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NIPPON: 
 
 A STORY OF JAPAN 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY COLEMAN MAY 
 
 I 
 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 MDCCCXCVIII. 
 
D5gof 
 
 salia 
 
<// i 
 
 Nippon; a Story of Japan 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 It was my first morning in Japan. 
 I got up and went to the paper screens 
 and threw them open and in streamed 
 the sunlight — the beautiful sunlight of 
 the Land of the Rising Sun! I had 
 arrived at last! My dream was real- 
 ized, and I was there; 
 
 I had arrived the previous night — in 
 the rain, to my disappointment — and 
 
 /(\' 
 
had resolved not to go to the modern 
 European hotel, but to go and stop 
 with a friend who had recently ar- 
 rived in Japan, and had taken a Japa- 
 nese house with five Japanese servants 
 and one English valet. 
 
 As I gazed out into a most charm- 
 ing little garden, with a miniature pond 
 and most extraordinary dwarfed trees, I 
 heard some one outside my door, and 
 turned around to hear a man-servant ( Jo- 
 Mchi I afterward learned was his name) 
 call me to my bath. He spoke broken 
 English, which he thought extremely 
 beautiful, and it was only after some 
 
time that I understood what he was say- 
 ing to me. My bath was a most ex- 
 traordinary function. I had never taken 
 such a bath in all my life before. The 
 water was about ninety degrees of heat, 
 and I can tell you that it was extremely 
 uncomfortable. After I had finished my 
 bath, all the servants, one by one, took 
 that same boiling tub. When I got 
 back to my room I found my friend 
 waiting to see me. He was dressed 
 and told me that as soon as I was 
 dressed we would go out together; as 
 that day was the festival of armors 
 and flags for boys, being the 5th of 
 
May. I dressed in all haste, and it 
 was not long before I was ready to 
 go out. Outside our house were two 
 kurumas, or jinrickishas, as they are 
 more commonly called. I saw that our 
 (or my friend's) house was a little out- 
 side of the city of Tokyo, around which 
 there were very few houses. The place 
 itself was extremely pretty. 
 
 "We got in our kurumas, and soon 
 our little house was lost to view, and 
 we emerged into the city — a city of 
 doll houses. The first thing I noticed 
 was the enormous fishes set up on a 
 long bamboo pole in front of almost 
 
 6 
 
every house. I found out from my 
 guide-book, always my friend, that the 
 fish is a symbol of success for boys. 
 The fish, which is a carp, is called 
 "Shusseuwo," which means fish of 
 success in life. In the shops I saw 
 displayed little figures of warriors in 
 full armor, which were very quaint. I 
 bought a set of them to send to a 
 little fellow who fives across the pond, 
 in America. 
 
 We drove through the streets for 
 about an hour and a half. Our jin- 
 rickisha men seemed never to get 
 tired. Then we went to the place 
 
 : 
 
called Mukojima. It is one of the 
 most beautiful places in Tokyo. It is 
 an avenue of cherry-trees, at this time 
 of the year in full blossom. The 
 avenue is upon the eastern bank of 
 the river Sumida, and is simply mag- 
 nificent, being a continuous archway of 
 flowers for nearly two miles. 
 
 But turn to the southwest and see! 
 
 There stands the snow-clad Fuji-san, 
 lifting its majestic head high into the 
 azure vault of heaven, as if sanctified 
 for the abode of angels. Fuji-yama, 
 the "matchless mount" indeed! Then 
 look toward the northeast. There yon- 
 
 8 
 
der you see the majestic Tsukuba, 
 clad in a mantle of purple mist. 
 Above you is a canopy of cherry-blos- 
 soms; below you see the river reflect- 
 ing the expanse of heaven. All along 
 the bank there are scattered kake-jaya, 
 small temporary tea houses. I went 
 into one, and took some of the green 
 tea of Japan. Ugh! what a drink it 
 is! Far from good. I also eat a 
 "sakura-mochi," which are little cakes 
 of rice and pease, wrapped with cherry 
 leaves preserved in salt. They are 
 about as delicious as the tea. After 
 having swallowed these atrocities, we 
 
 9 
 
tried to turn our minds from them by 
 hiring a little pleasure boat and glid- 
 ing up the river. After having passed 
 some time in the boat, we again got 
 in our rickshas and went to take 
 lunch at the Imperial Hotel, where 
 the cuisine is excellent, and European, 
 of course. 
 
 10 
 
'MX 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 In the midst of a nest of old trees 
 in Takanawa, a suburb of Yedo, is 
 hidden Sengakiji, or the Spring Hill 
 Temple, renowned throughout the length 
 and breadth of the land for its ceme- 
 tery, which contains the graves of the 
 forty-seven Ronins, famous in Japanese 
 history, and heroes in Japanese drama. 
 
 On the left-hand side of the main 
 court of the temple is a chapel, in 
 
 11 
 
which, surmounted by a gilt image of 
 Kwannon, the goddess of mercy, are 
 enshrined the images of forty-seven 
 men, and of the master whom they 
 loved so well. The statues are carved 
 in wood, the faces painted, and their 
 clothes richly lacquered. Some are old 
 men, with gray and white hair, others 
 are mere boys of sixteen. 
 
