in magnificent old Court costumes of gold brocade, and they wear masks of gilded wood, and play their parts with great dignity and solemnity. A No performance always reminded me very much of a Greek play. The stage was raised but without scenery. The audience sat upon the matted area in front of the platform. Two or three musicians were seated at the back of the stage, and at one side, well out of the way, were six men in old ceremonial dress, who sat like statues chanting the explanatory dirge-like chorus. The actors went through a series of gestures and poses, advancing and retreating in an absolutely wooden and yet highly dignified manner, every rhythmical movement in perfect time with the wailing music of the flutes. The highly pitched strained voices of the chorus continued to chant in the language of a bygone age, which only the student of classical Japanese can understand. The characters in the No plays are all gods, goddesses, demons, and other mythical personages. They are of an allegorical or almost religious character, and Uke the Mystery Plays of mediaeval Europe, they were originally performed under the auspices of the priests. Unlike the Mystery Plays, however, they have survived until the present day, and are still a favourite form of entertain- ment, especially among the upper classes. The solemnity of these No plays, which are performed in a series, would have been rather overpowering had it not been for the welcome relief afforded by the perform- ance between the plays of a one-act farce, properly called Eyogen, but commonly known as Saru-gaku (monkey THE DRAMA 201 play), which was conducted in pantomime, with a little choral assistance. Another early form of dramatic entertainment was the Odori dance, which was probably the direct forerunner of the present-day maple and butterfly dances, and other graceful posturing of the Tokyo and Kyoto geisha. Un- like the other forms of Japanese drama, these dances have always been performed solely by girls. The next development of the drama was about the year 1602, when 0-Kuni, a beautiful miko (virgin) who danced the Kagura at the Izumo shrine, fell in love with a Bonvn and ran away to Y^do. There she and her husband started a new form of entertainment. It was a combination of No, Sarii-gaku, and Odori, accompanied by flutes and drums and stringed instruments. These dramatic dances were called Kahuhi, and they became very fashionable. After her husband's death, 0-Kuni retired into a convent, and a few years later, yet another form of drama came to the fore. This was the Joruri, or puppet show, in which the stage was occupied by marionettes, who went through all the actions required, keeping time with the instrumental music and a chorus of human voices. This chorus gradually became more and more important, until the marionettes were dispensed with, and living actors took their place. In Europe, in the time of Shakespeare, women were prohibited from appearing on the stage, and good-looking youths took their place. So in Japan the same rule was enforced, but there it was not rescinded until quite recently. During the Shogunate, actors (yahsha) as a class were despised, and the sarrmrai refused to enter the doors of a theatre. No doubt this was partly due to the fact that a theatre was one of the places where they might not go 202 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN wearing a sword, so that if they went at all, they had to do so in disguise. Since the Eestoration in 1868 all this has been changed, and now noblemen and officials, and even ladies at times, attend performances. But even to- day actors are not invited to their clubs, nor are they recognised socially as they are in England. Since the Eestoration, too, the character of the plays produced has been very much improved, and a Dramatic Eeform Association has been organised. Favourite plays are the adventures of Yoshitsune, the nation's favourite hero, and Benkei — this was the favourite part of Danjuro, ninth of the name, the so-called "Henry Irving" of Japan; other plays depict the misfortunes of the Emperor Go-Daigo. Historical incidents, and lives of warriors and heroes furnish the subject, and if a manager wishes to produce a new play, he rakes out an old favourite, adds a scene or two, and inserts a few topical allusions. Authorship is a matter of no importance. Every actor has his own version, and not only this, but no two performances are exactly alike, for the actors do more than gag, they extemporise as the play proceeds. Often a star makes his own play. He and the manager between them evolve a thrilling plot, and the star composes his lines to suit himself. Conse- quently there can be no printed book of the play, nor even programme in the accepted sense of the word, for the manager and the actors themselves do not know exactly how the play will work out. The programmes so-called, of which I have retained several, are merely highly coloured illustrations, which give a pictorial out- line of the play, and might mean anything or nothing. The most famous national drama, represented fre- quently wherever there is a theatre, is that great classic, the touching story of the " Forty-Seven Eonin," whose graves two miles out from Shiba are among the national INTERIOR OF TEMPLE AT THE GRAVE OF THE FORTY-SEVEN RONIN, SHINAGAWA. The trefoil crest of the Tokugawa Shogun is prominent. THE DRAMA 203 shrines of Japan. Probably this play stirs the heart of the Japanese because its keynote is loyalty — absolute, unswerving loyalty — and that is what a Japanese to-day worships as much as in the old feudal times. According to the old proverb, "Even the sparrows in the bushes chirp the word ' loyalty ' — chiu, chiu ! " The story is so familiar that I hardly like to repeat it, how one lord pro- voked another lord, Asano Takumi no Kami, to draw his dirk and wound him within the precincts of the Shogun's palace — a crime punished by death ; how the dead Asano Takumi's retainers, nearly fifty in number, who had now become Bonin (masterless knights) vowed to avenge the death of their lord ; how, to throw the enemy off his guard, Oishi, their chief, drank and led a life of dissipa- tion, till one day a Satsuma man, seeing him as he lay in a ditch at Kyoto, spurned him with his foot, calling him a coward not to avenge his lord. And when at last the enemy ceased to fear, the band broke into his yashiJci one snowy night, overpowered the retainers, and offered the old man, Kira Kotsuke no Suke, an honourable death by harakiri. As he had not the courage for this, they killed him, and cut off his head. Marching to the grave- yard where their loved lord lay buried, they offered the head reverently at the tomb, having first washed it at the well below. Then they burnt incense one by one, aided by the priests of the neighbouring temple, and after that they quietly gave themselves up to the Supreme Court of Y6do. Condemned to death, as was inevitable, they stoically committed seppuku, and were buried on the hill- side near their lord. Crowds of people came to visit their graves, among them the man who had insulted Oishi as he lay prostrate. He proclaimed to every one his sorrow and shame, and having burnt incense, he drew his dirk and killed himself honourably, so that he was thought worthy of a grave beside the others. 204 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN The heroic spirit of Old Japan — Yamato damasMi — is not dead when a play like this can move the spectators deeply, as I saw in the Gion machi theatre at Kyoto. Some of the women retired altogether, and only re- appeared when the interlude or farce relieved the general tension between the deaths. Personally, I felt rather faint, and had to keep reminding myself that the terribly realistic gore that streamed forth was only unravelled red silk after all. The theatre being the chief national amusement of this pleasure-loving people, a Whole household thinks nothing of hiring a box and spending the whole day there, for a single performance lasts from eleven o'clock until six, eight hours being now the legal limit. Every one purchases tickets from the tea-house next door to the theatre, and at the same time orders refreshments to be sent in during the day. The chief theatre in Tokyo is the Kobikiza, where Danjiiro played, near the Shimbashi Station, in the residential district of Tsukijii. I visited it several times, and saw both the heavy historical KabuJci of the days of chivalry and romance, and the more modern light plays. These latter are somewhat like our comedies, with the important difference of having usually an unhappy ending. When we arrived at the Kobikiza theatre, we took joto (first-class) tickets at 2 yen (4s.) each, and passed through the entrance, where hundreds of pairs of clogs were being docketed in rows of shelves, just as theatre-goers in Europe give up vyraps in a cloak-room. Followed by an attendant vpith chairs, we went upstairs to a square box corresponding to a side box at a theatre in Europe, from which we could see the stage well, with a view to photographing it later on — the Kobikiza is one of the few theatres that has these raised side-boxes. THE DRAMA 205 Below us the parterre was crowded with visitors, who sat upon the matted area surrounding the three sides of the stage. This area is divided into " boxes," each 6 feet square, intended for four people. At frequent intervals the tea-house attendants came in to see what was wanted, bringing at the lunch hour trays with several courses of food which had been ordered the day before. Tea was served many times during the day, and everybody smoked, each box having its own tahako bon, filled with live coals to light the tiny pipes. The children ran up and down the " flowery ways " reserved for the actors, and even on to the stage itself, with per- fect unconcern, and it was evident that all these family parties had come out for the day to enjoy themselves. The building itself is rectangular, the theatre and the stage being linked together, and the landscape is con- tinued right round the auditorium, so that the spectator feels that he forms part of the picture itself. Two broad raised passages, called hana michi (flower paths), lead through the auditorium to the stage, and the performers pass up and down with great dramatic effect, continuing the action of the play until they disappear behind the backs of the spectators. As a popular actor advances, his way is strewn with flowers. Over the left entrance to the stage is a httle balcony, hidden by a screen, where the chorus sits, and joins with voice and instrument, even while the actor is speaking. Japanese theatres use the revolving stage with project- ing wings, which is moved by coolies below, and some- times when the coolies whirl a section round too quickly, the actors are caught and rolled over like ninepins, gesticulating wildly, while the whole house roars with laughter. Many of the arrangements are primitive, especially scene-shifting and prompting, both of which are done in full view of the audience, and little black- 206 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN robed supers career about the stage arranging dresses, slipping stools under actors, and bearing away any article not wanted. They do not attempt to conceal themselves, and being in black, by a stage fiction one is supposed not to see them. They create a picture by arranging a drapery with due regard to balance and breadth, so that it is correct in relation to the lines of the background. For the theatres of Japan are typical of the people's character, and art creeps into it as into everything else. The music of the unseen orchestra is harsh and mono- tonous, the principal instruments being the stringed samisSn, koto, and kokyU, and the wind instruments called shakuhachi and sho. The geisha are well paid, and their dances are wonderfully graceful. Even to-day the female parts are usually taken by men, who speak in an odd falsetto and make these rdles their speciality. But for a long time there have been in Ky5to theatres where only women act, and not long ago a female " star " from T6ky5 appeared in London. Managers of to-day encourage realism, and modem plays depict everyday life with a detail and minuteness thoroughly Japanese. Eed paint oozes forth from slaughtered victims; the tragedies are very tragic and the villains very villainous; and when the hero, or all the several heroes, dies the honourable death of seppuku or ha/raki/ri, it is so realistic that we are haunted by the gory scene for weeks afterwards. No doubt the Japanese drama falls far short of Euro- pean standards in many ways. There is lack of unity of action, and too many subsidiary plots and irrelevant incidents, which are introduced solely for the purpose of displaying fine sword-play or dramatic skill by personages who have nothing to do with the play itself. There is no subtle analysis of character, and the dramatis persona do not stand out as living men and women, but rather as THE DRAMA 207 types of certain virtues and vices, or of a certain class of society. Yet criticism notwithstanding, the drama in Japan is undoubtedly attractive as a reflection of the nation's character; and in depicting the old feudal days and ideals, when to lay down his life for his lord was the chief duty of man, it may still teach a lesson of loyalty and unselfishness to the youths of New Jaipan. CHAPTEE XVII ANIMAL LIFE IN JAPAN The Japanese do not love animals for their own sake as we do in England — The antlered deer at Nara — The ill-used horses of Japan — ^An incident in Yokohama — Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — Horse and mare provinces — G-eneral Grant's gift — Gift of the Kaiser — The cavalry in the Eusso- Japanese War — Oxen — Japan not a pastoral country — Scarcity of sheep — Dogs — Ky5to cMn — Stumpy-tailed cats — The educa- tion of the cat — Poultry a failure — Long-tailed Tosa fowls — Pink- eyed rabbits — Two kinds of bear — Monkeys with crimson faces — Snakes — Domestic animals not treated as dimib friends. WHILE the Japanese are on the whole kindly to animals as compared with other Eastern peoples, they do not come close to them in the sympathetic way that marks the best Western humanity. It is a curious trait in the national character that they are not kind to animals for their own sake, as we are in England. They have no genuine affection for horses, dogs, and other quadrupeds as we have, and they only protect those animals which are valuable as a commercial asset, or are connected by tradition with their gods and their religion. The antlered deer at Nara are petted because the old legend narrates how the founder of the Nara temples rode up the mountain on a deer to choose a residence. All through the forests of Nara there are tea-houses where grain for the deer (sMka) is sold, and nothing is too good 208 ANIMAL LIFE IN JAPAN 209 for these pretty creatures with soft brown eyes, who leap and bound down the avenue when they hear the nSsan call "Eo" (Come), or when the tinkle of the pilgrims' bell heralds the arrival of cakes, or some other toothsome dainties. At first I felt a little distrustful when surrounded by dozens of heavy stags with huge branching horns, poking their pointed heads under my coat and into my camera to discover hidden treasure. I remembered an experience of my childhood in the Forest of Mar near Braemar, when, during the close season, our pony phaeton was attacked by a savage herd, and the keepers had difficulty in driving them off. But at Nara long immunity from interference has made of these deer the gentlest pets imaginable, and they have never been known to turn on any human being. Not so fortunate are the poor, ill-tempered, ill-used horses of Japan, almost the only creatures to whom the Japanese are really cruel. On one occasion I stopped two coolies on the steep hill-road which leads from the Bund at Yokohama up to the Bluff, where most of the foreigners have their houses. They were belabouring a wretched-looking horse in a cart overloaded with timber logs, and notwithstanding the use of two vicious-looking whips, the poor animal had evidently neither the courage nor the strength to attempt the long ascent. I sent a small boy for a junsa (policeman), and stood over the coolies until two of these polite officials adorned with white gloves arrived on the scene. Meanwhile the men sulkily muttered, " Shi kata ga nai " (It can't be helped), the favourite expression of the Japanese under all circumstances of life, and something else which I concluded meant that there was no accounting for the madness of foreigners. With the two junsa came a crowd of some fifty persons, and for what seemed to me 14 210 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN an interminable time the jimsa continued to fill their notebooks with the lange geschichte narrated to them by the coolies, who held their hats in front of them and bowed between every word. Eventually I had the satis- faction of seeing a second cart brought on the scene of action, and to this cart half of the timber was transferred ; a turn of the head then showed me that I had drawn a bigger crowd than an ichibcm conjuror. The low-class Japanese never treat a horse well, and are often the impersonation of callous brutality. Some of the scenes that are to be witnessed in Tokyo and its neighbourhood, where wretched basha (carriages) convey people for miles for a few sen, are enough to make one's blood boil. To combat this cruelty, a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded five or six years ago, and is supported by members of the Shinto, Buddhist, and Christian faiths ; Baron Senge, ex-Minister of Justice, is now on its Board of Control. At the best, the native horse is but a poor, scraggy animal, a mere pony, except in certain provinces, like Yamagata, in the north of the main island, where the inhabitants take pride in rearing a large breed. Horses are shod with straw slippers, which require constant renewal. There are horse provinces and mare provinces, and, as the horses are entires, the precaution is necessary. But the animals get very quarrelsome at the border-line, and riders may be placed in awkward predicaments, for a riding party is apt to find itself suddenly in the midst of a menagerie of pirouetting, bucking, and uncontrollable stallions. In the island of Yezo or Hokkaido, the colonial island to the north, the horses used to run loose in the woods, and I have been told that travellers, who carried their own saddles, had horses lassoed for them by the Ainu attendants. Then off they would scamper to the next ANIMAL LIFE IN JAPAN 211 station, and it was well if some of the party did not dis- appear into the woods midway on an obstinate steed. About thirty years ago an attempt was made in this northerly island to develop it into an agricultural pro- vince on Western lines. An Agricultural College was founded at Sapporo, a staff of instructors came out from Massachusetts, and foreign stock was introduced — Ajr- shires and Durhams for cattle. When General Grant visited Japan in 1879 he presented to the Emperor some fine stallions, which were sent up to Yezo and used for breeding purposes. The best results were obtained by crossing with the scraggiest and wiriest of native mares, but as a rule the half-breeds were narrow-chested, sickly, and weak-kneed. After the Eusso- Japanese War, the Kaiser, following in the wake of General Grant, sent as a gift to the Emperor of Japan six magnificent stallions belonging to the far- famed Trakehnen breed in the province of Ost Preussen, from which all the horses in the German Imperial stables are obtained, and which are not to be bought for love or money by outsiders. These are rapphengste (spotless black stallions), fehlerfrei (without blemish), and they are a valuable addition to the Imperial stud, where the quahty of the horses has hitherto been very poor. In the province of Shimosa, which is largely devoted to horse-breeding, stallions have been brought from San Francisco for the purpose of improving the breed. The Japanese have also begun to buy English horses, both hackneys and shires, in considerable numbers. They are quite aliv6 to the fact that their cavalry is sadly deficient, and large tracts of land are now being levelled so that reviews may be held frequently, on the principle that practice makes perfection. It was well for Japan — and was she not supremely fortunate in the conditions she met with in her great 212 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN war? — that all that was needed of her cavalr3rmen was scout work, or work as mounted infantry, for they were so badly mounted that they could not engage a large number of Eussian cavalrymen, and when hard pressed, they generally retired to the protection of their infantry. Oxen are used in some provinces for draught purposes, and drag wagons with creaking wheels of solid wood ; or they are furnished with pack-saddles, and bear packages and human beings on their strong backs. The pace, as may be supposed, is leisurely — the most leisurely pro- cession that can well be conceived ; for indeed it is slower than the slowest funeral march. Japan is not a pastoral country, and the coarse grass of the hills is ill-adapted for the rearing of sheep. A simple explanation of their scarcity was given to me by a Japanese friend, when, on one occasion, I went from Lake Hakone to Gotemba over the Otomo Toge Pass. Near the summit, on the Gotemba side, I happened to notice some rather fine sheep, and I was told that they were easily reared on these particular downs because no dwarf bamboo grows in the district, a plant fatal to pasturing sheep, which is found nearly everywhere in Japan, and takes the place of turf on many private estates. The Japanese dog is not the friend and companion of his master as is his English brother. Those most often seen are either somewhat characterless poodles or wolfish outhouse creatures of the poorest breed. The beautiful little Japanese spaniels, or Kyoto chm, which are so much admired by Europeans, with their silky hair, pug noses, and large black bulging eyes, weigh only about 8 lbs., and are very affectionate, intelligent little creatures ; but they are very delicate, and are getting quite scarce even in their own country, where they are, of course, as in Europe, merely ariicfcs de luxe, costing from ^£1 10s. to sElO each. "When brought over to England they require ANIMAL LIFE IN JAPAN 213 to be treated with the greatest care, as otherwise they are too deHcate to withstand the damp and rigours of an Enghsh winter. Some years ago, the Empress of Japan sent eight of these pets as a gift to Queen Alexandra, but only one survived — the smallest of all, called Togo. On the other hand, the Japanese cat or neko is as much treasured and petted by the Japanese old ladies as is the English pussy with us, and in Dai Nippon many a sweet-tempered old woman finds solace in her neJco and hugs it to her bosom morning and evening. In appear- ance the Japanese cat is not beautiful to an English eye. It is an ill-bred animal, coarse-furred and smelling of fish, with an apology for a tail, and no sporting instincts ; I verily believe it has hardly enough spirit to kill a mouse. The following is an original composition written about cats by a Japanese student in Tokyo : — " I heard that beasts and birds have the education. Indeed! I saw the fact. Several days ago my cat brought forth the three kittens. When the kittens became able to eat rat, the cat brought a rat without head because she had eat the head already, and she gave her children, and they ate the rat in quarrel. After three days, she brought a dead rat with head, and gave them ; and they ate it as before. After three days she brought the rat — half dead and half alive — and gave them it, but they could not ate it, and the rat contrived to escape, then she got hold it again. By this manner they could ate that rat. And from that time these kittens could catch rats with very good way, and easily could ate it. I think, this is ' the Education of the Cat ! ' " Our brethren ! When you educate your children, I hope you to educate with the kindness as this cat did." As poultry fanciers the Japanese have been a failure, either owing to indifference, or ignorance of how to keep the breed pure, for although at one time splendid breeds, 214 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN ranging from White Leghorns to stately Buff Brahmas, were introduced, the poultry seen to-day throughout the country have degenerated into fowls of very uncertain pedigree, or no pedigree at all. This is not surprising when one sees the refuse that is thrown to the chickens as food, consisting for the most part of scraps of fish and rotting vegetables. In the market at Tokyo I saw the wonderful Tosa chickens, whose tail-feathers measure 10 or 11 feet in length. They are kept in tall bamboo cages with these feathers spread out proudly like a peacock's tail, and when they are let out to find food as common or garden chickens do, their feathers are rolled up in curl- papers, or put into a bag, like the old gentleman's long beard in a well-known play, to protect them from. harm. There are fashionable crazes in Japan as elsewhere, and a few years ago it was " the thing " to have as a pet at least one pink-eyed rabbit, and while the craze lasted, these animals were imported in large numbers, and fetched large prices ; but now that they have ceased to be fashionable, the trade in them has practically ceased. The wild animals of Japan are not dangerous : there are no wolves, lions, or tigers, and almost the only large carnivora are two kinds of bear — a small black species peculiar to Japan, and a large brown bear (the grizzly of North America), which is common in the northerly island. In passing through groves one frequently comes upon a company of sportive monkeys with bright crimson faces. They are hunted for their flesh, and may be seen hanging at the doors of provision stores in the capital ; poor little fellows, it seems like cannibalism to eat an animal so like a human being. More agreeable to European ideas is the use of wild boar flesh, which is also sold in the Tokyo meat-shops. ANIMAL LIFE IN JAPAN 215 There are also comparatively few reptiles in Japan, and although there are several varieties of snakes to be found, only one, the small mamusM, is poisonous, and so there is little or no danger from snake-bite in taking country rambles in Japan. Once only, in one of the picturesque old temples among the cryptomeria groves of Haruna, did I see a shiny reptile glide along the balus- trade on which I was sitting, and disappear among the jmigly bushes, almost before the alarming shout of marrmshi escaped from the lips of the huruma/ya. It is certain that the spread of Occidental customs and the desire of the Japanese to follow European teaching and example, will bring about a new era in the history of the domestic animals of Japan. They will be treated as dumb friends, to be cared for and protected, and in this, as in many other ways, the subjects of the Mikado will approach nearer to modern standards. CHAPTBE XVIII PEAEL-FISHING AND OTHEE KINDS The pearl fisheries off the Ise coast — Area of five acres of aea-bed leased from the Government for artificial production — Women divers at work — Inserting a foreign substance in the oyster-spat — Splendid financial results — Difficulties from seaweed, &c. — Cormorant fishing on the Kisogawa river at Gifu — Fishing by torchUght — Metal rings for the birds — Twelve cormorants held by strings — Skill of the men — Refuse of fish is sold as manure — Dried bonito — Fishing-tackle in Japan — The Japanese the premier maritime people of the Orient. THE Japanese are very proud of their pearl fisheries, and indeed the production of artificial pearls is one of the greatest discoveries ever made in the industrial world. The accounts I heard of it from many of my Japanese friends made me long to visit the fishing ground myself, and when I did so I was fully repaid for the trouble of getting there, for the expedition was as interesting as any I have ever made. The fisheries lie off the peninsula of Ise, about twelve miles south of the famous temples, and we went by boat to the Port of Yokkaichi in the Bay of Akogi, and thence south by train. On arrival at the little fishing hamlet opposite the pearl culture farms, we embarked in small boats, and were rowed out to the grounds themselves. The oyster beds extend over an area of five hundred acres, which has been leased from the Government, and about a hundred persons are engaged in work con- nected with the pearl culture grounds. Most of the 216 SHELL SHOP AT ENOSHIMA, THE SACRED ISLAND. To face p. 217. PEARL-FISHING AND OTHER KINDS 217 submarine work, such as the transplanting of the oysters and spreading them out on the beds, is done by women divers, and it is worthy of notice that there has been a beHef from time immemorial that women can work better and longer under water than men, the women divers of Ise being often mentioned in classic literature. These artificial pearls are produced by the introduction of a foreign substance — a small round piece of nacre — into the .shells of oysters in their third year . The shells are then put back into the sea and left undisturbed for at least four years more. At the end of that time they are taken out, and it is found that the animal has invested the inserted nucleus with many layers of nacre and has in fact produced apea/rl. The pearl oysters cultured on these grounds belong to the species M. Martensii, and they closely resemble the Indian species found near Ceylon, which is famous for producing the finest pearls in the world. According to the colour of the foreign substance introduced, pink, white, and other kinds of pearls may be produced at will, and these beautiful " solidified drops of dew " are eagerly bought by .^merican visitors. The oyster beds are carefully watched night and day, and the industry yields splendid results financially. It is indeed the only pearl-oyster farm in the world which undertakes extensive cultivation, and produces culture pearls on a commercial scale. For although experiments have been made in Germany and Australia with pearl- oysters, and also in Paris with the abalone shell,* the * Abaione fishing, formerly a fruitful source of profit in Japan, is now prohibited by Imperial edict, the Japanese having caught this valuable shell-fish so diUgently that the fishing-grounds have been depleted. The pretty iridescent souvenirs sold at Enoshima are now made from abalone shells sent over from CaUfomia by the Japanese divers there. 