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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No 2 1.0 I.I 1.25 m 2.8 m ll-M (40 1.4 I 2.5 2.2 II 2.0 1.8 1.6 ^ APPLIED I^A^GE 1653 East Main Street f^o.-liester, New York i4609 USA • 482 - 0300 ■ 288 - 5989 pl.'^^fisSppr'''^''':-^ "TV I'AGOUA AND ENTUAXCE '10 LAliOK TEMl'l.E, MKKO. ■'smMi^^^ma&^^^ tWk, raBr:,:,iia.7a»gSrt-i : 7,,.t:^'.^ I i RAMBLES IN JAPAN THE LAND OF Till' RISING SUN BT 11. B. TRISTRAM, D.D.. LL.D., F.R.S. CAMON OF DURHAM WITH FORTY- FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS BY EDWARD WHYMFER FROM SKETCHES AND PHOTOGRAPHS AN INDEX AND A MAP FLEMING h. REVELL COMPANY New York Chicago Toronto Ihe Reagiout Tract Society, London. MMtetfii^iiw*: PREFACE An npolofry may rofis()iiiil)ly be cxpecterl for another book on Japan by one who lias })ccn a mere visitor, not a resident. The following pages arc for the most part a transeript of the author's daily journal, written without any view to puhlicalion. But when, shortly after his visit, the eyes of the whole W(H-ld were suddenly fixed upon the Land of the Rising 8un, and its unexpected display of military genius and power, it was suggested to him tluit his notes might be of interest, not only as describing some parts of the country seldom visited by foreigners, but as touching topics not generally dealt with by previous writers. The primary object of the author's rambles was to master thoroughly the position of missionary work in Japan, especially that of the Church Missionary Society, and to ascertain the practical workinfj* of Buddhism as compared with the Buddhism of China and Ceylon. He had special advantages in beino- accompanied by his daughter, who, from her residence of some years in the country, her knowledge of the language and customs, and intense sympathy with PREFACE the people, enal)]e(l him to ^ain an insight into many things which woiihl otherwise escape the stranger's notice, lie trusts also th;"t his readers will forgive him, as a licld naturalist, for many allusions to zoology and botany. lie will be well rewarded, if he shall, however slightly, contribute to deepen interest in a race peerless among Orientals, and destined, when it has embraced thr.t Christianity which is the only root of all true ciyilisation, to be the Britain of the Pacifia CONTENTS Ciup. I. First Impress roxs 13 „ II. YOKOIIAIIA AND TOKIO .... 30 „ III. A Visit to Nikko ..... 81 IV. The IIakone Lake .... 124 V. Nacoya . . . . . , .104 VI. A Second Visit Kioto . . , 11)5 VII. Osaka 2-2b Vin. Sfiikoku 247 IX. Tim Isr.AND of Kiushiu. . . . 26(5 X. Aso San and the Geysers of Yunotan . 286 n »» >» LioT OF ILLUSTRATIONS u^ s Pagoda and Entrance to LAUf;E Tkmple, Nikko AwAzr Shima, on the Inland Sea Nagasaki TsuDzuRA IwA Rock, Haruna . Arima Vegetable Pedlar. . Asakusa Temple, Tokio (Buddiiisi') ZojoJi-zozo Temple . Japanese Soldier of the old time Japanese Bronze Lantern Ancient Japanese Archer Japanese Buttons . Shiba Temple, at Tokio . Forest Trees near Nikko . Bridges near Nikko Japanese Falconer . Stone Buddhas near Nikko Lake of Chusenji . . . Buddhist Priest . . • FUJILAMA, FROM OmIYA . • Wayside Tea-house . Japanese Travelling Chair rAOB Frontispiece 12 17 28 81 87 48 61 56 57 59 61 67 80 85 95 104 113 117 125 131 140 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The Hakone Lake, five thousand feet auove LEVEL .... Ojigoku, or Gukat Boiling ISi-uino PiLoiiiM GOING UP Fujiyama Nagoya Castle Temple at Nagoya, containing five hundred Kisooawa River Colossal Image of Buddha Temple at Kioto A Japanese Lady . 38,333 Images, Japan Japanese Shrine Sellers Weaving Silk .... Planting out Rice . Japanese Girls, Writing, Sewung, and Rkadin A Flower-stand in the Street, Osaka . Lady Missionaries' House Theatrk at Tokushijia . Missionary's House at Tokusiuma Mission Room, Tokushima Country Bridge .Iapankse Junk Kumamoto Castle . Country People car'ying Firewood IMAGE; SEA- 145 150 158 ir,7 173 lfS5 191 191) 20-' 205 209 215 224 231 244 249 251 254 2f5 259 2G4 282 293 1^ '.'!W,'5*:^";,S ■ < ■"mt-W^Wr" &jI^ EAMBLES IN JAPAN CITAPTER I < ■A < FIRST IMPRESSIONS Impressions are always heightened by contrast, and the first impressions of Japan, striking and enchanting as they must be in any case, were to me intensified by the startling contrast to the lands I had just left. As Ave stepped ashore in the lovely laud-lockcd harbour of Nagasaki, and set foot on the little islet of Dcshima, for two centuries and a half the only spot of Japanese ground which a European might tread, and those Europeans only lialf a dozen Dutchmen ; and when one looked around on the harbour filled with shipping of every great nation in the world, and then on the sloping sides of the encircling rocky hills, dotted with fairy-like vilhis, peeping out amongst a labyrinth of semi-tropical trees, which overshadowed clumps of brilliant flowering shrubs, it was difficult to realise that only thirty-six hours before we had left the monotonous mud -banks and the turbid waters of the Yang-tsze-kiang. It was a veritable transfor- mation scene. The land of China, like its people, strikes one as essentially unromantic, everything on a large scale, 14 RAMBLES IN JAPAN I lull and prosaic, matcliitig the iiiliahitants, with many good qualities, solid, stolid, plodding, unimagi- native — in short, a matter-of-fact, business land, nothing if not practical, l)ut to a stranger's eye not niucli l)ey()nd. At on(;e, after spending a day in the fogs of tlie Yellow Sea, we seemed to have stepped into fairyland ; nothing grand, nothing magnificent, but everything in perfect harmony, a land of minute prettinesses. Well might my artist friend, who landed with me soon after sunrise, exclaim as we returned from our ramble through the streets : ' I should have come for six months instead of one, and brought a dozen sketch-books instead of two. Every step provides a new picture, every child in the street has an artist's eye. The little girls arrange their bouquets and sachets as though they were students of Ruskin ; even the butchers' shops are decorated with vases and Howers, as though they were Regent Street reposi- tories. Every woman looks bewitching, and the harmony of colours in a bright dress is a perfect study. Only one thing spoils the charm, the horrid intrusion of European slop tailors. While the porters and coolies attract one by their picturesque dress, fashion seems to demand from everyone who can afford it, that he should assume European hard hat, misfitting coat and trousers, and cotton gloves with elongated fingers. If the women are charming, the men look thorough little snobs.' I must endorse my friend's criticism, even though there be plain women in Japan as elsewhere. Seaport towns, though generally the first FIRST mrRESSIONS If) f^'^jcimens that the traveller sees of a new country, are iiot necessarily the truest or most attractive represen- tatives of their country. No exception can be taken to Nagasaki as an illustration of Southern Japan. For the capacity of its roadstead, it may well rank amonff the great harbours of the world. The entrance is somewhat intricate, but when once entered under the anchorage, we seemed to be in a land-locked lake surrounded by villas. Looking across the harbour, I was at once reminded of the Bay of Naples ; I could have imagined myself gazing at Sorrento on a summer morning. But our minuter inspection soon revealed a dilFerence : the general outlines might be similar, but there was a finish, an exquisite variety, an absence of whitewash and long stone walls, an adjusting and harmonising of every detail with its surroundings, which presented as fine an illustration of art conceal- ing art as can be seen anywhere in the world. Every tree seemed placed as if it were a necessity where it grew, and where its absence must cause a disfiguring gap ; the very shape of even the largest trees was guided by ait which Japanese understand so well, for trees, like children, are there trained from their youth up : whilst the houses seem to suggest that they are a natural upgrowth from the rocks on which they stand. Various little islets dot the inlet. I have men- tioned the most historically celebrated, Deshima, the prison factory of the Dutch, where, since the expulsion of the Jesuits in the beginning of the seventeenth century, two Dutch ships a year were allowed to 1 16 IIAMBLE8 IN JAPAN the Southern Island of Kiu.shiu, . ^.r''^ ^"'- increased in iriir)o.-tnn.>n ^'' "<^^^'ever, local tmde ,, rt.:;3 "7 """ ''""■""■ "- i 1 "^ i^-iriKd on at other r)or^« Tf l not a ]aroe Ei,,fmoo,. i .. '^^ pous. It Las of the c'hui ; .^;;^;t .'"; '"' '' " "-^ -■«- '"«V of its our,. There is ° '"'"'""""7 Knglish church „„tside the citv '' '^""^'■™""^ "•''•;". as „.e,U3e.te:-:: 2.:""""'™ '^"-"^'^ bears very hi.^^I 'rT^ ""',"' ""^ '^'»'J. "'Wch -Mchare'ohi fl! 20,"""' t'"' '^^ 1™^--- in '•> f«ct, i. „ori iL ha?;::^ r'"^" '"^''-''-- . ' ^. ''''"g ^^'^ Japan advanced more r-mi^i, ti.- . „,ed,ca, education, in .hieh she i^^^t were m I i i FIRST IMPRESSIONS 19 Hihance oi some Eurojxuii coiinirips. About thirty of tlio atiulonts nt the time of jiiy visit wore. Cliristiuns connected with the tin li Missionary St ler Tiiey hfid a devotional meeting onee a \vo( k in a native eliurch for students aluiir, and had also one night lor open discussion on Buddhism and Christianity, at which I happened to he present, and which was largely uttended. The discussion \vn • earnest and aninmted, though of course 1 could not understand a word. It must he rcmemhered that the ishmd of Kiushiu presents many points of contrast to the other islands, both in climate, products, and character of the inhabi- tants. \Vc are rather apt to forget the great variety there is hi Japan on these points. Witli an area one- tenth larger than the British Isles, and the population larger in exactly the same proportion — forty-four millions to forty — the four main islands of J; pan stretch slantways through sixteen degrees of lalii ide and twenty degrees of longitu(h3. But, owing to its formation and number of islands, it possesses a coa.^ t- line more than double the extent of that of the I'ritish Isles. Like them, it enjoys the advantages of the warm equatorial current representing in tlu' Pacific our own Gulf Stream. In the variety of its natural products it vastly surpasses our own island group. In Yezo, the Xorthcrn Island, the hill-tops are the resort of the ptarmigan, identical with the bird of the Scottish Highlands; and the pine forests below are the home of the hazel hen, so fomiliar in the Swedish dahls. The great Central Island of Nippon (a name strangely c 2 20 RAMBLES IN JAPAN corrupted into Japan by some of the earlier n&.vi- gators) presents us with the varied produce of Northern and Central Europe, until in Kiushiu we have all the semi-tropical luxuriance of Andalusia and Southern Italy, and of even still more tropical climes. The traveller amongst the Ainu of the north may gather his bouquets of the lily of the valley and various Alpine acquaintances ; whilst the wanderer amongst the villages of Satsuma in the south rests in the orange groves under the shade of the palm, lulled by the swish of the never-resting banana-leaves/ But as the British home possessions extend to the Shetlands northwards, and to the Channel Islands in the south, so the empire of Japan in the Kurile Islands possesses a continuation of insular territory to almost Arctic limits ; w'hile in the south the archipelago of the Loochoos, connected as they are with Kiushiu by an unbroken chain of islets, and licyond these again the Majico Sima group, close to Formosa, bring the island empire to the edge of the tropics, while the acquisition of the latter has brought it well within them. The Japanese writers therefore may fairly claim that their empire stretches across the Temperate zone. Young Japan delights to talk of ' the Britain of the Pacific,' and considering the very good opinion these charming people had of themselves, even before the war of 181)4, we ought to take this as a great compliment. And no doubt, with their vast seaboard, countless harbours, and inexhaustible sea fisheries, ' The banana lives, but does not bear fruit in Kiushiu. f-in /fmm ei»!!W!mr: FIRST IMPRESSIONS 21 they are a nation of born sailors, unapproached by any other Eastern nation. A Chinaman behaves well on the water so long as he has not to light ; a Japa- nese fisherman — and that is half the nation—is at liome there. The fishing industry is perhaps quite as important to Japan as the raising of cereals ; for, until recently, fish was the (mly animal food ever tasted by the people, and still is exclusively so except in European settlements. But I shall have much to say on this subject hereafter. Long before the war with China, popular writers in Japan had set their heart uf)on the acquisition of Formosa, which can be easily understood on studying the map, and bearing in mind their maritime aspira- tions. In a book in my possession, written and printed in tlie English language at Tokio, the writer urges the importance of England securing Formosa at the earliest opportunity, as being the only security against the designs of Russia, who, the writer assumed, was prepared to absorb that island as well as Corea unless forestalled by England. But it is not only in fisheries, it is also in mineral wealth, that Japan holds a position of pre-eminence which may be compared to that of Spain in Europe. The coal-fields, both in the south and north, are inexhaustible, and have scarcely been tapped. Even though very slightly developed, the yield of her copper-mines, after being worked for ages, far exceeds the demand, and there is reason to believe that the mineral deposits are equally rich in every department. Silver, it is said, used to be comparatively the scarcest 22 RAMBLES IN JAPAN of the metals, while gold was abuudaut, and stories are rife of the enormous fortunes made by American speculators at the first opening of Japan, between 1854 and 18G8, who bought gold in the interior for twice its weight in silver. It would require, however, a very cute speculator to-day to make a profit out of a Japanese bullion dealer. But enough of this preliminary digression. The detention of the steamer for coaling gave me the (opportunity, which I did not miss, of visiting the outskirts of Nagasaki, as well as examining the beauti- ful manufacture of tortoiseshell articles, one of the staples of the place, and which in delicacy and minuteness of workmanship for surpasses the skill of Naples. The coaling was carried on in very primitive fashion. The indigenous product (for the coal-mines are on an island at the other end of the bay, where they are worked by drifts run into the sides of the clitF) is passed from the barges in small l)askets, head over head, by long lines of women and lads, chiefiy the former, up the sides of the ship, and into the bunkers, while the empty mat baskets are passed back wdth equal rapidity by a parallel line of workers. I was told that bunker coal at that time could be put on board for little more than a dollar a ton. Now, I believe, the price is very much higher, owing to the increased demand caused by the repeated strikes in England, and which have already led, throughout the whole of the Pacific ports, to the FIRST IMPRESSIONS 23 and stories l)y American an, between interior fur ire, however, profit out of cssion. Tlie ^ave me tlie visiting the g the beauti- one of the Iclicacy and the skill of ly primitive c coal-mines i bay, where sides of the baskets, head lads, chiefly md into the are passed llel line of ime could be ilollar a ton. inher, owinsj :he repeated already led, lorts, to the supplanting of Welsh and North of England coal by the cheaper and e(jually useful products of Japan, Vancouver Island, and even India. I have learned that since my vi.sit the Japanese coal-mining (as might have been expected) lias rapidly developed, and likewise the quality of the coal. Certainly, what \vc took in was very friable and dusty, but it was the product of an upper seam very near tlie surface, worked only by drifts in the .side, while last year the lower seams, struck by sinking shafts, have yielded a superior quality. I could not but notice the instinctive cleanliness even of the women who were working at coaling the ship. They had worn a sort of blue cotton poncho overall and a blue towel twisted on their heads, to protect their elaborately dressed hair from the dust. When they rested from work they at once threw off this outer cloak, carefully shook it, folded it into a small roll, and then, dusting their hair and washing their hands and face from the boat side, they shook themselves out and were as dapper and spruce as their neighbours. As we walked on shore we were at once striu^k by the inimen.se variety of flowering .shrubs, all, at this season, one bla^e of bloom, much less familiar to l^^nglish eyes than those of the more northern parts, many of which are acclimatised at home ; but few of those about Nagasaki can with us be more than greenhouse exotics. The politeness even of boatmen and jinrik.sha men is overpowering, and the little wooden chrdets which 24 RAMBLES IN JAPAN line the I'ojuls, bchiiul tlicir dainty little lluwer-plots, ure indeed eleiui iuid briuht. As J afterwards tmvelled at leisure tliroiinh a threat I'iirt of Kiiishiu, I will say no more of this Devon- shire or Kent of -Japan. Our voyage next was to Kol)o, at the iiorthern end of the famous Inland Sea. Steamers to that port from C'hina or tlie Straits usually make it to the east of Bhikoku, and so avoid the circuitous and lengthy threading of the Inland Sea, which, however, is, 1 believe, for beauty and love- liness abs(.lutely witliout a rival in the world. I do not say this hastily, for I had the good Ini'tune to make the voyage tlii'ee times — twice from sdulh to north, and onee the return voyage; and these were so timed that (m one or otlier occasion I jiave tra- versed every mile of tliat fairy sea in full siudight. Let the traveller recall the tinest bits of coast scenery he can recollect — the Ray of Naples in spi-inn-, Wemyss Bay on a summer's morning, a trip I'ound the Isle of Wight, threading the islands of Denmaik's Sounds, the luxuriance of the Sumatran coast, the windings of the coral islets of Bei'muda— recall which- ever of them you please, wait l)ut an hour or two— and you will match it in the Inland Sea. Before entering the sea itself, we were winding for ten hours b(;tween the Archipelago of Goto and the mainland northward, and then, turning eastwards, crossed the Gulf of (ienkai and steamed through the jiarrow entrance into the Inland Sea, the straits of Shinianoseki, i.e. Toint of the Islands, between the northern poir*. of Kiitshiu and the FIRST IMPRESSIONS 25 the mds, tlic •?, farthest extremity of the main island Hondo, on which arc the Hourisliino- fishing and trading towns of I)akan on the north ;iiid Moji on the south, the latter being pre2)ared for a powerful battery of Armstrong guns. The entrance to tlie sea is a nari'ow passage, i'.pparently not more tlian two miles wide. It was a loN'cly morning as we entered. The whole scene haffles description : islands, bays, terrace-ribbed hills, woods of stately cryptomerias, w' more in Jai)an. Then an ofKcer observed to my daughter, who had come down from Osaka to join me here, ' Your father's friends will see how much better things there are in Japan than in China.' niii-mur at tlu' 1' (I.'IWU K()l)(' ; [iiore of ty, tlic lidsDiiic ion, ill iiiigc of ipes of e risinu; of tlic til ward lOllOto- it, but ■0 not ured a ike an for the exami- iteness 5 skull :!d l)y every - ly, on trade, uy fav ;o my )in mo better < "tit '■•?'?-' ,i7^^.«- «^-^! J''>>TV, ^.,,'1 f:5^-:>^>'^' TSUPZriiA IWA ltO(T<. IIAIillNA. B'[I!ST IMIMtHSSlONS '2') f Thosk.'trlics which iiccompiiny tliis chapter, tukon, as they arc, tV-.iu photographs, will exitlain much l.cltcr than any description the varied charncter oi lh<' scciiciy ..r the Inland Sea. We may note the re- iiiarkalilc in.i^cnuity with which jiiues of various kinds have l.ccn coaxed to ,uro\v on the top of every little isolated rock and out of the sides of every clill". The pine.s hein.ij; rooted in the (tracks or crevices of the clills, are cleverly trained laterally to the desired length, and in the distan(;e may be seen the solitary pine which, like a mommient, crowns an isolated rock; while the iishing village nestled under the trees, with the boats drawn up in perfect security in the little cove which no storms can disturb, is a type of a thousand others which dot the shores of Japan. In some places somewhat lofty mountains a[)proach the coast, especially on the east or Shikoku side ; for a few hours after leaving the straits we pass the north-eastern point of Kiushiu, and are Hanked on the eastw^ard by the adjoining island of Hhik(jku, the fourth in importance of the Japanese group. Th(^ rocks of these mountams, chietly igneous, (.ften present very grotesque forms. It is diflicult to imao-ine a more exact representation of a human bust than a rock in the forest of liarum- *s shown in the illustration. .^o llAMliLRS IN JAPAN CITAPTf]!! TI YOKOlfAMA AND ToKTO Our Htc.'imcr was to remain a day at Kobe, so we took the oppoit unity of spending the time at Osaka, the JManehestcr of Japan, only tw'cnty miles from Kobe (aeeessible by frequent tn.ins on a very l^]uropean-looking railway). For some little distance we ran along the foot of the hills, amongst which nestles out of sight Arin^r., the favourite summer resort, with its mineral springn and watertalls. We soon, however, left the hills and crossed a monotonous plain intersected by a rectangulai- network of dykes and ditclies, reminding one very much of the country between Haarlem and Amsterdam, and with cultivation yielding nothing in neatness and cleanliness to the Dutch. Most of the compartments were paddy — that is, rice — fields, in a few of which the o-reen })lades were appearing above the black mud. But a very large nund)er of the fields were cropped wdth rape just now in full bloom, one mass of golden yellow, and patches of cotton just budding, giving the whole plain the appearance of a chequered carpet spangled with yellow and green. An hour brought us to Osaka, of which more anon. i IS, YOKOHAMA AND TOKIO nn !'„it t<, 111.' Mtmn^cH' who ]vu\ jiint landed, the wnys of the folk, tlioir ••loan houses, lavish ii>< (.!' tlovvers, chubby <'l<"tH rhildn'ti, with oilh«'r dolls or babies strapiM-d iM iheir back . tty, brijj;ht vvoiiieu and irirls, |>ietures<|UO balcoiiii'd houses, oanals full of boats erossiiinr the stroots ('outiiuiall)— all was novel and ohamiinfT. P.iit as I shall have occasion to write more of Usalca, and describe the missionary work, of which it is the centre, later on, 1 shall aay no more at present. We returned to Kobe, and re-enil)arkcd on board the nianniticent Canadian- Pacilic steamer l':mi)ress of In^ia, (Japtain Marshall, K.N.R., and woi,i,died anchor about midni,cognising me as a naturalist, sent a special invitation on board by his a<^ent. I must coiife,s,-i he uas rewarded for his pains. ^i YOKOHAMA AND TOKIO 35 In order to sec the city we embarked in jinrikshas, the universal liansoin cabs of Japan. They are, in fact, a light armchair with a hood, on a pair of bicycle wheels, with h)ng shafts, and a coolie running between them. It was hmg before I could reconcile myself to the sensation of being dragged al)out by a brother man, but it is really the only mode of locomo- tion, except one's own legs, possible in this (country outside the railways, and as a Japanese once said to me, ' Why should you object to a man-drawn carriage ' (literal translation of jinriksha), 'when you have no objection to being pulled by a man in a boat ? ' Towards evening we went by rail to Tokio. The railway system is much on the American plan, with the important exception that there are always three classes of carriages; but most are long and open down the centre, and well ventilated. The country through which we passed w^as rich and thoroughly cultivated. On one side, the Bay of Tokio studded w^ith shipping, a rice-covered plain intervening. On the other, a range of low hills with picturesque brown wooden cottages, frequent little temples and shrines marked by the Shinto gateway, one of the universal features of Japan ; and orchards of fruit-trees. On one part of the plain was an expanse of pear-trees, all trained on trellises like the vines of Italy, and in full bloom ; the peach and cheriy were everywhere in the glory of full blossom. In fact, it is chiefly for the blossom that these fruit-trees are cultivated. The plums are little better than sloes, the cherries very smtdl, and the peaches poor. So little are the fruits D 2 k^M^miiism n 36 RAMBLES IN JAPAN apprcciatod that tlicre arc more doiiblc-blossominii, than ,siiiglo-])l()«somiiig trees, and tlie ])h)ss()m by cultivation has been developed to three times the size of the correspond in m' bloom at home -the cherrv bloom often attaining the size of oui- wild rose, and ihe peach that of a double daisy. There was ]iothing grand on the rout(\ Init evinything attraetiv<\ neat, clean, and sweet, perfe(;tly in keeping with the bright little folk who cover the land. We found ourselves the only foreigners in the long American car, and whilst my daughter talked to some girls, a young Japanese came and sat by me, and tried to air his English, which was very scanty, and whicii at first I did not recognise, but which [ileascd him mightily. From the station we rode in iiiiriksJias throuf^h wide streets with th(> mo^t pictures(jue-roofed, one- storeyed houses, and open shops decked in the gayest colours. All was w^ood, paint, and pa[ter. It was really like living on a Japanese screen. Canals almost as numerous as streets ; and by the side of all this old-world (juaintness, ti'amways and 'buses, telegraph poles — one of whicfi carried sixty-four wires as I counted them — and here and there the w^histle of engines, and the chimneys of factories ; now and then little boulevards with rows of peach- trees, one blaze of bloom. 