^ Ot *« logical 3nit . O j PRINCETON, N. J. Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund. PZ , 3 -G8759 H G r 1 ffis, Wiin 1843-1 928 1 am E'liot, Honda the samurai Number.. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/hondasamuraistorOOgrif Writings of Wm. Elliot Eriffis, D.D. I. The Mikado’s Empire. Sixth Edition. II. Japanese Fairy World, III. Corea, the Hermit Nation. Third Edition. IV. Corea, Without and Within. Second Edition. V. Matthew Calbraith Perry. Second Edition. VI. The Lily Among Thorns. A Study of the Biblical Drama entitled the Song of Songs. FOR SALE BY Cartgrtgalicmal Srtnbsji-SdjDoI $£> ||nbltstnng Jsnmijt BOSTON AND CHICAGO. Yoshi-iyk Ihscovkjking this Ambuscade. — .S ee page 95. Honda the Samurai A STORY OF MODERN JAPAN WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIS, D.D Pastor of the Shawmut Congregatio7ial Church, Boston, Mass., and author of “ The Mikado's Empire “ Japanese Fairy World f “ Matthew Calbraith Perry f etc . BOSTON AND CHICAGO (Congregational SunHag=5cI)ool anlJ Publishing Societg Copyright, 1890, by Congregational Sunday-School and Publishing Society, ©equation, TO THE NOBLE BAND OF MISSIONARIES LIVING AND DEAD WHO HAVE DONE SO MUCH TO MAKE THE New Japan that is, and the Christian Japan that is to be, the author dedicates this work IN PROFOUND APPRECIATION. Pronunciation of Japanese Words. a as in father. 6 or e as in prey, i as in pique, o as in bowl, u as in rule, a is silent. ai as i in mile, ei as a in pray, y as i in pique . PREFACE. This story owes its origin to the suggestion of a publish- ing friend who wanted the young people of America to know how the wonderful New Japan flowered out of the roots of the Old. Further, he wished the events of the last twenty years told in the form of a story, and from an inside point of view. Now it makes a great deal o£ difference, when you are trying to make out the design in a stained-glass window, whether you are looking at it from the street, or within from the aisle or chancel. So, for a foreigner to know Japan, it is better to get inside of the country and tell the story of what he sees, than to look from without with alien eye. How I came to go to Japan, to live in Fukui during 1871, the last year of feudalism, and in Tokyo during the three formative years of 1872, 1873, and 1874, is told in the preface to u The Mikado’s Empire,” and need not be repeated here. I became acquainted with hundreds of Japanese lads and men, mostly samurai. Matsudaira, the daimio of Echizen, was my stedfast friend. Many others whose names are veiled in the story were neighbors, companions, or pupils. It was shortly after my arrival in Boston in 1886, to 5 6 PEE FACE. become the pastor of Shawmut Church, that one of my fellow-members asked for this story, but lack of time and press of many duties prevented my fulfillment of the promise then given until this year. I can scarcely say that “ Honda the Samurai ” is a story “ founded on fact,” but rather that the whole edifice of fiction is a mass of facts cemented together with a little imagination and fancy. In the first part of the book I have pictured in short stories ancient and mediaeval Japan. I next show the change of the Japanese mind in the rush of events that followed the arrival of Perry’s invincible but peaceful armada, and then the nation’s growth from 1868 to 1890. The story is a string of pictures of what I saw, or heard, or knew to exist, in “ the country between heaven and earth.” Portions of the descriptive matter in the book have already appeared in the author’s contribu- tions to periodical literature, but so rewritten as to be hardly recognizable even to former readers, while the narrative is wholly new. May the story bind in new sympathy and friendship Japanese and Americans; and in new love and consecra- tion to the Master all his followers, on both sides of the Pacific ! W. E. G. SHAWMTTT CHURCH, BOSTON, October 1, 1890. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. The City of the Happy Well 9 II. A Japanese Home . 22 HI. The Beginning of Art 33 IV. The Dream-world 43 V. Two Baby Boys 57 VI. A Boy Baby’s Life 70 VII. Mr. Rai Talks Politics with his Son ... 83 VIII. How Japan’s Double Government began . 100 IX. The War of the Red and White Banners . 116 X. Fun, Fact, and Fancy about Yoshitsun£ . 130 XI. Men, Monkeys, Horses, and Boys .... 145 XII. Scenes at a Hero’s Shrine 160 XIII. Exciting News. — “ The Americans have Come” 176 XIV. The Life of a Ronin 187 XV. From Kamakura to Yedo 198 XVI. At the Sign of the Big Gold-fish .... 209 XVII. An Object Lesson in Western Civilization 222 XVIH. Arrested and in Prison 234 7 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE XIX. A Talk over the Chrysanthemums . . . 210 XX. The Hour of the Ox 256 XXI. Over the Tokaido to Yedo 267 XXII. A Journey through a Prison 275 XXHI. The Wedding of a Princess 287 XXIV. A Game of Polo 300 XXV. Seekers after God 309 XXVI. “ Expel the Barbarians ” 317 XXVn. Black Clouds before the Tempest . . . 328 XXVIII. Like the Breath of a Clam 338 XXIX. A Naval Battle 349 XXX. The American Missionaries 358 XXXI. The Storm Breaks. — A New Nation . . 364 XXXH. How Honda Jiro became a Christian . . 374 XXXHI. A Postscript in September, 1890 . . . .382 NAGASAKI^ ojHlGO HONDA THE SAMURAI. CHAPTER I. THE CITY OF THE HAPPY WELL. HAT would be the feelings of an “heir of all the ages,” and especially of an American lad of the nineteenth century, were he to leap out of the present into the thirteenth century? His feel- ings would have been ours, had we arrived in Fukui, in Echizen, Japan, after a journey from Osaka via Lake Biwa and the mountains, in the year of our Lord 1852. Here was the capital city of a feudal province which long ago, and for centuries, had been the center of war, the castle having been often taken and retaken in blood and fire ; but during the last two hundred and seventy years there had been no more quiet spot in the Land of Great Peace. Life in a Japanese city, to one fresh from the intense life and energies of an American metropolis, would have been like existence in the thirteenth century. Society was so simple ; there were but two classes, the governing samurai and the governed 9 10 HONDA THE SAMURAI. people. The latter class knew nothing of the gov- ernment, except that they must yield unquestioning obedience to its decrees. Life was so quiet ; it seemed to consist chiefly of eating, sleeping, and smoking. If there were more than that, it appeared to be merely incidental. In an American city, the sight of men on their way to business is a spectacle of dramatic interest. To stand still in the midst of such a crowd as surges along Broadway — who would dare to do it? For a merchant to be indifferent to customers — who is the man? Yet in Fukui, before a customer, the merchant sat warming his hands over his brazier, as stolid as a statue. It was impolite to ask any one to buy ; and as for the busiest street, one might stand in the middle of it all day and neither be run over nor knocked down. The contrast between the life of human beings in Japan and in America was as great as the difference between the mean wooden houses of the former country and the comfortable dwellings of the latter. Except on great festival days, when this interior city looked something like bustling Yedo, the streets were never crowded. There are two ways of describing a Japanese city. One is in the gazetteer style. Thus it might be said : “ Fukui is a city in the province of Echizen, on the Ashiwa river. It is the seat of a daimio’s government. It has a castle, two large bridges, a theatre, a town-hall, several schools, many temples. The chief productions are paper, silk, tea, and rice. Population, forty thousand.” TEE CITY OF TEE HAPPY WELL. 11 All this might be said and more, and it would all be true, yet the reader would not have the faintest idea as to how the city of Fukui looked. The word “ castle ” calls up the picture of tall towers, cas- tellated ramparts, and rocky approaches. At the mention of “ theatre,” there rises in the mind a dazzle of upholstery, chandeliers, and gas-lights. Do we say town-hall ? What American never in Japan can image in his mind the true picture ? A better method of description is by a plentiful use of negative particles. Society in Japan was reduced to very simple elements. Even the miner in the nearly inaccessible California gulch, far away from city life and civilized society, was yet more of a modern man than was the average J apanese citizen in Fukui in 1852. For the newspaper can, with more than Mohammed’s power, bring the world to the miner, without his going to the world. But here in Japan was a people civilized for centuries; yet there were in Fukui no hospital, no asylums, no almshouse, no public hall, no bank, no lightning-rods, no steam-engines, no gas-lights, and no newspaper. “ Oh, but these are all modern inventions!” cries the critic; “how could the Japanese have these? Of course they had all the ancient and universal improvements, had they not?” No ! There was a fine river flowing through the city, and a seaport on the bay, but there, at Mikuni- on-the-Sea of Japan, was not a single dock or pier. There was not a wagon or carriage in the city, nor a wheeled vehicle within leagues. Most of 12 HONDA THE SAMURAI. the beasts of burden were human beings. Men carried stones down hill and up. Men and women shouldered fagots and bags of rice and bundles of charcoal. Men made themselves fulcrums, and bore all the burdens, where an Anglo-Saxon makes the round earth with its gravitation do half the work. All sorts of loads were carried by the “ heavenly balance-pole,” of which the human being was the supporting column and his shoulder the resting- place. Even wheelbarrows were unknown. River boats were hauled by men instead of by mules. Horses, stupid and lazy, unkempt and ill-fed, did duty as sumpters, and bullocks likewise ; but two- legged beasts of burden were in the majority. There was no bread, no milk, no beef. A native man wants but little wheat, but he wants that little long. The Japanese usually eats wheat in the form of thick vermicelli, in strips the length of a yard- stick. When he can get rice, he disdains to eat other grain. There was no word in the language for bread ; and wheat was cheap and in little demand. There was no milk, for the people thought it wrong to deprive the cow of it, and the majority of people never thought of such a thing as using cow’s milk for food. There was no beef, for the two religions, with their thirty-five or more sects, taught that it was a sin to eat the flesh of domestic cattle. The prohibition did not extend to monkeys, foxes, wild boars, and deer, for these were wild. Of pota- toes, that is, the Satsuma mo, or sweet potato, there were plenty, which were eaten as “ refreshments ” THE CITY OF THE HAPPY WELL. 13 between meals, being baked at ovens or stands along the street, and sold like cakes or nuts. White, or “Irish,” potatoes were called Java, or “ Dutch.” Of our modern garden vegetables and small fruit, there was almost none, though other kinds flourished. How could these people live thus so long ? There were no stone street-pavements, no sidewalks, though in private courtyards and within the castle and temple grounds were many solid, massive, and beautiful stone-laid walks. There was not one brick chimney in the province. There was not a stove in any house, nor a bedstead, nor a chair. “ What sort of houses did the people live in ? ” you ask. Every house in the city was of timber, and rarely more than one story high. The shops were all open to the street. The average stock-in- trade of each might be fifteen dollars’ worth. The average value of the houses was a hundred and fifty or two hundred dollars each. All had low frames, roofed with tile, shingle, or thatch. The dwellings of the official classes were often large and costly. In looking over the city, one saw no imposing piles of architecture, no towers of masonry, no smoking furnace-mouths, no spires. All was a monotonous flat of tiles, or dingy, weather-darkened thatch or shingle. There were the square, many-gabled castle- towers and pagodas, and there were the massive roofs and vast white gables of the great temples. Here and there rose fine old trees. A square four- storied bell-tower rose in each of the city wards. On housetops one caught sight of the ever-ready 14 HONDA THE SAMURAI. tub of water and brace of brooms for fighting the flames. Bamboo groves, beautiful and feathery, lent variety to the scene, often serving as places of refuge during an earthquake ; but no one who had learned the meaning of the word “ city ” in Eastern America would suppose such a collection of low buildings — villas or shanties — was a city. It might be a number of booths erected for a fair, a mere tempo- rary arrangement for a few weeks; but a city one thousand years old, how could it be that ? A Japan- ese youth arriving in San Francisco, even when the city was but twenty years old, could, not believe the houses were built by men. He thought they must be the work of the gods. There was not a stone house in the city. Even in Yedo, Osaka, and Kyoto, there were not, in all, a half- dozen stone dwelling-houses, though there were hun- dreds of massive fire-proof store-houses with earthen walls a foot thick. Everything was of perishable timber, the sport of time and the victim of fire. There seemed to be nothing durable but tombstones and castle walls, for these were of stone. Ancient monuments of art and architecture were very few. Everything, except their great bronze images and their castles, was built of wood, hay and stubble, and mud. Their best buildings were of perishable material. This was partly because the ever-threat- ening earthquake has paralyzed the growth of archi- tecture in Japan. Their proudest castles have been razed, their towns engulfed, and their largest cities leveled. Without science they were helpless, and THE CITY OF THE HAPPY WELL. 15 their builders labored in vain. Yet there were other reasons also. The houses within were plain, utterly devoid of furniture, as the word is defined in our dictionary and as it exists in our conceptions. There were no sofas, chairs, tables, bedsteads, or washstands ; yet the rooms were neatly floored with fine, soft mats, the walls papered and hung with scroll-pictures, the screens handsome, and in the recess of the parlors of the respectable houses were bronze vases, fresh flowers, cabinets, and specimens of the joiner’s and lacquerer’s art. The partitions were of latticed wood and paper ; the windows were of the same material. Notwithstanding the difference in fur- nishing and architecture, there are, in most of the better class of houses in the Mikado’s empire, strik- ing evidences of good taste and refinement, and the people who live in them are polite ladies, gentlemen, and well-bred children. Let us look around the city as it was in 1852. The lower classes, or “ the people,” live in the business part of the city ; the gentry, or samurai, all dwell within the large and roomy space enclosed by the castle walls and moats. There are “ street men ” and “ castle men.” From across the river, supposing we are traveling into Fukui from the south, we can see the towers, walls, ramparts, and moats of the citadel. Here and there other portions of the complex lines of ditches, walls, massive gates, and government offices, embowered in groves of greenery, peep out in the sunshine. 16 HONDA THE SAMURAI. Crossing the long bridge over the river named after the god Ashiwa, whose shrine is upon the mountain yonder, we look up and down the valley and admire the scenery. This is one of the enjoy- ments of the people, and many a good-natured dis- pute is held by friends as to what are the prettiest views to be seen near Fukui. The standard and orthodox opinion, as the result of centuries of chat, is that the eight finest “ sceneries ” are : — 1. The peach-orchard in blossom on the river flats. 2. The fireflies flitting over the valley meadows. 3. The moon reflected in Cherry Pond. 4. The flight of the wild geese across the moon at Happy Marsh. 5. The fresh-fallen snow on the hill of Makida. 6. The slanting rain at Flower-path Hill. 7. The sound of the temple bells at the “ South End.” 8. The people on festival days passing over the Great Bridge. Of the thirteen entrances into the city we select this one over the bridge. The thoroughfares, though not stone-paved, have a hard surface, and are kept level with gravel rammed down tightly together. We notice the street names, which are taken from the castle gates, or the Buddhist temples to which they lead, or called after the trades or kinds of business done in them. Here are a few specimens: Cormorant, Castle-bridge, Dawn, Spring, White- beard, Willow, Boat, River-door, Falconer’s, Moun- tain-back, Palanquin, Night-watch, Temple Point, THE CITY OF THE HAPPY WELL. 17 Rich-man, Fish, Salt, Mat, Key, Pipe, Boat-bridge, etc. The main street and the avenues are wide, but many of the humbler thoroughfares are narrow lanes. The shop signs amuse us. Combs, hairpins, and switches seem to be sold in many places, as well as looking-glasses, or, rather, round metal mirrors. The paper, tea, and silk shops, the drug, hardware, and book stores swing their signs, fly their flags,, or set up their square lanterns. The shops are all open to the street. Not a glass window is to be seen or a house-door on hinges. All apparatus for opening and closing slides in grooves. Street pedlars are numerous, and their cries in- terest us. Everything runs into doubles, and the carrying of all burdens is by dividing the weight in half and bearing the halves suspended by a pole laid across the shoulder. The umbrella-coverer, the pipe-mender, and the locksmith carry their machinery and tools with them. “Bean-cheese, well-cooked or partly fried ! ” “ Parboiled and soft-boiled bamboo root ! ” “ Pots mended ! ” and “ Crockery baked and joined ! ” “ Oil and wicks ! ” “ Shell-fish ! ” “ Dried fish ! ” “ Bean-sauce ! ” and “ Maccaroni ! ” are cries that sound on the air, as men move around to ply their trade and to turn honest zeni , or cash, in order to stick them on a skewer or string them, a hundred apiece, on twine made of straw, for each brass or iron coin has a square hole in the centre. Perhaps the man gets his pay in paper money, that is made of strips of pasteboard six inches long and two inches wide, of two, three, or six cents denomination. Then 18 HONDA THE SAMURAI. there are the barley-paste toy-makers, and the man who rents batter and griddle for children to play making cakes on, and other pedlars who have stands and only migrate occasionally. Perhaps street mu- sicians with trained monkeys, women who play three-stringed banjos, or funny fellows who amuse the children with the “ Korean Lion ” game collect crowds of young folks, hatless, and rosy-cheeked despite the dirt. Something more dignified and quiet may be seen inside the castle enclosure where the gentry live: ladies in silk and gentlemen with elegant swords in their girdle ; riders on horseback ; occasionally a procession of noblemen and retainers ; the moats blue with flowing water in which men fish, or slug- gish and full of great pink lotus flowers; boys flying kites or knots of children at gleeful games ; and babies looking as much like the dolls as the dolls look like them. On the south side are most of the one hundred and twenty-five larger Buddhist temples in the Happy Well City. Here one hears the tinkle and boom of bells, the chanting of monks and priests, and sees well-dressed people coming and going from worship. Here are costly buildings, rich with gold and bronze and art decorations, with large tracts of land containing gardens, groves, and lovely solitudes. All these are owned by the priesthood, for Echizen is a stronghold of Buddhism. There are also throughout the city twenty-two principal Shinto shrines, in which the native gods of Japan are THE CITY OF THE HAPPY WELL. 19 worshiped ; sixty-six fanes sacred to Kuanon, the goddess of mercy, and twenty-eight edifices in which are statues of Jizo, the patron of travelers and the protector of children. The Shinto temples are sim- ple in structure and furnishing. In them little is to be seen but unpainted wood, strips of white paper, a polished metal disk, and what looks like a closet or cupboard. This austere simplicity is in wonderful contrast to the dazzling gold, gilt, brass, gorgeous altar, incense smoke, and splendid robes of the priests in the temples of the Buddhist sects. One wonders what so many stone foxes, and Chinese lions, and scowling demons, and idols of the two kings — gigantic fellows set at the gateways who excel Hercules in the knotting of their muscles, and are painted red and green — have to do with the service of man to his Maker. What kind of religion is taught in these temples and by these priests, monks, and shrine-keepers ? Some good things, no doubt, and much truth, but the Maker of all things is ignored. Buddhism does pot teach or believe in a Creator. Everything in the universe comes and goes like the seasons, but as to the Who or What causes it to come and go Buddhism says nothing. Shinto, or the doctrine of the gods, teaches little better and much less. The universe came out of chaos, when the cloud and the warm mud separated. Then out of the warm muck sprouted a rush, from which grew a sort of a being ; from this came man and woman, and then sprang into existence Japan 20 HONDA THE SAMURAI. and its contents and inhabitants, and finally the world and the starry heavens appeared as they are now. That is, the matter came first and mind after- wards. In this scheme of bald evolution creation made the creator, and even the highest gods were the children of the earth and sky. With such religions, that know no supreme Creator, could the Japan of 1852, even so full as it was of bright and intelligent people, ever become the equal of the nations of the West, whose fathers were forest barbarians when the Land of the Rising Sun had letters and literature ? Before we enter into one of the houses of Fukui, let us stop under the shadow of the great gateway and lofty bronze lantern at the bridge entrance and read some of the laws hung up in a roofed timber frame set on massive masonry. Law No. 1. “ Human beings must carefully practice the prin- ciples of the five social relations. Charity must be shown to widowers, widows, orphans, the childless, and the sick. There must be no such crimes as murder, arson, or robbery.” That is good, whether Confucian, Christian, or Japanese. Now let us read Law No. 3. “ The corrrupt sect called Christian is strictly prohibited. Persons suspected [of believing in Christ] must be reported to the proper officers THE CITY OF THE HAPPY WELL. 21 [of government] and rewards will be given [to informers].” In this way Christ was preached from thousands of pulpits of Japan. Branded as “ the Christian criminal God,” he was thus held before the people. By the ferries, market-places, gateways, and roads into the cities all over Japan these notices were spelled out by the school-boys and read by all the people. Mothers frightened their children into silence by threatening them with the name of Jesus. Here, in one of the fairest lands that ever came from the Creator’s hand, was He unknown or groped after by those who followed blind leaders of the blind. Here the idol and the dream confused the mind and obscured the soul’s vision of the Maker of all things and the Father of all souls. CHAPTER II. A JAPANESE HOME. ET us enter the home of the Rai family hi JLJ Fukui. In most Japanese houses there is no upstairs, for they are but one story high. The finest mansion may occupy much ground space, but height is not considered desirable. Most two-story houses were public inns, or shop-keepers’ houses, or dwellings of the humblest sort. When the high lords passed them in their proud processions, the upper windows had to be sealed with slips of paper, lest any one should look down on their highnesses below. Let us make our visit in the morning. Setting out from the river-bank, we ride in palanquins borne on men’s shoulders through the “ Priest’s Gate ” of the castle, and along the road skirting the moat ; pass the long, low building of the Shin sect of Buddhists, and then between the mansion of the former prince and the government offices, or town-hall ; and halt- ing opposite the “ Iron Gate ” of the inner circuit of the castle, we dismount at the imposing black gate of the Rai mansion. The porter leaves off smoking his pipe, and emerging from his lodge at the side of the wicket, draws the ponderous bolts o*f the main gate, admits us, and escorts us with many bows 22 A JAPANESE HOME. 23 and smirks up the wide stone walk. On the ample porch, or vestibule, our young host, son of Mr. Rai, meets us. Though politely invited not to do so, we take off our shoes or sandals, as all well-bred Japanese do. Passing up a long corridor, we step upon the stainless matting and into the parlor, or za-shiJci. The name of this best room or parlor means “ sitting- place ” ; but there is nothing to sit on hut the floor, which is covered with spotless matting. The Japan- ese carry their chairs on their heels, and these or the soles of these are what they rest on when at ease. In this open airy room there are no sitting conveniences. The usual resplendent cleanliness of floor, wood- work, and ceiling, the usual vase of flowers or piece of bronze or silvered crescent with hanging vines, the lacquered cabinet or pictured scrolls in the recess and shelves are noticed at once. On the walls are hanging scrolls containing poems or landscapes in India (Japanese) ink, or perhaps colored paint- ings representing scenery. Two magnificent screens depict in gold and bright tints famous historical events in the thirteenth century, painted by a re- nowned native artist. From the sill of a low window we look out in the garden, after stopping to admire the knotless, polished wood, grained like watered silk, and drawing aside the latticed window-panes of translucent white paper. The view in the garden is one of characteristic beauty. On a mound to the left is a bell-shaped pine- tree. Near by, an artistic clump of dwarfed trees of various species imitates a forest, the rugged surface 24 HONDA THE SAMURAI. of mountain-land being made by a rockery of lava, volcanic and water-worn stones. Here are mimic precipices, gorges, and dells, and over one projecting crag of miniature proportions dashes a tiny cataract ; the water, gliding through moss and aquatic plants, joins the fish-pond a few feet off, which gleams with darting gold-fish. A peculiar kind of cake or crack- nel, kept ready in a pail, is used to feed the finny pets and gives ample reason for their fatness. At the end of the pond is a quarter-acre of lotus flowers in bloom. Their colossal leaf-shields, two feet and a half in diameter, hold in their heart glittering jewels of dew. The blossoms, white and pink, six inches across, are beautiful beyond description. The lotus is the sacred flower of the Buddhists. It is found on their temple altars, sculptured and carved in their architecture. The Buddhist sutras , or sacred writings, are called lotuses. The stone which holds the bier during the services at the tomb is carved to represent the lotus. It is the symbol of creation, immortality, divinity. In Nirvana, the devout believer in Buddha hopes to be absorbed in the bosom of Buddha who sits upon a lotus. To “sit on the lotus” means to go to the Buddhist heaven. Tall and venerable trees casting grateful shade, the sound of purling water, cool breezes blown over fragrant white lilies, tall and swaying — these strike the senses with delight as we sit for a very few mo- ments awaiting the arrival of our hostess. A serving- maid first brings in refreshments — a tray containing A JAPANESE HOME. 25 a tiny tea-pot, tinier cups, and little metal sockets. There is no such thing as a saucer or handle to these cups, for such foreign additions are unknown in Japanese tea-drinking. In the maid’s other hand is a stand, laid with white paper, and piled with cut sponge-cake and amber-colored sugar jelly. Kneeling and bowing, she pours and hands out the little cups, each set in its socket. The grandmother is a well-preserved old lady of sixty-nine ; the mother a lady of probably thirty-five. They come forward and make the usual salutation — hands, knees, and forehead on the floor, or rather the face laid on the two prone palms. Then, sitting up, they engage in conversation. The old lady is ex- tremely merry and loquacious, the mother is rather dignified and a little inclined to reserve, but hand- some and with the atmosphere of high birth and breeding. She is a native of Higo, a province which with Echizen shares a good reputation for beautiful women. The other members of the family who are at home — the head of the house with his man-servant being away traveling — are two sons and two daughters. Of the boys, Taro is twelve and Kozo is four ; of the daughters, Kin 6 is ten and Um6 is six. Supposing that under the leading of Mrs. Rai who, like most good housekeepers, is fond of letting her friends see her household, we wander through the rooms and garden, this is probably what some of us would see, think, or tell. We should be im- pressed with the fact that neatness and simplicity 26 HONDA THE SAMURAI. are the characteristics of the people in the Mikado’s empire. Paint is rarely used on the woodwork, the delicate grain and fragrance of the native woods being too highly appreciated. After one has lived even for a short time in Japan he wonders why people in other countries spoil so much beauty by smearing it over with oil pigments ; but where we paint, the Japanese lacquer, using the juice of the varnish-bearing sumach. This substance, laid on as varnish, leaves a hard, lustrous surface difficult to scratch. Woe be to him who touches or approaches it when it is fresh ! Lacquer-poisoning is a tempo- rary purgatory of itch, rash, and swelling. Respect- able ladies and gentlemen soon look like prize- fighters. In aggravated cases, the eyes close entirely and the nose bursts into fiery bloom. The misery lasts a week or more ; but some persons are never affected by the sap. The floor is laid with tatami , or rice straw, two inches thick, made into mats six feet long, and bound by an inch border of black cloth. The face of the mat is of fine smooth grass, like that in the best matting, but the inside is of coarse rice straw. Being so closely laid, the floor reminds one of a colossal chessboard. The joints are so tight that there are no draughts ; and the air at the floor is of a singularly warm temperature. The ceiling is of thin boards of wood, grained like watered silk, crossed by black lacquered strips of wood or colored bamboo. Plaster on the ceiling is decidedly unpopular on account of earthquakes. A JAPANESE HOME. 27 The Japanese are not so passionately fond of knowl- edge as to wish to see the law of gravity illustrated at every chill of Mother Earth by having their skulls cracked by falling lime. On the walls, after priming of pulp made of common waste, the ornamented or gilt paper is pasted. Here we see that Japan is the original home of wall paper, and that the designs are quiet and elegant. The ceiling is rarely so covered. Closets, chimneys, glass windows, or sashed case- ments are unknown in the city, except where some one has brought a pane of glass from the Dutchmen of Nagasaki, and, as a mere curiosity, has set it in a door, calling it giyamon (diamond). Cuddy-holes for small articles are made and often exquisitely adorned. Cabinets and chests of drawers have their place. Charcoal, which is used for warmth, is smoke- less and odorless. One would suppose the use of this fuel to be dangerous, but one never hears of a native losing his life by it. The openness of the houses prevents ill effects. The partitions, which occupy three sides of nearly every room, the fourth side being the wall, slide in grooves. The tops of the frames are not quite six feet high from the floor, and it is plain that there are not as many tall men in this country as in some others, else they would surely often bump their heads. Over the partition frame is a space of two feet to the ceiling, in which is set a handsome lattice of white-pine or camphor or keaki wood watered like silk; or perforated land- scapes, or mountain outlines, or flocks of birds in 28 HONDA THE SAMURAI. flight, the design easily made visible through the thin boards, and making pretty effects of light and shade, complete the partition between the rooms. The cats of the country are not only hobtailed, but so lazy that the rats multiply and run riot over the ceilings and make a playground of the partition tops. To keep them from nibbling and spoiling this beau- tiful, carved woodwork, the carpenter has kindly made a little square aperture at the end of each partition top, so that they may pass through conven- iently and not spoil the fine art of the carver. The rats fear nothing but the weasel. The kitchen is called dai-doJcoro , or “ great place,” which sufficiently indicates that even Japanese women suspect that the seat of a man’s affection is in his stomach. The chief piece of kitchen furni- ture is the furnace, made of earth or plaster, with two cavities, one for rice-boiler and one for tea- kettle. The fuel is of split wood, which is cheap in Japan. The Japanese do everything upside down, as we may think, for the blade of the axe for split- ting wood is set at right angles to the hair die. As we look at the cooked rice we find it snow-white and each grain separate. There is no burning, sogginess, or hardness. Rice-cooking is a triumph of high art. In lieu of a bellows — an artifical pair of lungs to blow the fire — the maid uses nature’s own, and a bamboo tube carries the oxygen from the mouth to the fire. In addition there are iron and brass cook- ing-pots with wooden covers. Charcoal is used for broiling, when the birds, fish, or bean-curd are spitted A JAPANESE HOME. 29 or laid on gridirons. A thick cutting-board and flat- sided knife to cut vegetables, another dirk-like one to slice raw fish, and an edgeless sheet of brass for bean-curd are among the necessary implements. A rasp, or unperforated piece of iron, is kept for grating purposes. Tubs, pails of all sizes, and dippers are numerous and made wholly of bamboo or of wood. Tinware is unheard of, except as a curiosity im- ported by the Dutch and called by the foreign word briki (instead of the New Jersey word “blickie,” for the Japanese have no l in their alphabet). Mortars of wood and stone and sieves and baskets are set in their places. The domestic hand-mill is used es- pecially to grind miso , or bean preparation. No such thing as fork ( 'niku-sashi , “ meat-sticker ”) or spoon is known to the Japanese cook. She digs out the boiled rice with a flat paddle or a scoop, only slightly countersunk. Pieces of flat bamboo, with the end slightly indented like a spoon and lacquered in the cavity are called saji, and look like something be- tween a gravy-ladle and a spoon proper. As the native of Japan neither defiles his tea with milk nor spoils its flavor with sugar, his nation even in this land of tea has lived without the knowledge of a tea- spoon or even the need of it. Of furniture, as has been said, there is in a Jap- anese house almost none. The casual visitor sees no sofa, chairs, tables, stoves, curtains, or hat-rack. In the parlor, or room for receiving guests, are seen in the tokonoma, or raised space, a handsome sword-rack, flower vases, bronzes, or lacquered ware. 30 HONDA THE SAMURAI. In the ladies’ chamber will be found bureaus, mirror or toilet stands, needle-work boxes, cabinets, racks for dresses ; but all these are Lilliputian in size, and it may be seen at a glance that they are to be used when kneeling or sitting on the floor. We imagine that the fact that everything is done on the floor explains in great part why the Japanese are so courtly and ceremonial in their customs. What is a bed-chamber at night is usually put to some other use during the day. When bedtime comes, the sliding-doors or closets are opened and the bed-clothes brought in. One or two quilts are laid on the floor. Near the upper one is laid the pillow — a block of wood with a small pad. The paper pillow case, in well-kept houses, is renewed every day. An enormous and thickly padded loose coat, made of silk or cotton is laid on the top, and fits nicely to the body. On this sort of couch the Japanese have slept since time immemorial. Among a few of the richest families the bedding is of silk. With the great mass of people it is of the usual dark- blue, quilted cotton cloth. The object of this kind of a pillow is evidently so to rest the head as not to disarrange the coiffure. “With us ladies,” says Mrs. Rai, “this is a mat- ter of importance, since it usually requires an hour or two for the work of arranging our hair. The priest, whose head is shorn, does not use a pillow of the usual kind but a more luxurious one made round. This is called the bozu-makura, or priest’s pillow. ‘ To tie a priest’s hair in a knot ’ is a saying for doing what is impossible.” A JAPANESE HOME. 31 In summer when the mosquitoes make their ap- pearance, for Japan is equally favored with the rest of the world with these pests, mosquito nets are found in every household that can afford them. The netting is good and strong, though rather coarse. It is mostly pink or green. The nets, which are called “mosquito houses,” are made in the form of a cube. They are hung by brass rings and cords to hooks or nails in the woodwork on the corners of the room, and thus occupy nearly the entire space of the room, but they thoroughly answer their purpose. When a Japanese widow is willing to secure a partner, she simply hints to a favored suitor that her mosquito net is too large ! For the baby’s naps a smaller one is provided. The arrangements for eating correspond to the sleeping and visiting, being all done on the floor. In a family or party a little table is set before each per- son. This table is only four or five inches high and about a foot broad, having a raised edge of one inch high. On this are laid four covered bowls, a little dish of pickles or sauce, and at the right hand side a pair of chopsticks wrapped in white paper, or in the pasteboard case belonging to each person, which has his name written on it. The rice cup is of porcelain; the others are usually of lacquered wood. The rice is attacked first. The maid-servant, Miss Taka or Miss Hoshi, sits in the midst of the circle in charge of the wooden bucket of rice, and replenishes each cup as it is emptied, receiving it on her lacquered tray and passing it with a bow. She is also in charge 32 HONDA THE SAMURAI. of the teapot, for many like to have the hot cha poured over their bowls of rice. It is wonderful what may be done with chopsticks. Even the little baby can use them. Fish is most dexterously carved and served by the two sticks ; and soup can be eaten with them — provided it is not too thin. A new guest always has a new pair of sticks, usually in the form of one piece of fresh, clean wood partly split, so that he can finish the process himself, and by making two sticks of one prove that it has not been used. Our impressions of a Japanese house would be that it is for summer weather a pleasant dwelling-place, but that in the cold winter it would not suit Ameri- cans. North of Osaka one needs fire six months in the year ; but the Japanese have no safe or conven- ient method of warming their houses, using only the Jiibachi, or fire-bowl. Yet though we might think it uncomfortable, it is less so to a Japanese. As the cold weather increases, the natives put on additional layers of clothing, like skins to an onion, until they have as many as four, six, or even eight thicknesses of clothing. With their padded long clothes confin- ing the heat of their bodies, as they sit in their kneeling fashion on the thick mats, they need warmth only on their hands, which the handful of coal in the brazier easily yields. CHAPTER III. THE BEGINNING OF ART, OW that we have had our view and expressed -L ^ our opinion about a house in Fukui, let us look upon the family during an afternoon and even- ing in midsummer. We should not have to watch the fat and red-cheeked maid long before we should see that she was well-wedded to superstitions. See her, before broiling fish for dinner, holding up the gridiron over her head and twirling it three times around so as to charm it, and thus prevent the fish from sticking to the iron bars. She would be nearly scared out of her wits if she accidentally stepped over an egg-shell, for then she would go crazy, as she thinks. Do you ever catch her, even at house- cleaning time, sweeping out a room with another woman? Never! There must be either three or one, else one will see a ghost at night. When salt is brought, she throws a pinch in the fire to prevent quarreling in the family. When Mr. Rai, her mas- ter, started for his journey south, he hoped for fair weather ; and to bring it she went back to the cus- toms of her childhood’s days, and, cutting out paper figures of a priest, hung them by a thread on the kitchen door. Every day she drops a bean in the well to save her master from having sore feet. Taka, 34 HONDA THE SAMURAI whom in English we should call Hawk or Falcon, believes firmly in all the signs and omens in heaven, earth, and the waters, and when her left ear itches she is sure good news is to come soon. Only to-day the shadow of a flying bird moved swiftly across the papered lattice, and at once Taka said to herself, “ A visitor is coming ; some friend perhaps.” Indeed, if we stay too long, and are in danger of wearing out our welcome by tarrying, Taka will turn the broom upside down, spread over it a damp towel, and by fanning it vigorously compel our departure. If this “ sign ” does not succeed, she will burn a moxa , such as doctors burn on a patient’s back to cure rheumatism, on our clog or sandals left at the door. Under her arm, near her heart, she wears, by a cord round her neck, “ a little thing that looks like a penwiper.” It is an amulet, bought at the temple, for which she has paid the priest well. The evening meal over and the two little folks and grandmother in bed, Mrs. Rai and the two older children sit together, talking about the absent hus- band and father. Happily, this is one of the sunny homes in Japan in which there is one man to one woman, and one wife to one husband. Mr. Rai is true to his wife and content with her, eschewing polygamy and everything like it. Too many house- holds in the Island Empire are not homes, but rather herds of man, women, and children, in which other women besides the wife share the affections of the head of the family. Under various euphemisms these women who are not wives have both a social THE BEGINNING OF ART. 35 and legal status, and they and their children live at more or less peace with the lawful wife and offspring. The young folks were talking about what their father might bring them on his return, which would be when the first frosts came and the wild geese flew back from Yezo. “Just think of it, mother!” said Taro, “he will see the European people at Nagasaki, and the big black ships, and the curious things they make in Holland and other Western countries. How I should like to cross the ocean and travel, and see all the wonderful things ! ” “ What ! my brave boy, leave us all for many years ? Besides, I am afraid you would not get enough to eat, for how could you live on their food?” There was fun in the mother’s eye as she asked the question. “ O mother 1 you know I do not any longer believe what our man-servant Uh6i used to tell me, that the Holland men eat worms, toads, and snakes. I used to think so, but father has taught me better. They eat meat and bread and vegetables and fruit.” “ But, oh ! how they drink ! ” suggested the mother. “Yes; Doctor Sano once showed me a big earthen- ware cup they call a mug, and another high glass which they call by the funny name ‘tumbler,’ and I thought right away of the Shoji, the scarlet-headed demons who live near the seashore and swill liquor out of pails and dippers.” 