218 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN results have been of little financial value. The Chinese * have also raised pearls by inserting grains of clay between the shell and the thin outer membrane which covers the soft body of the fresh- water mussel ; but the best of these are of very inferior quality, and are valuable merely as curios. I bought in Canton a beautiful imitation cameo in mother-of-pearl, which was obtained by inserting a small metal image of Buddha into the shell in this way. Japanese workers at the pearl banks have many diffi- culties to overcome both in collecting the small oyster- spat, which is usually deposited in shallow water where it would die from cold, and so has to be transferred to the beds prepared for it in deeper water, and also during the four years when these marine organisms " suffer a sea change into something rich and strange " ; for a too luxuriant growth of seaweed (codium) may play havoc in the culture grounds, and unwelcome intruders like the octopus and starfish are especially fond of a meal of pearl-oysters. But by exercising the two national virtues, patience and perseverance, the cultivators are enabled to conquer all the dangers which beset the industry, and to carry on the enterprise successfully year after year. Another peculiar form of Japanese fishing is the cor- morant fishing, an art of great antiquity ; some Japanese acquaintances told me that the ancient chronicle, the Kojike, mentions cormorants as being kept and used for fishing in the time of the Divine Ancestors. One of the most interesting excursions I made was to see this ingenious method of catching fish on the river Kisogawa, at Gifu, where it is practised to the greatest perfection ; for although the birds are used in this way in other parts of the country, yet the men on the Kisogawa are the most skilful in all Japan. They catch the young birds with limed twigs at their feeding-places along the shores of Owari Bay, cage them PEARL-FISHING AND OTHER KINDS 219 and tame them. They are trained to the work just as canaries are taught to sing in the Hartz Mountains, by the old birds teaching and training them. A good old bird will train a number of young ones at one time. Each bird is called by a number, and answers to his name (or rather number) whenever his master addresses him, in the most uncanny knowing manner. The veteran of the band of twelve is called Ichi-ban (number one), and so on ; and IcM-bcm is fully aware of his privileges as the oldest, and insists on being first fed and going last to bed, when they return to their cages in the village. Woe betide the man who makes a mistake, and calls on Ichi- ban to go into the water out of his turn. The fuss he makes would frighten away every fish in the river, for he knows what is correct, and that his master expects him to go last into the water, and come out first, before his inferiors. I thoroughly enjoyed my experiences among these weird birds, and after one expedition I made friends with them in the pen, and took some photographs ; as the fishing always takes place at night and by flickering torchlight, amid much splashing, it is impossible to get a satisfactory photograph of the picturesque scene on the river. On one occasion we arrived at 7 p.m. by train at Gifu from Kyoto, a four hours' journey, and at once chartered what our 'rikisha coolies called a " number one " boat, which proved to be a comfortable house-boat, for which the usual charge is five yen (10s.). In a few minutes the artistic Japanese had made it quite festive with matting, red and white draperies, and paper lanterns (Gifu is noted for its paper lanterns), and we rowed up the stream to meet the twelve fishing-boats, thankful that there was no moon to spoil sport. The boats start about three miles up the river, above Gifu, and float down with 220 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN the current, a whole fleet of them together, one man in the stem managing each boat. It was a very dark night, and we waited in the shadow of a cliff for what seemed a long weary time, growing chillier and chillier as the hour neared midnight, while the boatmen beguiled the time by smoking their funny little doll's pipes (kiseru) . At length we saw a faint light in the far distance ; gradually this increased, and soon we could distinguish ten or twelve different lights, each proceeding from a large iron basket filled with blazing pitch-pine, which was hung by an iron rod from the fore part of each boat. Soon the boats were abreast of us, and we drifted down the river with them to watch this strange method of catching fish, which has existed for some twelve hundred years or longer. It was a picturesque scene ; the flaming torches, round which the fish gathered like moths round a candle, the noise made by a boatman in each boat who stood shouting and beating a bamboo gong to encourage the birds, and last but not leasts the excited birds in the bow, evidently trying to explain in cormorant language their anxiety to be up and doing, and straining at the strings that ield them like dogs in a leash. Each cormorant {u-kai) wears at the base of its neck a metal ring, left loose enough to enable the bird to make its supper off the small, unsaleable fish that it swallows, but too tight to allow the larger fish to pass below. The fish — principally the ayu (plecoglossus) a diminu- tive salmon — were now present in large numbers, attracted by the lights, and the master boatman lowered his team of twelve trained birds into the water, holding each bird separately by a string, while a second man behind held four more. The ungainly birds immediately set to work with a will, darting hither and thither excitedly in search of prey. On this occasion they caught so many fish that we feared some of them would choke outright. PEARL-FISHING AND OTHER KINDS 221 But when the master boatman saw that one was gorged, he skilfully shortened that particular line of string, lifted the bird on board, squeezed out the fish, and before we realised what he had done, the bird was again at work in the water, and not one of the other eleven lines had mean- while become fouled in any way. Four fish is the usual take each time, and the process is repeated with each of the twelve birds on an average four times a minute. We were drifting slowly down stream, meanwhile, and we sat feeling quite bewildered by the marvellous dexterity of the chief boatman in handling these twelve obstreperous plungersj each as large as a goose. When we reached Gifu, the boats were run ashore, and the cormorants stood up on the gunwale, each in its place, for all the world like soldiers on parade before being dis- missed. The master spoke to them kindly, and asked them if they had had enough supper. They seemed quite to understand what he said, and to respond by diving and spluttering, whereupon he fed them with the small un- marketable fish. As they are a commercial asset, it pays to treat the birds kindly ; for a well-trained cormorant is "Valuable to its owner, and must be fed in the off-season, during seven months of idleness. We reached our hotel in the early morning, feeUng that this was one of our most weird and interesting experiences in this enigmatic country of temples, tea-houses, and geisha, of earthquakes, floods, typhoons, and tidal waves. Fish and fishing are very much in evidence all over Japan, some being dried on frames, and some, during the herring season, boiled down to make fresh oil. On the beach near jfenoshima I used to notice large iron pots propped on stones, or set in a hole like an oven, and I found that the people boiled the fish in these pots, and skimmed off the oil, drying the refuse, and pressing it into blocks to be exported as manure. Fish is so distinctly the 222 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN food of the people that its odours prevail even in provision shops ; while, as the refuse from fish is thrown to the chickens, native eggs taste fishy, and in some inns I used to shut my eyes and imagine that I was eating fish instead of omelette. The Japanese have also learnt how to dry and salt fish according to Western methods, and they do a large export trade with China. Many a time at Nagasaki and other southerly ports, has the too pungent odour of dried bonito (katsuo) assailed my nostrils as I walked along the Bund, near the warehouses where men and women were busy packing into bags the hard blocks of this most delectable of all dainties to the Japanese palate. It is stewed and eaten with rice, and when cooked in this way is not unpalatable. On one occasion I visited the shop of a dealer in fishing- tackle, and it was interesting to find that the trout and salmon of Japan succumb to the same wiles as their brothers in Northern Europe, as the gaudy salmon flies of native manufacture and many familiar types clearly proved. Owing to its formation and number of islands, Japan possesses a coast line more than double the extent of that of the British Isles, and their vast sea-board, countless harbom:s, and inexhaustible fisheries have made the Japanese the premier maritime people of the Orient. They are a nation of born sailors, as much at home on the water as on land, and in this respect they are un- approached by any other Eastern race, and can look for- ward to a career on the Pacific like that of Great Britain on the Atlantic and in the Indian Ocean. CHAPTEE XIX SUPERSTITIONS Many superstitions connected with animal lore — The fox, the repre- sentative of Inari the rice-goddess — The three kinds of badger, the tcmuhi, mujina, and mami — Belief in demoniacal possession — Wrestlers are proof against fox possession — Women of the lower classes often victims — The dog, the protector of mankind in Japanese legend — " The Blue Bird " — Dog-charms — Imperial guards called the hayabiio — the " Korean dogs " of the Emperor and Empress, the lion and the unicorn — The Tengu, the Celestial Dog, the demon of the mountains and woods — Festival in honour of the Tengu Takagand — Cat legends — The Japanese nehomata or bewitching oat, a dangerous demon — Begarded as a mascot by Japanese sailors — Precautions against evil spirits — The classic symbols of luck — The ma/nji, the talisman against bad demons, adopted as their crest by several damvyo — Temple images rubbed out of all recognition by hopeful sufferers — Binzuro, a favourite god, at Kiyomizo Temple, Kyoto — ^the True Lover's Shrine at Kiyomizu — The Image of Jizo-Sama, protector of little children, at Asakusa Temple, Tokyo — The " Flowing Invocation "' — In matters of superstition the Japanese show imaginative power. BEHIND enlightened Japan of to-day lies a long winding road of superstition and quaint belief, which has endured for more than twelve centuries, and still exerts a powerful influence over the minds of the people in general. Many of their superstitions are con- nected with animal lore, and from olden times down to the present day the fox and the badger have played a most important part in ancient folk stories. Legends of 224 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN animals who take human form and speak with hmnan voices are related, not as fairy-tales, but as sober historical facts ; and so universal is the belief in the supernatural powers of these animals, that if the rice crop fails, or the silkworms are stolen, all is ascribed to the howling of foxes on certain days, or the non-appearance of a white fox, the emblem of good-luck, in a certain part of the paddy field. The fox has a double and contradictory power in Japan : that of a beneficent god, the messenger of Inari the rice-goddess, the Ceres of Japan, most popular of all Shinto deities, who is believed to have a vulpine shape ; and on the other hand, that of a wicked demon, haunting and possessing men. The idea that foxes were able to metamorphose themselves into beings shaped like men was originally borrowed from the Chinese, whose influ- ence on Japanese folk-lore has been enormous. In many of the temples fox images are to be seen, and the people offer food at their shrines ; and in every kitchen there is a small red shrine to Inari, the goddess who makes the rice crop flourish and fills hungry mouths. Not so important and complicated are the stories con- nected with the badger, of which there are three kinds : the tanuki, mujina, and mami. The first has the fore- most place, and is often bracketed with the fox under the term kori (foxes and badgers). The tanuki, as well as mujina, can change themselves into men and haunt and possess mankind, but they are not so skilful and danger- ous as the fox, since they lack the divine rice spirit which gives this animal a special position, as the representative of the great blessing of the country. The badger plays the part taken by the wolf in Europe; he bewilders unlucky mortals by producing musical sounds, and takes on human form to entice them to their death. Mitford tells the well-known tale of a young noble, who found a SUPERSTITIONS 225 beautiful girl by the roadside, and immediately cut off her head. When his father wished to kill him for this wicked deed, the son begged him first to go and look at the evil spirit he had killed ; on the father proceeding to the spot he found a huge old badger with its head cut off. The young nobleman, like a veritable Sherlock Holmes, had noticed that although the lovely maiden declared to him that she had been lying there in pain for several hours, her clothing was quite dry, in spite of the fact that during that time heavy rain had fallen continuously. Belief in demoniacal possession is pretty general throughout the country, and it is not uncommon for a person to imagine that he is possessed by a fox, or has been deceived by a badger. Lafcadio Hearn tells us that wrestlers, as a class, boast of their immunity from fox-possession, and are not afraid of Mtsune-tsuJci (the fox-possessed), or other spectres. Speaking generally, all very strong men are supposed to be proof against demons of every kind and to inspire them with fear, and it is almost exclusively women of the lower classes who are attacked — predisposing conditions being weak in- tellect, a superstitious turn of mind, and a debilitating illness, such as typhoid fever. Fox-possession never occurs except in such subjects as have heard of it and believe in it, and there can be no doubt that the disorder is related to hysteria and to hypnotic influence by auto-suggestion. These old mediseval superstitions, however, are gradually disappearing, victims of fox-possession being taken less frequently to the hospitals for treatment ; and no doubt as education becomes more general, these strange beliefs will pass away altogether. There is a great difference between the parts played by the dog and the cat in Japanese legend and superstition, the former being a protector of mankind, the latter usually 15 226 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN its deadly enemy. This idea is occasionally met with in European legend ; for example, Maeterlinck in " The Blue Bird " makes the dog the faithful friend of the children, and the cat the arch-traitor. In reflecting upon the different legends and beliefs prevalent in China and Japan, we find that hardly any- thing in them is original Japanese superstition ; it is nearly all Chinese fancy in a Japanese garb. Yet the way in which the rich material thus imported from China into Japan was selected and transformed by the Japanese clearly shows their original ideas. Apparently the dog was one of their favourite animals, while in China, on the contrary, its bad demoniacal character comes much more to the front than its protective power. Eew and far between are the Japanese legends about wicked dogs, and very numerous are those about dogs which assisted and protected mankind. The colour white is very frequent in the Chinese and Japanese dog legends, white and red being evidently the colours of supernatural dogs. Dog-charms are believed to be ef&cacious in driving away foxes, badgers, and other evil spirits, and the charac- ter representing inu (dog) is still written on the forehead of a Japanese baby to protect it against the demons of disease. Even the words inu no ho, inu no ko, (puppy, puppy), are supposed to make an infant quiet when it cries in its dreams. Formerly, in the Imperial Palace, a body of guards called the hayabito was specially appointed for the pur- pose of driving away all evil spirits by means of their barking, and in addition to this, the Emperor and Empress were guarded by the "Korean dogs," the sMshi-komainu, one of which was a lion and the other a unicorn. These images came from China through Korea and soon found their way from the Palace to the Shinto shrines, which they still guard. I have more than once seen English SUPERSTITIONS 227 visitors to the Land of the Eising Sun greatly puzzled to find the lion and the unicorn, so familiar to them as " fighting for the crown " on the British Standard, at the entrance to a temple in Toky5. The original Japanese mountain demon, who had the shape of a bird, but could change himself into a man and play all kinds of tricks on the people, got the name of Tengu, or Celestial Dog. He was the demon of the moimtains and woods, and is one of the most interesting figures in Japanese demonology. He is often portrayed on the old embroideries and ceremonial cloths (fukusa), which belonged formerly to old feudal families, and may now be picked up in the Kyoto second-hand shops, and one of my quaintest vases has Tengu on it for decoration. Curious ideas about this being are still alive among the country people, who beat drums, and call to the Tengu to bring back stolen children, and offer the demon cake before cutting down trees. They still worship the " sky dog " in temples dedicated to him on mountain- tops, as, for example, on Atago-yama. Every year there is a remarkable festival at the temple called Kami no kura, at Kumano, built on the top of a high rock, and dedicated to the Tengu Takagemd. Over the steep steps, which lead from the foot of the rock to the temple, old and young men race up and down with lighted torches, and he who makes the descent first is cheered by the onlookers, and formerly received a bag of rice from the lord of the castle. The hill above the temple is supposed to be the playground of the Tengu, It is quite natural that these old customs should be kept up by the people. Everywhere primitive belief dies hard, and in a mountainous country like Dai Nippon the demons of mountains and woods play, naturally, an important part in the imagination of the country-folk. If a child is lost in the woods it is a foregone conclusion 228 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OP JAPAN that the demons have stolen it, and if it is found again after a while utterly tired out, the conclusion is obvious that these demons have taken it far over hill and dale before bringing it back. These ideas existed in Japan long before the coming of Chinese civilisation and Buddhism, although no doubt both of these had a great influence in developing them and fixing them indelibly on the minds of the people. China's rich folk-lore brought an enormous amount of new material to enrich the fancy of the people, and Chinese names were applied to Japanese ideas. Legends about the cat are of a different character, the Japanese nekomata, or bewitching cat, with her forked tail, being an exceedingly dangerous demon, who devours old women and assumes their shape. In the seventeenth century she is spoken of as an animal of darkness, a domestic tiger (tegai no tora) ; and the Japanese place a sword at the side of a corpse, in order to prevent the cat from walking over it, or causing it to revive and change into a terrible demon. In the legends of the nineteenth century, however, the cat plays a good part instead of that of an evil demon, and in these tales she sacrifices her life on behalf of her master, and is rewarded by burial in a Buddhist church- yard, with masses read for her soul. There is also an old tradition among Japanese sailors, which survives to this day, according to which a three-coloured tom-cat (white, black, and brown) is an excellent charm against evil spirits. He knows when a storm is coming and climbs upon the mast, where he drives away the demons ; and the sailors of Dai Nippon do not care what price they pay for such a cat, and make great sacrifices in order to have one as a mascot on board ship. All sorts of precautions are taken against evil spirits, and in Ky5to the study of Japanese embroideries and SUPERSTITIONS 229 curios became to me most interesting, after a friend taught me to decipher them, so to speak, by picking out the various emblems of good-luck which are introduced into every piece of needlework or carving. In this way I learnt that the ancient and classic symbols of Luck {takara mono) are the hammer, straw coat, purse, sacred gem, the scrolls, the shvppo, or seven precious things, and the weights ; any of these, embroidered or worked on a gift, convey an expression of good wishes on the part of the giver, and are supposed to avert ill-luck. The manji, or Buddhist hook-cross of India, which appears in Greek art and in old English heraldry, is the sign of eternity, the talisman against evil spirits, and a sure charm against harm from any of the four elements. As such it was adopted by several daimyo families as their crest. It is a common sight in the temples to see people rubbing themselves against one of the gods, in full expectation of being cured of some particular ailment, and these images are in many cases rubbed out of all recognition by generations of sufferers. One of the most picturesque temples in all Japan is the Kiyomizu-dera, at Kyoto, sacred to Kwannon, goddess of mercy. It is situated in the centre of the porcelain-makers' district, and from the Miyako Hotel it is a long, tiring walk to Teapot Hill, up a steep street lined with china shops, which contain teapots enough to stock the universe. But I always felt amply repaid for the climb when I stood on the wooden platform of the chief temple overlooking the city, looking down into the wooded gorge below. On this platform stands the image of a favourite god, Binzuro, and it was to me always a fascinating sight to watch the continuous stream of people who during the afternoon came hopefully to rub such part of Binzuro's 230 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN body as corresponded to the seat of their own trouble, and then rub themselves in the same place. Poor old Binzuro! Hopeful hands have rubbed all the lacquer off his brow to cure headaches ; off his stomach to cure indigestion ; and off his feet and arms for gout and rheumatism. As for his nose, it has disappeared alto- gether, showing that many believers must have suffered from colds and influenza. In a quiet corner of Kiyomizo there is an ancient shrine sacred to Kamnosube-no-kami, the goddess who watches over lovers. The wooden grating in front is entirely covered with scores of twisted papers tied round the bars, which many a fair maiden in search of a husband has left there. The priests sell these strips of white paper containing the written wish, and the lady ties the paper into a knot round a bar, using only the thumb and little finger. If Heaven sends her a husband, she generally makes a present to the shrine to mark her gratitude. To tie a wisp of paper with only the thumb and little finger is an operation requiring no little skill, and as practice makes perfection in this as in everything else, one often sees young girls in tea-houses trying to over- come the difficulty in preparation for their visit to the true-lover's shrine at Kiyomizo ; they thoroughly believe that if any other fingers tie the knot, or even touch the printed prayer-paper, the charm will be broken, and the goddess will not answer. At the famous Asakusa Temple in Tokyo there is a shrine dedicated to Jizo, the protector of little children, who is kind to them not only during life but after death. Bereaved mothers believe that the spirits of their little ones wander disconsolately in the other world, crying for their father and mother, and building in the dry bed of the Eiver of Souls little prayer-towers of stones, which bad demons demolish as soon as they are made. Jizo A WAYSIDE SHRINE I\ THE INTERIOK. SUPERSTITIONS 231 drives away the demons, and protects the poor little mites from the hag Shozuka, who would rob them of their clothes ; he hides the children in the long sleeves of his kimono. The shelves below the figure of Jizo are filled with rude stone images of the kindly god, and round the necks of these are fastened nursery bibs and babies' caps. It is pathetic to see a sad-faced young mother tying a dilapidated doll or a wooden horse round an image, in the belief that the compassionate god will care for and comfort her dead child. In the interior I came across more than one huge image of Jizo-Sama by the roadside, life-sized, and carved out of the rock — a giant bas-relief sitting in lonely contemplation — his lap filled with pebbles laid there by sorrowing parents, each stone registering a prayer to Jizo the pitiful on behalf of departed little ones. Between Nikko and Chuzenji I found yet another appeal from the living on behalf of the dead — an appeal which has a place in the world of superstition, and is quite peculiar to Japan; it is called the "flowing invocation." Passing along the river bank in my jin- rikisha, 1 noticed a piece of white cloth fastened over the river-bed by a stake at each of the four corners. Beside this was a wooden ladle, and printed on a card near by was the name of a woman who had died in child- birth, with a request that the passing traveller would of his charity pour water with the ladle into the cloth and say a prayer for the departed soul. Tomo, the kuruma boy, translated this to me as I stood by the river, and then he removed the inverted bowl of straw which he calls a hat, and stood bare-headed, while he poured water over the cloth, and muttered what was presumably a prayer. He then explained that when the water poured thereon had worn the cloth through, the soul of the woman would be freed from punishment and enter into 232 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN rest. I made further inquiries about this custom in Chuzenji, and I found that this form of invocation is peculiar to the Nichiren sect of Buddhists. The priests of that sect sell the material, and he who pays most gets the thinnest cloth, which very quickly wears out and falls away. The poor can only afford to buy the strong, coarse material ; consequently the souls of their loved ones are kept in purgatory for a longer period. There is some- thing very touching in this simple faith, stumbled upon by chance in a remote valley among the everlasting hills, and one is inclined to envy a people who can find comfort in their bereavement from such a pious belief as is contained in this prayer to the charitable passer-by. Folk-lore is of permanent interest, both entertaining and instructive ; it suggests not only the nature of beliefs and superstitions, but also much concerning the qualities of mind and stage of mental development of a race. It is frequently asserted that the Japanese are deficient in imaginative power, hence in invention and initiative. Yet the foregoing narratives prove that in matters of superstition the Japanese fancy has been remarkably active, and that they show the same faculty as other nations to connect cause and effect, and to imagine supernatural explanations of the unknown and weave them into weird and attractive legends. The dog and cat legends, as well as the familiar fox and badger super- stitions, seem, however, to indicate a relative lack of imaginative power, in that they associate supernatural powers with common animals, whereas Westerners usually incorporate supernatural visitations in strange ghostly forms, or no material form at all ; in this way certainly the Japanese fancy is not as fertile as that of Western people. No doubt, with the spread of education old ideals and SUPERSTITIONS 233 old superstitions in Japan will some day be as extinct as the dodo. But they are deeply rooted in the heart of the people, and it will take time — a generation at least — before the nation at large absorbs the ideals of the West sufficiently to give up old traditions and beliefs which are a part of the national life. CHAPTBE XX THE BLIND POLK OF JAPAN Condition of the blind pitiable until a.d. 900 — Blind prince, Amago- no-mikoto, improves matters — Eank assigned to them — The monastery at Hieizan a centre for the blind — Blind men as Governors of provinces — A return later of hard times — Allowed to travel at the public expense — Follow trade of massage — Musicians and story-teUers — Blind poet Seminaru — Blind men as spies — Personal experience of native massage at Miyanoshita — Expert players at checkers — What the present Government and private enterprise are doing for the blind — Beasons for the prevalence of defective eyesight in Japan. UNTIL about a thousand years ago, the condition of blind folk in Japan seems to have been pitiable. A burden to relations, shut out from any calling or social rank, and looked upon as unlucky and uncanny, those who became blind entered into a state of almost unquali- fied misery. Providence, in the shape of a blind prince, stepped in to aid them. The Emperor, Kokan Tenno, who succeeded his father, Ninmei Tenno, in a.d. 885, had a son named Amago-no-mikoto, who was born blind. Finding that the ordinary courtiers could not amuse the lad, the Eihperor summoned to his palace eight hundred blind men of learning and fame, some of whose names — Myokan, Myomon, Shido, Sakurai — have come down to us. The young prince having shaved his head, all these men followed his example ; and a shaven head is to this 234 THE BLIND FOLK OF JAPAN 235 day a distinctive mark of a blind man. It was thought the proper thing to confer some rank upon his blind com- panions, and the high title of Koto was assigned to them. The title of Kengyo, however, happened to be already borne by one of their number, a monk of the monastery of Hieizan, near Kyoto, and this being a still higher title than Koto, he preferred to retain it. Henceforth, there- fore, it was enacted that Kengyo should be reckoned a higher grade for blind men, Koto standing next, and that all who wished to gain these titles should present them- selves for examination at the monastery of Hieizan. The great monastery of Hieizan is situated in the eastern part of Yamashiro province, adjacent to Omi, and a few miles distant from Kyoto. It occupies a command- ing position, from which fine views may be got of the city and of Lake Biwa. Hither, then, to the slopes of Hieizan, did the blind men who aspired to high rank wend their way, and it was here that their learning and manual skill were tested. By a curious irony, one of the most beautiful scenes in Japan thus became intimately con- nected vdth those who could never enjoy its beauty. At the age of thirty, Amago-no-mikoto, having been appointed Governor of the three provinces of Hyugo, Osumi, and Satsumi, was accompanied thither by a retinue of blind courtiers who carried out his wishes and helped him in the duties of government. When, growing old, he retired to Kyoto, he entrusted these men with the duties of the governorship — a practice which was repeated until it grew into a precedent. Blind men ruled these three provinces until the reign of Go-shirakawa Tenno, a period reckoned the happiest in the annals of Japanese blind folk. About A.D. 1180 civil war broke out in the Empire, and, in the fierce contest for supreme power waged between the rival houses of Taira and Minamoto, the weak had 236 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN everywhere to give way before the strong. The peaceful and happy state of affairs that had allowed blind governors to rule a province ceased for ever, giving place to war and bloodshed. At the close of the thirteenth century the poor blind officials were everywhere dispossessed and reduced to a state of poverty and destitution. The attention of the Government having been called to their condition, it gave orders to the Governor of each province to succour them, but after the reign of Go-tsuchimikado, A.D. 1467, even this small boon was taken away. When the Tokugawa family came into power, a complaint was made regarding the wretched state of the blind throughout the realm, and permission was granted them to travel from province to province, their pocket-money to be provided by the head of each township. Thus matters continued until the great Eevolution of 1868. This event again proved disastrous to most of the blind people, and efforts have since been made to relieve them by establish- ing asylums, where they learn, amongst other accomplish- ments, to read from raised characters. Several foreign missionaries have been and are bestowing labour on the advancement of education for the blind, and Japanese beneficence built a school, to be the nucleus of a larger building, near the great Tsukiji Temple of Tokyo. This school has been recently removed to Koishikawa and joined to the Deaf and Dumb Institute. At Kyoto there is another of these institutions. In a country of minute distinctions of social grade like Japan, it is not to be supposed that, during the centuries in which the imperial guild or brotherhood of the blind was a strong and influential body, the ranks Kengyo and Koto remained intact, without minuter sub - divisions. Bach of these ranks included ten sub-ranks called Bo, and these were again sub-divided into sevehty-six others. Different sects or schools also were formed, eight noted THE BLIND FOLK OF JAPAN 237 blind men founding eight different schools. During the sway of the Tokugawa Shogun the Shido sect was the most powerful of these. The members of the bHnd guild followed two occu- pations — music or chanting, and shampooing or massage. The songs they used to sing mostly celebrated the glories of the house of Taira, and were composed by a poetess of note, Murasaki Shikibu. Their favourite instruments for accompaniment were the biwa, the sarmsdn, and the koto. Those of lower grade were shampooers {ammo), or needle-doctors who cured by the counter-irritant system {sMnjutsu) . To this day these blind shampooers fill the streets with their cry, Am/ma hami shimo go-hyaku-mon (5 sen, or farthings, for shampooing the body from head to foot). The musicians who played on the biwa were called biwa-hoshi, and they were highly thought of by all the people. Occasionally they had the honour of receiving invitations to perform from Emperors and Shogun. Others who had become blind, unable to compete with the blind musicians— for the most skilful musicians were those born blind — took to story-telling as a profession, or made poems in Japanese and Chinese. Seminaru, a blind prince, was one of the most accomphshed of Japanese poets. A shrine, occupying the site of his summer-house, is still pointed out in the vicinity of Osakayama Tunnel at Otsu, near Kyoto. Others, again, practised the art of divining. The higher of&cial grades open to blind men came in time to be eagerly sought after, and were often purchased with a large sum of money, even as much as 500 ryo being paid for the coveted distinctions. In consideration of this fee the ministers at the Emperor's Court let those who paid go free from examination. The holders of official rank had many privileges, some of them monetary. 