'I'okio — that is the east capital — was known as Yedo until 18(58, when the JMikado took up his residence there instead of at Kioto or Saikio, the west capital. It is a vast place extending many miles, and having a population of one million three ^>y YOKOHAMA AND TOKIO 39 liiiiKlrcd and eighty-nine thousand souls, but very Hat, the greater part of its area having been recovered from the sen within the hist three centuries ; the favourite (luartci- of Shiba on a low ridge being the Jlighgate and Ilampstead of the [)lace. We were quartered for a few days at Tsukiji, in the European concession, with a hospitable friend, th; of three >f the horse- lauging down :)gun dynast} 5 of the herb i palace, were he opening of i Chinese Tai (jV ])adges arc [ bronze, and under what ts widely ex- lite of the old The park is the enclosing can masonry. 3 and several ;h wild duck, duck is most conspicuous. Within the moat are the old magnifi- cent walls, absolutely impregnable before the days of gunpowder. Passing over a drawbridge and through the gateway, we enter the outer radius, laid out as a beautifully kept park. Within this are a second moat and encircling walls, quite as wide and massive as the outer circuit. Within these again are the private grounds, gardens, and palace of the emperor. f should have mentioned that in the outer park, after crossing the fust moat on the right, was the debris of an extensive range of wooden buildings which had lately been destroyed by fire, and which, with the usual promptness of Japan, crowds of workmen were busily employed in clearing away : already they had commenced their reconstruction. These ruins were those of the first Parliament-house of Japan, which, having closely imitated the English Constitution in its two houses of Legislature, of which the upper is partly hereditary and partly nominated for life, further imitated us in the burning down of its first St. Stephen's, though after a much shorter experience. We can only trust that the carefully devised institu- tions of Japan may be more permanent than their first home. Beyond the site of the Parliament-houses is a wide parade ground, answering to our St. James's Park. On the other side of the park is a vast range of buildings, the offices of the various government departments, in which our own subdivisions of the Treasury, Home Office, Education, etc., etc., have been pretty closely followed. Here also is the 42 R* MULES IN JAPAN i :N government printing oiVwo, and the manufactory of bank-note paper, wliicli is a Icga] currency. Strangers are ])i'rmitted to see the printing office. The palace itself was iiot open to visitors when wc were there, as it was occupied l»y the emperor. In its outline it follows the anti<|ue . Japanese architec- ture, while a great part of it is internally furnished after the J^luropcan fashion. Just 1)eyt»nd the KUtcr moat of the imperial park- is situated the liritish legation. 1 (;annot sulHciently acknowledge the courtesy and kindness of our minister, the late Mr. Frazer, whose recent death we have to dcploi'e ; through whose kind efforts we at (mce ol.tained special [)assports enabling us for six months to travel wherever wc pleased, without being troubled by the police authorities, a favour which is very rarely granted, and wliich caused us to ])e the envy of many of our compatriots. I harit)(l, uiili piittciy of ii less rudu churiictrr. 'riicii follow a lai'Hi! collciiioii of various artifli's. and of [)ott('ry liuiirt's of men, horses, and liirds, which wi'rc loimd in <;Toat ipiaiilities inside ihe fuiid'ea! nionnd (»(' one of the earlier emperors. The next hall is devoled to a!iti(piities of the historic, |)oriod, the curliest certain date heinij A.D. 70S, from which period (h)\vn\vards tliei-e is a, lino collection of coins; the an<-ient coins were not cinular, hut ohlong, some of the gold ones verv lariic and coviuvd with hiero- ulyphics, hut no hnsts. The otliei- untiijuitien are chietiy ol' Ihiddliist oriiiin : hut one of th(> most in- terestin<; collections is that of tlie Christian relics, especially those hronL;lit hy the emhassy sent to Kome liy the Prince of Sendai. a.i>. 1()14. There is an anuisinu ditl'erence in the Japanese and I'oinan versions of this embassy. The I'Jiropean writers state that the envoy went on tlu^ part of the Shogun to recognise the supremacy of the po|)e, who in return piesented him with the freedoUi of the city of liome and loaded liini with presents. The Ja2)anese, on the contraiy, slate that the Shognn sent the envoy in order to report u[)on ihe political power and military strength of the Iviropcan nations. Amongst the relics is a Latin deed conferring on llashikura the freedom of the city of IJonie. a pi -ture of him in prayer before tin crucilix in his Kuropcan costume, and copies of tin' priiici''s h'tters lo the jjope in Japanese and Laiin By the side of these are shown the trampling boards — /.' large metal slabs, with YUKHllAMA ANI» ToKlO 47 li.^urvHof tlir Virgin ail. I ( 'liild, aiul of tlu- (lilU-iviit im-id.-ntH ..r i1m' I'assioi. nil whirl, suHpoctetl Christiuiis were coiiiiiclhwl to Iraiiiplt' in ovdw to testify tlu'ii- ul.junitioii of ( 'liiistiaiiity. Tliis collcf- lion must U' our <.f the most, toiicliiny intereHt to every ('liristiiiu. Tn other lialls aro exhil'itr.l the. ([miint funiitiiic iiii.l Ma[>|>iii«;H usod hy the Alikmlo ami Shogun an.l thiir courts up to the time of the present generation. The most eurious arc an ainiciit hulh.ck carriage and |..dan(|uiiis, most ri.-hly carved and gihU'd, as well as the slate har,-<' used hy tlu; Shoguns. These l,iill(H-k rarria,L-es hear the same relation to the kuruma ,.f t.nday that the state coach of Queen EUzal)eth docs to a modern landau. Thi'vo. was also the throne of the ancient Mika.h.s, with the rich silk hangings that used to conceal him from the gaze of his subjects, who were only alh-wed lo see his feet. Some of the state carriages are three hundred yea. rs old, and tlu' lacquer work and porcelain jors are - '' untold value. There is, besides, a tine collection old Japanese armour and swords. We went • I' ihc Zoologieal (lardens, which aie onlv ' iv infancv. Two sheep in a cage ]),>tAveeii - uiall bears (m the one side and leopards ,,11 ill,. ,ilui were evidently the most popular euru).sii . They were taken for lions, and when they 1,1 ,^ 1 ^,,,,,,. of the ehildren ..Kiimcd 'Lions ru.a'ing ' We then went on to a \> ry tine Sh uio temple, the arranwemenl consisting of variou .iMuate buildings. M I 48 RAMBJJ-.s IN JAPAN Facing the slirliic of the central temple was a large hall, quite open in front ; in fact, the stage of a theatre, with roof and walls of wood most gorgeously carved, gilded and painted. A play was being per- formed. All the actors were men dressed in antique costume ; all wore masks, some of them grotesque, and there was much pantomime and recitation. The theatricals seemed to resemble what I had seen in Chinese temples, and, evidently connected more or less directly with the worship, reminded me of what one leads of the miracle plays of the Middle Ages. We turned round— the temple shrine was just in front of us, much like another stage, almost the counterpart of the theatre. Within the shrine was only a large circular disc or mirror of burnished metal, with long strips of white paper suspended from inscribed tablets on either side. In front of it a lavish display of lights l)urning ; a number of priests in green vestments with strange instruments, all sitting on the elevated platform and producing weird music ; below this dais the people kneeling in prayer, frequently clapping their hands ; while the whole sacrarium was covered with small coins, called rin, the value of each being the twentieth of a penny, which the people threw, aiming them at a large box placed in the middle of the sanctuary. This we found was a great function— the anniversary of the death of one of the Bhoguns. The Shinto worship is utterly different from the Taouism of China, and has none of its gross idolatry. In some respects it is analogous to the old Persian I I YOKOHAMA AND TOKIO 49 (ii'c worship, tlic miiTor representing the sun, who himself is the representative of the invisible Deity, while the Mikado is the human representative of the sun, and therefore, in some des^ree, a partaker of the divine nature. Nor is tiiis all the meaning of the mirror, the great feature of Shinto worship. In it man is supposed to see his own heart mirrored, and, comparing it with the purity of the white paper by its side, to see wherein he fails, and (iorrect it. A Japanese was supposed to be superior to any moral code; one glance at his heart was suthcicnt, and he \\ ould certainly reform himself. Close by are the tombs of the Shoguns, with two mortuary temples. The carving and gilding of these temples is lavishly ri(;h in barbaric splendour. The whole structure is exclusively of wood, the ground colour of everything being painted red, upon which the most skilful native art has been lavishly employed both in painting and sculpture. Their open-work carvino- of birds and flowers, the symbolic chrysan- themum predominating, is mingled with the richest arabesques; the columns are wreathed with plum- blossoms in red and gold, the beams with lions' heads also in red and gold. Witldn the shrines are memo- rial tal)lets, sumi)tuous specimens of the most costly gold lacquer, commemorating the dead. Another temple contains the shrines of the mothers of eight Shoo-uns. Amonirst the fantastic animals which decorate the panels of these buildings 1 was surprised to notice both the unicorn and the phoinix, probably suggested in the sixteenth century by the intercourse B 50 UAMi;i-K.S IN JAl'AN ! i of .1,.,,,,.,.. with Wcst.'vn EurniH'. An even finer tenipK' than thrsc foniu-rlv existed ..n tli(> site cf the nmseuin, l.ut was huriit down tive-aiid-twenty years a-.., dunng a Imtth^, foiioht in this park between the troops of the Mikudo and those of the last Blingun. Passing from the teiuph's, we walked under a goro-eous avenue of eherry-trees, just now in full blossom and at this time tlu- gMvat attracition of Tokio. It is dillieuit to describe the ex(piisite beauty of the pink cherry-blossom. It is like nothing else, and has been called 'uniquely beautiful.' One looks up and the air seems filled with pink clouds, 'ilie natives, with their instinctive eye for beauty, are never tired ,,f these jironienades. On one occasion, when we were making an excursion, onr kuruma men begged to be allowed to take us round by the cherry avemie. When w(> re[)lied that it would be more than a mile out of our way, the men said they would charge us nothing more if we would only go, for the beauty of the plac(>, would abundantly reward them. I have not nu>t with a London cabman with such an appreci- ation of the beauty of our parks in spring. One of the striking features of the IJyeno temples are the colossal bronze standard lanterns, some of them eight or ten feet high, which are placed singly or in rows leading up to the tem[)l(\ Innnense stone lanterns of the same model often occur in \arious temple crrounds. It is dillii-ult to estimate the enormous value of the metnl of the solid bronze masses. They arc the gift of various great Daimios or other rich n finer site of ■twenty s park } of the mder a in full f Tokio. T of the and has up and natives, 'ci' tired hen we begged avenue. . a mile large us eauty of I have a.ppreci- ( )ne of are the I'ln eight in rows lanterns ; temple (norraous s. They ther rich ^y'M : ^ ^'i.';:|' .-'i'V'; -' 7 ;v|s /- ^ . '%'/:, _ — ' > ■ ''>rr^^. - ri ->■':;■■ y'^ * '.■•!':-!'• 1 '/ ^ ^ ' , '"-V't — *< :m y - ■ ■ ■ r.i) i; > . .*>:^ ■A — .V !•: -2 H **•! i'\ HI H f i\ YOKOHAViA AND TOKTO 53 I men to tho momory of tlic Slio,muis, and each lanlcrii hiis the name of tlie donor iiiscnl.ed upon it. After these renuiiisc-eiices of tho .laj)aii <>f the i)aKt. I spent two days in visiting the University of Tokio, the eml)ryo Japan of the future. The Imperial iMiiversity is intended for the whole (-ountry, and is the only university in the empire. All students must have previously passed tlu'ough one of the three great ,.„lloues, which are sui)porti'(l by the government, and „f which there is one in the ishan.l of Kiushiu and two i„ Hondo, 'i^here are more than 1,:'.()0 students at the university. I met a number of professors, most „f them native gentlemen, graduates of Cambridge, l.cipsic, and Harvard, amongst them a wrangler and two English professors, both Fellows of the Royal Societv.^l had an introduction to Dr. Ijima, the head of thJ zoological department, where there is n^ally a line national collection, and the nucleus ..f a good general mu' .'im. I was invited to dine in the comm..n-rooii with the professors, who all spoke l<:nglish tiueiitly. The dinner, however, was not puixly Japanese, for knives and forks and European as well as native dishes were generally patronised. The students do not reside in college, nor is there any collegiate discipline. They appeared generally to wear a dress modified from our cap and gown. 1 was much interested with the botanic gardens, and learned a good deal from the curator, as well as from the gardeners who happened to l)e employed by my h.>st. of the Japanese arts of dwarting. trans))lant- inV and distorting trees and shrubs. They success- r)4 RAMBLES IN JAPAN fully transplant forest trees at any age. They have dwarf pines, (uyptonierias, maples, and oranges, living and healthy, only a few inches high, with leaves blossom, fruit, all e(|ually liliputiiin, in pei'fect pi'o- portiou. They are extremely fond of the grotesrjue and artifieiiil Ifow the dou])le hlossonis and the spotted idliage |)|;mts, of which they are so fond, are produced, I was not ai)le to ascertain. Most effective ai-e the trees, maph's and others, in which the foliao-e of each branch is of a different colour. Thus I have seen a well-grown maple-tree with seven large limhs, each having foliage of a ditierent hue, varying fi'oni (hirk eo])per to pink and greenish-white —this, of course, by grafting. The trees that are intended to be dwai'fcd are pla(;ed in pots alongside of a wire frame; it inay be two oi' three feet in height, or perhaps only a i'ew inches. This frame represents the exact number, shape, and size of the bi'anches the tree is to b-e allowed to Ih-n e ; and every branch is bound to the wii-e or vUe cut oil". The roots are carefully piinu'd and confined, and th(> young iVdiaf^e is unceasingly nipped oH". The transplanting of full- grown trees was very sim[)le. The roots were simply laid bare, taking esp( care to preserve the most delicate fibres, and, a.^ soon as the earth has been cleared away by the fingers or sticks, not with spades, lest they should be bruised, each bunch of rootlets is confined in a little coit(m bag. I luive seen a tree moved in this way which required twenty men to move it with rollers. Whc^n the tree is placed in its new position, the bags are unloosed one by one, M v-^'^" JAI'ANKSi: SnI.Diilt OF TIIK OLD TIME. YOKOHAMA AND TOKIO 57 °Mi and (ino, pulvci'iscM] soil cnii'l'iilly s|)iiiikl('il l)ot\vocn the iil)iv,-', no rootlet lieini;' iiUowed to toneh unotlier. Tliev attach ,^reat inqxa-tance to the work of trans- planting, which is always begun in the evening, being eonii)leted before the heat of tlu' next day. However. Japanese gardening is an art which it evidently re»niires years to master, and which would well repiy the student o." ])lant life. C'haruiiug as arc the buildings and scenery ot I'yeno, they arc certainly in ahnest every pi^int excelled by those of Shiba, situated at the southern end, as Uyeno is at the northern, of the great city. ^Ve spent portions of several days in visiting this maze of gardens, temples, and tombs. The great street leading to it contains the most interesting shops of I'very kind, the type of which is but little spoiled by European innovaticms. Here is the Wardour Street of Tokio. I was most attracted by the fine collections of the ancient armour, now— alas, f.)r picturcs(pie .(uaintness 1— utterly discarded. As one watched the nimble battalions of little riHe- men marching through the streets on their way to or from parade in their Fienchified uniform, and now JAPAKESE BliONZi; l.ANTEKN. II h 58 RAMBLES IN JAPAN rend of tlioir prowess aut the central attractions of Shiba are the shrines, sacred to the memory of Shoguns of the Tukugawa family, six of whom are buried at Uyeno, two at Nikko, and six at Shiba, whilst the last deposed prince is sti^ living. These shrines are of very ri<'h woodwork, with the most elal»orate gilding, approached through numerous groups of colossal -t-one lantern-^. We enter by a gateway whose pill; ; - nave metal drag*)ns twisted round them, and are gilt. The court inside this gate is lined with two hundred and twelve huge l)ronze lanterns, the gift of ditferent Daimios during the last two centuries. Through a third gate are galleries with ri(dily painted panels and carved birds and flowers, while the beams of the roof of the temple arc carved into the shapes of dragons. Here we had to take olf our shoes before we entered what may be called tlie chancel or san«;tuaiy. Within the uimost sanctuary are shrines in which are concealed A- i ■.jirt*-*«-.- Cy6 IIAMHI.KS liN JAVAS the stiituos of the different Sliocrims. But these images, the gifts of emperors, are iievcu' shown, so tliat there are no images visihle. On the outer plat- form the Samurai and h^sser gentry used to worsliip, whilst in the corridor leading to the inner sanctum the great Daimios were admitted ; the Great Shogun alone worshipping in the inner sanctuary. On either side of the shrines ar(^ wooden statues of the guardian angels, who are supposed to protect tlu^ world against demons. Tlie outer courts of these shrines are decorated with barbaric magnificence. The most gorgeous gold lacquer is held together by costly and beautifully executed metal work. It is curious to note amongst the favourite decorations the unicorn, the fabled animal, which .seems to be recognised in the East as well as in the West. Behind these gorgeous temples a long flight of stone steps leads up to the tombs of some of the Shoguns. Most of these tombs are .striking for their austere simplicity, everything about them being suggestive of power, in striking contrast to the lavish decorations of the temples in front. About a mile farther on is a very curious Buddhist temple, the burial-place of the forty-seven Ronins, who are looked upon as national heroes by the Japanese, and form the groundwork of one of the most popular romances. Although the events are said to have occurred only about two hundred years ago, they take a place in Japanese romance not unlike that of the heroes of Kino; .Xrthur's Kound Table amongst ourselves. The outlines of the story are ..;.. F 2 1 YOKOHAMA AND TOKIO 69 worth tellincr, ub illustraiin- the natumul spirit, which elevated a l,h)odthirsty revenge to the highest place among the social virtues. The story is briefly this : One Dainiio having been assassinated by another in a dastardly manner, his vassals, or Samurai, as thev are called (a position somewhat resembling that of the esquires and retainers of a mediseval knight), havin- now no liege lord, became Ih.nins, that is, ' wave men,' a kind of mendicant soldiers of fortune, it being beneath their dignity to engage in manual labour Forty-seven of them entered into a secret league to avenge their lord's death, in which enter- prise, after many .omantic adventures, they finally succeeded ; and having seized the great Dainno, they offered him what was considered an honourabl,;^ end, l.y permitting him to perform harakiri, that is, to crive himself the happy despatch by using his own short sword. On his refusal they slew him, and then, proceeding to Yedo, gave themselves up to the authorities, who sentenced the whole of them to perform harakiri, which accordingly they did, and have been looked upon as loyal heroes and martyrs ever since. . Pibrrimacres are made to their tombs in this temple, as to the shrine of Thomas a Becket ; incense is con- tinually burned in their honour, and their clothes and relics, carefully preserved, are at certain intervals of years exhibited to the admiring crowds who flock from all parts of the country, as in Europe to the Holy Coat of Treves, bringing great wealth to the temple Sengekuji. as ?■! 70 HAMJSLKS IN .lAI'AN 1! , i^Hii 1 HHI^I ; ^^Bis ; ^^^B1i ^^^^HSH-i- ^^^Qti This Li'i'iiijHil' liiiiMiii^s in Sliiha is one of tlu- most I'ciiiaikaMr in the whole country, siirjxisscd only liy tlio.Si.^ of jS'ikko ami Kioto. Ihit what stiiick inc must v/as the woii(lciTiilly artistic arran^'cniciit of the tivos. We seemed to lie w andcrinij,' in a wild wood fid! of exotic trees, and at every turn <'anu> unexpectedly on a roof nystled beneath them, with its upturned corners resplendent in tlie sindi^ht. Few thiuus ea,. ,L;iv(> the strangei' a better idea of the ait antl manufactures of Japan than a visit to the Shiba Ivwankoba, or bazaar, with its winding maze of eoi'ridors. on either side of which all the goods are exposed. It is well to visit this place with a well- lined purse, for the tem))tations are irresistible. The vounu ladies i!i attendance stand in front of, not bchiiiil. the counters. There is one immense advan- tage to the Westi'in stranger, in that, contrary to the almost universal custom of the country, all the articles are marked in plain Japanese figures, and there is no l)argaining. J lours maybe spent in the contemplation of things new and old anti(pie carving in ivorx' ; costly bits of ancient jiotter}- ; lac([uer of e\ery kind, ancient and modern : bewildering piles of delicate porcehiin ; silks, rich, [)lain. and embroidered ; screens and fans; to say nothing of nioi'e homely domestic articles. I was able to make an interesting collection of Japanese tools and instruments, and many charming models illustrating all the operations of agriculture and carpentry, culinary work, and the life of the home. Dolls and toys were a great feature, and in the latter the productions of Holland pale before YOKOHAMA AND ToKIo 71 those of Tokio. « )\w w'Jis iiistiuitly iinprllcH to count up ihc uumbcra of nephews, iiicccH, and omndchildreu whose birthdays would l)o _t-huldcned by a lemeiulininee IVoni the other side of th(> woiM. The following morning, .\i)ril 1*9, on hx.kiiig out I was surprised to sre a display of eoh.ur in a novel form in every direetion ovei' ilie wliole rity. On the roofs and corners of houses all around were huge paper Imlloons in the gaudiest colours, suspended from bamboos from twenty to fifty feet high. The balloons, or hollow paper bags, are cut in the shape of a iish, sometimes twelve feet long, with a large open mouth formed l«y a wire ring, into which the wind blowing inflates the fish, wlii.-h waves about after the manner of a weathercock, and is painted very cleverly in brilliant <-olours. It was the Japanese May Day, and on this day it is the custom that a paper iish should float over every house in which a boy has been born during the past year, and it remains hoisted for a month, giving every town and village the appearance of being I'li frfc. The girls, I am ashamed to say, have no siuth honour paid to them. The explanation of this extraordinary custom is that it symbolises that as the fish swims up stream, so may the boy successfully face all the struggles of life. S(mie boys are honoured by a row of a dozen fishes on one pole, and certainly, to judge by the thousands of these fish-fiags, there is no fear of a lack of men in the Cviming generation to defend their countr}". I had been asked hv the Tokio Cniiistian Evidence 72 RAMULES IN JAPAN ll ■»■ ! Society to (Iclivcr u lecture on this aftornoon on IlistoiicCorrohomtioiisor the rciituti'iKli liom icceut Koy])tian discovories. The society is formed hy tlie iiiissionarie.s of the various denominations, ehietly American, and the president is Arclideacon Siiaw, the venerable seni-T snissionary of the Socioty lor the I'ropanjation of the Oospel. 