36 HONDA THE SAMUBA1. “Doctor Sano and your father both think that though the Hollanders have curious dress and cus- toms they are very learned, and that the Europeans are even more civilized than the Japanese ; but don’t ever say this before people, for it would offend them or rouse talk and suspicion against us.” “ How curious that they make cups and dishes out of glass ! for Doctor Sano, who has been in the house of the chief master of the Dutchmen at Nagasaki, says the dining-room glistened like the sun shining on hoar-frost. He thought at first it was all lumps and sheets of carved ice.” “ How do they make glass and crystal, mother ? ” asked Kin6. “ Rock-crystal grows in the earth ; the gods have so ordered it; but how they make glass I do not know. The Hollanders make pottery and porcelain also, but all I have seen of Doctor Sano’s and at our daimio’s palace is far less pretty than what our* potters and decorators can do in Hizen and Kyoto. Indeed, even our local potters, though Echizen is not famous for porcelain, excel them, I think, though it is true I have seen but few European pieces.” “ How did our people first make pottery ? ” “ Oh, have you never heard the story of the origin of potter}^ in Japan?” “No, mother ; please tell me.” Thereupon Mrs. Rai proceeded to relate how the glorious ceramic art was born in Japan. Whereas in Greece the word “ keramic ” comes from keras , a horn, which was the earliest drinking-vessel, so that THE BEGINNING OF ART. 37 the origin of keramics is connected with the need of utensils for the table, in Japan the legend connects the dawn of the potter’s art with the instinct of mercy, and with one of the greatest philanthropic reforms in early history. In telling most of Japanese stories, the beginning words are like our “ Once upon a time,” that is, “Mukashi, mukashi,” that is, “Long, long ago.” “ Though our potters,” began Mrs. Rai, “ are now very skillful, yet there was once a time in Japan when translucent porcelain was unheard of, and even the coarsest pottery was unknown. How that art began whose bloom we now see, the sacred book called The Nihongi, or The Records of Ancient Things, tells us. “ Long, long ago there was a cruel custom in vogue in the Mikado’s empire. When a great noble or member of the imperial house died, a number of his servants committed (dying with their master). The dead noble was first laid in the ground and then deep holes were dug in a circle round the grave. One by one his servants were put in these holes, buried up to their heads, and the earth filled in and tramped hard around him. Their hands and feet were bound so that they could not move. They were then left to starve. In a few months nothing remained but a ring of bleaching skulls, whose eye- sockets had long been emptied by ravenous birds. “About the year 600 of the Japanese Empire, a relative of the Mikado named Yamato-hiko died. According to ancient custom the young prince was arrayed in his rich robes of ceremony, decked with 38 HONDA THE SAMURAI. the maga-tama jewels, and his bow and arrows were laid at his side. The servants of his household were then buried with him. “ The terrors of cold, hunger, and starvation, raven- ous wild beasts and birds, were so horrifying that from the circle of victims that forest rang with heart- rending sounds. Yet it was an old custom, and hav- ing the religious significance of furnishing an escort and company for the prince to the spirit-land, no ordi- nary person dared to hint at a change. “ Now the Mikado who reigned at this period was a man of very kind heart, and had not realized fully the cruelty of the custom, of j un-shi, or dying with the master. But one day while passing through the forest he heard the groans of men in agony, and going forward saw the wan faces of the dead prince’s retainers appearing just above the damp earth. They lived for several days in dreadful misery. Then all was quiet, the piteous moans ceased to reach the palace, and nothing but a row of heads with rigid faces and staring eyes remained to tell the tale. “ The good Mikado was so grieved that he scarcely slept, and on discussing the matter with his chief counselors, they all agreed that to sacrifice to the spirit of a dead man the living whom he had loved in life was a bad custom and ought to be changed. It was suggested that the spirit might be appeased if images of his people, horses, etc., were made and put into the tomb instead of living beings. This sugges- tion was not well received at first, but the reformers THE BEGINNING OF ART. 39 determined to carry their point and abolish the cruel custom. The man who led the reformers was one Nomi no Sukun6, who was a man of tremendous strength and renowned as the first wrestler in Japan. “ A fitting opportunity soon offered. The wife of the Mikado fell sick and died. Among the courtiers there were some who believed in following the time- honored custom. Then there was weeping in the palace among the maids-of-honor and the pages who waited on the imperial lady, and their parents were heart-broken at the thought of losing their children by a living death. “The Mikado held a council of his advisers and Nomi no Sukune bravely spoke up and urged that clay, molded and made hard by fire, should be put in place of the maidens and pages, who else would be buried alive. “ The Mikado graciously heard the suggestion, and to the great joy of the weeping maids and the delight of the reformers, ordered Sukune to bring the men skilled in mixing and tempering clay from Idzumo, where pottery was then made. Forthwith he sent for and brought a company of one hundred workmen in clay. Arriving near the sacred ground they selected the proper beds of clay, which they ground fine, beat, and washed. They then began to make models of the maidens and young men who would otherwise be the victims, and set them in the sun to dry and harden. Images of horses were also made, as these animals were sacred to the fcami, or spirits. Other objects were molded which the sacred books 40 HONDA THE SAMUBAJ. do not specify, but they were probably such as the empress was fond of and which she kept near her person, such as mirrors, necklaces and jewels of car- nelian, cups and dishes, etc. “ These being done and ranged in rows, the curiosity of the courtiers was satisfied in examining them. Then the potters built furnaces of stones and clay. They waited till they were somewhat dry, and then kindled fire with a bow and drill. By rapidly twirl- ing the drill in a groove made in a board of dry wood filled with fine powder of hinoki , or fire-wood tree, the fine dust gradually grew hot, and finally began to smoke. By-and-by a spark appeared. They then fired the wood in the kiln, filling in the chinks made by shrinkage with fresh clay. Then the little models of men and horses were put in the furnaces and baked hard. They came out a reddish black or dark brown, according to the kind of clay and the heat used. Great was the interest they excited, especially among the maidens whose graves they were to occupy. The terra-cotta figures being all ready, they were carried to the imperial tomb and disposed in pits round about, only the heads being above ground. Solemn ceremonies and prayers to the gods were offered at the same time. “ So well satisfied was the Mikado with the substi- tutes, that he issued a decree declaring that hence- forth clay images should be used in every case instead of human beings. Upon Sukund he be- stowed the title of Hashi, “ the clay teacher ” or “molder;” and thus the first artist of Japan received imperial honors and a patent of nobility. THE BEGINNING OF ART. 41 “ Gradually the custom of ‘ dying with the master ’ faded out of our country, even in the provinces remote from the capital. In time even the burial of images ceased, and people went out to look at the old circles of earthen heads as a curiosity. Finally the moss and undergrowth and drifting dust of centuries covered up the images, leaving them many feet underground. Occasionally the spade of some enthusiastic relic-hunter, or one digging for new foundations, reveals a chapter of life in ancient Japan, such as I have narrated to you. Out of the merciful enterprise of Sukund sprang the splendors of our potters’ and decorators’ art. “ In Hizen and Satsuma our workers in clay are now able to produce almost any shape, quality, or color, and your father seems never tired of boasting what Japanese potters can do. Even Doctor Sano says our people are far ahead of the Europeans in this art.” “ Why does n’t father set out all his pretty porce- lain bowls and dishes and jugs and tea-pots where we can see them, as you say the Holland men do ? ” asked Kind. “ Because, child, that is not our custom ; and besides, on account of fire, nearly all our valuable things are kept in the fire-proof store-house, and in our rooms we have only a few precious articles at a time. That is the custom all over Japan, I believe.” Then Taro told how an ancient grave had been accidentally dug open at a place near Fukui a few days before, and how in the large stone coffin, amid 42 HONDA THE SAMURAI. the dust and bones of some ancient nobleman, sev- eral dozen of maga-tama jewels were found. These were carved and polished carnelian, jade, and onyx stones, with holes drilled in them and strung to- gether as necklaces and ornaments — the jewelry of the ancient people of rank. In modern days, strange as it may seem, Japanese ladies wear no jewelry on their person, though hair ornaments are exceedingly gay and girdles surpass description. It was now time to get under the mosquito nets, for outdoors they heard the jingle of the iron rings on the staff of the night watchman on his first round, and his cry, “ Hi no yo !” or “Look out for fire ! ” CHAPTER IV. THE DREAM-WORLD. H OW does the world look to a Japanese child? Who live in it ? Who inhabit the strange corners, the woods, hills, valleys, roofs, high places, the air and the night, and dwell in the hazy dis- tance ? Who and what influence him in the visible and the invisible universe ? In a word, what is the Japanese child taught and told to believe ? How is he charmed or frightened ? What are his own fancies ? How does he dream ? In the Rai family the father made it a point to teach his children to know the difference between fact and fancy, between what was known and proved, and what was dreamed or imagined. The stories he told to his children were from history, or, if funny and only amusing, were of a good, healthy sort. Even Mrs. Rai was careful as to what entered the children’s minds ; but neither she nor her husband could always control what Uh6i, and Taka the cook, and O-gin (Miss Silver) the nursemaid, told the children. Neither were grandma and cousins and uncles and aunts so strict or careful as the parents. Besides, Echizen was an old land, full of relics underneath, and wonders above ground, and was rich in history, tradition, legend, and story. Air 43 44 HONDA THE SAMURAI. and earth were populous with creatures that no man ever saw, but which in dreams thrive and increase. Whenever the one true God is absent, many false imitations spring up. Take away the idea that unifies creation, and the fragments multiply. Let us walk out into the country and hear the farmer-folk tell some of the local wonders. On every hill we see some temple to the Buddha ; some shrine of Inari, the rice-god, whose servant is the fox; some roofed structure under which are rows of stone statues of Kuanon, the goddess of mercy ; of Jizo, the children’s protector ; of Kompira, the revenger of wrong; of Daikoku or Ebisu, the gods of daily food, and a crowd of other local deities of all sorts and grades. Some of the shrines are pretty; many have fresh flowers before them ; at others are grated boxes for the collection of coins. Here is a thick jungle, a canebrake of gods. They thrive like weeds, and connected with nearly every one is a story, a legend, a fairy tale. Let us hear a few of the folk-tales that are devoutly believed. Here is a marshy pond near a temple, and every year a light arises from it and passes into the temple. Long, long ago it was said a childless wife was driven crazy by her husband’s unkindness. When Tenshin, a Buddhist saint, passed by she begged him to heal and save her. He bade her to believe what he told her, and she did so and died happily, and the annual light rising out of the marsh is a token of her gratitude. In another hamlet we see a rich mass of lotus THE DEE AM-WORLD. 45 flowers covering a field over an acre in size, and at the entrance is the carved image of a fox. In this hamlet two men lived ; one was a wicked mail-carrier. He was accidentally killed in a trap, and his dead body turned into a fox. The good man was a farmer who went up the mountain of Hakuzan thirty-three times on a pious pilgrimage to honor the god of the mountain. One night at the mountain-top he dreamed that the god of the mountain came to him, and promising to make him very rich, put a key in his hand as a token. Awakening and finding the key, the farmer prayed to the god again : “ I do not wish wealth, hut rather a happy life in the next world. Prepare me for it.” The mountain god answered: “ Your prayer is good. I shall give you your desire, and as a sign I will plant lotus in your rice-field.” Returning to his home, the farmer found the lotus flowers already in blossom in his field. So his field was ever afterwards left uncultivated, and is now full of the lotus plants, though no other field near by has them. Lotus root is good to eat, and is a common article of food sold in the markets, but no one digs up the fat old roots in this field. Here in a village temple is an image of Amida Buddha, carved by a famous artist. Two wonders are told about it. One day a certain father com- manded his son Mijo to become a priest, but the young man refused. The father then ordered his chief retainer to kill Mijo, but out of love for the lad and pity for his mother the retainer assisted Mijo to escape, and then killed his own son instead. 46 HONDA THE SAMURAI. Mijo’s mother thought her son dead, and wept so bitterly that she became blind ; but on being led to the temple, the image of Amida Buddha emitted rays of light which flew into the mother’s face, and she received her sight again. This image is still preserved and works wonders. On one occasion the idol lost a right-hand finger, and no one could repair it, as the new finger, when made and glued or tied on, always fell off. One day an itinerant nun came along, who cured diseases by rubbing the sore place with the finger of some image and repeating prayers to the Buddha. The priest of the temple got this finger from the nun and held it on the stump of the mutilated hand of the idol, when lo ! it stuck fast and remained permanently. This was one of Taka’s favorite stories. Even the ash-man who tended the cremation- furnace had his wonderful narratives. There was once, he said, a brave officer who went out hawking in the train of the prince, whose falcon swooped on the wild geese and killed them by striking them with beak and talons. This knight was always full of pity for the dead birds. When in war time the castle had to surrender to the enemy, and duty and loyalty demanded that he should commit hara-kiri , he did not shrink from the pain ; but after death a hard, unburnt mass was found amid the ashes of his body, shaped like a bird with a wound in its head. Inside of a shrine, opposite the Pure Water Gate in Fukui is a finely chiseled monument of a cat, concerning which was a legend. O-gin, that is, Miss The Faithful Cat at Fukui. — See page 47. TEE DUE AM- WOULD. 47 Silver, the nursemaid, was firmly convinced that her favorite story about this stone cat, which her grand- mother had often told her, was true. Here it is : — One day the wife of Mr. O. became two persons exactly alike, so that the husband was puzzled to know which was his real wife and which the counter- part. Their faces, dresses, general appearance, and voice were exactly the same, and each declared she was his dear wife unchanged. To find out the truth he arranged one night to give a feast before the moon had risen. It was hot weather, and the insects were very troublesome. Without pretending to no- tice anything, he watched carefully the two females, and saw that the ears of one of them moved like a cat’s. Then he got his bow and arrow and shot the woman dead, and her body at once turned into a huge cat. The old habit of whisking away the flies with her ears had betrayed her even in the human form which she had taken. “Nonsense!” said Mr. Rai one day, when Kin6 repeated this story to her father. “ The facts are that Mr. O.’s wife had a pet cat that followed her around everywhere and so much that it vexed her, and one day she flew in a passion because she saw something in the cat’s mouth which soiled the mats. She took a sword and cut off the cat’s head, drop- ping it in a hole in the garden. The servants looked at the cat’s head and found that it held in its mouth the head of a large snake of a poisonous kind, and it was thought that the cat had been troubled for the danger of its mistress and had finally saved her 48 HONDA THE SAMURAI. from harm. Struck with pity for the faithful animal, the woman mourned sincerely for her pet, and order- ing a stone image of it to be carved, had it set up in the shrine.” These few out of thousands of such folk-tales will give one an idea of the luxuriant growth of fancy in a land shut up from the world, and where the idea of a supreme Creator or of one true God was un- known, and in which all sorts of petty gods sprang up like fungus out of men’s imagination. Then, in addition, were the rich historical tales, the really beautiful traditions and legends well based in truth, the poetical ideas and conceits which associate them- selves with nature. Finally there was a wonderful menagerie of mythical animals unknown to geology or natural history : dragons, phoenixes, the gentle kirin, the red-faced and long black-nosed goblins, called tengu, that lived in the mountains, and the kappa, a creature half-monkey, half-tortoise, that lived in the river and fed on fat boy babies. If a boy were drowned while bathing, they would say the kappa dragged him down. All this background of ideas made the fairy-world and dreamland of a child in Japan very different from that of one born under the church-spires of Christendom. The thoughts, images, and ideas in- stilled into the mind from parents, nurses, teachers, and playfellows make the material of dreams. When night comes, the child with closed eyes beholds many things which are never seen in reality. In Mr. Rai’s household grandma and nurse amused the THE DREAM-WOBLD. 49 children at bedtime by telling about certain people and creatures that are visible in waking hours as pictures or as toys. Mr. Rai-did not object to this way of amusing the children, thinking fairy tales much less harmful than fiction which is received for truth, or than truth which is wrongly understood, though he had long ceased to tell such tales himself. Let us look at the little boy Kozo in the land of dreams on the evening, say, of August 22, 1852, the seventh day of the seventh month. It is the night of the festival of the Weaver star, or that called by us Yega. There he is, all tired out after a day among the lotus gardens and fish-ponds, with his pet monkey, and his bamboo poles tied full of . bright streamers. These strips of gayly colored paper are written all over with messages to “ the farmer-boy ” and “ the spinning-girl,” who live on either side of the ave- nue of stars which we call “the Milky Way,” and the Japanese “ the River of Heaven.” With eyelids too heavy to keep open, little Kozo lay down on his silk bed, and his little shaven head had no sooner touched the red crepe pillow than he was asleep. Mamma did not need to coax his eyes shut that night with the usual fairy tale of “ Peach Prince,” or “The Wonderful Tea-kettle,” or “The Ashes that made Cherry-trees bloom,” or “ The Monkey and the Crab.” Instead of these stories, he saw in his dreams a whole book of wonders. To tell the truth, the little fellow’s hearty supper of rice-pastry and sweets was too much for him. 50 HONDA THE SAMURAI. After the first long nap, he had kicked off the silk quilts, curled up his fat little legs, and, with arms out of bed on the matting, was dreaming away at a rate that uncoiled nearly the whole “ thread of his soul.” For the Japanese imagine that when a person dreams the body remains where it appears to be, but the soul goes off to play or to work. It is held to the body, however, by a long, slender thread. For this reason Japanese do not like to waken any one suddenly, lest, if they are dreaming, their souls can- not get back to the body in time, in which case the sleeper will die or wake up an idiot. What a fancy ! Kozo first dreamed that his father had come home from Yedo and brought him a box of toys. Opening it, he found a tortoise with legs and tail moved by a string, a singing-top with cord, and a toy helmet with real horns, ear-flaps, and neck-cover. Then there was a mallet to shake out money with, and a folding fan with a picture of the sun in the middle. This fan was to remind him of the famous archer, Mun^taki, who could hit the rivet of a fan with an arrow at a distance of fifty yards. Kozo put out his hand to pull the tortoise’s tail, but it turned to life and crawled away. In running after it to catch it, he found another heap of toys, which made him forget about the tortoise. This was a complete set of things to play saru- matsu, or monkey-capers, with. First, there was the flat fan painted with the design of bamboos waving in the moonlight. This was to make paper butter- flies fly up and down and alight and rise like real THE DUE AM- WOULD. 51 "insects. Then there was a wooden bird on wheels. While he was looking at these, the monkey-man and his monkey appeared and gave a show. The monkey put on the curious cap, or miter, and, with the string of rattles, and the masks representing the imp, and the laughing spirit, mimicked the pompous lords of the court, while the man blew on the flute, tapped on the hand-drum, or beat the taiko, or big drum. Kozo laughed so loud at these funny tricks that he nearly woke up, and this dream ended. Afterwards it seemed that Hot6i, the fat, round, Japanese Santa Claus, as we might call him, ap- peared. His huge wallet, slung over his back, was full of good things, for it bulged out far behind him. As usual, the old fellow was unshaved, but his cheeks were full of dimples. Kozo, like all good Japanese children, was very glad to see him. He fell down at once on the floor on his hands and knees, and bowed his head as vigorously on the matting as though he were tacking a carpet with his forehead. “ Ohio ! Hotel San (Good-morning, Mr. Hotdi). What have you in your wallet ? ” “ More good things than you can dream of in a week,” said Hotfii as he sat down, while his fat body shook like a mountain of jelly and his cheeks rip- pled all over with dimples. He took his time in getting comfortably settled, notwithstanding the child’s eager curiosity. Then he said : — “ Now if you will be a good boy all next year, obey your teachers and learn fast, I ’ll open my bag and show you Wonder-world. Do you promise ? ” 52 HONDA THE SAMUBAI. “Yes, yes! I will. Open the bag;” and Kozo* clapped his hands. “ Don’t be in a hurry ! ” cried the old fellow. “ It ’s nothing to eat, only to see. Look ! ” Hotdi swelled up his chest, and, puffing out his cheeks, seemed to gather all the air possible into his lungs ; then, slowly breathing it out, the air seemed to congeal and form a great white sheet or screen. “ Now look ! ” said Hot6i, as he loosened the draw- strings of his bag. “ My breath is like a clam’s, and you will see wonders.” Out jumped the darling model of all Japanese boys, the rosy-faced Yoshitsun6, fan and sword in hand. To the right, under a projecting bowlder and sitting among the rocks, was a queer old man with a tiny cap on his noddle, a long white beard flowing from his chin, and a nose sticking straight out from his face and as long as a small pump-handle. In his right hand he waved a fan of hawk’s feathers. “ Who ’s that ? ” asked Kozo. “ Oh, that ’s the father of the tengus, the moun- tain spirits, teaching magic and air-climbing to Yoshitsunc,” said Hotdi. “ Please tell me all about him,” pleaded Kozo. “ No ; your grandmother or cousin Honda Jiro must do that. It ’s a good long story,” said Hotdi, “ and I have more to show you.” Next stepped out a lad in full gold brocade dress and armor, with a long sword in his belt. At his side was his pet monkey looking up in his face. He had in his left hand a fan with the sign of a peach THE BEE AM-WOllLD. 53 on it, ancl in his right hand a dumpling for feeding his pet pheasant and dog, as he marched with his little army to Giant’s Island to capture the ogre’s stores of gold and jewels. “ Oh, I know him ! ” cried Kozo, clapping his hands. “ That is Momotaro, the peach-prince.” Next came out a creature that nearly frightened Kozo. Raiko, a brave knight of the Mikado, was standing near the outer gate of the palace keeping watch against the imps of the air. When nearly asleep with weariness, a horned demon with fearful tusks climbed down the gate-post and caught hold of the sentinel. He was about to whisk off to the clouds with his prey, when Raiko swept a circle with his sword and cut off the demon’s arm, which fell through the air to the ground. “ Ha ! ha ! ” laughed Kozo, nearly loud enough to wake up ; while the frog, the snail, and the serpent in the story of “ Young Thunder and the Magic Frog ” appeared on the scene. Then the rain began to fall while the sun was shining, a sure sign that the foxes were getting married. Sure enough, the long wedding procession of young and old Reynards moved across the screen in the shower, while the three little elves that dance in the rice-fields came out to look at the sight and amuse the wedding guests. On the farmer’s rope- lines and rattles, stretched over the rice-fields to keep off the crows, the trio began a hop that lasted till the company filed past and the rain was over. Then the long-legged man with little arms laughed, 54 IIONDA THE SAMURAI. and looked across the screen to ask the long-armed fellow with short legs whether he wanted to ride pick-a-pack. He agreed, hut was so lazy and so long in getting over his yawns and stretching, that before he was ready the screen was full of other figures from Hotdi’s hag. There in the middle was Yoshitsund again, now grown to be a man. He sat at the foot of a cherry- tree in blossom, his fan in his hand and his sword with its tiger-skin scabbard in his lap. Down at his feet was his burly friend Benk4i, an ex-monk and a jack of seven trades. He carried on his back a spade, an axe, a club, a saw, a mallet, a rake, and a sickle. He had the pole of a notice-board in his hand, which he intended, after making an inscrip- tion, to stick into the ground. He wrote on it, “ No person shall trespass on this mountain. For every blossom picked a finger will be cut off.” “ Ha ! ha ! ” laughed Kozo. “ He can’t keep people from picking blossoms, can he ? Arashi Yama is always free.” “Well, one must not be too greedy of anything, even of flowers,” laughed Hot6i. “ If he does, he ’ll be punished. Look ! ” Four sparrows, dressed like girls, sat before as many little tables filled with refreshments, around an old lad}’ holding a box. Hearing a knock on the door, the birds chirruped a welcome to the gentleman who was kind to the birds. They feasted and entertained him for three days, and then gave him the choice of two baskets. He modestly took the THE DUE AM- WORLD. 55 smaller and plainer one, and on opening it in his own house, found it full of money and good things. His jealous and greedy neighbor, visiting the sparrows, chose the bigger and handsomer basket and eagerly hurried home with it ; on lifting the cover he found it full of trash and reptiles. The next picture showed the brave Raiko who cut off the imp’s arm at the gate. He is always vigilant. He has been playing checkers with a fellow-officer of the palace. The web of fate is woven behind him, but though his companion has fallen asleep, the giant with the iron club, who stands in the meshes like a great spider, cannot catch Raiko napping, or weave the web of fate around him to destroy him. The old “nurse of the mountains,” and Kintaro, the boy who always remained a baby and never grew any older, now appeared. This ruddy, wild boy, having no children in the woods to play with, made companions of the beasts and played with the bears. One day with his axe when the old pair were absent he cut down a tree having a nest of a tengu in its branches. The young tengus, half-bird, half-boy, were taught to wrestle, and Kintaro looked on, clapping his hands as one or the other won the victory. Like Japanese wrestlers, they would crawl on hands and knees until close up, when one would pounce on the other. As Kozo looked, he saw the tengu having the longer mane, spring up, expecting to clinch with the other ; but instead, the one under- neath shot away, and the leaping tengu tumbled down hard, and so near to Kozo that he started and woke up. 56 HONDA THE SAMUBAI. And there, over him, was Miss Silver, the nursery- maid, who had come to dress him for breakfast. “ Ai-ta ! ai-ta ! ” cried Kozo, as if in pain, and almost ready to break out in sobs, “ Hotdi’s wallet was not half-empty, and he promised to show me all he had. That tengu waked me up. I thought he was going to fall on me.” “ Excuse me ; I am sorry I stumbled and woke you up,” said Miss Silver ; “ but don’t be sorry ; Hot6i will come again.” So in expectation of another visit, and a fresh glimpse into wonderland, Kozo sat down to his chopsticks, his rice, and his sugar-beans, and told his mother his splendid dream and funny waking. He declared he would tell the whole story of his long dream to his father on his return from Higo, and ask him to tell him all about Raiko and Benk^i and Yoshitsun^. CHAPTER V. TWO BABY BOYS. I T was a bright sunshiny morning in November, a.d. 1852, when the great white sail of a Japanese junk swelled before the freshening wind in the Bay of Tsuruga. The city of the same name has one of the few harbors, and indeed the best one, on the west coast of Japan, and to it the ship was bound. A long voyage, as a Japanese born in the first half of the nineteenth century counted it, had been made. The run of ten days from the port of Oshima in Higo, though the weather was only occasionally squally, had severely tried the nerves of the gentleman who now stood on deck watching the splendid scenery. “My lord must be glad to see home land, once more,” said the captain, bowing low. “ I congratu- late you that Tsuruga is at last in sight.” “Yes,” said the man of two swords, who had already donned his silk coat and trowsers, whitest socks and sandals, and carried in his girdle the pair of jewel-hilted weapons that marked his rank, as if all danger from salt water were past, and speaking loud enough for the sailors at the huge tiller, behind which was a little shrine, to hear him : “ thanks to jour skill and the favor of the god Kompira, we are 67 58 HONDA THE SAMURAI. about to land. I was told that “ a sea-voyage is an inch of hell ; ” but I am willing to call it the length of a rice-grain only.” They all laughed heartily. “Will master remain in the port-city long, or go right on to Fukui?” asked Uhffi the body-servant, a fine young man with a scar on his forehead. “ The whole day is before us, and after breakfast at the inn I shall walk as far as Tak^fu, spend the night there, and ride to Fukui in the morning.” “ I thought master would stop at Tsuruga to learn the news,” said the young man Uhffi, with a slight touch of bravely concealed regret. There was a rosy face in the city on which he loved to look. The owner of that face, he hoped, would some day boil rice for him in a house of his own. “No! I have enough to do to gather news offi- cially when in Fukui ; besides, I am too anxious for tidings from my family.” “ May it be all you wish, master ; I know how you long for another son.” We may at once introduce the gentleman and state his name and rank. He was Rai Goro, a retainer of the lord of the province of Echizen. He lived within the castle circuit of the city of Fukui. His office was in the prince’s household. His business was to confer in person, or by letter with similar officers in other provinces and in Yedo, and to learn all the. official news. Each day he pre- sented himself in the morning before the daimio, or lord, and informed him what he had learned. TWO BABY BOYS. 59 This he did in precise and elegant sentences, care- fully studied. Another officer of lower rank, a page, in fact, reported the weather in well-chosen language, and from such a post he had graduated. Sir Goro was now an officer of the upper grade of the fifth rank, his salary being two thousand bags of rice annu- ally. Being a trusted officer of his prince, he had been sent to the province of Higo to arrange for the betrothal and subsequent marriage of a son of his lord to the beautiful Kiku-hinffi, daughter of the southern prince, and reckoned as one of the fairest ladies in the land. Having been ten days on the “ great blue plain of the sea,” his first voyage beyond tide-water, uninformed as to public affairs, he was anxious to reach home for reasons soon to be made evident. Accordingly no further stop was made in Tsuruga than sufficed for breakfast and a call from the mayor of the city. Then with a slight change of costume as befitted pedestrians, they moved through the city streets until they struck the road to Fukui and stood under the mammoth granite portal of a Shinto temple. Both travelers stopped, bowed their heads reverently, clapped their hands three times, touching them to their foreheads, worshiped, and then set out afresh. “ Uhdi,” said the master, pulling out his tiny tobacco-pipe and case, “ you know what gods are worshiped at the shrine, and what Tsuruga is famous for, hey? ” “ Why, yes,” answered the servant, who was busy 60 HONDA THE SAMURAI. with flint and steel, having already placed a pinch of tinder in his hollow wooden bag-button ; “ one is Hachiman, the great Buddha of the Eight Flags, and,” — mentioning a lot of long-named Buddhist di- vinities, — “and Tsuruga is the place where the first people from Corea, who had horns on their heads, landed in great Japan. Is n’t that the reason why the bay was called in old times the Bay of the Bright Horns ? ” asked Uh^i, holding the glowing pellet of tinder for his master to kindle the ball of shreds of tobacco rolled up in his silver-bowled pipe. “ I see you have learned your lessons from the priests well. The gentlemen and Shinto people, of course, do not call them by their Buddhist names, but use their oldest and real names ; but who told you about the foreigners, the Coreans, having horns on their heads ? ” “ Why, grandmother told me a long, long time ago that when the first ambassadors came from the Land of Morning Calm to our coast to bring tribute to the Son of Heaven in Kyoto, they had each a horn sticking out of his forehead.” “What! like a rhinoceros?” laughed the master. Uhfii looked up with an offended air. “ Oh ! no ; it was a shining white horn. Had n’t all the foreign people of old time horns ? ” “Well, perhaps so; but we have foreign people now in our holy country, but they have no horns. Did you ever see one of the Holland men?’ “ No, master,” said Uh^i, who had lighted his own pipe, and was now with hand in pouch rolling off a TWO BABY BOYS. 61 fresh ball of shreds ; “ but I have heard that they have noses as big as a wallet, and their hair is as red as vermilion.” “Ah!” laughed the master. “And what else have you heard ? ” “Why,” said Uh6i, knocking out the fireball from his pipe into his wooden button-cup, “ that they swill liquor out of a dipper, eat toads, and swallow worms, and dress in the most outlandish fashion.” “ So ! And what have you heard about their religion ? ” “That they are all Kirishtans (Christians), and worship Yasu (Jesus), the barbarian criminal god. Is it not so?” The master smiled, and trudged on. They were passing through beautiful scenery. The summer’s rice had just been reaped, and the water-covered fields, dotted all over with tufts of stubble, lay like mottled mirrors. Here and there the snowy heron, poised on one leg, dreaming, whitened the land- scape, like a tiny cloud suspended in the air. Occa- sionally a flock of cranes, almost large enough to take the place of the storks (which are rarely seen in Japan), wheeled across the valley. Monkeys chattered in the branches of the trees, and now and then the grunting of wild hogs told that these ani- mals were plentiful. “ Good game here in winter, I should think, Uh&.” “ Hai, danna (master) ; I ’m told that one hunter speared over a hundred wild hogs last winter, and killed many deer.” 62 HONDA THE SAMURAI. Is the snow deep in winter ? ” “Often as deep as a bamboo pole of two men’s height. Travelers are hurt by the avalanches.” “ People in this part of Echizen seem to be fond of monkeys,” remarked the master, as they passed a village meat-shop in which monkeys were dressed and undressed, with skin and hair on, hung up for sale, while inside people were eating stewed portions of the animal. “Yes,” laughed Uhdi ; “it serves the brutes right. They are great pests to the farmers and destroy valuable crops.” Thus, alternately chatting and moving on in si- lence, they walked on. By full noon they reached a high hill, which they climbed after a long tug. On the top, famous for its view, were several tea- houses where they were to take lunch. The place was called by a most curious name, “ Hot- water Tail,” though some said the word meant orange- field. No sooner were the two travelers in the little hamlet, than out rushed to each porch a bevy of waitresses. They were fair and rosy-cheeked girls, whose bright black eyes snapped fun, as each and all cried out in chorus : — “ This way ! ” “ Come here ! ” “ Give us youx custom!” “Favor us with your orders! ” “Welcome ! noble gentlemen,” etc. etc. For two or three minutes it was like the chattering of a flock of sparrows in a field, but when the two travelers entered an inn on the left, there was silence and good-humored retreat. Hot water was at once TWO BABY BOYS. 63 brought by the maids, the travelers’ feet washed and dried, fresh sandals furnished, and beside a fire of glowing charcoal the master sat looking out on Mount Soma until a lunch of rice, beans, boiled fish, and candied orange-slice was served. Two hours were spent in eating, rest, and enjoy- ment of the scenery. Before they left their bill of items was presented on a tray by a young girl on hands and knees, who bowed and left the room. The gentleman, taking some slips of cardboard money from his wallet, wrapped the currency in a piece of white mulberry paper, and, tying it with a red and white cord of the same material, placed it on the tray with a small coin or two for the maid. Then, after numerous bows and good wishes, and exhortations from the host and hostess and maids to “Go slowly,” “Do not tire yourself,” etc., the master and servant set their faces towards Fukui. The path down the steep slope was narrow and rocky. They had gone some miles when suddenly a rushing sound was heard from behind them, and there shot by them a foot-runner. He was naked, except that his loins were covered by a flat wide belt of muslin. A gay blue head-kerchief was knotted round his smoothly dressed hair, so that even his top-knot, pomatumed to the stiffness of a ramrod, lay flat on his scalp. His feet were shod with tough rice-straw sandals, and over his shoulders and held in his right hand was a cleft bamboo holding a government-dispatch. The man fairly whizzed past them, and in admiration of his clean build, supple 64 HONDA THE SAMURAI. form, and swiftness, they continued to look at him. The run made his moist skin glisten as he disap- peared in the distance. They were soon within sight of a village when suddenly they felt dizzy ; the trees shook violently, and their tops swayed wildly to and fro as if in a breeze, though not a breath of air was stirring. “ Ji-shin ! (earthquake) ” shouted the master. It was indeed a lively shake of old mother earth. Even loose pebbles on the hillsides rolled down, and a shower of leaves in the motionless air slowly whirred to the earth as if a gust had arisen. Stand- ing still for fifteen or twenty seconds, as the vibra- tions still continued, Uh6i said : — “ The big earth-fish is angry to-day,” as he looked in the direction of the post-runner, his own face wearing a look of concern. Well might he be scared ! When a boy, awakened at night and rush- ing out of the groaning house to seek the shelter of a clump of bamboo bushes, a broken tile, falling from the rattling roof, cut open his forehead and left its reminder in a life-mark, which somewhat detracted from his good looks. Like most of the country folk and common people in Japan, he believed in the existence of the great earthquake-fish, hundreds of miles long, that lay underground with the head under Kyoto and its tail way up in the north. By the flapping of its tail or the writhing of its body, these earth tremblings were Gaused. Uh6i was of a very religious turn of mind, and his rosary came out promptly as he uttered a prayer to the god Kashima, TWO BABY BOYS. 65 who alone coulcl bind down and hold still this co- lossal subterranean cat-fish. Only by the stone which is the rock-rivet of the whole earth, could the big fish be held down and kept quiet. In a very few minutes they reached the village of Sabanami. Here the people, usually careless and unconcerned, were out in the streets chatting and excited. Ordinary earthquakes in Japan are as frequent as the hours, severe ones as numerous as the moons, the dreadful ones as common as equinoxes. All animal life seemed now rejoiced that the shock was over. Chickens were cackling and the cocks were crowing with joy. Dogs were frisking and the cats looked happy. Small boys with sticks were chasing and cornering the rats, so populous in every roof and thatch, and usually the first living tilings to leap out, so that in a violent earthquake a Japanese house might remind a Western traveler of a Gothic cathe- dral with the unclean spirits leaping forth. The laziness of the cats allowed this increase of rodent population, which in time of danger furnishes the decoration of living gargoyles to the shaking houses. In front of the druggist’s shop, witli its sign of a white medicine-bag suspended, a crowd had gathered round the door. Some one had been hurt. Uhtii, by inquiry, learned that the mail-carrier, when at a full run, just at the entrance of the village, with one leg in the air, had been knocked off his balance and falling against the masonry of the bo-bana , or entrance, had been found insensible. The village 66 HONDA THE SAMURAI. nanushi, or mayor, had taken charge of his letter- stick and packet of dispatches, and had the wounded man taken to the inn. By having his feet warmed at the fire, and his head cooled by bandages of thick porous paper wet with sakS, or rice-wine, he was slowly recovering consciousness. The master Rai, as an officer of the lord of Echizen, bade the people make way, and sent Uhei to announce to the mayor his presence, while he entered the inn. The man of office appearing promptly, fell on hands and knees, noisily sucked in his breath, and with tremendous politeness began profuse salutations and apologies for not meeting his honor at the village entrance. He wound up by pressing his eminence to enter his hut and “ rest on the miserable floor.” The master with a few words expressed his thanks, and stating that he was traveling privately, put the mayor at his ease at once. Both entered the rooms where the village physician had, by his unremitting efforts, restored the mail-runner to his wits and tongue. The man at once began to bemoan his ill- luck. “ Alas, alas ! my employer promised me double wages and a keg of sake if I should make the run from Tsuruga to Tak^fu in an hour less than my usual time, which is better than any runner at the relay. Now, instead of winning, I shall be laid up for a week. Oh ! my head ! ” Again he fell back on the padded quilt insensible. “ Let me see the dispatch,” said the master. The packet, wrapped in glazed paper made water- TWO BABY BOYS . 