238 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN which enabled those who paid fees to reimburse them- selves later on. They were allowed to use a special hago reserved for men of high rank only, and on entering the inner gate of a castle they were not compelled, like common people, to quit their kago and make the required obeisance. The sign of their dignity was a staff, of red lacquer in the case of a first-class of&cial, of black in that of the second-class. The privilege was also granted them of conferring the petty ranks on inferior members of the brotherhood — a considerable source of revenue. These blind officials were frequently put to questionable uses in the stormy period between a.d. 1400 and a.d. 1600. Generals and barons took blind musicians into their pay and employed them as spies, and many a castle was taken and many an army ruined by this device. It takes nine years for an amima or shampooer to learn his calling. During his first three years of apprenticeship he practises on the limbs and body of his master. Then, for the next three years, he is taught the art of acupuncture {shinjutsu). For the three years that still remain he is, so to speak, on trial, and receives only half the usual fee (6 sen), and even this moiety goes to his master. Even after the nine years' apprenticeship he is expected to make some presents to his master before he becomes free to set up for himself. Those who claim any reputation as shampooers practise the art at home ; the others wander through the streets offering their services at a cheap rate, or crying "Amma-Harif" (shampooing and acupuncture!). The wailing cry of these blind amma resounds every- where, even in out-of-the-way mountain resorts. At Miyanoshita I followed the custom of the country, and was massaged every evening after the hot mineral bath. But what an experience it was. The old woman beat and pummelled me without mercy, and with her elbow-bone she kneaded me between the shoulder-blades as though MASSAGE BY A BLIND AMMA. To face p. 338^ THE BLIND FOLK OF JAPAN 239 she were working the flesh into dough. Her manipula- tions left me aching all over, and never did twenty minutes pass so slowly. It being an institution of the country, I felt bound to make myself personally acquainted with the process ; but, experientia docet, and never again do I wish to undergo that unscientific system of massage. Some blind men have distinguished themselves outside of the usual professions. It was not uncommon for blind men to be expert players at checkers (go), and one blind player is said to have gained a victory over a prince. The latter, in a fit of jealous anger, struck his opponent and killed him ; but the story cannot be vouched for. Blind men act frequently as money-lenders, and bear a reputation for harsh dealing, so that creditors do not love them. Under the Tokugawa dynasty, they were permitted by law to charge higher interest on loans of money than that which was fixed by the Government. Modern official Japan has done something for the blind. According to the most recent reports of the Education Department, there are over four thousand blind children of school age in the Empire, almost equally divided between the sexes. The 1907 returns gave 2,144 blind boys and 2,138 blind girls, only 10 per cent, of them attending school. There are three Government institu- tions for the blind : one at Koishikawa in the capital, already mentioned, for the Blind, Deaf, and Dumb; another for the blind alone in Formosa; and a third attached to Yokohama prison. There are also two muni- cipal schools at Osaka and Ky5to respectively, and thirty- six private schools scattered over the Empire, three or four in connection with Christian missions. The humani- tarian spirit spreading over the country, and manifested in such admirable institutions as the Ishii Orphanage at Okayame, is likely to bear fruit in caring for the wants of the nation's blind folk. 240 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN I was greatly struck, as every visitor to Japan must be, by the extraordinary number of people in spectacles, especially among officials. Nearly every second policeman wears spectacles, and nine out of ten among university students are spectacled. A variety of reasons were offered to me by Japanese friends, and of them all the most feasible seems to be that weak eyesight is probably the consequence of the enormous amount of superfluous writing done by all officialdom in Japan. The strain upon the eyes in learning the Chinese characters is so great that the Government, a few years ago, considered the advisability of introducing Eoman characters in all schools and universities ; Japanese youths have to spend years in familiarising themselves with the difficult Chinese ideographs. Another cause of defective eyesight is un- doubtedly the method of carrying babies with shorn heads uncovered and eyes exposed to the glaring sun ; and a further reason was given by a learned friend at the Imperial University in Tokyo, who told me that he attri- buted his short-sightedness to reading foreign books with strange print in sixpenny editions. From personal obser- vation I should add to this last reason the additional fact that the Japanese read close print by very poor hght. Travelling by rail, I have seen men poring over news- papers, deciphering the small and badly printed Chinese characters by the aid of a miserable oil lamp in the roof. I have watched them straining their eyes for hours, until my own eyes ached in sympathy, and I have seen the police in their boxes writing up their books in the same way, their eyes almost glued to the page in which they were writing their report. The prevalence of blindness is a serious fact for the Japanese nation, and the authorities are fully aware of its gravity, and are doing all in their power to check its increase. It is sad to see boys of tender age wearing THE BLIND FOLK OF JAPAN 241 spectacles, as well as those of mature years. Of my numerous Japanese friends, I can only recall one, an Engineer-Captain in the Navy, who does not wear spectacles. All honour to Japan for taking care of her blind folk, and to the present-day Government for continuing to protect them by law, with all the old-world privileges bestowed on them nearly a thousand years ago. 16 CHAPTEE XXI DISAGBBEABLES IN JAPANESE LIFE The atrocity of the smells — No sewerage system — Refuse is of com- mercial value — A Japanese farmer ranks low in the social scale — Tokyo mud — The golden rule of health is to drink no unboiled water — Bad ventilation in Japanese houses — The Japanese love draughts — Effects of charcoal fumes on Japanese women — Unin- vited guests — The wicked flea — Card-playing — Noise — Fear of burglars — Experience in yadoya on a pilgrim route — Odours overpowering — Breach of the police regulations — The honourable rats of the house — Dampness of the cUmate — The photographer's lot is not a happy one — Native food not satisfying ; absence of meat, milk, and bread — Flowers without perfume — No singing birds, except the nightingaJe in the hills— Fruits flavourless — Insect lite — The mosquito on the war-path — Croaking of frogs — Earthquake the greatest of all disagreeables — The saving grace of humour. THE chance visitor to the Sunny Kingdom is prone to look only on the pleasant side of things, and to accept almost with amusement the little circumstances and conditions which go to the wrong side of the balance- sheet. But I found that a few months spent among the people took much of the gilt from the gingerbread, for there are many disagreeables in Japanese life. The prime objection for those who are blessed, or cursed, with keen olfactory nerves is the atrocity of the smells. A Japanese, by long training or by inherited physical organisation, has a nose that does not give him much 242 DISAGEEEABLES IN JAPANESE LIFE 243 trouble, even among intense stenches. On several occa- sions, when I was wild with discomfort, my Japanese friends appeared to be in a state of the most complete content. Many Europeans who have spent years in Japan never become reconciled to conditions that require such obtuse- ness of the olfactory nerves, and I have come across more than one instance of persons who have been driven from Japan by the smells. For example, there is no sewerage system — that "augustly exists not" — and in the handling of the sewage there is an extraordinary lack of precaution. Now nature has endowed me with a highly sensitive nose, and every afternoon in Tokyo my life was made miserable, for the main thoroughfares leading out from the city were lined with carts which were carrying away to the suburbs the refuse from the various districts. I might turn comer after comer during my afternoon stroll, but there was no escape, and I left one train of these carts behind only to come face to face with another. This refuse is of commercial value, for Japanese land is rarely very fertile, and it is in this way that the poor and thin agricultural soil of the country is made to produce crops. A Japanese farmer ranks very low in the social scale, even below a jinrikisha man : there can be no great idealisation in his life, and it is accordingly despised as being disgusting in many of its aspects. For the people still have noses, however hebetised these may be by habit and heredity. A minor disagreeable in Tokyo which affected me per- sonally was the mud after heavy rain. I am very fond of walking, and I often had to explain away this eccen- tricity to Japanese acquaintances, when I arrived at their house on foot instead of in a kuruma, like a sensible person. For the Japanese never dream of walking through muddy streets, and if they do, the geta they 244 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN wear lift them in serene content 4 inches at least above all such sublunary disagreeables as dirt and mud. This was a minor pin-prick, however. There is another undesirable aspect of the sewage system as practised in Japan. The wells of the country are apt to be contaminated, and during an epidemic it is in the last degree dangerous to drink water that is not filtered. Where the sewage of cities, as in modern Glas- gow, is prepared for fertilising purposes at special sewage farms, this danger is avoided ; but in Japan it is difficult to prevent the spread of cholera or other diseases when the sewage is scattered freely over the country. I was warned to drink no unboiled water, unless I knew where it came from, and that no rice-field had had a chance to drain into it. The Japanese never drink cold water, and are consequently careless about keeping it pure. This is one of the golden rules of health for the foreigner in Japan; even ice is not safe. Then, again, Japanese houses are not built in a sanitary way ; they may be regarded as inverted cups which suck up the heavy air from the ground. They are built over the ground ; and at night, when the amado are closed, all the available ventilation comes from below, by way of the matted floor. And yet they are cold and draughty — I beheve the Japanese love to sit in draughts. On a cold, frosty morning, a paper house does not seem the right thing in the right place, and paper windows are inade- quate, as the shivering foreigner feels. On these occasions I used to recall Pierre Loti's dictum, that Japan was a tropical country which had moved up north by mistake and had never found it out. Unless Japanese houses were draughty, it would be impossible to use the charcoal braziers as freely as the people do, for the fumes are deadly. In time they affect the health of those who have to keep indoors most of the time, and the women soon grow A PILGRIM [JUNREI), Each August hosts of pilgrims in white clothes and huge straw hats, with pieces of straw matting for rain-coats bound across their shoulders, take long pilgrimages to famous shrines and to summits of sacred mountains. After purification in the lake, they pass under the torii or temple gateway (literally^ bird perch), say a prayer in the temple, and chmb to the summit. To face p. 2^S- DISAGREEABLES IN JAPANESE LIFE 245 sallow and careworn in appearance through the bad effects of the poisoned air. Again, the straw mats and futon swarm with fleas {norm), and it is hopeless to think of sleep unless you plentifully besprinkle everything with insect-powder, of which I used more tins than in all my life before. Every house is infested with them, and the Japanese make an insect-powder called nomi-tori ho, which boys sell in the streets, greatly to their profit, for every one invests in a packet, as a defence against the wicked flea. Getting rid of noise is hopeless in a paper house, and for this reason the best rooms of an inn are generally at the top, above the noise of drinking and card-playing Qcaruta). When I secured a top room I was happy, for then I could leave the window open, which I could not do down below, for fear of burglars and police regulations. I remember once spending a night of torture in a yadoya (inn) which happened to be on a pilgrim route in the interior. It was the time of a great festival, and every mat was occupied by a pilgrim ; and to look down from an upper floor upon the mass of humanity asleep on the mats of a large hall is a sight never to be forgotten. I could not go to sleep, for the odours were overpowering. The amado, solid wooden shutters without air-holes, were all tightly closed, with not a gap left for ventilation. Gasping, I rose from under the mosquito-net of coarse green cotton, which exhaled a musty mildewed smell, and was nearly the size of the room itself, and I noise- lessly slid back in its groove the nearest amado, so that I might get a breath of pure air. But alas and alack ! before half-aln-hour had passed, I heard the night watchman with his jingling staff stop before that open shutter, and presently he was joined by a policeman on his beat. After some excited confabulation, the amado was banged noisily back and fastened securely. I heard afterwards 246 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN that I might have been fined heavily for a breach of the pohce regulations. There are also the rats to be reckoned v?ith — four-footed disagreeables that scamper overhead all night, and even poke their sharp, inquisitive noses under the mosqciito- net and sample one's finger or toe, for all the world as if they were veteran rodents on board an old P. and 0. liner. These nocturnal enemies, the honourable rats of the house, are a nuisance all over Japan, even in the far north, and they steal the landlord's millet and beans and everything they can lay their paws upon, according to the manner of their kind in all parts of the world. Another disagreeable is the excessive moisture, which, in the summer months, makes the plains like a steam bath. The wet rice-fields furnish their quota to the moisture of the atmosphere; and so penetrating was the damp at times that I found it difficult to keep even clothes in trunks dry. It often happened that my boots, which had been blacked on the previous evening, were in the morning covered vdth a thick coating of green mould. In this respect the climate of Japan reminded me of Hong Kong, where the humidity of the atmosphere is so great that we always kept an oil-lamp burning in- side our piano-case, while every householder has a large drying-room in which to keep things from becoming mildewed. In Japan, needless to say, books, clothes, cameras, and, indeed, property of all kinds, require to be carefully looked after, and the photographer's lot is not a happy one during the wet summer months. I lost many rolls of films, although they were packed in tins, and sent out to me direct from England in small quantities every month. As for my books, they were a disreputable lot by the time I left Japan, with bindings loose, and cloth warped and detached from the mill-board covers. En passcmtylmaiy Tnention that a well-knovrh physician DISAGREEABLES IN JAPANESE LIFE 247 in Yokohama told me that all this moisture has a very deleterious effect upon the health of some Englishwomen, and that he often had to order patients to take a trip home if they wished to escape an operation. Neither cold nor heat is extreme, but the dampness makes both rather trying to foreigners — that is to say, to non- Japanese. For many weeks I lived in native inns away from all English-speaking people, and I was delighted with the dainty Japanese meals that were served. Usually the fare was excellent and appetising; but the reverse may sometimes be the case. Of course, the rice is almost always good and well cooked, and can be obtained in most places ; there are, however, many districts where the people have to content themselves with millet and other substitutes, and then the table is scant enough. The absence of butcher's meat in any form, and of milk, at once deprives the food of what is most nourishing and relished by Europeans ; and when to the lack of these is added the want of bread, but little is left that makes a meal worth eating. Near the coast good fish is always available, and eggs are also abundant. The soups depend largely on seaweeds and bean preparations for their make- up. The tea is of poor quality. A few days of pure Japanese fare is usually sufficient for the strongest foreign stomach : it will call imperatively for something better. Sometimes visitors who make a tour in the interior without taking with them any foreign foods, canned or otherwise, return looking miserable, suffering from severe boils. Personally, I did not experience anything of the kind, and I was rather glad to find that I was not adding to adipose tissue while I lived on Japanese fare. Japan has been described as a country where the flowers are not fragrant, where the birds do not sing, where the fruits have no flavour ; and there is a certain 248 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN truth in the cynical remark. A Japanese pear tastes more Hke a turnip than anything else ; the fruits of Japan are not sweet, for the soil contains little, if any, saccharine matter. The uguisu, the Japanese nightingale, is the only singing-bird, and even that is only heard up in the hills. In the plains the raucous note of the crow is predominant. At Chuzenji, during a two months' stay, I made the acquaintance of Japanese insect life in all its forms. Mosquitoes {ha) swarmed by myriads in the trees over- hanging the lake, and in the evening, as I sat reading on the outside balcony of the inn, with the amado open for air, all sorts of Hving things beat themselves wildly against the lamp beside me, from the tiny gnat-like stinging insect to the great black -winged beetles. These last were much like what I saw in Java, and their name was Legion. I used to tie a silk handkerchief round my head to prevent them getting entangled in my hair. There were stingers of many kinds, whose names I never learnt; but the mosquito one recognised as an old friend, or rather enemy, and the tactics of a Japanese mosquito on the war- path are exactly like those of his Indian and European brother. The croaking of frogs in the rice districts may also be reckoned as a disagreeable in Japan : they croak as they do in all damp districts, only rather more so. And, lastly, the constant earthquakes are disquieting and trying even to strong nerves. These, the greatest of all disagreeables in Japanese life, should naturally have been placed first on the list, but as I have devoted an entire chapter to this subject, I need only allude to it here. To be bumped in one's bed at midnight, deem it im- perative at once to throw on wraps and clear out of the house, and when outside to look at the structure as it DISAGREEABLES IN JAPANESE LIFE 249 sways and groans before one ; these are trying experiences. In the morning news will come that a few thousand people have been killed, and thousands rendered home- less, by a dreadful earthquake not far off. The instability of the earth in Japan comes to be known very practically by residents. There are big earthquakes and little earth- quakes, and the little ones come very often, and get upon the nerves of most folk in the long run. The earth's crust is never quite at rest, and Japan being rather new, seems to be one of the thinnest and shakiest parts. These are some of the drawbacks to life in the Sunrise Kingdom, and although they bulk largely on the horizon when one is living on narrow margins in native inns, yet, being possessed of the saving grace of humour, I found it difficult to remain serious when my own 'rihisha boy treated me as a lunatic at large who did not know her own mind, and calmly proceeded to do exactly the reverse of what I had asked him to do. Often was I constrained to apply to myself the precept from the old play, and " make haste to laugh at everything, for fear of being obliged to weep." 252 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN After the great catastrophe in North-West India on April 4, 1905, the Japanese Government, ever eager to study earthquake phenomena at first hand, sent their leading seismic expert, Dr. F. Omori, Professor of Seis- mology at the Imperial University, Tokyo, to investigate and report on the nature of the disaster. During several months' stay in Tokyo, I was honoured by the friendship of this eminent scientist, and spent many delightful hours, in his lecture-rooms at the University, and also with his charming family in their picturesque home. From Pro- fessor Omori I learnt that the appalling loss of life in Dharmsala and the Kangra Valley was due to faulty con- struction, the houses being built of stones roughly piled together without any good cementing material, and sur- mounted by a heavy roof. In construction the first point is to make the founda- tion solid and as large as possible, because, if weak, cracks will be produced. In two-storeyed buildings the upper storey suffers more than the lower ones, the vibra- tion being greater at a height than at the base. Again, a structure may be very heavy, but if built of bad material it can have no resisting power, and it will simply " smash down," for good material and good construction are more important than thickness of walls. Now in the Punjab the houses were built solidly enough, the walls being 2 feet thick, but they were filled up with rubble and small stones, and were therefore bad from an earthquake point of view. Professor Omori speaks very decidedly with regard to the responsibility of Government in the erection of jails and barracks, and he used a stronger expression than I ever heard before on the lips of a Japanese in criticising Occidental methods, when he said in conclusion : " It is almost crvmmal on the part of the Government to build bad structures for public purposes, such as schools, jails, PROFESSOR OMORI WITH HIS FAMILY. To face p. 252.. EARTHQUAKES 253 and barracks, and my advice to the Indian Government would be to build more substantially, always on a sure foundation, with good binding either of wood or iron, and to use good material, especially in the case of public buildings." In Calcutta, the Professor found that the theory of the engineers there was that the soft soil of Calcutta acted as an elastic cushion, and by absorbing the earthquake motion, prevented it from being communicated to struc- tures standing upon it. Now this was quite an erroneous idea, earthquake motion being invariably felt more in soft than hard ground ; and even within the confines of the city of Tokyo a shock varies considerably, one in the upper part being one-half less in intensity than it is in the lower and softer parts. The same fact was also made evident in San Francisco, where at the time of the earth- quake the " made ground " and soft land suffered more than the hard. Speaking generally, the most important principle in construction is to make the structure a single body, simple and compact, avoiding the possibility of different parts assuming different movements or vibrations. For example,, chimneys are dangerous, because a chimney vibrates differently from the main building, and in the event of earthquake it will be found that a chimney is always broken at its junction with the roof ; so that, as the fracture of a brick column occurs at a joint, its seismic stability ought to be increased by using a good mortar, until the strength of the joint becomes equal to that of the bricks themselves. In 1894 a serious earth- quake occurred in Tokyo, during which several chimneys were knocked down in barracks, factories, and schools, killing many soldiers and others. To obviate this danger the Japanese now make the part above the roof of light material, such as sheet-iron, or better still, of earthen- 254 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN ware (dokwan). As a matter of fact, Tokyo is rendered generally hideous by these iron chimneys — perfect abomi- nations, which tower above the roof-line, and are, indeed, made so long that, when they fall, they do not crash through the roof, but topple over into the street or garden beyond. In Japan, it is interesting to note that ancient castle walls, built several hundreds of years ago, have forms approximately equal to the curve theoretically giving the greatest stability against earthquake, known geometrically as the parabolic curve. "We find that the walls of all old castles are made of parabolic section, thicker at the base, in the form which mathematically gives uniform strength throughout the height and prevents the formation of cracks ; and, as a matter of fact, all these castles have withstood terrific shocks of earthquake. There is no better example in the whole country than the walls of Nagoya Castle, which are built of polygonal blocks, 10, 20, or 30 feet long, uncemented, and fitted into the bank at an even slope ; and yet after hundreds of years of storm and earthquake, there is scarcely a crack to be seen. They withstood the great earthquake in 1892, when thousands of houses fell in Nagoya and Gifu, and in the smaller places round about, and when all the new brick telegraph and post offices and other European buildings came crashing down like ninepins. On that occasion, Japanese houses did not fall, unless they were old and frail, when in many cases the supports gave way, and the roof came down, im- prisoning the inmates until they were rescued, sometimes from a house in flames. The walls of the Castle of Tokyo show the same remarkable state of preservation, the blocks of Cyclopean masonry, there also uncemented, being neither cracked nor displaced in the least degree. The accompanying photograph represents an earth- PROFESSOR OMORI WITH VIBRATING RECORDER AT THE SEISMOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, TOKYO. EARTHQUAKE-PROOF BUILDING IN THE GROUNDS OF THE IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY, TOKYO. Used as a Sdsmologlcal Observatory. EARTHQUAKES 255 quake-proof structure erected in the grounds of the Imperial University, Tokyo, which has been built accord- ing to mathematical calculation on a solid concrete foundation, and is intended for use as a Seismological Observatory, and as a standard with which to compare the effects of a shock on ordinary brick buildings. In it most interesting investigations into the stability of various structures against earthquake shocks are carried on, artificial earthquake motion being produced by means of a " shaking table," which can be made to move with independent horizontal and vertical motions by the use of steam engines. Another remarkable fact in Japan is that pagodas built hundreds of years ago embody the principle of the modern seismograph, which is to minimise the effect of earth- quake motion by the combination of an inverted pendulum with an ordinary pendulum ; or, in other words, by the union of a stable and an unstable structure, to produce a neutral stability which renders the whole building least sensible to earthquake shock. In the hollow well of every five-storeyed pagoda a heavy mass of timber is suspended freely, like an exaggerated tongue, from the top right to the ground, but not in contact with it, and at the shock of an earthquake this large pendulum slowly swings, the structure sways, and then settles back safely to its base. This is also the principle followed in the construction of all bell-towers throughout Japan, where the bell acts as pendulum, and the roof, supported by posts, forms an inverted pendulum, as in the seismograph. When an earthquake occurs, a pagoda or a bell-tower may be rotated or displaced, but it cannot be overturned as a whole. Although seismologists have not yet succeeded in find- ing out any means of definitely predicting the occurrence of an earthquake, they are very hopeful of finally arriving 256 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN at this desired goal ; and already Professor Omori, with his deflectograph and vibration measurer, can discern danger by careful observation of the pulsations which are always gently agitating the surface of the earth, and can usually give ten or twelve hours' notice of a shock. A sudden cessation of the regular heart-beats or pulsations of the earth's crust is a danger signal, extreme stillness invari- ably preceding an earthquake, whereas constant tremors are a good sign. A great earthquake is almost always followed by weaker ones, and when it is violent and destructive the number of minor shocks follovnng it may amount to hundreds, or even thousands, and continue for several months or years. The occurrence of after-shocks is quite natural and necessary for the settling down into stable equilibrium of the disturbed tract at the origin of disturbances, each of these shocks removing an unstable or weak point under- neath. Further, as a very great shock would remove a corresponding great underground instability, it is probable that such a shock would not, for a long time, be followed by another of a magnitude comparable to its own, in the same or a neighbouring district. When, however, the initial shock is not very great, it may be followed by another like it ; but even in this case the position of the origin of the second shock would usually be quite distinct from that of the first. It is a matter of common knowledge that a large part of the soil of Holland, vsdth its villages and cities, is many feet below the level of the sea, and is slowly sink- ing, while the Scandinavian Peninsula is in process of elevation. It is in this way that the great changes in the earth's surface take place in the course of ages ; and the theory that mountain ranges like the Himalayas were suddenly thrust up by some world-shaking upheaval has long since been dissolved by the light of experience and SN-— ; •• «-^., -*» *' -. ■ ., ' jiiiC*-'"'" — - ■• 'f*^ EARTHQUAKE CRACKS. Fissures 3 feet wide during an earthqualte in the Yaniagata_Prefecture (North Japan). To face p. 357. EAETHQUAKES 257 investigation. But while these mighty changes have come about unseen and unheard, the petty shakings of the seismic regions force themselves in a terrible way upon our attention, as in the appalling disaster of 1909 in Calabria and Sicily, one of the most awful of the recorded earthquakes of the world. Earthquakes are of such common occurrence in Japan that they are hardly noticed unless some damage is done, and I was often awakened in the night by the bed rock- ing from side to side, which sometimes caused a slight feeling of giddiness, like being at sea. I was also un- pleasantly reminded of the forces at work at this seismic junction of the universe, when staying in the Yamagata Prefecture, in the north of the main island, where I experienced an unusually strong shock of earthquake. It lasted fully three-and-a-half minutes, and although the house in which I was staying was not seriously damaged, there were cracks 3 feet wide in the ground near the dining-room windows. The building rattled and swayed as though some Samson beneath were shaking it as a terrier does a rat, the surprised dogs outside began to bark and the cocks to crow, and the feeling of mysterious tremor or palpitation was distinctly uncanny. At the first indication all the Japanese rushed frantically into the street shouting, "Jishin ! Jishin ! " (earthquake !) and stood huddled together in the utmost terror until the danger seemed over. My own instinct was to sit tight and cling to the writing-table, but presently I found myself sliding on to the floor with pictures off the walls and bric-i-brac — ancient and modem — strewn around. In T5ky6 people mention earthquakes, as we do the weather, when other conversation fails, and thrilling tales of personal experiences during the most appalUng of all the operations of nature, are often told round a dinner-table in the metropolis. 