 Close by the chapel, at the side of 
 a path leading up a hill, is a little 
 well of pure water, fenced in and 
 adorned with a tiny fernery, over which 
 you see an inscription which says: 
 "This is the well in which the head 
 
 12 
 
was washed, you must not wash your 
 hands or feet here." 
 
 A little further on is a stall at which 
 a man earns his daily bread by selling 
 medals, pictures, and little books, com- 
 memorating the loyalty of the forty- 
 seven Ronins. Then higher up yet, 
 shaded by a grove of majestic trees, 
 are forty-eight little tombstones, each 
 decked with evergreens. But there 
 were forty-seven Ronins, and there are 
 forty-eight tombstones? 
 
 Yes; and the story of the forty- 
 eighth is truly characteristic of Japa- 
 nese ideas of honor. 
 
 13 
 
Almost touching the rail of the 
 graveyard is a more imposing monu- 
 ment, under which lies buried the 
 Lord, whose death his followers so 
 piously avenged. 
 
 But now the story! 
 
 At the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century there lived a Daimio called 
 Asano Takuminokami Kaganori, who 
 was lord of the castle of Ako, in the 
 province of Harima. Now it happened 
 that an envoy of the Mikado had been 
 sent to the court of Tokugawa, the 
 Shogun, at Yedo (now called Tokyo). 
 On the arrival of the envoy, Asano 
 
 14 
 
and another lord named Kamei Noto- 
 nokami were appointed to be his en- 
 tertainers; and a high officer called 
 Kira Kotsukenosuke Yoshihide was or- 
 dered to instruct them in the correct 
 ceremonies to be observed on the occa- 
 sion. Kira was well informed in the 
 ceremonies of the court, and was there- 
 fore in great favor, and rose far above 
 the other lords in power. 
 
 Now this Kira was a wicked and 
 miserly man at heart, and treated both 
 lords with great disrespect. Kamei at 
 last resolved to kill this impolite lord; 
 and, going home in great anger, told 
 
 15 
 
his counselor his idea. At this the 
 counselor was sorely troubled; and, 
 having thought a long time, he re- 
 solved to send Kira a gift of money, 
 without telling Kamei anything about 
 it. He put this plan into execution, 
 and sent Kira the money that even- 
 ing. Kira was delighted, and when 
 the next morning came his manner 
 was greatly changed, and was even so 
 polite that Kamei thought no more of 
 his plan of killing him. 
 
 But to Asano, who had sent no 
 money, he was even more impolite, 
 and received him with jeers. At last 
 
 16 
 
his manner became so impertinent that 
 Asano as a "Samurai" could no longer 
 stand it, and drawing his dirk he cried 
 to Kira to defend himself; then, aim- 
 ing at Kira, he cut at him, but only 
 gave him a slight wound on his fore- 
 head. By this time the retainers and 
 servants of Kira Kotsukenosuke, hear- 
 ing the noise of swords and their lord's 
 cries, came running to him, and quickly 
 caught and disarmed Asano. Then all 
 confusion followed, and the news that 
 my lord Asano had attacked his lord- 
 ship Kira Kotsukenosuke ran like wild- 
 fire. Asano was taken into custody, 
 
 17 
 
and, after a long trial, it was decided 
 that he should commit seppku (or 
 hara-kiri) for having tried to kill my 
 lord Kira in the precincts of the castle. 
 After Asano was dead his followers 
 became Ronins; that is, "Wandering 
 Samurai without a master"; and forty- 
 seven of them, headed by a man called 
 Oishi Kuranosuke, made a vow that 
 they would kill Kira to avenge the 
 death of their beloved master. They 
 set a day, accordingly, on which they 
 were to meet and march to the yashiki 
 (castle) of Lord Kira, and there to dis- 
 patch him without more ado. 
 
 18 
 
\ 
 
 ll 
 
Then they dispersed, some becoming 
 workmen, others schoolmasters, and still 
 others learning trades. As for Oishi 
 Kuranosuke, he was leading the life 
 of a drunkard, so as to put Kira 
 off his guard. Once at night, when 
 he was coming home drunk, he fell 
 asleep in the street, and a Satsuma 
 man, coming up, saw him, and spit- 
 ting on his face and insulting him, 
 said: 
 
 "Vile wretch, more beast than Sa- 
 murai, go! Avenge your lord rather 
 than lie here in the gutter." With 
 these words he went away. 
 
 19 
 
At last Kira was entirely put off his 
 guard, and was rejoicing at the faith- 
 lessness (as he thought) of Asano's fol- 
 lowers, when the eventful day was 
 drawing near. The day was in De- 
 cember, and the hour which they had 
 fixed upon in which to attack the cas- 
 tle was midnight. 
 
 It was the day before the attack, 
 and all the forty-seven had come to- 
 gether to have a farewell feast. At 
 last midnight came, and Oishi Kura- 
 nosuke and his men set out for the 
 castle. The weather was freezing and 
 the snow was lying thick upon the 
 
 20 
 
ground, but still they marched coura- 
 geously on. 
 