67 proof by sesamum-oil, was taken out of the split in the bamboo shoulder-pole. The master at once recognized the seal and the directions. They were to “ Rai Goro, officer of communications of the lord of the province of Echizen ; ” in other words, to himself. Retiring to a private room he read the chief document. The words were few, but his eyes at once swam with the moisture of joy. The news from Kyoto, which he was bidden to announce to his prince, was this : by the favor of the gods a son had been born to the Mikado in Kyoto, November 3. It would not do to have any one else announce such a piece of news to his master, the lord of Echizen. Though his leave of absence did not expire for fourteen days yet, and no business was expected of him until that time, yet he resolved at once on traveling even at night in order to reach Fukui as quickly as possible. Word was at once sent to the relay-office and in a few minutes four stout porters appeared with a kago , or basket-litter, while a foot-runner was sent ahead to the next relay to order men in readiness. Hence another runner was to be despatched to Tak^fu to have a saddle-horse ready for a night ride to Fukui. Uh£i, to his almost unspeakable delight, was to deliver the master’s receipt at Tsuruga, and to see that the wounded letter-carrier got safely back. Uhei was allowed one whole week for his visit and return to Fukui, while a koban (gold-piece) made the wounded man’s eyes beam with new light. Visions of marriage, with a year’s house-rent paid in advance, were healingly mixed with present pain. 68 HONDA THE SAMURAI. The four kago-bearers and the two reserves were soon swinging along the road, and at a village named, “ Here we rest,” without change of vehicle, fresh men jogged on to Tak6fu, where a fleet horse, loaned by the local lord of Echizen, stood saddled and bridled. After swallowing a little tea and rice, the eleven miles’ ride was begun. Through villages, and past rice-fields and wayside shrines, the officer rode briskly until the great “ ninety-nine foot ” bridge over the Ashiwa river was reached and the city gates entered. The boom of the ponderous bell in the Temple of the Eastern Light rolled out, fill- ing the air with mellow vibrations, announcing the Hour of the Tiger (3 A.M.), as Rai Goro presented his credentials, and being recognized was allowed to pass the city gates. He would have time to go home, don official dress, and ask for a special inter- view with his lord at the Hour of the Serpent, or 10 a.m. A messenger from the gate was dispatched to the Castle night-watch to that effect. Riding homewards he was surprised to see lights shining through the paper lattice of his own home. Dismounting at his own gate, he learned, even before the alert watchman had led away his horse, a piece of hoped-for good news. A son had been born to him that evening, shortly after lantern-time, and several of his female relatives had already come to offer congratulations to the mother and to advise concerning the name of the boy, who was, as third son, to be one of the heirs to the fortunes of the Rai family, founded by one of the captains of Hid^yasu, first lord of Echizen. TWO BABY BOYS. 69 “Happy we!” ejaculated the officer; “a true blood- line unto the ninth generation ! My son is born in the same moon’s quarter with the heir to the throne of Everlasting Great Japan. How must my honored ancestors rejoice ! ” It was indeed a happy day for the wife of Rai Goro. Two daughters and two sons had already made their home happy. In Japan unless a wife bears a son the honor received from her husband is not usually great ; but Mrs. Rai was triply honored. There was joy in one household of the millions in the empire, and in the capital rejoicing because of the birth of one destined to become the one hundred and twenty-third emperor in the line of Everlasting Great Japan. CHAPTER VI. A BOY BABY S LIFE, ET us look at the way the world appears to the J -J little boy who at Fukui, the City of the Happy Well, was born on the same day and hour as was the baby of Kyoto, who was destined to become the one hundred and twenty-third Mikado of Great Japan. The Japanese baby is neither carried in arms nor rocked in a cradle. On the seventh day of its life the little akambo , or “pink baby,” as an infant of days is called, is properly dressed in its own clothes and holds its first full reception. It is presented to the relatives and friends who come in to offer congratulations and presents to child and parents. They are very careful in dressing the little fellow as he comes out of his bath. If “pink” is a boy, they insert the left arm first in the sleeve ; if a girl, the right hand goes first. On the twentieth day the akambo has become a ko. They then shave the baby’s head so that his little round noddle is as bald as a cannon-ball. The old ladies who rule the nursery say that this will keep out fever. Had we been there to see how mother and nurse got ready for the new little stranger, we should have missed the stores of linen, the tiny garments of snowy muslin, the pretty ruffles or gowns, such as A BOY BABY'S LIFE. 71 our mothers prepare for their babies. No pincushion was there all stuck full of rows of pins ; there are no pins in Japan. No Japanese baby ever cried because a pin was sticking into its flesh. Linen is not woven or worn in Japan. But nice clothes were ready for the coming stranger : garments of silk and of cotton, all made in the funniest way ; soft and loose wrapper-like clothes, such as all Jap- anese children wear, were all ready and waiting. They had neither button, buckle, strap, nor pin ; yet they were as pretty and cunning as you can imagine. And don’t the Japanese mothers, and nurses, and brothers, and sisters, think their babies the prettiest darlings in the world? Don’t they think their dresses just the nicest and most proper too? In- deed they do ! They say as often as our parents say : “ Why this is a remarkable child ! ” “ Our baby is the prettiest baby I ever saw ! ” or, “ He is an unusually smart baby.” Certainly all of Mr. Rai’s relations said these things about “ the Morning Sun boy.” Now these Japanese mamma, papa, brothers, and sisters did n’t look, as we should, to see or guess the color of the baby brother’s eyes and hair, for Japan- ese babies have hair and eyes always of one color. We always ask about our baby acquaintances: “ What is the color of the eyes and hair ? Are they brown, blue, black, or gray ? Is his hair red, black, golden, or white?” But no one asks these questions in Dai Nippon. Japanese babies have black hair 74 HONDA THE SAMURAI. playthings, especially toy dogs made of pasteboard which the old nurse said would guard “Master Baby ” from all harm ; on the shoulders of nearly every one will be found some article of baby’s ward- robe. At the temple, the priest reads from the sacred books, or Buddhist scriptures, and asks the name of the child. He then writes with a pen that is a brush, and with ink that is made of soot, glue, and water, and on paper which is made of mulberry bark, a prayer or some Buddhist text. The writing is carefully put into a little, curiously shaped bag, which some aunt or cousin has made and embroi- dered, and this is hung on the little fellow’s belt. Many of the common people, according to their sect, believe this will be a charm against small-pox, sick- ness, thieves, or fire. Often at the same time they buy at the temple an inscribed tablet or white shingle, and nail it over the door to keep off lightning and the thunder-imps which are supposed to live in the clouds. Asahi’s father allowed these things to be done, to please the old aunts and grandmothers, but he was more particular to get the boy his kittS. “A kitte ! What ’s that?” you ask. “ A kitten ?” No ; for in Japanese a kitten is a ko-neko. A kitt6 is a ticket, a passport, and in the Japan of our day a postage-stamp or bank-note. Going down into that part of the city where in one street all the brass-workers had their shops and foundries, Mr. Rai stopped at one, whose sign hang- A BOY BABY'S LIFE. 75 ing over the door looked like an enormous dark- colored tray or waiter, with three long slits which let daylight through it, while it seemed inlaid with gilt birds and flowers. In reality it stood for the guard of a sword-hilt and was the business sign of the proprietor. Here lived and worked the famous metal-worker Hachibdi, whose ancestors for twelve generations had made sword-hilts and ornaments. In the war days long past, Fukui had great renown for its skillful sword-smiths, spear and arrow makers, and armorers. The master-workman, who sat behind his bench, on seeing Mr. Rai approaching pulled off his huge horn-bowed spectacles, and hastening to step off the platform to the ground, thrust his feet in sandals. Then bowing so deeply that his head was on a level with his hips, and his top-knot pointed to the centre of the earth, he sucked in his breath most politely, murmuring, — “Good-day, my honored lord! Your beggarly servant hopes that your exalted disposition is serene.” “ Yes ; good-day,” answered Mr. Rai. “ Upon the fact of your having a son born in your household, let me congratulate you.” “ Thank you.” “ Will you honor my dirty hut with your bright- ening presence ? Come up. Please do.” Mr. Rai stepped out of his clogs and sat upon the mats, while Hachibdi clapped hands. “ Hei4-i! ” sounded into the distance and in a few moments his daughter, named Peach-bloom, herself a sprightly 76 HONDA THE SAMURAI. flower of twelve years, appeared with tea and refreshments. These she set near the guest. Then bowing gracefully on hands and knees, and laying her forehead for a moment on her hands spread prone on the matting, she sat up again. She poured out a tiny cup full of the delicate green brewing, and, setting it in a silver socket, handed to her father’s customer the fragrant tea. After a sip of tea Mr. Rai mentioned his business. He did not want a name-ticket for his son made of a common sheet of brass as big as a child’s palm, but one of the black bronze made of copper and gold. It was to be inscribed on the inside with the boy’s name, thus : — RAI ASAHI, SON OF RAI GORO, HOARY-BEARD STREET, CASTLE ENCLOSURE, FUKUT. “ And what on the back ? ” asked the metal- worker, expecting that Mr. Rai would have one of the animals of the zodiac engraved on it. “ Why so?” do you ask? Because the Japanese zodiac is represented by a menagerie. Here are the twelve animals in the ring : rat, dog, hog, serpent, goat, ox, monkey, hare, cock, horse, tiger, and dragon. Strange to say, the hours are named after these, and the dial or face of a Japanese clock is a picture- book, suggesting a catalogue of Noah’s ark. The farmer-folk imagine that these creatures have in- A BOY BABY’S LIFE. 77 fluence over the life of a child, just as folks in our country long ago believed the planets affected our liver, bowels, lungs, and heart, as one sees in adver- tising almanacs made by the patent-medicine makers. A Japanese child born at the Hour of the Ox, or at 1 A.M., would be influenced in some way on this account. Properly, as some folks thought, Mr. Rai’s son, being born at the Hour of the Dog, ought to have the figure of a dog engraved on his kitte, or bag-plate. But Mr. Rai ordered, and wrote himself, these words : — “ Born on the nineteenth day, ninth month, fifth year of Ka-} r iu; Holland style, November 3, A.D. 1853.” Rai Goro, as we have seen, was a student of the Dutch language, and a scholar in the one tongue of Europe studied by earnest natives of Japan. The object of the kittti was to show who the child was in case he should be lost from home. Now that the boy baby is fully dressed, let us look at him and his surroundings, and behold him when a year old. Unable yet to talk, and with only six teeth, he was a fat, round, rollicking, lively crawler, no longer a pink baby, or a ko, but a kodama, a big baby. His little head was partly shorn with curious little moons at the sides, a sun on the back-top, and a tiny crescent on his front scalp. His feet were cased in two thick felt-soled mittens. A curious little partition ran between the big toe, or the “ foot' thumb,” as they called i-t, and the white socks were 78 HONDA THE SAMURAI. tied up with strings round the ankles. Baby’s body was swaddled with coats, from neck to feet, made of the smoothest and loveliest red, blue, and yellow silk, soft and padded. Not a button was to be seen, but the clothes were kept shut and in place, from pretty velvet collar to thick, fat, padded bottom, by means of a wide girdle or belt tied in a big bow of velvet and holding at the right hip his amulet-bag. When going outdoors, he had on a little cloth cap. He was a ruddy, round, laughing baby, and as healthy, happy, and jolly as a baby could be. Well, baby grew up. He still wore boys’ clothes, without buttons, straps, or pins. Wouldn’t all our babies crow if they never had any pins sticking into them ? Baby fed on milk, and that not “ con- densed ” either. Cows never help Japanese mothers to feed the baby. Japanese people never drank cow’s milk till foreign people taught them. Baby never played on the floor nor crawled about. No ! Japanese nurses never let the baby crawl on the floor. He does n’t get any chance to eat what he sees or to run the risk of swallowing pins and buttons and all sorts of things. How do you think baby Asahi was carried? In his nurse’s arms? No. On his mother’s back ? No. In a box or bag, like an Indian papoose? Do they hang the baby on a tree or put it in the cradle ? No. They do not have any cradles in Japan. In 1853 there was not one in the country used by Japanese mammas. Some of the country people put their babies in a round basket when they go out to work ; but baby A BOY BABY'S LIFE. 79 Asahi was carried by his nurse pick-a-pack. All day long, except when asleep or feeding, baby was car- ried behind nurse’s collar, or put into a kind of huge pocket or bag on the maid’s back. All children in Japan are carried in this way. Often baby is strapped to the mother’s or nurse’s back by a string or belt. When a poor mother has several children, she ties the youngest on the back of one of the older children. These often have babies nearly as large as themselves to carry. Set in between coat and back of nurse or bigger child, the baby’s head sticks out at the top like a jack-in-the-box, or a Christmas doll peeping out of a stocking filled by Santa Claus. The Japanese call our cradles “ rock- ing-baskets,” or “ machines to make the baby sleep.” In a crowd of street children many seem to be two-headed. Baby’s hands and legs hang down. Baby often falls asleep while being carried pick-a- pack. Baby’s head sometimes rolls about, but baby’s neck never breaks. Baby does n’t often cry. Very rarely do you hear a Japanese baby crying. By-and-by baby learns to talk. Father and mother are his first words — “ chichi,” “ haha.” Then he calls his aunt “ o-ba-san.” He points to rice and says “ mama ; ” to the cat “ neko ; ” to the dog, “ inu ; ” to the fish, “ uwo ; ” to the bird, “ tori ; ” and so on, till he learns the whole language. When a baby comes into the world in a rich man’s house, we say he is “ bom with a silver spoon in his mouth ; ” but as spoons were hardly known in the land of chopsticks, what can we say of Asahi ? 80 HONDA THE SAMURAI. Was he born under a lucky star? I suppose so. This we know : he was born within the castle limits. On the top of the castle-towers of the citadel, at the corners, one sees a pair of rampant grampuses or horse-dolphins with tails high in air and standing on their lower lips. To be born within sight of the shachihoJco, or dolphin-tails, is an honor to a Jap- anese baby. He is much like our babies, in whose mouths we imagine silver spoons. When the small boys in Fukui tried to stand on their heads, or turn somersaults, they called the game playing shachihoko, or the grampus-game. In the chief city of Owari, the scales of this castle-fish were made of solid gold, and one of the stories which the boys in the Rai family often heard was how a famous robber, named Ishikawa Goyemon, tried to steal them. Set on the top of the lofty castle towers, which were guarded continually by vigilant sentinels, how could the bold robber suc- ceed? Should he swim through the water of the moat, and climb the face of the wall? Even then, how could he get up to the pinnacle of the towers? Should he try to bribe the faithful servants of the lord of Owari to help him ? No. This he could not do. He made a kite twenty-feet square, of many thick- nesses of tough paper, with strong bobtails of rope, and on a dark and windy night got two accomplices with a windlass and rope, paid out from a hand-cart moored to a post, to raise the kite and pay out the rope. Putting his burglar’s tools in his belt, and his A BOY BABY'S LIFE. 81 feet in loops in the bobs, the strong wind lifted him and the kite up over the moat and near the tower’s top. Skillfully working the hand-cart so that the kite would gradually come near the golden grampus, without swinging the man too violently against the roof or sides, the robbers succeeded. The burglar, anchoring his kite fast to the flukes of the fish, was soon at work trying to wrench off the golden plates. This he found no easy task. The goldsmiths had riveted the plates so securely that it was difficult to pry off the soft, tough metal. He did not dare to use chisel and hammer, for that would make a clink- ing noise and arouse the guards. After hours of work, he had torn off only two plates — hardly fifty dollars’ worth of gold for all his trouble. Meanwhile it was getting near daylight; the cold wind nearly froze his blood, and almost blew him off the gable, and the next to the worst now happened. The kite broke its fastenings, and went off dancing in the air far away. As it was disappearing, the robber could see a white sheet of paper moving up the string which he took to be a signal from his accom- plices below, on the other side of the moat. This was indeed the fact : the men at the hand-cart had seen the gleam of a lantern in one of the lower stories of the tower, under the golden grampus, and, had sent him a signal to retreat and give up the job. The guards had been awakened, and their suspicions roused. In short, the robbers were detected. The man who had climbed into the air on a kite was con- demned to die by being thrown into a caldron of 82 HONDA THE SAMURAI. boiling oil. His assistants were less severely pun- ished. A law was passed prohibiting the kites from being larger than a certain modest size, and the large and splendid ones, for which Owari was once famous, disappeared. “ And is this the reason, grandma, why the biggest kind of a kite, like that of cousin Honda Jiro, is called an Owari kite ? ” asked Kozo. “Yes; and the high, deep bath-tubs, the water of which is heated by a copper boiler set inside the tub itself, with a chimney at the side, is called after the robber’s name, G-oyemon-furo , because he was boiled in such a caldron.” “Well, sometimes Uh£i, our servant man, heats our bath water so hot, that I think he wants to boil us alive,” laughed Kozo. The bath-tub is one of the best used articles in a Japanese household, for while every one gets under hot water at least once between rising from and retiring to bed, many of the people take a hot bath four or five times a day. They had no word in the language for soap, but with plenty of hot water Japan has always been a clean country, and the people have been fond of cleanliness. It is a part of religion, and is especially inculcated in the Shinto faith. “ It is largely on account of what we are taught by the example of our ancestors,” Mr. Rai used often to say : “ for cleanliness is a virtue which the gods love.” CHAPTER VII. MR. RAI TALKS POLITICS WITH HIS SON. M R. RAI GORO was accustomed to make two journeys during the year to Yedo, and occa- sionally to other places, and on his return to tell his family what he had seen. He usually brought each of the children a present of toys and to the others some of the fine products of towns famous for their special arts or manufactures. His coming and going was a family event of the first importance, and was always looked forward to with the liveliest interest. Japan was then divided into hundreds of petty principalities or districts held by clans and ruled by daimios. The custom prevailed of all the daimios, both of higher and of lesser grade, living in Yedo at least six months in the year, and of always having their families there. Whether they liked it or not they had to obey the orders of the Tycoon, make the journey to the great camp-city, and spend half the year or every alternate year there. The day of the departure and arrival of the lord of Echizen was one of great display and popular interest. Thou- sands of the people, arrayed in their finest clothes, came out and lined the principal streets to speed the going or welcome the coming of their ruler and the hundreds of his retainers. Every maiden on that 83 84 HONDA THE SAMURAI. day put on her best sash, hairpins, and new sandals, and the starching, ironing, and general bustle that went on in the houses for days beforehand kept the women folks almost as busy as at New Year’s, radish- pickling time, or on tomb-cleaning day. One of the favorite games with the Rai children when kept in the house on rainy days was that called “ going to Yedo.” So, around the ko-tatsu, which is the fire-place or square hole sunk in the middle of the room, below the level of the floor, the family gathered one even- ing late in November and Mr. Rai told of his jour- ney southward to Kyoto, and along the beautiful inland sea to Shimonos^ki, where the great main island of Japan is separated from the other by a narrow strait less than a mile wide, and where a great naval battle was fought eight centuries ago. “ What does the name Shimonoseki mean, father? ” asked Kozo. “ It means the lower barrier gate, for here all travelers must show their passports. Taking boat into Kiushiu, which means the Island of the Nine Provinces, we reached Higo safely.” “ Why did you have to travel so far?” asked Taro. “ For two reasons : to arrange for a wife for our lord’s son, and, in his name, to invite Professor Koba, the great scholar and learned lecturer on Confucius, to come to Fukui and live. Happily we have been successful. The betrothal is made, and if all is well there will be a grand wedding in the castle before many years pass. As for Professor ME. EAI TALKS POLITICS. 85 Koba, he will accompany the daimio of Higo as far as the barrier near Lake Biwa, and then come to Fukui.” “ I am very glad, honored husband,” said Mrs. Rai. “ My father and Professor Koba were well acquainted, and I hope our Fukui people will give both him and the young princess a warm welcome. It seems only yesterday that I saw her in Yedo. She is the daughter of the lord of Kumamoto, who has that lordly castle, the grandest I have seen in my limited travels.” “ Honored mother, is the lord of Higo obliged to go to Yedo every year just as our daimio is ? ” asked Taro of his mother, but looking also at his father. “ That question,” said Mr. Rai, “ will lead to many others, and as I have a good opportunity to give you that talk on politics which I promised you, let the little folks go to bed.” The mother and maid at this point led away the younger children, one of whom, Ivozo, in spite of his one question, was sound asleep. When father and eldest son were alone, Mr. Rai continued : — “Yes, indeed; all the daimios must divide their time between Yedo and their own provinces. Those who live far away to the south, in Satsuma, or to the north, in Yezo, because this is so great a distance, need not come to the camp-city so often as others. Every time the procession of a daimio passes a bar- rier gate the number of men is counted and even the women must prove themselves such, so that the exact force of each train of men is recorded ; for the Yedo government knows all about every one.” 86 HONDA THE SAMURAI. “ Why must they come to Yedo, instead of Kyoto? Is not Kyoto the Jcio, or capital? We boys were talk- ing about this matter in school to-day, but our teacher would n’t satisfy us.” “Yes, Kyoto is the capital.” “ And is not the Mikado the only emperor and the chief ruler of all Japan ? ” “ Yes.” “ Then why do not the daimios visit and live in Kyoto?” “ Because the general in Yedo has the power to command and enforce his commands.” “ Has he more power than the Mikado ? ” “Well, yes. The Mikado has the law on his side and the honor and love of the people, but none dare disobey a word from Yedo.” “ Must men obey the general in Yedo more than the emperor in Kyoto ? ’ “ Hardly ; but you are asking hard questions, my boy. What are you thinking of?” “I was thinking of a story I heard to-day, of a boy who was sent on an errand when it looked as if it were going to rain. His father told him to wear clogs, but his mother bade him put on sandals. Between the two he did n’t know what to do ; so he put a clog on one foot and a sandal on the other, and hobbled along the best he could. What would our prince do if the emperor ordered him to Kyoto while the general in Yedo commanded him to come eastward ? ” “ This is a puzzle, my son. The question has not ME. BAI TALES POLITICS. 87 arisen in my life-time, though it yet may. Of course, our obedience is to the Mikado as the Son of Heaven first. He is our supreme lord, but the general gives us orders and we obey them, without questioning. Still, as the country has been so long at peace and this double system has worked so well, no one has asked these questions which you want answered, though very wise men are now pondering the prob- lem. Yet you may live to see the puzzle made plain. That is why J named our new boy baby Asahi, for he will have daylight on this matter. Already active-minded men and students of history are finding fault and criticizing this state of affairs.” “Is not the general at Yedo a tai-Jcun, or great prince, like a son of the Mikado ? ” “Well, yes, and no. His proper title is the term of Chinese origin, sho-gun , or army-commander, which is only the revival in another form of the ancient title of the Mikado which was o-gimi ; but, when orders are given to the Coreans, Ain os, or the outside barbarians, he is then Tycoon, or great prince.” “ If the Americans come to our country to trade, will he treat them as barbarians and write himself Tycoon? ” “ I think he probably will, my son, and that will make trouble and may even bring on civil war.” “Why must our country have two cities like capi- tals, and two rulers both so powerful ? China has only one capital and one ruler.” “Well, Japan has never had foreigners living per- 88 HONDA THE SAMURAI. manently on her soil, nor has she been invaded from Europe or Asia. You will understand the reason of it better by-and-by, but I may say that our political affairs have always taken the form of a dualism or double government. In the early ages the power was divided between the Mikado and the nobles, or princes, who held land and ruled the aborigines in various parts of the empire. Then for hundreds of years the two great families, the Hdi and Gen, di- vided the country between their red and white ban- ners. After that, for now nearly seven hundred years, the military and the civil government, or as we say, the camp at Yedo and the throne at Kyoto, have held the balance of power. Our system is like a pair of Dutch scales.” “ Or a well-loaded pack-horse ? ” “ Yes, exactly. Now, if the foreigners from Europe and America come, that balance will be disturbed.” “ Why, father, I saw a man carrying home a keg of fish-sauce to-day on his shoulder-pole. He put the brand-new keg in the rope-net on one side, and then, to make the weight even on the other net he laid in it a big stone. He had to increase the bur- den in order to equalize the weight. Now I want to ask two more questions.” “ Ask them.” “Thank you. First, then, is our country bur- dened and weakened by having the power equal- ized, by having the weight of government in two places, and these hundreds of miles apart ? ” MB. BAI TALKS POLITICS. 89 “I have long believed that, my son.” “ W ell, second, in our dual system, which is the good sauce and which is the make-weight, the worth- less stone?” “ Ha, ha, ha ! ” laughed Mr. Rai. “ Why, my boy, you are a political philosopher. I must not answer that question, but time will show, and you or Asahi will see, though I may not. Be very careful how you discuss this subject with the lads at school.” “ Certainly, my honored father ; you have always taught me that every one should love the Mikado and fear the Sho-gun, look with honor to Kyoto and tremble before Yedo.” “Yes, that is right; and besides, we have many things to be grateful for to the great Tokugawa fam- ily in Yedo that for two hundred and fifty years has kept the country in perfect peace. Nearly all the art, learning, and wealth have come to us in their time. Many illustrious men have filled the office of sho-gun, or general, both at Yedo and at Kama- kurea; and before them the great military families of the Gen and Hei subdued the northern savages and made the civilization of the whole empire possi- ble. The Tokugawas who now rule us are the de- scendants of the Genji. Above all others, give honor to the Mikado, but never forget his faithful servants.” “ Was ever our land of Echizen wild and unciv- ilized?” “Yes; but of the three Echi — Echizen, Etchiu, and Echigo, which lie along the west coast of our 90 HONDA THE SAMURAI. great island between the central mountains and the sea, and between Kyoto and the wild north — Echi- zen was civilized first. I propose to tell you the story of how the arms of the Mikado were in the early ages extended over all Hondo, as we call the main island of Japan. I shall partly read from our great historian Rai Sanyo, who has written the best history of our country, and partly explain by talking. The story will also show the origin of many of our cus- toms, the favorite subjects of our artists and ro- mancers, and also tell how the Throne and the Camp came to be separated.” “ And may I ask questions as we go along ? ” in- quired Taro. “ Certainly, my son. I want you to learn all you can, so I shall begin with the story of Yoshi-iy6, who may be called the founder of the Gen family, or Genji ; though the first men to whom the name of Minamoto was given were grandsons of the Mi- kado Seiwa, just as the first man named Taira was a great-grandson of the Mikado Kuammu. The Chi- nese sounds of Minamoto and Taira are Gen and H visitors was a learned scholar, Okuma Ei, versed in Chinese, Dutch, and French, and the younger his sometime pupil, Nog6 Toro. Polite commonplaces over, Ban inquired of Okuma the news. “ Consider us genuine boors who have not even learned to tuck up our coat-tails in our girdles, after the manner of Adzuma men ; for my friend here has never been in Yedo, and I not for two years. What good thing have you last done for the honorable country ? ” “ The government has voted to buy a modern man- of-war built in European style.” “Wonderful! A steamer, and will purchase it of the Dutch?” “Yes; but I have petitioned to have some of our countrymen go out to Europe to negotiate for it, learn how to work the machinery, get experience in navigation and engineering, and find out a good deal of the world in coming and going.” AT THE BIG- GOLD-FISH. 215 “Noble thought, wise teacher; do you think your ideas will be officially approved ? ” “ I fear not. It is not much encouragement to a patriot to know that, if he suggest anything novel that is not accepted, he must commit suicide by cutting himself open.” This was indeed the general law. All innovation was stoutly discouraged by a policy that had be- numbed the Japanese intellect and kept the country in the stupor of unprogressive routine for over two centuries. Many a Japanese thinker who saw the weakness and danger besetting his country had first to write out his opinions and then commit hara-kiri. Only then, as a rule, were the reforms suggested attended to. “Honored teacher,” said Ban solemnly, “if your proposal is rejected, you have to die in thus attempt- ing to benefit the divine country ; then will the blood of the one who condemns you to death be as the tea in this tea-cup ” — at that moment emptying the vessel and turning it upside down. “ Hush ! you know the walls have ears,” said Honda. “ I say it again, Honda Jiro — if my honored teacher must die, there will be two graves instead of one.” Nor was the threat of the young man an empty boast born of hasty impulse. Though they were far from agreeing as to the exact course to pursue, the four samurai here gathered together were at heart one in intense love of country, even though the 216 HONDA THE SAMURAI. patriotism of Honda was of rather a narrow sort. They were a few of the not numerous, but devoted, patriots in Yedo who felt that the only way to meet the foreigner was to equal him in character, weapons, and determination. None was more truly unselfish and courageous than Ban. He hated the bakufu with a righteous hatred because it had again and again suppressed the truth which his relative dared to publish. It had imprisoned upright men for no other crime than for writing good books and making maps. It was equal again to beheading noble patriots who counted their life less than nothing for love of truth. The philosophy of life to an edu- cated Japanese is as noble as was that of the Stoic. Show him his place in the line of duty, and he holds himself and his life as but dirt in compari- son to his ambition to fulfill his obligation. An hour or more was spent in conversation, and the party broke up, believing it to be best, under the circumstances, to separate. Let us see how they spent the following six months. Ban, besides being present at every secret gather- ing of patriots opposed to the bakufu, and eager at every hazard to destroy it and restore the Mikado to ancient monarchy, entered a fencing-school under one of the first masters of the art in Yedo. His faith lay in the sword. He practiced every possible sweep, cut and thrust, front and back, up and down, forward and backward. In those days, of the nearly two million people of the privileged classes, the men — that is, all the samurai — habitually wore two AT THE BIG GOLD-FISH. 217 swords. Thousands of the common people at night, or on journe} r s, also carried one sword. It is no wonder, then, that many of these swordsmen itched to flesh their weapons and stain them with real blood. The dogs that ran ownerless, numerous in every town and city, furnished tempting objects, and these were well utilized. To see them minus one ear, or a tail, or gashed in face, flank, or limb, was no uncommon sight — to say nothing of those cloven asunder in skull or severed in twain by single blows of the keen blades. Until taxed and owned, the dogs led a life level with the proverbs about them. One favorite game was the “ dog-chasing affair,” it being archery on horseback, in which the riders, dressed in pictur- esque costume of leopard-skin aprons and gay silk tunics, chased a dog around an enclosure.. They made a target of the animal, which limping, con- fused, or killed with blunt arrows furnished them with sport. In too many cases, when dogs were lacking, the gentlemanly ruffians took human life, and the unburied carcass that for hours defiled the streets was that of a man. As for Honda Jiro, he too attended fencing-school and practiced spear exercise, adding the accomplish- ments of rushing suddenly and drawing sword on the full run, and cutting an orange set on a post, or by backward sweep smiting off a flower from a bush. He had been told that Americans were tall, and so he trained himself to lunge and sweep at objects above his head. He went down frequently to see the crowds of laborers building forts in the bay near 218 HONDA THE SAMURAI. the city. In spite of himself, being an eager student, he became interested in the study of Dutch, with the desire of learning how it came to pass that the European was so far ahead of the Japanese in mili- tary science. Okuma, the learned teacher, gave him a start by teaching him the alphabet and a few pages of a little school geography, and the privilege of transcribing a small Dutch dictionary. With a perseverance worthy of a samurai Honda actually copied out with pen and ink every one of the four hundred pages of the fat duodecimo and committed to memory hundreds of the most important words. He thus gained in six months considerable knowl- edge of the Holland language, though his pronuncia- tion would have shocked even an African Dutchman. He took his amusement, not in the tea-houses, drinking-places, or theaters, but in studying the end- less variety of street characters, the country folk, the parades, festival celebrations and processions at the daimios’, as they came into the city from all quarters of the empire. Etiquette and pride re- quired each of these noblemen, according to his rank, to make his full show of horses, palanquins, state umbrellas, baggage-boxes, and all the para- phernalia of feudal display. On the road, while traveling, a daimio might, for economy’s sake, get along with only a few followers, since paying the hotel bills of so many retainers was an onerous burden; but once in Yedo, the full quota was a necessity, with disgrace or punishment as an alter- native. Hence — as Honda Jiro soon found — there AT TEE BIG GOLD-FISH. 219 were dealers whose stock-in-trade was empty trunks, parade ornaments, ceremonial uniforms, and men to be hired. He soon learned to recognize the same faces, the same bare legs and top-knots, the same clothes, and the identical trumpery turning up, day after day, in different processions entering Yedo from various points of the compass. The daimio might be from Yezo or Kiushiu, but the same faces and legs and top-knots reappeared under the differ- ent coats marked with the varying coat-of-arms. Having bought a book on heraldry, a pocket dic- tionary of the feudal nobility, be was able at once to recognize the train of any one of the three hun- dred or more province rulers or petty vassals of the lord of Yedo, the Tycoon. Of the other two friends, teacher and pupil, the former kept busy at books, waiting to see whether his proposition to the government to send Japanese to Europe to buy a man-of-war ship and to learn western civilization should be approved. He had not long to wait ; for although the authorities vetoed his suggestion, yet it was in the form of substantial victory for him. The law of lydyasu, passed in 1609, forbidding the building of seaworthy ships or any craft holding over twenty-five hundred bushels, thus allowing only small coasting-junks to be con- structed, was repealed. The daimios were given per- mission to build war-ships, which were to fly the feudal flag or pennant of the clan at the foremast, and the national flag of Japan, a red sun on a white ground, at the peak or mainmast. This was really 220 HONDA THE SAMURAI. the origin of the sun-flag as a national emblem, though it had long been in use in an irregular way. The military scholar, Egawa, who had learned gun- nery from the Dutch at Nagasaki, was released from prison and made instructor in musketry. All this was so different from the treatment which other proposers of new things had received — im- prisonment, hara-kiri, exile, and decapitation — that the teacher, being a man of sanguine temperament, began to hope that the Yedo government had come into new light, and that a new era was about to dawn at once on Japan. Alas! no. “The rat-catch- ing cat hides its claws.” The poor scholar was as a mouse under the playful strokes of the cat’s velvet paws. As for his pupil, Nog6 Toro, he heard early in the opening of autumn that a ship flying the double-eagle flag of Russia was at Nagasaki. There- upon, without saying a word to a soul, he dropped his books, and packing his traveling-basket, called on his teacher to say good-by. His home was in Choshiu, not many scores of miles from Nagasaki. “ So you are going to visit Nagasaki also, are you ? ” asked the teacher, who knew that night and day for months his pupil had pondered and dreamed of voyaging to the great world of Europe. “Yes; but do not let any one know it. I shall visit my home.” “ Ah ! yes ; here is a little shinjo [gift] and here is a farewell stanza,” said his teacher, as he thrust a package of oval gold coins and a piece of poetry into his pupil’s sleeve. AT THE BIG GOLD-FISH. 221 Sayonara (farewell) being said, Noge Toro was off. After seventeen days’ journey, partly by land and partly by water, the tired pilgrim reached Na- gasaki to find the Russian vessel gone. Nothing daunted, the pedestrian tramped back to Yedo in order to be present when the American ships should return. In Yedo he learned that a shipwrecked fellow - countryman, brought from the Sandwich Islands by an American sea-captain, had been at his own request put into a whale-boat off the coast of Japan and had reached his native province. The government ordered him to Yedo to serve as in- terpreter. To see this man and find out about America was now Noge Toro’s aim. To get at him, however, was impossible, as the spies were inces- santly vigilant, day and night, in keeping isolated this rare specimen of the Japanese who had seen the outside world. CHAPTER XVII. AN OBJECT LESSON IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION. VICTORY of peace celebrated with the splen- iA. dors of war! Many a time in Japan’s history has this happened. The pageantry of arms has been summoned to celebrate the return of peace after long battle and bloodshed. The glory of costume, the long procession of warriors with weapons and armor, and the massing of fleets have mingled with the imagery and symbolism of peace. Such festi- vals have been celebrated at famous places and in great cities, by Yoritomo and Taiko and Iy^yasu; but the spectacle of the ninth day of the third moon of Ans6i (March 8, 1854) was at a place almost un- known to the Japanese, except to the farmers and fishermen whose thatched cottages stood there. In this tableau the old and the new mingled their glories. The obscure place, now made the scene of splendor and destined to become a mighty city and the school of a new civilization, was Yokohama. Land and water were combined to make the thea- ter. Out in the bay, yet but a few hundred yards from the strand, were ranged broadside to the shore the ten war-vessels flying “the flag of the flowery field.” The steam frigates, three of the squadron, — the Susquehanna, Powhatan, and Mississippi, — were AN OBJECT LESSON. 223 the finest war-vessels then in the world. The Van- dalia, Macedonian, and Lexington were stately frig- ates. The Lexington, Southampton, and Supply were store-ships. They were ranged in crescent form, the flag-ship in the center. They had their port-holes open and guns run out. How clear their decks, shining their equipment, firm their spars, stately their forms, and graceful their lines! “Could the men who built such ships be barbarians ? ” asked man}' a thoughtful Japanese. Out beyond, towards the blue mountain-lined shore of Kadzusa, was a longer crescent of Japanese spy and guard boats, all flying gay flags, pennants, and streamers, and with long bushy tassels like horse-tails pendent from their prows. These were intended to keep off the inquisitive hermits of a her- mit nation from communicating with the American “ barbarians.” Coming into and through the line of boats was a long, stately, and double-decked barge towed by a half-dozen boats full of stalwart scullers. Carved and lacquered, gay with silken awnings and curtains, it reminded the Americans at a distance of a splendid river-steamer, such as at home plied on the Hudson. In the pavilion on the upper deck on camp-chairs sat the Japanese treaty commissioners, appointed to meet Commodore M. C. Perry, brother of the hero of Lake Erie. On the silken curtains, the bunting flags, and the horse-hair plume-banners could be seen a variety of the coats-of-arms belong- ing to the feudal lords on board. There was the trefoil of mallow or asarum leaves in a circle ; that 224 HONDA THE SAMURAI. was Tokugawa’s. Then there was one of five balls set around a central disk; another had three lady’s hats also in a circle ; another looked like a windmill ; still another, a triangle with a square at each line, suggested a problem in trigonometry; the last of all being nothing else than the design of a pair of spec- tacles, The flags, streamers, pennants, tufted poles, horse-hair banners, ensigns and standards of all sorts numbered thousands, yet a true national flag Japan did not yet possess, despite the official permission to the daimios to use the red ball or sun-flag. The truth was the nation was cut up into hundreds of petty feudal factions, and when a Japanese said “ my country ” he meant merely his province or local neighborhood. The country needed pressure from without to give it unity. As the stately barge moved through the cordon of boats, all hands and all heads of sailors and officers were laid prostrate to do homage to envoys of the Yedo government. On land there had been a sudden concentration of population at the little village “across the strand” from Kanagawa. Probably twenty thousand people who had never seen Yokohama before looked upon it now. First there were soldiers. These had been called out of their homes in the raw days of early winter and spring to live in the camps which lined the bluffs and lowlands, though the Americans saw but few of these men of war. Nobody knew but that the American barbarians might begin rapine, and hence the presence of the military armed with old matchlocks and Brown Bess and Dutch muskets. AN OBJECT LESSON. 225 Most of the soldiers, in hideous-looking armor and helmets with flaring fronts, which made the men look like beetles walking on their hind legs, were posted on the line of bluffs which overlooked the plain. In the center of the flat foreground stood the imposing treaty-house. Farther back and roped off was a space making a hollow square, along which were picked troops ; the fourth line closing the square being the water. The troops on the plain were under arms to keep back the crowds and allow no one inside the ropes except the officers chosen to receive the Americans and attendants. The Japanese made a scene of glittering display, for the variety of colors in the silken robes, the dazzle of lacquered helmets, and gorgeousness of feudal insignia were positively trying to the eyes. On the part of the Americans, twenty-seven boats filled with five hundred men — sailors, marines, and musicians — were already on the blue waters. At a signal, bows abreast in line, they were pulled to the shore. The officers landed first. Then the marines formed a hollow square, and the three bands of the musicians played lively tunes. The sailors formed lines of blue nearly up to the treaty-tent. When all was ready Perry stepped into a white barge and was rowed to the shore, as the hills echoed with the thunders which the fire and flame of the seventeen guns of the Powhatan evoked by their salute to Perry. As he and his officers were received by the embassadors near the door of the treaty-house, the boat howitzers fired two salutes of twenty-one and 226 HONDA THE SAMURAI. of seventeen guns respectively in honor of the Ty- coon and of his envoy, ProfesSor Hayashi. “ There are the men whom our people call barba- rians,” said Okuma Ei, the teacher whom we met in Yedo, to his pupil Nog6 Toro. Both were standing in the crowd on a little swell of land at the foot of the bluffs. “Yes, teacher,” respectfully answered Nogd. “Do you think it a strange name to give them ? ” “ Why, yes ; we may live to see the day when our rulers and people will be ashamed to apply the term i-jin to men who can build ships and cannon like these.” “Yet, teacher, are they not barbarous, who, igno- rant of the doctrines of the sages, know nothing of the ambition and ideals of a Japanese?” “Well, their religion is very different from ours; yet I imagine they must be men of study and moral culture, or they never could do what they have done.” “Are not the Americans inferior to the Euro- peans? Have I not read that the country of the United States of America was once used by Great Britain as a penal settlement and place of exile like our Hachijo Island?” The teacher laughed and said : — - “No; that idea, I think, is not correct, though some of our people believe it. The Americans are much like the English, speaking the same language. They revolted against Great Britain about seventy- five years ago, and became a separate nation. They AN OBJECT LESSON. 227 have recently had a war with Mexico, a country near by ; but though they won many battles, they did not subjugate the country.” “Are these the same ships, soldiers, and cannon that were used in Mexico ? ” “ Yes ; the Admiral Perry and many of his offi- cers and men were there, and some of the very can- non on that big paddle-wheel steamer formed a battery at Vera Cruz, which in a few hours battered the walls to rubbish. Our castle walls would not be of much avail against such artillery, and besides the shells could set all Yedo on fire in a few hours.” “ I have heard, too, that the Americans are great in invention and have made many wonderful dis- coveries. Is it not so ? ” “ Yes ; and I hope Perry has brought some ma- chines and will show them. To see how they talk at the end of a wire would be the delight of my life.” Each of the two friends had a secret purpose, which neither communicated to the other. Okuma fortunately knew one of the servants, named Kichi- b6i, employed in the gang about the treaty-house. In figure, face, and tint of skin,, weight, and walk, this man resembled him, and with him Okuma had made a bargain while in Yedo. On the second night after Perry’s landing Okuma met him hack of a shrine just across the canal, below the slope on which is now the foreign cemetery, and there bor- rowed the servant’s clothes, kitt6, and pass-word. He put on the tight trowsers shortened above the 228 HONDA THE SAMUDAT. ankles, the coat marked by the dyer with the owner’s name, Kichibdi, in white mordant, the straw sandals, and the knotted blue handkerchief over the forehead. In case of Okuma’s getting into trouble, or on Ivi- chib&’s desire to communicate with him, the latter was to sing or chant like a push-cart man. No for- eigner who hears this cry for the first time can ever forget it, but among natives it would attract little attention, especially when uttered in a low voice. For nearly ten days Okuma, acting as an assistant in the gang of servants, doing menial and laborer’s service, was able each day by due prostration and use of commonplace speech to spend much time unchallenged in the house erected near the treaty- pavilion. In this house the American presents, arms, tools, maps, books, daguerreotype and electri- cal apparatus, and machinery for the little railroad, with the preparation of chemicals and equipment, were exhibited and prepared. He not only assisted in planting the telegraph-poles and in laying the ties of the little railroad, but was present all day long when the preliminary messages were sent in Japanese, English, and Dutch, over a mile line of wire, and when the little Philadelphia locomotive made its trial trip with a mimic train of cars. All the machinery and apparatus were at length put together and set in working order, while the orna- mental and useful articles were ranged in imposing display. Then the Japanese officers from Yedo, the embassador, envoys, secretaries, and interpreters, came in a body to visit the curiosities and receive AN OBJECT LESSON. 