17 258 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN As already mentioned, neavly fourteen fmndred of these shocks are recorded annually in the whole of the Empire, and a large proportion occur in the Tokyo- Yokohama district, owing to the fact that (as demonstrated by Pro- fessor Milne) two lines of seismic activity there intersect. According to the old myth, however, the earth — meaning the islands of Japan — rests upon the back of a huge fish, whose writhings cause these disturbances, the head of the leviathan being beneath Yezo, its tail under the southern island, and its vital and active body below Yokohama and Tokyo. Kobd and Kyoto seldom experi- ence even the slightest motion, but residents in the vicinity of the capital become fairly accustomed to the unpleasant visitation. A slight disturbance makes bells ring and clocks stop, and tall trees snap their tops, while a harder shock sends brick chimneys, when not boxed in wood or sheet-iron, crashing through the roof. In Tokyo, all Government offices, banks, and other public buildings are now being built chiefly in brick and stone ; and if a severe earthquake, like that of 1894, should again devastate the city, the loss to life would probably be far greater in them than in the little wooden houses with their sliding paper walls. Now that improved seismographs show that earthquake waves are propagated to distant parts of the world, some- times even more than once round the world, international co-operation has become desirable, and an International Seismological Association has been organised. The study of seismology is a fascinating one, and it is of practical importance not only to people living in an earthquake- shaken land like Japan, but also to the world in general ; for the work in connection with investigation, such as determining of the vibrations of railway-bridge piers, rail- way and electric cars, and of ships, will be of interest and use to engineers and scientific men in all parts of the world. CHAPTEE XXIII THE AEMY AND NAVY Enormous expansion in Japanese armaments — Nmnerioal strength doubled — Military pride fostered by the Government — War OfSoe and Education Department work hand -in -hand — Besemblanoe between the Japanese and our own Gurkhas — Imperial Eeview at Tokyo — Personal experiences there — Fighting strength of the Army — Eecruits receive a written moral code — Kipling's impressions written in 1891 — A lofty patriotism still prevails — Great military and naval preparations in hand. NOTHING haa been more striking since the war with Russia than the enormous expansion in Japanese armaments ; indeed, I imagine that people in England hardly realise the far-reaching schemes which Japan has in hand to-day, and which she is fast pushing to a suc- cessful issue. The Japanese authorities are not com- municative : they work within closed doors and do not discuss their plans in public. Without exaggeration, one may say that since the outbreak of the last war they have doubled their fighting strength. Along the coasts all the forts have been strengthened and re-armed, and the field artillery, one of her weakest points during the war with Eussia, is now worthy to rank with that of any other Power. As regards the cavalry, Japanese horsemanship has long been a standing joke among the nations, but it can 260 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN be so no longer, for they have spared no pains in their endeavour to become horsemen. First they set about getting better horses — the Japanese nag is a sorry animal — and fresh breeding stock was introduced. Then they requisitioned Austrian riding instructors, and there can be no doubt that in the next war the Japanese cavalry will be a surprise to the enemy. In a word, it may be said that while their numerical strength has been doubled, their ef&ciency has been trebled. Still greater schemes are in hand, and there is every reason to believe that within a few years Japan will be able to put at least a million men in the field without encroaching upon her reserves, and that in case of extreme need she will be able to double or even treble that number. The Navy must always be the best defence for an island nation, therefore it is needless to say that the Japanese have not neglected that branch of their armament, and it is no secret that the Government is straining every nerve to perfect its organisation ; in this endeavour they have the entire support of the people. Here again we find that the Navy, like the Army, has more than doubled its strength since the outbreak of the Eusso-Japanese War. This amazing increase does not apply only to the number and size of the fighting craft, but also to their equipment, for the new battleships are furnished with up-to-date guns of heavy calibre and of the very latest pattern. To return to the Army, the Japanese soldiers of 1910, with their ornamental red and gold facings, are very different from the slouching peasants of a few years ago, who excited derision among European spectators. War- like by taste and tradition, they possess the inborn vital spark of martial ardour which distinguishes the natural- born fighter, and their Government has done everything possible to foster this spirit of military pride ; upon THE ARMY AND NAVY 261 enthusiastic patriotism they have grafted initiative, quick- ness, and intelligence, and the result shows conscription at its best. They manage these things better in Japan than we do. The Japanese mother implants and cherishes the military ideal in the hearts of her children ; in the schools soldierly virtues are kept in the foreground of their curriculum ; and the War Office and the Education Department work hand-in-hand. When troops march through a district, all the school children have a holiday and line the roads to see them pass, and the imagination of these embryo soldiers is also stirred by portraits of heroes and pictures of great battles in the classroom, and tales of derring-do in the home. In a word, the right ideas are put into the babies as soon as they begin to walk, and a feeling of reverence and admiration for the patriotic warrior spirit of their ancestors is impressed so deeply upon their young minds that even in the schoolroom they are fired with military ardour, and would lay down their lives for their ideals. The resemblance between the Japanese and our own gallant little Gurkhas is very striking. Both are squat and square, bullet-headed and pudding-faced, well- disciplined and fearless; with a ready smile, and an indescribable air of self-reliance and independence. The Japanese are better educated and more civilised no doubt, but in strength and power of endurance the Gurkhas can hold their own, and both are on a par as regards their splendid fighting qualities. The fine bit of level ground to the east of the castle in Tokyo is the Aoyama parade-ground, and here every year on the Emperor's birthday a review is held. The review has little to differentiate it from any European review, but the spectators have to observe certain points of etiquette ; also one cannot help feeling that the tall 262 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN figure in gorgeous European uniform, which passes up and down the lines on horseback, is no ordinary Emperor, but the Son of Heaven, the Tenshi Sama. In the course of the first review at which I was present, I unwittingly committed two crimes which in the eyes of the Japanese evidently deserved imprisonment in the first degree. The scene was brilliant and impressive, and as a special favour I was allowed to remain in my 'rikisha not far from the point where the Emperor was to pass. Wishing to get a better view, I stood up, but immediately two polite junsa (policemen) approached with horror-struck faces, and begged me to condescend honourably to sit down ; for no one may be on a height above the Emperor when he appears. Dreading lest a worse thing should come to me, and I be requested to dismount from my kuruma, I did promptly condescend to sit down ; but I was regarded as a doubtful character after that, and one of the junsa kept mear until the review was over. A little later I committed the second offence in putting up my parasol on account of the glare. Again I heard a deprecating voice at my side, asking me to deign honour- ably to put it down. My jinrikisha boy looked as if he meditated making a bolt of it, after this second breach of law, but he seemed reassured by the meek way in which I submitted to authority. The incident impressed me as showing that the Emperor is still to the Japanese not as other men, but a re-incarnation of the Divine Ancestors. And this in spite of submarines and Krupp guns and modern battleships. In Japan men are liable for military service between the ages of seventeen and forty, and in 1901 the number of those who could be called out was .539,282. In 1905 there were 600,000 men in the field, with 200,000 at d6p6ts. It is difficult in this present year of grace THE ARMY AND NAVY 263 1910 to obtain statistics of the increased fighting strength of the Army, and the chapter in Count Okuma's recently pubHshed " Fifty Years of New Japan," is most beauti- fully vague or, let us say, discreet. But, as I hinted at the commencement of this chapter, Japan will doubtless in a few years have 1,200,000 trained men on mobilisation, and a little later 1,637,000. Besides those fully trained there are 846,000 partially trained, to replace casual- ties, which make 2,843,000 fighting men. In giving these figures, the one fact to bear in mind is that the population multiplies at the rate of one million a year, and also that statistics show that male children — the soldiers of the future — outnumber female in Japan. Every recruit receives a written moral code, which is drilled into him physically and mentally on the parade- ground and in the lecture-room by his officers and the Buddhist priests. The little pocket-book contains also a record of his previous life, of every reward or punishment, and of every event in his career, and when he leaves the army a copy of this record is kept at the local Govern- ment offices. No man can enter the service if he has been convicted and sentenced for a major offence ; and if anything of minor degree is known against him, he is carefully watched and disciplined. It is interesting at this stage of progress in the making of Far Eastern history, to look back at the state of opinion in the outer world a few years ago. Prior to the war with China in 1894, Japan's fighting power was not thought to amount to a row of pins ; and after that war a row of pins was about the size of it, in the estimation of Europe. But there were a few critics who thought differently — men who had some knowledge of Asia — and it is worth while to look up Kipling's tourist impressions, written in 1891. In the twentieth chapter of his series of letters "From Sea to Sea," he 264 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN remarks on the great similarity between the Japanese infantryman and the Gurkha — those "bull-necked, deep- chested, flat-backed, thin-flanked little men, as good as a colonel could desire." He goes on to describe them at close quarters, and having in a crush at a railway station managed to run his hand over a soldier's arm and chest, he opines that " they must have a very complete system of gymnastics in the Japanese Army," and adds that he would like "to have stripped him and seen how he peeled." Having watched a review, Kipling goes on to note that those little men have "the long stride of the Gurkha," and double " with the easy lope of the 'riJcisha coolie." But he retains his highest praise for the precision of their movements, and above all, for the way in which they " stood steady," after three hours of steady drill. "I looked for slackness all down the ranks," he says, " inasmuch as ' standing easy ' is the crucial test of men after the first smartness of morning has worn off. They just stood easy, neither more nor less ; never a hand went to a shoe, or stock, or button." And Kipling's final comment on what he saw may be, as he says, unchristian, but it is cha- racteristic, and shows how much impressed he was with their fighting qualities so long ago as 1891 : " I would have liked," he says, " to see that company being blooded on an equal number of our native infantry — just to know how they would work. If they have pluck — and there is nothing in their past record to show they have not — they ought to be first-class enemies." The Japanese possess all the moral and physical qualities which go to make the true warrior. It may be that they pay too much attention to minute detail in war- time ; they will not advance one step until they have completed their most elaborate preparations, and they leave nothing to chance. I have heard it said that some day, when they meet an icMhan (first-class) general, this THE ARMY AND NAVY 265 over-carefulness will be their ruin. Be that as it may, they can still teach us lessons ; and it is in the sphere of patriotism, which we have been too apt to regard as something peculiarly our own, that Japan has lessons to give. The last few years have revealed the land and the people as possessing a spirit that is worth preserving to humanity — valorous in the field and active in solving social questions at home. A lofty patriotism still shines in every corner of the Empire, and one and all are as ready to-day to lay down their life for their military ideals as they were in the old romantic times of feudalism. Japan has a profound belief in herself, but all the same she is never casual in her methods, and she acts on the principle that if you wish for peace you must prepare for war. To judge from the magnitude of the military and naval preparations in hand just now, one might think that she anticipated another early war. Not only is she increasing the strength of the Army, but she is at present incurring an enormous expenditure in constructing an entire fleet of destroyers and torpedo craft in Japanese dockyards. These are unnecessary for the national defence, an invasion by foreign powers being an impos- sibility, and one wonders against whom these prepara- tions are made. Time will tell. Meanwhile, the feverish restlessness which characterises so many great nations to-day should teach us to prepare for disturbed and anxious times ahead, and we cannot do better than copy the example of Japan in bringing every influence to bear on the rising generation, so as to encourage the old natural warrior spirit which is their heritage, and which should not be allowed to degenerate. CHAPTEE XXIV THE BED CBOSS SOCIETY OP JAPAN Origin of the Society — Enlarged Charity Organisation of the Satsiuna rebellion — Eeorganised in 1886 under German auspices — Intimate connection with the Imperial Court — Membership an honourable distinction — Resembles Primrose League of England in some of its methods — Total number of members nearly a mUlion and a half — Hospital ships — Central hospital at Shibuya in Tokyo — Uniform and discipline of nurses — Its services both in peace and war — Its high efl&oiency — First-aid dressings — Kakhe sufferers — Description of the Annual General Meeting in Tokyo — The Empress Haruka is Patroness-in- Chief of the Society — Executive abUity in 1904-1905 — Mortality in the Army greatly reduced through the agency of the Ked Cross Society; the most splendid victory of the campaign, THE Eed Cross Society of Japan, one of the noblest organisations ever formed, is under the direct patronage of the Empress, who takes a keen personal interest in all that concerns the practical arrangements connected with its work throughout the country. It had its origin in 1877, during the civil war in the south-west provinces, when the Enlarged Charity Organisation was founded for the purpose of giving relief to the sick and wounded without distinction of flag or party ; and after this campaign came to an end, the Association in 1886 changed its name to the Bed Cross Society of Japan, and formed itself into a permanent organisation according to the Geneva Convention vrith a fixed status under the THE RED CROSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN 267 control of the military and naval authorities. Most of the sister societies of Europe and America have made Christian charity their starting-point, but in Japan the fundamental principle is patriotism and love of their Errvperor and his soldiers. It is but fair to Germany to credit her with important aid in this reorganisation. She has done but little in the way of Christian missions, although one German society began work about twenty years ago. But no sooner was the current of German influence well started after Prince Ito's European tour in 1883, than the Germans in the capital combined and gave a series of tableaux in the great hall of the College of Engineering, one of the finest displays that had ever been given in Tokyo, its aims being to bring the claims of the Eed Cross Society before the ilite of the nation. This was in 1886, at the time when it became a permanent organisation. The Japanese do all in their power to help the soldiers because they belong to their beloved Emperor, who loves them, and who is enabled by their aid to maintain the independence and prosperity of the Empire. The Society is intimately connected with the Imperial Court, the Honorary President being always an Imperial Prince, and the whole institution is under the Department of the Imperial Household. It is also an unwritten law in the land that all prefectural Governors should be the chiefs, and their secretaries the assistant-chiefs, of the local branches of the Society, and this system gives to the whole organisation a semi-official character, and has since been copied by some of the sister societies in Europe. The aim of the Society is to make its members realise that it is a distinction and an honour to belong to it ; and the Emperor gives encouragement to this by having the name of each member presented to him through the Minister of the Imperial Household, and also by ordering 268 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN the Insignia of the Society to be worn on public occa- sions side by side with the State Orders. He has also instituted a special medal of merit for those who recruit a large number of new members, or who contribute a sum of not less than 1,000 yen (£100), and these insignia are worn by the Emperor and Empress and all the members of the Imperial Family. There can be no doubt that the Society owes its phenomenal success chiefly to the interest taken in it by those in high places, and to be a member of the Eed Cross Society means much the same as belonging to a fashionable club in London. In a word, all those who wish to be included in the important social gatherings of Dai Nippon must belong to the Eed Cross Society, for the annual meeting of members in each province is made the great event of the season — some- thing like our own Primrose League parties — and the annual general meeting in Tokyo is honoured by the presence of the Empress. Among country people in distant villages the Society is popularised by illustrated lectures with magic-lantern views, which show the rescue work of the Society, not only in war, but also in times of public calamity, such as earthquakes, eruptions, tidal waves, conflagrations, inundations, hurricanes ; and also shipwrecks, railway disasters, and accidents in the crowding of people on public occasions. One point is worthy of notice, viz., that there is only one Society for the whole of the Empire, the head- quarters being in Tokyo, the capital, and the local sections being entirely under the control of the governing body as regards finances and work. In Eussia the local societies work on their own account independently, and do what they like with their own incomes ; but in Japan the opposite system — centralisation — has been remark- ably successful. THE RED CROSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN 269 In March, 1909, the total number of members, as given to me by the Secretary of the Society in Tokyo, was 1,461,259, or, roughly speaking, one thirty-seventh of the entire population of Japan, which according to the latest census is 62,865,903. This includes 46 Honorary Mem- bers (all belonging to the Imperial Family), 9,947 Special Members (recognised as such for special service rendered), and 1,017,648 regular or ordinary members. The total subscriptions amounted to 3,053,983 yen (about £300,000), and the total number of nurses in 1908 was 2,719. On account of the insular position of Japan, hospital ships play an important part in time of war, and take the place of the hospital trains used in the Continental wars of Europe. The Eed Cross Society possesses two of these ships, the Hakuai Maru (Benevolence) and the Kosai Maru (Charity), which were built and engined in 1899 by Lobintz & Co., Renfrew, Scotland, with three decks and full equipment for two hundred patients in each ship. In time of peace they are rented to the Nippon Yusin Eaisha, but are not allowed to go long voyages in case they should be required for service, and according to the articles of agreement they can be called in at the shortest notice and arranged as hospital ships. During the Russo- Japanese "War the Government chartered, in addition to these, twenty hospital ships, and it was calculated that on an emergency over ten thousand patients could be brought over weekly from Tairen in Southern Manchuria. A great deal has been done for the Red Cross Society by the Imperial Princesses and other ladies of high degree who have formed themselves into com- mittees, and by their noble example shown the people that nursing is no mean or mercenary profession, but 270 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN a most honourable one in which woman fulfils her highest destiny in time of war. When the work of the Society was first instituted in Japan, only women of inferior class could be induced to nurse in the hospitals, the general idea among the Japanese being that nursing was infra dig. and the work of a menial; but now, thanks to the personal influence of aristo* cratic members, the nurses of the Society are recruited from the well-to-do middle classes, and are treated with great respect by every one. The central hospital of the Society at Shibuya, Tokyo, is a large, handsome building on the model of the University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany, and it is admirably adapted for the purpose it serves, with nineteen wings built out independently of each other, overlooking charming gardens on which tired eyes rest gratefully. In time of peace it is used for the purpose of training physicians, surgeons, and women nurses ; and all sorts and conditions are treated there, the poor being free from charges and the rich paying due expenses. In time of war it is utilised as the Reserve Hospital of the Army, and during the last campaign the Empress visited it frequently and took gifts which were distributed in her presence. The nurses, who are admitted between the ages of seventeen and thirty, remain there for three years, beginning as students and passing out as graduates eligible to take private cases, but liable to be called on for service. They are therefore enrolled as Eeserve Nurses of the Society under vow, which means that they take a solemn oath in writing to keep themselves for fifteen years ready to respond at any time to the first call of the Society, for service in time of war, political disturbances, or for instruction manoeuvres, and similar purposes. Their uniform consists of a large white overall and a high THE RED CROSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN 271 square cap with the Red Cross Badge in front. These look very quaint when there are a number en masse, and they suit the jolly good-humoured faces beneath, and give height to the sturdy diminutive nurses of Nippon. The Red Cross Society secures physicians by paying the expense of educating a number of medical students, on condition that they become Reserve Physicians on their graduation. After some years' practice in the Central Hospital in Tokyo, those who are really efficient are sent to Europe to perfect their studies — again at the expense of the Society — so that there are always one or two of these doctors staying in Europe, and bringing back to their beloved country the latest discoveries of medical science. Physicians bind themselves by vow in the same manner as nurses, for a fixed period of five years. The limits of age, after which one is considered in- capable of service, are fifty-five for Physicians, Pharma- cists, and nurses, and forty-five for attendants and stretcher-bearers. All the members of the Relief Staff are paid, not only for service, but also for adhering to the vow ; and they receive travelling expenses, in addition to their excellent salary, when they are summoned in time of war, or even for manceuvres. If they contract illness or receive wounds in consequence of the service, pensions are paid to them, which go to their families in case of death. One important reason for the efficiency of the medical service of the Japanese Army during the Russo-Japanese War is to be found in the fact that in time of peace the Red Cross Society of Japan takes a real part in the manoeuvres of the Army, large and small. On such occasions the Relief Staff is sent out exactly as in the case of actual war — they establish hospitals on the supposed line of communication, and they receive and 272 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN cure, not only mock patients, but also real ones suffering from illness or wound received during the manoeuvres. Thus they obtain, in time of peace, a thorough knowledge of the part they are to play in time of war, in organising the whole medical service of the Army, an experience which is quite apart from hospital training; and when the manoeuvres are over, criticisms are made upon their conduct by the chief Medical Officer of the Army, and valuable suggestions offered. When, therefore, on the outbreak of the Eusso- Japanese War, the call " to arms " resounded through the countty, the Eed Cross Society, with its splendid organisation, was ready for any emergency. After years of quiet and steady progress, its methods were almost perfect, for Japan had made a study of these in the best foreign medical schools, and had skilfully adapted them to her own requirements. There was no confusion, no lack of help, no breakdown in the transmission of^ stores and medicines to the front, each department being super- vised by experienced officials. Nurses were in readiness, and a plentiful supply of reservists could be called upon for service, all of whom were prepared to sacrifice everything at the call of duty. Without doubt one of the chief reasons for the success of the Japanese in that war was their attention to minute detail, a quality which they carried with them from everyday life, and which was invaluable in hospital work, where every item was carefully considered and nothing was left to chance. I remember that when I helped to make warm belts and caps for the soldiers, written directions were given as to the size and amount of wool to be used in each. The Chino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and the Boxer troubles (1900) taught our Far Eastern Allies much, and since the war with Eussia they have developed the Eed THE RED CROSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN 273 Cross Society still further, until now it is as nearly perfect as any organisation can be ; and its success must always be assured, resting as it does on the sure founda- tion of patriotism and devotion to their Sovereign. It is truly a national institution, which forms part of the inner life of the people, and their imitative and inventive energy will not allow them to rest until they have realised the ideal of the Eed Cross in Japan. It was the rule of the Japanese surgeons at the front to do little or no operating except in cases of extreme emergency, or where haemorrhage threatened immediate death. The hospital corps men at the front had been trained in the most thorough and practical manner as nurses in Tokyo, and all cases were treated by the application of first-aid dressings, and then sent to the rear as quickly as possible, then by hospital boat or trans- port to the base hospitals in Japan. The result was that many of the wounded needed nothing but medical treat- ment after their arrival, hundreds of bullet wounds having been healed by first intention after the non-operative treat- ment at the front ; and it was thus proved that the modem bullet is absolutely aseptic where the lesion is uncom- plicated. Thousands of lives were saved in this manner through the hospital corps of the Red Cross Society. A large proportion of the soldiers were invalided home with kakkS (beri-beri), and the Japanese medical authorities have devoted much energy recently to finding the beri-beri germ, and making an anti-serum. The question of stamping out this dangerous disease is of interest to English people, since it is prevalent in hot countries where rice is eaten, and our Indian soldiers have suffered from it in several campaigns. Often it runs a long wearisome course of many months, and causes swelling, and sometimes paralysis, in the legs. The tissues and muscles seem to waste away, so that the 18 274 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN patient has not strength to stand or walk. When taken in time it is rarely fatal, but occasionally death occurs from heart failure. Unfortunately, if a man has suffered from it once, he is liable to a recurrence. The chief pre- disposing causes appear to be damp, heat, and excessive use of rice — especially rice eaten cold, as it often is during a campaign. KahM has been stamped out in the Japanese Navy, where the quantity of rice has been restricted, and bread to a great extent substituted for it ; and doubtless a proper dietary will achieve the same result in the Army. Sometimes as a precaution barley is mixed with the rice, and the whole is well boiled ; and experience teaches that electrical treatment, massage, and nourishing food are the best remedies. It is essentially a summer disease, and disappears with the advent of cold weather. There is a general belief that the Japanese do not feel pain as much as Europeans, and possibly this idea is due to their undoubtedly strong nerves. They are much less afflicted with headaches, and our modern ailments, neurasthenia and nervous breakdown, are unknown; even when they feel ill their natural self-control makes them give as little trouble as possible to others, as those who have nursed them can testify. The Annual General Meeting of the Eed Cross Society in Hibiya Park, Tokyo, is a most imposing gathering, and it gave me an idea of the extent to which this wonderful organisation has entered into the national life. On arrival we were received by Marchioness Nabeshima and the Committee of the Ladies' Volunteer Nursing Association, and after tea in a large marquee we adjourned to the enclosure in front of the raised dais, where presently the Empress and the Imperial princesses took their places. There were over five hundred thousand persons present, including Ministers of State, Army and THE RED CROSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN 275 Navy of&cers, and members of the Society from all parts of the Empire, and the park presented a very gay appearance, flags and other decorations being everywhere in evidence. The proverbial pin might have been heard to drop when the gentle little Empress read a short address, and interesting speeches were also made by, Marquis Matsukata, the President, Prince Kan-in, and others ; then the Empress rose to go, and I felt thrilled by the mighty shouts of "Banzai!" that greeted her departure for the Palace, testifying to the indescribable and unanalysable bond between the Imperial House and the people, a bond which is like nothing else in any other part of the world. The Empress Haruka, the Patroness-in-Chief of the Red Cross Society, is particularly interested in its work, and often visits the patients in the hospital and takes gifts to them ; certainly its present prosperous condition is greatly due to her personal sympathy and help. The Empress, daughter of a kug&, or Court noble of the highest rank, is just sixty years old, and was educated in the strictest traditions of Old Japan, which included the Chinese classics, tea ceremonies {cha no yu), and ikebana (the arrangement of flowers). She is short in stature and slender in figure, with a decidedly pretty face of the true aristocratic type in Japan, oval shaped, refined, and eyes slightly oblique. The Empress looks better in European clothes than any other Japanese lady I have seen ; although she is petite, yet she carries herself with quiet elegance, and leaves an indefinable impression of dignity and majesty, in much the same way as did Her Majesty Queen Victoria, notwithstanding her short stature. She has no children. Prince Haru, the Crown Prince, being the son of the Emperor and Madame Yanagiwara. It is an undeniable fact that, owing to the executive ability shown in the organisation and equipment of the 276 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Eed Cross Society during the campaign of 1904-1905, the mortality in the Japanese Army from preventable causes was reduced in a remarkable way. The history of centuries of warfare has proved that in prolonged campaigns the armed forces of the opposing foe, with his various machines for human destruction, kills in open battle 20 per cent, of the total mortality, while the grim spectre that gathers its victims while the soldier sleeps in barracks or bivouac, the far greater and silent foe, disease, kills 80 per cent. In their last great war, the Japanese, instead of losing five men from disease to one from battle casualties, lost nearly three men from battle casualties to one from disease, thereby reversing all the statistics of previous wars. This great result was attained by the application of practical sanitation to every department, and by the systematic and thorough work of the Eed Cross Society. Just as, more than forty years ago, they discarded bows and arrows and coats of mail such as were used in the sixteenth century by the soldiers of Charles V., and adopted in their place the mauser and rapid-fire field-gun, so too did they avail themselves of the lessons of modern sanitation and medicine and make them applicable to the requirements of their Army, when the call to arms resounded through the country in 1904. From the first-aid treatment on the firing-line, to the medical and surgical care on the transport,, and the nursing in their home hospitals, everything possible was done by the Eed Cross Society to defend the soldiers from the hidden foe always found lurking in every camp ; and by its agency the dreadful unnecessary sacrifice of human life from preventable causes, which constitutes the most ghastly feature of war, was almost eliminated, and the most splendid victory of the whole campaign was thereby achieved. CHAPTEE XXV JOURNALISM AND JOTJBNALISTS Journalism of recent growth — Centre in Ginza, near Shimbaahi, in the capital — Gained an impetus by the meeting of the Diet and the war with China — At first at the mercy of the Government — Dummy editors — The Osaka Asahi has a circulation of 300,000 — Description of newspapers — Japanese newspapers not strong financial concerns nor organs of powerful poUtioal parties — Socialism and the Press — A twentieth-century Buddha or Christ — Allied to education and correspondence schools — Magazines, the Twiyo and Bvmgcd-Kv/rahu — Astuteness of the Government in its attitude to the foreign Press — The art of muzzling the war correspondent in 1904-1905 — The use of wireless telegraphy in the Russo-Japanese War — Cost of telegraphing