Illasttr- .'^^c^rf (&^ — ?©> — ^ WILLIAM H. R^U PHILADELPHIA Copyright, iSgo, by William H. Rau, ^%s^ \ ILLUSTRATIONS, 1. Panorama of Yokohama. 2. Jin-Riki-Sha. 3. A Tea House. 4. Harbor of Nagasaki. 5. Buddhist Temple at Nagasaki. 6. Carved Entrance to a Temple, Nikko. 7. Sacred Stables, Nikko, 8. Osaka Castle. 9. Mikado's Palace, Kioto. 10. Cemetery at Tokio. ir. Botanic Gardens, Tokio. 12. Bronze Statue of Buddha, near Kamakura. JAPAN. The Empire of Japan, or Dai Nippon, as the peo- ple call their beautiful country, occupies in the field of history and of scientific research a far more im- portant position than its mere geographic position and area would seem to warrant, or than the popular estimate of the subject would assign. Japan is no longer merely the name of a country in the far East ; her people walk our streets, the product of her art forms the choicest adornments of our homes, and her youth attend our universities and colleges, the rivals of our own students. Including a territory equal nearly to our New England and Middle States, two- thirds of which is mountain land, Japan has a popu- lation equal to half that of the United States. Scholars nowadays no longer look upon the Japanese as a people whose origin is the same as that of the Chinese, and they are recognized as the first of the Asiatic nations to enter modern life. That they will keep the high place they have already gained, and attain their aspiration of being ranked among the foremost nations of the earth, is the confident expectation of those who have studied her progress and history. The student of her history finds an added interest in the fact that for so many years Japan was a closed book to the world, and it has only been within our own time that her ports have been opened to our merchants and travelers.. (241) 242 JAPAN. 1. Panorama of Yokohama. — The first place in Japan reached by the traveler from America is Yoko- hama. It was near the then fishing village of Yokohama that Commodore Perry anchored with his fleet of American war-ships on the yth of July, 1853, and delivered his letter, the outcome of which was the opening of the *' treaty-ports" and the subsequent revolution which made _ so vital a change in the destiny of Japan. Yokohama owed its growth to a disaster which befel the neighboring port of Shimoda, and so radical has been its progress that it has come to be known as the '* upstart metropolis of the foreigners." The town itself, across which we are looking, is compactly built of low houses with tiled roofs, mostly bungalows (or single storied structures) and two storied houses. The foreign settlement oc- cupies a plain by itself, about a mile square, while behind is a semi-circle of hills known as "the bluffs," which are covered with handsome villas. Near the town was the former great highway to the Shogun's capital, Yeddo, or, as it has since been designated, Tokio. 2. Jiu-Riki-Sha. — Among the most peculiar sights which attract the attention of the foreigner are the vehicles used by the Japanese, th.Q jin-riki-s ha ^ or man-power-carriage, being the type of pleasure carriage used by all classes of the people. This is a sort of baby carriage on "grown-up" wheels, and is drawn by one, two or three men, according to the means of the owner. These are of the better class ; many are lavishly decorated with lacquer and gold work, and vehicles of this sort are often seen in the form of a boat, with a huge bird as a figure head. The JAPAN. 243 streets of Yokohama, and indeed of all the cities of the empire, are paved with hard white stone and cement, which resists the cutting action of the sharp edged wheels most admirably. The wheels of the native carts have no metal tires, and appear to need none, the felloes being morticed in segments. The carts are propelled by four men, and their sharp cry as they drag their heavy burdens is one of the most peculiar sounds one hears there. The streets are famous for their cleanliness, one traveler having said that while China was the dirtiest, Japan was the clean- est country he had ever seen. 3. A Tea House. — Although the people of Japan are not without intoxicating drinks, their great bever- age is tea, and the tea houses and their surrounding gardens are the popular resort of the people. This is a typical tea house of Yokohama. The waiters are beautiful maidens, and the delicate mixture which they supply is a luxury with which the outside world is but little acquainted. The Japanese would not touch the strong, rank infusion which we like so well ; he regards that and our mixture of milk as a sign of our barbarism. It is said that tea was drunk in Japan as early as the ninth century, having been brought there from China by the Buddhist priests. The cul- ture from some cause or other died out, and the tea plant was brought a second time from China by the Buddhists, in the twelfth century. Now, tea is the chief agricultural product of the empire, one district having produced two crops a year for upwards of nine hundred years. The tea exported to America alone was estimated several years ago at 16,000,000 244 JAPAN. pounds annually, and the value of the total exports of this staple in a single year was nearly ;^8, 000,000. 