229 their presents. There were gifts from the head of the Tokugawa family — the person whom the Amer- icans call “ The Emperor.” By this phrase the Americans did not mean the Mikado, hut his lieu- tenant in Yedo, the Tycoon. Okuma, who easily read many of the labels in English, had a quiet little laugh all to himself, but it was wholly inward and not visible in his counte- nance, as he thought of the Americans calling the head of the bakufu “ Emperor,” just like the bar- barians who named him “ Great Prince.” When, however, the Yedo officers were around he kept his face down, and squatted or kneeled so low on the ground as almost to scrape the tip of his nose, lest he should be recognized by some of the officers or interpreters. How he did envy one of the latter whom he saw carrying away a copy of Webster’s Dictionary which he had received as a gift ! Most of the presents for “ The Emperor,” that is, the Tycoon, were rifles, swords, or military equip- ments; but there were also boxes of books, and maps, dressing-cases, perfumery, telescopes, samples of the measures, weights, and coins of the United States, seeds, agricultural implements, various kinds of machinery and inventions, clocks, stones, etc., with all the telegraph, railway, and daguerreotype apparatus. Each of the treaty commissioners and the secre- taries and interpreters were also well remembered. The uses of each article were explained both by verbal description and by pictures, and the little 230 HONDA THE SAMURAI. temporary buildings of Yokohama became for the time an industrial exhibition. Nearly all the Jap- anese visitors, except those of high rank, took notes or made sketches of what they saw, while the artists were delighted with the superb colored plates of Audubon’s Birds and Quadrupeds of America, in splendid folio volumes. At the outdoor exhibitions of the little railway thousands of people looked on with delight. The tiny locomotive and tender were only four or five feet high, but every part of the machinery was per- fect. The passenger-cars were hardly big enough to hold a child} but what the train lost in size it made up in speed, for the little engine, once started, moved at the rate of twenty miles an hour. This first train of cars in Japan was for passengers, not for freight; but in order to get a ride the Japanese commissioner had to sit on the roof, holding on to the edges as he was swung round the circle, his loose robes streaming and flapping in the March wind. As for the telegraph, officers and people never tired of hearing the click of the armature and of getting instantaneous messages in Japanese, Dutch, or Chinese ; and these feats of the far-off writers acted like belladonna in enlarging the eyes, if not the pupils, of the delighted folk. As for “getting his picture taken,” however, the average native was more shy, since it was the firm belief of many that a part of one’s soul went into the silvered plate of the camera. According to their theory, after one has been “ taken ” a few score or AX OBJECT LESSOX. 231 hundred of times no spirit would be left — the body and the oft-bepictured man would be good only for the cremator or the grave-digger. It might be a new form of transmigration, but it was not very popular. Thus did the Americans, with ammunition of good things to eat and drink, gifts to please the fancy, and the results of thought to awaken thought, bombard the ignorance and storm the prejudices of the her- mits of Japan. They had so long shut themselves up in their heaven-high walls of seclusion that their pride and self-conceit seemed invulnerable. Instead of artillery and powder Perry, who had studied them through books for years, now reaped the fruits of study as surely as did Yoshi-iye. He himself, while in the United States, had gathered the materials to impress their minds. He had long before planned his method of campaign. Apparently as useless as an attack with ram’s horns, these peaceful tactics issued in making the walls of this oriental Jericho fall flat. The Japanese called their isolated land the “ Cliff- island Fortress;” but instead of reducing it with his heavy navy guns as he breached the walls of Vera Cruz, Perry tickled the stomach, dazzled the eyes, stimulated the curiosity, and fired the ambition of the people over whom he won the victory of brains. “We thought the Americans were coming to make war on us, but they have taken a strange way to do it,” said one bakufu officer to another. “ Yes ; it ’s the most delightful kind of warfare to be in,” said a hata-moto, who was a captain of cav- alry. He had not enjoyed being summoned into 232 HONDA THE SAMURAI. camp in the changeable March weather, and was in ecstasies over the entertainments provided both on shore and at the dining-table on board the ship. “ This is only the beginning of what the United States of America is likely to do for Japan. As for me, I am an out-and-out changed man. I came to see savages, and I find men civilized beyond ourselves,” said a naval officer, then in low rank, but in later years a helmsman of the ship of state in Tokyo. These remarks were but a very few of the hun- dreds overheard by Okuma, though they were usually spoken in almost a whisper, and when no government spies were near. Yet with amazing self-control Okuma played the part of a menial servant, rarely, if ever, looking up squarely into any one’s face. Indeed he was exactly like some of the subjects of the daimios who never actually looked upon their lord’s face, because out of fear or polite- ness they always kept their eyes on the earth and saw only his feet or clothing. So excited with the wonderful sights that he could scarcely sleep at night, Okuma also kept a level head and restrained his tongue. Notwith- standing that he heard, in addition to the covert remarks of progressive natives, English and Dutch spoken daily, understanding some of the former and much of the latter, he held his peace, silencing him- self from asking any questions or from talking in a foreign language. He used only common people’s talk. He even refrained from taking any notes, but AN OBJECT LESSON. 233 trusted to his memory alone, lest he should be de- tected in using pencil and paper. It is difficult to exaggerate the impression made upon the Japanese by the peaceful diplomacy of Perry, even though it was backed by an imposing display of great war-ships. Notwithstanding the events of later years, the idea of the United States as “the Great Pacific Power,” then photographed upon the Japanese mind, remained as a permanent impression. To the majority of the Mikado’s subjects the United States of America is still the land of inven- tion, comforts, schools, colleges, teachers, mission- aries, hospitals, physicians and of the forces of peace and Christianity, rather than of war and aggression. Despite all their fear of the religion of the Ameri- cans, — a fear nourished and diligently fostered by the government, — a new meaning was in many minds given to Christianity. CHAPTER XVIII. ARRESTED AND IN PRISON. H AD nothing extraordinary happened to disturb Okuma Ei’s enjoyment of new-found knowl- edge, he might have remained in laborer’s clothes until the American squadron sailed away. An in- cident, not altogether surprising, however, inter- rupted his pleasure, and made him at once long for his double, Kichibdi, to change garments. One day, early in April, the treaty having been concluded, one of the American ships having sailed away to America with a copy for ratification, the American commodore came ashore for a walk in the country, which was then glorious with camellia- trees in full bloom, their masses of red flowers often ris- ing thirty and forty feet in air. On the same morn- ing a brass boat’s-howitzer and several chests of Chinese tea had been presented by the commodore. The former was labeled, “ To the Emperor ” (the Americans meaning the Tycoon). The tea was for certain Japanese officers. Two of these latter, hav- ing finished their duties as secretaries and being ordered to return to Yedo, wished their tea at once carried there. Okuma, of all men, was ordered to carry two of the chests and deliver them at a cer- 234 ARRESTED AND IN PRISON. 235 tain street and house named in ink on a label of cedar-wood stuck in the rattan binding. Here was a quandary. A gentleman unused to bearing the shoulder-yoke or burden-pole to be a tea-carrier ! He could indeed have hired more stal- wart legs and shoulders to transport the burden, but in Yedo, not to say the guard-house at Kanagawa, would he not be recognized and detected if he accompanied the porters ? There was nothing, however, to be done but to obey, and so along with three laborers he was put into a boat and rowed over to Kanagawa, where they rested for the night in one of the cheap inns. Fortunately the three other men with Okuma were not of his gang, and were strangers to him as well as he to them. Lying awake that night even after the heavy boom of the midnight-proclaiming temple-bell had been followed by the far-off tinkle of eight bells, from amid the twinkling lights of the American squadron Okuma imagined he heard, above the noise of the snoring of the sleepers, the low crooning of the peculiar song of the push-cart men as they drive the untired wooden wheels of their heavily loaded carts. He listened, and at the end of every line heard the name Kichibei, which was his humble friend’s own name. ‘‘Hai, hai, hai, da, ho, hoi Hai, hai, ho, Kichibei 1” Going out into the garden near the hedge, whence the sound proceeded, a figure rose and a low voice said : — 286 HONDA THE SAMURAI. “ Master Okuma, is that you? ” “ Yes ; is that you, Kichib^i ? ” “Yes, master; I have brought you your clothes and shall take my place again. I heard that you, with others, were ordered to carry something to Yedo, and I walked over from Yokohama and have been fortunate in finding you here. I have a friend in one of the back streets near here, and if you will come with me to his hut you can dress yourself while I tell you the news.” Moving off to the little house of an oil-paper shop, where water-proof coats, leggings, hats, um- brellas, and such like articles were made, the owner admitted the two men, and left them alone in the front room which served both as factory and place of sale. “ Now for the news, Kichibdi ! ” “ W ell, to come at once to the matter, there are two samurai imprisoned in a cage here in Kanagawa, this evening, who have got into trouble because of the foreigners.” “Why? how? and who are they?” “ One is named Honda Jiro.” “ Honda J iro ! What of him ? ” “ Well, to-day the American Admiral Perry came ashore and took a long walk in the country. In short, he went on a flower-viewing. This Honda, it seems, had sworn by the gods to take Perry’s life. He had stationed himself behind the closed gate of the yard of the little inn of the village where he had put up in the morning. The inn-keeper noted ABBESTED AND IN PBISON. 237 that he seemed excited, and watched him. When the American party was coming into the village, the inn-keeper noticed Honda standing behind the gate which would open on the street. He had slipped back the wooden bolt, and holding the leaves of the gate shut with his foot, he turned his sword in his belt and spat upon his sword-hilt.” “ Spat upon it ? You mean he moistened with his tongue the bamboo pin which held the blade firmly to the hilt. That was to avoid all danger of the blade slipping out.” “ Certainly, master. Upon seeing this, the inn- keeper suspected his intention, and knowing that if harm came to the Americans he himself would have to suffer and the reputation of his house be dam- aged, went over to the temporary government office and gave information. Upon that, three two-sworded men, each one armed with a long pole armed at the end with twisted iron hooks, entered stealthily the rear of the inn. The American admiral was just then within a rod of the house, and Honda was just about to rush out at Perry and draw his sword and strike, when the three guards charged on Honda. One twisted up his clothes with the ball of hooks, one got his iron rake of spikes between his legs and pulled him flat on the ground, and the third pinned his head down to the earth with his iron yoke, making him helpless, in spite of his sword ; they disarmed and gagged him ; and it was all done so quickly that the Americans probably never knew there had been any disturbance, especially as two 238 HONDA THE SAMURAI. other guards outside stood in front of the gate, covering it by their figures. Clapped into a cage, Honda was brought to Kanagawa this evening.” “ W ell, well ; and who is the other samurai in the next cage ? ” “ His name is Nog6 Toro.” “ What? ” cried Okuma, almost losing his presence of mind. “Yes, master; you know him, and I am sorry to tell it. I am acquainted with a fisherman who sold him a boat yesterday at N^gishi, who wondered what such a gentlemanly person wanted with a boat, and at his insisting that he should row it himself,” said Kichib^i, laughing lightly. “ The rest of the story,” he continued, “ I heard from an interpreter, who was telling it to a com- panion. Mr. Noge Toro rowed his boat over towards the big steamer on which the admiral lives. He actually succeeded at first in passing the cordon of government guard-boats, but was pursued and over- taken. His hands were all blistered with hard row- ing, and the sleeves and breast of his coat and the inside of his trowsers were lined and packed with rolls of paper and pencils. What do you suppose he had such a supply of paper for ? ” “ Poor fellow ! his idea was to get to America and take notes on everything he saw. Was anything else found with him — money or baggage ? ” “Yes; his two swords, a basket-trunk with some clothing, and several blank-books and more writing materials, and about a hundred rid [dollars] in money,” ASSES TED AND IN PSISON. 239 “ Anything else ? ” “ Yes, master; but I am afraid to tell you.” “ Never fear ; let me know all.” “Well, the interpreter said that there was also a bundle of letters and private papers, and that one of them was a poem of yours ; they mentioned your name, Okuma, as composer.” “ Did they say anything else about me ? ” “ Pardon me, master.” “ Speak on, Kichib6i.” “They said you were an accomplice of Mr. Nog^’s, and that you would be arrested. Now, master, hide yourself in the house ; my friend is trusty and true, and will aid you to escape. Don’t go to Yedo.” “Never fear for me,” said Okuma; “nor will I long endanger your friend. Take these five rios for your trouble, go back to the inn and to your old place, and think no more of me unless I send for you ; then be faithful as you have been.” “ Thanks, master. Let me serve you if I can.” Two weeks later, and Yokohama returned tem- porarily to its former insignificance, except for the treaty-house still standing. The Americans’ great black ships had vanished. Little children came out from the village to seek relics of the foreigners’ visit. The bay was once more clear of boats, save junks and fishers’ punts, and all went on as before. But in Yedo three new men were in prison who had never before known prison bars or prison fare. Their names were Okuma Ei, Honda Jiro, and Nog6 Toro. On their life, during many months, we draw the veil. CHAPTER XIX. A TALK OYER THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. F RONTING the swift Ashiwa River, and opposite the peach-orchards on the flats at the base of the hills, stood the house of Doctor Sano. It was a pretty two-story dwelling of wood. It was not roofed with black velvet, though it seemed so. It was covered with those thin shingles, a span long and four fingers wide, which the Japanese carpen- ter uses by the thousands for one house, tacking them on with wooden pins which he supplies from his mouth, though he holds a reserve supply in his wallet. A railed veranda ran along the front of both stories, somewhat like that of a tea-house, for the doctor liked to view the scenery by day and night. Being a physician, he could act independently and with more freedom than other folks in building a house, in growing a beard, in not shaving his head or wearing pomatumed top-knots, in carrying one sword instead of two, and in studying Dutch or other strange books, with no one to find fault with him for doing so. His study was in the front room of the second floor. Around the walls were ranged boxes on top of each other and closed with panels which slid up and down, the handle being a peg in the center. These were in reality library cases, and 240 TEE CHBYSANTHEMITMS. 241 the books, bound with flexible covers and stitched with silk, were laid sidewise flat upon each other in the boxes, the number of each volume being marked in ink on the edges. On a writing-desk one foot high from the floor lay a black ink-stone, sticks of solid vermilion and jet “ India ” ink, brushes for writ- ing, a water-drip for furnishing moisture to the stone, a paper-knife, and other writing materials. In one corner stood a clock, shaped like a pyramid, with brass works at the top, and a dial-plate running down the face, which was graduated like a thermometer. The brass pointer attached to a leaden weight inside indicated the hour, which was marked on the right- hand side by a number and on the left hand by a zodiac sign. The dial-plate had to be changed once a month, and the indicator was rarely nearer than several minutes of the exact time, yet this was one of the best native clocks then known. The doctor, however, was one of the very few men in Echizen who owned and carried a watch and knew practically what minutes, and even seconds, were. Doctor Sano was not alone this evening late in September, 1854. He had invited two of his gentle- men friends to view his chrysanthemums, of which he was very proud as well as fond. He reared the plants with his own hands, giving them almost as much care as he gave to his children. Among his collection were many varieties, sizes, and colors ; but in order to secure the finest results on selected specimens, he cut off all other buds and raised but one flower on a single stem. Most of these were 242 HONDA THE SAMURAI. kept under a canopy of oiled paper, in order that plenty of sunlight, but only a certain amount of water, should be given the plants. His guests to-night were our friend Rai Goro and a fine-looking gentleman about fifty-four years old from Higo, named Koba, who had arrived in Fukui early in the summer. After enjoying a view of the dainty flowers in the garden, the doctor receiving showers of compliments, they adjourned to the study-room. There, sitting upon the matting on the floor, and looking out over the scenery and upon another row of the same brilliant flowers, the conversation began. Doctor Sano’s house, like those of many other physicians at this time in the hermit kingdom of Japan, was a center of light and intelligence. He practiced medicine according to the Dutch, or Euro- pean, method, and at his home gathered the scholars and thoughtful men of the city. These kept as far as possible from politics, and talked of science and history and the reform of bad customs. They especially delighted to discuss ethics, and particularly the moral teachings of the great sage Confucius. Among the friends oftenest at the doctor’s house were Mr. Rai Goro and Professor Koba. Mr. Koba had been invited by the lord of Echizen to come to Fukui to be his personal adviser, and to encourage ethical studies among the gentry. Mr. Koba had already succeeded in gathering round him a circle of young men who were eager students of the texts of the sages and earnest lovers of moral culture. THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 243 He had also given lectures on his favorite themes, which had been largely attended by the samurai. He had thus won a reputation even beyond Echizen. Already a score or two of young men from other provinces were his pupils. He was a man of fine presence, with a grave and noble countenance. Very striking were his intensely black eyes, that had in them a piercing quality when he looked into one’s face, and a strange light and far-away look when they were at rest or he seemed lost in thought. “ What thinks my honored teacher? ” said the doc- tor, as he saw Mr. Ivoba casting an admiring glance at a single-stemmed gold chrysanthemum. “I was in a revery of hope, doctor; I think it is time the chrysanthemum should come to higher honor. I want to see it more cultivated by our whole nation in new fields.” “ Do you value it above all flowers, like our med- ical friend?” asked Mr. Rai. “ Yes, certainly ; above all plants of the awoi family, the mallow, sheep-sorrel, or asarum. I con- fess I am tired of seeing the three leaves of the low earth-plant everywhere, while the tall chrysanthe- mum seems to grow only in Kyoto ; and Fukui,” he added, looking archly at the doctor. “ Ha, ha ! ” laughed the doctor, “ a pretty allegory. You want the Mikado more honored. Of course you will add Mito before Echizen.” “Yes; I should like the golden flowers to bloom more in Yedo, and, as we all know, they flourish in Mito. As we see in nature, so should T have it in 244 HONDA THE SAMURAI. government. The chrysanthemum is taller and more beautiful than the asarum ; so I should like to see our imperial flower flourishing above all else, on our flags, on our soldiers’ helmets, on our banners, our ships’ colors, and on all that belongs to government.” “Your idea is a good one, teacher,” said Mr. Rai. “ Centuries ago, when the great ancestor of the Tokugawa family made a certain village his resi- dence, he was presented by the people with round cakes on each of which three leaves of the asarum plant were laid, and this has ever since been the family crest; but the Son of Heaven in Kyoto has a double coat-of-arms, the single round chrysanthe- mum and the triple heart-shaped leaves and fragrant blue blossoms of the ldri tree ” — “ Which foreigners call the Paullownia imperialist interposed the doctor. “ A Russian botanist, admir- ing the blossoms, named it after the imperial prin- cess.” “Well certainly, our country is weak because divided up into too many feudal factions ruled by petty barons. We have a rich garden of crests and coats-of-arms, but no national emblem. I hear that the Americans at Yokohama hoisted a striped boat- flag used only by the custom-house, and actually saluted that with salvos of artillery as the national flag of Japan.” All three roared in hearty laughter at this, and then, in a solemn tone, and with a strange light in his eye as he seemed to be looking into the future, Mr. Koba said : — THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 245 “ Friends, this coming of Perry and the foreigners will change the whole face of our garden-land, long ago named ‘ the luxuriant field of reedy moors ’ ; the asarum trefoil will he rooted out of the center and be put in the shady corner, while the chrysanthemum will be planted on the sunny banks and fill all the garden with its gold, silver, and purple glory, while on all the slopes and hills will flourish the kiri-tree in a perpetual fourth month of bloom. Beside the great world our country is a tiny flower-pot. In it a skillful gardener may raise a plum, pine, and bam- boo together ; but a sheep-sorrel and a chrysanthe- mum can not grow together when foreigners enter our land. The one must overshadow the other, and that one is the golden flower.” “Master,” said Rai Goro with a troubled look, “ we feel with you, even if we can not see so far, but you will not say such things outside our circle. Remember the spies are everywhere, and the big Yedo ear hears every whisper in the empire.” “ I shall be discreet, friend Rai ; but let me tell you that before twenty years go by that flower ” — point- ing to the golden bloom on the veranda — “ shall shine on the frontlets of the helmets and on the banners of a national army, and on the pennants of a national navy, and be stamped on the edicts, docu- ments, and laws promulgated from one capital. We must have national unity, of which the doctor’s peer- less single-stemmed flower is the symbol.” “ I love to hear you predict, for you are a true prophet, teacher ; but do not get excited,” said Rai. 246 HONDA THE SAMURAI. •‘No, nor will I. To turn from politics to prac- tical morals, let me ask how many eta people, or outcasts, live in Fukui?” “About four hundred, master.” “ Poor creatures ! I visited their quarters at the town’s end yesterday. The poorest of them live under the bridge, in the damp and foul places. I see they are as badly treated in the dominions of the beneficent lord of Echizen as elsewhere. They are obliged to live apart, to marry only among them- selves, earn a livelihood as cobblers, skinners, tan- ners, leather-dressers, buriers of dead animals, mounte- banks, or beggars. No citizen will give them food or drink and ever touch again the cup or plate in which it was given. Their lives are not worth a straw if they meet a drunken brawler at night, and no process of law exists for the prosecution or pun- ishment of one who kills an eta. Now to a student of Confucius this is a disgrace : for the sage teaches us humanity.” “ Can not a samurai be a good Confucian, and ac- cept things as they are in our social system, without making himself unpopular by championing the cause of the eta ? ” Rai looked at the doctor as if expect- ing his sympathy. “ As for me,” said Doctor Sano, “ I have long felt as does our teacher Koba. Consider the origin of the eta. They are the victims of the combined barbar- ity of the uncivilized ages of Japan and of priest- craft ; Church and State, as the Europeans say, are combined against them. According to all we have THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 247 heard on the subject, the eta are the descendants of Coreans taken in war and made prisoners or slaves. They were condemned to menial and disgusting occupations, such as scavengers, buriers of all dead bodies, and feeders of the imperial falcons. When Buddhism came to our country, it did little or nothing for the eta, but made their case worse by branding them as outcast and unclean because they had to kill animals and bury them. That is one reason, out of many, why I hate the Buddhists. Further, as I was traveling with a fellow-samurai, I saw a sight that made me wonder how in a land where Confucius is studied and honored such an event could occur. Shall I tell you the story ? ” “ Speak, teacher,” said Rai. “ Making a pleasure tour in Etchiu, along a river swollen with heavy rains, I saw a beggar on the other side apply for permission to cross in the ferry- boat. He was refused, as he had no money ; and so, while the lucky ones with cash were poled across in the boat, he tried to walk over. I did not notice anything for a feAV moments after first seeing him. Either the swiftness of the current or his stumbling over a stone tumbled him into deep water. While reading in my palanquin, I happened to look up, and saw a hand clutching at the empty air. Next I saw an umbrella-hat tumbled over in the raging water, and again a naked foot tossed up, and then his body rolled over and over as if in the horrible play of some monster. It was a minute or two before I fully realized the facts,” 248 HONDA THE SAMURAI. “ Did no one help him?” “Not a man, though the people in the boat saw him, and there were a dozen men at least on the shore ; but not a rope was thrown or a pole put out, nor did a man step in even so much as to wet his feet. On our side of the river, owing to the distance, we could do nothing.” “ How did your companion take it ? ” “ I called his attention to the dead man, and asked if this was the way they allowed men to be drowned in Etchiu, as he was a samurai cf that province. “ ‘ A man ! ’ replied my companion ; ‘ why he is only a beggar or an eta.’ “ Well, what of that? ” I asked. “ He is a human being.” “ ‘ Oh, yes, to be sure ; but only a beggar. An eta, most probably.’ “This was all I could get from my companion. He had no further interest in the corpse.” “ Is it not a disgrace to our language also,” asked Doctor Sano, “ that in some provinces they speak of men in number as so many beasts or animals ? Only a few days ago I wished to engage some laborers, and the contractor asked ‘ Laborers ? How many beasts ? ’ I could n’t help comparing it with the European phrase ‘ hands ’ for the workmen, which sounds more civilized. I have read that in some European countries they give a gold medal to any one who rescues a drowning person or in any way saves a human life.” THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS . 249 “Well, teacher, I am profoundly interested in what you suggest doing by your quickening words,” said Rai. “To elevate the condition of our fellow- men has become our chief ambition, since you came among us. The teachers and preachers of the New Learning who came up from Kyoto, some years ago, and lectured here, stimulated many to live more moral lives and revived the study of the sayings of the sages in this stronghold of Buddhism, but none touched the human side of duty as you do.” “ Indeed, teacher Koba,” said the doctor, “ I half- suspect that you have yourself a teacher even greater than Confucius. Pardon my horrible bold- ness,” said the doctor as he saw a strange, startled look of inquiry sweep across the face of Mr. Rai. “ Yes,” said Koba solemnly ; “ loyal and reverent as I have been for years, and am to Confucius, there is One whose name, defamed and denounced in the pub- lic laws in every place where the government edicts are hung, and made the symbol of sorcery to the common people, whose teachings I honor.” “ O master ! ” cried Rai Goro with alarm, “ how can a sparrow understand the heart of a swan? Yet if you believe on Yasu [Jesus] and are a Kirishitan [Christian] — Oh ! oh ! remember Takano Choy6, and Watanabd Noboru ! How could we who look to you to reform our uncivilized customs live with- out you ? Remember how merciless are our Yedo rulers.” “ I have but one life. I am not like either of the noble martyrs you name — a man of family. A 250 HONDA THE SAMURAI. single man, I can afford, to believe what I think to be true, or to die for my conviction if necessary.” The reference of the cautious Rai was to the famous and brilliant scholar Takano Choy6 who, having learned Dutch at Nagasaki, gathered a knot of scholars around him, translated European books on fe ^''' T raphy and history, and even instructed a high officer ^amed Watanab^ Nohoru. The two kindred spirits tried to reform the barbarous cus- toms of Japan, and to cast away the infantile notions and the useless learning of China, and in their place to introduce western science. When in 1839 the American ship Morrison, with seven Japanese castaways on board with then’ in- terpeter Dr. S. Wells Williams, visited Yedo Bay to return these men to their native country, the ship was fired on and driven away. This was the act of a cowardly government afraid of the light ; for although the unarmed ship came in the interests of humanity, to offer an olive-branch and not to fight, yet the Yedo officers were terrified at the very thought of a foreign vessel entering the waters of Japan, when there were nothing but arrows, match- locks, and cannon not much bigger than a goose-gun to repel them. Taking advice with his friend Wa- tanab4, Takano Chojffi wrote, in fascinating literary style, his book entitled “ Dream Story,” in which he depicted the power of England and of the west- ern nations. He described England particularly, be- cause the ship, though owned and sent by Ameri- cans, was named after the English missionary Dr. TEE CEB YSANTHEMUMS. 251 Morrison. The book created tremendous excite- ment all over the country. It was eagerly read alike by far-seeking patriots and by hide-bound and helplessly stupid conservatives. The government tried to suppress it, but could not. Watanabe, the nobleman, remembering India and the conquests of Asiatic nations by Europeans, tried to second the purpose of the book and to open the eyes of the high officers to the state of affairs, to have the coasts properly defended and the military classes roused out of their luxury and sensuality. He had copies of the flags of European nations distributed among the people along the coast so that the movement of foreign vessels could be reported. At last the government woke up and appointed a high officer named Renzo to attend to national defense. This man who was of a jealous disposi- tion, and a bigoted adherent of the Yedo govern- ment, having met Egawa, who had learned the modern military art from the Dutch, was chagrined to find him far ahead of himself in knowledge. By means of his well-paid and numerous spies, he found out other things, namely : that Egawa was a friend of Takano and Watanabe and that there was a circle of scholars who were studying Euro- pean books. He also found that two Japanese gentlemen, father and son, had their plans all laid to sail in a junk over to the Bonin islands, and thence to get on board some whaling-vessel, visit America, and learn western science. All this was an eye-opener of the most powerful 252 HONDA THE SAMURAI. sort. Yet there was something even more surprising to be known. When the Yedo officer caught sight of it he gloated over it, clapped his hands with de- light, saw promotion in rank and income for himself, suicide, decapitation, poverty, orphans, and widows on the other side. Let us see why Renzo gloated. Watanab6 had found that Japan, by her long iso- lation, was far behind the nations of Christendom, and, in searching into the secrets of the difference, found it in the dissolute morals and low ideals of his countrymen. He therefore went to the Dutchmen at Nagasaki and asked them about the Bible and Jesus Christ. He obtained from them a brief Life of Christ, which he got a scholar named Oz6ki to translate for him. As the book was put into Japan- ese page by page, Watanab^ read it with surprise and delight, taking full notes of it and intently pon- dering every sentence. The translation was nearly finished when the sleuth-hounds of the law reported their evidence to the Yedo officer. All this was but six months after the publication of the “ Dream Story,” of Takano Choy6. The rest of the story of this noble band of schol- ars — a galaxy of stars that scattered a few rays of light in the darkness before the dawn of 1868 — is soon told. Watanab6, the daimio’s counselor, was seized and thrown into prison. To save his wife and children from punishment and disgrace lie com- mitted suicide by hara-kiri. According to law and custom, when a gentleman did this his own fault wns expiated and his memory and his family honored. THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 253 Oz6ki, the scholar who helped to translate the Dutch Life of Christ, hearing of his friend’s seizure, said to himself : “ This calamity that has fallen upon Watanab^ is due to my having made the translation. I would gladly go to the government and make con- fession and suffer in his place, hut this would avail nothing; for the authorities woiild not set Watanabd free, but I should he crucified on the bamboo cross and my shame would remain upon my family and to remotest posterity. Therefore I shall commit hara- kiri.” So on that day he tore up every scrap of his writing and burned all his Dutch books and his manuscripts. That night, when in bed and while his wife was undressing in another room, he plunged his dirk into his bowels and died. As for Takano Choy6, he said : “ My only crime is that I wrote the ‘ Dream Story,’ and I am also charged with communicating with men who wanted to go to Europe. Now if I hide myself I can not explain anything. Therefore I shall go and confess.” This he did. He was sent by the authorities to the great prison in Yedo where he remained six years, during which time he wrote several books. During a fire, when the prisoners, according to cus- tom at such time, were released, he got away and did not return. For some years he lived quietly and unsuspected in Yedo, translating Dutch books and going into the open air only at night and with disfigured face to avoid recognition. It was the excellence of the translations which he made for 254 HONDA THE SAMURAI. others or which he published himself that made the government spies suspect that Takano was still alive. By the aid of a prisoner who had former!)' known him in jail he was treacherously entrapped. His house was entered by armed men. He fought desperately for his life, and unable to drive off his assailants, thrust his sword into his own neck. His wife and four children, and all suspected of employ- ing and of aiding him, were thrown into prison. This was in 1846, and their imprisonment and trials continued until 1850 — only four years before the discussion at Fukui which we have given above. “Honored teacher,” said Doctor Sano, “listen to your friend Rai, and please be cautious. To hear of your imprisonment or death would make our hearts cold in our bosoms. Don’t let the curtain govern- ment add you to its long list of victims and mar- tyrs. Please be patient and careful.” “Well said! And now my good friends, this I must declare : To the moral improvement of my country I have devoted my life. For the elevation of the eta to the level of humanity and citizenship ; to the abolition of gambling ; to making it legal for students to go abroad to Europe to learn, and for the liberty of intelligent men to choose Christianity as a religion, I have devoted myself.” “ All but the last, teacher. How can you propose anything so radical ? ” said Rai Goro. “Friends,” said Koba with deep solemnity, “there sounds the bell for Mouse-time, one hour before mid- night ; and we have an engagement elsewhere, as you THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 255 know. I may not be able to speak of this subject publicly for years to come, nor shall I soon again introduce it privately ; but this I declare, and do you mark it : The truth can not be suppressed even by prison and sword. The religion of Jesus Christ has already entered Japan as a seed which will tear asun- der the very masonry built to confine it and crusli its life. When it comes before the mind of Japan the brightest of our young men will accept it, and then our country will enter into a long day of glory.” CHAPTER XX. THE HOUR OF THE OX. HE three gentlemen whom we heard convers- -L ing together at Doctor Sano’s house sat down at midnight to a hot supper of boiled rice, pea-soup, tea, broiled fish, beans, and macaroni, which the chubby housemaid served up on three tiny tables. At the end of the radius of the semi-circle sat Mrs. Sano, who presided over the teapot and rice-pail. Each eater sat on his knees and heels before a little black-lacquered wooden table only six inches high and a foot square. In the center of each table was a little dish of sweet pickled black beans, and occupying each of the four corners stood a rice- bowl, a soup-bowl with a cover, a tea-cup without saucer or handle, and a low-edged plate full of mac- aroni. The fish was served on an extra dish. Part of the furnishing of the table was a pair of fresh cedar-wood chopsticks thrust into a paper envelope, except at Doctor Sano’s table, where the eating im- plements were of ivory. A guest, in taking food at a house, would make use of the virgin wood for the first time, and, after eating, was accustomed to break up the sticks and throw them away. In this way, the use of an eating-tool so useful and elegant as to be worthy of a better name in English than “ chop- THE HOUR OF THE OX. 257 sticks,” may be made the teacher of delicacy and refined manners, and indeed is, in so far, superior to knives and forks. “ Mrs. Sano, we are making your husband keep irregular hours. This midnight supper reminds me of my young and hilarious days in Osaka,” said Mr. Rai. “ O honored sir, a physician’s wife is used to all hours, for we hear the bell-stroke at the first croak of the raven in the morning and at the last scream of the wild geese at night; but your errand and his in this instance are not medical,” said the lady, laughing. “ No,” joined in the doctor ; “ but we are to study a symptom — of the body politic,” laughed the doctor. “ A grave one too,” said Mr. Koba. “ Are you acquainted, honored lady, with the young woman whom we expect to see at the shrine at the Hour of the Ox ? ” “ Yes ; I have known her from a child. She was always proud and high-spirited as well as beautiful. Though a merchant’s daughter, she seemed more like a samurai lady. There are very few people in Fukui who know that Honda Jiro made love to her and then left her in a way that made her think he had deserted her. What a scandal it would have created, had it been generally known that the young people were in love — a samurai willing to take his wife from a trader’s family ! ” “Did he desert her? Was he unreasonable or cruel to her ? ” asked Mr. Rai. 258 HONDA THE SAMURAI. “ The matter was in this way. Miss Asai Hoshi’s father is one of the wealthy merchants of our city, and, as such, is much honored by the gentry and even by our prince. For years, despite our severe rules of etiquette which encourage affection after, rather than before, marriage, Honda and Hoshi have seen much of each other and, it is believed, were secretly betrothed. But when Honda became a fanatical student, he gave himself up entirely to the aims of the Mikado-reverencers, and neglected her. She could not understand it, and he would not ex- plain. When the news of the Americans coming to Japan was told him, Honda avoided meeting her, never wrote her a word, and for months she has heard nothing of or from him. She believes he loves some other woman, and only thus can she ex- plain his conduct. By accident my serving-maid overheard her this morning at the temple praying and saying to herself, ‘To-night, to-night, at Fudo’s shrine ; no candles, no fire and bamboo, no light but moonlight, and revenge ! revenge ! ’ She seemed to be in great excitement.” “ Then you think we are likely to see the rare sight of a woman crossed in love taking vengeance on her lover by straw proxy, do you? ” “ I do,” answered Mrs. Sano, pouring out another cup of tea for the speaker, Mr. Rai. The lady clapped her hands, and after the echo of a “Hai!” from the kitchen, in stepped the rosy- cheeked maid again. “ Get the gentlemen’s rain-coats,” said the lady. THE HOUR OF THE OX. 259 Three cloaks made of dried grass and lined within with a netting of green cord were produced, and the gentlemen, putting these on to keep off the dew and chill, left the house, and proceeded down River Street and stopped upon the wooden bridge east of the O-hashi, or Great Bridge. “ Look out, doctor, that you don’t run against any of the headless horsemen who gallop over the planks at night about this time.” “ Is this another local reference, or a joke ? ” in- quired Mr. Koba. “Ah ! you have n’t heard? You remember nearly three hundred years ago the great Taiko Sama sur- rounded this castle at Fukui, and that Shibata Kat- suiy6 and all his men, unable to defend it against overwhelming odds, committed hara-kiri and cut each others’ heads off?” “ Yes ; I have read it.” “ W ell, the country people in this neighborhood say that on certain nights the ghost of Shibata and all his men, without their heads, ride over the bridge and knock people into the river as they pass.” “ Ha, ha ! a good story ; but when will supersti- tion cease? Curious too is such an idea: for Shi- bata was a great civilizer, builder of bridges and roads. He lessened the farmers’ taxes, and devel- oped civilization in Echizen.” Reaching the opposite side of the river, they moved through a street, passed one block of houses, turned to the right, crossed a small stream, and then walked up a path until, at the top of the hill, they stopped for breath. 