'I'he hu-turc-room was a large isolated hail, called the lahernacle, l.tiilt near the University liy Aineri(;an Methodist Kpisc'oj)als, but vvliicli is used freely for Christian work by all denominations. Archdeacon 9^' , -.vas in the chair, and I was rather taken aback by the size of the audience, about a thousand, of whom one-fourth were undergraduates of the University with their soft square caps. Most of them understand some Enf e\ cry form and development of Christianity. There are representatives of the Cliurch Missionary Society, the first Enrrlish society of any denomination to enter Japan; of the Society for the Pro} ,aiie of the Gospel; Bishop Piickersteth's mission; tii-. Cowley Fatljers ; the Anierican Protestant Episcopal Church, k r « 11 i I 1 j, ^ * „i : 74 KAMIU.Krt IN JAl'yVN very Htroiiiily rcprcsenrctl : .unl <»f Amcrii'iins, Prrsl)y- tcriiiii, ( 'iinilti'rl.'inil u!i(l Soiitlii'iii ; Congrcniitionalist ; l?ii[>ti.st ; ^Ictliodist lOpiscopal ; WeMlcyuii ; Dutcli Uefoiiiicd ; Society of Kricuds ; Amcii an ['niiuriun ; IJu.^so-dreck ; and iJoiiiaii of diU'creiit orders. At ihis lime I do iioL think there were any llritisli Xonc'oiiforniists. I be,nan with tlie Japanese morning service in tlie Clmreh Missioi ly Society's (;iinreh at Tsnkiji. The eongreuation amounted to ahoiit sixty adidts, and tiio sermon was preached by a yoiiiiu (;atechist who struck me as being well satistie(l with himself. This, how- ever, ran hardly be ciIKmI a mission chtu'ch, as the native; congregatii»n bear the whole expense and maintain the catechist. 1 afterwards attended lOnolish service at the Amerieun cathedrah As we entered the buildiie^ we met the Ja])anese congre- gation just streaming out. I was introduced to the veneralile l^ishop Williams, who had just resigned his see, a nleasinu' old man with humility and self- sacrifice stamped in every feature and action. He (!ertainlv was no lordly prelate. I'rayers were read bv a vounu' dei'LiN'man. who had been in J'jnt>'Iand with the Cowley Fathers. It is a noble church, cruciform, with aisles, lofty and light, and thoroughly Protestant in all its arrangements, perhaps more so than in its person )icl, and serves all the English- .spcaking people in the concession. h^ two o'clock I went to the Church Missionary Socii ly's Japanese Sunday sejiool, where the children repeated Hebrews xi., which of course formed a YUKOn NMA ANI> TOKIO 75 •iipitiil toxt for ' >1.1 Tcsliimctit f'utechisiiijLr. At threo I. 'clock lu'tian another Jiipiincsi! scrvitc. at uliidi I ilitl nor stav lonf course his stuff is much larger and more concen- trated than that of any other mission in Tokio, except perhaps the American Episcopal. He had li\ijig with him in his house, known as St. Andrew's, five young university (']erStates gunboat, and three English corvettes, with a Russian close behind tlicm. It is remarked that an English man-of-war is never seen in these sea.- without a Russian in her train. Of all the five nationalities whose flag was shown, the '8 RAMBLES IN JAPAN Japaiie.se were by i^o means the leasi smart in a|)])carance, though they certainly faih'd in rowing with Ihr neatness that marked our gigs. The Russian looked verv shaMiv. and eei'tainly seemed wanting in smartness and cleanliness. l)esi(U>s these, there were manv mail liners and several magnitiecnt Ameriean elipperv, the iiist 1 had seen in these seas. It was ditlicult t(» realise, as we looked at this fU'(>t of many nations, that we were in a roadstead unknown to name or fame five-and-tweiity years ago. Aftei' enjoying our row amongst the shipping, we found not a h'ss strange contrast with the past on shoiv It was a gala day at Yokohama, and ilags were \\\\\\'X in all dire( lions, for the annual races were hem- held on the IMutl', and the TMikado had e(jme down expres.-^ly to see this I'mglish spoi't. Oh, the deseent in 'Mie generation, IVom the otl'spring of the; o-ods ensl.rined in mvsterv amidst the enchanted <»Hrdensof Kioto, to the spruce ucntleman in lMH'oi)ean costume, diiving in his harouchc to witness an J'^nglish liorse race I ■M L M I f I! CHAPTER III A VISIT TO NIKKO Our first expcMlitioii into the interior from Tokio was to Nikko, nearly a liuiulred niik's nortli of the capital. Nikko, which may he compared to the Oxford and Canterbury of the country combined, is, according to the firm belief of every Japanese, the most beautiful place in the world. They have a familiar proverb, 'No one can say Kekko. i.e. splendid, till you have been to Nikko,' and 1 am almost inclined to a^ree with them. Even before the introduction of railways, and when the joui-ney could only be })erfornied by the tedious and fatiguing jinriksha conveyance, no traveller who liad the time at his command neglected to visit Nikko. Now it is as easy as any journey in r^ingland. We proceed by the great arterial railway of Japan as far as I isu-no-]\Iiyu, whence a branch line, thirty miles in length, deposits us within two miles of the little town. In this journey for the first, but not for the last, time we felt the luxury of oui' extensive passport, by which we avoided the ii'ritat- ing necessity of making repeated applicatit)ns to the central authorities at Tokio, stating beforehand the exact route proposed to be taken, the object of the journey, and the precise time to be occupied. The respect this passport commanded fnmi the ubiquitous G n 1 82 RAMBLKS IN JAPAN fti 1 .]• m ■ 1 1 little policcnum was apt to oiiLnnider a triumphiiiit feeling of siipei'ioi-ity over ordinary mortals. Our second-class caiiia.uv was cloan and airy, the compartnioiits ojxniinu info one another, and pas- .seii«'crs ortcn chaimiii'i iIh'I!' scats. Uur fellow- travellers appeared to l.e all lliorongli gentlefolk, several of tli.'in speaking K.i-lisli. and eager to ail tlieir knowledge. We foidd not but lie amused at the solitary instance of superior exclusiveness whieli was exhibited by a very smart ea\aliy ollicer, no doubt a Japanese representative of 'the Tenth' ot former days. More than one passenger, who evi- dently recognised that my daughter was engaged in missionary work, asked (pu'stions on liie subject; ;,ud one especially seemed greatly interested, ex- (■li;nme linest in the i-mpire. iiiK'd with pines, erxplomeiias. and other trees. From Utsu-noMiva wheie we changed trains, the line was generally a steep ascent. In the last tifteen A VISIT TO NIKKO 83 inilrs wo rose l.TaO feet, ami liml a ina^nificcnt view of the iiinuiitaii mass at the roots of which nestles Xikko. The train crept up parallel with a ma. ikko, a second of these colossal avenues con serges towards the railway, shading an anl the hoidders at the bottom, and the sides were garnished with shrubs of many kinds, springing from every fissure in the elill's. We crossed by the lower bridge. Th(> other, a few yards above, is an ingenious wooden structure painted bright re preservative (|ualitics of the paint, or rather red lacquer, with which it is covered, that it has never re(|uire(l repair since its erection. A tall frate ench)ses it at either end, and it is only opened twice in the year for the pa.s.sage of pilgrims visiting the shrine. It was formerlv closed to all excepting the Shogun when he came to worship. A VISIT lO NIKKO 85 ItH .snnftity arises fmin its stundin,!:; on the spot whore Shodo Shoniii, a inylliical .lapunese saint, is said to have crossed the river in the year A.D. 7f;2. J lis st(»rv is full of stranue, weird Icuonds, of wliieh KniPOES NEAK NIKKO. (■/•/ic Jiinre dislunt is ii' hj nptncd twice in the ijtarj'nr the pnswge nf ii'hjrims!.^ the one connected witli tliis hrid.ti'o is a sample. Shodo is said t(» have l»een directe, iinpiissul <^ goi'^'^- I'.illiiii racefl tiic Buddhi.st faith, or rather incorporated it itli his hereditary religion. Crossing the bridge, we turn sliarp round t<» the left, up a gentle a.scent tianked on either side l)y little villas ensconced in their ganh'ns, till at lengtli a little board ])rojecting neatly from a garden hedge proclaims in ('liinese and I'jiiglish ('hara(;ters oui hotel, first patronised by j\lrs. Bishop, the well- known '/'.>neer ladv. A tinv stream meanders through \ni'. tiny garih'ii. with ste})piiig-stones, islands, bridges, and r»i i.ikcii out ill ilu' iliiytinie. One <»{ these is Diir sitting-rouin. But as to the furniture, -•veil into this ex(iuisite gem of '.ipanese house foreig! ideas liave peuetratcd N-ration ot thf weakness Western traveHer ic is a Htth) tal)le rid two c-itie rhairs in each 'in, for all aic furnished pre* isely alike. There is also a tiny side- taltle, and on each tahle is a vase of lovely flowers, and the sides of eaeh room are oeeii[iied hy cupboards with sliding paper (hiors. V>^ idnd these rooms is a similar arrangement of o|Hn verandah, looking out on another garden of d- islands, and bridges, hut hounded hy i 'litf overhung, as is all the mountain-side, with i trees, and down tli(! cliffs are arranged a - ^ of bahy cascades, which fet'd the tiny lakes and then pass under the i in a porcelain channel into the front garden. 'I,, paper sid 'S of the rooms are hung with many kakemono, depicting very cleverly groups of birds or s U609 USA 48^ - 0300 " Phone ^88 - 5989 - Fa» 88 RAJVIBLKS IN JAPAN jii' : I li 1' mi grace of a Japi.iiesc gentle. ;,aii, showed us our rooms upstairs aud douii, though, as we were for the present the only guests, we eiijoy-d the run of the whole house. .Mr. Kunaya was a typical host, making us feel at once that ^^•e were looked uijon not as lodgers l)y paynu'ut, hut as guests of the family. Like a r.oniface of the ohlen time, he accompanied us into our parlour, sat gracefully on the Hoor, and enteied into conversation, recounted his recollections of ]\Irs. Bishop, suggested the ex- cursions which ought not to be omitted, and th<' number of hours or (h.ys that each woul.l occupy, and actually in.|Uired whether the bt-nt of our tastes were anti(|uarian, or botanical, or for scenerv or sport. With his hotel he c.mibined a small farm, and was also a lay clerk in the great Buddhist temple liard l)y. Tie volunteered a full account of himself aud his family : but, knowing our religious opinions, he took eare to inform us that, though he held office in the temple, f.r which he was remunerated, he did not believe much in Buddhism. In fact, he was, hke many of his countrymen, more agreeable than reliable. After chatting some time be reminded us that we were to be supplied with foreign dinner, and, of ('ourse, professed readiness to give any delicacy from any part of the world. Finally it was decidJd that we should have fish soup, a standing Japanese dish pigeons and pheasant, with Ja])anese sponge-cake and tea. This sponge-cake is a curious I'elic of the ancient Spanish connection. It is known by the A VISIT lu NIKKO 89 Japanese as ('astern, i.<'. rastillc (the .laj)aiiese always substituting 'r' for ' ],' which is wanting in their hmguage, and which they find great difiiculty in pronouncing), tlie art of making which they kvirnt from the Spanish missionaries three lumdred years ago. On my demurring to the pheasant and asking if it were not the close season, our host clapped his hands, and thus sumuKmed the pretty little maiden, who soon reap])eared with a beautiful green cock- pheasant, W'hich had evidently been snared and illegally poached in anticipation of our visit. This bird, known as Phasianus versicolor, is in form and size exactly like our own, but its plumage a brilliant glossy green. It is very common in all parts of the country which we visitcil ; as is another species with, a very much longer and broader tail, of a rich copper colour, powdered with white spangles, known as the cop[)('r pheasant, PJiasiaiius sciiitillans. There was considerable alarm a few years ago lest these pheasants should have been exterii (ted by the denuiud for them in Paris, and I am afraid in England too, for the decoraticm of ladies' hats. One merchant at Yokohama told me that he had in one year exported thirty thousand copper-pheasant skins. Fortunately, the plumage of the hens being very modest, they were not in demand, and in three or four years the fashion happily passed away, though not before the government were proposing to inter- fere to arrest the destruction of tlie greatest ornament of the Japanese woods. Having thus installed ourselves, we set out to take is \)0 RAMBLKS rx JAl'AN a cursory suvwy of tlio .K-iohl.uurh.KxI. Rvtmcuur our steps towards the sacred b.-id-e, we pass.-d the foreign hotel, a lar-e unsi-litly I,uildin- in Europeaii •style, wlien we were surpiis.'d at l»einLr hailed in English l)y old friends Ironi Shanghai,' whom we never expected to meet here, and whom we were delighted to have as companions in our sul.s..,|uent excursions. Returning to our home at sunset, we found our paper walls all closed in for the night,'and also, what 1 had not i)ei'ceived l)efore, that there are double walls, the outer one of wood, all round the verandah, and which during the daytime are put away in cuplioards, but which now gave the house the appearance of a huge wood.Mi box. 11],>y are certainly useful, not only for warmth, but for pri'vacy, as the little boys are very fond of watehinn- the proceedings, especially of foreigners, by wetting the paper walls with their tongues and with thrir fingers making peep-holes. However, the weight of "^the whole of these walls, whether wooden' or paper, should be reckoned in ounces rather than i)ounds. I could almost fancy there was a danger, if anx'thing caught the button of my coat, of walking away with the walls of the house. The inspection of the gr. of the temples and -Mausoleum of lyeyasu is a l^dl .lay's work. This latter is perhaps the finest, and certainlv the most interesting historically, of the vast group of sacred l)uildings that dot the lou er slopes of the mountain Nikko San. From the great repute for sanctity of Nikko, it was chosen as the burial-place of lyevasu, in &*? .-- A VISIT TO NIKKO 91 the year 1617. This lyeyasu was one of the greatest rulers and generals Japan has seen, and the founder of the 8hogun dynasty of Tokugawa, wliidi continued in unbroken succession the practical rulers of the country until the revolution of 18G8, when the old feudal system of the rule of the Dainiios under the Shogun or ^layor of the Palace was entirely abolished, and the .Mikado, who had been for many centuries a luGVQ faineant monarch, like the later iMerovingians of France, emerged from his sacred obscurity and became the actual monarch of the country; and in a few years established a constitutional government. As Shogun, lycyasu was a simple usurper. Born in 1542, he had been a military ofiicer under the Hhogun Hideyoshi, for some time the patron and pro- tector of the Christians. On the death of Hideyoshi, lyeyasu rebelled against his youthful son, and, after a struggle lasting several years, was finally recognised as ruler. lie immediately devoted himself to breaking uj) the power of tlie Daimios, compelling them, as feudal inferiors, to do homage to himself, whilst he surrounded the court of the Mikado with his own troops, and in fact confined him in a gilded prison. However unscrupulous may have been his methods, Japan owes to him the enjo)'ment of a really centralised government. He kept in his own hands many forts throughout the country which had hitherto been held by the Daimios ; he made great arterial roads through the whole country ; established a postal system; and enacted laws, which were to supersede the capi'icious and arbitrary internal rule u w 02 RAMHI.KS IN JAPAN of tlir Dniiiiios on ihcir estates. He was, for his age, a really scimlilii' man. and a gicat patron of literature. In fad, his rule has hecn called the lieiiaissance epoch of .lapun. I hit, on the (jther hand, he was the (ii'st to connnfnice the hloody porsecntioii of the ( 'hi'istiaiis, which ench'd a few years alter hi.^ death in the extermination of Christianity. I nder his dncetion the Daimios were icipiiivd to <'onipel all Chiistians to renounc" their faith. This they resisted even to Khnnl At length they were foreed to take n[) arms, and raised the standard of reliellion for the hrst time in Japanese history, for hitlu'rto their wars had heen rather faction fiohts ihan rehellions. The strn,u cabinets in which these collections were kept, was a series of paintings illustrating falconry as carried on in lye- yasu's time, foi- he was evidently a sportsman as well as a warrior and philoso])her. We had in fact an illustrated histor\- of the practice of the gentle art. The similarity of the hoods, jesses, and other falconer's gear, with those in use in Europe, was very remark- able, as wc can hardly conceive that falconry in Japan was derived from a European source. At the same time I think we have presumptive evidence that European and Japanese liawking have been derived from a common original. Perhaps I may be allowed to sa>- a few more words on this subject, as falconry is, so far as I know, the only instance in historic times in w^hich a European art is identical in all its methods with that of the Land of the Rising Sun. Investigation will probably It f^ =^ ^ i:^ JAPANESE FALCONKR. i! ill I l'*** i^- T I A Visn To NIKKO 97 show that Assyria wan tho cradio of an art thai spread Hiciice throuirh the wIk.I.- world, cast and west. Thr earliest iiiomirnontal rc<-..rd of fah-onry is a scidptinv discovered hy Sir Henry l.ayard at Kh()rsal)ad, re- presenting,^ a falconer with a hawk on his wrist. This is standing evidence thai hawking was practised there at least as early as JTou H.c. |5ut Japanese records carry us hack further still, for if they may he relied on, falconry was practised in China centuries pre- viously. A Japanese historian, of whose work a French translation has heen pid)lis]ied, relates that falcons were amongst the Chinese pi'esents made to princes in the time of th(,' Ilia Dynasty, supposed to have eo.nnien.-ed -•_>()., ,,,. We know'from classical authors that (aleonry was practised in Central Asia, I'i'rsia, and India about 400 lu: 'inhere is no inconsiderahle literature devoted to the art in the Jai)anese language. No fewer than fourteen treatises on the subject are enumerated l)y Ilarting in his liihlioflwm Acdj>ifran)i, many of them long- anterior to the visits of the Spaniai'ds. Amongst the niinutitie of the art, we may mention that, whilst luiropean falconers re[)air broken featheis by what is • ailed an imping needle, the Japanese repair a broken tail-feather by splicing on a new one with lacquer varnish. The Japanese writers on falconry mention the goshawk, the peregrine, the sparr(,w-hawk, the o.> piey, which they call the pike-catching hawk, the gier-falcon, which they obtain from Kamschatka,'and, last and least, the grey shrike, whicl! fhe.v have succeeded in training to catch small birds. > 08 RAMTU,i:s IN .lAI'A.V liii 1 1 ifi.- lliiwkin.t:. liowrvcr, siiuH' tlit* itvuIiiI kmi IfCfjonio very iimk h ,1 ihiiiLr of the. past, himI is nlimist oxHnct witli the (till fciKlal sysicm, iimstiiufli ns the new laws ol' ti-('sj)a.s>, which arc M'vy tslrirt, jhci Imh' ;iii\', t'Xrc|iliii!j; the few who still posscsH ^rcat t'slatcs, i'loiii iiidiilnini; ill this pastime. Aiinthcr rcasdii of it- ilccaih'iirc is prolialily l Im' Lircat, iiicrrnsc in ciili i\ ai ion. I''rl, that the laleoiiry oJ' the w liolc World oriLiiiialed in India, and was introduced long helnre the historic pciiod. liy the Indo-tiermaiiie, race, from the plains of llindustaii. But leaving the memorials and ])icture gallery of lyi'\asu, we ohserveil at the entrance two ciirious|\- carved figures of elephants, the kno\vle(|ge of which was pn)l)al)ly hrcaight with Buddhism. Close hv is a magnitieont saered [»ine-tree, .said to have heeii carried about by lycyasu in his |)alani|uin, when it was still small enough to be in a llower-i)ot. Alongside ol this is the stable of Buddha, o})en in front, with an unfortunate piebald sacred horse ready for him to ride when he returns to earth. The poor animal stands, tied up and eaj»arisoned, with long rows of saucers full of beans just out of his reach, for each ol which the devout pay live rin {/.>'. one farthing) to A VI.SIT TO NIKKo •)1) ,uivc tlif i,iiiiali,-,r.l .-^tt'cil. \i> -I II told lis. however tlinl .somctinu'H it is f.ikni ,,iii lor t-xeroisr. h iviiiiiids oiM' of t|i( sacivd Lull of th.. Knviitiaiis. In .•iiiotliiT lciii|.l.. tho iiiiii> |M.irnn,i (sdcivd dunci'rt, solemn and niajesflc. and aiv o|ad to iv.viv,. a few sell (hairpi'iiiiics). Oiif could spend hours in (idniiriii'i the liul.l desi.rns '»f .•iniiiials and ihr nr,.|,.s.|u.- eai'vin-s wliirh i'lni.di •'II 'I"' i''iii|.les liuth wiihiii and without, in hcwilder- iii.u- «Mid'usioii. ill which dijiM-ons, unicorns, nrili'ons ■•iiid [.h. mixes of siraiiir,, devices, enough to j)er[»lox tlie most skilled heraldic student, are ininclcd with lifelike ropveseiitat ions of li, MIS. ..aitj... monkeys, foxes, .•iii.l other creatures of evry-dfiy life. In another ImiMin- e.jually lavish in its ornamental ion is the great lil.raryof iJuddhist theological works. A Might of steps h'ads to tli(! next group of l.'i.i|;lcs. One ,,f the poculiarities of Nikko is that all these groups of hiiildings ai(! on terraces us it were, raised one above another, and connected by wi.le Higlits of steps with massive stone balustrades. On the next platform is a collection of royal gifts ; an<1 annaigst the colossal lamps, bells, aiul stone lions is a great brass candela- brum of Dur.-h n; ■nntaeture, which was pointed out as the feudal tribute paid by the King of Holland, who, they tell you, was one ol" the vassals of the -Mikado. But it would be monot(.nous to describe the various temples and courtyards, or rather cloister garths and cathedral closes, which would repay the artistic c..nnoisseur many dajs spent in careful examinuiion. H 2 00 RAMBLKS IN JAPAN It ' ^ ; 3 I! I ili , fit : : ii I jfii : " ■M ■ H ^Bi^ mm i mi I Mi ■ L Wo do not reach the tuiiih of 1\ cyusu till we are at the summit of the .small hill. It is of massive bronze, shaped like a small pagoda, Visitoi's are not allowed to enter within the small ench)siire, althou_u;h the whole of it can 1)0 seen. Vases of li(jwers and lighted tapers are continually renewed in front of it. The grouping and arrangement of these temples suggested a good idea of what n (ireek /cinenos must have been, such as those so familiar at Baalbec and (>]sewhere, although these occupy mucb greater space. We spent two or three days in visiting the other temple groups, which are all worth seeing. One large temple is called the ITall of Meditation. It is quite empty, save for one semi-colossal image of l)uddha, but is surrounded l)v a very wide verandah, where the worshippers walk round and round for hours repeating the name of Buddha, and counting the repetitions on their rosaries. In all these temples tlie enormous wooden roof, carved with all sorts of figures and rich in gilt and paint, is the most striking feature. The wonderful carved work and lacquer furnishing of these structures occupy })ages and pages of the guide-books, and are interwoven with the history of Ja[)an for many centuries back. It is the Valhalla of the nation, and the traveller who wishes to be inspired with the spirit of old Japan must make his sojourn at Nikko, and not at T(jkio. Thouo'h manv thousand natives annnallv visit Nikko as pilgrims, yet anumgst all the crowds which we saw there seemed to be very little worship and no enthusiasm. They stroll quietly about like sightseers I A VISIT TO N1KK(» 101 ill Durham ('atlu'ilra!, aud drop a riii (^'j P''"")') ^i^''*' and there into a box. The only shrines thai a[)pareiitly created devotion \ver(> those of the (lod o! Wealth, re|)resented by a fat man with a huge sack- on his back', sitting on two great sacks of rice, and grinning. Jle gets abundaiic(> of rin, cantlles, and prayers. T shoukl explain that in most of the temples there are many little shrines exactlx' corres[)onding to the side altars of Romish worship, which are (h>di- (uited to numerous popular or lo(;al deities, evolved partly from distorted tradititms of Shintoism, and partly from the many incarnations of Buddha. Another popular deity is the God of Strength, who is represented with enormous arms and calves. His shrine was heaped with offerings of pairs of tiny clogs and old sandals, and his devotees pray to him that their ' U'cs may develop muscles as strong as his. He is tue popular deity of the jinriksha men. In one very rich temple three coh)ssal wooden statues were conspicuous, painted respectively red, green, and blue. The green monster was the (^lod of Wind, carrying the winds, like i3v)lus, in a bag. The God of Thunder was red, hurling a thunderbolt, very like a statue ol Jupiter. 'J'he third figure is, I believe, a representa- tion of a mythological protector of Buddha. This temple struck me as one of the most beautiful, largely owing to the effect of the magnificent cryptomerias and noble rhododendrons gron[)ed around it. The wonderful temples and collection of Japanese art are not the only attractions of Nikko. For any one sound in wind and limb it is an admirable centre 11 :1. 