war news to a newspaper — In war-time the Government controls the telegraph lines and mails — Newspapers are under a censor — The gogaAya, or newsboys, with six bells — Number of newspapers in the Island Empire. LIKE banking and other prominent features of our Occidental civilisation, the Press did not exist in Japan sixty years ago. In the early sixties a progressive Japanese named Kishida attempted twice to start a fortnightly journal, but without success; it had but a few months' existence. In 1870, however, the Tokyo MainicM Shimbun, or " Tokyo Daily News," began its existence in Yokohama as the Yokohama MainicM Shimbun. But anything hailing from Yokohama was not likely to find acceptance among patriotic Japanese, and it soon changed its quarters and its name, and 277 278 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN opened offices in the Ginza at Tokyo. The Ginza is that busy district in the capital just outside the Southern Eailway terminus at Shimbashi (New Bridge), and the main thoroughfare of the city leads through it, in a northerly direction, to Nihombashi and thence to Uyeno. Early in the Meiji era, one of the disastrous fires which periodically sweep over Japanese cities reduced this whole district to ashes, and the Government rebuilt, in stone and brick, the central portion of the devastated district. The type of house that was erected in those days of scanty finances was not very dignified in appear- ance, and the Ginza became an amorphous district, half Japanese, half Occidental, with provision stores, butcher shops, and bazaars in which foreign articles could be bought. It also naturally became the Press and foreign-printing quarter, and it remains so to-day. From it are issued, besides the veteran MainicM, the Jiji, the Nichi Nichi, and the Yomiuri. The circulation of these papers was at first insignificant, and did not run into five figures until the first meeting of the Diet in 1890 and the war vdth China in 1894-1895, which gave them a great impetus. The dailies vary in price from 1 sen, or a farthing, to 2J sen, and from the beginning they have been in the hands of jinrikisha men and the poorer classes, vnth whom ability to read is general. At first the Press had no recognised position, and was dealt with summarily by the local authorities, or by the censor of public morals, indeed, even now newspaper men in Japan are not respected in their own country as are journalists in Europe and America, and the cavalier treatment they received was a grievance among war correspondents during the Eusso-Japanese campaign. The Japanese are an excitable people, and in the early days of journalism the Government looked with suspicion A NATIONAL HOLIDAY IN THE GINZA, TOKYO. JOURNALISM AND JOURNALISTS 279' upon those professional sensation-mongers, the staff of the daily Press. For a time real issues were evaded or dealt with cryptically, the columns of newspapers being filled with much triviality, and mere scandal. The bolder journals were in constant hot water, on account of their liberal policy, and during the eighties they were frequently suppressed, and their editors arrested. To meet the difficulty, a "dummy-editor" class rose up, men in whose name the journal appeared, and who were therefore liable to arrest, but who went stoically to prison, for this was part of the agreement, and as a matter of fact they only received a salary when they were in prison. The real Defoes remained at large, and shot forth their vitriol through some new channel. To obviate the abuse of this legal fiction, the whole editorial staff of an offending paper is now sent to prison. With the advent of parliamentary institutions, things were put upon a better footing, and it is now compulsory for every daily paper or periodical that discusses current politics to deposit, with the Government, securities ranging from 175 to 1,000 yen. When fines have to be exacted, or other pecuniary obligations enforced which it is the duty of the Government to see discharged, this fund is available. There is a provision in the Press law providing for the protection of private interests in the case of hbellous matter. It grants to the aggrieved party the right to demand that the newspaper in question shall insert a contradiction of the libel in one of the three following issues, and shall use the same type as that in which the original paragraph appeared, and in the same place in its columns. The contradiction, which must bear the name and address of the sender, if it exceeds in length the original statement, is charged for at the journal's usual rates for the extra matter. There 280 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN is a fine of from 50 to 1,000 yen for failure to carry out these provisions. Up to this point I have mentioned only the Press of Tokyo, but, as it happens, the paper vyith the largest circulation, the Osaka Asahi (Eising Sun), is printed and published in the great commercial emporium of central Japan, which recently suffered so disastrous a conflagration. In some respects Osaka, the Manchester of Japan, takes, and always has taken, a leading place in the Empire. In the early eighties the Government planned to establish there the second university in the country, but various obstructions hindered the measure, and finally it was abandoned, although one foreigner at least was engaged for a term of office — a son of Professor Eraser, of Edinburgh University — and arrived on the scene only to return home again. The Osaka Asahi, founded in 1883, has a circulation of 300,000, at least a third larger than any of the Tokyo papers. The T6ky5 Asahi, the Hochi, Jiji, Eokumin, Yorodzu- Ghoho, Mainichi, Nichi-Nichi, and Yomiuri have circulations ranging from 100,000 to 200,000. The size of these sheets varies from four to sixteen pages, which are considerably less in dimensions than the pages of a London newspaper. The first page is devoted to editorials, the second to the latest telegraph news, the third deals with public and private gossip and personal details and scandals, and the remaining pages are devoted to business information and advertisements. Advertisements cost from 35 to 60 sen (8|d. to Is. 3d.) for a line containing about twenty words. Chinese cha- racters are printed side by side with Japanese syllabic signs, and as there are no letters, but ten thousand words in ordinary use, each with a separate ideograph or picture to represent it, it is something for a Japanese printer to know his own alphabet. The Japanese JOURNALISM AND JOURNALISTS 281 classics, by the way, employ the whole seventy or eighty thousand ideographs, which do duty instead of an alphabet for China and Japan; they are not content with the short or Japanese alphabet of ten thousand words. Many of these publications are enlivened by woodcuts, and the feuilleton forms a regular part of the paper; advertisements also are illiistrated. On the whole, Japanese papers are not to be regarded as powerful financial concerns, for their finan- cial footing is unstable, neither are they definite organs of powerful political parties as are European journals ; for the Japanese Government is careful to keep its information to itself. Most of the papers remain inde- pendent, and by doing so retain their authority, and so exercise a powerful moral influence on the masses. Writers of Tukuzawa's type, who are known to be fearless critics and wholly incorruptible, wield tremendous social power. The Press is often instrumental in stirring up discontent, and in 1905, the trouble which the Govern- ment had in inducing the people to accept the conditions of the Portsmouth Treaty was greatly fomented, if it were not entirely caused, by the Press, which declared that Japan had been cheated out of her rights, and that her envoy ought to have insisted upon an in- demnity. There was an actual outbreak in the Foreign Office quarter, which lies close to the Ginza, where the newspaper politicians congregate. The modern official world in Japan suffers from the canker of worldly ambition, the worship of wealth and power; while the poor journalists, often superior in intellectual and moral qualifications, lead lives of poverty and hardship. The old samurai laid great stress on devotion to ideals, and had a supreme scorn for luxuries, and this spirit still exists among a large section of the people. Hence the power of the Press. The typical 282 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Japanese editor is not primarily, or even secondarily, a politician ; he is a censor of public morals, a keen critic of Government feebleness or extravagance, a promoter of social improvements. In private life lie may be somev?hat dissolute, but that side is kept in the back- ground so long as he remains faithful to his ideals as a public man, and is known to be above purchase. In Japan, however, the newspapers give the lead even to American journalism in supplying the people with per- sonalities and innuendoes about all conspicuous indivi- duals who lend themselves to this form of attack, even in the smallest degree ; and, as it is extremely rare to find a great man against whom no stories of any sort are told, the Press is consequently regarded by politicians as an important factor in determining their future career, and making them popular or otherwise in the eyes of the nation at large. The cause of Socialism in Japan has made free use of the Press in its propaganda. Perhaps the first Japanese to write on the subject was Yano Pumio, who published a bbok entitled " The New Society," which gained much notoriety ; it was a veritable Utopian dream, and lacked substance and consistency. The two institutions of higher learning in the capital which are not connected with the Government, and bear the impress of master minds, are the Keio-Gijiku College, founded by Fukuzawa, and the Was^da University of Count Okuma. Both of these schools have naturally favoured economic views of a liberal kind. Prom the Was^da University came a work by Professor Abe Iso, entitled " How to Solve Social Problems," which gained the ear of the public in its advocacy of a mild form of Socialism. The writer was at one time a Unitarian preacher, and his views are based upon Christian ideals. When it became evident that Japan was heading JOURNALISM AND JOURNALISTS 283 towards a war with Russia, the Socialists gathered their forces together to oppose militarism as far as they pos- sibly could. There were two main groups — the philosophic atheist Rousseauists and the Christian Socialists. In 1890, the Keio-Gijiku, founded in 1842, was developed into a high-grade college, and manned by a force of American Unitarian scholars, mostly from Harvard Uni- versity, whose teaching was natually of a liberal and humanitarian nature. A certain Nakae Chomin, early in the M6iji era, had translated the " Social Contract " of Rousseau into Japanese, and his ablest follower, Kotoku, is to-day a leader among the materialistic Socialists of the country. The combination resulted in the publication of the Heimm (Common People), a journal which repro- bated a war policy. The organisers came in for much obloquy in a nation so ultra-patriotic as the Japanese, and they were even accused of being spies of Russia and traitors to their native land. The journal was soon suppressed, and the leading members of its staff, Kotoku, Sakai, Kinoshita, and Nishikawa, were put in prison for sedition. But as soon as they emerged from their cells, with dogged determination they started another publica- tion called the Ghikugen (Upright Words), advocating the same views; this, however, speedily met with the same summary treatment as its predecessor. The " planks " of the party included these demands : che reduction and final abolition of armaments ; the overthrow of social distinctions, which had been em- phasied by Ito's policy in the creation of a peerage ; manhood suffrage, in place of the very limited property suffrage ; and an eight-hour working day. Soon after the suppression of the Chikugen, the authorities allowed the Socialists to organise as a party, with the understand- ing that they would be careful to keep within the limits allowed by the Constitution. The party organ to-day is the 284 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Bodo (Labour), but they have not held together very well, Kotoku being an extremist, leaning to anarchy, while his confrere Katayama is much more moderate in his views. A journal called the Shin Kigen (New Era) was started some time ago to disseminate the principles of the Christian Socialists, and is less political than literary in its criticism of things in general. In the year 1908 there appeared in the streets of the capital a lady-socialist, very eloquent and persuasive in her words, who was successful in gaining adherents to her views ; but the authorities took fright and quickly landed her in jail as a disturber of the peace. One wonders what the fate of the militant sufeagettes would be in fair Japan. Just at present there is a lull in the Socialist campaign, for Kotoku is devoting his energies to the subject of emi- gration, and Kinoshita and others are " lying low." In this year of grace, 1910, however, a new prophet has arisen, a twentieth-century Buddha or Christ, Miyazaki by name, who preaches on the streets of Tokyo wearing a frock- coat of foreign make and a sleeveless haori on top, with characters meaning Prophet, Buddha, and Messiah upon it. At one time this extraordinary man was a soshi or political bully, one of the turbulent class who suffer from too much education and too little to eat, and who are at the root of every disturbance. For many years he has been well known as a journalist in Tokyo, and has done much reporting and newspaper work. Now it is to be feared that much learning hath made him mad, for in his book, " My New Gospel," which I have just received from Tokyo, he boldly declares that he is truly the Messiah-Buddha, and that he is "the consummation of all the prophecies since the beginning of the world." He has gathered about fifty followers round him, and the marvel is that he has not long ago been arrested and lodged in prison like the Socialists. JOURNALISM AND JOURNALISTS 285 As a sign of the times the advent of this Japanese prophet is of interest — truly in Japan the old order changes. The Japanese are a nation of readers, and get their opinions through the printed page. Oratory has not been developed, nor do conditions favour its birth and growth. There are no well-lighted, well-warmed audi- toriums for the multitude to gather in and be instructed ; few opportunities for public lectures and discussions — practically none outside of Government buildings — con- sequently the Press and the pamphlet are the channels of propagandism. Religious newspapers, both Christian and Buddhist, are numerous, and are more effectual than the spoken argument or exhortation. Journalism has also come in as a direct aid to edu- cation through correspondence schools, which meet the needs of country students by publishing weeklies and monthlies. The capital has many such organisations, and some of their printed matter is extremely creditable. Ordinary dailies also lend their columns to this purpose, and have a Home Training Department. In addition to the regular Press and the organs of private colleges, there are about three hundred magazines for general reading published in the capital. The leading monthly magazine is the Tavyo (Sun), published by the Hakuhunhwwn, which also publishes another very popular monthly, the Bungei Kurabu (Literary Club), boasting its 120,000 readers. These two journals are found all over the world, wherever there is a Japanese to read them. When Fukuzawa took charge of the Jiji Shimpo and Captain Brinkley began to edit the Japan Mail— events occurring in the early eighties — the profession of jour- nalist was raised in dignity. Practically the Govern- ment was at the back of the Japan Mail, for it was to be found in Government offices generally throughout the 286 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Empire ; but tke editor was never accused of having prostituted his pen to write what he did not believe — he wrote con amore. By the close of the century, the statesmen of Japan had learnt the full value of having the Press on their side, and the last decade has seen the moulding of journalism for public purposes carried to perfection by these astute men. The columns of the leading journals, especially in Great Britain and America, have from time to time contained articles inspired by writers who were commissioned from Tokyo. Not as hirelings, by any means ; no, they only got first and authoritative news direct from headquarters, with the exact flavour that suited the informants. In a word, the Government " played up " to capable journalism. When the great war came on (1904^1905), there occurred a jar. It did not suit the purposes of the Tokyo administration to have publicity-mongers at the front ; what military administration does favour such publicity? And so the eager special correspondents were held back in Tokyo under various pretexts, until they fairly boiled over with impatient wrath. Many of the press-men proved indocile and intractable ; but those who liked social attentions and good dinners were treated like lords. They were introduced to the best people in the Empire and made welcome, and how could they be ungrateful ? Some of the obstinate Yankees, it is true, returned to America to have their revenge in print, and "knife" the Japanese Government; but all those who could be won over by champagne and courtesies were duly secured. The art of muzzling the correspondent was [carried out to perfection during that war, and the conditions under which they were at length permitted to accompany the armies were more stringent than in any other great war. It is doubtful if the war correspondent will ever again occupy the important position he held in A JAPANESE NEWSBOY (gOGAIVa) WITH "EXTRA SPECIAL." This boy carries five bells. To face p. 287. J0UENALI8M AND JOURNALISTS 287 the past now that the Japanese have shown the world that generals and admirals can act as their own war correspondents. From the point of view of newspaper world develop- ment, the most significant feature in the Russo-Japanese War was the use of wireless telegraphy by the London Times and the New York Times. During the Boer War it could have been made use of, but the military censors would certainly have put their veto upon it in newspaper correspondence. In the Russo-Japanese War it was only utiUsed in connection with naval battles, and even then there were protests against it from the Powers at war. -The fact remains, however, that by means of wireless telegraphy the Times correspondent at Chemulpo escaped the censor, and gave valuable information by aerographed messages to Wei-hai-wei. In war-time the Japanese Government controls the tele- graph lines and the mails, and the newspapers are under the surveillance of a censor. But certain official reports are issued daily to the public from the War and Navy offices, and in an incredibly short time their contents are known in every village in the interior that is reached by telegraph wires ; while in the cities and towns, the news- papers issue extras, which are given free of charge to all subscribers. At every newspaper office throughout the Empire, relays of news-boys (gogaiya) remain on duty night and day awaiting these extra editions ; and the moment the slips containing special war news leave the Press they seize them and hurry off to their different routes with jingling bells tied to their waist-belts, so that everybody may know that something has happened, for the police prohibit shouting in the streets. The import- ance of the news is emphasised by the number of bells, from one to six, fastened to the girdles, six bells denoting that news of supreme importance has been received from 288 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN the seat of war. These gogaiya run round their entire routes at top speed, thrusting extras into the doors and windows of their subscribers. Many of the latter have boards hanging outside their dwellings, upon which they paste the extras for the benefit of their poorer neighbours. There are thousands of these private boards in Tokyo, in addition to those outside the newspaper and telegraph offices, and other public buildings. When a notability visits Japan, every effort is made by the Government, through the Press and other agencies, to show him attention, and to have his doings and travels recorded. He is conducted everywhere in this land of holiday-making, and is shown everything that he desires to see and every aspect of Japanese society with which the Japanese rulers wish him to be impressed. On the other hand, a convenient curtain is thrown over such things as are to be kept in the background for State or patriotic reasons. Hence the roseate hue of most books on Japan written by distinguished visitors : they carry the flavour of a "tribute by an honoured guest." There are few countries with so many newspapers as Japan, for, according to the latest census, there are 829 published in the Island Empire ; every town has at least one newspaper, and even in the most remote districts peasants are up-to-date as regards the latest news. CHAPTEE XXVI NEW JAPAN IN COMMEBCE Banks and banking foreign to feudal Japan — Yokohama sind its banks — A few native firms formerly conducted some banking business — The M^iji era began with a practically moneyless national condition — Utter absence of organised capital — Japanese coins not seen in the ports till 1880 — Personal seaJs, not signa- tures, required in native transactions — People's banks — Six special banks — The Hypothec Bank — Three Commercial Kings — Banking, and shipping now largely State controlled — The factory system — Visit to a match factory near Osaka — Low wages — Inexhaustible mineral wealth — Lack of commercial honesty — ComicaUties of bogus trade marks — Hatred of actual stealing — Old Japan not a commercial country. FOE a long time commerce and banking and every- thing that pertains thereto were associated in the minds of foreigners in Japan with Yokohama. This city, now boasting a population of 300,000, has just been celebrating its jubilee. Fifty years ago it was a mere fishing village, in which foreign merchants, eager to get into commercial touch with the Japanese, had in despera- tion pitched their tents. For Kanagawa, a few miles off across the lagoon, was in reality the port that had been officially promised by the Government for foreign resi- dence and trade, and for a long time the British consulate was officially dated from Kanagawa. This busy Japanese town, however, lay in the highway between the two capitals, and twice a year processions of travelling daimyo 19 289 290 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN passed through it on their way to and from the Shogun's Court. The dangers of a collision between a hot-headed, two-sworded man and some heedless foreigner who might give offence — as did the Englishman Eichardson who crossed the line of procession and was immediately cut down — were considered too serious, and after much delay the merchants and bankers built for themselves at Yokohama what was then called the " over-the- way- beach," and the difficulty was thus overcome. In Water Street, near the Bund, the Oriental Bank Corporation, and also the French Comptoir d'Escompte, established themselves and commenced business. Later on the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank opened offices in Main Street, and they were followed by the two chartered banks. Every month at pay-time, foreigners holding Government posts in Tokyo came down to Yokohama to deposit their salaries, and it was not until the year 1890 that Japanese banks were prepared to offer the convenience of a current account to foreign clients. , Banks and banking are institutions alien to the spirit of Old Japan, and the story of their rise and development is worth telling. In the feudal age that came to an end in 1868, when Japan turned her back upon the past, with its imitation of things Chinese and its national isolation, and set sail on the ocean of modern international life and competition, trade and finance were hardly to be considered as essential elements in the national Hfe. The only substitute for banks was found in a few private firms, known as House- holds {Busankwaisha) , which received land taxes in kind, converted these into money, paid the proceeds to the central government or the overlord, gave accommodation to officials, and did a little exchange business. They neither collected funds by receiving deposits, nor em- ployed their capital to obtain interest and promote NEW JAPAN IN COMMERCE 291 industry. Success in commerce was not formerly recog- nised in Japan, where the merchant in theory was lower than the labourer, and only one degree above the outcast. The Meiji era, then, began with a practically moneyless national condition, and a complete absence of anything resembling organised capital. There was also lacking that type of responsible upper clerk or merchant official who could be relied upon to understand the money market and at the same time further the interests of the bank. Such an official had, however, been developed in the Chinese convpradore — the Portuguese name shows its source — during the centuries when China had a steady European trade and a growing Eurasian population. To-day these Portuguese half-castes make excellent under- clerks, not only in Japan, but all over the Far East. Foreign trade and favourable conditions for business training were absent in the isolated Japan of the Tokugawa period, which lasted from Queen Elizabeth's time to that of Queen Victoria. Neither gold nor silver circulated in the interior of the country. Visitors who travelled in the mainland and in Hokkaido, the northern island, never saw a silver dollar ; even smaller sums were paid in Government paper, fifties and twenties. Gold was entirely unknown ; every- thing was done in Emsatsy, or "gold paper." The Japanese silver dollar — a fine coin — was hardly seen in the ports till after 1880, when it began to oust the clumsy Mexican dollar, the former unit of trade. There is one peculiarity of Japanese business that never fails to interest a Westerner, accustomed to regard a personal signature as the base of all mercantile transac- tions. In Japan the signature is of no account; all is done with seals, the seal being to the Japanese something almost as close and necessary as his thumbnail. It is registered in the Government books, and comes out 292 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN solemnly and significantly when any important contract is to be signed. Every Japanese who holds any social position carries both a personal and an official seal, generally of brass, and the impression is made with red or black pigments, which are sold everywhere in tiny china pots. So clever are the people at copying hand- writing, and so little significance has the written signature for them, that forgery of signatures would be a constant menace to society. Eorgery of seals is a different matter, and is carefuUy provided against in the national economy. In addition to the ordinary banks, there are in Japan what are called people's banks, which are estabHshed in each prefecture to serve as local organs of credit for agriculture and industry. The lines of business carried on by the people's banks are similar to those handled by the Hypothec Bank, one of the six special banks. It was founded in 1896, during the boom that followed the close of the Chinese War, and took the form of a joint stock company under the special patronage and control of the Government. It furnishes long-period loans on the security of immovable property, makes loans without security to prefectures, districts, cities, towns, and other recognised organisations ; makes loans with security for the work of adjustment of cultivated fields under the farm adjustment law; takes up mortgage debentures of the people's banks ; and accepts the custody of gold and bullion and negotiable instruments. An odd exception to the general rule, forbidding any- thing of the nature of a lottery in the Empire, is permitted in the case of the Hypothec Bank. The bank is authorised, when at least one-fourth of its nominal capital is paid up, to issue mortgage debentures to an amount not exceeding ten times its paid-up capital. These are redeemable at least twice a year by means of drawings, and for each issue of debentures premiums of NEW JAPAN IN COMMERCE 293 various amounts ranging from 5 yen to 1,000 yen are allotted to a certain number of debentures to be deter- mined by drawings. This exception was made with the object of attracting to the Hypothec Bank small capitalists who would subscribe to its debentures. In the business world three names are worthy of special mention : Iwasaki Yataro, the " Sea King," whose active mind gave to Japan its first mercantile marine ; Baron Shibuzawa, the Nestor of Japanese business circles ; and Baron Mitsui, head of the various firms of that name. Eecently the Imperial Family has given its patronage to commercial concerns, and the Crown Prince is con- nected with the Standard Oil Company, while the sons of several Court nobles have studied in engineering work- shops, and are associated with great manufacturing firms. Banking and shipping are now largely State controlled, and the old peaceful life of the country is passing rapidly into the dim twilight of forgetfulness ; the whirr of machinery and the shriek of the factory whistle resounds through the land, and is heard even in beautiful old- world Kyoto, now become a great weaving and manu- facturing centre. In favourite holiday resorts tall factory chimneys abound, and the smoke of furnaces and foundries blackens the country-side. It is somewhat disconcerting to all one's preconceived ideas of fair Japan to visit a factory nowadays and see her daughters working for their livelihood with nimble fingers amid the buzz of machines. I noticed, by the way, that the kimono did not suit the utiUtarian atmo- sphere of these places, and the long sleeves were decidedly in the way of the workers as they stooped over their machines. In Osaka, the great cotton-spinning centre, I counted from a spot overlooking the once beautiful river — now a 294 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN muddy and malodorous stream — sixty-two giant factory chimneys, each belching forth thick black smoke. The Department of Finance in Tokyo devotes much of its attention to establishing Government monopolies, which are worked by the authorities for their own profit, and they have already taken over salt, tobacco, and camphor, and have made attempts to monopolise the match trade. I made an expedition from Osaka by 'rihisha to a large match factory employing over one thousand women and girls, which was established by a Japanese gentleman, who spent three years in England studying the processes of the manufacture as carried on there. Curiously enough, women workers in a match factory rank lower in the social scale than cotton factory girls, and these again belong to a lower caste than makers of artificial flowers. To the Japanese mind the kind of labour undertaken by a man or woman determines his social standing, one ennobles and another degrades ; and so a Japanese farmer is regarded as even lower than a jinrikisha man, because his work is disgusting, while a domestic servant ranks higher and is treated as a friend. At the match factory I visited I saw all the processes of match making — even to packing large consignments in huge cases for transport to India and China — except the cutting and splitting of the wood into the proper size, which is done at other works. The boxes are made by the people in their own homes, this occupation being the worst paid in Osaka, but the labels are put on at the factory. Every match passes through fourteen hands, and each operation is carried on in a separate shed; wages run from 3d. to 6d. per day. One cannot help wondering what the old daimyo would have said to this new era, when the sword has been turned (literally) into a ploughshare. NEW JAPAN IN COMMERCE 295 In Tokyo University there are now more students in the departments of Commerce and Agriculture than in those of Science and Philosophy; formerly the reverse was the case. The Japanese have determined to make themselves the paramount commercial power in the Bast, and they are rapidly succeeding in their object, backed as they are by a strong Government, which starts industries, provides capital, and trains workers. Their imports are decreasing, while their exports are increasing, and under the present conditions of cheap labour and fuel they have a distinct advantage over other competitors. In the mills managers can get any number of women to work for 5d. a day, and in silk and porcelain factories the daily wage of a skilled workman is Is. 3d., so that goods can be turned out cheaply. But the day is fast approaching when this state of things will be changed and the people will demand an increase of wages. Indeed, they are already doing so, for during the last five years such vast sums have been spent on the Army and Navy and on commercial subsidies that everything is now taxed, even one's railway ticket, and the cost of living has gone up by leaps and bounds. Japan still spends twice as much on the Fleet and Army as she did before the war with Eussia, her policy being the rapid enlarge- ment of both, and high taxation is therefore the order of the day. The available resources, mineral and otherwise, of Japan