260 HONDA THE SAMURAI. “ This is the site of Taiko Sama’s camp, and here he sat under his war-umbrella when the arrow shot by Shibata split the pole beside which the Taiko was sitting. The people point out that stone over there on the river-bank as the one by which he stood,” said Doctor Sano. They looked down on the river and city sleeping in the silvery light of the moon only two days past its full. Hurrying on to the shrine, they selected places of concealment in the scrub-bamboo grass which grew high and thick around. It was a lonely-looking place. Within a wooden fane of Fudo, the god of vengeance, stood the hide- ous black-faced, fire-haloed, scowling idol, holding in his hands a rope to bind evil-doers and a sword to punish them, his body being set against a back- ground or garment of flame. In place of the usual grated door, the shrine opened outward without pro- tection, except from the projecting eaves. In front, but some feet to the side, stood a crooked old pine. In this tree a multitude of rusty nails had been driven and down its trunk were ruts and rust marks, with here and there a fragment of weather-stained and mildewed straw, while at the bottom was a little of the same material. Two or three of the lower branches were encircled with wreaths of fringed and twisted rice-straw knotted together. These tokens marked the tree as sacred to the Kami, or god of the place. “ It is ugly and bent enough to be a gallows-tree,” said Mr. Koba, referring to the common superstition THE HOUR OF THE OX. 261 that some trees have power to fascinate men to sui- cide by hanging, especially after the first unfortunate has thus ended his life voluntarily by the rope. “Yes, you see by the nails already driven that many women have been here before. In most cases the jealous or revengeful creatures make a doll or image of straw and bury it under the house or bed of the one to be bewitched,'’ said Mr. Rai. “ But those least afraid to come here at night or most goaded to revenge take this method as surest to work death.” “ Hold, don’t smoke,” whispered the doctor as he saw Mr. Rai pulling out his pipe and pouch. “ She may smell the tobacco and suspect our presence. It is nearly time ; let us get into our hiding-place.” Their positions were chosen so that the full light of the moon fell on the tree and shrine. They had but a few minutes to crouch in the thicket before they heard the liquid notes of the booming bell from over the river. Soon after, out of the twilight of the path, emerged a female figure in white. It was a strange sight. A young woman about nineteen years old, with luxuriant black hair stream- ing wildly to her waist, and dressed in the long white robe worn at funerals as a symbol of death and sorrow, walked on high wooden clogs which lifted her six inches above the ground and gave her the appearance of being supernaturally tall. The light wind mingled her hair and drapery in wild contrast of white and black. On her head a tripod such as is ordinarily used to hold a boiling kettle over the 262 HONDA THE SAMURAI. fire, but now turned, upside down, serving as a weird three-pointed crown, still further exaggerated her apparent height. On her breast hung a silvered metal mirror on which the moon-beams danced and shot out lengthened rays. The strangest part of her equipment was in her hands and mouth. The fingers of her right hand grasped a blacksmith’s hammer, and in her left was a pair of manikins or rude dolls made out of rice-straw. Out of her mouth protruded three long iron nails and in front of her belt hung a little bag, containing a further supply. By the time she arrived in the open fronting the shrine the watchers could see her eyes glittering with rage and her whole frame trembling with ex- citement. Kneeling before the god Fudo she took off the earthen tripod, and laying the two straw images on the stone step before the shrine and then the ham- mer and nails, she bowed her head, clapped her hands tightly together, and offered up this prayer : “ O awful deity, in thy name I invoke vengeance upon the faithless one and his partner. On thy sacred tree I lay these effigies. Let not the tree be harmed, but transfer the hurt of the wood to the bodies of the victims, and wreak thy vengeance on the offenders that they may pine and die.” Rising from her devotions she approached the tree sacred to the god Fudo and decorated it with the straw circlets. Pressing one of the effigies upon the stumps of the old nails already on the tree, she laid the other upon the top of it, holding them down with THE HOUR OF THE OX. 263 her wrist while she held the nail taken out of her mouth. Selecting a place where the heart would be in a human being, she drove in the first nail. Then into the place of the eyes, the mouth, the neck, and into each of the limbs, the iron was driven through the straw until a score of nails had been expended. All the while her lips moved as if in imprecation upon the man and the woman whom the straw dolls represented, and with further prayer to the god to save this tree. This done she tossed the tripod into the bushes, turned away, and her form was soon lost in the darkness. “ I have seen this thing done before,” said Mr. Rai as he stepped out with his companions to examine the rude implements and images. “ In one instance the avenger had three lighted candles stuck on the tripod, and a little torch of bamboo and pine lighted at both ends and held in her teeth. Could it be in this case that the love of daintiness, for which Miss Hoshi is noted, and the fear of begriming herself with smoke or melting wax overcame her scruples ? ” “ Rather fear of catching afire,” said the matter- of-fact doctor. “ Perhaps the pure love of being eccentric.” “ Or perhaps the moonlight made other light un- necessary,” said Mr. Koba. “ A woman must be brave thus to come out after midnight on such an er- rand alone, but revenge is the most powerful of mo- tives with us Japanese; and, if you will permit me to say it, always will be while Confucius is our master of ethics. So long as the sage teaches men not to live 264 HONDA THE SAHUBAL under the same heaven with the murderer of father or lord, jealous women will not be slow to apply the same doctrine to recreant lovers. Will you not, friend Rai, do your part to extirpate from your province this witchcraft and superstition in all its forms? ” “ I will, I promise. Even now I feel like running after this woman and scaring her by roaring like a bull. Part of the superstition is that if the be- witched see an ox the potency of her charm is de- stroyed. I have known mischievous boys to make a huge white figure of a bull’s head and horns and nearly terrify women into insanity. Besides, it ruins the potency of the charm. What say you, doctor?” “No, no; wait. Have pity on the poor girl. She is half-crazed now, and I fear for her reason. With time and patience I can assure her of the true facts with regard to Honda Jiro ; and truth in this case will be the best medicine.” “ Do, my good friend ; show her that Honda Jiro has not, so far as we know, been unfaithful to her, nor is there another woman drawing away his affec- tions. Her idea is one of pure imagination.” “ If too we could only get Honda released from prison,” said the doctor; “this done, with your help I do not even despair of seeing them married and happy, and Honda’s energies turned into the right channel. From mulberry leaves to silk is a great change, but not greater than can be wrought by kindness and tact in this case.” “From what I have heard of the young man,” THE HOUR OF THE OX. 265 said Mr. Koba, “he is a noble specimen of man- hood, despite his waywardness. In him is the true Yamato-damashii, the ideal of unconquerable Japan. This ideal needs only to be kept from being merely military and degenerating into barbarism, to be the noblest on earth. From such men as Honda, right- ly enlightened, we must look for the establishment of our nation upon foundations which even the shock of foreign intercourse, or even war, can not shake. Indeed, when the intellectual methods and moral principles which govern the nations of the West become ours, such youth as Honda Jiro will be the hope of the land. May you be as industrious, as successful, doctor, in this transformation, as is the silk-worm in turning the mulberry leaf into satin.” Mr. Koba meant even more than he said, but he checked himself and purposely returned to the doctor’s illustration of the silk-worm. The three moved towards the city, still talking on the theme of popular superstition. “ These absurd notions of the people are a draw- back to the honorable practice of my profession and greatly hinder science,” said the doctor. “ Just look at those little cedar-wood tablets bought at the Buddhist temple to keep off fire, thieves, and diseases ! On some houses there are layers of a dozen or more. Then look at those figures of a black hand on a white sheet of paper pasted beside the doors of their houses. They are supposed to keep off small-pox. Old Tam^tomo’s palm is as 266 HONDA THE SAMURAI. helpful against the disease as so much ink and paper, but no more. There, on that house, for variety, they have a red sheet of paper marked with the three Chinese characters for a horse — as valuable for the purpose as the proverbial wind in a nag’s ears. Pustules are about as much influenced by it.” “ The red color,” said Mr. Rai, on looking at the amulet by the aid of the moonlight, “ reminds me of what I saw a sailor do 'on a ship before we started on our voyage from Higo. He wrote the Chinese character meaning ‘ red ’ on his left hand, and then licked it off, believing thereupon he would have a lucky voyage.” “ Which he did,” laughed Mr. Koba. “ By the way, gentlemen,” said Doctor Sano, “ to enter upon a more agreeable subject, let me ask, if the question be proper, Are the negotiations for the marriage of the daughter of the lord of Higo with our prince’s son proceeding happily ? ” “Yes; in confidence let me tell you, the young people are betrothed, and will he married in the time of the cherry blossoms two years from now.’ “ Good ! In view of such an occasion I think it will be quite possible to prevail upon our lord to intercede with the Yedo government for the release of Honda Jiro. Even though he be a ronin, I think if you use your influence, Mr. Rai, the matter is settled.” “ I shall be happy to do so. As we are now in the city, let us say Sayonara, in this hope.” “ Sayonara (farewell).” CHAPTER XXL OVER THE TOKAIDO TO YEDO. NE evening late in December, Mr. Rai came V_y home from the government office, where he had been in consultation with the honored and pop- ular lord of Echizen. “ Mj lord has ordered me to Yedo, to seek, if pos- sible, the release of Honda Jiro,” said he to his wife. “ I shall need an early breakfast to start in good sea- son, and Uhei will accompany me.” “ How long shall you be away, husband ? ” asked Mrs. Rai, who at once began to think of the cloth- ing and comforts to be packed, and also the pur- chases for the family to be made in Yedo. Mr. Rai liked to take his own favorite brand of tea with him, and Doctor Sano usually attended to the filling of his inro , or gold-lacquered pill-box. “ Ah, that I can not tell. I may be greatly delayed by official opposition, but our prince is a near rela- tive of the Tokugawa, and has tremendous influence at court. Besides, he sees the excellent points in Honda’s character, despite his rashness, and secretly admires his courage and patriotic motives. For his father’s sake, and the young man’s, he wants him not only released, but he actually sends by me an 267 268 HONDA THE SAMURAI. invitation to Honda to reenter the service of the house of Echizen.” The favorite route of the samurai, in making a winter’s journey from the City of the Happy Well to the City of the Bay Door, was over the highlands of Echizen and Omi to Lake Biwa, and thence along the Tokaido or Eastern Sea Road. Master and servant therefore went over the same pass at Yu-no-o, where the same chattering girls, like a flock of magpies, invited them to stop for refresh- ments. Snow had already fallen heavily, and in one place stout mountaineers stood ready with saddles of straw and leather strapped over their shoulders and held on their loins. Mounting these two-legged steeds, sitting astride the saddles, and holding on with their arms around the men’s necks, the two travelers rode man-back to the plains below. Then they took basket-palanquins to Odani, near the blue mountain-bordered lake, the largest in Japan and named after the four-stringed lute. They were now in the country of mulberries, and immense orchards of the trees, kept low-topped for the rearing of food for the silk-worms, were passed in the lowlands, while above them towered the glorious form of Okubi, or Great Head Mountain. They were now entering into the classic region and richest in historic asso- ciations. Though Mr. Rai had been over the same route a score of times, he enjoyed every foot of the journey. At one spot they passed three stone tombs, one of which was that of Tokiwa, the mother of Yosliit- OVER THE TOKAIDO TO YEDO. 269 sunA Then the two old battle-fields of Imasu and its famous hill were seen. On the hill-top, accord- ing to the story of artists and poets, and twenty-two years before America was discovered, a noble of the imperial court wished to stand and look down upon the scenery of the valley by moonlight. The vil- lagers hearing of it, and with the idea of doing honor to the occasion, tore off their old thatched roofs and covered their cottages with shining new straw. They were unable at first to understand the disgust of the Mikado’s courtier, who, seeing the staring new roofs, ordered his bullock-cart turned back to Kyoto. The charm was utterly lost, poverty being in this case picturesqueness. A genuine sentimentalist was that high-capped officer, in whom the artistic instinct prevailed over the humane, and to whom popular comfort was of less importance than a romantic view by moonlight. Nearly an hour was spent on the great battle- field of S^kigahara, where in October, 1600, the great Iyeyasu fought the most decisive battle in the his- tory of Japan, by which the future of the nation was settled for a quarter of a millennium ; for after this battle Iyeyasu built Yedo and firmly established his family in power. Just as they emerged upon the Eastern Sea Road they passed a great grassy mound, a memorial of the battle, for beneath it were buried the heads of the enemy, which, according to the old war customs, had been cut off as trophies of victory. The bustling life of the chief high-road of Japan was at once manifest. Villages were more numer- 270 HONDA THE SAMURAI. ous ancl hotels more luxurious. In the highlands of Echizen and Omi, Mr. Rai drew from his own tea- caddy, and had Uhei prepare certain of his favorite dishes ; hut on the Tokaido the bill-of-fare was suf- ficiently varied and the cooking done with skill. All around the rooms, or hung in the hall-ways, and even on the outdoor passages, were wooden tablets, dec- orated in gold or cinnabar or black lacquer, of fa- mous guests, noblemen and others, who had stopped in the favored inn, or left verses of poetry. Pine- tree mounds marking the distances, shrines, temples, and turfy “ head-piles ” of old battle-fields, long sea- walls or embankments built to keep out the waves, aisle-like stretches of glorious pine-trees, were passed, and then they came to Owari, the city of the splen- did castle, renowned for the golden grampus whose scales the famous robber Ishikawa tried to steal by the aid of a kite. At Shirasha they crossed the longest bridge in Japan, but on many of the rivers saw the mile-long lines and piles of “ snake-baskets,” or net-work of bamboo, loaded with large pebble-stones to protect the river-banks against the encroachments of the floods and currents. Most rivers in Japan are al- ternately full to overflowing or dried up, excepting a thin stream, leaving a large space of sand and shingle. At Araii they dined on the famous clams, and crossed the bay in a boat. They met men naked, except a belt, and running with live fish just out of the sea and laid in a straw bag on their shoulders. The fresh fish were warranted by the OVER THE TOKAIDO TO YEDO. 271 express runners to get on the gridiron before life was entirely extinct, for the rich epicures. On the hills they saw the fishermen watching the waves for signs of the incoming schools of fish, while for miles of country millions of the smaller finny fry were be- ing dried for manure. Passing over a steep moun- tain, they rested in Fu-chiu, at the foot of imposing Mount Fuji. Thence they came over the Hakond Mountains to Odawara and Yedo. Notwithstanding that this was his twenty-first journey from Fukui to Yedo, Mr. Rai looked on many things, and especially the human beings, his fellow-countrymen, in a new light. His long con- ferences with Mr. Koba had opened his eyes. The gamblers, the porters, the multitude of beggars, and the hi-nin , or “not-human,” the harlots, and all va- riety of outcast humanity, so common, oppressed him as with an unpleasant dream. In one place, desiring to travel during the night, he came to a relay-office, where on one side was a group of loath- some and noisy beggars and on the other a party of gamblers, the horrible wretches being utterly naked. He silenced the beggars with some iron cash, and they crawled under their coverlets of filthy matting, their shelter being only a shed of mats by the road. He then turned his attention to the shivering por- ters, for it was evident he must depend upon them to transport him. Despite the muscular build of some of them, they were pitiable specimens of hu- manity and repulsive in their abject wretchedness. The ruling passion was strong in death, because for 272 HONDA THE SAMURAI. some of them to die by being frozen was nothing uncommon. Most of them had gambled away their clothing, and a dozen or more were stark naked. Water was freezing on the ground in the shade, and as evening was coming on, the shivering wretches seemed ill-fitted to carry the travelers four ri, or ten miles. “ Feed them before they start, and watch them while they eat, or they ’ll gamble away their rice, and there will be only hungry men to leave you in the lurch. Pay for their food yourself, and give them their wages only at the end of the journey,” said the relay-agent. Mr. Rai ordered rice and soup from the res- taurant, and had these wretched creatures — called “ clouds,” because they wander about homeless and outcasts — fed under his eyes. Then cheerily setting the poles of the palanquins on their shoulders, and swinging their burden, they started off, an extra four men being provided for relay. At every ri, or league, they stopped, built a fire of leaves, and after warming hands and legs till they were as well singed as a chicken under a newspaper blaze in the kitchen, they jogged on. Yet even these men touched Mr. Rai’s awakened sensibilities less than the clouds of women, many of them young and fair, who were doomed to lives in which moral purity was impossible. As he occasion- ally passed the dead body of an eta on the road, or saw the fresh-turned earth which covered the unmarked corpse of a “cloud,” his thoughts were OVER THE TOKAIDO TO YEDO. 273 stirred. “ It must be true,” he thought to himself, “ as Mr. Koba said, ‘ Our country can never equal in civilization the western nations so long as human life is so cheap.’ ” Reaching Yedo, Mr. Rai occupied a room in the Superior, or chief one of the three yashiJcis , or houses, of the lord of Echizen. All of the wealth- ier and more important of the daimios had these dwellings, which may be described as being half-way between a palace and a caravanserai, in which the men and families of the clan dwelt while in Yedo. They were named in their order, Superior, Middle, and Lower. The Superior Yashiki was inside the castle circuit; the secondary one was within the quarter occupied by the samurai, but beyond the outer moat of the castle, and the third, or Lower, was over in the less important part of Yedo across the river. The relative wealth, grandeur, or rank of each feu- dal lord was indicated by the massiveness of the gate entrances, the number of beams projecting towards the street, and the gorgeousness of the golden crests on each beam-end. Some of the gar- dens within these palaces were of surpassing natural loveliness, cultivated to the utmost of the florist’s art, and rich in objects of taste and skill. Within the buildings, or fire-proof stone houses, were amaz- ing stores of paintings on silk, carved ivory and crystal, bronzes and gold-damaskened iron-work, lac- quered cabinets, costly libraries of manuscript, block, printed, and illuminated books, brocades and silk, and all that art and wealth and cunning workman- 274 HONDA THE SAMURAI. ship could supply to suit refined tastes. The Middle Yashiki was less pretentious, while the Lower House, or caravanserai, was more like a comfortable hollow square of barracks, with vegetable gardens in the center. So numerous were these vast yashikis with open court-yards within, and so great was the space in Yedo devoted to gardens, groves, and temple areas, — despite the million of human souls crowded in the great city, — that foxes and badgers and wild birds of many a feather felt almost as much at home as in Fukui, where occasionally a deer or wild boar, or even a “ spear-rat,” or hedgehog, was captured in the streets. This was the camp-city of Yedo, modeled after the quarters of an army, with the Tycoon’s castle or head-quarters at the center, and the principal wooden tents, or yashikis, of his staff officers on the most commanding locations. It was a city governed by military force, for at the beck and call of the Ty- coon, or commander-in-chief, were eighty thousand hata-moto, or flag-supporters. CHAPTER XXII. A JOURNEY THROUGH A PRISON. EW YEAR’S ceremonies and rejoicings were -i- ^ fully over before Mr. Rai, having awaited various tedious delays, received the welcome com- mission to visit Honda Jiro in prison, and to bear to him the conditional order for release. As politi- cal matters quieted down after the American fleet had left, there was no great opposition to the re- quest of the daimio of Echizen. The condition imposed was that Honda Jiro, after release from Yedo prison, should be kept in house confinement in Yedo, and then reenter the service of his lord. This punishment was a grade or two below that of shutting up the gates of a householder and confin- ing him to his own house, which was considered a dreadful disgrace. In a word, Honda Jiro was to be let off easily. Accordingly, armed with the written permission of the mayor, or governor, of the city, Mr. Rai made his way into the oldest and most densely pop- ulated part of Yedo, where Pack-horse Street and the prison entrance were. Having never been before in the neighborhood, he was as interested as a sight-seer in studying the dimensions and appearance of the great “ man-house,” or jail, the various buildings and 275 276 HONDA THE SAMURAI. enclosure of which covered one hundred and forty acres. The prison wall outside was twelve feet high, made of rows of tiles laid flat, with earth and cem- ent between each layer, and surmounted with clie- vaux-de-frise of wooden beams armed with sharpened spikes. In front of the wall and running around it was a clear space of ground about twenty feet wide. On the border of this outer space, at the same dis- tance from the wall, was a rampart of earth five feet high, on which was a fence of bamboo palings. The gate through which the entrance was had into the prison was like that of an ordinary yashiki. Imme- diately within were the porter’s lodge and dwellings of officers, turnkeys, executioners, carcass-buriers, and prison attendants of all grades. All the build- ings of every kind were of wood. The prison area was divided into a number of yards having stone walls and walls surmounted by iron spikes. The prison proper consisted of a long one-story building. The office of the wardens and turnkeys, a room about twenty feet wide, was in the center, and the cells were arranged east and west from this office. Looking at the prison from the outside, in the clean yard, it reminded one of an immense coop or cage in a menagerie. All the bars, however, were square, well planed, perfectly smooth, and good spe- cimens of carpenter-work. The obsequious turnkey, at the nod of the polite officer, produced a bunch of enormous rods of iron, which proved to be keys, though they had neither ward nor barrel and bore A JOURNEY THROUGH A PRISON. 277 not the slightest resemblance to keys made by a European locksmith. Inserting one in the extreme end of a long lock, like a bar or tube, the bolt was drawn from the triple staple. The heavy mass of timber composing the small gate was shunted in its grooves, and Mr. Rai stepped inside of a cool, clean passage like a corridor, with an earthen floor about one hundred feet long, twelve feet wide, and fifteen feet high. In this wing of the prison were four large cells, each about twenty-five feet square and fifteen feet high. The cells, like the outside of the prison, were formed of square bars of hard wood five inches thick, with spaces between them three inches in width. For about five feet from the floor the tim- ber was a solid mass, and strengthened on the outer side by heavy transverse bars of hard wood. Inside the floor was covered with coarse mats. In a recess lay the bedclothes, which the prisoner was allowed to bring with him; in another recess were ranged his eating utensils. The first cell was for women. There was but one at that time, a mournful-looking young girl, incar- cerated the day before, who bowed humbly as they looked into her cell. The prison-keeper said that few women were ever in prison, usually two or three only. In the next room were six men serving out long terms of imprisonment. All bowed as Mr. Rai looked in, and even appeared to enjoy the sight of a visitor extremely. These were all political pris- oners. In another cell were about forty men listen- ing to one of their number, evidently a literary 278 HONDA THE SAMURAI. character, who was reading a book and explaining it to them. These “ forty thieves,” who had been arrested for petty larcenies, were serving out terms of short length. Some of them, dressed in the prison-suit of red, went out daily to work on the public roads, but were allowed to spend an hour at some intellectual entertainment after five p.m. At night they were taken to other cells. Mr. Rai passed with the officer round to the end of the ward, seeing the north side of the cells, which were exactly like those of the south side, and then visited the eastern wing. Here was the cell for samurai. It contained about twelve men, one of whom was a portly and noble-looking man of fifty. One instinctively shrunk from vulgarly gazing at such a man. The cells were like the others as to size, strength, and cleanliness. Everything was very clean, and it was evident that the cleanliness was not merely for the occasion. This was very differ- ent, as Mr. Rai knew by observation, from many of the provincial jails, where the filth, dampness, and general wretchedness of the cells were in keep- ing with the rapacity and cruelty of the keepers of the prisons. In some places the temporary prison- pens were simply large wooden boxes about four- teen feet square, shaped like fire-proof safes, with- out light or air except as these could filter in through the cracks. The jailers were of the most degraded and degrading characters, who maltreated, mulcted, or starved the poor wretches under their charge. The Yedo prison was one of the very best in the empire. A JOURNEY THROUGH A PRISON. 279 Inquiring of the keeper, Mr. Rai was told that the prisoners were fed twice daily, at nine a.m. and four p.M. Their diet was boiled rice, radishes, pickles, beans, and soup. They were not allowed tea, but drank hot water instead. This was fairly good diet for a Japanese prisoner, and hot water is even yet drunk by the lower classes in Japan. The food was passed into the cells through a small opening faced with copper. The prisoners were not allowed to leave their cells for exercise ; but the enjoyment of a hot bath was permitted at regular intervals, as a sanitary precaution rather than as an indulgence, which they eagerly availed themselves of. No lights were allowed at night, nor fire in winter. The cells, from their structure, were very well ventilated, and very different from some of the daimio’s prisons, which were like the Black Hole of Calcutta. No instances were known of jail-breaking in the Yedo prison, as the floors were of heavy plank boards of hard wood, and nothing made of metal could get into the hands of the prisoners ; and even their food was taken with wood — that is, chopsticks. The prisoners were not allowed to shave their scalps, as all Japanese did and liked to do. In the sick-ward the floor of the space outside the cell was of smooth plank, and the inmates were allowed to be outside their cells in this place until four p.m. daily. There were five doctors attached to the prison, and medicine was dealt out twice a day. In all there were about two hundred prisoners in the jail at the time of Mr. Rai’s visit, which was 280 HONDA THE SAMURAI. the usual number. This seems a small number of prisoners for so large a city as Yedo, with its mill- ion inhabitants ; but it must be remembered that there was little need for a large prison when the death-penalty was prescribed for over two hundred offenses, and that the man condemned in the morn- ing was beheaded on the same day, thus saving the expense of confining him in prison. In many parts of the empire there was no prison except in the chief city of the province, or daimio’s capital. The reason of this was that offenders, when arrested, were at once tried and executed, so that, as in an army, prisons were not needed except at garrisons. The feudal system in any country is only a modified form of martial law, and under such a system the Japan- ese then lived. “Under a higher civilization,” as Professor Koba used to say, “there will be many more prisoners and prisons.” From the prison proper they walked to the exe- cution-ground. There were in or near the city three of these aceldamas. One was in the southern sub- urbs, Suzugamori (“ Grove of the Tinkling Bells ”) near Shinagawa, which Honda Jiro saw on first com- ing to Yedo ; another was in the northern suburbs at Senji, near Asakusa, on the road to Oshiu; but the number of executions at these two places was very small compared with that in the prison-yard itself. The business of waiting on the condemned prison- ers, handling and burying their carcases, and attend- ing to all the ghastly and polluting details of the innumerable beheadings was done exclusively by A JOURNEY THROUGH A PRISON. 281 men of the eta, or hi-nin, class. As the travelers ap- proached the black gate opening into the awful place of death, eight or ten of these social outcasts, who were standing near in their uniform dress of blue cot- ton, at the beck of the chief officer sprang forward to unbar the gate. When they had done this, Mr. Rai stood in the place of despair and on the ground where the eyes of the intended victims were bandaged with paper before being led to doom. How many thou- sands have from that spot taken their last look on earthly things, seeing only sky and black prison walls ! No — for only a few feet off was a tree which in spring was a mass of blossoms, and in summer thick with green leaves — the one beautiful thing in this field of blood. The prison-yard was about eighty feet square. In the north end, under a long covered space, were a number of plain black palanquins, in which criminals of the samurai class were carried to court. Very rough Jcagos , or open basket-palanquins, for ordinary criminals unable by reason of torture or weakness to walk, but able to sit, were ranged under another shed, together with long bamboo baskets, in which criminals senseless from the torture, unable to sit or walk, were carried in a recumbent position. Torture was the regular method of procedure taken to obtain evidence and confession. Whether innocent or guilty, the accused was compelled to testify against himself ; and if he did not say what, according to the preconceived notions of the judge or examiner, he ought to say, he was put to the 2S2 HONDA THE SAMURAI. torture. He was beaten with bamboo rods, burned with the moxa, made to kneel on a block of wood cut with sharp ridges while heavy flat stones were piled on his legs, tied with ropes and hoisted up and down, burned with melted copper, and in other ways, too brutal to detail, was made to confess either lies or truth. The strangling apparatus looked as if it were in frequent use. At one end of the yard was a roofed structure of posts, entirely open on all sides. This was the place in which seppuku , or hara-kiri, was committed. Sam- urai condemned to death were allowed this means of expiating their crimes. A few feet in front of this jisaiba (or place for killing one’s self) was a raised platform on which the officer of the court appointed to witness the act sat. In such cases can- vas screens were stretched round the jisaiba, and out of regard for the criminal’s rank none of the lower- grade officers or attendants was allowed to be a spec- tator. The dirk, neatly wrapped in white paper and laid on a tray, was presented to the victim, who sat facing the official witness. Behind him stood the executioner, to strike off his head as soon as he thrust the blade of the dirk into his own body. After decapitation the head of the victim was laid on the tray, to be inspected by the officers of justice. Cases of seppuku were very frequent in this place at this time ; and not long after Mr. Rai’s visit, owing to political troubles, the jisaiba was for a time in almost daily use. About fifteen feet from the jisaiba was the chi- A JOURNEY THROUGH A PRISON. 283 tama, or blood-pit, in which criminals were beheaded. It was a pit originally about a foot deep, six feet long, and four feet wide. At the top, partly above the ground, was a curb of heavy square wooden planks, six inches thick and deep, which enclosed it. It was kept covered by a sloping timber frame, like the roof of a house. When this was lifted off by two eta the hideous reality was startling. In the pit were rough mats soaked with the fresh blood of many criminals. The straw was thickly dyed with the still crimson stains, and on it lay spotted or red-dyed paper bandages that had fallen when useless from the eyes of the severed heads. Beneath the upper mat, when lifted by the eta, was another, and another, all stained and clotted. The sides of the wooden frame were black with the gore of years, deposited in crusts and lumps. The faint odor that ascended was more horrible in the awful cloud of associations which it called up than in the mere stench. The last execution had taken place the day before, and hundreds of heads had tumbled in during the previous year. In that small area a thousand had fallen within ten years ; and from its first day of use a myriad of men must have bowed to the sword and shed their blood there. It was awful to picture the hosts that had found this the portal of eternity. The criminal who was to be executed was led, bound and blindfolded, into the yard, and to the chi- tama, where he knelt upon the mats, and for the first time smelt the odor of the pit, which, one may fancy, 284 HONDA THE SAMURAI. added a tenfold horror to the moment. The attend- ant eta, placing the victim in position, took hold of one of his feet, in readiness to jerk the body, so as to make it fall forward immediately after the fatal blow was struck. The swordsman, who was a sam- urai legally protected from disgrace, unsheathing his sword, touched the victim with the flat of the blade to intimate that all was ready, and that he must crane his neck and stretch out his head. Hot water was then poured on the sword by an eta to add keenness to its edge. This done, the death’s-man lifted the weapon, but only a few inches above the neck. The blow fell on the back of the neck, the executioner striking from above downward, occasion- ally expending the force of a blow on the hard wooden curb. This was, as we have said, six inches thick. But in the place where the blade fell the hard wood had been chopped away for the space of six or eight inches wide, and sloping down to four or five deep. Mr. Rai was reminded of the “ Beard- cutter.” The swords used were those ordinarily worn by samurai, and not of unusual weight, but as sharp as razors. Two in constant use were shown Mr. Rai. One of them, fresh from the work of the day before, was slightly nicked in many places, and the edge had been roughened and burred by cleaving through the hard neck-bones. The bodies of all criminals were delivered to the friends of the deceased if they claimed them. If the criminal were friendless or unknown, his re- A JOURNEY THROUGH A PRISON. 285 mains were buried in a cemetery near the execution- ground at Senji. Strangling appeared to be a punishment one degree less severe than decapitation. But the worst pun- ishment of all was that of gokumon, or exposure of the head, on the pillory at Shinagawa or Senji. All Japanese had a wholesome dread of this punish- ment. Notices of an execution were posted up at Nihon Bashi in the center of the city, or on small kosatsu, or proclamation-boards. Orders from the Sai-ban-sho, or court, were issued on one day ; execu- tion followed on the next. By official permission the interview between Mr. Rai and Honda Jiro took place in a private room in the superintendent’s house. The prisoner had been somewhat prepared for the proposal to be made to him, and his mind was receptive. After a long and earnest conversation he signified his agreement to the invitation of the lord of Echizen, and signed a document to that effect. He then put on his sam- urai dress, which had been carefully kept for him, received his swords, and the two gentlemen left the prison together. Honda Jiro found lodgings in Echi- zen’s Middle Yashiki, and was put under the charge of the superintendent. Here, during his private incarceration, we leave him, only saying that, with the aid of Doctor Sano, Mr. Rai, and Professor Koba, Honda Jiro was well supplied with Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese books, and that he at once gave himself diligently to study. It was during his last year of confinement that Mr. 286 HONDA THE SAMURAI. Townsend Harris, the American envoy, arrived at Shimoda. The two years flew swiftly by, and at the end of that time Honda Jiro went forth an accom- plished scholar, and to a long, happy, and useful life. Far different was it with the other two men im- prisoned at the same time, Okuma Ei and Nog6 Toro, teacher and pupil, whom we met at Yedo in the Inn of the Big Gold-fish, and at Yokohama, when Perry’s treaty-ships were anchored there. Okuma Ei was released shortly afterward, only to be imprisoned by his own clan, and ten years later to fall a victim to assassins who murdered him because he proposed to open Japan to foreign influences ; while Nog<5 Toro and Ban Saburo in the political troubles of 1860 were condemned to death, and per- formed hara-kiri in this same Yedo prison-yard. It is time now to turn to a more sunny phase of life in the “ Country of Peaceful Shores,” in another part of the “Land ruled by a Slender Sword.” We shall see Honda Jiro again in the castle halls of the lord of Echizen as the honored guest at a wedding- feast. CHAPTER XXIII. THE WEDDING OF A PRINCESS. F AR down in the southern province of Higo, at Kumamoto, a fair young maiden named Kiku (Chrysanthemum), usually spoken of as Kiku-hime (The Princess Chrysanthemum), who had been be- trothed to the son of the prince of Echizen, was living in joyful anticipations of being united to her betrothed. She had been told by her friends and by her mother that in the northland she would be homesick ; but her light heart feared nothing, and she looked forward with joy to new scenery, people, and experiences. In company with her parents and maid, and a few ladies and gentlemen in waiting, and their servants, they set out in the springtime of 1857, to travel northward to her future home in Fukui. There she was welcomed and made a guest in one of the many spacious dwellings belonging to the prince within the castle of her future father-in-law. Princess Kiku was a most beautiful lady, of that noble cast of countenance which belongs to the families of high birth and breeding. As every one knows, there are in Japan two types of features: one is that of the “ pudding face,” which is flat, round, large-featured, and un intellectual-looking, which be- 287 288 HONDA THE SAMURAI. longs in general to the humbler classes ; and the other is the Yainato type, which has an oval face, delicate profile, more oblique eyes, tiny mouth, long, rounded nose, and an expression lighted by intellect and culture. Though in individual instances pre- conceived theories as to origin and ancestry are as easily upset as a study of a man’s character by his handwriting, yet these two types of the conquerors and the aborigines are very marked. Kiku had the stamp of the Yamato race in her lovely and rosy countenance, which was habitually that of modesty lighted by gracious smiles. No vain doll was Kiku, but besides inheriting her mother’s beauty she added to it the inner grace of a meek and dutiful spirit. In addition to her skill in household duties, her memory was well stored with the knowledge of Japanese history and the Chinese classics. She had committed to memory the entire books of the “ Woman’s Great Learning,” and had read carefully five other works on etiquette and morals which her father had presented to her on successive birthdays. Kiku was a remarkably well- educated maiden, and would have been a prize for even a kuge , or court noble. Faithfully following Japanese etiquette, Kiku had been carefully kept from the company of the male sex since her eighth year. She never talked with any young man except her brothers. Occasionally at family parties she was addressed by her uncles or cousins. Sometimes, when officers or gentlemen called to see her father, Kiku would serve tea to the THE WEDDING OF A PRINCESS. 289 guests and was thus made the subject of compli- ments ; hut as to “ receiving ” male company, she never did it. Kiku never went out, unless accom- panied by ladies-in-waiting or the maidens se- lected to attend her. These were arrayed in most elegant silks, and the dressing of their hair was an amazing triumph of the hair-dresser’s art. Well stiffened with camellia pomade, their tresses at the back of their heads spread out from a central body of tortoise-shell comb like the wings of a butterfly. The gods of Japan are said to meet together at the great temples in Is6 during the eleventh month, and tie all the nuptial knots for the following year. Kiku’s marriage-knot had been tied by the gods long years before she even suspected the strings had been crossed, for when an infant in the cradle she had been betrothed, and the negotiations, settled when she had come to lovely maidenhood, only confirmed officially the covenants of the parents. In Japan only the people in the lower classes are acquainted and see each other frequently before marriage. The business of selection, betrothal, and marriage is attended to by the parents or friends of the pair, who carry on negotiations by means of a third factor, a middle-man, or go-between. Children are often betrothed at birth or when on their nurses’ backs. Of course the natural results, mutual dislike and severance of the engagement at mature age, or love and happy marriage, or mutual dislike and subsequent divorce, happen as the case may be. In general, when the parents take oversight of the 290 HONDA THE SAMURAI. betrothal of grown-up children, it is not probable that the feelings of the son or daughter are out- raged, or that marriages are forced against the con- sent of either, though this does sometimes take place. In Asiatic countries, where obedience to parents is the first and last duty, and in which no higher religion than filial obedience exists, the be- trothal and marriage of children is not looked upon as anything strange. The prevalence of concubi- nage as a recognized institution makes it of no seri- ous importance whether the husband loves his wife or not. The awful frequency of divorce and the looseness of the marriage-tie are perhaps the best arguments against this defrauding of the young peo- ple of their natural right. To tell a Japanese that American people often marry against their parents’ consent is to puzzle him and make him believe bad stories about them. If a man who marries against his parents’ wish be not a triple-dyed ingrate, he must be a downright fool; and beyond this idea the old-fashioned Japanese can not go. You might as well try to make a blind man understand that “ celestial rosy red ” was “ Love’s proper hue,” as to convince a young man of the old school that a good man ever marries against his parents’ wishes. Such ideas and practices are con- vincing evidences to him of the vast moral inferior- ity of western nations when compared with the people descended from the gods. Was Kiku happy? Nay, you should ask, Can that word express her feelings? She had obeyed THE WEDDING OF A FBINCESS. 291 her parents: she could do nothing higher or more fraught with happiness. She was to be a wife — ■ woman’s highest honor and a Japanese woman’s only aim. She was to marry a noble by name, nature, and achievement, with health, family, wealth, and honor. The house of Echizen was most illus- trious and closely related to the Tokugawa. Kiku lived in a new world of anticipation and of vision, the gate of which the Japanese call iro, and we, love. At times, as she tried on for the twentieth time her white silk robe and costly girdle, she fell into a revery, half-sad and half-joyful. She thought of leaving her mother to go back alone with no daughter, and then Kiku’s bright eyes dimmed and her bosom heaved. Then she thought of living in her new home, in a new house, with new faces, new responsibilities. What if her mother-in-law should be severe or jealous? Kiku’s cheeks paled. What if Fujimaro, her husband, should achieve some great exploit and she share his joy as did the honorable women of old? What if his present position should give her occasional access to the highest ladies in the land, the female courtiers of the castle in Yedo? Her eyes flashed. What if Fujimaro, in the near future, should become lord of Echizen ? No ! that was impossible until gray hairs came and they were old. The wedding night had come, seeming to descend out of the starry heavens from the gods. Marriages rarely take place in the daytime in Japan. The sol- emn and joyful hour of evening, usually about nine 292 HONDA THE SAMUBAI. o’clock, is the time for marriage — as it often is for burial — in Japan. In the starlight of a June even- ing the bride set forth to her intended husband’s home, an honorable part of the castle amid lovely gardens in which were a tiny lake and a waterfall, as is invariably the custom. Her toilet finished, she stepped out to take her place in the norimono , or palanquin, which, borne on the shoulders of four men, was to convey her to the main castle hall where the ceremony was to be solemnized. Just as Iviku stands in the vestibule of her tem- porary lodgings, let us photograph her for you. A slender maiden of seventeen with cheeks of carna- tion ; eyes that shine under lids not so broadly open as the Caucasian maiden’s, but black and sparkling ; very small hands with tapering fingers, and very small feet encased in white silk mitten-socks ; her black hair glossy as polished jet, dressed in the style betokening virginity, and decked with a garland of blossoms. Her robe of pure, snowy silk folds over her bosom from the right to left and is bound at the waist by the gold-embroidered girdle, which is supported by a lesser band of scarlet silken crepe, and is tied into huge loops behind. The skirt of the dress sweeps in a round trail and her sleeves touch the ground. Her under-dress is of the finest and softest Kyoto silk. In her hands she carries a half- moon-shaped cap or veil of floss-silk. Its use we shall see hereafter. She salutes her cousin who, clad in ceremonial dress, with his ever-present two swords, is waiting to accompany her, in addition to TEE WEDDING OF A DRWCESS. 