102 RAMBLES IN JAPAN i '\ for excursions. Tii cveiy direclioii we lound \omy and lovely walks up the valleys, with mountains towering ahove, their summits still covered with snow, and their lower slopes i)aintcd with the pink and crimson bhxmi of trees of various kinds, some of tliein unknown to me. Turning round in our scramltles, we loola-d down on mountain streams dashing over the boulders, while the ground of the open forest was covered with tlie bright red Hovvers of the creeping P;irm inpouu-a, vari(Ml by the sombre clusters of dog-violet. We could scarcely go a mile without coming across waterfalls, any one of which would have made the i'ortune of a German or a Swiss pleasure resort. A very interesting but not long expedition is that to Kamman-ga-fuchi, b\' a path up the river-side. Half an hour fi'om Xikko by the roadside, just front- ing the river, was tlic most cx(|uisite little miniature park and house with a little shrine, all in perfect order ; in every respect a tyjm^al Japanese gem. Attached to it was a tea-house, tlie landladv of which showed us about, presented us with bou.piets of flowers, and, seeing I was interested in her horti- culture, with true national court(>sy took me round, giving me the .Ia[Kinese names of the various shrubs. This was all done without any expectation of a iUmceur, which when oifered was waved back with the expression Do itashimaslilfef or 'What have I done ? ' though eventually accepted. The path follow^s along for some distance the wmding course of the stream, till we arrived at i« Urns o 3 I m I i I III! h'.f' < ¥L A VISIT TO MKKO 105 iM O Kaimiiaii-u-a-fnclii. whoro, raiijj;('(l on tlic otlior siflo of the rivoi', aic a loiii;' row of iuiaues of liiiddlia. alioiit n liundiv.l in ninnlici'. Notliint]!; is known aufliontical]}' of their origin or nieaning, ])nt we wore told thai it is i.npossihle to count thcni accnratcK-. and that however often the feat is attempted, the eonclusion is always ditferent. This superstition is not peculiar to .lapan. for the same thinij; is said of various circles of Druidieal stones in England. Although without a history, u visit to these Buddhas. and the lovely, if not grand, scenery, amply repays the walk. Not the least interesting to me was tlie inti'oduetion it afforded me to many of the native birds for the first time. The Japanese ornithology is peculiarly interesting to a Biitish naturalist, from its close resemblance to, as well as its marked dilferenee from, our Britisli fauna. The most conspicuous and attractive bird in this walk was the Japanese pied wagtail (very much largvr, and with the black and white in its plumage more strikingly contrasted than in our own), which con- tinually flitted across our path, or ran in the road in front of us. The trees and shrubs were ceaselessly visited by little tloeks of various kinds of titmice, some identieal with, and others very close to, our own. family parties of the schoolboy's favourite, the long-taile.l or bottle tit, were seldom absent from view. The repres(>ntative of the great fit, with exa(;tly the same note as our own, the marsh and the cole were everywhere in evidence : and the con- spicucnis chestnut, bhu-k, and white titmouse {/'aru.s I i >i a !! 06 K AMBLES IN .lAl'AN carius) pcr'nliar to Japan, and its luv(nirite cage-bird, was most aliiindant ot" all. Leaving what 1 call the glen of the iJuddhas, we mcjunted the liill hy a not too steep ascent and visited various cascades, whose ([uaint Japanese names I need not inflict upon my readers, but whicii may be translated, one as the ' vermicelli cascade,' another as the ' mist lalling.' a very appropriate name; and another as the; '))iIlow casca«le,' whv so named 1 know not. All these have a tall of iVoni fifty to sixty feet, and at the time of our visit weic unusually tine, owing to the melted snow. We were rather too early for the botany, but there were already many interesting ferns unfoldi g their fronds, several of which, especially an aspidium, were entirely new to me. But in every (h'ptartment of natui'al history, the birds, ilie butterflies, the fishes, thebotanv. the same diliiculty ai'ises. E\-er\thing bears a strong resend)lauce to the fauna and flora of Europe, and yet almost always there is a difference, less so perhaps in the birds than in anything else. That laughing, screaming jay anumg those maples overhead, von would say, was undoubtedly our own jay to the minutest particular, and yet if you were to liandh' him, he is different, but only by a black streak from his beak to his eye, where our jay is chestnut. And so the bullfin(;h, identical at first sight with our bird- fancier's darling and gardener's abomination, voice, flight, nest, and eggs undistinguishable ; but we shall always find the native of Japan with a ruddy tinge on the back, and less decisive red on the breast, yet A Vl.sIT T(i NlKKo 10/ l)iilirinoh all flic \v(>i'1 of what seemed to me golden pheasant feathers. Thev told me they used these in the lake above, though the river seemed an anluous one for the most agile of salmon to attempt. 1 was told that there is abundanee of salmon in the lake, but this was not the season for them. The stivams ure well stocked with smaller fry of various species. which I will not attempt to name. A\'e .soon beuan to elimb the steep mountain-side by a rough path, occasionally cut for a long distance out of the cliff, high above the stream. We were in a forest of ciyptonKuna, pine, fir (Ahies ^.sv^y./), maple, alder, oak, birch, and larcli, not yet in leaf. The gigantic cryj.tonierias were a grand sigjit, and occasionall}- a tall fir towered above all the sur- rounding hard-wood trees. But with few- exceptions the deciduous trees and ferns wove only just buddino-. I here saw tlie Japanese robin and hedge-sparrow • A VISIT TO NIKKd 109 3 for tlie first lime, hotli very like our own. iiiid ."xactly r(\s('iiil)liiio- tlimi in ju.tc and halijts, though in .lapan they aiv lioth cxchisivoly mountain birds, said iicNcr lo lie iniuid lower than 4,000 font, and (•onH('(|U('ntly arc t he rarest of Japanese birds in coUec;- tions. One hirge tree, not in h-af, hut covered with shi-i'ts of hirge rosy hlossonis of an ()[)en trumpet shape, inonopetah)us, called liy our men the yasu, we eouhl not make out. It oidy grows at a consideralile idiitiide, and, in fact, generally the unmelted snow carpeted the ground where it was in flower. Iferc it was .so abundant as to make up for the want of foliage in the other tives. and contrasted beauTifullv with the dark tirs and cryptomerias. There were plenty of species of thuyas and other smaller trees strange to me. One, of the most striking features of this loi'cst were the fe.stoons of a lontr trailinfr moss {Lycopod'nnn Sit'lnihH), \\\\\r\\ with its tendrils forms ileecy pendants from each bough, and at a distance these have the effect of a silvery mist enveloping the tree. Some fine cascades varied the scene, and here and there a clulletdike teadiouse was perched on the edge ol a lihdf connnanridges, which, as they had no hand-rftils, th'inanded all one's nei've to make a safe passage, the Kridu'c liciiiLi,' simply three or four \'ery loiii"' liamlioos thrown across the gully, and wisps of riee sliaw plaited Itetwc^n them. l»ut we soon found that they were not ditH(ndt to us(\ so long as oidy one passenger at a timt; attempts the feat, the straw wisps alVording a foot-hold that, at least, does not slip. Perhaps they are not more permanent than the plaiteil straw sandals, or ininiji, whieh strew the paths evei'ywher(\ and whieh can he bought for a penriy a pair at every wayside shop and tea-house, and whicli last hut a few days, and are then Hung aside, the wearcjr heing equally at home with or without his sandals. Towards the end of a long day 1 often felt sorely tempted to discard my heavy European shoes and, slitting the end of m\' stocking, to a(h)pt the light and airy waraji, which is only fasteniMl by a coui)lc of wisps passing between the irreat and other toes, •ind then round the ankle. A less steep but far more circuitous road to the sacred lake was being constructed, and sevcn-al times intersected our path. It was evidentl}' cngineeicd with great skill, l"r this is a science to which I'iic A VISIT TO NIKKO HI as mm Japnnose have a|)[)li('(l thomsclvoH with ffreat encrrjv and success. The liorsos cmplovcd in the cuftiii'-s for (Irawinjx the trolleys were .ill >Ii(h1, not with iron shoos, l.iit vvilli straw sanrightly eiad dam.seLs carried tiny square iac(iuer tables, about six inches high, wiiich they set before us, but considerately suijplied us with fitton (wadded ([uilts rolled up) on which to lean ; a delicate consideration for oiu' Western uncouthness. One little table was set before each guest, on wliieh were little saucers of exc[uisite mountain trout, ,-eaweed .soup, and the one di'licuey wliieh we never eoiiJd be brought to endure — (hukon, a sort of decayed radish. These delicacies, however, we suppli'tnented by subslantiais broutdit from the vallev below. Altera rest of two or three hours we investigated the sights of the place, and returned by a slightly ditl'ei'ent route, which enabled us to see another tine cascade, 350 feet. It was dark long before we had reached our delicious little inn, thoroughly tired and as thoroughly happy. We foiuid our arrival awaited by a circle of vendors of eurios, lac(i'u r-ware, bron;^es, photos, and bird-skins, for our fame had 'V idently .' rv- ad, visitors beino' very rare at this Luiie ol year. But not even A VISIT K) MKKO ] ( ;{ tl"' l'if.l-Hkin.s ...M.M kr..,, „> awakr, an.l uv ,„o,„|,tly retired to mw well-cariie.l ront. I>iiriiiM flic ui|,|,t V ■ uviv ..ceaHioiiallv lousd ),v " -H,n.l as of fl... swish oCa.Ioxon «h»vver-l,aths '•'"''•"»e.l, l,ur our little vv tar !* 111 114 RAMBLES IN JAPAN in i ! f as we knew, the only Christian in Nikko. He was an intelligent youiiij; man who often came in to otier his services as interpreter if retiuired, or to tell us the traditions of the place. He had been live years in California, where he had joined the Christian Church and been baptized. He had settled here as a teacher of English. That a young man of superior ])osition can find it worth while to establish himself in a small, out-of-the-way country town as a teacher of English, shows the rapidity ^vith which the study of our language is advancing. In fact, as I shall have occasion to mention later, the only foreign languages that seem to have any attraction for this people are English and Chinese. The latter most naturally, as it is the vehicle through which they have received all their religious and moral teachino-, for the aboriginal religion of Shinto- ism has no literature, and t4ie Buddhist classics which are studied arc in the Chinese language ; while their whole moral teaching is based upon Confucianism, all the treatises on which are in the same tongue. It should be understood that in Japanese literature the characters used are Chinese, the inflections and particles being added in the Jnpunese syllabary, or kana, as it is called. The Chinese being an un- inflected language, and structurally utterly distinct from Japanese, the latter have adopted the Chinese si(Tn for the root-word, to which they athx kana or syllabic signs as may be required. Moreover, before the opening of the country to foreigners they had some external ami dijiloniatic dealings with China, i A VISIT TO NIKKO 115 which rendered the language a useful accomplisliment hoth to the statesman and the merchant. AJl these facts have led to the incorporation of many Chinese words in the learned Janguage, tliough their pro- nunciation would he unintelligible to a Chinaman. With the opening of the c(nintry to trade, to foreio-n inventions, and to modern science, has arisen the necessity for a limitless addition of scientific terms to the language. To meet this want the Japanese have never adopted i-h.glish words, but have gone to Chinese, exactly as we do to Greek for terms relatino' to steam, electricity, navigati(m, and the like. Our visitor evidently enjoyed the serN ice, though perhaps a somewhat lukewarm Christian. Yet how, as he remarked, could his faith do otherwise than' ' get thill,' according to the Japanese idiom, when alone, without one fellow-believer to sympathise with hnn, in this very centre of Japanese Buddhism ! In the afternoon the clouds still continued theii- ceaseless downpour, and my daughter succeeded in gathering in our parlour, out of which the table and two chairs were cleared, a little .-ompany of the young Christian, the wife, family, and servants <.f Mr. Kanaya, our landlord, and several of the neighbours. They all sat round the room on the mats, my daughter, in the centre, readin- and explaining by means of Scripture pictures the""Gospe story, and keeping up their eager attention for a couple of hours. Mr. Kanaya, as a member of the choir ,.f one of the Buddhist temples, supplied me with a set of altar I 2 .M M Ml u ■ 116 RAMBLES IN JAPAN furniture in hron/^e which liad ])ccoiii(' his poi'(|uisitc on being j-ephiccd hy a newer set. T\wy would almost have s, and a green stole embroidered in gold completed the outfit. There is nothing new under the sun I We spent another day in visiting other groups of temples, to describe which would be in the main a repetition of the former account; and afterwaids walked up a magnihi'cnt avenue of ervptomerias shading a finely ])a\-e(| road. j\Iaiiy of the trees are seven feet in diameter, but then' heigli! is greater in ja-oportion. We measureil one of ihcm by the simple methoil which I hav often empiojed in calcu- lating the height of I'uins ; that is. b\- usinn- ^ h)no- stick and comparing the length of its shadow with that of the tree, then cahndating by proportion the height of the tree from the length of the stick. We lound its height to be 100 feet. These trees are said to l)e the tallest in the woild next to the se(|uoias of ( 'aliCoi'uia. In the wood a mimber of verv curious plants rewai'ded our I'csearch, es})eciallv a sort o! giant Herb Paris, with three leaves inste;id of four the badge of the Tokugawa kShoguu fanuly. But as it was only just in leaf, I had no neans of ascer- taining its botanical character. Kverv now ami then ^n*Jk ''''-''■'.'id^:'i^■%:'>'^'^'^'^^^'^l \ iiLUUUlST I'UILST. ' ';! ;! .,1 A VISIT TO NIKKO 119 at the side of tlie putli uus a little iiiclie .scoojn.d out in the rock, in which was placed a miiiiatuie litth^ Buddha, very delicately carved in wood, some of them not more than six inches high, and the remains of a few tapers in front, recalling the litth^ wayside shrines of Italy or Spain. I was sorely tcmjjted to pocket one of these interesting relics, but did not feel m)self justiHed in acting the iconoclast, though I argued that it might be a very efficient way of suppressing Buddhism. Another charming little expedition was to the cascade of Nanataki. The walk atforded e\ery variety of native scenery— dashing mountain torrents, rickety baml)oo bridges, pine- woods, picturesque tea-houses, and fairy little gardens with their lakes and bridges, the former full of goldfish. Wherevei- a little rock or edge of a 1)1 utf oHcred a site with an attractive landscape, there was sure to be perched a tea-house. In a wood was a sequestered cemetery, where the ashes of those cremated are deposited under tiny obelisks. There was one new handsome obelisk with a long inscription, all picked out in red, and a toy shrine in front of it with bright flowers planted around. The red paint signifies that the hero of the monument is still living, for those who can afford it like to put them up and inscribe their epitaphs in their lifetime. At length we reached a tea-house on the top of a hill, and from it looked down into the next valley, with a fine waterfall, perhaps 200 feet high. T was content with the distant prospect, though the proper proceeding would have been to :^|f|i I,', 120 RAMULKS JN JAl'AN soran.hio ,lown the steep side of the moiintah,, and then, .le.-^p.s.n- the (lixMiehin- fVon, the sprav, to ..et iH'tween the water and the HitK As a naturalist my time was not wasted, for, whether it were yesterday's '•ain or this morning's l.right snn, one or other had evoked a nun.lier of butterHies, who emerged for the first time fiom tli,>ir elirvsajidcs. <>^i •••;•• 'vtun. we had. as usual, a levee of curio- mongers, and ,-..,iainly our fastidiousness „n former evenings had in1.1 1,,-on.e, et.-, !>.„, most satisfactory to" me was the ivturu of a man and a hoy who had l.rou-ht a few I.ird-skius the first evening, and who had been <"videnrly surpris,.] by my taking the whole consign- ment. 1 had told the bearer to bring some more. On this occasion the colle.-tor himself appeare.l with his lad with ])etween two and three hundn-d skins verv neatly made, all labelled an.l ticketed with Japanese name, place, and date. Recognising s.mie of the labels as being of a type familiar to me at home I iiu|uired what he usually du] with his hirds. He explained that he had been f^n- several years employed by an Englishman, who was now dead, to whom he used to send all he coll.M-i.d. I soon ascertained that he had been employed by tJK, late Uv. II. Piyer through whom I had obtained many specimens' Unfortunately the locality usually given had been Yokohama, whereas all these birds were collected in the forests round Nikko, and at a height of from three to eight thousand feet a1x)ve the sea. No wonder that English writers have gone a.tia) as to the A VISIT TO MKKO 121 lo<-alirios of the hi ids of Ja])an. It was pivttv niucli as if the (h^tterols uiid riiig-ousels of Cross Fell shouhl l)e hil.elled ' ( Jl.taiiied at Liverpooh' I found both him and his lad most intelliovnt and delightfid I'nthiisiasts. Along with the hird-skins were specimens of no less than live species of sijuirrel. The lad explained to me mi word and [)aiitomime the liomes and hahits of each species. Amongst them were two or three skins of a vciy large s[)ecies, which he stated to me was found in summer only in the pine-forests near the nioiinlaiii top; but in winter, during heavy snow-storms, he deraared that, unlike any other kind, these creatures came down to the villages (we are speaking, of course, of villages of higher altitude than Nikko), and when they saw at night a light through the walls of a cottage, would break a hole through the paper, and, entering without cei'enioiiv, put out the candle and eat it. I give this stor}' for what it IS worth ; but it certainly was not only vouched for I'y the lad and his employer, but attested l)y all the by-sitters. His collection compiised more than a hundred species of birds, but he had seldcmi brought more than a pair (.f each, all carefully se.xed. I took them up one by one, and at once the note was imitated, and often the action of the bird, as in the case of the woodpeckers, with inimitable pantomime. Whether it were the jerking of the black water-ousel or dipper, the skinmiing of the swallow, the dash of the swift, the chatter of the jay, or the sudden whistle of the bush-warbler as it darts up a reed, each one was perfectly represented as I leisurel}- took up one il 122 RAM15LF-:.S IN JAI'AN 1*1 I m ! I* : ai'teranotlici- from the pilo aii.! askcl, ' \Vhn,t is tlu- iiame of this ? What does it do ? ' I fouii.l ihat my visitor had lately rocoivod an order from a dealer at Yokohama to supply a ••omplete set of birds for an English (tolleetor, for whom these were intended. I offered him, however, a reasonable price for the whole, whieh he willingly aceepted, thounh he told me— what 1 quite believe-- that he charged his Yokohama customer three times the pi-iee. 1 suspect that very few of these birds were shot ; in fact, the collector told me that he captured the smaller species with bird-lime, and the larger, including the pjieasants, with hair-springes. One characteristic biid was conspicuous by its absence. There were no cianes in the collection. Although live species arc known as belonging to Japan, and three of thon, the whit.-napo.l, white-headed, and especial 1\' the sacred crane, are fre(|uently semi- .h^mesticated in parks, public; and private, and are familiar as continually recurring in Japanese art, yet I fear their fate in Japan in the near future is that of their congeners in Englanu ^ in.tion. I only once in the course of my rambles saw a flock of wild cranes —at least near enough to identify them— and this was in the [niand Sea, wliei'c a V-shaped party of the white-naped ci'ane passed overliead. My friend, however, did not admit their extin(;tion, but assured ine he was for too loyal a subject of the Mikado and leverencer of the gods to commit llie crime of molesting this sacred bird. It must have been midnight before our ornitho ^l^{ ¥ -y^ ff A VISIT TO NIKKO I2n logical seance canio to an end — perhaps the most instructive natiiral-liistory lecture that I ever enjoyed. P>ut all tilings come to an end, even a visit to Nikko, though we were hjth to tear ourselves away from this Ifiscinating spot and its surroundings. The final reckoning with our host was to me a most amusin"' illustration of the national courtesies. Mr. Kanaya acted as though the production of his l)ill were the most painful effort, and at length reluctantly he lirought it forth, consisting of a numher of (Chinese; scrawls (»ii strips of tissue-pa [H'r. On ItenchMJ knees and forehead touching the mat did my fi'iend push it lorwai'd ; I, howiug as well as my stiff Western hack would permit me, placed the proper sum, wrapped in thin white paper, hefore him, for nothing is moi'c ill-hred than to hand coin without its being wrapped ill paper. Again it was received with l)ovving, low, lower, lowest ; but it is always the rule of politeness to pay something more than the bill — in fact, to pay an hotel bill net would be ccmsidered an insult, or at least a mailc of great dissatisfaction. Thei-efore, wrapping a yen (dollar) in white paper, I added it with low bows. Tt was returned with lower, and finally pressed upon the host with still more profound inclinations, and as at length duly and gratefully received. The bright little waiting-maid received her yen with the same show of modest reluctance. 124 RAMliLlvS IN JAl'AiS CTTAI'TKl} IV I TIIK HAKO.NK A K K III IlKTiTHNTxa from Nikko to Tokio was (|uittiiitr tlio world t»r roiiiaiicc and ancient liisioiv to cnttT that of iiiodcrn civilisation and lasliion. \\ c remained a iew tlav.s nnder Bisho[t liiekersteth's Imspitalile riHif. and di\('rsilied sigUt-soeiii'i; \\i'li mndi social inter- (;ours(>, ver\' Western in its character. We eiijoye(| ])arties otlicial, ecclesiastic;;!, and aniii|narian, and under the iia[)|)iest auspices mad(> ac(|naintanc(> witli many charminti; (idtiired and literary residents of various nationalities. Not the least interesting: was an evening' with my old Palestine eollaliorator, (general I'almer, II. Iv, now employed ollicially l)y the .hipanose riovernment ; ami another evening' with Dr. Whitney, the Secretary to the I'liited States Legation, full of inrormation, not only on Jai)anesc history and polities. !)ut also -which was to me a great boon —on the hotany of the country, lie supplied me with what [»roved invaluable in our subsequent rambles — a portable botanical press and a large supply of botanical ])aper, as well as a catalogue of the tlora of Japan, in Japanese and Latin, to be the nucleus (jf my Japanese library. Before leaving Tokio, it was rather alarming to dis- fti M •I I ■ll ■■'4 'I 11 1 i i THK IIAKONK l.AKK 127 (;ovor how truly wo had v.-ritird the myiu^r «,, fai- that ih.' biiyinu inMiiiM st-izes evory.mc on hindinj^s iiud iiov.'i- leaves thnn till they ,|iiit tk- shoiva.'' Th.' pacKing of all our pmchascs. armour, swords, hron/cs, I'irds, .-tc, atid -Irspatchiiio tlicin to Yok-oliaina, was ii good day's woi k. And now \v<' ar(M.,i the rail ailnalion the iN^ak of Teiieritfe, which it very nearly •'.luals in hcj.irlit. Fuji, indee.f jnr ,„,,„y days ron- rinued t(. ]m the (H-ntral point round whieh our jouniey.s icvoIv.mI. From its immensi> li<'i,i,dit. so far exeellinu' anv other mountain in tin, mitral ran,ue, or l)a<;khone ol'.laf.aii, from whieh it is separated l)y a wide extrnt of irrenidar plain, it -ives fr„m many points uf vifw th.' inipre.s.si(ai of a mountain rising out of the seu in solitary state. No natural feature is so repeatedly dejaeted in the art of Japan, whether eeramie, pictorial. ..r poetie. The native appreciation ol its central grandeur may he illustrated by an expression in a sermon of a young Jai)anese clergy- man, that the verse, Miod so loved the world that Me gave Ills only begotten Son' (John iii. IG), was the Fuji San of the lUble. (ireat and wi.lespread was the consternation during the earthquake that oe<-urred shortly after my visit, when the i-eport was spread, and credited, that Fuji San had been destroyed. It was spoken of, not only as the greatest possible national loss, but as the most terrible omen for the lilt ure. CojTcspondingly gi-eat was the rejoicing when ■ji. mi 128 RAMIU-RS IN .lAI'.W It Wits ini(lerst(jt)d that the l)oh)ve(l and sacred inoiintaiii still raised her snowy peak heavenward, ihoitt-li a. slight lanilsh'j) had oceurred on part of the slope. The railway deposited us at Kozu, where we had a short stroll on the I.eaeh, with a lovely view of the iJay of Udawara. and in the far distance the volcanic island of JMioshima, a reproduction of the Lipari Jslauds of the Alediterranean, and whose volcano is still as active as theirs. We then transferred ourselves t(. the tranicar which was to convey us to Yanioto, for, the tratlic hardly proniisino- to be renuniei'atix'e enouoh for a railway, the Jajianese, decidedly in advance of ourselves in tjiese matters, at once laid down a tram- line, while w(> are talkini^ of liuht railwaxs in aid of agricidture. We found the tram.