are increasing yearly. The coal-fields, both in south and north, have hardly been touched, and as for her copper mines, they are very slightly developed, and although they have been worked for centuries, the yield still far exceeds the demand. Copper has always been largely used in various art industries, such as cloisonne, and it is now in universal request throughout the Empire for electric conductors and fittings, and also for brass and 296 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN gun-metal, and for boilers in many new factories, so that this will prove a great source of wealth to Japan in the near future. The canker at the root of everything in Japanese business is the lack of commercial honesty, against which the foreign trade has had to contend, and as a rule the Yokohama merchant hates the Japanese so much on account of this that it prejudices him against the whole country. In mercantile transactions he avoids dealing personally with them, doing all business through a Chinese compradore. One point which the Japanese mind cannot under- stand is the sacredness of trade marks. Bogus trade marks and labels are everywhere to be met with, and they are a source of much amusement to a casual observer, for the one thing the Japanese cannot imitate seems to be a label, and I do not think I ever read a Japanese imitation trade description right through with- out finding something funny in it. For instance, a sauce which is sold in Kob^ is advertised as " suppUed full sell or retail by Crosse and Blackwell," and I have seen collars sold in boxes bearing the name of Huntley and Palmer — in fact, the name of any well-known English firm is used to sell foreign goods to foreign customers. Nothing is more remarkable than the hatred of actual thieving in a country where the shopkeepers have no commercial morality, and I once saw a pickpocket, caught stealing at Nagoya, cruelly ill-used by both police and populace and dragged off half-dead to the police station. Truly the tender mercies of the Japanese police {Mihatsu) are cruel where a thief is concerned. Stealing is also one of the seven reasons for divorce in Japan. Old Japan was not a commercial country, and the makers of New Japan have had the difficult task of breaking down old traditions and creating a new class — NEW JAPAN IN COMMERCE 297 the merchant class. Eome was not built in a day, and as it takes three generations to make a gentleman, it may well be that it will take the same to turn a nation of warriors into good business men. When that day comes the future of Japan is certain, and in the peaceful expan- sion of her commerce she will find her true mission as leader in the Far East. CHAPTEE XXVII THE DEBT OF JAPAN TO CHINA A recent break with Chinese ideals — Chinese literature no longer in the school currioulimi — SMnto the native religion — Buddhism an importation from China — By the seventh century Chinese cus- toms and learning had overspread Japan — Ideographs, calendar, cotton, sUk, tea all brought in — Kyoto became the capital when Chinese influences were at their height — The Buddhist cult — A story of crucifixion — The rhymeless short ode a native product — Very few things in their civUisation not Chinese — Examples of their lyric poetry — Ymnato damasTm — Printing introduced from China — Chinese influence on law, education, painting, music, and architecture — Difference in character between the Chinese and the Japanese. FTH the opening of the twentieth century the Japanese Government took a step which seemed hke a definite break with Chinese ideals. On All Fools' Day, 1901, the special item of " Chinese Literature " in the curriculum of the middle schools was done away with, and any desirable instruction it contained was placed under the heading of "Japanese Language." There were numerous conservative opponents of the measure, who asserted that the character and customs of the Japanese are founded on the teachings of Chinese litera- ture, and that to abolish this training is to adopt the utilitarian spirit of the Occident. Others read Japanese history differently, and recognise in the true Japanese national spirit something that was always inherently THE DEBT OF JAPAN TO CHINA 299 opposed to the Chinese exaltation of the civil government above the military. The feudal two-sworded man, they state, knew hardly any literature save the lyrics of his own land, and was unable even to write a Chinese ideo- graph. The history of Japan is supposed by its people to date back to the seventh century before Christ, when Eome also was in its infancy. The Emperor Jimmu-Tenno, who is revered as the first of the long dynasty stretching in an unbroken line that finds no parallel elsewhere in any kingdom, came to the throne in b.o. 660. Nearly four and a half centuries elapsed before any Chinese landed on the sacred shores of the islands, and it was not until the time of the Emperor Augustus that relations were opened with the peninsular kingdom of Korea. During the first five centuries of our era, when the Japanese were busy quelling the barbarous race which at that time inhabited the islands, they were growing more intimate with China and with Korea. In the year a.d. 201 the warlike Empress of Japan, Jingo-Kogo, led an expe- dition to Korea and subdued the peninsular kingdom. Eighty years later the sacred books of China were brought to Japan by a Korean. Eelations were not very close, however, until the spirit of religious proselytism appeared on the scene. In the middle of the sixth century Buddhist missionaries, aflame with zeal, crossed over from Korea, and, in the face of much opposition from the native Shinto priests, spread their doctrines far and wide. Before the close of the century the Government was actually supporting them, and the country became practically Buddhist. With them came the Chinese calendar, Chinese works on astro- nomy, and a flood of Chinese learning. Before the middle of the seventh century Buddhism was definitely the State religion, and national things in general had adopted 300 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Chinese methods. The Chinese ideographic system of writing was adopted, which was later to be simplified into Japanese syllabaries. Silk, tea, cotton, not to mention other articles, were imported and domesticated. At the close of the eighth century the Imperial Court established itself at Kyoto, which was to remain the seat of the Imperial Government for over a thousand years, imtil, in 1868, the present Emperor came from his seclu- sion at Kyoto and entered upon Imperial functions at Tokyo, which now for over forty years has been the capital of Japan. It is to be noted that Kyoto became the Imperial centre at a time when Chinese influences were at the flood, and for many long years Japan was the almost slavish imitator of China. I have spoken of two religions which are everjrwhere in evidence in Japan — the Buddhist and the Shinto. The first of them, coming from distant Hindustan, might be compared to Christianity in Europe ; the second is native, like the Scandinavian theology, which has given us names for the days of the week and suppUes material every now and then for a modem poem, like " Sigurd the Volsung." It might be supposed that the gentle and dreamy cult of Gautama would have so profoundly influenced the Japanese mind as to render it productive in works of high merit. But this has not been the case. No work exists in Japan which takes the place of the "Imitation of Christ," Dante's "Inferno," or Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." Buddhism has not been a fertihsing literary element in Japanese life; indeed, so far as religion has affected Japanese literary productiveness, the source has been native and Shinto. A reason for this may be found in the lack of indivi- duality fostered by the Buddhist cult. Its Nirvana is really the final laying down of the burden of self — a pleasant riddance to the dreamy Asiatic — ajid as a cult THREE BUDDHIST PRIESTS (BOSAN). There are thirty-five sects of Buddhism in Japan, and it is still the dominant religion among the people. Buddhism and Shintoism are so blended that the temples of both are frequented without discrimination. Jlie moral influence of the priests is not weighty. They act as custodians of graveyards and performers of funeral rites. To face p. 300, THE DEBT OF JAPAN TO CHINA 301 it produces gentle and submissive subjects rather than heroes and adventurers who stimulate the imagination of poets. The ideals of the active element among the Japanese people — the two-sworded gentleman-warriors — have never been Buddhistic ; they have been essentially Shinto, as was well shown by the thrilling story of Sunyemon, a bold two-sworded man, who laid down his life on the cross for his fellows. The tale is worth re- telling. In the days of Queen Elizabeth, shortly after the dreadful massacre of St. Bartholomew, there was heavy fighting in Japan, in the very centre of the large islands The castle of Nagashino was besieged and the garrison was reduced to great extremities. Thereupon one of the soldiers, named Torii Sunyemon, offered to make his way out of the castle and see whether the great General Nobunaga was not about to come to their relief. This offer being accepted, he left by night and found much difficulty in passing through the enemy's cordons, but eventually by a skilful use of his sword he at length cut his way through their ropes and arrived in safety at Nobunaga's camp, where immediate relief was promised and a certain raising of the siege. It was now his duty to slip back into the castle and announce his good news, but this proved a more difficult task. He tried stratagem, and, disguising himself as a common labourer, he carried a bundle of bamboos into the camp of the besiegers, hoping to find an opportunity of entering the castle at night, but he was discovered and forced to disclose the details of his mission. The general in command of the besieging army, after listening to his story, promised him not only his life, but a large grant of land, if he would misinform his friends regarding the real state of affairs. He must go close up 302 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN to the walls and call out, "Nobunaga cannot come to your assistance and you had better surrender." If he failed to do this he would be crucified. Sunyemon accepted the offer and asked for an elevated position, so that his voice when he spoke might be heard dis- tinctly by every one in the castle. The besieging general granted the request, but at the same time ordered his men to erect a cross on the elevation, so that, should Sunyemon fail to carry out his promise, he might be crucified in full view of both armies as the penalty of his duplicity. When conducted to the eminence, Sunyemon, in a loud voice, summoned his besieged friends to the ramparts. " If I declare that Nobunaga is not coming to your rescue," he shouted, "my life is to be spared and I am to have a piece of land bestowed on me. But Nobunaga is coming and in three days will raise the siege." At this the besiegers, in a rage, laid hold on him and crucified him. This is the quality of man that the Japanese nation reveres — a man who dies for his comrades and his sovereign lord. But it is not the Chinese ideal, and the very fact that the Japanese still worship self-sacrifice of any kind proves that although Chinese ideals have been grafted upon Japanese civilisation, the original strain has never been obliterated. In a word, the core of Japanese civilisation refused to be altered by the Chinese influx which began in the sixth century and continued to the seventeenth. At the dawn of Japanese literature, in the sixth century of our era, there was but little difference between poetry and prose. Poetry was marked by a loose kind of metre and by occasional inversions, and Chinese words were rigorously excluded, or, if admitted, they appeared only in a disguised form. The structure of the Japanese language is wonderfully involved, tending THE DEBT OF JAPAN TO CHINA 303 ) sentences of interminable length, and in this peculi- rity the Japanese present a strange contrast to their hinese neighbours, from whom they borrowed so much I the way of civilisation. As an offset to this tendency ) lengthiness, authority placed the regular poem on a asis of thirty-one syllables, making brevity the out- ;anding mark of the classical poetry of the Japanese, 'heodore Watts-Dunton has called attention to the eautiful rhymeless short ode of Japanese poetry in his cticle on the "Sonnet" in the "Encyclopaedia Britan- ica." It is this original poetry which almost alone has sur- ived the avalanche of Chinese ideas and methods that vertook the Island Empire in the days when Northern lurope was being Christianised, for a very small per- entage, indeed, of Japanese things is really and essen- ally Japanese. " Not only," says Professor Basil Hall ihamberlain, " are their silk and lacquer not theirs by ght of invention, nor their painting (albeit so often raised by European critics for its originality), nor their orcelain, nor their music ; but even the larger part f their language consists of mis-pronounced Chinese ; ad from the Chinese they have drawn new names for Iready existing places, and new titles for their ancient ods. "What was not to be looked for was that one i'hole branch of that literature should, weathering the torm that shook its infancy, have preserved down to our wn times the unaltered form and the almost unaltered abstance of the earliest manifestation of Japanese iiought." This early poetry had neither rhyme nor tone like the 'hinese, nor quantity like Latin or Greek verse, nor lliteration like early English. Its prosody is of the implest, the essential rule being this, that the lines tiould consist of five and seven syllables alternately. A 304 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN favourite form was the simple thirty-one syllable stanza, running 5, 7, 5, 7, 7, and this was so frequently em- ployed that other stanzas were considered irregularities. Here is one of these stanzas: — " Momiji-ba wo Eaze ni mahasete Miru yori mo Hakanaki mono ha Inochi nari keri." which, being translated and versified, runs as follows : — " One thing, alas 1 more fleeting have I seen Than withered leaves driven by the autumn gust ; Yea, evanescent as the whirling dust, Is man's brief passage o'er this mortal scene 1 " These exquisite stanzas engaged the attention of the late Lafcadio Hearn, who, as every one knows, devoted himself to the elucidation of things Japanese, and became a naturalised subject of the Emperor of Japan. The following stanza is quoted from his " Shadowings " : — " Hana ya yoku kikel Sho aru naraba. Hito ga fusagu ni Naze hiraka ? " " If thou hast a soul Floweret, tell me why Thou dost bloom so sweet When bowed with grief am I ? " The whole manner reminds us at once of the Ayrshire poet, who found sympathetic gleams in the aspects of nature. In the immortal lyric, "Ye Banks and Braes o* Bonnie Doon," the passionate invocation is made, it is true, not to the rose upon the tree, but to the THE DEBT OF JAPAN TO CHINA 305 ing bird. Yet the opening appeal is to inanimate e. ich of the best of this lyric poetry comes down to )m the period when Chinese influences were not yet minant. Early Japan, innocent of the writing and arts that came over from the Continent, lasted to the sixth century, and there is no reason for )sing that the Japanese were ardent students of the ise civilisation before that time. The change came, lave said before, with an influx of Buddhist mission- eager to proselytise, and thenceforward the nation lued to absorb all that it could of Chinese and of n thought through Chinese sources, the tenth century historians, metaphysicians, and Lsts, nourished in these foreign methods, were at founding a new Japanese literature. The old lyric jT went out of fashion and was left undeveloped ; but 3 not forgotten, and it was destined to be cherished revived in later years, when the national spirit led itself, and Shinto, or the way of the gods, again ae dear to the people. ive me the songs of a people," remarked a distin- ed Scotchman — Fletcher of Saltoun — "and I care ho furnishes their laws." This remark holds singu- true in the history of the Japanese people. For centuries the Islanders were regarded by the !se, vrith some reason, as mere imitators, but all the their own independent spirit remained unquenched, ept itself alive in their indigenous verse. The real of Old Japan has been named by them Yamato sJm, and they consider that this spirit still preserves istine purity in the native lyric poetry, day, in 1910, every reading Japanese pays tribute ! old civilisation of China in being forced to master il thousand difficult Chinese ideographic characters 20 306 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN before he can pursue his studies in science or philosophy ; and, as already mentioned in a previous chapter, attempts to replace this troublesome system by the Eoman letters have been unsuccessful. Books on all serious subjects — theology, science, law, and history — are written in Chinese; while Japanese is the language of poetry, fiction, the drama, and, in recent times, of the magazine and newspaper press. Printing reached Japan from China, books being first printed in the tenth century. Some printed slips from blocks cut in the eighth century are in existence; mov- able types were introduced at a much later period. Thus, both in language and literature, Japan owes a debt to China; but the debt is not so great as appears at first sight, because, as I have endeavoured to point out, the Chinese influence only affected the Japanese superficially, and did not touch the real spirit of the race. Japan has imitated the best things in ancient Chinese civilisation, refining and improving all that she received from her ancient neighbour, and we naturally ask why China has not achieved the same results. The answer lies in the difference of character between the two nations. Japan is favourable to new ideas, only because she was what she was three hundred years ago. The ideals she displays to-day are her own, manifested in a new form and supplemented by the best ideals of the Western world. During three hundred years, when the country was closed to all foreign intercourse, her arts had time for that development which is the wonder of the world. When compelled to admit the foreigner she welcomed him, but only for what he had to give her ; and after he had founded her navy, and built her rail- ways, she dispensed with foreign helpers as quickly as possible, so that to-day they are almost completely elimi- nated from the Japanese public service. In her dock- THE DEBT OP JAPAN TO CHINA 307 3 and on her railways there are still a few, and y or forty are teaching in schools ; but that is all the gn aid that this strong-purposed and self-rehant )n receives at the present time. I shown in the opening sentences of this chapter, she 30 seeking to burst the bonds that bind her to the 3nt Chinese ideals, but nothing can alter the fact the civilising influences which flowed from China lenturies have done much to mould the national icter and determine the moral standards of the 3rn Japanese. The laws of Japan were formerly i on those of China, although they have now been lally reformed upon European principles, and the old ese methods of education have also been abandoned. 1 regards Japanese art, there can be no doubt that emarkable command of the pencil and brush which e of its leading characteristics is the result of early ation in the free use of the brush when writing the ult Chinese characters. There have been numerous dIs of painting in Japan, some of which have been red imitators of the Chinese, by whom the art of ting was first introduced. music the Japanese owe much to the Mongol lire, and in this connection it is interesting to note the imported arts of playing on the flute and the have been preserved in Japan for more than one sand years, long after they became extinct in their ler countries, China and Korea. In architecture, as in all other arts, the Japanese have copied the lese style. pan aims to be the leader of New Asia, but she es to be treated differently from other Asiatic les, regarding herself as their superior. Certainly, jite of surface points of resemblance between the ,ese and the Japanese, no two nations could differ 308 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN more in character, temperament, and mode of thought. The best proof of this lies in the way in which Japan has assimilated the various elements imported through the centuries from China, adapting and developing them according to her own ideals, and using them as lamps to guide her path along the road of enlightenment and civilisation. CHAPTBE XXVIII JAPAN'S DEBT TO BEITAIN Adams, the pilot — His grave near Tokasuka — The story of his ife — English firms commissioned by the Japanese Government —Founding of the Imperial College of Engineering — Dr. Henry Dyer and his staff — Englishmen in the Imperial University — English instructors in the Navy — British Scholars — Japanese ionfidence in the British — Debt to Britain, not only in the Navy, rat in Commerce — Appreciation of Great Britain as an ally. )W that Japan has come to be recognised as a great naval power among the nations, many people be interested to learn that the founder of the bnese Navy was an Englishman of the name of Will ms, who came to the Island Empire in the year 1600, was so much liked and respected that he was induced send the remaining twenty years of his Ufe there, ms sailed for the East in 1598, as pilot of a fleet of ch trading vessels, and after many adventures, reached shores of Kyushu, the south-western island, whence 7as conveyed in a junk to Osaka. There he had an rview with the first Tokugawa Shogun, the mighty 'asu, founder of the city of Tokyo (Y6do), on whom Qade such a favourable impression that he was asked ater the service of the Shogunate. His knowledge of aanship was made full use of, and ly^yasu finally : him into his confidence as constructor of his navy adviser in his dealings with foreigners. The one 310 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN thing he would not do was to let him return to his wife and family in England, and after some years Will Adams followed the custom of the country, and tried to console himself with a Japanese wife and family. But he never forgot his English wife and children in Kent, and when he died in 1620 he left them half his fortune. The ships he built for ly^yasu ranged from 80 to 120 tons, and no doubt some of them were built at Yokosuka, fifteen miles from Yokohama, now the principal arsenal of Japan, which lay right below his own lordship of Hemi, where the last years of his life were spent. He had been made lord of the village in return for valuable services rendered to the Government, and by a happy choice the spot selected for the grave of the English navigator is on the green hill above Hemi, overlooking the Gulf of Tokyo with its shipping and all that would have interested him most. One wonders what the builder of the first Japanese ship, an 80-tonner, would think of the Yokosuka of to-day, with its navy yards, dry docks, and its battleships of over 20,000 tons. Adams is still worshipped as a god (kami) by the people of Japan, and on the tomb where he lies, with his Japanese wife beside him — Anjin-Haka (the English pilot's tomb) — I often saw offerings of fresh flowers. When he first settled in Japan, the district granted to him, now called Anjin-cho (Pilot District) was at the head of the port of Y^do, where seamen most con- gregated. So late as 1798, the residents of this quarter remembered him by placing a pair of stone lanterns at his grave, and the shipwrecked English pilot is still deified in Tokyo, for every year a saint's day festival is held in his honour in Anjm-cho, right in the heart of the present city. The British merchants who flocked to Japan after Commodore Perry began the period of treaty-making in 1855, were not particularly friendly to the people, and the Japanese whom they met in business belonged to the JAPAN'S DEBT TO BEITAIN 311 ipised akindo or " pedlar " class, for there existed no 1 equivalent for the naerchant. So that in establishing itions with foreign countries, making contracts and em- ying foreign experts, the Japanese Government found bdvisable to entrust their business to reputable foreign ns. In London the firm chosen was that of Jardine, ttheson and Co., who were commissioned to make all : arrangements when English professors, engineers, and 3men entered the service of the Emperor. The system rked well; and although later the Government sent resentatives of its own to London and other capitals lischarge these duties, it subsequently returned to this thod of the early seventies. Che Department of Education owed its inspiration jely to American, and not to British, advisers. But the Department of Public Works, or Kobusho, )lished in 1886, there was a powerful institution iblished under British initiative, one of the earliest I best of its kind anywhere. This was the Imperial lege of Engineering, in which Prince Ito and Marquis iuy6 took an especial interest. The overshadowing jntific fame of Lord Kelvin in Glasgow, then Sir lliam Thomson, led to its organisation being placed in hands of a Glasgow University engineer. Dr. Henry er. A select corps of experts sailed for Japan with a, and the names of Edward Divers, P.E.S., John hie, P.E.S., Thomas Alexander of Dublin University, late W. E. Ayrton, F.E.S., and John Perry, F.E.S., sufficient to show the quality of the instruction given, ^rom the College of Engineering came many of the e Japanese scientists who have made New Japan ; ida, who died prematurely after laying down the jgraph lines for the Empire ; Shimose, who discovered explosive which did such yeoman service in the sso-Japanese War, and many naval architects. No 312 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN wonder Prince Ito was proud of the leading pa',-t he took in the founding of this noble institution. Year after year in its main hall, for a long time the finest auditorium of the kind east of Calcutta, State functions of a social kind were held. When the late Duke of Clarence and his brother, now our present King, visited Japan as midship- men in 1881, it was in this hall, at the Engineering College, that an [entertainment was given them. On the staff of the old Tokyo University were several notable British teachers : Charles James Tarring, after- wards one of our judges in Turkey and now a judge in the West Indies ; J. A. Ewing, F.E.S., head of the Scientific Department of the British Navy ; and Cargill G. Knott, F.E.S.E., now of Edinburgh University and author of the most recent authoritative book on earthquakes. When the new Imperial University was founded there were eighteen foreign professors on its staff: one Frenchman, one American, and the remaining sixteen divided equally between Germany and Great Britain. Its two chief components were the Imperial College of Engineering and Tokyo University. The Japanese Navy owes its efficiency in large measure to the excellent quality of its foreign instructors, all of them British — Captain T. H. James, Captain Inglis, and many others — and in various essential respects the victory gained in the Sea of Japan was a triumph immediately due to British skill. Those who know the attention given by these naval experts to questions affecting the progress of the Japanese Navy will be inclined to grant them every credit for their exertions in bringing the standard of excellence up to its present high grade ; and it must not be forgotten that Admiral Togo, the Japanese Nelson, received his training in the British Navy, as did many of the officers under his command. The scholars who have done most for the interpretation JAPAN'S DEBT TO BRITAIN 313 1 education of Japanese history and early institutions re been British. Many of their contributions are to found in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of jan, founded and originally supported almost entirely British residents. For many years Sir Harry Parkes 3 its President, and Sir Ernest Satow its Secretary ; I writers like W. Gr. Aston, Basil Hall Chamberlain, I J. C. Gubbins contributed freely to its pages. "When 1 Imperial University was founded in the early eighties, )fessor Chamberlain became Professor of Japanese ilology in the College of Literature. In the feverishly Tgetic years following the Eestoration of 1868, Japanese olars had no time to spare for antiquarian research, nor re the active minds of the Japanese interested in such dies. Moreover, they had to learn modern philological thods, and could not have handled ef&ciently — even 1 they made the attempt — the task of historical inter- itation. So that, when foreign visitors asked where ly should go to learn all about early Japan, they were srred, not to the wise men of Dai Nippon, but to iow-saw or Chamberlain-saw. 5ir Ernest Satow gave a course of lectures at Oxford liversity in 1909, and Mr. J. C. Gubbins, First Secretary the then British Legation at Tokyo, is now connected ih Cambridge University as lecturer on the Japanese guage and literature. During the critical period of the Eusso-Japanese War, ! only legations that were left unguarded by Japanese ops, as needing no defence, were the British and the lerican. For fifty years the policy of Great Britain in the Far ist has been conciliatory and not aggressive. In the ir 1861, but for British intervention, the islands of ashima would have become Russian. A force of Lssian marines landed there, and were coolly taking 314 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN possession of the islands, when a trusted official of the Shogun, Awa Katsu, who later became Count Katsu, took the matter up, and secured the intervention of the British Minister in Tokyo. Their joint representations were effective in securing the withdrawal of the troops. Twenty years later, the Port Hamilton islands, off the Korean peninsula, were for a time occupied by Great Britain for strategical purposes, but she gave them up so as to furnish no cause for umbrage. In the Treaty revision troubles of 1888, missionaries belonging to the G.M.S. were on one occasion called in to help the situation, and did materially help it. In the troubles that followed the Chinese War of 1893- 1894, and finally culminated in the Boxer War, Japan and Great Britain were found acting in unison. The some- what hectoring attitude that marked the bearing of British officials in the earlier Victorian period, yielded to a more friendly policy due in a great measure to a better under- standing of the people. In the negotiations that resulted in the enforced surrender of Port Arthur in 1895, Eussia, Germany, and France acted in concert, and wrested from Japan the fruits of the war. Great Britain held aloof from this policy, provoking considerable resentment. Japan was willing to yield up the rest of the peninsula, but vyished to retain Port Arthur with the small peninsula of Kin- chow. This proposal was not satisfactory to the three Continental powers, and the British Foreign Minister urged her to make all the concessions she could, since Great Britain and the United States were not prepared at the time to back her up in further resistance. These various incidents show that a really conciliatory and friendly disposition has been manifest in the acts and policy of the British Government, such as Japanese officials have not found elsewhere. JAPAN'S DEBT TO BRITAIN 315 The Japanese have absorbed not only our naval skill, it they have also studied commercial problems in our stories, shipyards, and workshops, and have returned to e Land of Gentle Manners to teach their countrymen lat they learnt. The heads of dockyards, and the inagers of mills and factories, have all learnt their trade England, and in many instances the pupil has proved are clever than his teacher in remedying small defects d simplifying the process of manufacturing certain ods. Japan knows very well that no nation can afford to md alone; that the boast of a "splendid isolation " is ipty and foolish. She must and will work in conjunction th allies ; she needs to bind to her by ever-strengthen- y cords the allies whom she has already secured. The spicion that Japan is only making use of Great Britain an ally to throw her over when it suits her is unworthy d unstatesmanlike. At the basis of all good statesman- p there is a measure of magnanimity, and Japanese itesmen are magnanimous. Eriendship is idealised in pan ; there is no better friend than a good Japanese 3nd ; he is loyal and self-sacrificing to a high degree, e Japanese Government cannot appeal properly to the )ple in its foreign relations, unless it can assert mutual ations of friendship with some other Government or vernments. This relationship now exists between her i the British Government, and her clear-visioned states- n will take care that it shall not needlessly be broken. CHAPTEE XXIX MAKERS OF NEW JAPAN Types of statesmen — Three great modern statesmen, Cavour, Bis- marck, Ito Hirobumi, makers of Italy, Germany, Japan — Ito's native province, Choshu — Influence of Eai Senyo and of TosMda Torajiro, E. L. Stevenson's liero — Ito's early visit to London — Kido's support — Eise to power after the Eestoration — Home and Finance Minister — Attack of "German measles" — Thrice premier — His progressive principles — Made a Prince of the Blood in Korea — Description of Ito as seen in 1905 — A clever conversationalist — Inouye Kaoru, Ito's lifelong friend — One of the four elder statesmen — Fond