 They have arrived! And now Oishi 
 stands before the yashiki of my lord 
 Kira. His followers, dividing them- 
 selves into three parties, attack the 
 gates. The guards are terrified, and 
 run away crying for mercy. The gates 
 give in, and all the forty-seven pour 
 into the yashiki. Kira's men defend 
 themselves bravely, but the Ronins are 
 too much for them, and at last they 
 are conquered. Now Oishi and his men 
 go in search of Kira, who has hid him- 
 self. They search and search, and are 
 
 21 
 
on the point of despair, when a cry, 
 yes, a call — one of the Ronins has 
 found Kira Kotsukenosuke in a little 
 outhouse! They find him almost dead 
 with fear, and shivering with cold. 
 Then Oishi Kuranosuke goes down on 
 his knees and addresses Kira as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 "My lord, we are the retainers of 
 Asano Takuminokami. Last year your 
 lordship and our master quarreled in 
 the palace, and our master was sen- 
 tenced to hara-kiri, and his family 
 was ruined. We have come to-night 
 to avenge him, as is the duty of faith- 
 
 22 
 
fill and loyal men. I pray your lord- 
 ship to acknowledge the justice of our 
 purpose. And now, my lord, we be- 
 seech you to perform hara-kiri. I my- 
 self shall have the honor to act as 
 your second, and when, with all hu- 
 mility, I shall have received your lord- 
 ship's head, it is my intention to lay 
 it as an offering upon the grave of 
 Asano Talmminokami. " 
 
 But Kira does not answer a word, 
 but crouches down trembling and 
 wailing. At last Kuranosuke, seeing 
 that it is of no use to urge him, takes 
 his own dirk and cuts off Kira's head. 
 
 23 
 
Then placing it in a bucket, they pro- 
 ceed to Asano's tomb, where they leave 
 it with solemn ceremony, and then re- 
 port what they have done to the city 
 authorities. 
 
 They were ordered, as they expected, 
 to commit hara-kiri, which they per- 
 formed at the appointed places. Then 
 they were buried honorably by the 
 priests of the temple. 
 
 Some time after all this, a Satsuma 
 man came, and, after making prostra- 
 tions before Asano's and Kuranosuke's 
 tomb, he committed seppku. The priests 
 found him there, and having pity on 
 
 24 
 
him, buried him beside the forty-seven 
 Ronins* Thus the forty-eighth. 
 
 My friend and I were allowed to 
 inspect the relics, which are in a large 
 room back of the temple. This room 
 opens on one of those wonderful Japa- 
 nese miniature gardens with dwarfed 
 trees and small rockery in the most 
 fantastic shapes. 
 
 The relics are very interesting: old 
 armor made by the Ronins themselves; 
 ragged trousers and sashes, which were 
 once rich silks and brocades; old gold 
 crests and swords; documents written 
 perhaps by Kira himself; old chains; 
 
 25 
 
spears with dark rust marks and dark 
 something else marks; also dirks and 
 broad-swords — - innumerable old things 
 that would take a book itself to write 
 them all down in. 
 
 At last, tired and weary, we went 
 in our jinrickishas again, flew past 
 everything, till, at last, we stopped in 
 front of our own little door. 
 
 26 
 
w 
 
 J 
 
xffi^ 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 "Good news!" said my friend, as 
 he came into my room. I sat up in 
 my bed and rubbed my eyes. I was 
 still sleepy, and did not like especially 
 to have some one rush into my room 
 and wake me out of a refreshing, 
 dreamless sleep. 
 
 "Well," said I, "what news have 
 you got? I'm glad it's good." 
 
 "Yes, I've just got a letter from 
 
 27 
 
America, saying that my old friend, 
 Jack Gervaise, is coming over here to 
 the land of Jappy. He will probably 
 be here to-morrow or the day after, as 
 he wrote this letter only a few days 
 before his departure from San Fran- 
 cisco. Won't it be jolly. He's coming 
 here to stop with us — with me; Don't 
 you know him?" 
 
 "No," said I, "I have not the pleas- 
 ure. And the other note, what does 
 it say?" For I saw that he had two 
 notes in his hand. 
 
 "Oh! The other is an invitation to 
 lunch to-day with a certain Mr. , 
 
 28 
 
a Japanese gentleman ; rather short no- 
 tice, but we'll accept, of course, won't 
 we?" 
 
 "Of course," said I, eager to go to 
 a Japanese dinner—a real one. "It's 
 going to be 'a la Japonaise,' I sup- 
 pose?" 
 
 "I suppose so; but the card isn't 
 very 'Japonaise,' is it? Going to take 
 a hot bath again this morning?" 
 
 "No, thank you. I had rather take 
 it in my own room." 
 
 "We were on our way to dinner. The 
 evening was beautiful; the moon was 
 
 29 
 
shining, and the eity of Tokyo looked 
 like some fairy scene, red lanterns bob- 
 bing up and down like rubies in the 
 dark; children's merry voices ringing 
 out with merry laughter through the 
 clear still night. Everything seemed to 
 say " Peace." It was indeed a charm- 
 ing scene. 
 
 At last we arrived at our destina- 
 tion. Our jinrickishas stopped in front 
 of a little avenue leading up to the 
 house, which was not our host's own, 
 but a swell restaurant in which they 
 manage private dinners. 
 