-ars were divided into three classes, and, according' to our usual custom, took second-class tickets. We were amused afterwards to find that the three onmilaises were identical in their ap|)ointments, and that the only distinction was that the first class preceded us by a few yards, and ,L;avc us tlse benclit of tlicir dust, which we passed on, plus our own, to our more economical third-class followers. The road wound u]) a lovely valley, bv the wide of a turbulent toiivnt. and much resembled the dri\e to Balmoral b}- the i)irks of Aberfeldy. Close to the startino-j)lace at Udawara were the remains of what was once a very famous I)aimio's castle, which was destrojed during the late r(n-olution. From 1490 it was for more than a century the seat of government of tln^ Sh(,guns of the Ilojo line. The THE JIAKONI-: l.AKH 12!) iic name is preserved retainers, and how outrunners preceded them, c(mipellingnot only the common sort, hut also Daimios of l(\sserdeoT(M^ to stand out of the way as thev passed, l^ven now tlie custom is still retained, not oiil\-on the road, hut in Tokio and other towns, of outruiniei's on foot preceding the gentry, whether on horscl.ack oi' in their carriages. Thus, hut ihii'ty years ago, one might liave here l.eheld an exa<-t reproduction of the spectacle of the feudal lords of Europe and their armed retainers. Arrived at the tram terminus, Yamoto, we soon experienced the incraivcnience of beino(m a foreio-ner- frequented track. Wo were still four miles from Miya- n(»-Shira, and we were encumbered with more than we could carry oui'selves. The jinriksha men crowded round us like Arabs at Alexandria ; though with the vociferations the likeness ends, for thev wei-e far too polite to 3ei/:e our baggage, still less to dratr us of the K 2 ■ (. Jsli THE HAKONE LAKE 133 by force to their own vehicles. We quietly sat down on the seat in front of the tea- house, assumiuLT an air of perfect indifference as to whether we remained there for the day or not. We were assured it was impossible for us to walk. We smiled, and replenished our cups of green tea. On our asserting our firm intention of walking, the crowd looked at our baggage— a small portmanteau and two hold-alls— and assured us we could not carry it. ' We shall walk, and it may be carried/ we said, and more tea was sipped. ' It will take four jinrikshas,' they said. ' Two will be ample,' we replied. ' But these jinrikshas are not like the 1.\)kio ones that you know,' they objected. We told them to go by the load, and we were going round by the mountain. 'That is impossible,' was the reply; 'the road is closed.' 'Then we will open it,' we answer, and are utterly unmoved by all arrruments. Seeing us calm and imperturbable, and not in the least hurried, two of them at length started with very easy loads by the road, and told us we should meet at the Naraya Hotel. We had a good travelling map, and felt no doubt as to our being able to find the way without a guide, although we had to cross a wooded mountain, round which the road makes a detour, and descend into the next valley, where we were certain to intersect the highway. It was fortunate that our further adventures were out of sight from Yamoto, for we missed the path, and after pulling ourselves through dense underwood of aucuba, deutzia, weigelia, and wisteria, up an almost perpendicular mountain, we found the scrub becoming really impenetrable, and 'hi ■i« 134 KAMTU,E.S IN ,TA1'A\ !i were compcllcMl after luilf an lunir to retrace our steps to the niaiu road. Our amour-proiire would have l)eeii too sorely tried hy the liuiniliatioii of uoinn' l)a(;k to Yamoto to seek a guide ; but we descended upon the next village, and soon found a man who knew the track, and who was willing to guide us. It was indeed a climb, even though we found the true route, but once arrived at the summit we were richlv rewarded. We found ourselves on the crest of the I'idge which forms the centre of the promontory province of Izu. Standing where we were, we could look down on either side into a d(M.'{) mountain gorge, and following the ravine with our eye we could see where each opened into the Pacific Ocean on the right and the left of the mountain chain. Turning to the right, Fuji towered in front of us, her sides girdled with a cloud-belt ; mountain ranges ran parallel on either side, aflbrdin<^ a grand, though by no means overwhelming, pano- rama. We liad now nothing to do but to follow the ridge westward until the path .should rapidly descend to ^fiya-uo-Shita. We dismissed our courteous guide, and walked for another hour and a half along the ridge, sometimes wooded and sometimes open. There were one or two marshy spots, the botanv of which was quite nox'el to us, and we found some magnificent ladies' slipper {Ci/pripedlum japonkum) in full blossom, with their enormous fan-shaped, flat leaves. It is very rare, and the queen of Japanese wildflowers, as is oui' species, though, alas ! almost extinct, of the British floi-a. It is a curious coincidence that, as Sowerby a hundred years aoo ig THE HAKONE LAKE 135 I commenced liis great work on British botany with an ilhistration of our ladies' slipper, so the ilhistrated history <.f the flora of Japan, begun, 1 believe, at an earlier date, and reaching to over a hundred volumes, of which the latter portion are only in manuscript, commences wiih a beautiful hand-c(.lourcd represen- tation of this native species. The sun was setting when we descended upon tin; foad, a mile or two from Miya-no-Shita, and we soon reached our hotel, the Naraya, perched on a hillsi.le amongst bal>bling hot streams and .piaint artificial gardens. There was not much of the romantic within, though everything that could be desired foi- creature-comfort. Foreign furniture and fare at foreign prices are already establishe of whi.h is the ii.dus- >'7of tho,|ishi,,s,nM.lwhi..l, fur surpass in (inisl. - egaiur, an.l in-M-nuity the choi.,.st productions of Nice or TuMhnMuv \\v||s. Thoy arc nil ,na.|, f,.<.M, tlicd,tlnvntwoo.ls..f ,|,,,ountry,an'">tl.s aro far n.ore IrresistiMc (han the doafenincr a*lv.rhs..nH.nts an.l ..sti-ulatious of an Egyptian c^ m-rian haxaar. lint w. must quit th. luxu.i.-s of Aliya-no-Shita . u-e would see the natural uond.rs and beauties of the n.uuuiain re-ion arunn.l. \Vi,h hv ]oss trouble tl.Hn we sliould have had at home in a similar armnc,.uu.nt, after r.du.-in^ our imp.diu.onta to a I'old-a 1 ap,n., a fran.e of hotanieal paper, and a .satchel, all whi.-h could easily be carried by one man, we despatched our heavier l^.^a^, by two kuruma n.en to the nearest station, to be forwarded to (.ot(Mnba, whi.h we hoped to reach in a few days '1'" men giviug us a receipt, on the production of winch we received our luggage some days after without the slightest dilHcuIty. <»"r tirst day's march was to the famous sacred village of Ilakone, on the edge of a mountain lake some e.ght miles distant over a mountain path, takinc; with us a man as porter and guide. However he soon got so impatient at the time spent over plants -f In.tterlli,., whieh latter generally gave us the snp m the ihi''l>- I'p-'i) f-ii--^ 1-11 •! , ^ ^ ' ''' -'^^''' ^^ declared he must )M ;| ill ■m s u k ■< s: t TlIK IIAKONK LAKK 141 i^fl < n o a u (- ■< u •< 1 Idivo (loulile pay il' wo kept liim bai-k. Ah wn woro not afraid now of loHim; our wnv, wo lot him no on. Wo won^ roniiiidcd that .lapuii Ima alroady hceonie a limit injr-^rouiil of glolM'-trottors by mooting no losH tluin three partioH of Englishmon, most of whom wore .sensihlo onouLih to ho pedosti-ians, though three, \s\\n ought to have n-maiiiod iu Tall Mall, were hoing carriod (h>wn the hill in kagos, the native sedan ohair, n mod(! of couvoyanoo th it we felt was only [)ardojud)lo iu the oaso of (h-lioate hidios. Tho hills (m oithoi' side were bare and volcanic, and tho mass of dwarf bamboo tliiough which our path lay very monotonous. But every now and tiifu, at a tuiii in tho track, a .hich the prophet sits, out of the native rock, which lias also been cut away behind it. It is i m I'l" 142 RAMBLES IN JAPAN indeed a grand work, marvellously impressive on the lonely, desolate mountain-side. Kows of smaller Buddhas lined the short avenue to the shrine, but there is no temple or Iniman habitation within sight. There is an old tale connected with the Tittle stream below, which may be worth repeating. A nobleman travelling by night let ten rin (equal to a halfpenny) drop out of his tinder-case into the water, and then spent fifty rin in torches to recover the lost piece of money. When his friends lauirhed at him for spending five times as much to recover what he had lost, he retorted : ' Gentlemen, you are very foolish, and do not understaml political economy. Ynn have no feeling of benevolence. If I had not sean-hed for tlie t.Mi-rin piece, it would have been for ever lost, sunk at the bottom of the stream. Now, the fifty rin uhich I have spent on torches will remain in cin-ulation among the trades- men. It is no matter whether they, or I, or some one else has them, but not a single one of this sixty rin has been lost, and this is a clear gain to the nation.' ^^e see that political economy —whether it be in accordance with Adam Smith or not, I do not say- is no new science to Japan. Soon after passing the image and stream we had our first glimpse of the mountain lake and the picturesque ITakone village at its head, with a fine cryptomeria avenue for the last mile of the way The hotel proved to be a Japanese house attemptin.r to ape English ways, and with English prices spoilt by tourists. However, we Jiad a pleasant airy room ^1 fl THE HAKONE LAKE 143 ml ;iii(l wide balcony for the daytime, with the finest of mat Hoors, divitk'd into tlu'ce hy paper -walls for onr hodrooms, the beds being made on the floor. Native so-called beds — that is, the soft, (dean mat, and futon, or wadded quilt— are most welc(mie after a liard day's walk, but on native wood pillows I never could rest my head. To attempt it suggested instantaneously the thought of King Charles on the block, with the head ready to roll off on the other side. I fear I shall sink in the estimation of those of my readers for whom conchology has no charms when I confess that our first expedition was a stroll along the edge of the lake in search of freshwater shells among the scanty patches of reeds which occasionally fringe it, and amongst which we waded in black mud. I was stimulated to this by one of the young Englishmen whom we had met in the morning, who assured me he had found on the beach of the lake a freshwater shell identical with the Melania of the Sea of Galilee. We succeeded in collectint'' various species, amongst them the one alluded to, but found, as one often does, that similarity is not identity. We returned in time to watch the evening sun from our balcony, which soon set behind Fuji. The effect was grand, for the sky was cloudless ; and though Fuji must yield the palm to the Peak of Teneritfe, I never there saw finer sunset colouring. We saw it white, rosy blush, pink, and finally, just at sunset, the snowcl'id mo'.int.Min, with tlu' su]\ exactly behind it, looked deep black in a pale golden setting. ■f: ,il' 144 RAMBLES IN JAPAN The Ilakoiie lake is, so far as we can learn of unknown cleptb. It k, in ilict, an enormous nio'un- Uun tarn over 5,000 feet above the sea-levol. It is curious that, witli tlie exception of one very small outlet at the north end, there are no streams from it. On the plain l)clow are few or no natural streams, and it is said that many centuries ago the mountain' wall was tuDnolIed by manual labour, and the upper waters tapped, and from the rocky sluices flows a flood sufficient to irrigate millions"^ of acres of the Suruga province ; and this enables the inhabitants to raise the vast quantities of rice on which the country is dependent for its very existence. Water, and a sufficient supply of it to immerse the fields either at once or in compartments, is the first necessity of the rice-farmer. As rice nmst be sown, transplanted, and grown undei' water, immense areas of irrigated fields are necessary. A proof of the very early dvilisation of Japan is found in the stupendous tunnels an-^ the dams by wliieh the mountain streams have bee.i blocked for the purpose of irrigating the lower plains, and by which the noisy, foaming torrents have l)een changed into silent and useful, if unromantic, servants. These huge reserA'oirs are tapped when required, and conveyed, often for miles, along arti- ficial canals or ditches, each field securing a su^rply as the stream passes, by little locks ; whilst in the lower plains trcadwheels are used to pump the water on to each em THE HAKONE LAKE 147 Just on the right hand of our hotel a little peninsula runs out into the lake, on whi'jh is a modest though extensive building, one of the country palaces of the emjieror, and which he generally visits for a fortnight in summer. The grounds had only recently been laid out, and their beauty was future, not present. However, uidike the Egyptian Khedive, the JNIikado of Japan refuses to waste his subjects' money on impciial residences. Thus he declined, shortly after the beginning of the present war, to have a pahice built for his reception at Hiroshima. By his refusal he intensified the enthu- siastic loyalty of his people. From our lake dwelling at Hakone, for such in the full sense our pile-supported chalet was, we made an early start to the other end of the lake, a row of about six miles, with Fuji in front the whole way. The scenery of the upper end of the lake was much bolder than at the lower, the pine forest coming down to the water's edge, many of the peeps recalling Berwentwater. Our goal was Gotemba, a little town from which we planned to explore Fuji and its neighbourhood, and we took with us a Hakone man with a long bamboo to carry our bacen hard- f'oiled eggs. After passing through some weary ))amboo scrub we reached Ubago, a collection of hotels and hot sulphur water baths, and the whole air saturated with sulphur. The baths are long buildings of one storey round S(|uare8, with the steaming baths open m front, each tenanted by naked bathers of both sexes sitting promiscuously in the hot water, open to all passers-by. In this respect there is certainly a want of decency in Japan, but it is, so far as I saw an exception ; for, taken on the whole, there is less to be seen that otfen.ls one's sense of delicacy and l)ropriety in Japan than in any other Eastern country I have visited. After resting for a (piarter of an hour on a mat, of course sipping green tea, we started up a steep path through forest with an undergrowth of sweet-scented' white dwarf daphne, which perfumed the surroundino- atmosphere. There was also a dwarf pyrus, with brilliant red bloom ; c^uantities of an or<-hid, promising . be a gigantic cypripedium, but which does no^t riovver till July, an• three native meals, as well as apartments and attendan(;e. On asking for a hot bath, I was ushered to one in the large kitchen, in wliicli a man was already stewing, and created much surprise by my fastidicjusness in (! 'dining to share the bath with him, though I was assured there was room for two in it I Eleven hours on foot made us thoroughly appreciate our couches, though they were only the mat-Hooring, with futons under and over us, and others rol' d up for a pillow. We slept well in spite of the noises, f.-r the hotel was extensive, and there was only a sliding paper wall between the rooms, while visitors seemed to be coming and going throughout the night. I was aroused during my first sleep by 154 RAMHI.es in JAF'AN tlu! visit of a policonuin, who, haviiij,' hoard that Ibreignors hud arrived, hurriedly cuiiic to examine Miir passport, and insisttMl upon seeiuLj my dauu;l»t('i', from wiioni lie wanted explanations as to liow or why wo hud such an unusually extensive one. ^Vhen his curiosity and scnij)les were satisfietl, he was of course eH'usive in his politeness. His visit reuiiiuh'd mi; of two thin.A this l)ridse.' F.ven then )li(' iiinlcdiitents wen; not quite satisfied, f •• w here was the line to be drawn between larije and Kn !'.ll auiuials ? At (Jotemba, as at ;dl Japanese inns, tlie lull of fare varii not for brenkfast, dinner, and supper. We had tisli soup in a little iMctpier basin, the tloat- in,U bits of fish h;t,vinen pickles in a lacquer saucer ; raw eggs, probably having been kept long enough to have a tiivour, a iresh ecrg })eing considered very insipid. When near the coast we should have had varieties of sliell-fish, sea-urchins, and half-cooked octopus, or sea-fish. But here tliese were represented by delicious mountain trout, nicely baked. To such condiments m hi ,1 HI ' 1 IH: 156 RAMBLES IN JAPAN l»fil; .iiii at a wedding-feast or at the new year would be added a lobster, emblematic of long life, with the wish, ' May you live to such an age that your back is as bent as a lobster's ! ' All these are served to each person on a small square lacquer tray, with feet a few inches high. In front of us was always placed a small wooden tub with a lid, filled with steamino- rice and served with a flat wooden ladle, not unlike a painter's spatula, with which each from time to time refilled at pleasure the little rice bowl. As all the dishes are served on the little trays at once, the chief duty of the waitress is to keep the rice-bowl supplied; in fact, rice is the substitute not only for bread, but l)ractica]ly for all our food save meat and vegetables. There are no sweets at the regular meals, but green tea always follows, and, if specially ordered, sake, served hot in a long-necked porcelain flask. This sake is prepared from rice malt with very little hopM, and resembles much the heavy muddy beer of an in- ferior country public-house. Cold, it is certainly not palatable, and when hot only tolerable to my taste. More difficult than the management of chopsticks, at wliich I soon became a tolerable adept, was the sitting on the fioor to eat, and I never during my sojourn succeeded in — I will not say gracefully, but even in any way witli ease or comfort~-accommo- dating myself to the native habits in this respect, and soon l)egan to feel that a room furnished with !)ut one chair and table was a luxurious one. If I rolled up a futon and sat on it my tray was fai' below me, and either a more supple back or chop- 11 hi ,- r ■ ' it e H •. ■nf'J' i-lI.GRIM GOING LI- FUHLAMA. THE HAKONE LAKE 159 sticks of abnormal leugth were needed ; or if I reversed the order of things and mounted my dinner tray on this temporary seat, what was I to do on the floor with my aching legs, that refused to l)e tucked under me, as those of my little Japanese friends have learned to be from babyhood ? Though the ascent of Fuji at this early season of the year was impossible, we determined to reach the forest which covers its lower slopes and penetrate as far as the snow would permit us. We made an early start for the foot of the mountain in jinrikshas, or, as they arc more properly in Japan called, kuru- mas, zigzagging for several miles through narrow lanes with camellia hedges laden with bloom. At length we emerged from this Kentish scenery into paddy fields, crossing countless little brooks, fed by the mountain snow, hardly deep enough to be called dells, but the sides of which were clad wdth over- hanging azaleas, red, white, yellow, purple, and pink, and many other choice shrubs, while the black water ousel, the representative : '^e familiar dipper of our northern streams, darted up and down the brook, or briskly jerked his tail as he lighted on a stone in the water. The formers were busy preparing the fields for planting out the rice. Kice-growing is toil indeed, and has passed into a Japanese proverb for hard or weary labour. Men were wading knee-deep in the black mud, leading horses or oxen attached to a long rrtke, which does duty for a plough, and pounds the soaked clods until the whole l>ecome3 reduced to the consistency of pea soup, and is then ready for the ipr 1!' 'I III M 160 RAMBLES IN JAi'AN ii'" m young plants. Ascending from tlic rice fields, the road and soil were alike formed of black volcanic ash like a Durham pit-heap. Arrived at Suhashiri, the last village before the ascent, we found the place en fete, and had the opportunity of seeing at our leisure the humours of a Japanese country fair. The village is a long one, over half a mile, and UG the upper end terminates in a Shinto temple, embowered in dense cryptomeiia grove and avenue. The main street is wide, and planted with flowering trees on both sides. Between these, bamboo tops witii their featheiy foliage had been set all along, fastened with long lines of twine, and covered like a (Jhristmas-tree with bits of red and white paper. All the women and children were in their bright holiday dresses; the streets were lined with the stalls of vendors of all kinds of goods, from large mats to dolls' clothes. Cheapjacks were advertising their wares ; some strolling players had a platform mounted on rollers, and wore performing free gratis ; on a more elevated stage pretty dancing girls were performing a Japanese opera and ballet combined ; crowds of country folk, with bales of rice straw and mats, as well as all kinds of farm produce to sell, combined business with pleasure. There were penny peeps for one rin (one-tenth of a halfpenny) ; a grand model of Fuji on a barrow ; Punch whacking Judy exactly as he does elsewhere, and Toby by his side. There w^re more horses assembled than I had yet seen in Japan. It was indeed the village feast of THE HAKONE LAKE 161 th(3 olden time, with all the qujiint Japanese sur- roundings. Paper lanterns lined the avenue to the temple preparatory for a great illumination at night. Here we found a grand service proceeding. The Shinto priests vest and revest in public, and con- tinually change their coloured stoles. There was an empty shi'ine, with the two long strips of cut white paper hanging in fnmt. The ritual was very moderate, hut we were unable to understand the chantings and recitations of which the service, performed by the priests alone, consisted. At lunch in the village inn fresh mountain trout and egg soup were welcome delicacies, and in con- sideration for our foreign weakness our hostess found two chairs, which were indeed appreciated. From the village in the afternoon we wandered on over volcanic ashes through a thin wood, and then for two hours mounted through the forest. I got near the e(lo;e of the snow-line, or at least to the snow lying under the pine trees as yet untouched by the spring sun, and in a small open space in the middle of the forest, filled with flowering shrubs and entirely secluded, had a splendid opportunity for watching some of the rarest birds of Japan and noting their habits. It seemed to be the rendezvous of song-birds, as I sat completely concealed by the foliage of an evergreen shrub. The beautiful narcissu ■ flycatcher took its perch on a twig within a yard of my head ; the Siberian blue-tail, and, best of all, the lovely Japanese waxwing, fearlessly hopped about in pursuit of the small butterflies ; the Siberian M i-l slV 162 RAMBLES IN JAPAN 10 I l.lackbird with its white beJiy, and the ],]m-k and white ousel {Merula canUs) perched at the opposite end of the openin^nr, entered as competitors in a singing match, while many a warbler whistled and titmouse .