of Art — Marquis Matsukata, an Oxford LL.D. — An expert financier — President of the Eed Cross Society — Marshal Prince Tamagata, another of the four Seniors — His popular qualities — Dislikes government by party — The two veterans. Counts Okuma and Itagaki — Fukuzawa, a great journalist — The nulitary and naval heroes — Marshal Oyama, a fine old fighter — Old china his hobby — Admiral Togo — His personality. THBEE are statesmen and statesmen. Many a national leader, whose name was a household word dm:ing his lifetime, built upon the sand, because he only gave the people what they asked and foresaw nothing. In these days of parliaments and referenda, there is a special danger in this subtle form of dema- goguism, the desire to lead and be popular, simply by finding out how the wind blows. But there is another type of national leader, he who knows and feels what his country requires, and has one and only one policy ; 316 MAKEES OF NEW JAPAN 317 le man who, while he leads, also trains others to think ith him ; the type of statesman who creates a nation. Three such have lived in modem times. Modern Italy ime to a realisation of her destiny largely through the mius and self-sacrificing labours of Count Cavour, who lortened his life by his devotion to duty. If Bismarck, le pilot who guided modern Germany through the ceakers and landed her safe, giving her the leadership I Europe, had bowed to the will of majorities, he would ive been completely effaced ; but he grasped the situa- on, and kept as rigidly as iron to the policy he had rmed for the unification and expansion of his native nd. In Japan the mind of Prince Ito has also iprinted itself on the nation and been the centre from hich it has moved ; and in the history of our age, as will one day be written, the names of Camillo Cavour, tto von Bismarck, and Ito Hirobumi will be registered gether as makers of nations. Ito was not born to rank or wealth, his father being a unble retainer of the powerful lord Mori of Choshu, hose daimyate dates from the days of Henry VIII. It as at one time valued at over 1,000,000 hoku of rice Drmerly incomes were reckoned in hoku of rice, a koTcu eighing just over 132 lbs.), but in the wars that led the establishment, at Yedo, of the Tokugawa as de do rulers of all Japan, the Mori family fought on the sing side, and the fief was reduced in value to 300,000 )hu. The influence which guided and inspired the lung men of Choshu at this momentous time was that Yoshida Torajiro, son of the hereditary military in- ractor of the clan, and the story of this enthusiast, as Id by one of his pupils and admirers, so impressed the fce Eobert Louis Stevenson, that he has devoted a lapter to Yoshida in his " Familiar Studies of Men and 3oks." He had wonderful power over his followers, 318 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN and his spirit lives to-day in Bai Nippon, where he is still regarded as a hero and a patriot-idealist. In addition to the personal magnetism of Yoshida, young Ito was greatly influenced by a work — the Nihon Seiki — which fell into his hands about this time. It was by an author called Eai Sanyo, who in it advocated the overthrow of the national dualism and a return to the days of Imperial authority, and Ito was converted to its teach- ings, as wer§ most of his clansmen. In 1863, when Ito was twenty-five years of age, he succeeded in doing what his teacher Yoshida had so often tried to do, gain some personal knowledge of foreign lands, and started secretly for Europe, with his friends Inouy6, Yamao, and one other, to study at first hand the institutions of Western nations. They roughed it before the mast, and landed with eyes of wonder on the wharves of London. A short inspection convinced them that here were concentrated force and power against which the Japan they knew would struggle in vain. They returned home hurriedly, having heard of the bombardment of Shimonoseki by the allied squadrons. The progressive policy they advocated was bitterly opposed by the ultra-conservative clansmen of Choshu, and the two liberals were set upon by enemies and left for dead. But in the end their views were adopted by Kido, the leading man in the clan, who began from this time to give Ito positions of authority. When the present Emperor Mutsuhito assumed the reins of power in 1868, and removed the Court to Tokyo, Ito became a Councillor of State, and acted as interpreter for the boy ruler when he gave audience to the foreign envoys. Here his knowledge of English was of help to him. Next year he was appointed Vice - Minister of Finance, and in the following year visited the United States to report upon banking systems. He was also MAKERS OF NEW JAPAN 319 1 the special embassy of Prince Iwakura, when that ableman went abroad to induce the powers to modify le old one-sided treaties. With the deaths of Kido and kubo six years later, new responsibilities were thrown pon Ito. As Minister of Public Works he instituted irious reforms ; but he is to be particularly remembered 3 having taken a leading part in restoring the fiat irrency to par, when it had sunk to $1.80 of deprecia- on. Since 1882 the currency has been redeemable, [e was behind the memorable proclamation of 1881, 'hen representative institutions were promised to the apanese people after ten years. The year after this, he left on his tour, which resulted I a change of policy. Hitherto the parliamentary systems E Great Britain and the United States had been regarded 3 the proper models for Japan to follow, but the lack of ignity in both our House of Commons and the American [ouse of Eepresentatives, and the absence or ignoring E the royal-Imperial power, which it seemed necessary ) retain in Japan, led the Japanese critic to prefer the lethods of the new German Empire. There the Emperor 'as a de facto ruler ; the representatives of the people lerely assisted in the work of government and advised, 'bile leaving the executive in the hands of the Imperial linisters, who remained directly responsible to the Imperor. With possible wars on the near horizon, it 'as quite unadvisable that the centre of power in Japan aould be in the least unstable. Moreover, the German System is notoriously economical, in contradistinction ) the expensive British and American services. Again, 1 is bureaucratic, and depends on trained officials, not on mateurs, as in the other two nations, where a Minister £ State may come from a private law-office, or a pro- sssor's chair, or a factory to take charge of a State epartment. Japan is a country where the official is 320 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN essentially the man of standing, and where those without an official position are expected to take a back seat. As regards system on a modern basis and worked out through official channels, Germany can certainly claim to take the leading place among the nations of to-day. Every- thing in the country is on a war basis, and the far-sighted Ito recognised the grim necessity of war if Japan was to receive her proper position among the civilised powers. These considerations weighed with Ito and his inti- mates, when they came back to Japan prepared to recom- mend a form of popular government, and a system of foreign political methods to follow. They considered that Japan would benefit most by copying Germany, and so came the attack of " German measles," for which Ito was primarily responsible. After his return from his foreign tour, in the course of which he had represented his country at the coronation of the Tsar Alexander III. at St. Petersburg, he became Premier for the first time in 1886 — a post he was to hold thrice again. Erom this he was transferred in four years to the Presidency of the Privy Council, which carried with it the chairmanship of the House of Peers in the newly installed national legislature. During his second premiership, a year or two later, war broke out with China ; when it was brought to a triumphant close, it was Ito who went to Shimonoseki, in his own province of Choshu, to settle the terms of peace with the Chinese Peace Envoy, Li-Hung-Chang. The Satsuma element in the Government, more conservative than Ito, and represented by Marshal Yamagata, began to pull away from him, as he now favoured a Government by party ; but Ito finally succeeded in shelving Yamagata, who was relegated to the dignified obscurity of the Privy Council. The veteran Ito, created a Count in 1884, when the MAKERS OF NEW JAPAN 321 new nobility was established, and a Marquis for his services in the Chinese War, was in the suite of Prince Axisugawa, when that royal prince attended the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria ; and he was in Europe when the Anglo-Japanese entente was concluded by the Katsura cabinet. After that event, most of his labours were con- Qected with the absorption of Korea, of which he became Resident-General in the autumn of 1905. In 1907 he was made a Prince of the Blood of Korea, the last honour accorded to him. He acted for a time as tutor to the Crown Prince of Korea, and was directly responsible for the somewhat Bismarckean policy pursued in the unfortunate peninsular Empire. I saw him start for Seoul as first Eesident- General in November 1905, with several other officials of high rank. In appearance he was distinctly Mongolian, with a broad, 3lever face, and keen, bright eyes, and a look of resolution md strength underl3dng an agreeable expression of 30untenance. He was then over sixty-seven years of ige, and it was considered a noble and patriotic act for I man of his years, the premier statesman of his country, io take up the most burdensome and exacting post that Fapanese diplomacy had to offer, when he might well lave demanded ease in an honoured old age. People (pho knew him personally have told me that he was a jlever conversationalist, with an almost hypnotic influ- jnce over weaker minds in winning them over to his way )f thinking, unobtrusively yet effectually. As a general :ule, he acted on the principle that a pint of oil is better ihan a gallon of vinegar, when trying to gain his point n diplomatic matters ; but if stronger measures became lecessary, his conciliatory manner disappeared, his voice ;rew stern and hard, and the iron hand beneath the velvet glove quickly made itself felt. If Ito's policy as carried out by other hands is a success, 21 322 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN the dead statesman will get his full share of the credit ; while if it is a failure, the blame will fall mostly upon his successors. He had already passed the threescore-and- ten limit, and perished in the ripeness of years, before either his own weakness or the caprices of fortune had diminished his fame. He was never the idol of the Japanese people, for the inconsistency of his private life made this impossible ; but he was admired and trusted as a profound statesman and a real patriot, who had piloted the ship of state through the roughest waters and brought it forth triumphantly into the ocean highway. Ito had no children of his own, and adopted as his son and heir the nephew of his old friend and colleague. Marquis Kaoru Inouy^, whose life is also worth the telling. Inouye Kaoru, another of the makers of the New Japan, was born in Choshii in 1835, three years before his life- long friend Ito Hirobumi, and early took a prominent place among the aspiring retainers of that active clan, distinguishing himself by bravery when it was attacked, in 1863, by the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Slip- ping off by stealth to England, along with his friend, the two returned together at the time of the Shimonoseki bombardment, and were both badly hounded by political enemies in their own clan. With the Eestoration, Inouy6 at once sprang into importance, and filled important Cabinet positions. He was for a long time Foreign Minister, and well-known to foreigners as the host on the occasion of the annual reception given on the Emperor's birthday in November. At a critical period, when Ito was confined to his room by an accident, Inouy6 acted as Premier. In 1898 he retired from active life, but he is still one of the four elder statesmen, who form a kind of " Cabinet vrithin a Cabinet," and remain a power, in the capacity of trusted advisers to his Imperial Majesty. MAKERS OF NEW JAPAN 323 The Marquis has not the same reputation for dis- interested patriotism as his friend, but is thought to be somewhat of a wire-puller. His interest in art is great, and his collection of Sesshu paintings is unrivalled. Like Its, he has no son of his own to succeed him, and has made a nephew his heir. Another member of the inner Cabinet of Seniors is a Satsuma man, whom Oxford has honoured with a Doctorate of Laws. Matsukata Masayoshi was born at Kagoshima, a year before It5 saw the light, and at once came to the front under the new rigime in 1868. He has made finance his speciality, and shares with Ito the credit of having restored the paper currency to par in the early eighties. Eor a short time, in 1891, he was Premier, and thereafter kept out of politics until the outbreak of the Chino- Japanese War, when he again took the portfolio of Finance. It was during his second premiership, in 1896-1897, that a mono-metallic standard was established, on a basis of 32 to 1. Since then the silver dollar of Japan has been valued at 50 cents in gold. In 1874 it was worth over 100 cents, yet foreigners actually preferred to be paid in silver. When foreigners first arrived in the country, gold was valued at 8 to 1, and many merchants made fortunes by taking advantage of the exchange. Then the 16 to 1 basis was adopted, which became so unstable after 1881. The yellow metal has thus quadrupled in value during Mat- sukata's lifetime. Ito and Matsukata had, as already mentioned, differ- ences of opinion in 1903, with the result that the Marquis was relegated to the Privy Council, and ceased to be an active force in politics. He received the distinguished honour, in that year, of being chosen President of the Bed Cross Society of Japan. Another of the Inner Cabinet of Senior Statesmen is 324 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN Marshal Prince Yamagata, who is at once a warrior and a statesman. Like Inouye, he gained his first laurels when the Ch5shu clan had to defend itself against the overwhelming forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and it was he who in the troubles of 1868, when the supporters of the Shogwn continued fighting in the north, directed the operations of the Imperial armies and crushed out the Aidzu rebellion. In the regrettable Satsuma rebellion of 1877, when the great Saigo was defeated, Yamagata was chief of staff to H.I.H. Prince Arisugawa. Por years he directed in turn the affairs of the Departments of War, Home Affairs, and Justice, and his visit to Europe and America in 1888-1889 was made for the purpose of study- ing civil administration. In the Chino-Japanese War he was sent to the front as commander of the First Army, but was soon obliged to return home because of ill-health. Yamagata, at that time a marquis, was present at the coronation of the Tsar Nicholas in 1896, and brought home the Yamagata-Lobanow Convention dealing with Korean affairs. He was Premier in 1898-1900, but his administration was not a success. Thoroughly military in his ideas and preferences, he dislikes government by party, and so clashed with the more progressive ltd The result of the struggle was favourable, as we have seen, to the progressive statesman. When the Eusso- Japanese War broke out, Yamagata succeeded Marshal Oyama as Chief of the General Staff, remaining in that position until the winter of 1905-1906, when he was appointed Presi- dent of the Privy Council. It is remarkable how varied are the activities of this keen-witted nobleman. He was raised to the rank of Prince in 1907, and has always been one of the most popular men in the country. Indeed, as far as fame and popularity are concerned, he may be called the Lord Eoberts of Japan, and his bonhomie has gathered round MAKERS OF NEW JAPAN 325 him quite a host of friends and admirers. Perhaps he is not quite free from the taint of nepotism and favouritism ; in a word, he is credited with having " all the defects of his virtues." In appearance he is a handsome old soldier, with clear-cut features, and a determined aquiline type of countenance ; and he has a great reputation for bravery in a country where all are brave. Those who know him best say that he is charming in general society, and dis- plays a broadmindedness and openness which is not so common as it might be among the higher classes in Japan. As he is now over seventy years old, he prefers to keep aloof from active politics, and his trusted friend among the younger statesmen is Marquis Katsura. There are two other of the grand old men of Japan still surviving who must not be left unnoticed in any sketch like this, however cursory. One is Count Okuma, the John Morley of Japan, born in the same year as Prince Yamagata, at Saga, near Nagasaki, and thus neither a Satsuma nor a Ghoshu man. In respect to mental vigour and statesmanlike ability, he approaches Ito more closely than any of the others we have mentioned. In 1881, after having filled the post of Vice-Minister of Finance and then Minister-in-charge, he resigned, and retired into private life because of deep-seated differences with his colleagues. In retirement he became the head and centre of the Kaishin-to, or Liberal Party, the forerunner of the present Progressive Party. In 1888 he was recalled to office as Minister for Foreign affairs. It was a trying time when the question of the revision of the treatise was under discussion, and his acceptance of a provision by which foreign judges were to sit in the Supreme Court gave intense umbrage to the ultra- patriots. One of the malcontents, Kurushima Tsuneki, waited outside the gates of the Foreign Office when the Count was expected to pass through, and flung a bomb 326 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN into the carriage. He then coolly stabbed himself and fell dead. The Count was so injured in one of his knees that amputation was deemed necessary, and so for over twenty years he has been crippled. His house and grounds are in a northern suburb of the capital, and are well worth a visit, horticulture being his hobby ; in a pre- vious chapter on " Gardens and Flowers " I have referred to my recollections of his famous dwarf trees. In the neighbourhood is the college he has founded, the Semmon Gakko, now Waseda University, devoted chiefly to the teaching of sound ethics and politics, and quite recently he was installed as its Chancellor. Count Okuma was Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Liberal Cabinet of 1898, known as the Okuma-Itagaki-Coalition ; but since 1907 he has retired from active participation in political affairs. Count Okuma has never been abroad. The last of the group of statesmen to be mentioned is Count Itagaki, now over seventy years of age, two years the junior of Marquis Inouye. He comes from the smaller island of Shikoku, and belongs to the Tosa clan, which has always aided the Progressionists. At the time of the Eestoration he was active on the Imperial side, and did good service in the field. In 1873 he resigned from the Cabinet because he disagreed with it in its Korean policy, for Itagaki, like the elder Saigo, was in favour of war. Eight years later he organised the Liberal Party, and in his efforts to secure democratic institutions for Japan incurred some odium, and was dangerously wounded by a fanatic. It has been truly said that Japan is a country where a despotism is tempered by assassina- tion, and no doubt the fear of assassination keeps many of her statesmen from crossing the line of safety. After a visit to Europe and America, Itagaki remained in private life until offered the portfoho of the Home Office in Ito's third Ministry, and he held the same portfoHo in the Okuma- FIELD-MARSHAL OYAMA I\ HIS GARDEN. To face p. 327. MAKERS OF NEW JAPAN 327 Itagaki-Coalition Cabinet of 1898. These years were marked by a gradual rapprochement with Ito, to whom he finally resigned the leadership of the Liberal Party. In 1900 he formed a new " Model Party," the Sevyukwai. Itagaki is opposed to the hereditary peerage system (what a valuable asset he would be in our present House of Commons !) and is much concerned with plans for the betterment of the struggling poor. He has always been regarded as some- what " viewy," and lacking in the more practical qualities of statesmanship. Another prominent figure in the making of New Japan was the late Fukuzawa Yukichi, who never entered of&cial life, but remained an influence outside the Government as editor of the great independent daily, the Jiji Shvmpo, and for several decades occupied a unique position in moulding the ideas of his countrymen, and inducing them to accept Western civilisation. The men who have organised and directed military and naval affairs, and who led their troops to victory in the great struggle of 1904-1905, have still to be noticed. Like Oyama and Tog5, many of them come from the far south province of Satsuma, the Sparta of Modern Japan, called in feudal times, from its power and wealth, the lord of the provinces of Japan. Marshal Oyama Iwao, created a count in 1884, a Marquis in 1895, and a Prince in 1907, is a nephew of the great Saigo who fell in 1877, fighting with the Imperial troops. Marshal Oyama's elder brother, Governor of Kagoshima, joined in the rebellion with his uncle, and the younger brother had the bitter task of fighting against his own people. He followed the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 as attache to the German Army, and early made military science his chief speciality. The Field-Marshal will go down to posterity as the conqueror at Mukden, one of the great battles of history. He has never made any grave 328 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN blunders, and is a fine old fighter, beloved by the people on account of his honesty of purpose and imperturbable coolness and courage under all circumstances. In height he is taller than the average Japanese, and not handsome, even according to their standard (which is very different from ours), his large round face and small features being pitted with small-pox. He affects a brilliant society life, and is popular with all classes. At his house in the suburbs of Tokyo he showed me his wonderful collection of old china, which is his particular hobby. Admiral T6g5, the leading spirit of the Navy, who is now chief of the Naval Staff, is also a Satsuma samurai, a true-blooded Japanese, and he still remains the national hero of Japan to-day, as he was five years ago. In the year 1871, when a young man of twenty-four, he came to England and entered the military school near Ports- mouth, and afterwards changed to the Merchant Marine School on the Thames. In order to gain practical experience, he sailed before the mast on a British vessel that made the voyage to Australia and back, and on his return continued his studies at Greenwich. When the Hiyei Kan, one of the many war vessels built for Japan in British yards, sailed for the East in 1878, Togo was on board. It was not until the year 1893 that he had an opportunity to distinguish himself; but he came into public notice in that year by his sinking of the Chinese transport Kowshing. Togo was commanding the Japanese cruiser Naniwa, and his act, considered by many a piece of rashness, precipitated the war. His brilliant success in 1904-1905 as Commander of the Combined Fleet, first at Port Arthur, and later off the Tsushima Islands, when he gained one of the most complete naval victories on record, made him par excellence the hero of the war. ADMIRAL TOGO AT A GARDEN-PARTY IN TOKYO, Admiral Kamimura on his right. MAKERS OF NEW JAPAN 329 In appearance Togo Tcdsho is short but well-built, with a slight stoop, and his expression is thoughtful and kindly, although tinged with sadness. When he acceded to my request on one occasion at a Tokyo garden-party, and allowed me to photograph him, I noticed that in repose his face was careworn and a trifle grim, with a strong resemblance to Oom Paul. Like our own "fighting Bobs," it may truly be said that "'e don't advertise," and in conversation any direct personal allusion to his doings was gently turned aside with some general remark about the men who had served under him. So taciturn is he that his sobriquet among his countrymen is " the Silent Admiral " ; his motto has ever been "facta non verba," and I once heard a correspondent say that " one might as well expect to get a recitation from Shakespeare out of a stone pump as talk out of Admiral Togo." These are some of the makers of New Japan, whose policy has carried their country along the path of progress with a rapidity unsurpassed in the history of the world. By an unexpected display of military genius and power, joined to a passionate national sentiment, they have proved themselves worthy leaders of a nation peerless among Orientals, and destined to be, what Young Japan delights to call it, the Britain of the Pacific. Their patriotism is simply an extension of their national pride, and it has carried them far during the last forty years ; and the civilised world stands amazed at the cleverness, tact, and dignity displayed by present-day Japan, in adopting customs which are opposed to all Par Eastern notions of good sense. CHAPTBE XXX THE FUTURE OP JAPAN The nation not puffed up with success — Chivalrous treatment o their Eussian prisoners — Noted for insight into character — Theii devotion to the best — Yamato damaahU — Their solidarity- Weakness of an isolated individualism — While imitators of th( Chinese, they have always added their own interpretation — Thei reverence and beUef in the permanence of spirit — Not liked no trusted by modern China or Korea — Japan's harshness as a rule — Disreputable Japanese in Korea and Manchuria — The good sid of being imitative — The national bond to England — Self-contro — Lack of moral courage— " Defective commercial integrity "- The spirit of hushido — Shrewd and secretive — Up-to-date ii everything, even airships — A new engine of war — Effective use o balloons — Her intense national ambition — Old customs are beiu] revived — Japan has accepted the new without sacrificing the oli — The future is bright ; it depends upon peaceful expansion, no militarism, IT would take a great amount of wisdom and sagacit; to foretell the future of Japan and the Japanese, fo in many ways their history and conduct have proved i surprise to ordinary critics in the past, and may again do s^ in the future. On the whole, the optimist is most likel] to come nearest the truth. One of the absurdities o our modern life is the insistence by some newspaper mei — especially in America — that the Japanese have becom puffed up with success, and suffer from " swelled head. The reverse is rather the case. A success so complet as to require a special effort of the mind to realise i1 330 THE FUTURE OF JAPAN 331 has not made them boastful nor led them into errors of good taste. No doubt they mean to assert their standing among the nations and insist on their just privileges (the word " rights " has been so much abused that it is better to use another term) ; but their chivalrous treatment of the Russian prisoners, who were their guests by the fortune of war, made some of these bitter enemies their friends, and this is the temper that builds up permanent national strength. It is an undeniable fact that success has sobered our Far Eastern allies. In Japan the naval outlook is a bright one, for with a race of capable commanding of&cers, and good crews of their own nationality serving the ship under a flag which they have been brought up to reverence, the solidarity that must result will be, from an economical point of view, a great national asset. A tithe of the grit and fearlessness that their soldiers and sailors showed at Port Arthur will be sufficient to qualify them morally for the best kind of work at sea, where stout hearts and willing hands are always needed, and that this will be forthcoming no one can doubt. The quality with which all visitors to their country credit the Japanese, namely, an extraordinary insight into character, so that they can " size up " a man justly and speedily, means more than a surface aptitude. It means that they have the power of estimating "values." This goes so deep as to have a religious aspect, for when they finally meet a particular type that strikes them as admirable, this type becomes to them divine. Their use of the word divine, as applied to their Emperors for instance, has not the metaphysical meaning that we attach to it as something beyond the natural. Bather is it the natural at its very best. They are a loyal people, and their loyalty is not a mere sentiment; it is trust in the inherent qualities of 332 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN strength and nobility that make a great nation. Tl nation trusted Kido, Okubo, Saigo, and the other leade when they persuaded their Emperor to abandon tl isolation of centuries, and embark with the ship State upon a new voyage. At that time a few goc revolvers would have made the recent history of Japa impossible, for only the men at the helm knew whe] they were bound for. But these men were the pick i the nation, and the nation recognised this and truste them. Gradually the real object of the enterprise dawnt upon the people until quite a proportion, indeed almoi all, of the educated Japanese grasped the situation ; ar rich and poor, young and old, swung together, trustir in the spirit of old Japan, the Yamato damashii. The gospel of Saint Paul, which teaches that we mui share in another life before we can have salvation, : antipathetic to modern intellectual individualism. Th sharing in the spirit of Christ, so that we are not our ow any longer, but belong to the world's life, is the dynam: principle at the heart of evangelical proselytism. Lil all great truths, it bears a very wide interpretation, fc if the principle holds true that another life may com into ours, as Saint Paul teaches, then pure indiAddualisi is weak and one-sided. And, unfortunately, it is th chilling individualism, preaching the isolation of th human spirit, which has been regarded as the final trut of life and living by modern savants. It is the constar theme of Arnold's most plaintive lyrics : — "Like driftwood spars, which meet and pass Upon the boundless ocean-plain, So on the sea of life, alas 1 Man meets man — meets and quits again." Now this is emphatically not Japanese psychology o religion; indeed, it is the assertion of the opposit THE FUTURE OF JAPAN 333 principle that has given the people their strength, and is the warrant for predicting a bright future for the nation. Japan is emphatically a great nation to-day because every man in it feels that his spirit is not solitary, but that he lives out the spirit of his ancestors in common with his fellows, and that in his children — his very own or his children by adoption,* this life continues. The belief is not sentiment, it is the final reality of hfe, the great truth that makes life worth living. The statement is made by the best authorities that there is nothing in Japanese art or letters that has not a Chinese origin, and in a measure this is perfectly true. But there is always the inevitable qualification. When Locke asserted that there is nothing in the intellect which was not previously in the senses, Leibnitz retorted pungently, " Except the intellect itself." So with Japan's debt to China in art and literature ; while Japan has taken her art from China, so that. earlier specimens of native work have to be carefully distinguished by experts, so completely imitative are they, she later on gave that art an interpretation and a sifting which makes Japanese art a new creation, full of aesthetic value wholly absent from the original. We may accord- ingly assert that there is nothing in Japanese art that was not already in Chinese art, except the Japanese handling, which is everything. It is the same with the pillars of religious faith — reverence for the highest and a firm belief in the per- manence of the spirit. These are found in strength and * The custom of adoption is very common in Japan, and professors have seldom a class in wHich a large fraction do not change their family names as xm.dergraduates. During my stay in Tokyo, a naval friend wrote to me to say that an uncle was going to adopt him, and that his name would be changed in consequence. 334 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN actuality in Japanese life. " The belief in the continued power and inspiration of the spirits of the past," says Dr. G. W. Knox, for many years an able preacher and teacher in T5kyo, " though taken over from the Chinese, has become essential, yet rests on no argument, and is embodied in no dogma. It has no clear vision of heaven or hell, or of any state of rewards and punishments. In emotional content it can scarcely be distinguished from our Western reverence for the saintly and heroic dead, while its influence on the living is akin to the patriotic feelings excited by our recognition of a previous inheri- tance in the patriots of ages past. Thus ShiMto is witness to an abiding reality. Though its forms perish, its substance remains, beyond the reach of hostile criticism and argument." After all, there is but little affinity or root sympathy between Japan and the older conmiunities on the main- land from whom she has borrowed so much. At heart Chinese and Koreans despise her for her pliability, and dislike her because of her unbounded assurance and energy. Her administration in Formosa, where she has inferior peoples to deal with, has been a remarkable success ; all that was needed there was a free hand and the development of material resources. These advan- tages Prince Ito and his associates strove to give to Korea, by improved agriculture, fishery, forestry, and commerce ; but they were hampered by Korean listlessness and sneers, and by a crowd of their own countrymen who were greedy, immoral, and worthless. At present it is a harsh military occupation, accompanied by the bitter ill-will of the governed. That this will change for the better is far from likely, for the seeds of national hatred have been sown broadcast.