 A little "musmee" was at the door, 
 
 30 
 
and bade us enter. After having taken 
 our shoes off, we must have looked 
 lovely in dress-suits and stockinged feet. 
 Our host was a rather elderly gentle- 
 man, dressed in the regular costume 
 of the Japanese gentry. We did not 
 go into dinner immediately, as evident- 
 ly there was somebody else to come. 
 Our expectations were verified. In a 
 few moments an English lady and her 
 daughter came in. Then after them 
 came two Japanese ladies and one Jap- 
 anese gentleman, the latter dressed in 
 European costume, the former two in 
 the court costume: large full red trous- 
 
 31 
 
ers, trailing behind, white kimonos, and 
 hair arranged heart-shaped on top and 
 flowing loose behind, with a profusion 
 of flowers, in front made of silver 
 paper, and various little ornaments be- 
 hind. The hair was tied in the mid- 
 dle with gold paper. Both were most 
 picturesque. They spoke English but 
 little, only knowing a few words; but 
 our host spoke it perfectly, as he had 
 been in America a number of years. 
 After a few minutes we all went into 
 the dining-room; the screens opened, 
 and there was our table — flat velvet 
 cushions for each of us. The En- 
 
 32 
 
glish lady paled distinctly; so did her 
 daughter. We all seated ourselves 
 as best we could, while the Japa- 
 nese ladies sank down gracefully, with 
 their faces wreathed in smiles at our 
 attempts. 
 
 Then the little musmee entered, and 
 bowing before each, presented us with 
 small haridleless cups of most beautiful 
 china. There were little packages be- 
 side everybody, which contained chop- 
 sticks. I will not attempt to describe 
 the dinner. 
 
 This is what we had to eat: Pheas- 
 ants with feathers stuck all over them, 
 
 33 
 
seaweed soup, sake, and plenty other 
 unnamable things. But in the middle 
 of the dinner there came a pause. 
 One of the sides of the room was 
 pushed open, and in a beautiful little 
 inclosure stood five " Geishas.* * Three 
 with samisens and two dancing, or 
 rather posturing, forming a series of 
 tableaux. The costumes of the Geishas 
 were gorgeous in the extreme: one was 
 dressed in pink, and the other in 
 a delicate cream color, while the ones 
 who played the samisens were dressed 
 in bright red embroidered with gold. 
 Their hair was profusely bedecked 
 
 34 
 
with gold, little sticks, and won- 
 derful imitation flowers. They sang in 
 a nasal falsetto voice, which Euro- 
 peans cannot appreciate. Their voice is 
 so very unnatural that it must be very 
 painful for them, yet they did not 
 seem to mind it in the least, and fin- 
 ished as fresh as when they began. 
 They hold fans in both hands, and 
 wave them about in a most graceful 
 manner. Then the panels closed up, 
 and we resumed our dinner. 
 
 The young English lady, Miss Mabel 
 Elliot, looked perfectly delighted, and 
 she seemed rather sorry when the lit- 
 
 35 
 
 • - -—.- 
 
tie performance of the Geishas was 
 over. 
 
 Her mother, Mrs. Elliot, who was 
 rather stout, was bordering on insan- 
 ity, as she had been sitting down a la 
 Japonaise for at least an hour and 
 a half, and it was only after great 
 difficulty that she succeeded in getting 
 up when the dinner was finished. 
 
 Our host accompanied us to the door, 
 giving us a most inappropriate hand- 
 shake. We saw ; the little Geishas in 
 much more sober clothes out in the 
 garden. When we walked down to 
 our jinrickishas, they looked at us and 
 
 36 
 
the two English ladies very curiously, 
 and made some Japanesey remarks 
 about us, as we went away in our 
 kurumas. 
 
 The next day I again met Mrs. and 
 Miss Elliot, as my friend and I were 
 visiting the Shiba Daijingu, Temple of 
 Amaterasu-Omikami and Tokoyohime- 
 no-mikoto. I had a chance to talk 
 to Miss, while I let my friend devote 
 himself to the honorable Mrs. She 
 informed me that they were going for 
 a jinrickisha party on the next day, as 
 they had all got their private jinricki- 
 shas, and were sure to have good 
 
 37 
 
coolies to pull them. She asked me 
 to come. I told my friend, and we 
 decided that we would go. 
 
 "Meet to-morrow at 11:30. Don't 
 forget. At the Fugi Jinsha." * 
 
 * Temple of Konokana Sakuya Hime, the 
 Goddess of the Peak Fujiyama. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 First of June! And to-day is our 
 jinrickisha trip. The first thing in the 
 morning that I ask my friend is if 
 our jinrickishas are ordered. 
 
 "Kohana!" he cries to the little 
 maid, and claps his hands. In she 
 comes. 
 
 "Are our jinrickishas here?" 
 
 "Hai!" she says, and bohs out again. 
 
 "Very well. Then come on." 
 
 39 
 
Once in our jinrickishas, then ends 
 our conversation, as the law compels 
 kurumas to go behind each other, and 
 not two abreast. It is nothing like 
 11:30 yet, so I resolve to spend my 
 time in shopping. Shopping is not 
 the word for buying things in Japan. 
 It is too commonplace for all those 
 dainty things set out before you; 
 one would like to buy everything at 
 once. 
 