-hirp-'d unseen. It was an hour's ornitho- logical education such as I have rarely had, and thougli I was not able to pay my respects to the Lady of Fuji in her crater at the summit, as every pilgrim ought, I was amply rc^varded by fbe fruits of my pilgrimage. It is interesting to note thai as we have retained the ancient British names of our rivers and of many of our hill.., so the name of Fuji Juis no meaning m the vernacular but is kindred to the Ainu word for fire mountain, handed down from the time \vhen the .iboriginal Ainu inhabited tbe land. It is held to be the residence of a goddess, Fuji-sen-gen, and is, therefore, a sacred mountain and place of pilgrimage' The legend says that Fuji arose in a night, and that at the same time Lake Biwa was hollowed out, and tradition adds that this was about the year 330 b.c. There are historic records of eruptions from 799 a.d., and the last of any importan(;e was in 1707 a.d.' when the hump on the south side of the mountain' was formed. In this eruption Tokio itself was covered with six inches of ashes. At present iha only sign of activity is a little steam and smoke from cracks close to the crater on the side facing Subashiri. We only ascended about 4000 feet, but the forest and thicket extend 3000 feet higher. As an illustration of the quickness and imitative I!'' 4 THE MAKONE LAKE 163 powers of the people, I may mention an incident of this day's lamble. I had been followed to the forest by two men, who always kept me in view. It seems that one of them hui learned from our kuruma men that we had been butterfly-hunting. They had followed our example, but were too shy to accost us, though they told our men. When invited, they summoned courage at last to come to me, and ottered me about a dozen butterflies which they had caught, and folded in triangular bits of paper, exactly as I had done. They gracefully offered me the fruits of tlieir cliaso, and when I accepted and thanked them, giving them a two-sen piece, they beamed with delight, and we each bowed to the ground. The men evidently enjoyed the pleasure of gratifying a stranofer. Another instance of graceful courtesy. At a little farmhouse, as we were returning in the evening, the blaze of azaleas and the neatness of a garden arrested us for a moment. As we stopped to admire, an old woman came out and insisted on fillino- my daughter's arms with gorgeous branches of bloom. She reciprocated by handing a picture-card and a tract, and we discovered that the woman was a ( 'hristiaii, and cousin of one of our kuruma men. Hlfl M 2 .J iff ^1 '41 IG4 HAMIiLEa IN JAPAN CTTAPTER V NAGOYA The next day we took tlio train from Gotcmha to Nagoya, 17G miles further on, and the fourth city of .-apan in population, 350,000, a principal seat of the porcelain manufa.-ture. Here the Canadian branch of our Churcli has a mission, supported by Wyr-lif College, Toronto. The journey was accomplished in eight hours, through a rich, fertile plain, the most extensive in the country, thickly peopled ann pile, and a grand specimen of luirhuric .splcudoiir. A moat, still full of wutcr, surrouiMls the outer wall, f,„nu.>d of n.iohty cyclopeun masonry, all the walls sloping and slightly curving outwards. Then there^ is a wid<> open space with gardens, orchards, and fields, and here are the extensive barracks and parade ground, where formerly were the (juartcrs of '^ prince's Samurai and the olHces of the province. Within this is an iiiner moat, now dry, and inhabited by a small herd of deer, and above it rises another eyclopean wull. surmounted by wooden battlements. The cenuo keep, a massive structure of five stories supported by stone walls, but within entirely woo.len, is surrounded by a bewildering number of ap.irtmentsi of one or two stories, of whi.h, alas ! the furniture' has all disa])poared, though the exquisitely carved and gilded ceilings find the partitioned panels of each (•haml)ei- are decorated with very fine paintings, as are the alcoves and the wooden doors between 'the different sets of apartments. Each room is generji'lv devoted to a distinct subject painted in panels. Thu^ •we have the history of the tiger in one room, in another of the leopard, in another pheasants, of which five diflerent species are ndmirably depicted; deer, hawks, squirrels, woodpeckers, etc., etc., have all their separate ipartments. Others are devoted to .ricieu. Japan. ■ life, cnil and military. Tn one, rH their games are beautifully painted in a series of tT^;elve; in anotli-u- a painting of horse-racing occupies whole side, and among the spectators stand two imgmimm»~" — -Ki NAGOYA OASTLB 1^ i i".y- PI! lit, ' ff I p illfi .NA(J(>YA 169 immistfikahlo r)utiliiiitMi. I II iiiiutnci i »<»unmni»'iit i i([».. ic.l, wlii'ic u .liipaiicsc lady is cvidoiitlv the • (lUH'ii ..r iH'auty. Aiiotlirr, tlio riclicst a[)artiiicnl of tllf will. If the ..IH! k('I»t lur the list" of t llO Sil()<''UIi wlu'ii he sjioiild visit till' prince i> (U-wratcd with t'aiic.y Cliiiicse scenery, wliilc in ihc alcove are power- liil ( ai\ inus of cranes, tortoises and coclvs, the latter perchiMJ on a drnni. In .•ne of tiie l.inl panels in another room is a hole cut ont exactly the shape of a swallow, the myth l.ein,p is a very deep and inexhaustible well. It is dillicnlt to describe the massive i)iles of wood employed in this lm,oe struc- ture. The boaids of the corridors ai'e so arrani-cd tliab it is im[)ossible to walk on them without their creakin,<,s and so warning is given of an\' one's approach. Kach storey is roofed with sheets of (topper, and it is said the fortress could accommodate 25,000 defenders. Vnnn the top of it we had a magnificent view of the vast plain, using our glasses to some purpose. The angles of the roof of the summit are orna- nu'uted by two golden dolphins gleaming in the sunlight, and catching the eye from every part of the city. One of these was sent to the Vienna Exhibition in IH73, and was wrecked on its way back, but with great ditHculty recovered from the sea, and restored to its height, whence it is never to descend again. But there is a tale of a thief who took advantacre of r Ill 70 RAMBLES IN JAPAN a Stormy niglit to fly a kite over one of tliem, and thus attempted to get the gohl plating, Imt was caught and boiled in oil for liis pains, after wliich the Hying of large kites was proliilnted in the ])r..vince. The dolphins are eight feet and a half in height, and are said to be worth £40,000. The historic castle is not the only attraction of Nagoya, which well deserves more time than the three days we were able to bestow upon it. A bright avenue of blossoming cherry trees leads up to the F)uddhist temple called liigashi Ilongwanji, which is remarkable not only for its external beauty and its internal splendour, but as being one of the very few fine religious buildings erected in the jiresent century, and which rivals if it does not surpass the structures of ancient art. It is the cathedral of the Ilongwanji sect, or reformed IJuddliists, a sect not more than 300 years old, who desire to restore their religion to what they believe was its primitive purity. Their leading tenet, whicli distingui.^hes them from the numerous other subdivisions of Buihlhism in Japan, is 'he doctrine of justification by faith, that is, they i. =uxi that if your good works and penances are not of them- selves suHic-ient to insure your rapid attaimnent of Xirvana, or absorption into the infinite, the desired end may be attained by faith in the Amida incarnation of Buddha. As this sect embraces the most thoughtfid and intellectual part of the population, the pro- minence that it gives to the doctrine of justification by faith removes one great obstacle to the reception nf Christianity, if it even does not pave the way for it. ; NAGOYA 171 A careful survey of tliis temple affords sufficient evidence that neither art nor taste have degenerated in the country; though there are no signs of any development or originality. But can we say more, or as much, of architectural art in our own country ? Wiiere is the trace of originality in any one of our modern architects? Have our (lilhert Scotts or Pnitterficlds done any more than simply reproduce the older designs ; or are their most original works anything more than the taking to pieces, after the manner of a Chinese puzzle, the masterpieces of our old designers, and reproducing them in a somewhat varied arrangement? This temple, which is 120 feet long, is divided into a nave 'and two aisles, with a deep chancel and a central gilt shrine, with an image of Buddha on a platform, eni'iched with exciui.sitely designed carvings and sculpture in wood, painted and gdded. The shrine at the termination of one of the aisles contains a portrait of the founder of the sect. On both sides of the central image are several ailt screens, on which are very cleverly paint^MJ landscapes. But what struck me most in this temple was the number and wondei-ful variety of fabulous and super- natural beings— in fact, a repertory of all that is mythological and legendary in r,he fairy tales of old .rapan. TJie heroes of romance or of fairy tales are represented riding on fish, tortoises, cranes, frogs, and dragons. All the figures I believe can be explained by references to the old Jai)auese mythology, of which on these points at least 1" must confess my ignorance. One other small temple is well worth a visit hi It p^l i Si ^il W' 172 RAMBLES IN JAPAN lor tlie exti'fiortliiiiir}' (nllcrtioii of imauos wliicli it i-ontiiins. On l)ot]i sid'/s ni' and hcliind the shrine are galleries, where are arranged on stages one above another small statues of the five hiuidred original discijiles of lUiddha. Madi one of the live hundred is ditferent, both in fa(;e and eostume. Xf) two ean he faind alike. The work is said to he about three hundred }ears old. What strikes the visitor most is that there is nothing e(m\eutional about them, nothing of the inanimate unilbrmitv of the Buddhas, but all are full of expression. I'he artists must have indeed iteen geniuses to devise tlie different faees, all of which they could not have had l)efore them. In fact, they seem (juite to have understood the characteristic types of the various ])eoples of the East. Some are admirable Hindu types, others Mongolian, C'Jiinese, and Malay, besides the ordinary Japanese. There is every \ iriety too of individual expression. >S(>nie are grave and dignifie<]. others haughty and iin[)erious, some smihng, others with an amu.sing JMiarisaie expression of .self-sat isfacticm. Their attitudes are as various as theii- countenances, standino-, kneelin*'-, recundM'ut, [>r;iying, blessing, or riding on horses, eicjdiants, etc. The verger a.ssurcd us that everv one who searehes can liiid his own likeness amono' these Hakan. We had inti'uded to h'aNc Xagova » ..rlier than we did. bill \\v, missed our liam owinu; t(j it starting li\' fiie station. (I»"• !; a^' 1? aS'i h mm rui* I' I i i||i ^7e GAMBLES IX JAI'AN the ceramic; art, like llic ..tlior ai-ti.sts of their country, never copy ^'ature, but .study the recoguisud master- pieces of tlie artists of the olf}pct is produced in the baking, perhaps NAGOYA 177 by its being taken out and immersed in some liquid or exposed to a sudden cliange of temperature before the proc.;ss is completed. Probably we were not shown everything, as it is not likely that what must be almost if not altogether a secret should be reve ded to sti'angers. J ut w(; did watch witli much interest the cloisonne manufacture, which is again an example of the marvellous memory and imitative power of Japanese artistic workmen. The vase to be operated up.^n was slightly dried rather than l)aked before it came into the artist's hands. He was supplied with long rolls of metal slips or Hattened wire about the width of a watch-spring, say the eighth of an inch, which looked like nickel, but which wove, I believe, copper. In fac^t, had it not been for tlieir colour, I should have taken them for watch springs. These, with niarvellcjus delicac}-, the workman twisted into the desired shape, and pressed lightly into the soft clay, snipping them when re.juired with a pair of pliers' and forming tlie. outline of leaves or birds, or what- ever else he desired to represent. When his pattern was thus completed, he tilled the various interstices of this netw(jrk from a palette by his side, on m hicji were arranged little piles of })aste of v;»-'i, ub colours. There might be from a astes of different shades employed for a sinole vasu. The patterns of some of the i)ordcrs were ex- tremely small, some of the loops hcing but the fortietli part of an inch across. For these he twisted N f^ 178 RAMRLKS rx JAPAX his wiiv with iiiiimtr ])li('i's. This }.art of lh(> work- was rcall}- ahudst iiiii roscnpic, and yet done with llic accuracy of u machine. When tliese tiny par- lilions had I'eceived a jiortidii of tlie in<'tallie paste, tlie ware was taken to the kihi, sliohtly Itaked and thou rolillcck This proces,-. Is repeated several times, wlieii the artick' is snioothcMJ (hiwn and ixdished ])v another ai'tist. A most costly kind of cloisomK' ware is funned on eopju'r instead of poivelain. This inainifacture, however, did not come under oui' notice. Iluvino' couipleteil the pattern accordin,";' to his taste, lie then rouuhed tlie tieM not occupied by his design with a wodden instrument, wlien the vase- was ready for the first kiln and then for the i)olisher. After spending half a day in insjiecting the manu- facture, we visited the show-room, which would have done credit to IJegent Street, and live boxes told the talc (»f the spoil ijiat had become ours. A\'e had no further ti'ouMo with our purchases, which were sent on by the v<'n(h'r to Osaka, and then.'c to England, wliere they ai-rived without a smgle fracture. The packing of <'hina is an art in Japan. Every article is ])acked scj)arately in rice straw twisted tiglitly round the articl(\ and th(> ends ingeniously tucked in. so that eai'h piece of porcelain looks like a hard stiaw hall, and can bo let i'all without fract ure. A\ c afterwards visited in the coinpanv of our Japanese friend, who was a welbknown connoissoui- in art, a great sale of furniture. !ac(juer .'ind brnnj^e, NACJOYA 170 ! the })r()[)('rty of the son of a cclolirated Dainiio, who had lii't'ii niiiiiiii;' himself on the turf at l*aris, and was eoin|)clh'(l to raise money by tlie sale of the fiimily luMi'looms. These* were displayi'd in the upper storey of the principal liotel in the place. All the i)artilions jiaving been rcinovcil. tlic whole forrr-'d one spacious gallery, alon- the sides and down the centre of which the various articles were arranged, each having a stiip of tissue paper attached to it with the pri«e distinctly marked in Japanese characters. Thus there was no bargaining, no al)ate- ment, no competition. The visitor simi)lv told the salesman tin; mnnber of tlie ai'ticle he wished for, and it was handtM] to liini. Tliere were man\' ancestral relics of great intrinsic; value, very fine bronzes at a figui-e (jnitc beyond my limits; but guided by our -Japanese friend we spent a few pounds in antique lac(|uer ware inlaid with mother of pearl, which we found aftei'wards was considered a great bargain. .Amongst others a tray of ancient Coreaii lacquer, the manufacture of which is (juite ditlerent from the -Japanese, and is now a lost art. ( hi Sunday morning we had a walk of two miles to the lionseusedas a elinich. wliich is simply anordinarv house in a busy street. Passing tlirough the outer apartment, all took otf their shoes. The next room was the vestry, and beyond it the cluireh, consisting of three looms thrown into one, with the communion table at the further end, where the paper walls had been removeil, so that the church opened on the pretty Utile garden behind. The congregation con- X 2 , H 180 RAMHLK.S L\ JAIA^ sisf.Ml of mtlior l.vs.s thnn thirty ftdiiUs, nnd n n.lav- Hcliool of al...ut a .lozci. cliil.lrcn. Chairs Acre fouii.l for Mrs. iJuhiiisoii iuid niysolf, l)ui cveryciic else sat "li the fhw, wh/h' (he I.ishop in full robes otHciated in stockin<.^ f(vi. \\v ho^i^ran with (lie Contlrmation Bemco. Six eonvens were eontiinKMl, one of thoin a Imdiii:,^ lawyer, another ,'i man f ( u .,tio,i, who was to Ih! a citr.-hist. The I.ishop -,, ,; 11,. address hcfore the seivicc, and JI(.ly ComniMii'on foHowed, of course all in .lapanese, whi.-h, ij,niitrh I eould not undrrstan.i. yet u;is al.le to folh.w, an tdvantage of a liturny that 1 have ol'ten ielt in iorci;jri lands. It was an intensely interest int-- spc 1,., ami recalled in ima.uinaiion the infant cjiuivjies in ih.. Aets of the Apostles. The occasion when St. Paul received into the church Oionysius the Are(.pa-ite ,i d t])e ].,dv Damaris could not liuve l)een verv dill., i surroundin,ys. There were various other servic< . and scliools in the afternoon and eveninrr, for neither the bishop nor ;-n\ other of tlie missionaries spare hem- selves, but 1 remained at home. We left Nagoya and its 1l'5,000 inhabitants ■eluctantly. We e..u]d well have spent more time" there with .mr charming hosts, who are specimens of earnest missionaries, and an honour to tlie Canadian Church. Our next stage was Gifu, a town of 40,000 in- habitants, the (capital of tlu- province of Mino, and the emploN-nn'iit of whose 2)eoph3 is the manufacture cf paper lanterns ; the rearing of silkworms ; and in summer th<> iishing with cormorants, which is really NAGOYA 181 ll i portftnt ind.istry of tlu> place, aii.l which uttruets many apoctators. This art, lik(! fjilcom i.s of rrreut nTiti(|iiity, and liloiit, has been d(3riv(".i m,i. OhlWilhaiirhl.y, mof than two hundred } ago, de8<'ril)ed this mot them both, and verA- earnest, cajDable men tlie\- aj)[)eared to be. In Gifu there were sixty-five Church mend)ers, lu-sides eiiiht NAGOYA 183 baptized converts scattered in the out-stations. A ,Uood-sized liired house in a lovely garden served for a church, and as the garden gates stand open and the whole front of the church is also open, the people <'an stroll iu here, and see as they like, without disturbing the services or committing themselves. The chuich was all matted, and much larger than that at Nagoya, but— wliidi is (|uitc an innovation for a strictly native community— liare exceedingly amused and perplexed by the interest we took in shells, and especially in those whose inmates were too small to eat, and which involved wading in the mud to find them. At length the steamer arri\ed, more like a small steam launch than a passenger boat. All on board were Japanese, and there were u great many passengers. We luid no idea of investigating the cabins, in which no person over fi\e foot could enjoy locomotion excepting on all fours. l')ut the captain, who at once made our ac(]uaintaiice, could talk a little Engli.sli, of which he was very proud, and was delighteil to point out objects of interest durino' the few hours we were on l)oard. He startled us by telling us that the Czarevitch had been nearlv murdered by a policeman the day before at Otsu, NAOOYA 189 at the south end of tlio lake, whither we were theu on our way, and that hi had hccn carried to Kioto. The man had struciv hitn over the head and neck, and w..uld certainly have killed him had not two kiiruma men hg'v/M him. The consternation and excitement of the passenners may he imagined. The prominent feeling seemed to be distress at the disgrace that had thus l.eeu brought on their country, and that they would be looked upon as savages by other nations. To nothing is a Ja[)anese so sensitive as to the suspicion that his nation is not looked upon as civilised, and therefore they felt keenly as a national slur the appearance of treachery to a guest. Nearing ()tsu, we passed close in shore by Ka)asaki, and could examine at our leisure the celebrated pine-tree, said to be tlie hirgest, not the tallest, of its kind in the world. Its branches spread downwards and outwards on all sides, many of them being close to the ground. The height of the tree is said to be 90 feet, the circumference of the trunk 37 feet, and the diameter covered by its branches from north to south 290, and from east to west 240 feet. The branches, of course, are all propped and supported, so that the tree has the appearance of a very flattened banyan. It is evidently carefully tended, and any signs of decay are proi .-ly treated. Arrived at the extremity of the lake, we found the town of Otsu in a ferment of excitement. It is ,". bustling, thriving little place, with wide streets, and a fine aqueduct, which has just been completed to convey the water thence to Kioto. It was fo ^ I 111 i I %i lil; p !)0 HAMBLKS IN .lAI'AN iHUi ■ visit tliLvsc works ili.ii the (.'/uiovitch liud come, when ho W!is stnirk jit l.y tlio policfinaii as ho was rrliiriiing I'luin the fnnii;il opcniiiir ,,f il,,. tuinicl. This tinmcl. ;iii cx.iinplc i,( hold ciiLiiiU'i'iiiiii', [lioivcs the iiKiiiiitaiii which liars I Ik; soiilli cikI of Piiwa. The Irauic event took place exactly in front of the hotel wheiv we rested, and the spot was l.ciiiu' nunrded l»y l>olicc. The wonJddie assassin was hiuli in the force (jver forty years of aj^a-, and had won distinction in the snp|>ression of the Satsnnia rei.ellion. He had I'ccn specially trusted with the care of the road for the passano of the C/carevitdi, It is helievcd that he did the deed as a protest in revenue for the fili-hino' of Sai^halien l)y Kussia. a piece of ^Muscovite (h'ploinacv which .lajian has never foreivcii. He piohahlv l»elon,i:e(l to a secret society, and was appointed hv lot to conmiit the crime. He liad on jiim a stiletto to kill himself, hut was prevented h)- heiiio- instantly sei^ied by two kuriima men. jhit the secret history of the affair will ne\ei' he known, as no .lai)anese <-onspirator will ever, under any torture, betray another. The Czarevitch was at once taken to Kioto, and on learning the news by telegTaph, the Mikado at once started from Tokio to visit him. The people of all ranks were horror-struck, and one old ladv in Otsu on lu'uring it at once connnitt(>d suicide bv hai'akiri, to show her indiu'iiation. As we dined sitting on the floor, while our laixl- lord chatted very freel\- and retaile(| all the gossip on the event of the day, we couhl not liel[) feelino- how strange it was that here we were, the two solitarv NA(i()YA :h Kiiropoans in a wMintry town in (he intnic.r of Japan, the name of wliicli had scaivdv ever hccn heard l>efore out of the conntry, and yet that on this inorninn; tlio name of ( )tsu wonid he in (sveiy nows- |»aper and every iiKuith tliron^hout tlie \v]]ole civilised world. The nidy lion of Olsu hesidos the new aqueduct is a famous Ihiddhist teni{)le sacred to Kwannon, the .t-oddosH of morcy, from which theiv is a hjvoly view of the lake, with the town in the Ibreo-roun.l It is not a very fatiguin,Tided hotel, reputed to l.e one of the best native hotels in Japan.' To our dismay, we found that it was impossible to secure the hund.lest shelter here, for, as the landlord assured us, the crowd of the Mikado's suite had covered every mat. The lan.Jlord was an old acqui.intance of my da.iohtor, and, most arxious to serve us, reeommen' » city o: to,„p, :, ' ' f t, '' '^ ""f'"^"- ■■oligiou,, metropoJis Tf 'l, ' r '""''"■«'"3' tiie «-eve..e„eeaLadIii:;::J:;"' '^7 the people. ^ '"^^^''^ ^^ ^« regarded Jt iies in a pJain at the foot of i-h -.- of .mountains, .,i.h 1; t '"'^' ""^^'"^^ ""^' own Pennine ran-.e in I ''^^'^'Pared to ^^'7^0, the .nan. island ;X:n "7"^^ ''''' '' '•^''^'^« converge to it f,oni .11 ''^ ^ounUun ^% n^iies f^on. Osal^^. i^ 7" '^ '' ^^^^ ^'f *^- eastern eoas, with X ith "'"' '"'^^""' munication. The nl.„-n ,-. "' '"^'^^er com- ^;y mountains eit;;:::r"^^^^^"-^-- ^h« nver Yodogawa m 'X ^ f""; """"^^^^^ ^^ -Hue. thiuugn the city, shaded 2 ;a IL III Ilpi 1 ■^11 I I I '. lOG RAMBLES IN JAPAN with ancient trees ; and thonoh the streets arc formal in their arranoeiu.'iit, running parallel and at rioht angles, yet the monotony is broken ]>v thecontinudly recurring gardens, groves an.l temples. Pago.las and Hhrines dot the mountain side, and the lower slopes are brightened by the variegated hues of innumerable gardens. But withal Kioto seems to tell one that its glories are of the past. It is the one citv of Japan which shows at once that it has shrunken within its ancient limits, and ancient streets and s.piares aiv now transformed into suburban parks and fields. This lias been the natural and necessary result of the transference of power from theShogun to the .Mikado. and the change of residence of the latter to Tokio, which is nioi'e and more the centre of national life. Kioto is, however, so continually visited by travellers and described by writers that my impres- sions are not likely to convey anything novel. We had the good fortune to see it en fete, imismueh as the emperor with liis whole court arrived a few hours after ourselves to show his sympathy with the Czarevitch, and although we had secured our quarter.s, there was no sleep in Kioto that night. The emjx'ror was expected abr,ut midnight, the wlu.e city was illuminated, the national flag, white M-ith the red risino- •sun in the centre, hung over every door, and a lame paper lantern bearing the same colours was suspended beneath it. All the public buildings were liohted up with the electric light, and the result of the'red and white winkling stars beneath the electric blaze was very elfective. The perpetual din, coming and crowc^ A SECOND VISIT TO KIOTO 197 ce ceaseless talking all night, hani.slied sleep, and one was roused by a visit from a polieeman in search of a culprit. \V' n we rose in the morning, our first question was I ijirally for the bath-room, inasmuch as there is no basin or convenience for washing in a Japanese room. All ablutions and toilet are performed out- side. The re[)ly was, 'No bath here, for the bath-room is filled with boxes, but there is a very good bath opposite.' But ' opposite ' we soon found meant half-way down the street on tlie other side. There was nothing for it but to set ofi' in slippers and dressing gown, towel and sponge in hand, to find it. Arrived, we found three or four baths in fnmt of a kitchen, all open to the public, and each already occupied by at least one l)ather. The attendants offered, however, to run a slide to screen them from the street, but they could not provide a separate bath for each. iJaulked and unwashed, we returned, and after some negotiation got tubs placed in a back garden. Having now returned to the abode of rank and fashion, we were obliged to look after the afiairs of our wardrobe. A Chinamjin who had a board opposite the hotel, announcinincd with trainino' in the reformed Buddhism. Close by this temple is another cathedral edifice, the eastern Hongwanji, which is as yet unfinished. iil 1 1 Hi ■h:;| 202 ItAMIiLKS J\ JAPAN >^^thou^h ii l,as Inrn tliirty years i,, lel.iiil.ling after tlH' n (.f flu> ancioiit temple |,y iUv. AVlien coiupleted it will Ih. ih. largest temple in Japan, and 'I <1i(I..rs Ihun alHK.st every other temple in having Its walls of .nassJNc masonry. Before it is finished^ It IS eomputed that it will have cost about a million /y.