293 her family servants and bearers, and steps into the gold-lacquered norimono, the beam of which is curved in token of her high rank. The four bearers, the servants, and the samurai pass down along the beautiful inner castle moats whose waters mirror the stars. The cortege enters one of the gate-towers of the ivied castle, passes beneath the shade of its ponderous, copper-clad por- tals, and soon arrives at the main entrance of the great Hall of Four Hundred Mats. Here they find the stone walk covered with matting, and see a line of officers of the lord of Echizen, all of whom are arrayed in gorgeous ceremonial robes. Mr. Rai, acting as the “ go-between,” and several near friends of the bridegroom, now come out to receive the bride and deliver her to her own ladies-in-waiting, and especially two of her own young maiden friends who had gone before to the main part of the castle. Here we again have an opportunity of looking at the lovely southern princess, looking exactly like one’s ideal of a Japanese princess because dressed like one, and, more than all, bearing in her noble countenance the air of immemorial lineage. Nor is this mere imagination ; for her father is none other than a kokushiu (province-ruling) daimio of the same high rank as the lord of Echizen. Her father had married the daughter of a kug6, or noble, of the imperial court in Kyoto, of the house of Ichi- jo. On her mother’s side therefore she is of true Yamato blood; and yet it is less pride than winsome graciousness that lights up her face. Surely she will be a blessing to Fukui ! 294 HONDA THE SAMURAI. Here with her maidens she finds her own prop- erty, which has been brought to her future home during the day and unpacked. Toilet-stands and cabinets and the ceremonial towel-rack are promi- nently displayed. On a tall clotlies-frame of gilt lacquer are hung her silk robes and the other arti- cles of her wardrobe, which are bridal gifts. Over the doorway, in a gilt rack, glitters the long spear, or halberd, to the dexterous use of which all Japan- ese ladies of good family are supposed to be trained. On some of those articles of lacquer the artist in Kumamoto has spent long and patient years of toil, finishing but one of the important pieces in a twelve- month. In a box of finest wood, shining with lacquer and adorned with her shining crest, are the silk sleeping-dresses and coverlets, which are to be spread, as all Japanese beds are, on the floor. The articles above mentioned, with many others not here named, constitute the trousseau of a Japanese bride. Kiku rearranges her dress, retouches her lower lip with golden paint, and puts on her hood of floss-silk. This is of a half-moon shape, completely covering her face. She does not lift it until she has twice sipped the sacramental marriage-cups. Many a Jap- anese maiden has seen her lord for the first time as she lifted her silken hood. Kiku is all ready, and she and the groom are led into the room where the ceremony is to be performed, and assigned their positions. The castle hall, in which the families of the bride and groom and their immediate friends are waiting, TEE WEDDING OF A PRINCESS. 295 though guiltless of furniture, as all Japanese rooms are, is yet resplendent with gilt-paper screens, bronzes, tiny lacquered tables, and the nuptial emblems. On the walls hang three pictured scrolls of the gods of long life, of wealth, and of happiness. On a little low table stands a dwarf pine-tree, bifurcated, and beneath it are an old man and an old woman. Long life, a green old age, changeless constancy of love, and the union of two hearts are symbolized by this evergreen. In the tokonoma, or large raised recess, are the preparations for the feast, the wine- service consisting of gold-lacquered kettles, decan- ters, and cups of Hizen porcelain. On two other tables are a pair of white storks and a fringed tortoise. All through the rooms gorgeously painted wax-candles burn. The air of the apartment is heavy with perfume from the censer — a repre- sentation in bronze of an ancient hero riding upon a bullock. All the guests are seated upon the floor. With a Japanese marriage neither religion nor the church has anything to do. At the wedding no robed priest appears officially among the guests. The mar- riage is simply a civil and social contract. In place of our banns is the acceptance of the suitor’s presents by the family of the sought and the announced be- trothal and intimation of the marriage to the govern- ent. In place of our answer “Yes” is the sacra- mental drinking of wine. We may say “wine,” because we are talking of high life and must use high words. Sake, the universal spirituous beverage of Japan, is made from fermented rice, and hence is prop- 296 HONDA THE SAMURAI. erly rice-beer. It looks like pale sherry, and has a taste which is peculiarly its own. Sweet sake is very delicious, and it may be bought in all degrees of strength and of all flavors and prices. As the Japanese always drink their wine hot, a copper ket- tle for heating sak6 is necessary. On ceremonial occasions, such as marriage, and especially when in a castle, kettles are of the costliest and handsomest kind, being beautifully lacquered or gold-damaskened. Bride and bridegroom being ready, the wine- kettles, cups, and two bottles are handed down. Two pretty servant-maids now bring in a hot kettle of wine and fill the bottles or tall decanters of ex- quisite porcelain. To one bottle is fastened by a silken cord a male butterfly and to the other a female butterfly made of paper. The two maidens who act as bridesmaids and pour out the wine also are called “male” and “female” butterflies. The virgin having the female butterfly pours out some sake in the kettle, into which the virgin with the male butterfly also pours the contents of her bottle, so that the wine from both bottles thus flow together. Then the sak6 is poured into another gilt-and- lacquered bottle of different shape. Now the real ceremony begins. On a little stand three cups, slightly concave, and having an under- rest, or foot, about half an inch high, are set one upon another, like the stories to a pagoda. The stand with this three-story arrangement is handed to the bride. Holding it in both hands, while the sake is poured into it by the male butterfly, the bride lifts THE WEDDING OF A PRINCESS. 297 the cup, sips from it three times, and the tower of cups is then passed to the bridegroom and refilled. He likewise drinks three times and puts the empty- cup under the third. The bride again sips thrice from the upper cup. The groom does the same, and places the empty cup beneath the second. Again the bride sips three times, and the bridegroom does the same, and they are man and wife — they are married. This ceremony is called san-san-ku-do, or “three times three are nine.” Like a wedding at once auspicious and illustrious, the nuptials of Kiku and Fujimaro passed off with- out one misstep or incident of ill omen. In the dressing-room and in the hall of ceremony Kiku’s self-possessed demeanor was admired by all. After drinking the sacramental wine she lifted her silken hood, not too swiftly or nervously, and smiled blush- ingly on her lord. The marriage ceremony over, both bride and groom retired to their respective dressing-rooms. Kiku exchanged her white dress for one of more elaborate design and of a lavender color. The groom removed his stiffly starched cere- monial robes and appeared in dress of crimson and white. Meanwhile liquid refreshments had been served to the parents, bridesmaids, friends, and maid-servants. The wine-cup is passed around, and the friends of both houses drink to the health of the bride and the groom. There are not many r cups, and even these are so small as to hold scarcely three thimblefuls; but there are tureens full of water, in which the 298 HONDA THE SAMURAI. cups are dipped and rinsed before each drinking. Previous to going into the festal room where the supper is served, the friends all go out to look at the grand array of fish, fowl, flesh, vegetables, pastry, and all the good things which are to be eaten. The cook has done his best for the occasion, and artists have assisted the cook ; for all these deli- cacies and these solid foods are arranged in a most artistic manner to represent the whole landscape of Japan. Here are edible mountains, rocks, and preci- pices ; there are rivers of liquid, and semi-solids of jelly, and here are bays and promontories and shores ; and all these pictures of geography are represented in things which are good to eat. Here are also fountains and cascades, and trees and plants, and vegetables arranged so as to resemble a garden. In short, a most wonderful picture has been created, which is to be destroyed for the sake of eating. Husband and wife now took their seats again with the whole company in the main hall and joined in the supper, during which apparently innumerable courses were served. Neither salads, ices, nor black cake appeared, but the bill-of-fare contained many choice items best appreciated in Japan. Let us enumerate a few. There were salmon from Hako- date, tea from Uji, young rice from Higo, pheas- ants’ eggs, fried cuttle-fish, tai, hoi , maguro , and many other sorts of toothsome fish. There were sea-weed of various sorts and from many coasts, bean-curd, many kinds of fish-soups, condiments of various flavors, eggs in every style, and shell-fish of every THE WEDDING OF A FBINCESS. 299 shape. A maguro-fish, thinly sliced, but perfectly raw, was one of the features of the feast. Sweet- meats, candies of the sort known to the Japanese con- fectioners, and castira (castile) cake, loquats , oranges, and many sorts of fruit crowned the courses. As usual the near friends, Professor Koba, Mr. Rai, Doctor Sano, and Honda Jiro, all of whom were present at the wedding, got off by themselves before the end of the evening and had a pleasant chat. Mr. Rai mentioned that Mr. Townsend Harris, the American consul-general, who had been living qui- etly at Shimoda, was pressing his demand to be allowed to come to Yedo and deliver the President’s letter. “No amount of threats, cunning, offers of reward or accommodation have been able to move him,” said Mr. Rai. “ He claims that it would be an insult to the President to deliver the letter anywhere but at Yedo, the seat of the government, or by any other method than in person.” “ W ell,” said Professor Koba, “ in spite of all arguments and precedents against a foreigner’s enter- ing Yedo, the bakufu must give way, and Mr. Harris will get into the camp city. Once there, he will wonder why the Sho-gun calls himself the Tycoon, and has no power in foreign affairs without consult- ing the Mikado and Imperial Court.” “ Then he will want to go to the very capital itself,” said Mr. Rai. “ Yes, that he will ; and the throne and camp will be at odds. The bakufu must choose its ablest man for this time of national danger.” CHAPTER XXIV. A GAME OF POLO. T HE fashion of making bridal tours is not Japan- ese. Many a lovely spot might serve for such a purpose in the everywhere beautiful Japan. The lake and mountains of Hakond; the peerless scenery, trees, waterfalls, and tombs of Nikko, where sleeps the mighty Iy^yasu, the founder of the Tokugawa line ; Hakuzan in Kaga ; the spas of Atami, — all these are spots which, if in Europe or America, would be thronged with bridal parties. But our princely couple went nowhere. “ At home ” for three days is the general rule with ordinary people. All their friends came to see them, and presents were showered upon the happy pair. The great Sho-gun sent Fujimaro a present of a flawless ball of pure rock-crystal five inches in di- ameter. The Higo daimio presented him with a splendid saddle with gilt flaps and a pair of steel stirrups inlaid with gold and silver and bronze, with the crest of the Echizen clan glittering in silver upon it. From his own father he received a jet-black horse brought from the province of Nambu, and an equine descendant of the Arab sire presented by the viceroy of India to the Japanese embassy to the pope in 1589. 300 A GAME OF POLO. 301 Let us now notice how the outward form of a Japanese maiden assumes that of a Japanese ma- tron. First, then, the maiden wears a high coiffure that always serves as a sacred symbol of her vir- ginity. It is not easy to describe its form, but we think it very beautiful, and will regret the day when the Japanese musume wears her hair like her sisters across the ocean. The shimada , or virginal coiffure, however, is changed after marriage ; and Kiku, like the rest of her wedded friends, now wore the maru- rnage, or half-moon-shaped chignon, which is wound round an ivory, tortoise-shell, or coral-tipped bar, and is the distinguishing mark of a Japanese wife. So far, however, the transition from loveliness to ugliness has not been very startling ; Kiku- still looked pretty. The second process, however, robbed her of her eyebrows and left her bereft of those dark arches that had helped to make the radiant sun of her once maidenly beauty. With tweezers and razor the fell work, after many a wince, was done. With denuded brows and changed coiffure surely the J ap- anese god of fashion demands no more sacrifices at his shrine? Surely Kiku can still keep the treasures of a set of teeth that seem like a casket of pearls with borders of coral ? Not so. The custom of all good society from re- motest antiquity demands that the teeth of a wife must be dyed black. Kiku joyfully applied the galls and iron, and by patience and dint of polish- ing soon had a set of teeth as black as jet and as polished. Not strange to tell to a Japanese either, 302 HONDA THE SAMURAI. the smile of her husband, Fujimaro, was a rich re- ward for her trouble and the surrender of her maiden charms. Japanese husbands never kiss their wives ; kissing is an art unknown in Japan. It is even doubtful whether the language has a word signifying a kiss. Henceforth, in public or private, alone or in com- pany, Kiku’s personal and social safety, even had she been a commoner, was as secure as if clothed in armor of proof and attended by an army. The black teeth, maru-magd or bent coiffure, and shaven eyebrows constitute a talisman of safety in a land which demands that a woman put her teeth in mourning for defense. The people of Fukui were very proud of their new princess, and now boasted that the granddaugh- ter of a kug6 had come to live among them. Great was their joy when she appeared in public, so that they could look upon her pretty face. In honor of their prince’s son, Fujimaro, and his wife, the young samurai had for months been practicing for a match game of polo. The princess was to witness it and award the prizes, and all who could possibly beg, borrow, or buy admittance to the riding-course where the game was to be played were in happy anticipation of the day. The origin of da-Jciu, or Japanese polo, which is a game of ball or hockey played on horseback, is re- ferred to the time of Yoritomo, who wished in time of peace to keep his cavalry soldiers seasoned by hard exercise and ever ready for the toils of war. A GAME OF POLO 303 After a battle it was always customary to cut off the heads of the slain and to count them. A sol- dier usually made his record and received promotion on account of his tally of heads. The score being made, the heads were then buried, forming those Jcubi-dzuJca, or “ head-heaps,” which, as grassy or tree- grown mounds, now mark the site of old battle- fields in Japan. In time of peace, when there were no heads to be cut off, except occasionally those of criminals, a game on horseback was in- vented in which netted poles or “ spoons ” took the place of swords, and wooden balls were knocked about and counted in lieu of human heads ; but as of old the contestants were named Genji and HGke, and wore white and red, while from the tall wickets of bamboo flew the pennants of the same rival colors. On the occasion of the dakiu tournament given in honor of the bride and groom, let us imagine our- selves sitting near the princess and judges. The ground selected was in front of the clan’s stables over which Mr. Honda was superintendent. The course was a smoothly rolled, sanded space, about six hundred feet long, planted at the sides with rows of cryptomeria and fir trees. The width was about sixty feet. The stables occupied half the space north of, and parallel to, the course. The southern half was a long, covered building with a row of rooms filled with the families of the daimios of Echizen and Higo, ladies and gentlemen in waiting, the judges and scorers. The center of interest and the 304 HONDA THE SAMURAI. target of all eyes on this day was of course the fair lady from Higo. On the opposite side were hundreds, if not thou- sands, of spectators, among whom were about one hundred shaven-pated monks, priests, and students, all in monastic robes and collars, from the Buddhist monastery of the Shin sect near by. Everybody was dressed in his, and especially her, best, for the female spectators were very numerous. Black and oblique-eyed beauties, with wondrous glossy capil- lary architecture, and silk gowns and girdles, and gay fans, rained immense influence on the handsome young contestants. Most of the twelve players were students, young fellows of the samurai, or gentry, class, of from seventeen to twenty-two, whose eyes, hands, and nerves had been trained at fencing, wrestling, archery, and spear exercise as well as with bridle and saddle. Six players, the Heikd, wore redflacquered helmets, while those of the other six, the Genji, were white. All had bound up their flowing sleeves tightly under the armpits, and their girdles to their loins, exactly like girls when at work, though the game in hand was no girl’s play. At the signal given by two hammer taps on the clapperless bell, shaped like Columbus’ egg after he had made it stand, the twelve players mounted. Another tap, and they rode into the lists and sa- luted the bride and groom, and the judges, near their prince. Another tap, and then, dividing into two files of six each, the players rode down to the end A GAME OF POLO. 305 opposite and farthest from the wickets. The horses were now in line at the extreme end, ranged on either side of the course, each horseman holding up his saji, or spoon. This instrument was made of bamboo, five feet long, with crook, or scoop, at the end netted with cord. An American boy would at once see that it was a game of “shinny” on horseback, and would think that the saji was more like a lacrosse racket than anything else. Two old fellows now entered, each with a basket of what appeared to be red and white eggs. These were the balls. They were laid at intervals of two or three feet apart, the white balls in front of the red- helmeted players, and the red before the white hats,- that is, the Genji heads were laid before the Heik6 riders, and the Heike skulls before the Genji knights. Two rows of thirty-six balls each thus lay alongside of each line of players and extended before the leaders a distance of some yards. At the far end, whence they had entered, were two wickets of bam- boo poles. The wickets stood about twenty-two feet from each other. The poles of each wicket were two feet apart, and the cord joining them was three feet from the ground. By the rules of the game each ball must go over the cord and between the wicket poles ; failing to do which, the balls falling outside were tossed back into the course. The Genji, or whites, were to scoop up and toss the red balls over, and the Hfiik6, or reds, vice versa. Each was to hinder the other and prevent victory if possible. At the given signal both parties rode up the lists, 306 HONDA THE SAMURAI. the line of balls on their right hand. They rode slowly at first, picking up and hurling the balls for- ward toward the goal ; when within throwing dis- tance they attempted to fling them over the wickets. In a few minutes several balls had gone over, and the upper end of the course was now a pied field, looking something like an irregularly picked paper of mint drops. It was no longer a dress parade, but a pitched battle and a fiercely contested struggle of excited men and of clashing horse and gear and bamboo spoons. There a red flaps his saddle with his heavy metal stirrups, spurs being unknown, and his steed flashes toward a white ball. He is just about to scoop it up, when click goes a white spoon under his, and the ball flies whirling back. There goes a victor whose defiant white helmet gleams like a wild goose careering past the moon. He has already flung seven balls clear over the wickets, he is now dashing for an eighth ! Who can stop him ? He is already shouting his triumph, when, like an arrow, a young red dashes before him. The red spoon missed the mark, and the horse’s shoulder, striking his white rival’s flank, sends steed and rider rolling over the sand. Quick as lightning, white-hat leaps nimbly off the saddle, and before his horse is on his hoofs again scoops up the ball and whirls it over the wicket. A tempest of clapping hands from the ladies and shouts from the men greet the victor, who, without pausing to acknowledge the applause, is in saddle again, the white lacquer of his helmet, as the sun strikes it, dazzling his admirers. A GAME OF POLO. 307 A number of lively episodes and passes and some splendid feats of horsemanship fill up the game toward the last. It is evident that in spite of the fine playing of two of the H6ik6, the Genji have the advantage of coolness and practice. One of the reds has been put hors du combat , with a bruised right arm and a broken spoon. The tilt for the last ball is at hand. All the balls are over and out ; one alone remains. To bag the last ball is even a greater honor than the first. Now for the final tug ! Eleven men and horses after one tiny ball ! Now backward, now forward, now in mid-air, tossed on the top of the netted sticks like a ball on a fountain jet, now hurled back a dozen horse-lengths ! See how they dash to it ! What a clash and mass of horse legs, manes, heads, gilt saddle-flaps, with clanging of metal stirrups, banging of spoons ! It reminds one of the battle of the centaurs with the Lapithae, at the mar- riage of Hippodamia and Pirithous. Snap ! a spoon has been crushed by a hoof, and a white-hat is un- hurt, but hors du combat. “Hai! hai! hai!” shouts a red-hat, and the ball is thrown by a back stroke far on toward the goal. Out dashes another red from the mass of centaurs. His helmet on his shoulders, his top-knot all awry, his hair loose, his face stream- ing with perspiration, his eye flashing, yet cool and sure of triumph, he defiantly awaits his rival. The spoon of one is within a foot of the prize, when, with a yell, he lifts it and sends it flying through and fifty feet beyond the wickets. The applause is tumultuous, and in it even the dignified daimios, 308 HONDA THE SAMURAI. bride and groom, ladies and gentlemen in waiting, and all, except the judges, join. The H6ikd in the red helmets have won. The riders now pass by the judges, salute, and stall their horses. The gentlemen riders adjust dress, hair, and toilet, and soon re-appear as spectators. Several other games of dakiu followed the first by fresh relays of Genji and Hdik6 youth. After the final score the prizes were presented. Of the three games played, the crack contestants, the white- hats, or Genji, won two. The daimio presented with his own hands a roll of figured white silk, a gold- emblazoned helmet with the armorial bearing of the Genji upon it, and a porcelain vase of red Kaga ware. To the subordinate players the daimio’s son, Fujimaro, gave scrolls of ornamented Echizen paper, with his autograph written thereon. Thus ended the polo tournament in honor of the young couple and the Higo guests, with all the im- posing surroundings of feudal display. The value in affording good exercise, health, enjoyment, and discipline to eye, nerve, and muscle seemed exceed- ingly great. It had all the excitements of war, with only an extremely low per cent of its danger, and was evidently one of the best of the manly sports of “the country of brave warriors.” So the days passed sweetly away during the whole summer in which Kiku-himd was a bride. Nor did her heart once become homesick for her southern home. CHAPTER XXV. SEEKEBS AETEE GOD. 1HE castle in Fukui, begun in the twelfth cent- -L ury, enlarged in the sixteenth, and again re- planned in the eighteenth by Iyeyasu himself, and, rebuilt by his son, occupied the larger portion of the city. It was surrounded by a triple line of stone walls surmounted by ramparts and surrounded by moats or ditches, which were fed by three streams coming in from the north, all emptying into the large river which flows along the front of the city. In this manner the moats were kept full of clean, bright running water. If we cross the drawbridge of the castle and enter the main part of the citadel, we shall find that there is in progress a large school which is devoted to the mastery of the native literature, to the Chinese char- acters, and also to the Dutch, the only foreign lan- guage then studied by progressive samurai. If we enter this school in the early part of the year 1859 we shall find our old friend Honda Jiro. He is no longer a would-be destroyer of foreigners, but ap- parently only a commonplace teacher. The school- room consists of a large apartment, covered on the floor with mats. On these mats young men are kneel- ing, or rather sitting upon their heels, before a low 309 310 HONDA THE SAMURAI. table not more than a foot high. They are commit- ting to memory page after page of the Japanese his- torical books, and they are repeating the words to themselves out loud, so that the noise of the room is like Babel. The old method of study was first to know all the characters on the page of a book. Without any regard to the meaning, the scholar must learn to know the sound to the ear and the shape to the eye of the Chinese ideographs, and also to reproduce them by the pen on paper. After that had been ac- complished, the teacher explained the meaning of the characters, the student construed and translated, and the text of the book was slowly mastered and its contents were understood. Somewhat as Latin school-books are to English are the Chinese text-books, in which most of the standard Japanese books or history are written, to Japanese. The young men were accustomed to commit the text to memory and then stand with their backs to the teacher in order not to look upon the books before them, and recite to him the whole page from memory. The writing lesson consisted of copying out numbers of Chinese characters and then writing and re-writing them from memory. The Chinese characters are very clear and beautiful to .the eye, and when one becomes master of them there is a great fascination in reproducing them with ink on paper. On the tables were writing materials, consisting of large ink-stones, which were of a dark color with SEEKERS AFTER GOD. 311 a hollow place cut in them for the ink when made liquid by rubbing sticks of solid ink with water. The black fluid was used with pencils, or pens, which were brushes made of fine hair. The copy- books were of thick paper cut into leaves a foot square, which were so repeatedly covered with ink as to be without a spot of white. After every writ- ing lesson the books were hung out upon lines to dry, and the next day new writing exercises were practiced upon the old thick layers of ink which had been used the day before. The wet ink easily showed plainly on the dry and caked deposits of previous exercises. One may wonder at the great change which had come over Mr. Honda Jiro, that he should turn from becoming a would-be assassin into a quiet teacher; but the truth is that years of reflection, in addition to the constraint and instruction derived from the good and discreet Professor Koba and the kindness of the daimios of Echizen, had wrought a trans- formation. In the first place, Mr. Rai had hinted to Honda, when first out of the Yedo prison, that the real object of Professor Koba was to restore the Mikado to ancient power, but that his plan was to do it in a different way than by killing the foreign- ers. In the second place, the prince himself had assured him that the best way, in the long run, to overcome the foreigners and to keep Japan safe, was to adopt their learning, weapons, and moral princi- ples ; while Mr. Rai had been most wise and kind and helpful in assisting Honda to understand that the pen and the book were mightier than the sword. 312 HONDA THE SAMURAI. During all the time of his “domiciliary confine- ment,” Professor Koba had been in correspondence with Honda, and his letters contained noble senti- ments and ideas about duty and man’s relation to heaven, upon which the young man deeply pondered. In these letters were many things said about the Creator, providence, sin, and holiness, but wholly of a different cast of thought from what either the Buddhist priests, Shinto lecturers, or Confucian teachers taught. Yet never was the name of Christ, elsewhere so publicly proclaimed in Japan and her- alded as infamous, mentioned in these letters, though it was often hinted at; for Mr. Koba feared lest the ubiquitous spies to the government should open his letters, and thus defeat his purpose, and send both of them again to prison and to death. When, how- ever, Honda came back to Fukui, Professor Koba boldly told him that his teacher was no other than the one outlawed in Japan, Jesus Christ, whom the Japanese called Yasu, and that the book he loved most to read was the New Testament of that same Yasu. Both together then became earnest students and readers of the Chinese New Testament which Professor Koba had secured through the Chinese captain of a junk at Nagasaki. “ I am in hope,” said Professor Koba, one day as they met secretly together, “that many of our think- ing men will study this book ; for I hear from Mito that the enlightened daimio of that province is look- ing into the doctrines of Christianity. I know he has some Christian books, and images and pictures of SEEKERS AFTER GOD. 313 the Virgin Mary and the saints; but this Portuguese and Spanish form of the Jesus-doctrine does not commend itself to me. I am puzzled to account for the cruelties of the Inquisition, and at some of the political things done by the rulers of the religion at Rome, for they do not seem to accord with what Jesus teaches. However, I hope at some time to meet with a teacher from England or America. The Hollanders hinted that there was a great difference between the forms of the Jesus-religion in northern and in southern Europe.” So then Honda had given up all hope of fighting the foreigners or drawing their blood, and had given himself to the patient task of enlightening the young men of his own province. Further, he had, by means of the wise assistance of Doctor Sano, made his peace even with the young lady, Asai, who, misin- formed and in a fit of passion, had once desired that the god Fudo might take his life. They had been married, and were now living in quiet and comfort in a beautiful little house within the inclosure of the castle. Her father had purchased the rank and privileges of a samurai, and now wore two swords and lived within the castle precincts, having retired from active business. Usually a merchant who thus purchased rank and honors, and had nothing else than his money-bags to recommend him, was apt to be snubbed, insulted, and ignored at first by the samurai of hereditary rank, who sneeringly spoke of him as a “ money-lifted samurai.” In this case, however, Mr. Asai’s repu- 314 HONDA THE SAMURAI. tation as a man of integrity and public spirit was so high, and since the liberal sum paid by him was immediately applied to educational purposes by the daimio, all parties were mutually pleased. Each one of Mr. Asai’s family was treated with respect, and Honda Jiro’s course highly approved ; few, how- ever, knowing the secret of “the Hour of the Ox.” Even Professor Koba himself, who had purposely remained single until long past forty, thought it was high time for him to cease living alone. He there- fore made a journey to his native province, and there took to himself a wife — a lovely and accom- plished lady, one among the many of that province who were noted for their beauty — and had brought her to Fukui, where he was now living. He had enlarged his circle of pupils and friends, who were learning from him the glorious ethical studies of the great Chinese masters, as well as receiving a new and wonderful stimulus to both discussion and action. For in Mr. Koba’s lectures and conversations there were many strange expressions and even ideas, which somehow or other extremely interested the hearers and provoked inquiry ; but Mr. Koba did not tell the origin of his thoughts. He enjoyed more than ever the confidence of the daimio of the province, who gave him more and more power in carrying out the reforms which he desired to see effected. Among other things he was exceedingly success- ful in abolishing from the dominions of the daimio every species of gambling; so that the dreadful vice, which was so prevalent in some other prov- SEEKERS AFTER GOD. 315 inces, was almost unknown in Echizen. Further- more certain other evil practices, so often indulged in by the gentlemen of the province, were banished to the sea-ports and places outside of the capital city, so that if one desired to indulge in that which is unseemly he was compelled to go to other places. No one could live long within the province of Echi- zen but would feel a healthful glow of intellectual inquiry and love of study. He would also note the hopeful expectation of a better state of things for all Japan, as well as a general dissatisfaction with that which was low and immoral and sensual. In a word, this daimio's court in the little inland city of Fukui was one of the bright spots of light and civilization at this time. A beginning was even made in the direction of elevating the eta and hi-nin to something like hu- manity ; and many of the cruel practices and cus- toms of which the eta were victims were prohibited, and they were treated with comparative kindness. For years the most miserable of these creatures had had no houses to live in, but only huts of straw ; or they found shelter under the great bridge, to be alternately drowned out or killed by the miasma of the damp mud. The better portion of them, how- ever, had houses, but no rights before the law. Their name, eta, as the scholars discussed it, came from e , meaning flesh, especially of cows or horses after flaying, and tori, taker or gatherer. The fact that these people handled or sold meat or dead ani- mals put them under the ban, first of Buddhism, 316 HONDA THE SAMTJRAI. and then of society, so that any reform in their behalf was a blow to Buddhism, and hence was opposed by the priests. In the cautious discussions of political affairs, it was generally agreed by Mr. Koba and the prince, and nearly all of the enlightened men, that everything should be done in national affairs by taking counsel of all the different daimios, and that nothing arbi- trary should take place. Since foreigners had come upon the soil the old dual system of the Throne and the Camp would soon be disturbed, and this should be carefully modified by wise counsels and not by any one-man power. In a word, the study of mod- ern history was beginning to bear fruit. The prince had greatly admired the action of the Yedo government in calling together a council of the daimios to deliberate upon the propositions made by Commodore Perry, and he trusted that this was a good precedent which would be continued to be fol- lowed, so that Japan would possess something like a parliament, in which national affairs could be dis- cussed by the samurai. CHAPTER XXVI. “EXPEL THE BARBARIANS.” I N the summer of 1858 the Tycoon in Yedo was taken ill, and late in August he died. The prince of Echizen knew that a political crisis was likely to occur, since the Tycoon was childless, and an heir must be appointed. The regent, or prime minister, who had the greatest power was named Ii Kamon no Kami. He was an arbitrary man and inclined to do very much as he pleased, and to give himself up to his own selfish pleasures without tak- ing counsel from the other daimios or ministers of state. At least this was what his critics said. The prince of Echizen, leaving Fukui, came quickly to Yedo, to be present as a relative of the Tokugawa family, and assist with his advice. With the prince of Owari, and others, he wished that Keiki, the seventh son of the prince of Mito, should be made Tycoon. This gentleman was of age, accomplished and popular ; but the prime minister paid no atten- tion whatever to the good advice of the daimios, and chose an heir who was only twelve years of age, and who would not have any influence ; so that the prime minister, as it seemed, could take all power to him- self. They now began to call him, “ The Swaggering Prime Minister.” 31V 318 HONDA THE SAMURAI. While the view we have stated was the honest opinion of many Japanese of the years 1858-60, it must be remembered that to a few progressive men then, and many of them now, it was not a true judg- ment upon Ii Kamon no Kami, whose motives were not bad. He sincerely loved his country, and wished to open it peacefully to western civilization. The foreign vessels, British, Dutch, Russian, and French, were now visiting the Goast of Japan in increasing numbers, and nearly all of them demanded that treaties should be made. Above all, Mr. Townsend Harris, the American minister, who had come from Shimoda to live permanently in Yedo, visited fre- quently the headquarters of the premier, and de- manded that the Yedo government should hurry up the authorities in Kyoto to take immediate action and make a commercial treaty. The prime minister, being afraid that some accident would happen by which Japan would be involved in war, as were China and India, and be invaded or conquered, determined himself to expedite matters. In fact, he resolved to do this if necessary even at what seemed to be the expense of all propriety, and in defiance of the opin- ion of men who thought themselves as well able to judge as himself. He therefore put his seal and signature to a new treaty, without the sanction of the Mikado. He knew that the Japanese were not then prepared to resist the pressure brought upon them. When the prince of Echizen, and other lords who were blood relations of the Tycoon, found out that “ the swaggering prime minister ” had made a treaty 319 “EXPEL THE BARBABIANS.” with Mr. Harris, the American minister, entirely on his own account, without consulting others, or with- out going through the forms which were so properly observed at the time of the coming of Commodore Perry, they at once ordered their palanquins, and going to the palace desired an interview with the Ty- coon, to protest against making treaties with foreign nations without orders from the Mikado and the im- perial court. According to the native historians their request for an interview with the Tycoon was refused by the prime minister, who saw them himself, insulted them, sent them away, and told them never to come back into the castle again. Then, so it is said, he gave himself to pleasure at the expense of the public funds, while at the same time he sent his spies to Kyoto and other places throughout the country and arrested all the patriots whom he sup- posed were interfering with his arbitrary purposes. These men were not so much opposed to foreign- ers as they were desirous of having things done according to enlightened public opinion and with some form of representative government. Indeed, a great many of the more respectable of them “ veiled their larger purpose ” under the cry which now arose throughout the country, and which afterward swelled to the proportions of a storm, “ Honor the Mikado and expel the barbarians ! ” Though at first few, these “ Mikado-reverencers ” and “ foreigner- haters ” gradually enlarged their numbers, until there were organizations of them all over the empire. In their ardor to destroy the Yedo despotism, and to 320 HONDA THE SAMURAI. unify their nation by exalting their sovereign, they were ready to do any deed of violence. In order to checkmate the desires and the policy of the prime minister, the more loyal, upright, and calm-minded men refrained from sympathy with these “ Mikado- reverencers ” and “ barbarian-expellers,” but desired rather that things should be done according to public opinion. Many of the more active patriots, among whom were the brother of Doctor Sano, Nogd Toro, and Ban Saburo, were seized in Kyoto and brought in cages to Yedo, where were already so many victims of the prime minister’s high-handed policy that every ward of the great prison was crowded. The hopes of the moderate men, like Koba and the daimio of Echizen, that the example set by the Tycoon, in calling together an assembly of daimios to consider the treaty of Commodore Perry, would be followed by the gradual formation of something like a national body for the discussion of public affairs, were totally disappointed ; for the prime min- ister, instead of relaxing, became still more fixed in his views of despotic government. He now gave full rein to his despotic ideas, and when the prince of Mito and others pressed upon the Yedo govern- ment the idea of honoring the emperor by canceling the treaties and expelling the foreigners from Japan, the prime minister found it necessary to take violent action. He ordered Mito to be put into perma- nent imprisonment and his son into exile, while the princes of Echizen, Owari, Tosa, and Uwajima were “ EXPEL THE BARBARIANS. 321 compelled to resign their offices into the hands of their sons, and to live in their secondary yashikis in Yedo. When in the height of his career he ordered to the death over twenty upright and honorable men who had opposed his views. Among the patriots compelled to commit hara-kiri was Doctor Sano’s brother, an accomplished scholar and gentleman. The news of these doings created a tremendous excitement all through the country, especially in the capitals of the princes who had been in prison or sent into exile. A desperate band of ronins made a conspiracy to destroy the life of li, the prime minis- ter. On the great holiday of the third day of the third month, that is, the twenty-third of March, 1860, while going in his palanquin to the palace, his train of retainers was set upon, during a snow-storm, by a body of armed men, most of whom were Mito ronins. In the sword-battle which ensued, the head of the prime minister was cut off and his body left a bleeding trunk. On the persons of the captured assassins was a paper charging Ii with five crimes, the chief of which was that of “ being frightened by the empty threats of the foreign barbarians into mak- ing treaties with them, and, under the plea of politi- cal necessity, of doing this without the Mikado’s sanction.” The assassins called themselves “ repre- sentatives of divine anger.” Two days later, as so reported, the head cut off in Yedo was tossed into the garden of the daimio of Mito, fifty miles away from the Camp City. Historical research proves the rumor baseless. 322 HONDA THE SAMURAI. This tragic event only served to loosen still more the whole feudal system of Japan. The samurai daily deserted their masters, the daimios, and be- came organized bands of ronin. Their sole pretext was to see the Mikado restored to supreme power, while most of them were also jo-i , or alien-haters. They lived by extorting money and food from the merchants and farmers. Early in the winter of 1861 a party of the cowardly wretches lay in wait in the streets of Yedo for Mr. Heusken, a young Hollan- der, and the secretary of Mr. Harris, the American minister. Returning from the Prussian legation, he was attacked in the darkness. So sharp are Japan- ese swords that, in time of excitement, a man may receive many and fatal wounds without knowing until too late their seriousness. Though he reached the American legation, he lived but two hours. This was the eighth foreigner killed since 1859. The foundations of society were threatened with dissolution, as the whole empire seemed to be swarm- ing with bands of men who owned no allegiance to the daimios ; for while little or no national senti- ment existed among the farmers and lower class people, they looked to their local lords as their only rulers and to the Mikado as only a shadowy and far-off being. The political heavens were gath- ering blackness and all hearts feared. It was true, as one of the most high-souled ronins of the time expressed it, “ the empire is on the point of becom- ing a hell.” Indeed, in the system of terrorism, such as the “ EXPEL THE BARBARIANS." 