 "Here, stop!" I cry in my best 
 Japanese to my ricksha man, as I see 
 a show before me thai; I cannot resist. 
 He stops and I go in. My friend fol- 
 
 40 
 
lows me. Here I see a beautiful ki- 
 mono, evidently old and very valuable. 
 I have not got one yet, so I must 
 get it. "Ikura?" ("How much?"), I 
 ask the man, pointing to it. 
 
 "Hyaku-yen-de-gozarimas" ("It is a 
 hundred yen"), says he, smiling and 
 bowing at me. 
 
 "Is it dear or not?" I ask my friend. 
 "I know nothing in the prices of ki- 
 monos." 
 
 "Neither do I," is the unsatisfactory 
 answer. 
 
 "Well, I'll take it ; and here is 
 the money," I say to the man, who 
 
 41 
 
seems delighted. He wraps it up 
 for me, and I send it out to my 
 jinrickisha. 
 
 I have only got three yen left now. 
 I just brought with me one hundred 
 and three yen. I want to spend it. I 
 look around some time; and at last 
 see an obi— just what I want to go 
 with the kimono. 
 
 "Ikura?" 
 
 Three and a half yen, and I've only 
 got three left. I borrow a half from 
 my friend and buy it, and send it off 
 also to my jinrickisha. 
 
 My friend has bought more than I 
 
 42 
 
**3£- 
 
 jfamtry €*?&#**** fo : 4jtf. 
 
have. He has a sword, Japanese pipe, 
 one Buddha, and one very modern 
 kimono, and a beautiful sword hilt. 
 
 We stayed some time in this little 
 shop, and the merchant displayed some 
 of his most precious things, stowed 
 away and wrapped up in brown and 
 yellow cloth. One of his most beauti- 
 ful things was an ancient kimono of 
 yellow and gold. 
 
 This "velly oil," he told us, as he 
 showed it to us. We gazed at it ad- 
 miringly, and then abruptly took our 
 leave, as the temptation to "buy" was 
 becoming very alarming. Then we 
 
 43 
 
 . ' 
 
rolled through the streets on our way 
 to our meeting-place, the temple of 
 Fuji Jinja. The first day of June 
 is the festival of the goddess of Fuji- 
 yama, and therefore we chose her tem- 
 ple as our rendezvous. Men sell straw 
 serpents to the multitude on that day, 
 as is the old custom. This temple once 
 belonged to the Daimyo of Kaga. 
 
 When we arrived we went immedi- 
 ately to the very spot appointed for 
 our meeting; but, to our surprise, neither 
 Mrs. nor Miss Elliot were to be seen, 
 and it was already after the time ap- 
 pointed. We waited for about a half 
 
 44 
 
an hour, when we concluded that 
 mademoiselle had calmly changed her 
 mind, and had not the faintest notion 
 of coming; but we were mistaken, for 
 just when we were preparing to go 
 back home in came both Miss and 
 Mrs., and others besides, in a most 
 preposterous hurry. When she got near 
 us she explained that the jinrickisha 
 man she had engaged fell ill, and she 
 had the hardest time in getting an- 
 other who would go for such a long 
 way; but after great difficulty she had 
 succeeded in getting this man, who 
 seemed perfectly good. 
 
 45 
 
We got out of our rickshas and 
 walked around the temple grounds, and 
 also went in the temple. It was very 
 crowded; but as the day was rather 
 cool it was not uncomfortable. All the 
 young girls had donned their holiday 
 attire, and very pretty they looked, 
 with their bright obis (sashes) and 
 varicolored kimonos. The elder women 
 wore rather more sober colors, such as 
 gray and dark purple, and the men 
 were dressed entirely in dark blues, 
 blacks and grays; though I occasion- 
 ally saw one or two in green or 
 mauve. Altogether it was a most in- 
 
 46 
 
teresting scene. After staying some 
 time we thought it about time to set 
 out, so we all came back to our jin- 
 rickishas, and off we went. 
 
 The streets were almost deserted, as 
 every one had gone to the temple that 
 day. The drive to get into the country 
 is not long, and we were soon out of 
 the city. The scenery was beautiful, 
 and Miss Elliot had her sketch-book 
 with her. Every now and then, when 
 we wanted to jot down some pretty 
 little house with a thatched roof or a 
 rice field with peasants about, we would 
 stop and sketch the object of our fancy. 
 
 47 
 
We did not travel very quickly, as we 
 saw many pretty little bits. 
 
 When we got further out in the 
 country the peasants would stare at 
 us. They do not often see foreigners 
 where we went, as we did not take 
 the regular road. At last we thought 
 that we would stop to take lunch, and 
 all halted by a little brook. There 
 were two little children who were sit- 
 ting down by a tree not very far 
 away. They watched us eat with great 
 curiosity. We did not have much of 
 a lunch — boiled eggs, rice biscuits, sand- 
 wiches, apollinaris and beer. We were 
 
 48 
 
a jolly party altogether, and had lots 
 of fun. There was an especially funny 
 old English gentleman, some relation 
 of the Elliots, I believe; also a rather 
 stiff young lady, highly uninteresting; 
 and her brother, about twenty-two 
 years, also of rare stupidity. 
 