^'' A JAl'ANKSK LADY. do ^ Jlars. Whatever may be thought of the decay of Jkiddhism in general, there is certainly life and zeal ill the Tlongwanji sect, if we may judge by the voluntary offerings given not only by the rich, but by the poor, and that through the length and breadth of the nation. Many of the poorest Lave given both A SECOND VISIT To KIOTO 203 their persoiKil lultour and gifts of in.itciial. Amoii;Tst the iijost ivniarl .•elehratcd Duihiitsu (great ]iuddlia), wliuse saered eiieloHiiro is surrounded by this luagnilieent masonry. The Daihiilsii owes its origin to '1»'' Ik'Io Ilideyoshi, a little more than three hundred years ago. It has unfortunately more than onee been destroyed by fire and carthcjuake, the two enemies of historic momimcnts in Japan. Tlie <.riginal image was of br(mze, destroyed by an earth.juake. 'IV- present, a wooden one, which is oidy a hundred years old, consists simply of the head and shoulders of the ■sage. Some idea of its colossal size may be gamed by a statement of the measurements, the height of the image being 60 feet, the face 30 feet long, the eyebrows 8 feet, and the shoulders 43 feet across. (Gigantic as it is, if one can examine it from a sufficient distance, it will be seen that the conventional placidity of expression is most perfectly rendered. Outside is hung the great bell, weighing over GO tons, and one of the largest in Japan. In another temple, the Sanju-Sangendo, con- taining 33,333 images of Kwannon, the goddess of mercy, are long corridors. There are 1,001 images of the goddess, life-size, and all gilded, i)laced tier behind tier. Tliey are all the work of artists celebrated in history, and it is boasted that in not one of the thousand and one are the lace or position of the hands or arrangement of the articles that they hold identical. The dificrences, however, are often very slight. The number 33,333 is made up by The m i ' r ''i' A SECOND VISIT TO KIOTO 207 reckoning nil the smaller figures which urc in the omanicntution, espciunlly those on the gii.h-d haloes which HumMind each liead. (., the rcntiv of thr temple is n largo seated fi^ ,;■, of Kw.iniinn, m,, rounded In oight-aiid-twenty of Ikt tr.iditioii.il followers. In the days of archciy, the great i imuph of a Japane.-. howman w/ih to })e nhlo to send an arrow from one end to (he other of th< ^ rrandali (.f tins i»uilding. The cost of the statues of this temple must be fabulous. Near this is a Shinto temple, w.ihout any images, but with tlni shrine simply (.ccupied l)y a large mirror, encircled by two wreaths of white paper. To see the immense variety of temples on this mountain side, devoted to all kinds of hideous idols, to incarnations of Buddha, to gods of thunder, rain, wealth, pleasure, to the gods of very kind of disease, gives some idea of the strange divergence of practical Buddhism from the ideal theories which are propounded as Buddhism in the West. Tie children's Tiuddhist temple is worthy of a visit. It c< .ntains any luunbcr of small wooden Ihiddhas, arranged in shelves sloping back, tier over tier, and covered with the baby clothes of infants who have died und.'r a year old. One of the most remarkable and beautiful of these temples, that of Kiyomigu, is a vast .■ ^ructure erected on a great framework, leaning, as were against the steep side of the mountain. Tht frame- work, as will be seen from tli(> illustration on pa v 199, is many storeys high, and the roof is thatched, ft is uu one side of the ravine, with a similar but smaller I. 11 'i w 208 RAMBLES IN JAl'AN temple fadn^^ it on the otlier side. Lookin-r down from the [)latf()rm, this (]ell nives the imjjression of a veritaltk' al)yss. Wide corridors encircle the temple on all four sides. The outer couit is merely separated from tiiem by the supporting' columns of the roof, so that it is practically one vast open hall. At the further end is a long matted corridor, and witliin that the holy of holies, wliich contains thi- shrines, and where lights are ke])t burning. We had just left this temple when an unexpected rainfall drove us into a pagoda, which we could ascend, and under the verandah of the ui)per storey we opened our lunch bag and I'csted, with the magnificent panorama of the city and its plain in front. I could not regret that our t(>niple- trotting was anested by tlie rain, for two days of countless Ihiddhas and thousands of Kwannons had pretty well exhausted me, and even the finest works of art when too often repeated become mon(,tonous. As a contrast to the temple-covered mountain, next day we rode to the 1 )oshisha, the earliest and greatest missionary educational institution in Japan, and of which the famous Joseph Xeeshinia, one of the earliest and most eminent of Japanese Christians, was principal until his death, the year before our visit. It was founded in 1875 by the American Board of .Missions. 1 little expected to find so vast a col- lection of buildings. The grounds niid Jialls cover many acres. Thei'e is a fine lofty chapel, a library of three tliousand English v(.liini(>s, halls and schools for theoretical and practi(.'al chemistry, physical science lecture halls with splendid apparatus, dininp- halls ti>! i ^ K w 95 //-■ Tifil|^^|4g^| r-^ -/r^^ssi ;i^ 1 -1 I i I: I i ii; j!:l' i:l; li'! ■ A SECOND VISIT TO KIOTO 211 a theological department; all separate buildings in Western, not Japanese style, none of them (jxcepting the chapel having any architectural pre- tensions. There are also dormitories for four hundred students, professors' houses and gardens ; in fact, a complete university in itself The chemistry hall was built and furnished in IS!)0 hv the 'dft of 100,000 from an American visitor, and another 100,000 was recently left it for the encouragement f physical studies by a ])oston Unitarian. The larger part of the students are non-Christian, but under Christian influences and teachinf many arc cf)ntinually seeking baptism. The theological schools are very well organised. Dr. Gordon, the senior professor, took us over every department, and asked the native principal, Mr. Neeshima's successor, to meet us at dinner. This is a grand piece of mis- sionary work on a large s<;ale, and |a.d he, ' ,o liud Cod, an.l there is no one to tell me' " "1"'"" f""'^ I""' •<- '!■« owner, a wealthy Chri,'- tmn nierehant, who received hiu. as a son, and sent >'m to college. Eleven years afterwards, in 18r5 ho returned to Japan as a missionary under the . mencau Hoard, and hcanie president of tie lloshisha C.llege, just then fonnded. This Do.s|,isha was the earliest college for higher ""™"r, '" '"''■ ' '"" "ft"- «'■»« years ^„s followed i,y one of ,h,. three upper grade colleges mamta,ne, l,y the governn.ent, originally established in Osaka, l,„t h.ter r..u,oved to Kioto Its l.uildino-, ..re m another sul.url, of the city, and though nsef.d are ecrtandy not ornamental. It has often perplexed '"■• «■''>■ ""■ •'^•I'MUcse. whose ,aste l,o,h in art and -Uess >s perlect in their .,„ n style, when the,- attempt foreign style, whelher it l„. in dress or architecture not only do not approach tl,e heanliful, but generally ""'""■" ""^ ■■'l«olutely ugly. We ha,l here the advan- tage ol bemg the guests of IVofcssor Sharpe, who is A SFX'OND VISIT TO KIOTO 213 was e.oes pronounced 1)y the Japanese to be the best English professor in Japan, and whose warm hospitality, rich fund of information and cultured criticism made our visit one of the most charming reminiscences of the tour. The passion for industrial exhibitions has reached Japan, or probably, a patriot would tell us, originated there. The Imperial Exliibition at Kioto, just now open, was a very European looking affair, and practi- cally nothing but a great bazaar. Its great attraction was that the purchaser of a ticket for admission could through it obtain admission to what are called the (hardens of the Empress, and for visiting which this ticket was indispensa])le. The ^likado by this con- cession very substantially patronised the exhibition, and ensured its success. My visit to it gave me an opportunity of purchasing at very little cost small sets of tools of the various trades, carpenters, book- binders, engravers, etc., which by their strikmg origin- ality antl (contrast w^ith our own are most valual)le illustrations of Japanese art. As Kioto is a great centre for porcelain manufacture, we had oppor- tunities of watching parts of the process of production, and of la\ing in a store of choice vases for wedding presents. The part of the building best W(H'th a visit was the department illustrative of the silk and em- l)roidery manufacture, in which also Kioto is pre- eminent. Scarfs, silk handkerchiefs and embroideries for screens of great delicacy and richness, in which I suppose Japan is unrivalled, must extract from any visitor of taste his last available yen. i >l 214 RAMBLES IN JAPAN M The Empress' Gardens, so named because they are attached to what was formerly the palace of the empress, are still at ordinary times looked on as the emperor's private grounds, and not at all as a public park. Hiere is no great variet}- of flowers or shrubs, but the labyrinths, artifh-ial lilipntian mountains' ornamental waters, and loxel)- shaded walks with' noble trees most artistically arranged, are its special features. Four wonderfid specimens of wistaria, now one blaze of blossom, shaded the whole length of a very long bridge across an artificial lake. The wistaria at home I should be almost inclined to place before the e-herry as the l)riglitost lioral glory of Japan. One seldom sees it in such masses as in this garden ; but it is abundant in all the forests, where its effect as it shoots its clindjing branches from tree to tree, laden and apparently weighed down with rich purple clusters of bloom, contrasts magnificently with the azaleas, red, white and pink, below it. Nor is its effect less when, in the absence of forest tree to •support it, it ccmtents itself with forming a massive shrub not unlike a luxuriant l>Iaekberry in its mode of growth. We ga^'e one day to rather a long expedition to the mountain kii..\vn as Ilieizan. The slopes of this ">">"il->in supply the favourite summer campincr. ground of residents of Kioto and Osaka. Knowii^g It would l)e a long day's work, we took kurumas to the mountain foot. Tt was indeed a hot climb up the rugged path. We reached a summit, and at first fancied we had won our goal ; but no, it was not the — J^ s t i 1 I iv • l|!|J!: A SKCONI) VISIT 'JO KIOTO 21 7 suiiiiiiit. 'J'li.;i was tliicc miles Ini'ljicr oil. I\'it|^uinn as the i'liiilicr cliinli was, tlir view of vallcws on I'itlicf side, and Kioto hclow us, iis ti-niplcs and .gardens sj)ra\v]ino' o\cr ;i vast cxtciil of j.lain, aniiid 1»uildinirs hurnt by the Shoguns. A eentury later the Toku- gawa Shoguns allowed the monasteries to be re- established, but strictly limited their munber. The mountain still has a special sanctity, and until recently there was a notice at its foot, ' No woman or cow permitted to ascend this mountain.' Near the summit are the impression of two colossal feet carved in the rock, held by the devout to be the impression of Uuddha's feet when he descended to visit Japan. Its sanctity, however, did not prevent my securing a very fair take of buttertiies, which were flitting about as innocent as myself of the vcnn-ration expected of pilgrims to these sacred heights, and were most interesting, as many of them represent our familiar English forms of Vaiwssas^ tortoise-shells, and fritilhiries ; though, contrary to what ha2)pens in the case of mammals, the Japanese species seems to be always larger and finer than their European congeners. As the Mikado and his suite wei'e at Kioto at the period of our first visit, we were not able to see the private apartments of the palace, but felt it was fully A SECOND VISIT TO KIO'I" '19 worth while wln'ii at Usuka soiiio weeks ! ii m. v\\\\ over oil purpose to inspect them, and w lu we rewarded. A tall monotonous wall, covered with stucco and riKjfed wiih thatch, surrounds tlie park in which the cluster of huildiiins forming the palaces stand. There are several <>ates, the centre one bein*'' iii'ver opened hut foi' the ]\Iikado himself Passing I he sentries and [)resentini; our letter, we were admitted to a lodge within the gate, where we were met by a most courteous gentleman and old oilieial of the Mikado, evidently a man of liberal education—a sort of hereditary chamberlain, as we presumed from his telling us that he succeeded his father in att<.'n- dance on the late Mikado, and with natural pride he pointi'd out to us, as we passed through the palace, his own ])ortrait in a large wall jiainting repn-csenting a grantl annual procession After signing our names in a large register, he c lucted us across the rounds, which are beautifidly kept in native fashion, to the reception- hall, only used on state occasions and festivals. The panels are covered with paintings, but the best pictures have been removed to Tokio. as the emperor does not often reside here. Here we were shown the Mikado's throne, with canopy and lich curtains of white, red, and black silk, witliin which the emperor us(h1 to he seated on a mat. The imperial badge of the chry.santhemum with sixteen petals was worked in everywhere, in cornices and curtains, and seemed 1o he repeated wherever there was space to receive it. Yet with all this, there was a strange air of desolation about these cold and i' (i: 2 '20 IIAMIU-KS IN JAI'AN silent clmnilKTs. In a .second ;ui(l iniieli Ijir^nr Imll wiiH a more inotleni tlwonc, in wliidi the empeior sat ill -'i fliair, cncloseil in rnrtains (>{' ijie richest silk", which only |iciniii icil hi- I'cct i(» he seen. In iVuntofthis thfone is a Hioht of eiohlecn wide steps h'jiilinu' !<' the ore.il cdiirt lielow. Ivich o|' the steps eorrespdinlcd to a [tarticnhir raid< of the ohl iioliility. (Mlicials not nolth' were oMiu'ed to stand "II the eailh lieh>w the h)W08t step, ami Lifeat were ihe heaithniiiinos anioii'^st the Dainuos, ;.nd inaiiv the feuds enu('n(h'i'e(l, l»y one ohtaiiiiiiL: n'_j conidor led from this hall to the lihraiv oi' studv of the palace, a \'er}- line room with priceless lacipier boxes arianu'ed on shelves to hold the emperor's hooks. Oni' eharniinI' H i\ Iiiiiidivd yc'irn tlio .su('i'eHMivu .Mil ku pn.sstMl to n room ut tlu' otlier rn.l, whore ho reecivod his offirinls. iJchiiid t] IIS arc nine liand.omo hodnjoms, with ridily paintr.l pands, the ♦centre one lu-ing tho emperor's, so that lie is carei'iiliy sofludea at ni-lii, ns in the day. Our courtier guidr told my daughter anecdotes of the late Mikad.san.l expressed liis satisfaction at having for once to con duct a visitor who could converse in Japanese, as he generally had to go through his explanations in panton)ime, for no guitles or servants are permitted to cross tho gates. Our courteous friend told us that we ought to see the Castle of Nijo, or old Sliogun's palace, to see which he would give us a letter to the chamberlain there. We parted with much (;cremony, and when we told our men to take us to the castle they denmrred, telling us it was of no use. We evidently rose in their estimation when on presenting our letter the sentry let us pass. A stately olKcial received tho document with a profound reverence, and preceded us within the precincts. Certainly the best had been kept to the last. It is by far the most palatial palace we had seen, surpassing Nagoya, with lavish decora- tions and gilding everywhere, but all in the best taste, ft is larger than the palace, except for the great audience hall, and certainly the Sliogun took care of himself at his superior's expense. Instead of the .).).) RAMI5KKS IX JAPAN fS I if i:^ ei,ne guide book describes it as ' an old and dingy build- ing ' ; another, as I venture to think' much more truh'. .says, 'This pala(;e, a (Ux-ani of golden beauty within, is exteriudly a good example of the Ja})anesc fortress, with its turi'cts at the corners and its walls of Cyclopean masonry. It is, however, only a fraction of its former self.' n ''N urn \ '' -" '''Li v4i t-= P o 'A ^,I.fi.f:;/i I III' I ' t 225 CHAPTER ^11 OSAKA From Kioto to Osaka, from iMlinhurirh to Glascrow. from history, arts, and litoraturc to comnierce and manufoctures ! The train winds amongst hills for a few miles, then foi' the rest of the way down the valley of the Yodogawa, through paddy holds as uninteresting as Chatmoss. From the top of a hill midway between Kioto and Osaka l)oth cities are plainly visible. A propo-'^ of this view, 1 may give an ilhistration of the Japanese yl^]sop. Once upon a time an Osaka frog, having heard the fame of the beauties of Kioto, thought he could not do better than migrate thither. Another frog resident in Kioto heard wonderful tales of the bustle and liveliness of Osaka, and wearied of Kioto, determined to change his home. Meeting at tlie top of the hill, where each hoped to obtain a view of the paradise to which he was bound, they raised themselves up full of eager expectation, forgetting that in that i)osture a frog looks backward. 'Well, really,' said the dweller among tlie Osaka swanips, ' Kioto looks uncommonlv like Osaka, and every bit as flat. 1 could not do better than go home again.' SSo tli.-it is Osaka.' exclaimed the resident of the capital ; ' how wonder- Q i^l il m iiP m n ■! It fil 226 RAMRI-E.^ IN JAPAN fully similar it is to Kioto! 1 don't see tliat 1 shoiiM 1)0 tlio gainer by proeeeiling.' And both frogs returned home well satisfied, and with no desire to pursue their ae(|uaintanee with the outer world. .Moral — Don't look at everything through your own spectacles. Osaka, with a population of nearly lialf a million, is the second city in the enijtire, and whilst being the Manchester of Japan, is at the same time an ancient city, and first came into prominence in the sixteenth century, when ITideyoshi, W'ho has been called the Napoleon of Japan, made it his fortress and capital. But he has greater claims on the respect and admiration of Rurope than even his development of the commerce of Osaka and his extension of the Japanese empire, for amongst many wise measures of internal policy he gave toleration to the Christians, and it was under his I'ule that the Roman (*atholi(t missions were spread over the whole country. Ifis favourite general and many of his best troops were Christians, and with them he invaded and endeavoured to coiKiuer Corea, as a step to the subjugation of China, He succeeded in utterly crushing the inde- pendence and also, alas ! the civilisation of Corea, but failed to make any impression upon the Flowery Land. Since his invasion of Corea, although after his death the Japanese trooj)s were withdrawn, the peninsula seems to have sunk into still lower depths of degradation ; and the nation which was once the instructress of Japan in art, and the masterpieces of some of whose artists still exist, has sunk to such OSAKA 2l7 a state as to have earned from a recent well known traveller the character of hcino' the dreo.s of humanity. The Castle of Osaka, which still exists, was com- menced hy Hideyoshi in laK;!, and was completed in two years. It was said to he the stron^'est fortress in the country, as the palace which it contained was the most ma,friiificcnt. The encirclin,i:,- wall and the sides of the moat are composed of masonry twenty feet thick, in the cydopean style, withoiit mortar ai«d with no filling- in, hut solid throughout. The hnest specimens of tliese huge stones are near the [)rincipal gateway. There is an amusing tradition of the stratacsi(l(.s these is a I'Vciicli IN. man Catholic mission. It may uivc somo idea of missionary life here to «leserilie my experiences of Whit Sunday at Osaka. I was lodgfMl in the Bishop Poole Memorial School, a laiue Itoardin^i -school for uivini^' hi'^'hor education on a Clii'istian Inisis to Japanese girls of the middle and upper classes, over which my daughter j)r(>sides, fonn.>ioii,iry woi'k. The school was a pool- woman's dwelling-house. Partitions had •dl licen cleare(l away, and furniture there was none, •tnd thus tlie three rooms of wliicji the house con- sisted were thrown into one. As soon as the singimr •ind prayer were oxer, the teachers s(puitted on the !n;its. each with hei' class in a semicircle. Some of I he nu)t hers accompanied their cliildi'cii. It ha[)pened tliat on this very morning the first-fruits of this little mission were ivaped. when a woman staxcd behind .111(1 applied to be piepare(| for baptism, ami also to bring to the font her two little children. She :tceomj>aiiied us to the native serxice, that she might be introduced to Mr. Terasawa, the native clergyman, > 2 73 ■y, > :i Mil ! 'i r OSAKA 233 as u ciitechumen. Mr. Tcmsuvva is Lliu pastor of Trinity (not Trinity Clmpcl), our oldest uiitivc church, ;i largo, well-huilt structure, quite in the native style, yet unmistakahly ecclesiastical. An Knglish missionary read prayers in Japanese, and Mr. Tera- sawa preached. Th jg were two adult haptisnis, one the wife of a jud<,'c, a h-adinj;- man of lank here, who himself is also looking for hapti.-ni ; the other, a clerk in a government olliec. One of my daughter's [)upils was to be baptized, but as an infant, at the evening service. There were about seventy com- municants — more than half the adult congregation. Service over, we went by iiivitatiou to morning tea at the parsonage next door. Mr. Terasawa's wife speaks Engl' h well, a!ul her husband, though not able to converse fluently, is able to read English well, and had a well-selected, if small, English theo- logical library in his quaint little study. I did not visit the afternoon school, as I had an opportunity of joining in English worship at Trinity College, in a very neat college cha})el, which would not have discredited an English university, and was built from the designs of one of our missionaries, Mr. Pole. The congregation numbered about fifty, and all, excepting the English head of the Japanese Concession Police, belonged to the families either of our own or the American missionaries. In the evening I went with Mr. Fysun, one of our pioneer missionaries, who was to take the preachin.fr at a mission-room. I'his was one kept up by J\liss Holland, a lady who, unconnected •J a 4 KAMKI.KS IN .lAl'AX witli any .socii'ls', tlcMitcs 1u'|-hc11, at lu-i' »»\vii atM. to li('lp;ii.ij; niiHsioii work. She hnd urju'iu'il that in a coiiiitry ulicic tlif people are not rainiliar willi I lie Saliliatli ; iii^lit.' and HO iiiiuht ilekiN or I'orut't. I)iit if there was preaehin,t;- cNcrv iiiLiht. no ehaiii-e wonhl he imIs.slmI. She thero- tore hired a house dose to some nmrkets in a very Imsy street, put in a luirrnoniniii. uot the placid new matted, him, Li; l)ri,uhl pi«tures ot ih.' J{(li'j;ious Traet Soeiety all round the walls, ^ot a larm' lantern, pro- jeetint'' in front, with the amiounecnient on the transparent paper on one <'u\v, • Tea eh in, i;; of Christ to-ni,i;ht,' and ou the other were depleted a eross and a crown. She en,uaged an old wouiau to look alter the phice, and o])en and li,nht it every evenin,i>'. She uets (»ne or two friends to lielp her with the singing, and has managed to seeure a preacher, native or foreign, lay or eleri<*, every evening for mouths. For 8ome time, when the venture was lirst started, the noise and jeering sometimes ahnost stopped the preacher. Ihit th;it phase, iuevitaMe at the heginning of every such work, hail nearly passed over. When we arrived we found the three matted rooms packed full, and a crowd st mding ten deep in the street. .\fter a hymn, start e< I hy two Enghsh ladies, ]\Ir. Fyson, standing at the edge of the roimi, held the people for over half an hour hy what seemed to me a torrent of eliKpu-nce as he spoke of l*entecost. Texts on the subject, paint eil in great letters on kakemonos, OSAKA 21} fi III were liiiiii,^ in fn.ul, ho tliut ull roiil.l iv.hI. After Hin«,nh;4 fi^aiii, I too was oxpcctcl to s(»cal<, aiitl a moiv (lilliciiil task iliaii atMrcssinn a ciftwil with uii intcrpivfci- I never lia.l. •iihI I ihink- if is iiii|((.,s^il.le to he iiiteicsting iiiider stieh e(.ii.hl i.i.is. There niav liavc heeii two hllli(hc(| hsIeiiel'S, and the lneellli here ha\'e ah'eady heeii the means of hriiiniii"' not a fVw inio the Christian jnld. Tliore are many sneh j)reaehiii'4-|>hiees in Osaka, hnl what are they ainon.ust half a niilhoii i Xor are these eliorts eonliiied to the city itself. I walked (lilt with my (hmniiter one aftcn-noon to a simihar meeiiiiL;' three mih's from the outskirts of the city, to a so-.