4. Harbor of Nag^asaki. — The second in import- ance of the open ports is Nagasaki, which is on the western shore of the Island ot Kiushia. Its most strik- ing natural feature is its magnificent harbor. In that region of sudden storms, such a refuge is of inesti- mable value, and our view shows how it is appreciated and how much it is used. It is seven miles long by one mile wide, and ships can lie securely at anchor in five or six fathoms of water. Prior to the American treaty Nagasaki was the only port open to foreign traders, and the Dutch and Chinese merchants were strictly confined to the artificial island of Desima, only 600 feet by 250 feet in size, off the shore. The town is built on the hill slopes facing the harbor, and is noted for the beauty of its temples and public build- ings. It is provided with dry-docks and slips for the accommodation of the shipping, besides a hospital, theatres, tea houses and gardens. Nagasaki was the scene of many stirring events in the history of the empire, only one of which can be mentioned — the crucifixion of several Francisian and Jesuit priests who fell victims to the movement which stamped out Roman Christianity in the sixteenth century. 5. Buddhist Temple at Nag^asaki. — The ancient religion of the Japanese, and the established state worship of to-day, is Shintoism, but the principle of Buddhism early took so powerful a hold upon the people that in number of adherents it outranks Shinto. The temples of the former number 98,914, and are marvels of elaborate carvings, rich decor- JAPAN, 24.5 ations, and impressive ceremonial, the priests and religious numbering, according to a careful esti- mate, nearly 212,000 persons. While the Buddhist temples are splendid to such an extent as to almost defy description, those of the Shinto religion are severely plain. The wood is unpainted, no metal work is allowed, and the shrines and holy places are entirely destitute of the ornamentation which is the glory of the other. Divinity, they taught, needed no outward show; and the Japanese are to be distin- guished above all the nations of the Orient for the severe simplicity of the tombs of their monarchs. 6. Carved Entrance to a Temple, Nikko. — The most gorgeous of the Buddhist shrines and temples are those at Nikko, one hundred miles north of Tokio. Here is a hill upon the slope of which one of the Buddhist saints, about 767 A. D., had declared the ancient Shinto diety of the mountain to be a manifestation of Buddha to Japan — a master-stroke of theological policy which did more than anything else to win the Japanese to the religion of Nervana. Early in the seventeenth century a magnificent shrine was erected here as the resting place of lyeyasu, one of the greatest of the Shoguns of Japan. From that time until the disestablishment of Buddhism the chief priest of Nikko was a prince of the imperial blood. Another of the Shoguns was buried here, and numer- ous additions were made to its noble collection of shrines and temples. Much of the glory of Nikko has departed, however, with the Buddhist priests and ceremonies, though the carvings and decorations, and much of the paraphernalia of their worship 246 JAPAN. remains. This is a carved entrance to one of the temples within the sacred enclosure. 7. Sacred Stables, Nikko. — Another striking spec- imen of the beauties of the sacred architecture of these shrines of Nikko, or "Sunny Splendor," is the splendid stable in which were kept the three sacred Albino horses which were kept for the use of the Gongen (or Diety) of Nikko. The shrines are con- tained in a successive series of court^yards and temples, each so rich that one seems to be passing from splendor to splendor, so that it is "almost a re- lief to reach the last and feel that the strain on one's capacity for admiration is over." The carvings, many of them of great antiquity, are the most wonderful works of their kind in Japan. Some of them are from 10 to 15 inches deep, and single feathers in the tails of the pheasants stand out fully six inches in front of peonies nearly as deep. A capable writer, in an ac- count of a visit to these temples, has said: "It is difficult to do justice to their beauty in words. I have the memory before me of a place green in winter, pleasant and cool in the hottest summer, of peaceful cloisters, of the fragrance of incense, of the subdued chant of richly robed priests, and the music of bells of exquisite designs, harmonious coloring and rich gilding." 8. Osaka Castle. — Although but a ruin of its former greatness the famous Castle of Osaka is still the glory and pride of the city of that name, 37 miles southwest of Kioto. The city is the third or fourth of the cities of Japan, but it takes a foremost rank socially and commercially. But it is with its historical JAPAN. 