 Miss E tried to coax the small 
 
 children who were watching us to come 
 to us, but in vain; at last she got up 
 and began to run after them to their 
 terror. They shrieked and ran wildly 
 away, their small kimonos floating in 
 the air behind them. They ran toward 
 a little clump of bushes on the border 
 
 49 
 
 
of a wood, out of which suddenly 
 came a woman with a small baby on 
 her back. She seemed very angry that 
 we should torment her darlings. We 
 explained, through one of our jinrickisha 
 men, who spoke fairly good English, 
 that we simply wanted to see the chil- 
 dren nearer, as we thought them very 
 sweet and charming. This pacified the 
 woman immediately, and she even be- 
 came quite friendly; she even brought 
 the two children, now calm, to come 
 and see us. They looked at us in 
 wonderment and reverence, as if we 
 were some extraordinary creatures de- 
 
 50 
 
scended from some Buddhist heaven. 
 We now became quite interested in the 
 woman, and inquired where she lived. 
 We found that she had a little house 
 not far away. We went as far to ask 
 her if we could visit her house. She 
 answered "Hai" immediately, and 
 seemed highly enchanted that she 
 should have the honor of our visit- 
 ing her home. We had finished lunch 
 by this time, and resolved that we 
 would walk to the house, while our 
 ricksha men smoked their tiny little 
 pipes. 
 Then off we started, the woman 
 
 51 
 
 
leading the way, while jolly old Mr. 
 Fenwick asked her many questions 
 through his guide-book; but she only 
 stared, for I do not think his accent 
 was of the best Japanese or his 
 grammar quite correct. He was not 
 to be discouraged though, and took to 
 something easier, and after making a 
 wild excursion through his note-book, 
 he politely asked her, "If there was 
 any place to be seen about this town?'* 
 Which in Japanese is "Kono-hen ni 
 nanika kembutsu suru monowa ari- 
 masen ka." 
 
 This time she laughed, and must 
 
 52 
 
have thought that foreigners had very 
 queer minds, as there was no town 
 for at least seven miles, as we were 
 just about that from Tokio. Still she 
 did not answer him, and he gave up 
 
 in despair. 
 
 t 
 
 Soon the house hove in view. It 
 was quite large, and had a thatched 
 roof. The house, as all Japanese 
 houses, was not built on the ground, 
 but on posts which rest on large flat 
 stones, so that if any severe wind 
 comes the house will not fall down, 
 but will rock upon these large stones. 
 It is also a precaution against earth- 
 
 53 
 
quakes, which are very frequent in 
 Japan. We all took off our shoes, as 
 is customary before entering houses in 
 Japan, for the big clogs of the Japa- 
 nese would spoil the delicate soft green- 
 ish-white matting, which is the cover- 
 ing for each floor. 
 
 The house was very neat, and flow- 
 ers were seen here and there, taste- 
 fully arranged in vases. The woman 
 was fairly well off, we could see, and 
 had some very pretty little things. 
 There was a little Daikoku sitting on 
 a red lacquered stool, which was par- 
 ticularly captivating; there were flow- 
 
 54 
 
ers arranged about him— about his lit- 
 tle fat person, smiling good-naturedly. 
 Daikoku is the god of wealth, and al- 
 most all Japanese families keep a little 
 statue or picture of him, and reverence 
 him a great deal. There was a panel 
 with Fuji-yama painted on it, which 
 was also very pretty. 
 
 Our hospitable hostess made us un- 
 derstand that she was going to give 
 us some tea. It was quite a long 
 time before we understood what she 
 meant; but at last she kept on re- 
 peating "cha" and "cha" again. Mr. 
 Fenwick hunted in his guide-book and 
 
 55 
 
radiantly told us that it was "tea!" 
 Then he said "Hai," and before we 
 could say anything, she was off to 
 get green tea, without either cream or 
 sugar. She soon appeared again bear- 
 ing seven cups on a little tray of black 
 lacquer, or at least imitation lacquer. 
 The wicked Mr. Fenwick chuckled at 
 the mischief he had done, as he knew 
 none of us would have the heart to 
 refuse the tea that our smiling hostess 
 had brought. She thought that it was 
 a treat she was giving us, and would 
 be surprised and pained if we should 
 refuse it, of course. 
 
 56 
 
But we all drank it down in a gulp, 
 as if it was the sweetest drink imag- 
 inable, though she must have thought 
 Europeans were very gluttonous, to 
 swallow it down in such manner, in- 
 stead of daintily sipping it as her 
 countrywomen do. After the tea 
 she entertained the ladies by ex- 
 hibiting her kimonos and quilts; her 
 finest, of course. 
 
 We learned that she kept boarders 
 overnight — those that passed on the 
 road, traveling to some other place; 
 but she had nobody at present, and 
 her house was quite empty. 
 
 57 
 
Then came an idea! We could pass 
 the night there, and resume our jin- 
 rickisha voyage in the morning! The 
 house was empty, and consequently 
 there was lots of room. But how tell 
 her? 
 
 We decided that some one should go 
 and bring Toko, the ricksha man, who 
 could speak English, to come and pro- 
 pose this to the mistress of the house. 
 Accordingly I set out to get him, and 
 in a short time returned, Toko pulling 
 me in his jinrickisha. 
 