* And in Manchuria, where * Since this was written, Japan has annexed Korea, which now forms part of the Japanese Empire, as a Japanese province. THE FUTURE OF JAPAN 335 lapan has to deal with Chinese and Manchurians, she is tampered by the same crowd of greedy, disreputable Japanese of the poorer sort, who merely wish to exploit ihe natives, and then return home with money in their pockets. The Japanese have been called an eminently imitative people, and the word has been used in a somewhat con- ;emptuous way, as if imitation were more monkey-like ihan highly human. A Japanese might well retort that mitation, if it takes the form of assimilation of the best, s the most valuable of national traits, and that his lation possesses this gift. The most spiritual of religious nanuals is termed Indtatio Christi, and if the life of Christ survives and still manifests itself in His true lisciples, the wisest thing for the Japanese to do is to seek to imitate them. The best English type of man- lood has deeply impressed the thoughtful Japanese of io-day, and he continues, as always, an imitator. The )ond between Great Britain and Japan is not by any neans a sordid one, but has a deep ethical basis. An bUiance between the two peoples is for the real good of )oth, for each can learn from the other. We can learn he basis of national unity and imitate the astonishing )atriotic self-sacrifice of a really great people; while rom us the Japanese will take the type of lofty manhood, 5ir Philip Sidney's "magnificence." The seemingly contradictory opinions expressed re- [arding the character of the Japanese can be reconciled fhen we remember that they are divided into two lasses — the governing and the governed — and that while he former are high-spirited and masterful, the latter .re submissive and timid. As a nation they have many ixcellent qualities ; they are kindly, courteous, cleanly a their habits, frugal, and patriotic without being actious. Their great quality is their submissiveness to 336 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN authority, a kind of intelligent solidarity. On high-days and holidays everything passes off, more japonico, both decently and in order; there is patriotism without rowdyism, and exuberance combined with perfect self- control. It was to this same self-control that the Japanese owed their immunity from enteric fever during the campaign of 1904-1905, for on arrival at every fresh camping-ground, parched with thirst, they obeyed orders and waited patiently, drinking no water until their doctors had analysed it and declared it to be good. Although good manners and artistic culture are wide- spread, reaching even to the lowest, the people are deficient in moral courage, and this leads to corruption in social life and institutions. It is only when matters have become intolerable that discipline is enforced by the sternest measures, as recently when some members of Parliament were arrested in connection with the sugar scandals, the counterpart of similar unpleasantness in the Occident. In that case the law was stringently enforced, and the downfall of the guilty politicians was the result : one of the leaders, implicated rather than immediately responsible, committed suicide, so much did the disgrace prey upon his mind. Japan has performed miracles with her Army and Navy and her commercial undertakings during the last quarter of a century ; and the density of her population, which is larger than that of Great Britain and is still increasing — the term " little Japan " is clearly a mis- nomer — points to a commercial and manufacturing career in the future. Ambition makes the Japanese desire to be on top, free from any suspicion of foreign control, and they are gradually eliminating the foreign middleman, and will not rest until they have obtained control of the whole of foreign trade, not only of Japan, but of all those countries, such as Korea, over which they exercise sway. THE FUTURE OF JAPAN 337 Japan has against her the lack of knowledge and experience of her old-fashioned merchants, the compara- tive smallness of the national wealth, and above all the " defective commercial integrity " which permeates the whole ination. This last has become a byword among the nations, and although the number of reliable firms is on the increase, it will take time to teach the people as a whole that trickery does not build up a permanent business connection, and that fair dealing and upright- ness in things both great and small is the only sure road to commercial success — or to quote the old proverb, that " honesty is the best policy." East is East, and West is West, and to the European mind many contradictions exist in the yellow race that is just now so rapidly educating the world. In war and sanitation they are ruthlessly scientific, and in experi- ments in natural science they show a mind of extra- ordinary exactness. Yet in religion their beliefs are as absolute as if science had never penetrated the islands. They believe that the Emperor — Tenshi Swma, " the Son of Heaven " — is divine, and that all victories are due to his virtues ; ancestor- worship is still the religion of the highly educated, and only five short years ago the horses that had been killed in war were honoured with a public funeral and full religious rites. No doubt all this will not be possible in Japan twenty years hence, for already a change is coming, and the simple life will not always endure. With increase of luxury will come increase of individualism, and each man will fight for himself and his own career instead of for his ideals. Their sudden adoption of Occidental ideas was not the hasty impulse of a fickle people, but the careful working out of a serious purpose, namely, their recog- nition as a civilised nation by other powers, and this they have attained. They are the most receptive and the 22 338 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN most patient people in the world, and they accept and assimilate everything that seems useful to them, and will in turn help to communicate these new ideas to millions of Chinese and other Oriental peoples ; so that through them the soul of the East will be reached, and they will in the future occupy an honoured position among the world's promoters of peace, of commerce, of education, and of social happiness. The spirit of bushido or chivalry of self-devotion to duty permeates all classes, and from his babyhood the Japanese mother instils into her boy the code of knightly valour which inculcates justice, courage, honour, pity, courtesy, and self-control. Their ambition is to lead lives sans peur et sans reproche, not for their own self-glorifica- tion, but because they must not bring shame on their families or grieve the spirits of their ancestors. During the Russo-Japanese War the intensely patriotic spirit of bushido made many soldiers kill themselves rather than fall into the hands of the enemy. In similar fashion the Emperor would allow no fires in winter-time because the soldiers so dear to him must do without them ; and this same spirit caused Madame Togo to dismiss her servants and to manage her household duties without domestics. Her beloved was enduring hardship, there- fore she must do so : which things are an allegory. One cannot but reverence this spirit, so foreign to Western ideas. The reticence of the Japanese is absolutely impenetrable : if they have a secret to keep they know nothing, putting on a face of blank inscrutability, and the famous monkeys, so cleverly carved, at ly^yasu's temple at Nikko, symbolise Oriental reserve. They represent India, China, and Japan in typical attitudes: "Not see, Not hear, Not talk," {Mizaru, Kikazaru, Iwazaru) ; Zaru, the termination of each infinitive giving a pun on "Monkey" (Saru). H^rscar^w^^tt'^ uf^-'s^ JUffi FLOATING CARP (nOBORJ). To face p. 339- THE FUTURE OF JAPAN 339 Just at present all the civilised world is talking airships. In Japan, apparently, little public interest is taken in aeronautics generally, and yet the Government is keenly alive to the possibilities of the airship, and has already a fleet of airships for war purposes. And every ship is fitted with a special arrangement for dropping shells. No practical work is being done with the aeroplane, the usefulness of which is doubted in comparison with the possibilities of the dirigible type, but the progress made in all branches of aviation is being watched very closely, and recorded in the archives of the Department con- cerned. The principal inventor for the Government is a private citizen, a civilian, of whom a great deal more may be heard in the future. He has just patented the Yamada Kikyu, a balloon built on the same principle as the float- ing carp (nobori), which, for hundreds of years, on May 5th of each year, the date of the Boy's Festival (Tango no Sekku), have floated suspended from bamboo poles, like flags, outside every house in Japan in which a boy has been born during the year, or where there are young boys. The mouth of the carp, through which air enters, is large, the huge body or balloon is inflated and floats in the wind, the air finding an exit through the smaller hole at the tail. This idea is exemplified in the plan of Mr. Yamada's balloon, and he claims that it was the floating carp that suggested it. Mr. Narabara, son of Baron Narabara, a naval engineer who has no connection with the Government, is devoting all his attention to the devising of an aeroplane. He was first attracted by the Wright model, but later has chosen the Curtiss. He asserts he has been able to secure complete stability and that the machine he plans can be used as a motor-car or as an aeroplane. The Naval Department in Tokyo may take up the matter and 340 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN adopt his invention — in any case he will go on with it. We are overmuch given to regarding the Japanese as a sort of modern invention, a race suddenly sprung into activity from inconsiderable beginnings; but although their development during the past forty years has been extraordinary, it is more or less a development entirely consistent with the character of the nation; and the seemingly feverish adoption of much of Occidental civili- sation is but the exercise of the same spirit which over a thousand years ago eagerly seized and adapted " the new end superior civilisation " which was found to be flourishing in China. The fear is sometimes expressed that the Japanese in taking much from the West may lose many of their own iiational characteristics ; but when they adopted Buddhism from China, and adapted Chinese ideographs for the purpose of their own written language, they maintained their essential nationaHty. The new religion was not allowed to diminish that " reverence for and worship of the ancestral gods of the land," to which may be traced perhaps much of the success of Japan as a nation. The people seem as it were to regard themselves individually as but links in the chain binding their posterity to their ancestors. In Japan the Civil Code, which embodies the spirit of Western law, incorporates to a great extent the customs and usages of the past. Their Constitution, although similar to many Western Constitutions, is founded on their ancient system of government, and even finds its prototype in the days of the gods. Old customs and ceremonies are being revived, and a knowledge of the ancient etiquette forms as much a part of a Japanese gentleman's training to-day as it ever did. The tea-ceremonies and flower-arrangement have again become common features in the life of a Japanese lady, THE FUTURE OF JAPAN 34 and the ancient ceremonial functions of the Court ar kept up without any alteration in form. As a notable instance of this, the declaration of wa with Eussia was announced to the Sun- Goddess by distinguished envoy from the Mikado, and a special guar was detailed for service at the shrine in Ise during th campaign. In spite of submarines and giant battleships the heart of old Japan is still beating strongly, and in th everyday life of New Japan we are constantly reminde of the courtesy of the smnurai as well as the untirin patience of the ancient craftsman. As one writer says " the virtues of the swmwrai have been enlarged into thos of the nation." The individuality of Japan has been preserved fror submersion beneath the mighty tide of Western ideas and the Japanese have been true to themselves in spit of repeated influxes of foreign thought. Japan ha welcomed all the various schools and assimilated whal ever ministered to her mental needs ; she has accepte the new without sacrificing the old ; and the adoptio: of European methods has not so greatly affected th national life as is generally supposed. There has bee an increase of industrial activity and a great advance i: scientific sanitation and surgery ; methods of communics tion and transport have been greatly improved, and th ordinary comforts of Ufe are much more universall enjoyed. The Japanese have chosen in Western civilisa tion only what was consistent with their Eastern nature they have borrowed much without violating their ancien traditions. Their art stands alone in the world, withou possibility of adding to it by copying from kindred ideal or technique, for there is no longer a living art in Chin to excite competition. The future of Japan, and to some extent the future c the world, depends a great deal upon whether the wa 342 HIGHWAYS AND HOMES OF JAPAN party or the supporters of peaceful expansion will gain the upper hand in the Island Empire. Happily for Japan, the counsels of her quiet, sober-minded statesmen, who see that the best hope for the future lies in peace and not in warfare, have hitherto prevailed over the more turbulent section of militarists. One of the most eminent among these "Wise Men of the Bast, Count Okuma, has recently written as follows : — " The open door and equal opportunity being the basis of our State policy, we have endeavoured, and will en- deavour, to carry the benefits of Western civilisation (through the action of these principles) to our neighbours, China and Korea. We desire, by the co-operation of our Anglo-Saxon friends, to engage in the glorious humani- tarian work of civilising and developing two Oriental nations now deeply sunk in misery, so that they, too, may some day be able to write semi-centennial stories of progress as we are now doing." These sentiments express what all true friends of Japan desire, that she will become the Mistress of the Bast, not, sword in hand, by oppression and aggression, but by the more glorious attainments of peace and fair dealing. It is earnestly to be hoped that as they press on to higher civilisation the Japanese will not copy the vices of the West, and that they will be the pioneers of all that is good and noble. There can be no doubt that in the future they will have a voice in the destinies, not only of the East, but also of the Western world, and if they refine and make better what they now receive from the Occident, they may in the next century surpass all that the world has seen, and become, in the truest sense, " The Light of Asia." " Dad Nippon Banzai ! Sayonara ! " INDEX LBACUS, 43 Lbalone fishing forbidden, 217 Loademy of Musio in Uy6no Park, 194 Lorobats, 46, 126, 127 Lotors, 153, 201 Lctresses, 201, 206 Loupunoture, 237, 288 idams, Wm, 809, 310 idoption, 322, 338 leronautics, 131, 838 Bstheticism, 86, 98, 195 Lgricultural College at Sapporo, 211 Lgricultural Department in Tokyo University, 145, 295 [■mm, 78, 210 Jcasaka Palace^ 95 Jexandra, Queen, 213 11 Souls' Day, 183 Jly, Great Britain as an, 143, 313, 314, 315, 321, 835, 342 mado, 62, 244, 245, 248 noestors, 155, 181, 218, 261, 337, 340 ndon, 52 nthem, the National, 189 ntiques, faked, 103 oi Festival, 181 oyama parade-ground, 261 rashiyama, 92 rchiteoture, 307 rima, 30 risugawa. Prince, 135, 321, 324 rmaments, expansion of, 259, 295 rmour, 79, 107, 276 mold, Sir Edwin, 52 mold, Matthew, 332 343 Art, 112, 307, 333 Asakusa Temple, 46, 170, 178, 230 Asama-yama, 78, 81, 83 Asiatic Society of Japan, Trans- actions of the, 313 ABo-san, 78 Atago-yama, 74, 227 Aviation, see Aeronautics Azaleas, 69, 70, 72, 89, 93 Babies, 64, 155, 157, 226, 240 Badger, 223, 224, 232 Balance, sense of, 86, 91, 206 Bamboo, 87, 95, 109, 171, 182, 212 Banks, 289-93, 318 Baths, 36, 37, 62, 126 Beans, 65, 185, 247 Bears, 214 Bell-towers, 31, 255 Benten, the goddess, 77, 94 Beri-beri, 273, 274 " Big Hell," 72 Bill of fare, Japanese, 50, 63, 65 Billiards, 54, 134 Binzuro, god, 229 Bismarck, 317 Biwa, 40, 195, 196, 197, 237 Bijoa, Lake, 70, 176, 235 Blacking of teeth, 150 Blind, 192, 196, 197, 234-41 Bluff, Yokohama, the, 209 BonMaUuri, 174 Bonito, 222 Books, Japanese, 142 Boxing, 120, 122, 128 Boys' Festival, 156, 839 Brinkley, Captain, 285 Brush, use of, in writing, 110 344 INDEX Buddhism, 75, 142, 159, 165, 180, 190, 229, 263, 299 Biimd, 209, 222, 290 Bunyan, 141, 300 BmUdo, 118, 388 Cawgbaphy, 111, 177 Camellia oil, 148, 151 Camphor, 294 Canal timnel, 70 Card-playing, 134, 245 Carlyle, 141 Carp, floating, 156, 339 Cats, 213, 225, 228 Cavalry, 211, 259 Cavour, Count, 317 Cemeteries, 165, 175 Cemetery, National Military, 184 Censorship of Press, 278 Ceremonial Court dress, 148 Cha-no-yu, 89, 90, 275, 340 Chamberlain, Professor Basil H., 34, 95, 303, 313 Charcoal fumes, 244 Cherry-blossom, 29, 46, 92 Chess, 134, 135 Chestnuts, 66, 172, 188 Chickens, long-tailed, 214 Children, Japanese, 29, 43, 154 Chimneys, 35, 253, 258, 293, 294 China, 103, 134, 290, 307, 342 Chinese, 64, 92, 137, 138, 224, 226, 228, 240, 275, 280, 298, 299, 300, 305, 306, 334, 340 Chino- Japanese War, 263, 272, 278, 314, 323, 324 Chopsticks, 50, 89, 169 Chorus, 193, 200, 205 Christianity, 142, 154, 187 Chrysanthemum, 45, 51, 95-8, 182 Chuzenji, 80, 231, 248 Cicadas (sewi), 157 Clarence, Duke of, 312 Cleanliness, 29, 36, 156 Climate, 246, 247 Clogs, 152, 153, 204, 244 Cloisorvni enamel, 102 Coal, 295 Coahng at Nagasaki, 26 Coiflfare, 149, 151 Colour prints, 113-15 Commercial honesty, lack of, 296, 336 Confucius, rule of, 163 Conjurors, 127 Conscientiousness, 101 Conscription, 261 Constitution, modelled on Ger- man, 319 Coolies, 28, 67, 133, 205, 209 Copper mines, 80, 295 Cormorant fishing, 218 Courtesy, 67, 157, 169 Courtship, 159 Crapes, cotton and sUk, 109, 110 Crests, 150, 182, 229 Crown Prince, 36, 275, 293 Cryptomeria {suji), 69, 74, 79, 215 Daibutsu, 31, 69 Daimyo, 35, 129, 134, 229, 289 Damascening, 106, 108 Dancmg, 52, 69, 190, 191, 200, 201 Dango-Zaka, 45 Danjiiro, 152, 202, 204 Dante, 300 Daruma, 173 Deaf and Dumb, 236, 239 Deer, 69, 82, 208 Demoniacal possession, 225 Departments, Public, 239, 261, 267, 287, 294, 311, 324 Destroyers, 265 Dickens, 141 Diet, the, 273 Dinner, a Japanese, 50-2 INDEX 345 Dirigible balloons, 339 Divers, women, 217 Divorce, 163, 176, 296 Dockyards, 27, 265 Dog, Celestial, 227 Dogs,212, 225, 226 Draughts, Japanese love of, 244 Dress, European, 148, 149 Dry-docks, 310 Duck, wnd, 132, 185 Dumas, 141 Dummy-editors, 279 Dunton, Theodore Watts-, 303 Dwarf trees, 45, 87 Dyer, Dr. Henry, 311 Barthquaees, 85, 248, 250 Bditors, Japanese, 282 Education, compulsory, 143 Bels, 52 Elgg-shell lacquer, 105 Blder statesmen, 322 Emblems of good luck, 224, 229 Embroideries, 110, 228 Emperor of Japan, 57, 226, 261, 318, 337, 338 Empress of Japan, 57, 144, 213, 226, 266, 268, 270, 274, 275 Empress, the Dowager-, 36 Engineering, Imperial College of, 267, 311 England, visit of present King of, 312 England, see also Great Britain fcnoshima, 77, 217, 221 Esperanto, 140 Etiquette, 53, 161, 169 Excitability of Japanese, 64 Explosive, Shimose, 311 Eyesight, reasons for defective, 240 Tace-fowdeb, 150 Factories, cotton, 293, 294 Fairs, 45, 170, 173 Falconry, 132 Farmer, Japanese, 243, 294 Fencing, 125, 144 Festivals, 79, 156, 174, 176, 177, 178, 339 Feudal sports, 129, 132, 134 Fire-flies, 156 Firemen, 38, 126 Fires in Tokyo, 35, 37-9 Fish-manure, 221 Fish-traps, 71 Fishing-tackle, 222 Fleas, 67, 245 Fleet, enlargement of, 260, 265, 295 Floods, 221 Floor-matting, 54, 61, 245 Flower fairs, 45 Flower festivals, 45, 92-5 Flower-paths, 205 Flowers, arrangement of, 91, 275, 340 "Flowing Invocation,'' the, 231 Flute, 191, 198, 200, 201, 307 Folk-lore, 197, 224, 232 Folk-songs, 192, 197 Food, 63, 65, 247 Foreign judges in Supreme Court, 325 Formosa, 239, 334 Forts, 76, 77, 259 Fortune-tellers, 46, 128 Fox possession, 225 Poxes, 145, 178, 223, 225 Fraser, Professor A. C, 280 Frogs, 248 Fruits, lack of flavour, 247 Fvji (wistaria), 69, 93, 149 Fuji-yama, 56, 71, 73, 78, 85, 128 Fukuzawa Yukiohi, the " Grand Old Man" of Japan, 58, 282, 285, 327 346 INDEX Funeral rites, 164, 165 Futon (quilts), 63, 245 Games, 133, 156 Garden-parties, 53, 95 Gardens in Tokyo, 36 Garotting, 123 Geisha, 52, 133, 153, 201, 206 " German measles," 320 Germany, 217, 267, 270, 314, 317, 319 Qeta (clogs), 152, 164, 243 Geysers at Atami, 73 Gifu, 218, 254 Ginza, Tokyo, the, 34, 278, 281 Glasgow, 244, 311 Glass-rope, 77 Go (checkers), 134, 239 Golden carp, the, 52 Goldsmith, 141 Golf-links, 29 Gotemba, 78, 212 Government, aid to shipping, 28 Grant, General, 211 Grass-rope in decorations, 171 Great Britain, policy of, 313 Greek, 137, 200, 229 Green tea, 43, 51, 62, 72 Gubbins, J. 0., 313 Guns, 262, 276 Gurkhas, 261, 264 Gymkhana, 182 Gymnastics, 144 Hachiman, 66 Hair, 149, 151 Hair-pins, 41, 50 Bakcuma, or divided skirt, 41, 144, 148 Hakone, 71, 212 Handshaking, no, 166 Ba/ra-Uri, 203, 206 Haruna, 81, 215 I Harunobu, 114 Hay, Mr. John, 55 Hayashi, Viscount, 57 Heam, Lafeadio, 225, 304 Hemp, 179, 185 BihacU, 40, 50, 52, 53 Hibiya Park, 274 Hid^yoshi, 86, 91, 188, 192 Hieizan Monastery, 235 Himalayas, 251, 256 Hindustan, 195, 200 Hiogo, 31 Hirobumi, see Ito Hirose, Commander, 59 Hiroshige, 115 Hokkaido, 210, 291 Hokusai, 113, 114, 115 Holidays, public, 170 Holland, 65, 256 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 55 Homer, 94 Hong Kong, 246 Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank- ing Corporation, 290 Horikiri, 93 Horses, 65, 83, 131, 182, 209, 210, 260, 337 Hospital ships, 269 Hot springs, 73, 80, 88 Hugo, Victor, 127 Ideographs, 137 Ihcd, or ancestral tablets, 164, 174 Ikao, 80 Imitativeness, 306, 334 Immortality of the soul, 174, 184, 187, 333 Imperial University, Tokyo, 144, 255, 312 Inari, goddess of rice, 178, 224 India, 25, 27, 29, 65, 94, 187, 195, 251, 294 Individualism, 332 INDEX 347 infantry, Japanese, 263, 264 [nglis, Captain, 312 inland Sea, 28 :nouy4, Marquis, 311, 318, 322, 323 inro (medioine-box), 113 [nseot-powder, 245 [nsight into character (Japanese), 331 [ntermediary, 159 [ris, 70, 81, 93 [se shrines, 97, 179, 340 ttagaki. Count, 326, 327 [to. Prince Hirobumi, 283, 811, 312, 317-22, 384 [wasaki, the " Sea- King," 293 [y^mitsu, 79 [y^yasu, 46, 79, 95, 132, 188, 309, 310, 838 [zumo, 160, 201 Fames, Captain T. H., 312 lapa/n Mml, 285 Fava, 248, 251 Tiji SUmpo, 58, 278, 280, 285, 327 Fimmu-Teimo, 299 ringo Kogo, 65, 299 Tmrihisha, 29, 35, 74, 92, 131, 133, 138, 139, 141, 231, 262, 278 ToTuri, 192, 199, 201 Fournalists, 278 FubUee of Yokohama, 289 Tvidd, see JiijuUu Fugglers, 46, 127 Tujutsu, 116, 117, 122, 123, 124, 144 Funks, 28 Tunsa (policemen), 209, 262 Kabvki, 191, 201 Kago, 64, 238 Kaiser's gift, 211 Kakemono, 25, 50 Kamo Temples, 181 Kama, 137, 138 Kan-in, Prince, 275 Kano, Professor, 116, 124 Kant, 98 Karasaki pine-tree, 71, 97 Kasuga temple, 69 Katsura, Marquis, 321, 325 Keio-Gijiku College, the, 57, 282, 283 Kelvin, Lord, 311 Kido, 318, 319 Kimono, 39, 43, 52, 62, 144, 148, 149, 164, 231 Kipling, Budyard, 263 Kiri wood, 31 Kite-flying, 131, 156 Kiyomizu temple, 230 Knott, Professor Cargill G., 312 Kob6, 29, 259 Kobikiza theatre, 204 Konodai, fort of, 74 Korea, 103, 104, 137, 299, 321, 334 " Korean dogs," 226 Zoto (harp), 52, 191, 192, 194, 206 237, 307 Ktmima, 30, 49, 133, 243 Kwannon, goddess of mercy, 229 Kyoto, 81, 68, 70, 95, 100, 182, 175, 181, 204, 227, 229, 235, 236, 237, 239, 258, 293, 300 Lacquer, 47, 104, 105 Landscape gardens, 32, 85-9 Lanterns, feast of, 175 Lanterns, stone, 69, 87, 310 Legends, 179, 224, 225 Leighton, 98 Leprosy, 163 Libels, fines for, 279 Li-Hung-Ohang, 320 Lilies, 81 Lion and Unicorn, 226 348 INDEX Literature, 141, 313 Locke, 833 Looehoo Islands, 192 Loquats, 74 Loti, Pierre, 244 Lotus, 85, 94 Loyalty, 203, 831 Luck, emblems of, 171, 178, 229 Lucky days, 159 " Macaulay's Essays," 141 Macdonald, George, 184 Maeterlinck, 226 Magazines in Japan, 285 Malays, 155 Manchuria, 269, 834 ManUa, 198, 194 Maple Club, 49 Maple-trees, 49, 89, 95, 96 Mar, Forest of, 209 Marco Polo, 101 Mare provinces, 210 Masamune, 107 Masatsune, 107 Massage, 237, 238 Match factory, visit to a, 294 Mats, 39, 63, 90, 245 Matsukata, Marquis, 48, 275, 823 Matsuri, 170, 178, 180 Maul-stick not used. 111 May, unlucky month of, 160 Mayor of Tokyo, see Ozaki Meat, abseince of, 247 Medicinal baths, 81 Mfiji, the era of, 278, 283, 291 Melodramas, 199 Memorial service, 186 Mental training, 118 Merchants, 291 Messiah-Buddha, twentieth cen- tury, 284 Metal casting, 106 Midgu a/me, 41 MidzusMM, 164, 168 Mikado, 31, 154, 179, 181, 340 Militarists, 841 Military Academy for cadets, 144 MiUais, 98 Milne, Professor John, 83, 251, 258, 311 Mimics, 173 Minamoto, 152, 235 Mineral springs, 36, 80, 83 Mirror, sacred, 101, 181 Mitford, A. B., 224 Mitsu Bishi Company, 27 Mitsui, Baron, 293 Miyanoshita, 71, 238 Miyazaki, 284 Mochi cakes, 174 Mongols, 155 Monkeys, 214, 388 Monopolies, Government, 294 Moon-gazing Feast, 177 Moral courage, lack of, 336 „ education, 118, 148 Morimoto, 178 Morris, 98 Mosquito, 245, 246, 248 Mothers-in-law, land of, 158 Mounted infantry, 212 Mud, boiling, 72 Mukden, 327 Mukojima, 92 Mulberry-trees, 31 Munemitsu, 107 Muramasa, 108 Murasaki Shikibu (poetess), 287 Music, 40, 190, 237, 307 Musical instruments, 40, 191, 192, 198, 206, 237, 307 Myogi-san, 84 Mystery plays, 500 Nabbshima, Marchioness, 274 Nagasaki, 26, 28, 222, 325 INDEX 349 Nagoya, 106, 254, 296 Names, girls', 151, 152, 165 Nantoi-san, 80 Nara Park, 93 Narabara, Mr., 339 National Anthem, 189 National Assembly, 187 Naval officers, as bosts, 58 Naval outlook, 331 Navy, the, 59, 187, 260, 274, 312, 328, 386 Navy, founder of the Japanese, 309 NedzuU, 113 msom, 30, 49, 50, 94, 209 New Year Festival, 89, 170 Newsboys, 217 Newspapers, 280, 281 Niohiren sect, 232 Nicholas II., Tsar, 70, 324 Nightingales, 82, 248 Nihombashi, 278 Nikko, 47, 78, 79, 132 Nippon, meaning of, 101 Nippon Tusen Kcvisha, 269 Nirvana, 300 No plays, 192, 199, 200 Nobles' Club, 134 Nobunaga, 188, 301 Nursing, 154, 270 Nursing, Ladies' Volunteer Associa- tion, 274 O-KuNl, 201 OU, or sash, 42, 148, 150, 180 Octagonal Hall, 47 Okubo, 319, 332 Okuma, Count, 88, 263, 325, 326, 342 Omori, Professor, 252 " Open door," the, 342 Osaka, 56, 239, 280, 293, 294, 309 Otomo Toge Pass, 212 Otsu, 70, 237 Oyama, Field-marshal, appear- ance, 54, 191, 327, 328 Oyama, Princess, 54 Oyster beds, 216 Ozaki, Mr., Mayor of Tokyd, 189 Pagodas, 255 Paint and powder, 150 Paiating, rules for judging a, 112 Palanquins, 79 Paolowma imperiaUa, 31 Paper, 109 Paradise of Babies, the, 155 Parkes, Sir Harry S., 313 Patriotism, 184, 187, 261, 265, 267, 329, 335 Peaceful expansion, 297, 341 Pearls, artificial production of, 216 Pedlars, 41, 311 Peeresses' School, 36, 91 Peers' School, 36, 56 Peony, 94 Perry, Commodore, 310 Persimmon, 172, 178, 186 Photography, 31, 47, 105, 126, 246 Physical training, 118 Pickpockets, 296 Pigeons at Asakusa, 46 Pilgrims, 209, 245 Pillows, 63 Pine-trees, 89, 92, 95, 171 Pine-tree, largest in world, 71, 97 Pins, 56 Pipes, 63, 230 Plato, 141 Plum-trees, 29, 45, 89, 92, 155, 173 Plural, no, 138 Poet-laureate, 56 Poetry, 46, 57, 59, 98, 302, 305 Poison in lacquer, 104 Police regulations, 37, 171, 245 Policemen, 30, 70, 125, 209, 262, 296 350 INDEX Politeness, 169 Ponies, 72, 78, 83 Population, 263, 269 Porcelain, 108 Port Arthur, 158, 314, 328, 381 Portsmouth Treaty, 118, 281 Posthumous titles, 166 Pottery, 103 Presents {sMnjo), 159, 160, 164, 165, 167, 168 Press law, 279 Printing, 306 Prints, old colour, 113 Progressive Party, 325 Puppet-show, 192, 201 Purgatory, 232 Push-man-tram, 74 QuBBN Alexandra, 213 Quilts (futon), 63, 245 Bain-coats, 42 Bats, 63, 246 Eeaders, omnivorous, 141 Bealism, 204, 206 Beoruits, 263 Bed, the colour of youth in Japan, 58, 156, 162 Bed Cross Society, 266, 268, 273, 276 Bestoration, the, 154, 202, 236, 313, 322, 328 Beticence, 34, 281, 338 Bevolving stage, 205 Bice, 44, 65, 84, 89, 93, 171, 185, 247 Bice dumpling, 177 Bichardson, death of, 290 Biver, opening of the, 179 " Bobinson Crusoe," a Japanese, 42 Boman characters taught, 139 Bonin, the tale of the Forty-Seven, 202 Bousseau's " Social Contract," 283 Bule of the road, 167 Buskin, 98, 99 Eussia, 65, 70, 268, 314 Eusso- Japanese War, 191, 211, 269, 271, 272, 276, 286, 335, 338 Saccharine matter, lack of, 248 Saghalien, 70 Saigo, 324, 327, 332 Sailors, 59, 228 Sakaki, 183, 185 SaU cups, 51, 161, 188 Salmon trout, 63 Salt, 185, 294 Salutations, 166 Sarmsen, 52, 192, 193, 194, 206, 237 Sampcm, 71, 131 Scmiv/rwi, code of honour, 106, 117, 118, 125, 169, 196, 201, 281, 341 Sand-artists, 127, 128 SansanJcudo, or " three times three," 161 Sanscrit, 165 Sartorial difficulty, a, 56 Satow, Sir Ernest, 313 Satsuma province, 196, 203, 320, 324, 827, 328 Satsuma ware, 89, 108 Scholars, British, 318 Schools of art, failure of. 111 Scott, Sir Walter, 141 Screens, sliding, 62, 63 Sculpture, in wood and ivory, 113 Sea of Japan, Battle of the, 59, 312 Seals, use of, 291 Seaweed, 171, 218 Seaweed, edible, 51, 65, 185, 188, 247 Seismographs, 255, 258 Self-control, 838 INDEX 351 Senge, Baron, 210 Shakespeare, 141, 201, 329 Shaving of children's heads, 155, 156, 234, 240 Sheep, scarcity of, 212 Shiba, 47, 49, 105, 170, 202 Shibuzawa, Baron, 293 Shimo-gamo temple, 182 Shimonoseki, Straits of, 28, 318, 320, 322 8hm,td, 36, 69, 79, 101, 171, 179, 180-4, 190, 191, 226, 299, 800, 305, 333, 334 Shipping, 28, 293, 310 SMgvM, 32, 47, 75, 79, 82, 89, 94, 101, 128, 192, 237, 290, 309, 324 Siioji (sliding panels), 63 SMkonsai, 183, 186 Shopping, 42 Shop-signs, 44 Shorthand, 154 Singing-birds, no, 247 Skin diseases, 156 Smells, prevalence of, 242 SmUes's " Self-Help," 141 Snakes, 215 Socialism in Japan, 282, 288, 284 Soa, poor, 243, 248 Sq/a, or Soya bean, 66 Sokitsu, 136 Soldiers, 117, 118, 260 Sohdarity, Japanese, 335 8osM, 284 Soy, 50 Spaniels, Japanese, 212 Spirit festival, 184 " Squeezers," 70 Standard Oil Company, 293 Steel foundries, lack of, 27 Stevenson, Eobert Louis, 317 Story-teller's halls, 40 Streets of Tokyo, 41, 42, 43, 243 Students, 145 Stud-farms, 145 Submarines, 27, 262 Sumida-gawa, 52, 92, 179 Sun Goddess, 154, 178, 181, 191, 340 Superstitions, 223, 229 Sweet potatoes, 51 Swords, 106, 126, 167, 290 Swordsmiths, famous, 107, 108 Syllabaries, 137, 280, 300 Tasako BON, 50, 205 Taira clan, 196, 285, 237 Taiyo magazine, 285 Takazaki, Baron, 55 " Talking too much " a ground for divorce, 164, 176 Tattooing, 150 Tea, 51, 62, 68, 247 Teapot Hm, 229 Telegraph lines, 287, 311 Tennyson, 141 Tenshi Sama (" Son of Heaven "), 95, 261, 337 Tidal waves, 221 Times, the London and New York, 287 Tobacco, 294 Tofu (bean pudding), 41, 51 Togo, Admiral, 58, 186, 188, 312, 328, 329 Togo, Madame, 54, 338 Toilet accessories, 151 Tokm-do, 132 Tokonoma, 50 Tokugawa dynasty, 79, 82, 94, 108, 192, 236, 237, 291, 309, 817, 322, 824 Tokyo, 33, 34, 74, 78, 81, 125, 204, 214, 230, 236, 243, 250, 253, 257, 261, 267, 270, 274, 277, 278, 284, 295, 309, 310, 312, 318 Tokyo, removal of Court to, 318 352 INDEX Topsy-turveydom, 56, 57, 154 Torii, 71, 179 Torpedo craft, 265 Tortoise-shell shops, 27 Trade-marks, bogus, 103, 296 Treaty revision troubles, 314, 325 " Treasure-flowers," 155 Trout-streams, 82 True-lover's shrine, 230 Tsukiji, 34 Tsushima, 313 Tsushima Islands, 328 Tukuzawa, 281 Turf, absence of, 87 Typhoons, 221 Uji, 68 Umbrella, State, 182 Umpire in wrestling, 129, 130 Vta (odes), 96, 193 Utamaro, 114 Uyfoo Park, 46, 55, 94, 187, 189, 194, 278 Vassae College, 54 Ventilation, 244 Verandas, 63, 193 Vesuvius, 78, 250 Volapiik, 140 Volcanoes, 56, 72, 78, 83, 250 Wages, low, 294, 295 War correspondents, 286 Was6da University, 282, 326 Water /efes, 179 "Weaker sex," no, 121 Weaving, 110 Wedding ceremony, 161 Wei-hai-wei, 287 Welcome Society, 47 Wild duck hunting party, Imperial, 182 Wireless telegraphy, 287 Wistaria, 69, 70, 93, 149 Women, Japanese, 121, 153, 154, 163 Women divers, 217 Women gardeners, 87 Women's University, 91, 154 Wood-blocks, 113, 281 Wrestling, 119, 129, 130, 131, 225 Yadova, 51, 61, 66, 134, 193, 245, 247 Yamagata, Marshall Prince, 320, 324 Yamagata, Prefecture, 210, 257 Ycmiato dwmashii (Spirit of Old Japan), 35, 204, 305, 332 Yanagiwara, Madame, 275 YasUki, 32, 35, 203 Y^do, or Edo, 33, 77, 114, 188, 201, 203, 309, 310, 317 Yezo, 210, 211, 258 Yokohama, 56, 88, 183, 209, 239, 258, 277, 289, 290 Yokosuka, 310 Yoshida Torajiro, 317 Yoshiwa/ra, 153 Yulo (oar), 64, 70, 131 Yumoto, 80 ZiPANGU, 101 Zojoji temple, 47 UNWIN BKOTHEBS, LIMITED, THE GBEBHAM PEESB, WOKINO AND LONDON.