323 government of Japan was under the Tycoon’s mili- tary system, the only method of redress seemed to be by assassination, and the only sure weapon the sword. There existed no provision or opportunity for the expression of the views of patriots. In the political machine there was no congress or parlia- ment to act as a safety-valve. The only way by which the feelings of those who made public opin- ion could be made manifest was in blood. It was “despotism tempered by assassination.” In repub- lics, constitutional monarchies, and representative governments, such as exist in Christendom, political parties make and unmake the policy of the presi- dents, kings, or ministers the newspaper press re- flects public opinion ; but under despotisms, dyna- mite, bomb-shells, and the various methods of assas- sination take the place of caucuses, elections, cam- paigns, polls, votes, and discussions. It is highly probable that the premier, Ii Kamon no Kami, though trained in the ways of a Japanese politician of the bakufu days, was a sincere patriot, and wanted to save his country from being invaded by the Europeans as China had been, or subjugated as India was. To accomplish his purpose he followed out the Tokugawa policy of force, using arbitrary means. Echizen’s method was the reverse. That is the usual fault of a military man even when made a president of a republic. A soldier expects to govern a nation just as he commands an army ; to say, “ Do this ” and expect instant obe- dience, or to have the insubordinate shot. The 324 HONDA THE SAMUBA1. Premier Ii also thought that in this case the end justified the means, and so used “ the tj^rant’s plea ” which, as history shows, is not restricted to any age, climate, or country. In England when the people in parliament disagree with the policy of the queen’s ministers, they move a vote of censure and the min- isters resign. In the United States when the people are opposed to an administration, they go to the polls on election day and vote in another platform, and change the national policy with their servants; or in congress they rebuke the president by passing their bill over his veto. In old Japan, the appa- ratus of parties — polls, elections, and congress — was lacking. The assassination of the Premier Ii was simply the old samurai way of moving a vote of censure. It was the swift, barbarous way of pretending to stand in Heaven’s place and so using the sword. The samurai hated the priests, but they outdid the priests in claiming to be the vicars of Heaven. This state of things could not last long, and Ii, little as he or his friends may have then suspected, was destined to be an instrument of Providence in guiding the nation toward constitutional and rep- resentative institutions. The great prince of Cho- shiu addressed a letter to the bakufu urging that the Tycoon should proceed to Kyoto and call a congress of all the daimios in order to get the opinions of the nation. The Throne and the Camp, Court and Bakufu ought to act in concert, in which case the public opinion could be easily known. The imperial “ EXPEL THE BARBARIANS” 325 court was so pleased with the suggestion that it sent for the writer of the letter. Orders were at once given to the great daimios of Satsuma and Choshiu to keep the ronins and lawless characters in order. Shortly after the Mikado sent an envoy to order the Yedo government to carry out the idea in the prince of Choshiu’s letter, and call the national as- sembly of daimios in Kyoto. To enforce the orders of the imperial court Keiki was appointed guardian of the young Tycoon, and Matsudaira, the prince of Echizen, was appointed supreme dictator of affairs. This was a proud day for the men of the Fukui clan, thus to see their beloved prince, who, for oppo- sition to arbitrary measures, had once been impris- oned and dishonored by Ii, now raised to a position of authority even higher. Matsudaira’s efforts had always been directed toward the use of argument and reason rather than the sword in matters of gov- ernment, and the truest patriots rejoiced when they saw such a man at the head of affairs. Among the three hundred or more daimios of Japan very few were of any great strength of char- acter, and in general all real power and influence were wielded by their Jcaro, “ family elders ” or ad- visers, who were able men of low rank. But among the crowd of titled nobodies the daimios of Echizen, Mito, Hizen, Tosa, Owari, and Uwajima shone con- spicuous for ability and personal worth. The prince of Echizen, thus suddenly exalted to be the virtual administrator of all Japan, had the advantage of high reputation and popularity. 326 HONDA THE SAMUBA1. Yet the political situation was a very critical one and profoundly difficult. As a relative of the Toku- gawa family, and being one who was above all things desirous of honoring the noble line founded by Iy6- yasu, the prince had to face the problem of being first of all loyal to the Mikado and the court, and then of dealing with the daimios and the clans, who were so hostile as to wish the immediate destruction of the Yedo government. Further, he must keep faith with the foreigners who continually and greed- ily pressed him for more privileges and advantages ; while on the other hand he was as eagerly pressed by fanatical patriots to destroy the aliens or to per- suade them to leave the country. Further, since the authority of the Yedo govern- ment had been loosened, disorders were increasing in both the cities of Yedo and Kyoto, and assassina- tions of men whom the ronins marked for death were of frequent occurrence. Only a few days before a retainer of the daimios of Tamba mur- dered an English corporal of marines of the Brit- ish legation in Yedo for no other reason than because he hated foreigners. In Kyoto the heads of two retainers of a Kyoto noble were found stuck up on a board on the dry bed of the river before Kyoto. These events took place only a few days after the prince of Echizen received his appoint- ment. In addition to the princes of Satsuma and Choshiu, the daimio of Tosa, being then in Kyoto, was ordered to assist in policing the capital and keeping in order the fanatical patriots. Thus arose '■'■EXPEL THE BARBARIANS.” 327 the famous combination, lasting over twenty years, called Sa-cho-to, and destined to become so famous in recent history and so powerful in government even until 1890. The name is made, in common Japanese style, by uniting in one word the first syl- lables of Satsuma, Choshiu, and Tosa. Accepting the responsibility of being for a time the virtual ruler of all Japan, Matsudaira, lord of Echizen, summoned Professor Koba to be his chief adviser, Mr. Rai Goro to be his nearest assistant executive, and Honda Jiro to be his secretary. He began his difficult and delicate task by acting on the advice of the wise and able man and administrator whom years before he had invited from Higo, and who had been his counselor in Echizen. He trusted to the wisdom, the tact, and the courage of these three who were closest to him during the next two years of an exciting life in Yedo and Kyoto. CHAPTER XXVII. BLACK CLOUDS BEFORE THE TEMPEST. HE first act of Matsudaira was to establish at -L Kyoto an office, or protectorate, over which the daimio of Aidzu was appointed head. In old Japanese politics, the master-move in every game was to hold possession of the Mikado, and to protect the court and palace from those who would use his person and name to enforce their views or will. The emperor, as representative of the gods who made Japan, being the fountain of all law and authority, all who obey the commands issued in his name are “loyal;” all who disobey him are choteki, rebels or traitors. The two names might be applied to the same man or party, according as he or it pos- sessed, or were driven away from, the imperial pal- ace. Matsudaira’s first care was that the Mikado should be guarded in the interests of law and order, and that neither ronins nor the combination of a few ambitious clans should seize the imperial person and government. The next reform and far-reaching stroke of policy carried out by Matsudaira was the abolition of the custom of requiring all the daimios and hatamoto, or flag-supporters of the Tycoon, to live every alter- nate year in Yedo. Hitherto the wives and chil- 328 BLACK CLOUDS. 329 dren of every daimio must remain in Yedo; while the daimios were allowed to spend only their al- ternate years in their own dominions away from their families. This custom had been inaugurated by the grandson of Iy^yasu early in the seventeenth century. His object was a double one — to weaken the power of the feudal lords, and by dividing the clans to rule them, and also to add to the glory of Yedo. It was a policy that enriched the city and impoverished the country. It had for three centu- ries cost a vast amount of money, time, and trouble to the daimios, which was now saved them by the abolition of the custom. While it helped the prov- inces, it was a tremendous blow both to the pros- perity of Yedo and the despotic power of the Tokuga- was. At the same time, the senseless extravagance, which was the fruitful cause of theft, dishonesty, and lying, was rebuked in an order which reformed the style of dress and discarded empty ornament. All this, though for the good of the country, scared the inn-keepers and mercantile people who had fat- tened on the old state of affairs. Thousands of merchants and shop-keepers at once closed their places of business, and returned to their homes in the provinces. Kyoto now became amazingly prosperous, for many of the daimios made their establishments in that city. The reformatory actions of the dictator, Matsudaira, suggested in many cases by Professor Koba, greatly pleased the imperial court, which ordered the Yedo government to clear away old abuses, reform the 330 HONDA THE SAMURAI. Constitution, and proclaim pardon to all those who, since the year 1858, through the Premier Ii, or other- wise, had suffered imprisonment for their political opinions. In addition to this joyful news for many honorable and upright men, pensions were awarded to the families of those who, like the brother of Doctor Sano, had been put to death for their loyal sentiments. The honorable duty of repairing and beautifying the tombs of the Mikado’s ancestors was also performed by the bakufu. Yet though Kyoto was so prosperous, the means of the imperial court were limited, the Mikado hav- ing very little revenue. One day, however, a pro- cession of two hundred and fifty ox-carts entered the city, bearing fifty-five thousand bushels of rice done up in twenty thousand straw bags, a gift to the Mikado from the prince of Satsuma. This prece- dent was soon followed by the prince of Choshiu, who made a like gift. Having no longer large yashikis to support in Yedo, the loyal daimios were well able to be thus generous. The kug6, or im- perial court nobles, even went so far as to rebuke a daimio for going up to Yedo instead of Kyoto; whereupon the daimio turned back and came to the true kio, or capital, where eighty daimios and their retainers now dwelt, crowding the city beyond what had ever been known. Meanwhile in Yedo the good work of the prince of Echizen went on. The memory of Sakuma Ei was vindicated in his proposal, made ten years be- fore, by the Yedo government’s sending an order Tomb of the Mikado’s Ancestor. BLACK CLOUDS. 331 to Holland to build a man-of-war, while Enomoto, Akamatsu, Uchida, and others, then promising men, whose names are now renowned in Japanese naval annals, were sent to Holland to study western civil- ization and the art of naval warfare, and after five years’ study to bring out the ship to Japan. As for Sakuma Ei, he had long before been released from prison, and was pronounced in his opinion that the country should be opened to foreign intercourse and adopt western civilization. He always rode a horse equipped with an English saddle and bridle, and, by his strong opinions, irritated the fanatical foreigner- haters. In addition to naval reorganization the foun- dations of a national army were laid in a daring social innovation. Three battalions w T ere organized in European style, to be drilled according to mod- ern infantry tactics. The cavalry and artillery arms were formed of the class of samurai known as hata- moto, or the Tycoon’s flag-supporters ; but the infan- try were recruited from the trading and farming classes. This was the sign of a new day for Japan, that the common people were admitted to military honors. One could easily see Koba’s hand in this move. It was difficult, and in some cases impossible, to restrain the violence and fanaticism of clansmen who were so anxious to hasten the fall of the Tokugawas that they were constantly playing the assassin and incendiary, knowing no other means of bringing things to a crisis than the use of the sword and the 332 HONDA THE SAMURAI. torch. They had a far larger and nobler purpose in view, even a united empire, a restored emperor, a government founded on public opinion, and Japan made strong before the world ; but first they must destroy the bakufu. Early in the year 1864 the British legation near Shinagawa was set on fire and burned. Near the inn of the Big Gold-fish at the Kudan, Mr. Hanawa Jiro, who had collected, for the Premier Ii, precedents for the deposing of the Mi- kado by the Tycoon, was assassinated. In Kyoto the same sort of work went on. No sooner had K6iki, the guardian and advance-officer of the Tycoon, arrived in that city, than the two-sworded men pressed upon him the question of driving out the aliens. He replied that as soon as the Tycoon should arrive, the matter would be settled. This evasive answer so disgusted the fire-eating patriots that they at once assassinated Mr. Kagawa, a former agent of the Yedo government, and sent his head to K4iki as a hint to hurry up the expelling of foreign- ers, while the arms of the headless trunk were sent to the nobleman, master of the unfortunate man. Neither Aidzu, protector of Kyoto, nor the prince of Echizen, both of whom nobly strove to uphold the honor of Tokugawa, as well as to honor the em- peror, could restrain these apparently savage acts which were indicative of the stern purpose of the patriots. The Tokugawas, as individual gentlemen, were noble patriots, but they were victims of a bad sys- tem and of the times, for no personal worth of pri- BLACK CLOUDS. 333 vate character could save the dual system which was now tottering to its fall. On the ninth of April a party of ronins perpetrated so gross an insult to the Tokugawas that the wrath, both of the protector and the dictator, was so strongly roused that, in spite of the intercession of the prince of Choshiu and a tremendous commotion in the city, the per- petrators were imprisoned. The Buddhist temple of To-ji-in was founded by Ashikaga Takauji, the rival and opponent of Nitta, and the first sho-gun of the dynasty which at Kamakura overawed the Mikado from 1333 to 1573. This temple contained in its reception-room five carved images of these Ashikaga rulers. A party of ronins, intending a direct insult to the Tycoon, went at night and cut off the heads of three of these images ; and carrying them to the execution ground where the worst crim- inals were decapitated stuck them in clay on a pil- lory. When the people of the city who were first astir saw these heads in such a disgraceful place the news ran like wildfire through Kyoto, and the pro- tector and Echizen at once arrested those concerned in the insulting act. It was a plain and defiant in- dication that the ronins considered both the Toku- gawa and the Ashikaga families equally traitors to the country. Nevertheless step by step the country advanced toward institutions before which even feudalism must fall, and the constitution and representative government of the future approach. Both the lord of Echizen and his faithful counselor, Koba, rejoiced 334 HONDA THE SAMURAI. when the imperial court opened a hall wherein all samurai might freely express their opinions on polit- ical affairs. This was mightily different from the old days of repression of speech and thought, when hara-kiri was the penalty of discussion or innova- tion. Nevertheless there were fanatics who could not discern the signs of the times ; and a few months later, in this same year, they shed the blood of Sa- kuma Ei in the streets of Kyoto, because he used a European saddle and bridle and advocated opening Japan to foreign civilization. The Tycoon and his gorgeous train arrived in the capital late in April. Before the imperial throne and the Mikado, who sat behind a screen, his face being invisible, he made his obeisance on his knees as vassal of the emperor. He stayed in the castle of Nijo, while the prince of Satsuma left the city. The one burning question which was now on all lips in Kyoto was that of driving out the foreigners and shutting up Yokohama and the ports. The court sent the prince of Mito to Yedo to superin- tend the ugly job, which the most ignorant Japanese, like hermits or children, supposed they could accom- plish ; and all the daimios whose dominions bordered the sea were ordered home to prepare for war. The ronins and samurai came frequently to wait upon the prince of Echizen on the subject, and urged him to name a day when the foreigners should be swept away like vermin ; but this enlightened prince knew only too well the difficulties in the way, the power of the nations of Christendom, the weak- BLACK CLOUDS. 335 ness of Japan, and the impossibility of breaking treaties when once made. He saw clearly that these men were as frogs in a well that know not the great ocean; while the foreigners were masters of the sea and of the forces of nature. In a few years these narrow and ignorant patriots would have their vis- ion enlarged, hut now they were as unreasonable as crying children. Since matters had arrived at a crisis and nothing seemed to interest the samurai- — the one class which formed public opinions — except the mad scheme of war with the aliens, the prince of Echizen saw that his work was done. He resigned his position as dictator. He left Kyoto quietly and came to Fukui, while his trusty counselor, Professor Koba, went back to Higo to set in motion that train of young students, who have since, in Europe and America, won the secrets of science, and the moral and social forces born of Christianity. About the first of June the Tycoon and his high officers again visited the Mikado at court, and the date for commencing war against the foreigners and sweeping them out of Japan was fixed for June 25. The disagreeable duty was imposed upon the bakufu of notifying all the clans of this solemn act of tom- foolery, and this was accordingly carried out on paper, though the Yedo government knew that the contract could not be fulfilled. The next step in the absurd program was that the Mikado should go in triumphal procession to the shrine of Hachiman, fifteen miles from Kyoto, and there present a sword 336 HONDA THE XAMURAI. to the Tycoon as a symbol of the bloody work to be done, and as an emblem of his authority, as general of the camp, to drive out the barbarians. Such a proposal of course made the Tycoon sick, and he kept himself at home, sending K4iki as his proxy, who also was seized with the kind of ill- ness which it was especially fashionable in Japan to have when duty was disagreeable. Kffiki publicly descended from the shrine, and the ronins snorted with rage. They denounced him in caustic and obscene terms, and demanded that the Mikado in person should take the field while they marched in the van. The court had the utmost difficulty in quieting their wrath. The Choshiu clansmen, believing that the orders of the Mikado could be and should be obeyed when the date was definitely fixed, had left Kyoto. Re- turning to their province they began the erection of batteries on the heights overlooking the narrow straits of Shimonos^ki, where the naval battle of the Genji and Hffike was fought in 1184. The water is less than a mile wide, but commanding the channel which runs like a mill-race in front of the town itself, the new batteries swept a space only a half-mile in width. In formidable redoubts they mounted twenty-four and thirty-two pounders and eight-inch American Dahlgren guns. They also bought at Shanghai, pretending they were acting for the Yedo government, a strong steamer, a brig, and a bark, and armed them with brass cannon, raising the red sun-flag of Japan at the peak, and BLACK CLOUDS. 337 the Choshiu flag (three balls under a white bar) at the fore. On the pennants in the redoubt was read the legend, “ In obedience to imperial orders.” All eager and thirsting for blood they worked night and day to be ready to open fire on the first foreign ship that passed into the straits on the date of the twenty-fifth of June, as fixed by the Mikado’s order. As for Honda Jiro, having tasted to the full the excitement and turmoil of politics and impending war, and having seen enough of the bloody work of fanatics to disgust him, and full of a new thirst, he made his way, with his wife, to Yokohama to seek knowledge of the “ barbarians.” He resolved to go at once to the houses of the missionaries, to become, if necessary, a servant in order to learn. Heartily appreciating the noble patriots who, under the pre- text of “ driving out the aliens,” were in reality working for a united and regenerated country with one ruler and one capital, he was yet heartily sick of the narrow bigotry and brutal bloodthirstiness of ignorant fanatics. CHAPTER XXVIII. LIKE THE BREATH OP A CLAM. S happy as a clam at high water ” is the fisher- -AA. man’s account of himself when his fancy is tickled for the moment by something pleasant and he is filled with delight. But to the far Orientals the idea seems to be reversed. The clams, which are called “ chestnuts of the shore,” enter into rapt- ure and day-dreams when the tide recedes. Then from the open mouth of the giant clam rises a vapor which creates a mirage of wonders. The clam’s breath forms all the gorgeous things which to human imagination appear in dreams. Palaces of delight are thus built in the air in unsubstantial majesty. Until Perry and the American ships appeared off the obscure village of Yokohama, or “ cross strand,” it lay on the bay of Yedo scarcely better known than a chestnut dropped by chance into the forest, or a clam living in the sandy mud of the sea-shore. But if a farmer from the Echizen rice-fields had looked upon the scene that revealed itself on the first day of July, 1859, he would surely have thought he was looking upon the deceptive mirage of the clam’s breath. Instead of the little hamlet of thatch, wattle, and mud, with a few fishermen’s nets spread out to dry, and brown children wading 338 LIKE THE BREATH OF A CLAM. 339 in the water, there was a bustling town full of quickly moving foreigners, busy merchants, carpen- ters sawing and pounding as if for dear life or double wages, porters carrying bundles, and muscu- lar fellows pushing with guttural shouts their loaded carts. Out in the bay a fleet of war and merchant ships, flying a variety of flags, steam launches and lighters, sail and row and scull boats by the hun- dreds, made almost a floating city. For days and weeks beforehand the government of Yedo had been busy building a causeway run- ning from Kanagawa over to the “ cross strand,” and in laying out streets and places for the consu- lates and other buildings. Large jetties had been built out into the water from which the ships could unload their cargoes. Hundreds of merchants were already on the ground. To build the grand new houses hundreds of carpenters had been summoned from Yedo and other cities. The phenomenon was more like a growth of one of the American cities on the prairies, for it required but a few days and weeks for this wonderful treaty port to spring up as by the touch of a wand. On this day, July 1, 1859, there were Americans, Englishmen, Frenchmen, and several other kinds of Europeans, who were bargaining with and buying from the Japanese, changing round dollars for square coins, and each one endeavoring to get the best of the other in mercantile exchange. The lacquered cabinets, the choice silks, the carved ivories, the tea, and all the varied produce of Japan were being 340 HONDA THE SAMURAI. exchanged for what men brought from the United States and Europe in their ships. Hundreds of Japanese merchants were already in a high state of glee because they thought they would now in- deed make their fortunes which they had so long expected. Already in their dreams the treasure- ships, with big sails bent, were coming from afar. Great as was the commercial enterprise at Yoko- hama the political innovation in Yedo was startling; for in the very heart of the great city was estab- lished, on the seventh of July, the legation of the United States of America, and the flag of the stars and stripes was hoisted over it. Soon also the flags of Great Britain, of France, and of Holland showed that the hated foreigner had established himself in the Holy Country. There was also a great deal of business done between the government offices, for already difficulties concerning the exchange of na- tive and foreign coins had emerged. Japan’s cur- rency and metallic money was in a condition very interesting to the curator of a museum or a col- lector of curiosities, but hardly suited to quick and accurate business. There were forty-nine different coins in circulation ; twenty-three in gold, nineteen in silver, five in copper, and two in iron. In shape they were round, oval, square, oblong, bullet-shaped, and with or without a hole cut or molded in the center. Besides the various coins which, even when honest, varied in weight and purity, there were the issues of paper money from no fewer than twenty- three provinces, or fiefs of daimios. With coin de- LIKE THE BREATH OF A CLAM 341 based and an inflation of paper money, the economic troubles of the peasantry were becoming chronic : but whereas the native, accustomed to despotism, submitted quietly, the foreigners protested, chafed, and fumed. Sometimes words ran high about the regulations made and to be made, for to the foreign merchant accustomed to freedom there seemed to be too much official interference. It appeared also to be the de- sign of the Japanese government to fence in the for- eigners, and to inclose them with gates and guards and annoying regulations. In vain did the Yedo officers assure the consuls and diplomatic corps that this was for the protection of their countrymen against the attacks of ronins, assassins, and other violent characters. The foreign merchants were pos- sessed with the idea that the only purpose was to hinder trade, and they clamored for unrestricted communication with the people. Gradually the natives and foreigners began to understand each other, and business was settled on a basis of prosperity. Immediately, as the demand for gold, silver, tea, silk, tobacco, copper, and curios, or art works, became stronger, production was stim- ulated, and long trains of pack-horses and fleets of junks set their heads toward the new port. What- ever could be reared from the soil, or made by the people, at once felt the influence of the magnet of foreign commerce, and was attracted to Yokohama. At once prices rose, and the whole economic system of wages, cost, and contracts was disturbed, creating 342 HONDA THE SAMURAI. trouble among the wage-earners and laborers. In- deed all who could not depend on keeping away hunger when the cost of rice was over two cents a pound were in real distress. Some of the daimios, while pretending to hate the foreigners, found the profits of trade very agreeable, and secretly investing their funds in business, had agents among the merchants at the port and thus increased their income. They enjoyed strange lux- uries in food ; and the dainties, the watches, clocks, carpets, mirrors, art works, and curiosities of Europe and America were seen in their palaces. In not a few districts rice-riots became numerous and troublesome. The farmers, not being allowed to keep or bear arms, cut and sharpened bamboo poles, hardening them in the fire, and with these and sickles, reaping-hooks, forks, and various agricultural implements, they assembled in masses under their rude banner — a long, wide strip of matting, on which was smeared in ink some motto expressing their wrongs or demanding redress — and, marching to the government offices, clamored for justice accord- ing to their ideas. Often in the disturbances an officer, tax-collector, or treasurer was slain, though usually the sharp swords of the samurai scattered the peasants like sheep. After taking the heads off the ringleaders, order was restored, though matters were not always mended, for the troubles now were less personal than political. When Honda Jiro, arriving in Yedo from Kyoto in June, 1863, received official permission to visit LIKE TEE BEE ATE OF A CLAM. 343 the foreign settlement of Yokohama, he took care to be well armed with the writing stamped with the government seal, as well as with his passport, for he wanted to see everything possible without let or hindrance by intermeddling yakunin, or subordinate officers. He found that while the merchant and trader had from the first settled at Yokohama, yet at Kanagawa several American families had located themselves. They professed to be physicians, teach- ers, or, as they called themselves, missionaries. How- ever,. by the threatening state of affairs in Japan, and by the orders of the Yedo government, even they had been compelled to live in Yokohama. The patriotic assassins came even within the settlement, and in their zeal murdered two Dutch sea-captains ; while only a few miles away two British officers and a gentleman on horseback had been cut down by the swiftly drawn swords of men whose pride and hatred made them willing murderers in the name of patriotism. A wholesome lesson had been taught the assassins, when a samurai who had killed an English officer was not allowed to commit honor- able hara-kiri, but was beheaded as a criminal in the place for the execution of common criminals. Europeans accustomed to honorable battle could not understand how Japanese, professing to be gen- tlemen, or samurai, with high notions of honor, could be such cowards as to attack unarmed civilians or to cut down men by striking from behind. Ameri- cans were reminded of Indian warfare, in which sav- ages will not face rifles if they can help it, but 344 HONDA THE SAMURAI. crawl up like bush-whackers, or fight behind trees. On the other hand, many of the foreigners were rough and brutal in their manners, and, as in all new settlements, the worst elements came up like froth. No better and no worse men ever were assembled together than at the first opening of a port on the coast. Making bold to call on one of the two mission- aries, of whom he had heard that they were kind and hospitable to all native callers, Honda Jiro found the American a strange-looking personage, with bald head, large, curved nose, kindly eyes which looked through gold spectacles, and of sunny and benevo- lent countenance. Doctor Grey, the American mis- sionary, immediately made him welcome and invited him to sit on a chair. This was a point of etiquette with which Honda Jiro found it hard to comply, as it seemed to him improper for a young man to sit down first in the presence of an elder person. How- ever, he took the chair, and though an interpreter was present to talk, Honda Jiro found the gentleman quite able to speak Japanese, and felt more at ease when Doctor Grey sent his Japanese teacher back to the study, for Honda Jiro at once recognized him as a paid government spy. He did not mention this fact, but Doctor Grey informed him that when in Kanagawa it was five months before he could get any teacher, and that all his movements and those of his family, whether in taking their walks, in shop- ping, or in engaging servants, were watched, and evi- dently reported to Yedo. In a word, the mission- LIKE THE BEE AT H OF A CLAM. 345 aries who had no trade, and neither bought nor sold, were to the yakunin, mysterious beings and objects of constant suspicion and espionage. “Our object in coming to Japan is to give the people the message of good news of love and mercy in Christ Jesus from God our Father. Japanese and Americans are alike his children, and we want the people to give up their idols and honor the Creator who made this beautiful country, and to put away their low ideas and immorality. There are many beautiful things and customs we want them to keep,” said Dr. Grey. Honda Jiro found difficulty in understanding some of the missionary’s Japanese, but not so much as he had expected, for Doctor Grey had once been a mis- sionary in China and chose phrases that were familiar to samurai, while Honda was somewhat prepared by his private reading of the Bible in Chinese. During the turmoil of the past two years he had not been able to do this frequently or carefully. When well assured that the spy was not looking or overhearing he informed Doctor Grey of his possession, and they talked until dinner-time about the great truths into which he was inquiring. Doctor Grey insisted on Honda’s sitting down to the meal with his family, which consisted of Mrs. Grey, two sons, and two daughters, all bright and merry children ; for this was the sunny home of a sunny missionary. Only Honda’s strong desire to learn about foreigners and to explore the mysteries of foreign civilization overcame his feelings of fear, 346 HONDA THE SAMURAI. as a well-bred gentleman, lest he should commit some fault of taste or good manners. He had never be- fore seen foreign people eat, nor had he ever taken a knife or metal spoon or fork in his hand, nor was he acquainted with the character of the food or drinks he might have to put in his mouth. He felt in- wardly nervous and fearful, though outwardly all calm. An American naval officer, an old friend of the host, was to dine by appointment with Doctor Grey that day. The table had eight guests, and the appoint- ments that day wore the appearance of an extra occasion, though Honda did not know this. Appar- ently not noticing anything, his eyes were in reality keenly alert to every motion of his host and of the officer. Soup, fish, meat, and vegetables, however, were skillfully mastered, the knife not once going into the mouth, nor any noise being made in sip- ping the soup, nor one slip or false movement hap- pening. So well did he progress that, having grown brave and self-assured, he thought he could follow the code without noticing the example of the others. Alas for his sensitive soul, the inevitable faux pas came to pass. When the finger-bowls, with an inch of water and a slice of lemon floating on it, were put on the table, Honda lifted the bowl and took a drink of the lemon-water. Did host, hostess, and naval guest do likewise, to save the shame of the Japanese gentleman? Doubt- less they would have done so, had they noticed it ; but just at that moment a slight earthquake shook LIKE TEE B BE ATE OF A CLAM. 347 house and ground, and their attention was called to the trees shaking and dropping their green fruit, though no breath of air stirred. When later, how- ever, Honda saw all dipping their fingers in the bowls after eating the loquats and oranges, a fiery rush of blood crimsoned his face and ears until it seemed to him as if his skin were touched with a hot iron. This was his first secret humiliation, unknown to any, except perhaps to the children, who were the only ones who noticed the slip or the blush ; but, alas ! another was to come. Doctor Grey liked his tiny cup of after-dinner coffee. “ Kafay ! What ’s that ? ” thought Honda, ready to drink melted lead rather than commit another blunder. Down dropped the sugar lump, in went the spoonful of condensed milk. The smell was strange and sickening. Should he drink the mixt- ure? Certainly; a hero never hesitates. He lifted the cup and took a swallow. Horrible ! nauseous ! It was less scalding than distasteful to the last de- gree. Oh, how long he held that thimbleful in his mouth ! “ How can I swallow it ? Will it not sicken me ? I must ! ” So ran his thought ; but brave as a man committing hara-kiri he drained the cup. His verdict, after making inquest of a foreign dinner, might be recorded as follows : — Item 1. Tools and machinery, that is, knives, forks, dishes, coffee-service, etc., wonderful and va- ried, but not necessarily preferable to the Japanese. 348 HONDA THE 8AMUBAL Item 2. Chairs and tables, requiring more trou- ble, but are, perhaps, more dignified and advanta- geous. The lady or wife at the place of honor at the head of the table impressed me mightily. Item 3. The children at the table, well trained, behaving well, and, though kept in subordination, are not only kindly helped but are talked to and instructed by the father. This gives me a suggest- ive insight into the family education of these Amer- ican Christians. Item 4. As for the soup and fish, they are no better than Japanese, for ours are excellent. The meat, which is Chinese mutton, is a new thing to me and very toothsome. The vegetables are very delicate. The jam and American preserves are won- derful. The coffee, a horrible brew; bread and butter are curiosities, and concerning them I have no settled opinion. Item 5. The father giving thanks to Heaven while all bow their heads is beautiful. I like the idea. I am reminded of what the great Teacher did before he fed the thousands of people. CHAPTER XXIX. A NAVAL BATTLE. FTER dinner, seeing that Doctor Grey and the -L_L naval officer (who “lighted a stick of rolled tobacco and smoked it as if it were a pipe,” as Honda afterward said) evidently wished to talk together, Honda Jiro left with many invitations to come again in the morning. Doctor Grey promised to take him in next door to the dispensary of the physician, Doctor Bunner, who healed and prescribed for the native poor. Had Honda Jiro been able then to understand English, he would have heard a conversation some- thing like that given below. Both were Americans, both strong patriots and lovers of freedom, haters of human slavery and oppression, and withal devout Christian men. “ Things look dark at home, just now,” said Doc- tor Grey, “ do they not, Captain McDougal ? ” “Yes, doctor, they do. With Vicksburg still hold- ing out, and the awful defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the Union arms are under a cloud which shows no silver lining yet.” “ So it seems ; and sometimes I feel as if I had no country, and wonder whether my children will ever see the United States again. With Confederate vic- 349 350 HONDA THE SAMUllAl. tories on land, and the Alabama sweeping our com- merce from the seas, it looks like midnight for us. The Americans here do not dare to send home a box or package by one of our ships, when one appears, which is rarely, and even our letters have to go by way of Europe. The Southern Confederacy is at floodtide, just now.” “ But the morning must dawn, and the tide ebb, doctor.” “ Yes; as surely as God rules in the heavens.” “ The strangest thing to me,” said the captain, “ is the strong sympathy with a Confederacy based upon African slavery which is shown by our British friends, who speak our language and are sharers with us in the idea of liberty. The merchants out in these eastern ports seem so ready to help Cap- tain Semmes. We have now been on the lookout for the Alabama in these eastern seas for many months, yet no word of encouragement have I had from one of them. At Singapore, the Wyoming was mistaken for the Alabama, and the letters sent to me in mistake by English merchants were full of welcome and promises of aid to the Confederate destroyer of our commerce.” “ Well, captain, the Japanese seem about going not only into civil, but also foreign, war; and the prince of Choshiu has provided an Alabama at hand for you.” “Yes; I have had orders to leave for home, and should be justified in leaving for Philadelphia to- morrow; but instead, I shall start for Shimonos6ki A NAVAL BATTLE. 351 and try first the issue with the forts and vessels. It is a case of one ship against three, and six guns against half a hundred. I have no charts, and do not know how my Japanese pilots, furnished me by the Yedo authorities, will serve me, but I believe my duty is to face the tiger. To have each dairnio in Japan firing on the peaceful merchant-vessels of a Treaty Power, and making indiscriminate war, will not be tolerated by our government, nor by any other civilized power.” “ Well, whatever is done, captain, may it be for God’s glory, the coming of Christ’s kingdom, and the breaking of every yoke ! The missionaries out here are like those men at home working in that East River caisson under the water. Some day a glorious suspension bridge may unite New York and Brooklyn ; and so also, Japan and the Christian na- tions of the earth may be joined by the gospel in faith and love to one common Master ; but oh, how far off it does seem sometimes ! Between our coun- try’s troubles and discouragements here, we mission- aries have at present ‘the cloudy and dark day ’ of Jeremiah. God bless you, captain! and preserve you and our gallant men in the battle.” “Well, doctor, I find all good Japanese are as much perplexed as we are. We Americans have been two years in actual civil war, and the Japanese are just drifting into it. The Tycoon and his rebell- ious vassals will soon be arrayed against each other in arms. Even though I must vindicate the honor of my country’s flag, I do yet hope most earnestly 352 HONDA THE SAMURAI. that Japan may come out as safely from her troubles as I believe the United States will.” “ Both will, captain. I believe God has a work for both nations to do, and they can and will do that work best in friendship. Whoever comes out victorious, Tycoon or Mikado, may the Japan that is divided into fractions, feudal, pagan, licentious, superstitious, and idol-worshiping, sink out of sight ; and the Japan that is united and Christian live ! ” “ Ah, doctor, I see you love the Japanese. May God permit you to see your hope fulfilled ! Mean- while, pray for me.” “ I will. God shield you and speed your return safely ! ” and the two friends parted. Then went forth that gallant patriot, Commander David D. McDougal, to perform with his sloop-of- war one of the most brilliant and daring actions known in the shining annals of the American navy, and to win a victory like those associated with the names of Paul Jones, Decatur, Bainbridge, Perry, Worman, Cushing, Winslow, and other American captains of single ships. On the thirteenth of July, steaming into the straits of Shimonosdki, he saw the three men-of-war lying at anchor between the town and the main channel ; the brig and the bark in line and the steamer fifty yards to the left, the main channel lying still further to the larboard side. The sun-flag was flying at the main, and the colors of Choshiu at the foretop. Six batteries on the bluffs commanded his path to these ships. The mud flats had been marked with stakes to assure certain A NAVAL BATTLE. 353 accuracy to the aim of the Japanese gunners. It seemed madness to face the fire of all these forts and to run between the ships ; but McDougal knew two things well, first of all his duty, and second the draught of the Choshiu steamer. He trusted much to human infirmity on the Japanese side, and much more in God. He ran his ship close under the bat- teries, and then drove her right between the three war-vessels. In five minutes the Wyoming was in the vortex of a tempest of flame, smoke, shot, and shell. The muzzles of the American and the Japanese ships’ guns seemed to touch, and more than once two red tongues of fire from opposite ports became one. From the steamer came only the fire of small arms, but on bark and brig the cannon fire was amazingly rapid. For a half-hour the crash of bursting shell, smashing timbers, flying splinters, and rattle of grape, canister, and chain-shot on the Wyoming’s deck had little intermission. Through it all McDougal stood on the bridge directing the fire of broadside and pivot guns, and cheering his men. Once out be- yond the Choshiu ships, the Wyoming was safe for a few moments from the batteries. Then it was noticed from the American ship that the Japanese steamer, having probably a thousand men on board, and grappling-irons slung at the yards, was being maneuvered so as to capture the Wyoming, with her one hundred and sixty men, by boarding. The outlook was dark. What if the Japanese should board and overwhelm the little crew of the 354 HONDA THE SAMURAI. Wyoming? Visions of prison-cages, torture, decapi- tation, and exposure of heads on pillories rose be- fore the minds of the Americans. The sailors were nerved to desperation and vengeance at the thought and made up their minds not to be taken prisoners. Even the marines now hoped to have something to do after the dreadful inaction of waiting. Neverthe- less it required coolness, science, and skill to work and aim a Dahlgren eleven-inch pivot gun, and neither these nor courage failed. McDougal ordered the Wyoming again into posi- tion for a decisive shot. Despite the swift current the engines brought her broadside with the enemy, and then the two eleven-inch pivot guns delivered their awful message. The forward Dahlgren sent its shell into the side of the Choshiu steamer only two feet above the water-line. Piercing wood, coal, bunkers, and boiler, it passed out the opposite side and, a half-mile away, exploded amid the houses of the town. Then, as from a colossal geyser, shot up and rolled out columns and clouds of steam and smoke, ashes, coal, wood, and human beings, as forty souls entered eternity, and the water was black with the heads of men struggling for life. With their blood heated with the passions of battle and hardly yet freed from the nightmare of prison-coops, torture, and behead- ing, the American sailors rushed to the gunwales to shoot the helpless Japanese in the water. “Call off the men !” roared McDougal. “Don’t l et a shot he fired by an American when an enemy is helpless ! ” A NAVAL BATTLE. 355 Not a pistol, revolver, or carbine blazed. Even the marines, whose nerves were so tried by being compelled to stand still at arms during the cannon- ade, while the sailors were upheld by the excitement of fighting, were not allowed after that order the glory of a single shot. “We ’ll fight like Christians or not at all,” said an officer. Then backward through another shower of iron in the form of grape and canister, chain-shot, eight- inch shell, twenty-four and thirty-two pound round- shot from the batteries, the Wyoming passed. Hull, masts, rigging, smoke-stack, and iron-work were torn, gashed, plowed, and pierced, but neither boiler nor rudder had been touched. The brig sunk, the steamer blown up, one or two of the batteries si- lenced, was the report of her work done in one hour and ten minutes. Of the gallant sailors on her own deck four killed outright and two dead of their wounds, besides seven more torn, bruised, or muti- lated, made the record of their loss. The next day was the Lord’s Day, and one of peace and rest, withal as beautiful as though it had come down out of heaven from God. Then how different the scene on the deck of the American battle-ship! Four hammocks neatly sewed and heav- ily shotted lay by the board ready for their “ vast and wandering grave.” Then McDougal, the hero that knew no fear, the man of science, courage, and faith, with prayer to the Father of all spirits, in tears that rolled down his face, and with a heart 356 HONDA THE SAMURAI. that at times nearly choked the utterance of the voice, read the Christian burial service, and in the name of the Resurrection and the Life, as all heads uncovered, committed the bodies to the deep. “ It has been hard to fight with the men of the country which Perry opened so peacefully,” said a lieutenant. “Even when the Japanese fight against each other, we can look on with regret. It is my consolation as an American that we fought the Cho- shiu clan, rather than Japan.” “ May Japan and the United States always pre- serve friendship ; but I fear this is not the end of the trouble,” said the other lieutenant. There was no time to lose, for the Alabama was to be sought. A few days were spent at Yoko- hama in refitting, and then guns were loaded once more, and the Wyoming headed for the straits of Sunda, and for home. Missing the Alabama, the Kearsarge won the glory of victory, and the exploit of the Wyoming is even yet hardly known to Ameri- cans who know all about Paul Jones and Oliver Perry. Yet that action in the straits of Shimonos^ki did more than exhibit American gallantry and the power of Dahlgren artillery. It had a powerful influence in opening the eyes of one of the bravest and most enterprising bodies of men in Japan not only to the power, but to the methods, of the war- fare of Christian nations. War is horrible, but even in things horrible mercy may shine, and the right object of using force may be discerned even amid A NAVAL BATTLE. 