 He told her our intention, which she 
 received with exclamations of happi- 
 
 58 
 
/« 
 
 u 
 
 .( 
 
i 
 
ness, that we, the " honorable foreign- 
 ers," "would deign to stop overnight in 
 her humble home." Provision was also 
 made for our coolies, who were to 
 sleep in a little outhouse, rather old 
 and broken down, but still good enough. 
 Our entertaining hostess now an- 
 nounced that her two little girls were 
 going to give us a little amusement. 
 We were certainly having a delightful 
 evening, one of my most delightful 
 evenings in Japan. From the open 
 blinds we could see the sun setting; 
 the sky was a beautiful golden red, 
 specked with little bluish clouds, and 
 
 59 
 
two little birds were flying around and 
 twittering in the sky. Then noiselessly 
 the sun sank down to rest, and the 
 golden red faded into pink, then pale 
 yellow, and then the sky became again 
 a mantle of darkish blue, and the two 
 little birds went to their nest. None 
 of us spoke, so beautiful was this 
 scene, till our hostess's merry voice 
 broke the silence, announcing that 
 the performance was to begin. She 
 brought with her two wood and paper 
 lamps, which she set down on the 
 floor about ten feet apart. After her 
 came in two little bodies, which, 
 
 60 
 
through their paint, we recognized as 
 the two little girls of the afternoon. 
 They looked different indeed. Instead 
 of the simple little gray and brown 
 kimonos which we first saw them in, 
 they were gaudily attired in light blue 
 with lozenge patterns — flowers and birds 
 all over their little kimonos. They wore 
 sashes of bright red, and their faces 
 were painted and powdered like verk 
 table little coquettes, yet they were 
 rather shy, which did not go at all 
 with their appearance. They began a 
 song, which lasted about fifteen min- 
 utes. It was not at all the voices 
 
 61 
 
which you hear from Geishas and pro- 
 fessional singers, and it was much 
 more pleasing to the ear, as it was 
 neither strained nor nasal. Their voices, 
 indeed, were very sweet and soft and 
 low; they did not get excited and 
 begin to make gestures, and jump 
 around, but kept motionless, standing 
 with their little hands hidden in their 
 sleeves. 
 
 When the song was over, they gave 
 a sort of little pantomime, clapping 
 their hands and stamping their feet, 
 and twirling around. The two funny 
 little bodies began twisting themselves 
 
 62 
 
around in most extraordinary shapes, 
 and afforded us a considerable amount 
 of amusement. But the young, unin- 
 teresting lady seemed perfectly serious, 
 and was jotting down things in her 
 note-book; her brother, however, lost 
 a little of his dignity, to our great 
 surprise. He actually even made quite 
 a bright remark, to our still greater 
 surprise. Suddenly our two little en- 
 tertainers dropped to their knees, and 
 touched their flower - bedecked little 
 heads to the ground, and, getting up, 
 quietly glided out of the room. We 
 clapped them vigorously, and their 
 
 63 
 
proud mother followed them out of 
 the room, only to appear again to 
 show us our rooms, which were four 
 in all. I had one with my friend, 
 Miss Elliot with her mother, and Mr. 
 Fenwick with the uninteresting young 
 gentleman, and the uninteresting lady 
 had a room to herself. She requested, 
 from her guide-book, to the landlady, 
 that she wished four under-quilts to 
 sleep on, while we contented ourselves 
 (excepting Mrs. Elliot) with two, though 
 we all lived to regret it, as the next 
 morning we had the most violent 
 pains in our shoulders. The night 
 
 64 
 
was very warm, so I slept with my 
 paper blinds open. 
 
 It was a beautiful night. I could 
 see the moon shining down upon the 
 rather large garden outside of my win- 
 dow, or rather of my paper blinds 
 thrown open. Everything looked so en- 
 chanting outside that I really could not 
 get to sleep. I hated to close my 
 eyes on this lovely and quiet scene, 
 and I at last succumbed to the tempta- 
 tion to go out in the garden, so put- 
 ting on a rather worn kimono which 
 I found in the room, I quietly slipped 
 out, and took a little fifteen-minute 
 
 65 
 
walk around about the house. Then, 
 returning, I again got into my quilts, 
 and slept the sleep of the just. 
 
 I awoke early in the morning to 
 hear the laughter of the little children 
 of the house, who were amusing them- 
 selves with their younger brother, out 
 in the garden, immediately outside my 
 window. They were at a well with a 
 little wooden bucket in their hands. 
 They were sending it down and bring- 
 ing it up again full of water. Then 
 they would dump the water in again 
 and begin the same over again. They 
 
 66 
 
kept this up for some time, and when 
 they had finished I saw them turn to- 
 ward me. They saw my blinds were 
 open, and advanced nearer. I made 
 believe to be asleep. Then the little 
 inquisitive bodies were assured, as they 
 thought I really was. The eldest spoke 
 in a whisper to the two others; then, 
 leaving them at some distance, she 
 clambered up the little piazza which 
 surrounded the house, and came to- 
 ward my window. First she gave a 
 long look in, and then, thinking I 
 was asleep, she advanced in my room. 
 I was in perpetual fear that my friend 
 
 67 
 
would awake and thereby frighten the 
 little visitor away. He did not awake, 
 but he suddenly turned around, which 
 set Miss Inquisitive flying off, leaping 
 off piazza and all, and falling in a 
 heap on the grass. The other little 
 girl ran to her help, but the baby 
 brother sat down, or rather tumbled 
 down, on the grass, and smilingly ob- 
 served the proceedings. 
 