247 associations that we are chiefly interested. The castle belonged to the Shin sect of the Buddhists, and was the retreat and hiding place of those who defied the Mikado's power. About the year 1579 it was be- seiged by Nobanaga, and was not subdued until the imperial forces had occupied four of the five con- nected fortresses comprising the castle, and not till, after the loss of 20,000 of the garrison. From that day Osaka has remained in the hands of the government Again, the Christian cause in Japan received its death- blow at a great battle here in the same year in which the Puritans landed at Plymouth ; and to go back into the dim ages of tradition, Jimma, the child of the Sun Goddess, the first Mikado, is said to have landed here. 9. Mikado's Palace, Kioto. — This venerable line of monarchs, claiming an unbroken line for twenty- five centuries, reigns by divine right, the Mikado being regarded as himself of divine origin, the King of Heaven. Kioto was for seventeen centuries the residence of the Mikados, and the beauty of its position and its thousand historical and holy associa- tions invest the place with an interest which belongs to no other place in Japan. The view before us shows a portion of the Mikado's palace with one of the in- terior court-yards. The comparative simplicity of the buildings is in striking contrast to some of the mag- nificent buildings of the worshippers of Buddha, but it must be remembered that the ancient religion of the Emperors is that of Shinto, and according to that belief the circumstances and attributes of diety were enough. Gaudy display and luxury were seemly for ordinary mortals, but the Mikado needed none. Ex 248 JAPAN. cept for its size and slightly greater elevation the "palace " is hardly to be distinguished from the resi- dences of the nobles, or from a temple. 10. Cemetery at Tokio. — It has been said that two of the most estimable characteristics of the Japanese are the respect in which they hold their dead, and the attention which they pay to everything which can render their cemeteries attractive. The cemeteries of Tokio, of which this is one, are care- fully kept, and one of their most striking features is the absence of that grim contrast, so often seen at home, between the living and the dead. The tombs befit the position which their occupants held in life, a fact from which many complacent products of our Western civilization might take a needed lesson. The monuments are of solid granite, often simple obelisks, and bear nothing but the names of the deceased. Sometimes the monument takes the form of Buddha seated on the lotus blossom. The tombs are kept scrupulously neat and clean, and every day hundreds of persons are seen in the cemeteries engaged in tend- ing the graves, lighting fresh incense sticks, or re- moving the faded flowers and replacing them with fresh ones. Cremation is now permitted, and the number of bodies so disposed of increases annually. 11. Botanic Gardens, Tokio. — Perhaps the most popular of the resorts of the people are the botanic gardens, of which this at Tokio is among the most famous, for the Japanese are passionately fond of flowers. The badges or crests of the Mikado and the nobles are floral, and '* cherry-viewing," "iris and peony viewing," etc., are a part of the annual routine JAPAN. 249 of Japanese life. There is a guild of florists at the capital, and the skill of the gardener is hereditary, skill in certain lines being handed down from father to son. Dwarfing, unnatural local enlargement and the encouragement of all sorts of freaks of nature are the delight and specialty of the natives. The gardens abound in hedges and borders of clipped tea plants, tiny trees an inch or two high, and rare plants of all the varieties known in Japan ; besides tortoises, cats, umbrellas, male foreigners in hats and female in crino- line, boats, storks, horses, etc., which appear in forms of living green. 12. Bronze Statue of Buddha, near Kamakura. — As no pious Buddhist, nor enterprising traveler, omits a visit to the Dai Butsu, or Great Buddha, at Kamakura, we shall visit that famous shrine before our trip to Japan is over. This is one of the many monuments of the piety and zeal of the mediaeval monks and nuns, and so far as known dates from the thirteenth century, although the place has been the site of a temple of a much greater antiquity. The image is composed of sheets of copper bronze, and is 49 feet 7 inches high, and the width from knee to knee is 35 feet 2 inches. These figures convey little to the average mind, but if you will note the men grouped about the statue a better idea of its colossal size will be obtained. The image was formerly in- closed by a large building, but this was destroyed by successive inundations, and no trace of it now remains but the stone bases of the pillars which supported the roof