357 blood and slaughter. That the Americans left the helpless men unharmed when canister-shot and carbine volleys could have dyed the waters red with an awful loss of life, forcibly impressed certain Jap- anese officers. The Christian idea of humanity, and the moral courage of McDougal in calmly trying such odds, alike impressed them even more than did his physical courage. In the ordinary valor of brave men the Japanese fall behind no people on earth. They laugh at death and despise fear; but in the higher levels of duty, in moral courage, in the ten- derness of heart that in the Christian ideal is linked with daring, the old samurai’s ideal of Yamato Damashii was conspicuously defective. Meanwhile, adopting American arms, tactics, and even clothing, the Choshiu clansmen set themselves in undying opposition to the Tycoon and his author- ity. Little as they knew it, they were beginning the destruction of feudalism and of old Japan. With Satsuma, Tosa, Hizen, Echizen, Mito, Owari, and a few other clans, they were setting their faces toward the New Japan, civilized, social, constitu- tional, and Christian. CHAPTER XXX. THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES. FTER leaving Doctor Grey’s house on that iA, afternoon in July, Honda Jiro spent the rest of the day in walking about Yokohama. He noticed with interest the streets lined with smart new houses, and filled with wheeled vehicles and carriages drawn by horses. He looked in the native shops glittering with fresh wares, and watched the foreign men at the bank, hongs, business offices, and shops. Later in the day, when they went out for a walk, horseback ride, or carriage drive before dining, he saw them at their play hour. The hairiness of their faces, the ugliness of many of them, and their curious dress and manners impressed him at first with intense dislike. When, however, he reflected on the substantial nature of their ships, stores, houses, and public build- ings ; as he occasionally saw a golden-haired child, or beautiful young girl ; noticed the freedom of all, as shown in riding on horseback and in vehicles ; and as he considered the mighty change that had passed over Yokohama, order came out of the chaos of his feeling and calm from the storm of his impres- sions. He went back to his inn with a determi- nation stronger than ever to know the secrets of 3£8 THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES. 359 their thought and life ; for beneath these leaves, he thought, must be strong, deep roots. In the morning, sallying out from his inn, he stopped at the confectioner’s. There he bought a box of sponge-cake and another of candied fruit. According to polite custom, he offered these to Doctor Grey as a reminder of his visit and obliga- tion, with the added words, “ Yesterday, thank you.” With Doctor Grey he then called to see the medical missionary at the latter’s house. Though busy in making a dictionary of Japanese and English, and varying this literary labor by trans- lating the Gospel of Matthew, Doctor Bunner gladly welcomed the callers. A man not tall in stature, slight in figure, and genial in presence, he was also a most tireless worker and of rigid and systematic habits. After a few minutes’ chat together Doctor Bunner invited Honda into the dispensary. The sight which met Honda Jiro’s eyes as he entered the large room was one which made an im- pression that will last during his life. Familiar with the sight of the sick and of the dirty, of diseased, of disfigured, and of outcast humanity, Honda had indeed become by casual observation ; but he had never before made examination in detail, nor seen it so concentrated together. About two hundred men, women, children, and babies, had come for medicine, advice, and healing. Such misery and wretchedness seemed appalling. There were gray-haired hags and hobbling beggars with bleared and reddened eyes, wrinkled and puckered faces, streaming thin hair, 360 HONDA THE SAMUBAL open sores, and foully dressed limbs. These showed the effect of long years of sin, of crime, of neglect, of ignorance, of pain, of agony, of hunger, of want, and of all that makes life miserable. Such foul skin- eruptions, such hideousness of nameless diseases that eat up the membranes and cartilages and bones, such ravages of small-pox and leprosy ! Mothers, with pink-capped babies whose eyes had been corroded by the infectious plague, looked with pitiable gaze into the good man’s face for a word of hope. The blind, the halt, the foul, came for salve, powder, cleansing, surgery. It was a chamber of horrors into which the young Japanese had entered, and though brave as a lion he sickened and almost fainted at the repulsive spectacle. He watched the doctor. He keenly scrutinized every motion of physician, patient, and assistants, to see what gifts were made or received. After a few minutes’ talk about God, the heavenly Father, and of Christ the Saviour, and of our need of repent- ance, faith, salvation, and right living, Doctor Bunner proceeded with his work, giving along with his ad- vice, medicine, directions, or judgment, kindly and sympathetic words that were like balm. Five or six native young men who were preparing to be Ran- gaku, or “ physicians in the Holland style,” assisted Doctor Bunner, or were taught by him in this way as well as by books. These were active and helpful ; but not a coin was dropped, or a gift made by the patients, or a z£ni collected from them. Honda was amazed to find that these skilled services and the THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES. 361 medicines were free, and that the expense was all paid by Christians in America. All this, with the talk with Doctor Gray and a further conversation with Doctor Bunner, so power- fully affected Honda Jiro that he at once made up his mind to live in Yokohama and to learn from these men more about Jesus and the religion which sent out such missionaries. Going back to Yedo to arrange his affairs with the Fukui officers, he took with him a copy of Doctor Grey’s translation into Japanese of the Four Gospels in manuscript. 9 “ It is a rough draft and merely a beginning,” said the doctor, as he looked kindly over his spec- tacles at Honda, and smiled with a merry twinkle of the eye. “ You are a scholar, and will find many infelicities in it. 1 shall be especially thankful if you will compare the Chinese version and mine and write out your copy,” he added seriously, as he grasped warmly Honda’s hand, and said : “ The en- trance of God’s words give light, and may your soul come into the full day of obedience and love to Christ.” Honda thanked him heartily, and took his journey to Yedo. After three weeks he received permission direct from his feudal master in Fukui, through the influence of “ the old prince,” as the ex-daimio Mat- sudaira was now called, to remain two years in Yokohama. With this permission came also an unsolicited appointment as agent for the clan, at a small salary sufficient for his support. Evidently the old prince had divined his plan and was encour- 362 HONDA THE SAMURAI. aging him at the same time. Through the influence of friends in Yedo he had the teacher, who was gov- ernment spy at Doctor Grey’s house, promoted to a higher office in Yedo. During the months spent in waiting he read care- fully the Gospels, spending the mornings purely as an inquirer and seeker after truth. In the afternoons he occupied himself as a literary student, comparing the Chinese New Testament with the Japanese, and making a transcription of what he thought was the best Japanese expression of some of the wonderful ideas and most impressive sentences. He found th? Gospel of St. John very difficult. Without a teacher, its study seemed more loss than profit, except for occasional flashes where the missionary had found the Japanese words worthy to match the thought. The Gospel of St. Mark was most easy, and this he read again and again with delight, though many of his old ideas were rudely shaken. His wife also became interested in the reading; but her favorite was the Gospel of St. Luke. The couple now came to Yokohama, and renting a little house, made their home in the nicer part of the Japanese quarter. When Doctor Grey’s teacher accepted the offer of official position in Yedo, Honda had the great joy of being invited by Doctor Grey to become his assistant and instructor in Japanese. Doctor Grey wished to fix a modest salary, and at first insisted on paying, but Honda explained that his office was sufficient for his support, and that any money intended as remuneration for work or tran- THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES. 363 scription could go to pay the expense of printing when the time came to pay for it. This, however, seemed a long way off, for while the penalty of death or imprisonment was still published before the eyes of the Japanese, neither printers nor readers could be persuaded or hired to touch the incendiary documents. With all its troubles, outward and in- ward, the Yedo government failed not in its vigi- lance in persecution of those suspected of being Christians. CHAPTER XXXI. THE STORM BREAKS. — A NEW NATION. HE Choshiu men, in firing on foreign vessels, -L had obeyed the Mikado and disobeyed the Tycoon. The Throne and the Camp had again dis- agreed, and this time the disagreement was “the beginning of the end.” Thousands of “ foreigner- haters ” now gathered in Choshiu, and took service as soldiers and artillerymen. This one clan, thus re-inforced, seemed determined to fight the Treaty Nations and the Yedo government, and, if possible, capture Kyoto, seize the Mikado, and in place of the Tokugawa dynasty set up that of Mori of Choshiu. On the fourth of September they fired on a bakufu steamer and, boarding her, compelled certain men on board to commit hara-kiri, and then assassinated two men known to be spies from Yedo. This opened the long war between Tokugawa and Mori. At Kyoto, there being fifteen hundred Choshiu clansmen in or near the city, and being suspected of plotting to seize the Mikado’s person, they were out- lawed by a decree of the court, then under the in- fluence of Aidzu and Tokugawa. Eighteen kug6, or court nobles, were punished, and five more de- prived of rank and titles for conspiring with Cho- shiu. On the thirtieth of September the clansmen 364 A NEW NATION. 365 and the court nobles retreated to Choshiu ; but in the following July a small army of irregulars from various clans came to Kyoto to petition the Mikado to restore the lord of Choshiu and the outlawed court nobles to honor. An order was issued to chastise the irregulars, which was duly issued, and Fujimaro and his Fukui soldiers guarded the Sakai-street gate. Then at daydawn, on the twentieth of August, began a battle before the palace gates, like that of the Genji and Heike seven hundred and five years before. On the one side were the Choshiu clans- men and the ronins, and on the other the soldiers of Tokugawa, Aidzu, Echizen, and other clans. The warriors were dressed in armor, but equipped also with muskets, and using cannon as well as arrows, spears, and swords. The prize of victory was the government — to gain and hold the palace and the imperial person. As before, in 1159 A.D., those in possession of the palace and gardens held their own. The Choshiu army was driven back, but Kyoto was nearly destroyed by the cannonade and by fire. Thirty-seven of the captured southerners were be- headed in prison. Fujimaro was richly rewarded. Elated with success, the Tokugawas now resolved to utterly suppress the rebellious province ; but the southern clan, undismaj^ed, prepared to fight both the allied squadrons of Great Britain, France, Hol- land, and the United States, and the armies from Yedo. In September, 1864, the fleet of four nations, with seventeen ships, two hundred and eight guns, and seventy-five hundred and ninety men, bombarded 366 HONDA THE SAMURAI. the batteries at Shimonos^ki during two days, and then, landing a force of infantry, sailors, and marines, destroyed the batteries and “ cleaned out the den.” The result of this tremendous chastisement is told by a Japanese. “ The effect of this affair was de- cisive. Some of the most enthusiastic adherents of the anti-foreign party participated in the engage- ment, and they became convinced that the ‘out- siders ’ were far stronger and, in many respects, superior to the Japanese. It is fair to state that the anti-foreign sentiment in Japan was smothered by this event.” Hitherto most of the sword-wear- ing samurai were like young Indians of the plains, who do not know the power of the forces opposed to them in the nation ; but now the energies of the “ Mikado-reverencers ” were turned away from the foreigners and concentrated in destroying the Yedo government. Now began a campaign led by the flower of Choshiu, men of ideas, students of modern ideas derived from the Dutch books, armed with Ameri- can rifles, having cast off their armor and being lightly dressed, their recruits being not only samurai, but chosen from the common people, well paid and full of enthusiasm and obedient to discipline. The result of the movements in the summer of 1866 was that this handful of alert men of courage and ideas beat back and defeated the motley army sent from Yedo. The prestige of the bakufu was now forever gone. On the death of the young Tycoon, September 19, A NEW NATION. 367 1866, Kdiki was appointed in his place. The ques- tions before him were, Should hostilities against Cho- shiu be resumed, and should Hyogo and Osaka be opened to foreigners ? K6iki called a council of the seven most prominent daimios, among whom were Echizen, Uwajima, Hizen, Tosa, and Satsuma, but was amazed to find that public opinion was ripe for the abolition of the dual form of government and a return to monarchy. Echizen and others frankly de- clared that the main cause of the national troubles was the division of the government into Throne and Camp. The prince of Tosa openly urged Keiki to resign. These progressive daimios formed an invin- cible combination, and were evidently so formidable an exponent of the general sense of the country, that on the ninth of November, 1867, Keiki, after a brief and noble address to the Throne, resigned his position. Nevertheless the Aidzu clan kept the imperial palace, and it was uncertain where the actual seat of power was, especially since the old emperor had died, and the new one, born in 1852, was but fifteen years old. The daimios in combination felt that now or never was the time to strike for a united nation. Having quietly gathered their clansmen in Kyoto, they took possession of the palace gates on the third of January, 1868. They dismissed his old advisers from the boy-emperor, and in his name issued a proclamation that the government of the country was now wholly in the power of the imperial court. Thus, by a palace revolution, the government was 368 HONDA THE SAMURAI. at last centered in the imperial person. The move- ment was effected by the influential men of the clans of Satsuma, Tosa, Echizen, Owari, Uwajima, Aki, and others, with the aid of a few daimios and kug6. The new Constitution was proclaimed as follows : Three new grades of officers and eight government departments were created, namely : — I. Supreme administrator, relative of the Mikado. II. Officers to counsel and decide, of the rank of kug6 or daimio. III. Associate officers, either kug6, daimio, or their retainers, selected by the Mikado. The eight departments were: — Supreme Executive Council, Religion, Interior, Foreign Affairs, War, Finance, Justice, Legislation. A parliament was also provided for by summoning to Kyoto three hundred and twelve samurai of ability and intelligence. Among those from Fukui was Mr. Rai Goro and Doctor Sano. Among the first of the associate officers invited to be adviser to the em- peror was Professor Koba. The prince of Echizen was made vice-minister of the department of the interior. He hoped the revolution would be con- summated without war. A newspaper was established in Kyoto, and the new Constitution and appointments were published in it. Having now won their main purpose, the men who had veiled their larger purpose and nobler patriotism under the cry of “ Honor the Mikado and expel the barbarian ! ” checkmated the foreigner- haters and silenced their cry. One of the first acts A NEW NATION. 369 of the new government was to ratify the treaties with the foreign nations in the name of the Mikado. All this was not done without opposition, and the far-seeing and high-souled patriots who had now the destinies of Japan in their hands were denounced as traitors both by the fanatical retainers of Tokugawa and by the haters of the bakufu, who thought that they had been betrayed by their old comrades. To many of the ronins the possession of the Mikado and government had been eagerly awaited as the signal of war, but instead they found it meant peace. Echi- zen and Owari were sent to Kffiki to invite him to high office under the new government. He at first agreed, but afterward yielded to the counsel of Aid- zii and other clans and advanced on Kyoto with a large army to drive out the men forming the new government. At the battle of Fushimi, fought dur- ing three days, from January 27 to 30, the ex-Ty- coon’s forces were beaten and he himself found refuge on the American man-of-war Iroquois. The loyal army now marched against Yedo, captured it, fought a battle at Uyeno, and then in the north won victories in many places. On the sea, with the ironclad ex- Confederate ram Stonewall, brought from the United States, the loyal forces overcame the navy of the adherents of Tokugawa. Yedo was made the kyo, or capital, and being in the east was called Tokyo, or Eastern Capital. Here the Mikado came to live, and henceforth Tokyo became the political, literary, educational, and religious center of the empire. Kyoto was named Sai-kyo, or the western capital, 370 HONDA THE SAMURAI. and here for several years some of the government officers remained, among whom were our old friends Mr. Rai Goro and Professor Koba. During the years of his quiet life in Higo, since leaving Kyoto, Professor Koba had been earnestly at work in developing the resources of his native province, and helping the farmers to improve their own condition as well as their crops, and, in general, educating the people. He sent his two nephews on an American vessel at Nagasaki to study in the United States. He assisted other young men, in the same way, and soon scores of Japanese students were learning the science and languages of the west. When called to Kyoto, in 1868, he found himself among young men, and he the oldest of the Mikado’s counselors. To one of such eminent personal dignity and in- tellectual acquirements the young makers of New Japan gave great deference, and listened earnestly as Professor Koba pleaded for wise measures and for social and moral, as well as political, reform. Mr. Rai nobly seconded most of his propositions in the parliament. Koba urged that the eta and hi-nin should be at once given citizenship, more freedom of conscience in religion be allowed, and persecu- tion of Christians be stopped. Though the oldest, Koba led his colleagues in urging an enlightened and progressive policy. In a word, Koba labored to obtain for the subjects of the emperor many of the rights of person and conscience now enjoyed under the Constitution promulgated February 11, 1889. A NEW NATION. 371 The verbal form of the “ charter-oath of five arti- cles ” solemnly sworn to by the Mikado, in the castle of Nijo, before the court nobles and daimios, and made the basis of the new government, called the Consti- tution of 1868, was the work of Mr. Rai Goro. These five articles were : I. All the affairs of state shall be guided by public opinion. II. The upper and the lower (all) classes of the people shall he united for common good, and the right principles of social and political economy studied by all. III. The fountains of honor and power (Throne and Camp) shall be united for the purpose of as- sisting every subject to carry out his will for good purposes. IV. The artificial and absurd customs of former times shall be abolished, and all measures shall be framed according to the right way between heaven and earth. V. Intellect and ability shall be sought for from all parts of the world to establish the foundations of the empire. On this basis the government of Japan was, as it has proved, to be administered for twenty-two years, or until the new and more glorious Constitution of February 11, 1889. Following out the purpose of the fifth clause, the men of Ecliizen promptly be- stirred themselves to obtain from Europe and Amer- ica a physician, a military instructor, a mining en- gineer, a teacher of English, and an organizer of 372 HONDA THE SAMURAI. education in the sciences and literature of Chris- tendom. Yet Koba never lived to see Echizen leading in the new era of Meiji, or peace under enlightened civilization. Why ? Alas, that we should have to write it, and again tell the story of blood ! There were many men still in Kyoto and the country bitterly opposed to reform, to foreigners, and above all to Christianity. They had marked for death any one suspected of being a Christian, or, as they, put it, of “ holding evil opin- ions.” They argued that Koba must be a Christian, or else he would not be bent upon so changing the old order of rule by the sword, upon uplifting the outcasts to citizenship, and upon treating aliens with respect. Going home in his palanquin one night in 1869 from the court where he had been all day engaged, his bearers had reached a certain street in Kyoto when a pistol-shot was fired, the ball passing through the palanquin. Koba at once knew he was surrounded, and sprang out to defend himself. Six men with their faces tied up with cloth-wrappers, which concealed their features except their eyes, attacked him with naked swords, and one of them with a single blow cut off his head. One of the assassins was an ex-priest and two were of the class called goshi. All were arrested and beheaded for their crime, but the loss of this wise counselor was irreparable. Mr. Rai, though often threatened, escaoed all dan- A NEW NATION. 373 gers, living to preside at the opening of the School of Western Languages and Science, established in Fukui, and finally to see the feudal system pass away. He himself was appointed the special agent of the imperial government to hand over the lands, castles, public works, and appurtenances of the fief of Fukui to the emperor and to the nation. The impressive ceremonies attendant upon the transfer of the loyalty of the retainers of the house of Echizen to the Mikado were with sadness and dig- nity, blended with mingled hope and fear for the future. They took place in the great castle hall on a lovely Sunday morning in October, 1871. The next day, amid the tears and smiles of a people both loyal and patriotic, the lord and the lady of the castle departed from Fukui for their permanent abode in the capital to live as private persons ; and the spectacular glories and feudal display disap- peared from Fukui forever. Henceforth in Tokyo, with sufficient means to live in a style becoming his rank, Fujimaro lived while his little son pre- pared for entrance into the University of Oxford. CHAPTER XXXII. HOW HONDA JIRO BECAME A CHRISTIAN. HE year which followed the coming of Honda I Jiro and his wife to Yokohama was one of intense anxiety to the American missionaries. Though home news was more cheering, and the ultimate victory of the Union arms, and the indi- cations of the supremacy of the United States gov- ernment were more assuring, yet affairs in Japan seemed to become more and more unsettled. Mur- der, incendiarism, and assassination increased rather than diminished. The only lawful government of the country, which in the eyes of the foreigners was that in Yedo, seemed to he fast settling to destruc- tion. Of the constructive forces latent in the move- ment against the Tycoon, they knew nothing. One happy event which took place at Doctor Grey’s house cheered the toilers. One year after his arrival at Yokohama Honda Jiro and his wife were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the presence of the American families of the three missionaries then at the port. After the parents had confessed their faith, the waters of holy baptism fell upon the forehead of little Sayo, their baby daughter, then three months old. The second event worth noticing, even as the HONDA JIRO A CHRISTIAN. 375 planting of a seed is worth the notice, was the send- ing of a complete revised copy of the Gospels in Japanese to Professor Koba, then at Kumamoto. The Scriptures could not yet be published, for none of the block-cutters or book-sellers could be got to touch the work, fearing imprisonment or death. Years were yet to pass before anything but manuscript could be circulated among inquiring men who were seekers after God. At this time there were many Neesimas of whom the outside world never heard, but of whom the Watcher of the falling sparrow knew. Not every Neesima met his Hardy. How all this came to pass, the change of mind and of heart in himself, and the brave stand for Christ, even amid the risks of prison, exile, and death, is told in a letter written by Honda some years after- ward. This is the way he gives his experience and relates the story of his turning to God. The docu- ment was written about the time of the formation of the first Christian church in Japan, at Yokohama, April 10, 1872, which took place after a month of daily prayer and study of the Book of Acts — the inspired text-book of church history. “ I was born in Japan when it was almost wholly a heathen land. I was brought up in the midst of idolatry and superstitions of various kinds, and I had not any knowledge of God and his salvation. I cared nothing for the Buddhist religion, but went to school where 1 was taught the doctrines of Confu- cius. The consequence was that I firmly believed 376 HONDA THE SAMURAI. in the annihilation of the soul with the body. I thought, also, that all things which exist in the world were the works of nature and there was not any Being who created and governed them. I also believed in the original purity of the heart, as Con- fucius and his followers taught. These three articles are fundamental to the scheme of Chinese ethics, but are exactly opposite to the doctrine of Christianity. “ Several years having so passed, at last there came a time when I was delivered out of darkness into light. When I was undergoing my term of house- confinement for intending to take the life of Commo- dore Perry, I got from Mr. Koba a book which was written in Chinese, treating in general of Christianity, by a missionary in Shanghai. This was the first book written on the subject that I had ever read. This also was the first time that I was informed of anything about the religion of Jesus, except as I had vague impressions about it as I read the name of Yasu, or Jesus, on the public edict-boards, or heard it described as sorcery by my nurses and grandmother. My impression then was that it would have a more powerful effect on the minds of men in conducting their moral life than the doctrine of Confucius would, because Christianity teaches us to regard this world as only a temporary abode, but the next to be eternal. I also came to the conclusion that the fear of punishment in the world to come can restrain the most violent passions ; while the hope of coming happiness inspires courage to strive after good. I had not any idea myself of accepting these doctrines HONDA JIBO A CHBISTIAN. 377 as part of my personal belief, but I had a strong de- sire to read the Bible just to know what was written in it. In Fukui I was further helped by studying with Professor Koba who was full of admiration for the teachings of Jesus and his sympathy for even the lowest kind of humanity. “ Afterward, in the political turmoil and bloody scenes which I witnessed in Kyoto and Yedo, I was impressed with the need of our samurai of a higher moral principle than merely that of the ‘five rela- tions ’ as taught by Confucius. Our samurai seemed as brave and determined, as willing to suffer and endure as foreigners ; but when I read in Dutch books the history of Europe and America, I was persuaded that our country needed a moral power equal to that of Christian nations. Supposing our feudal system were to break down, where should we samurai find sufficient motive for right living and for elevating our country to the level of the United States of America? For I reflected on the great age of our country and civilization, and compared our attainments with those of England or America. In fact, my reflections while in prison, and as secretary of my lord Echizen, took much of my old pride away, and my narrow fanatical patriotism changed to a love for my country and all her people. And this, as Professor Koba first pointed out, was the sure result of studying the life of Christ who loved the lepers and outcast men and women as much as he loved rich men and learned scholars. “ I found also in my reading that many excellent 378 HONDA THE SAMURAI. passages were often quoted from the Scriptures, and reference so often made to Bible history that I saw at length that to understand European literature I must know the Bible ; for illustration of modern events the authors quoted from the ancient sacred books as a standard. While reading modern history I became convinced that Christianity has an important place in the course of modern civilization. Next I was led to think that all science, art, and useful imple- ments of modern civilization are merely leaves and branches, whilst the principal root which produces them is the Christian religion. I can not tell now why I thought so, nor do I think that was exactly correct ; yet it wrought a wholesome effect on my mind, for I commenced then continually to direct my attention to the subject of religion. I could under- stand the New Testament pretty well in some things, but in regard to many matters I had only confused notions. “ I now had an intense longing to come to Yoko- hama and see whether the Christians were much or little like Jesus the lover of men. Fortunately the resignation of my prince from the office of dictator gave me the opportunity, and I came at once. In Doctor Grey’s house I was so kindly treated that I was deeply impressed. When I saw the science, the ability, the pity, and the healing power of Doctor Bunner, I was overcome and ashamed of myself for my former mean notions about foreigners. I got a new idea of what moral, as apart from jjhysical, cour- age is when I saw Captain McDougal, and after- HONDA JIBO A GHBISTIAN. 379 wards heard of his valor and skill. When I learned that even in the heat of battle the American sailors were not allowed to fire at the Japanese from the blown-up steamer when struggling in the water, I could see that the spirit of Christianity was influen- tial even in war. After I came back to live in Yoko- hama and was able to talk with Doctor Grey when- ever I had mental difficulties, I made great progress in what our people now call ‘ the Jesus way.’ “ I could easily believe in God who created the heavens, earth, and all the things therein, and admire very highly the moral teachings of the Bible. Yet I was not so ready to believe in the method of salva- tion and the wonderful miracles of Christ. At last I was led to think that it was a foolish idea for me, with such a feeble understanding to say, I can not believe these things because I can not understand them, or because they are not as I thought them to be. I became conscious also that it would be a great blessing to me if I could believe, because then I could overcome more easily all the difficulties of this life, and keep myself more easily from the follies in the hope of eternal glory and in the pleas- ure of serving the Lord and Creator of heaven and earth, than I could in following the teachings of Confucius, whom I regard as only a good man, and whose view was limited simply to this world. I saw too that the Bible is the book by which we can settle the difficult questions of the first beginnings and future destinies of all things in the world, and with- out it we should wander to and fro in dark imagin' ings and vain superstitions. 380 HONDA THE SAMURAI. “ Yet all this was, in so far, only the outward part of religion. I found the Bible required of me not only change of mind but of feelings. I began after that to pray more in secret, and I read the Bible for what it had to say to me as a needy soul and as a helpless sinner. As I read it and compared myself with the sinless Jesus, and saw myself in the light of God’s holiness, I became conscious of many de- fects, and finally, after long struggle, of the fact that I was a miserable offender in God’s sight. This was at first an awful blow to my pride, and then this strong sense of sin put me almost in despair of enter- ing into the kingdom of the holy ones. This lasted some time, until I found to my joy that faith in the Saviour is the living principle of salvation. That verse in Romans, ‘ Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ,’ became my favorite ; and I think now that faith brings hope, and hope endurance, which by the grace of God will enable me to continue in the faith to the end. I am resolved to lead my whole life as it be- comes a Christian, wherever I am or shall be, depend- ing upon the mercy and guidance of God. “ Now that I am a member of Christ by faith, now that a native Japanese Christian Church has been established in Japan, I have more hope for my coun- try than ever. How wonderfully God has given me my heart’s desire, even as a Japanese, and answered the prayers of all who are loyal to our Mikado and imperial government ! For now the object I long sought has been attained ; the merchant is honored, HONDA JIRO A CHRISTIAN. 381 the lower classes are treated better, and the eta have been made citizens. Yedo has become the kyo of the nation, and is now Tokyo; the feudal system is abolished ; there is no Tycoon, or political system between the Emperor and his people. Japan is now a united nation. “We have even hope that persecution will cease, the anti-Christian edicts be removed, and liberty of conscience be granted to all loyal Japanese. God bless our young Mikado and Japan, and may my country become not only representative and consti- tutional in government, but Christian in faith and practice 1 ” CHAPTER XXXIII. A POSTSCRIPT IN SEPTEMBER, 1890. HE hanashika , as the Japanese would call him, -L who tells this story, enjoyed a call a few weeks ago from a gentleman from Tokyo. On his card — plate engraved in Boston — I read in English, Asahi Rai. “ Can it be possible,” I thought, “ that here is one of my old Fukui boys ? ” Going down into the parlor I shook hands with a fine-looking young man, who immediately said : — “ Do you not know me ? I am one of your boys whom you taught in Fukui.” “ Yes, of course I know you, and am glad to see you ; but you write your name in our way — family name last ? ” “ Yes ; we all do it in Japan now, at least most of us.” “ And, may I ask, what are you doing in America, Asahi bo? ” Laughing heartily at my calling him by his nursery name, he replied : — “ I am a civil engineer, and am here on govern- ment business connected with the railroads, — for the Department of Communications, — of which, as you know, some one of the great Sa-cho-to combina- A POSTSCRIPT IN 1890. 383 tion is chief, or minister, for the imperial cabinet changes often. Heretofore, since 1868, the ministers and men in high office have been those who were active in the Revolution of 1868, but now there are younger men educated in Europe or America who are the emperor’s advisers, and in the cabinet.” “ Your words remind me of Professor Koba. Is his widow living yet?” “ Oh, yes, in good health ; and his son is now the pastor of a large Christian church in Tokyo. He is one of the most active and earnest of our leaders. He was trained at the Doshisha in Kyoto, over which Mr. Neesima was president. When those assassins left Koba’s headless trunk in the streets of Kyoto, they imagined that Christianity in Japan was at an end, but they were mistaken. I myself have the great pleasure of being a member of Rev. Mr. Koba’s church, and of hearing him preach every Sunday. By the way, Mr. Neesima’s loss seems almost irreparable, but we hope God will give us others like him. We have several Fukui lads at the Doshisha in Kyoto.” “ What has become of all our old friends ? How is the old prince of Echizen?” “ Oh, Matsudaira ? Alas, he died during the summer, after the emperor had conferred upon him the highest rank a living subject could attain.” “ Indeed ! I feel this as a direct personal loss. Then we shall have no Echizen nobleman sitting among the princes in the new House of Peers ? ” “ No ; nor among the marquises : for since I left 384 HONDA THE SAMURAI. J apan, Fujimaro, whose wedding my father attended, has also passed away.” “ And what of his beautiful wife, the Higo bride you remember, whose betrothal your father arranged, and who was, as I thought, one of the handsomest ladies in Japan ? ” “ Ah, yes ; I am sorry to say she died a few years ago. Her son, who was studying at an English uni- versity, returned in time to be chief mourner at his father’s funeral. He is very promising, and has his mother’s winning ways.” “ I am sorry to hear of her death. Here, in this cabinet drawer, is some of her beautiful handiwork in silk and cr6pe ; and as for that rare old kakemono, with the painting on silk of the palace-lady, which reminds me of her, do you know how I got that?” “No; please tell me.” “ W ell, in those days when I first came to Fukui, for fear of the foreigner-haters’ assassinating the American teacher, Mr. Honda Jiro’s father, by order of the Prince Fujimaro, used to send two mounted yakunin with me when I took a horseback ride through the country. In clumsily leading his horse over the boat-bridge at Funabashi, first built by Shibata Katsuiy6, the horse of one of the guards slipped into the water and was nearly drowned. For fear I should inform on him to the prince, he in- sisted on my accepting this rare old bit of art-work of the fifteenth century. By the way, how is he ? ” “ He is dead also, but his son is the pastor of a Methodist church near Yokohama. He was a bright A POSTSCBIPT I A 1890. 385 student, you know, and a fine man, and has been a very successful preacher.” “ Good ! And how are Doctor Sano and his son, and the three little daughters who used to bring me flowers? ” “ Ah, yes. The doctor is hale and hearty yet at eighty, and still thinks Fukui scenery the finest in Japan. His daughters are all married, and one of them, the youngest, is my wife,” laughed Asahi. “His son is the famous naval surgeon, who first demonstrated that the Japanese must sit on chairs instead of squatting on mats, if they would grow taller and have a better physique,” said Asahi, with another merry laugh. “ And how are your mother, your sisters, and your brothers ? ” “ My mother is still living, and in Tokyo with father, who, you know, is a senator. Of my brothers, one is an officer in the navy, and one in the depart- ment of education. Both my sisters married gentle- men who had been students in America.” “Your father is actively engaged in doing good, of course?” “ He is, even if his son says it. When the Con- stitution was proclaimed last February, he saw his heart’s desire gratified in having the names of Sa- kuma Ei, Noge Toro, Ban Saburo, and others who had died political martyrs, raised to honor and post- humous rank. Indeed, some of the most splendid monuments in the country are to those who, under the old system, were put to death.” 386 HONDA THE SAMURAI. “ And how is Kffiki, the last of the Tycoons?” “ Oh, he is living in delightful leisure at Shid- zuoka, and recently requested in the Christian churches a memorial service in honor of all the foreigners who lost their lives during the political troubles. It was a noble and generous act, and quite in accordance with his character. All the nobles of the Tokugawa family enjoy high honor, and many of those engaged against the imperial government before and since 1868 have been par- doned, and, in many cases, given high rank and office. Indeed, those far-away days, as your civil war of 1861 to 1865 must to you, seem like ancient history to us young men.” “ And how are Honda Jiro and his wife ? ” “Ah, yes. Would you believe it? I have just made a call on his oldest son, who is a student at the same American school at which the son of Ii Kamon no Kami was educated. Honda is still at his work in Tokyo, as a Christian teacher. He is as patriotic as ever, but after going around the world with a commission, sent by the government to study education, he has declined all public office. His wife is very active in all tjiat relates to the welfare of her countrywomen, but does not believe in aping for- eigners, nor in adopting all the foolish innovations. In fact, both Honda and his wife, while earnestly Christian, strongly believe in holding fast to what is best and truest in our national character.” “Good! They are the kind of Japanese I like, and whom sensible people will respect. A national- A POSTSCRIPT IN 1890. 387 ist movement that means loyalty to Japan will win the respect of the world. No bad reaction in that. By the way, what books have you been reading?” “ Well, with your American steamers crossing the Pacific in twelve days and a fraction, as the China now does, there is not much time for reading ; but on board ship I read again, daily and delightedly, out of the complete Bible in Japanese. I also re- read a work on ‘The Opening of Japan to Western Influences,’ by one of our most philosophic historians, in which he entirely justifies and defends Ii Kamon no Kami. On the cars, while riding across the coun- try, I read the ‘Life and Letters of Professor Koba.’ These are three specimens of the kind of literature which New Japan is to have.” “I judge, then, that the missionary translation of the Bible is a successful one ? ” “ Entirely so, I think. One reason why we so prize the Japanese Bible on the human side is that some of our countrymen, Honda Jiro at first, and abler Christian scholars afterwards, wrought with the missionaries to make it so idiomatic and pleasant to read. It is now used in three hundred churches, by over thirty thousand native members, and by many tens of thousands more of our people.” “ It is wonderful what God has wrought in Japan. The ten native believers in Christ according to the Bible way, of whom I knew in 1870, have increased to a great army numbering tens of thousands — a wonderful work indeed!” “ Truly ; and I for one feel so thankful to the 388 HONDA THE SAMUBAI. American Christians for making our country so long the object of their prayers. While here I wish to pay the visit of a grateful pilgrim to Doctor Grey’s tomb, which is in this state. As for Doctor Bunner’s name, it is a household word in our country. “ Excuse me. I must now say good-by, but before I go allow me to hand you this. It is from Honda Jiro’s artist friend, Oiwa Samro. He is a very de- vout Christian, and is preaching Christ in art. He is one of many whom I hope God has called to inter- pret to our people the Bible symbols in their own art language. We have no sheep or shepherds in our country, so we lose much of the beautiful imagery of the Bible of which I had no conception till I came to America ; but God has given us a beautiful land, and some day I hope one of my countrymen will give us a Bible illustrated in the best style of true Japanese art. Sayonara ! ” This closed the conversation, for Mr. Asahi Bai had calls to make on several, not all, of his country- folk then in Boston. To simply name them will set in sufficiently dramatic contrast the hermit nation of 1852, pictured in our first chapter, and the cosmo- politan people of 1890. To say nothing of the hun- dreds of Japanese elsewhere in the United States, there were in or near Boston a young lad who had come to America as a deck-hand on a merchant ship and was now studying to be a missionary ; three students at Harvard University; two young ladies at the Conservatory of Music ; one lad, son of an admiral^ in the School of Technology; two young A POSTSCRIPT IN 1890. 389 men learning dentistry, and finally the secretary of the new imperial diet or parliament. Bidding farewell and godspeed to Asahi Rai, the hanashika opened the roll. It contained an illumi- nated scroll of seven leaves entitled “ Comfort for the Week.” There were seven exquisite designs in color, and with each a text in Japanese script. Wedded to the thought of the verse was the pic- torial interpretation of the artist as follows : — 1. 1 John 4 : 12. A pair of love-birds hovering over a spray of cherry blossoms and peonies. 2. Psalm 51 : 17. A winter scene. The tree branches heavily laden, and some even broken, with weight of the pure white snow. 3. John 14: 15,16. Doveshovering in the air, or abiding trustfully near those who fed them with rice. 4. John 1 : 15. An autumn basket, garnished at the bottom and sides with chrysanthemums, and, overflowing body and edges with ripened grapes. 5. Matt. 6 : 33. The fowls of the air flying over a heap of wild flowers, among which are the lilies so amazingly numerous in Japan. 6. Rev. 7 : 17. Mated butterflies hovering over the “ morning-faces,” or morning-glories, springing into bloom after the night has fled. 7. Does the reader remember what was said in Chapter X about the wild geese — the most graceful and vigorous of winged creatures — that at sunrise seem covered with yellow gold, and at night, flying across the great silver mirror of the heavens, seem to be changed into living silver? 390 HONDA THE SAMURAI. This last design pictured the leaders of a distant line of winged life, three full-sized birds of grace bathed in the splendor of the full moon and seeming as if transmuted into flashing silver that had life in itself, while emerging out of the far-away darkness others in their turn were changed into messengers of light and glory. To this scene of splendor, the original of which so often captivated the story-teller by the banks of the Ashiwa River, was linked this text (2 Cor. 3 : 18) : “But we all, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.” OWARI. (THE END.) 1 1012 01 1 21 "0400 DATE DUE HIGHSMITH #' 15230 Printed in USA