 /It was time that I should dress, so 
 I got up and closed the shutters. My 
 friend was « also awake by this time, and 
 after having performed our ablutions, we 
 were in a short time out of our room* 
 
 68 
 
In less than twenty-five minutes 
 everybody was out and ready to de- 
 part. We did not eat much breakfast, 
 except rice and peaches, which our 
 hostess provided. We bid her "sayo- 
 nara," and paying her her money, to 
 which we added a few yen, we rolled 
 off in our kurumas, to resume our 
 journey. 
 
 69 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 The next afternoon, when we ar- 
 rived home, a pleasant surprise was 
 awaiting us. As soon as we entered 
 our little house we found that my 
 friend's dear friend, Jack Gervaise, 
 was inside waiting for us. We hur- 
 ried into the next room, where we 
 fond him reading a noveL After hav- 
 ing exchanged salutations with my 
 friend, he was introduced to me. He 
 
 70 
 
was a charming fellow, and was also 
 very handsome. He had a small blonde 
 mustache and very light blonde hair. 
 We spent the whole evening in inter- 
 esting conversation. The next night 
 we all went to see the Japanese the- 
 ater, to see Danjuro, Japan's greatest 
 actor. We were all settled in the the- 
 ater when the play began. In came 
 the actors, down the polished, flowery 
 way — a sort of long platform which 
 serves as an exit and entrance for 
 them. The costumes of the actors 
 were something magnificent. Danjuro, 
 in this play, took the part of a 
 
 71. 
 
woman, as women are not allowed 
 to play in Japan on the stage, 
 except one actress, a Madam Yone 
 Nachi, who plays in a theater with 
 women only. Danjuro's make-up was 
 simply wonderful. It was impossible 
 for one to tell him from a woman; 
 his face was painted white and then 
 rouged; his eyebrows were exquisitely 
 arched, and his mouth was exceedingly 
 small, and was vermillion red, with a 
 dash of gold across his chin. The 
 scene of the play was laid in the 
 Yoshiwara, and, of course, we did not 
 understand a word of it. 
 
 72 
 
At last the play ended, and the 
 actors again paraded out on the "Flow- 
 ery Way." We all had enjoyed it very 
 much, and were really sorry when it 
 was over. The audience had been also 
 an amusement, whole families dressed 
 in their best, looking on with every 
 emotion portrayed in their faces; and 
 in between the acts almost everybody 
 was seen smoking their tiny pipes, 
 which only hold about three puffs, 
 and which also they are constantly 
 refilling. 
 
 We had a most delightful walk home 
 — my friend, Mr. Gervaise and I. It 
 
 73 
 
was a moonlight night, clear and still 
 — one of those beautiful June nights 
 when one would like to stay out all 
 night. But, alas! we soon arrived 
 home, and in a few minutes were too 
 sleepy to be sentimentally inclined. 
 
 Two days after I left Tokyo to visit 
 Nagoya, Yokohama and Nagasaki, 
 which were all very delightful. Na- 
 goya was extremely interesting on ac- 
 count of the old palace-castle which is 
 there. This old structure is something 
 wonderful, and I spent hours in it. 
 
 Some of the walls have most re- 
 markable frescoes on them, which are 
 
 74 
 
very, very old. I have never seen 
 fresco work in Japan, except this, and 
 I believe it is the only piece of any 
 consequence in the whole country. 
 Nagasaki was also charming. The 
 scenery around the Inland Sea is 
 beautiful beyond description. 
 
 Girls in bright attire, with brilliant 
 kerchiefs on their heads, stroll the 
 streets of Nagasaki with samisens in 
 their hands every night. They sing 
 and tell funny stories or ghost stories, 
 and usually they attract great crowds. 
 The Geishas of Nagasaki are rather 
 famous. 
 
 75 
 
I did not like Yokohama quite so 
 much, though there is no doubt that 
 it is a lovely city, and has many 
 charming spots. But I really was glad 
 to return to old Tokyo, of which I have 
 grown really fond. 
 
 A most astounding piece of news 
 awaited my arrival. As soon as I was 
 home again my friend calmly told me 
 that Jack Gervaise was engaged to be 
 married to Miss Mabel Elliot! 
 
 "What!" I exclaimed. "Engaged 
 after a month and a half's acquaint- 
 ance!" 
 
 But I found that they had known 
 
 76 
 
each other for years in old England, 
 and that must have been Mr. Ger- 
 vaise's reason for coming to Japan. 
 
 They were married in Paris two 
 months after, and I am sorry to say 
 that I was not at the wedding, as by 
 that time I was again in New York. 
 
 And now, when I sit by my fire- 
 side in the evenings, I often fall asleep 
 and dream of that far-away land — that 
 enchanting land of the rising sun — 
 that land of the chrysanthemum— that 
 land which will always be a sweet 
 memory to me. That land of Japan! 
 
 So then, "Sayonara." 
 
 77 
 
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