-aHed vilhige of three thousand souls, employed in iiiakinn- coarse pottery and farming'. We had a most iininterestinu walk first through narrow Htrccts and past factory ehimmys, jind then alony a raised path tlirou<>h [)addy lields till we readied a broad river, and were ferried across to the villa"e As 1 turned round 1 counted from oi.e soot sixtv-two factory chimiievs, ior thi> is \h nhv the frreat cottoii-s[)innin,Li' centre. The use of a house was hired for this w- -kly meetin<,', to v.hich the ' .'ad teacher and ,. .-, ajoi- pupils went witli us, lo carry the pict "id help in the singiiin'. The rooms of tli<' hoii i(u thrown to,L"t]icr, about sixty people, chietly women, soon assembled. Slippinn- ,,tf our shoes at the door, we passed to ih • iiinei' end, which was open to the garden. A lar^e coloured pi'int of the Ascension was unrolled and jtiimrd up, and a hymn was oung, only j.iincd 'ii i.v the \ isiturs. 23G RAMBLES IN JAPAN lil l':t Then the teacher spoke for half uii hour, then again there was singing, which always attracts these people, another address from my daughter explaining the Ascension, and then singing and prayer concluded the meeting. This is a new mission, and there are no Christians yet, but several are interested, and the people were all very (juiet and attentive. This is the simple way in which out-stations begin, and the seed is sown. On our return we halted at a tea- house in a village where there was formerly a similar meeting, until the Buddhist priest interfered and threatened any one who should lend their house for the purpose. This is the kind of local opposition which we must always expect from time to time ; but what is this compared to the resistance of the Irish priesthood ? There being no division of days into weeks in this country is at first a difficulty, but for convenience' sake, since the increase of foreign trade, the govern- ment have made Sunday a dies mm in all schools, government offices, and other official places. But the people generally have hardly got familiarised with this, and adhere to their old division into ten days, holding a night fair in various parts of the town every fifth day. Advantage is taken of these even- ings for special preaching. ° What is called the Concession is a district assigned to the foreigners in each treaty port when the country was first oplmed, and where alone they are allowed to hold land. But as the river at Osaka is much silted uj), and is of no use for ocean-going vessels, the large OSAKA 237 shilDping has entiroly deserted it and dropped down to K()I)e, twenty miles off, which is practically the seaport of Osaka. The mercliants, with hardly an exce2)tion, have abandoned the large and spacious houses which they had built, till the whole foreio-n population of Osaka is limited to the various mission- ary bodies, who have had the opportunity of securing •piarters which they would not have built for them- selves. The principal English Mission institutions, besides the girls' school already mentioned, are Trinity College, for the training of theological students ; a large boys' boarding school, in a distant part of the city, intended to provide for the boys the same style of education which the Bishop Poole School atlbrds to their sisters ; and the Bible Women's training home, a most important part of tlie work, where not oidy the women are trained to be mission- aiics to their sisters throughout the country, but during their training are useful in the work in Osaka. The boys' high school, which is Ibur miles from the Concession, had not at the time of our visit been lono- in operation ; yet, though it has to compete with the governn.ent school, it luul at the time of our visit, besides day scholars, thirty-eight boarders, but is calculated for the accommodation of a hundred and twenty, and by special subscriptions raised for the purpose admirable apparatus has been supplied, and the dining-hall, class-rooms, batli-rooms and dormi- tories are all in keeping, and the school is under the able direction of Mr. Price, sou of a veteran African missionary. l-( <"■ I ii;: 238 RAMBLES IN JAPAN But, perhaps, lookiiio- to tlio future, the most im- portant of our institutions is Trinity College. There are usually between twenty and thirty students. The third veai' of their four-years' course is spent in practical catechist's work in the coiinlry, a most important ]»art of their training. It is a very complete Divinity College. Its excellent buildings leave nothing to be desired. The street facade is of brick, plain but handsonu^ and on either side of the doorway is a -lapanesc inscri])tion cut in the stone, and w^hich may bo Uterally translated. 'The one- Cod-in-three teachingdiouse.' Within is a quad- rangle which has (|uite an Oxford air, one side formed bv the <-hapel, another by the princijjal's house, and the other two by tlu3 dining-hall and lecture-rooms downstairs, the dormitories with deep verandahs being upstairs. There are four lecture- rooms, a small library of standard theology, and the vice-principal's sitting-room. Behind the ((uadrangle are the bath-rooms, kitchens and otHces with abundant space. Our last Sunday in Osaka was a rcddetter day, being that of the consecration of the new Church of the Saviour, making the fourth Episcopal church, besides nine mission-rooms. The church was in the place of an old and smaller one destroyed in a conflagration which devastated a large part of tlu; city. No less than fourteen clergy, foreign and native, mustered for the occasion. The church is lar^^Jn the place of all the ordinary wares in the shops, whilst the narrowest passage remained in the centre of the street, lined by stands of flower-pots on either side. There was every variety of horticultural produce, from mcdallioned chrysanthemums and champion peonies to the humblest ferns fr(mi the woods, and potsherds containing th(> root of some wild flower beseechingly offered for a few rin by the most squalid of the poor. It seemed to be the one opportunity for many a poor outcast to earn an honest farthing. It was impossible to resist the silent appeals, far more successful than the noisy i w 240 RAMTiLlvS IN .lAl'AN i|i! importunities of ;m \\n\> li;i/ii;ir. The [.urrliasinn; mania was iiTosistilile, aixl we liiivd one kiirunin aftor aiiothcr to carry home our lloral imrt-hases, liaviu^ invested in a whole forest of dwarfed pines, mai>los, and oran,<,'es, the hirirost of which eoidd ho covered by a hat. Tiie most curious thiui;' ot all was a Large slialh)W Hower-pot coutaiuiiiLi what uiiiiht l>e called a (h)ll-house garden, hut all of actually livin,i,^ plants, with little walks, and microscopic mountains and lakes, the latter spanned 1>\ hridgcs, and the former with houses perched about them. 247 CIIAITKR VIII SiriKOKlT Not tbn l.'Jist interesting expedition which we made from Osukii was one to the ueiglibouring island of Shikokn, an island which even yet is very rarely visited by foreigners, excepting thos(! connected with the few mission stations. It is in area the fourth of the oreat islands which constitute the empire, and may be called the Wales of Jai)iin, and the island of Awaji, an intermediate link with the main island, suo-o-ests the Isle of Man. In its physical aspect, too, its bold mountainous character reminds one of Wales, while in the south part of the island there is a dense population, rich mines, and extensive manufactures. It is divided into four provinces, or as a Japanese gcoo-rapher LdS expressed it, 'It l:as one body and four faces, and each face has a name.' Quaint indeed are these names, their literal t'-anslation being ' Lovely Princess,' ' Prince Good-boiled-rice,' " Princess of Great-food,' and ' Brave Good-youth.' The people of Shikoku, and especially of the south, have always been reputed to be the mc^st turbulent and democratic, which is probflbly explained by their employments being largely mining and manufacturing. In this part of the country the American Presbyterian Mission has been at work for some years. The result may be judged of by the fact that this island H^\ *? p 248 UAMULKS IN JAPAN lias ictniTifMl scvcriil Cliristiaiis fo the Japanese I'ai'liainriit, aiiiiiiiiiiiH. Our voya-c tVniii < >>aka t<> Tokiisliima in this island, thoii'ili iini Ioiil!'. was cciininly aiiiiisin,i;, the accoiiniHMlatioii ami ai'iaiiuciiirnts liciiiL; purely JapaiH'Sf. The voyaue lu-ing in an almost entirely lanut liie, di-ek was nnlv a ,^pace >,{' two feel all round the slii: the centre lieino- occniiied liv ilie third-class cabin, which was just five feet hiiili. licinu intcndeil for sitting and sleeping in. certainly not for walking. There being no berths, ' first come, first scvvccl.' was the rule, anil the passengers as tiiev arrive(l prom|»ll\ secured (juarters foi' tlie iii;.;ht by spreading a red blanket and disposing tlieir persons thereupon. Into tin's we had to g" on all-fours, creep across it while the ])assengers were King thick, and get down another ladder to the second-class cabin, which occupied the whole width of the vessel. Taking off our shoes, we conld. stoo])ing, walk along it into tin? first-class cabin, of the same width, with plenty of port-holes open for air. and a fixed bench along each side. The fioin* was carpeted over the mats, and two or three feeble b -IIIKiiKi lMK • •il lamps .sus[)(Mi(1c(l were jii.^t ciidnv^i tre losing sonic of the most cliarniing scenery, eipial to that of the Inland Sea, as we coasted down the west side of the island of Awaji. At 4.30 a.m. we were roused to go and wash in turns outside, before the second class ; according to the due precedence of first-class pas- sengers. My toilet completed, 1 clambered on to the top of the t]iird-cla.ss cabin, and had a lovely view of the labyrinth of islets, all well wooded, through which wc were winding. F(n' the last hour we steamed up a wide sluggish river till we reached Tokushima, and before landing wei'c supplied with a Ja])anese break- fast on the floor. All the other passengers, being natives, had been allowed to land at once, but we had to wait until the police functionary, not an early riser, couhl condescend to come on board and examine our passports. This formality over, we drove across the city to tlie house of Mr. P>uneombe, of tlie Church Missionary Society, our kind host. With 61,000 inhabitants, it is the tenth city in Japan, while the island has iienrly 4,000,000. The second city, Kochi, is rather further off than Cork is from Belfast, and though less popuh)Us tlian Tokushima, is more im- portant for its manufactures, and has a well-manned American Presbyterian Mission. Mr. ]5uncoinl)c had been out in Japan four years, and was the first missionary ever stationed here, but the church liad been gradually growing up for some years before his a; rival, rud had been visited from ?!■ ( I' ■i|il i ilitlil 'it! ifil SHIKOKU 253 the Osaka ^Mission. There is a cliuich and native [)arsonngc with an ordained native pastor, partly supported l»y the people, and two preaching-rooms in different parts of (lie ,-ity, wliieli I visited, with two native eat(>eliists at work, l)esides one itineratino- in the snri'oiin.h'ng vilhiges. Two hidy missionaries had also recently arrived, and were settled in a pretty little Japanese cottage not far from the mission station. There is n(^t much of striking interest in Toku- shima, with its long straight streets running in parallel lines for a mile or two. In the centre is a rocky mound, surroimded hy a moat, and covered with nolde trees, now the Park, formerly the Daimio's Castle, but now entirely dismantlctl. Overhanging the city is a pre- cipitous wooded hill, with a fine Shinto temple on its brow. To I Ids we climbed- not a very arduous task, as steps have been cut in the side of the cliiF, and were richly rewarded l>y a superb panorama. The mingling of sea and land, of mountain, forest, and [)lain, v;as an epitome of Japanese scf : '. In front of us was spread out the city, beyond it the bay, covered with fishing-boats, into which two rivers fiow from dificrent points ; one of them, the Yoshi-no-o-awa navigalde for many miles, while on both sides mountain ranges tower to some height, clad with dark pine forest, and their sides frequently pierced with the pale o-reen patches which marked the openings of the rich culti- vated valleys. To the right, across the princi^ial river, on the distant plain, a dark brown patch c.xauuncd under ci field glass would reveal a laroc !■; 'ii o 2o4 RAMBLES IN' JAPAN 1,:, |41-- i !i^!l i f ll * Im ' k^ MuJ i town, in the centre of cultivated fields, and boyoncl that auain a dim ,uvcy line of mountain lieights. In the afternoon we called upon the nati\-e clergy- man, Mr. Terata, and his wife, wlio sjH'ak a little English. He is considered the most al)h> of the native I'lergy and the most eh)«iucnt preaciier, and is very ohnoximis to tlie Buddhists. IIis life has often luH'n threatened, hut he seemed to he outliving the persecutions. in one cliuich or other there are ««•« MISSIONAUY's 110V.se at TOKIMIIMA. lectures or services every night, conducted by :\lr. Buncombe, :\lr. Terata, or a catechist. In the largest mission church which we visited was an outer porch, with pigcondioles on either side from top to bottom, where the members of the congregation might deposit their shoes or sandals. There was also a stock of new fans, for the summer was coming on, and these are provided for the comfort of the worsliippers. The SHIKOKU •_'.).) Japanese are ;;s ingenious and enterprising in a ji MISSION-IiOOJI, TOKISIIIMA. devotion of the worshii)per8, Mv. Buncombe suiii.^ ovorluwl, and the text, 'Cod is a Spirit, and thoy that worship Him must worship Him in spirit anroverb has arisen, 'Tai, even il it is bad, still it is tai.' At the further end of this little bay a bold wooded bluff projects into the sea, to the summit of which was a well-trodden path. From the platform at the top, disfigured by the papers of Japanese picni.^- parties, we had a lovely view of the opening of the Inland Sea and its countless islets. Descending on the other side, after gathering a dozen spc<-.ies of f ns I had never before seen, we found ourselves at .Na.uto one of the lions of Japan. Here the tide conung up the Inland Sea meets the tide fnmi the north. It must be remembered that the islan the northern poini of S' '1 oku, leavino- a channel -A considerable width to tiit north- u i A W^. i ■ •-'02 llAMIMJvS l.V .(AI'AN li :ifi iil-ii waid, whidi is (lie cumiiiri-cial route lo Kobo ind Osaka ; ami uunv than thirty iiiih's Hoiitli nf it, al ihr other extremity of Awaji, is the narrow eliannel of Xarnto, interruptod })y several isN'ts. and therefore of little eomniereial ini)»orlanee. lis nairowest pait is about a mlK' anil a (piarter wide, hnl a roekv island divides the straif into wliat are called the (Jreator and Lessei' Narnto, the (Ireater Xarnto Unwj: on the Shikokn -ide. W'r' nui-t renieinlier that the tiilal wave, rollmn* from west to east, strikes the noith and sonth enti'aii'-es of the Inland Sea almost simnl- taneously ; bnt Nai'uto Immhu near the northern open i in;, the tidal wave reaches lliis narrow channel from the north lon,L;- before the arri\al of the southern wave. The conse(]uence is that at hi«ih watei' from the north, the sea is twelve feet higher on the northern side of the channel than it is on the inside, by a sort of bore beini;- arrested here, but at low- water the cciiiditioiis ar(> reversed, and ihe tidal wave haviiiL; now come np from tlu' souili. the water north of the strait is twehc feet lower at an ordinary sprint;' tide. The conseijnenee is that there is literally a waterfall across the sea, excepting- for a few minutes at mid-tide, when it is level. \Vc were fortunate enough to arrive just at hii^h wa.ter. A small reef only two or three feet above high water-mark runs out into the sea exacth' in a line with the waterfall. We could easily walk out on to it, and there, standing on a Hal rock at the extremii ^ . the sea on our right hand was several feet higher than on our left, and the line in front of u« ■I IJ 1 KMII 111.. ■ side, ■ low- '■ tidal .■ tauter ■ <-iii :■ here H )tiii,i;' i '^^^1 evel. ' ^1 hi.iili '1 !)o\-o ' n ictly Hj walk ■!■■■■ ■ OF KirSHIU VF.iiY (liffVveiit from our pnssn'jjc -l>oat to Tokushiiiia was the suiu|)t>ioiis passenger steamer o II wliicli, n few tliivs aft(>r our return to pass agani > from SI 1 i k< "lai , we eml ta rked 1i;h1 saiUMl a few wee lown the lovely Inlaiul Sea. up which I ks before. Our object was to visit the northern an.l central portions of the island ol l\ui>lini. passengers liv a mo; ^t eonvenient arn iinsement the were e\pe( •tod to he all on hoard the dkvo Maru iu the evening, so that we could loose I'roni our nu»onngs c at davhreak, and lost none of the steame i\(' < ,f l.e.'iutv nic here. Not majestic or gnuK il, but doli-atelv. uracebilly, swe( ■tlv 1 eaut I ful. v\ reverse were T< ■miudiMl that .sometimes thcj e IS a to tlve medal, when during the afternoon we Bo -,' t THE ISLAND OF KIISFIIU 2G7 passed the Nvreok of a lar-e English stoamor, which had goixe ashore on an islet eight .lays ago, and was now lying on her side, a hopeless wreck, since th.Tc was no available machinery within reach to raise her. Amongst our fellow-passengers was the uhuputous Lloyd's agent, whom we droppc.l in a gig <.n Ins mission to look after the salvage, an.l many were the condolences he receive.l on his .Icpartme for the Robinson Crusoe's island, where he would probably have to remain a fortnight alone amongst the tishev- men He was, however, well furnished with provi- sions, and light literature for solitary hours was showered upon him as he left the vessel. The sun did not set until we had reached that part of the Inland Sea the prospect of which I had enjoyed in daylight on my former voyage. We were due at the Straits of Shiman..scki m the early morning hours, and here the steamer was to drop anchor until daylight, this being her only point of call on her way to Shangiua. The night was too bright to aUow me to leave the deck, wliere I eouhl mark the clear dark outline nf mountains ami islands over the phosphorescent sea, and that will. most agreeable rompanions. The captain, . mhu.v.i American, who had kept his eyes open all over the worhl, and the .•hicf engineer, an observant Scotchman, who had spent years in Yc/o as his headquarters, and took a deep interest m the Amu aborigines, kept the wat.h. The engineer vvas a devotM admirer of Mr. Batehelor. the Umrch Missionary Society missionary to tlie .\inu m \czo, \i^ 11 ! 1 ' \ 1 ^! 1' 1} ! ¥ 268 RAMBLES IN JAPAN and it was refreshing to hear liis high opinion of the missionary staff and of their work in Japan. About 2.30 A.M. we anchored in the narrow strait „f Shimanoseki, which locks the south-west entrance „f the Tnhmd Sea. To the north, on the main island, is Bakan, well defended by eartliworks, and Moji, our point of departure in Kiushiu, on the other side. We remained on board till dawn, when we were supplied with coti'ee and landed in the ship's boat at Moji. A portion of the North Kiushiu Railway had just been opened, but the station was not yet com- pleted ; and finding ourselves an hour before the time of starting, we deposited our luggage on the planks and set out to expU.re the village in search of food, not very successfully. A journey of three hours through a rich undulating country brought us to Hakata. The line generally skiited the seashore. We passed Kokura, a bustling seaport garrison town, and after that a number of collieries, recently opened, for this is the northern extension of the great Kiushiu coal-field, which extends eighty miles south- ward. A Japanese company is making arrangements for an enormous development of these coal-mines, which have hitherto been chicliy worked only by drifts. The upper seam alone has as yet been worked at all, but shafts have here been sunk, and several iower' seams have been reached, yielding steam coal of the best quality. The Japanese fully expect to monopolize the coal trade of the Eastern raeific, as the seams can be worked close to some of the best harbours, whilst the abundance of labour and its low \ii ■' ■m^ THE ISLAND OF KIUSHIU 269 price will enable tliem to compete successfully, not only with England, but with Vancouver. As yet coal hardly can be considered an article of household consumption in Japan, its home use being entirely confined to manufactures. The natives as yet show no disposition to apply it to domestic purposes, and prefer the more costly wood charcoal, which is a much less dangerous fuel in their iutiammable wooden houses, while their paper walls and many chinks remove all danger of asphyxia. Still, it is to be hoped that mineral coal will be adopted for domestic purposes Ix'fore the forests of the country, to which it owes so much, not only of its beauty, but its fer- tility, be too much depleted. To this last-mentioned danger, however, the enlightened government seems to be already alive, and sets an example which we might well f.^llow at home, by locking the door before the" steed is stolen. In India we have been barely in time to arrest the mischief which the denudation of timber has already caused in the desolation of more than one of the West Indian Islands, and which there are ominous signs may ere long overtake great parts of the North American continent. In Japan the government is following the German method of systematic replanting. We left the raiiwn}' at Ilakata, a large town sepa- rated IVom Fukuoka, our destination, only by the Nakagawa or Middle Eiver, spanned by bri.lges. We rode through both towns to the hospitable house of our host, Mr. Hind, who, with Mr. Hutchinson, represents the Church J^lissionary Society in this great It?, ) 'f 270 RAMBLES IN JAPAN t„wii aiul district. Fukuoku itself lias a population of 53,000, and is a military (•cntrc, as in case of war, whether with China or Russia, the Straits of Sliima- noseki would he a vital point either to h..ld or to attack. The far-seeing i)olicy of the government has massed, in the ditl'erent old castles and barracks within striking distance of the Straits, a number of skeleton corps whh-h can easily be filled up. Fukuoka, though not much talked of, contains really many „l,je(rts of interest. Very soon after our arrival Mi". Hind to..k us to the top of a hill at the extremity of thr citv, when.raL)le political inffueiice in new Japan, and the last 1) u.nio of the Kuroda family has been created an here J ^cary marquis. His eldest son is a graduate of Oxford, but, instead of following the traditions of the family history, is a prominent anti- forcio-ner and anti- Christian. \' 1 ff ii . ! B :h lii i t: ilif I '1 072 RAMBLES IN JAPAN I cannot loavo Fnku.,k. without a word on the ;„f.u,t church in Ih.t ,listrict, where we spent t.o "X. and on tl>c second 1.V.1 the almost un,,,ue ' W C,.f assisting in the fo.n.l consecrat.on ot a dMn-,1.. huilt almost ..ntirel.y hy the people^ sospciully stvuclcby the two cateelusts whom ' ,t an. one of wl.on, has been since orJainea II... ;, ■ s in.erestin,. By hivth a gentleman, l>e «^ ti illy a Samurai or retainer ot the Satsuma elan^ ' r Ue al,oUt,„n or the len.lal system he recew . ;. compensation a sum of al ' f.^«% "[_; r,^^ ., schoolmaster. Hearing sn,g of Chust.anit) :t so much interestea in it that e .^^^^^^^^^^ l,is post and went with his fam.ly to NagasaU, « here : :: l,t instmctlon from An.h,leac,n, M, re a wis nlthnately baptised. He then entered th ■ e eoUc^e there, at his own eliarges, to be framed ca hist He never said a word about h.s n.eans, ,,„t lived on his capital tiU ^^ was exhausted and was only when he was utterly penndess that the fa, t Tmo out. Ho has proved himself an adm.rable man, and it ".s understood that he was to be or.lanred as In as the congregation wore able to guarantee then- ^'"a;rtht:::tchist,whow.orly cleaning out and taking care of the government schools. Mr. Hutchinson, however, soon fmind out his position, and, as he was a man of education and a gentleman, was able at once to employ him as a catechist, in which post he is in- valuable. It is interesting to know that the manager of the baiii- vvhere he once was is now a trustee and churchwarden of the native church. Another <"ise worth mentioning is that of Mr. Hutchinson's cook. He was a strong Buddhist, and was keeper of the Sailors' Home at Nagasaki. He was led to think that there must be something in Christianity by n<)ti(;ing the lives of some of the sailors there, whom he observed to gather in a corner f„r reading and prayer. He argued there must be something in this that made these men so diifcrent from the'' others, and therefore, to get instruction, came and ollered himself to Mr. Hutchinson as his servant, and insisted upon accompanying him when he moved from Nagasaki. He has been the means of bringing all his kinsfolk into the Christian fold. I was also introduced to the oldest Christian in the congregation, and one of the most earnest. He is a blind man, who gets his living by hawking halfpenny newspapers in the street. He is called the lather of the new church, because about two years ago he said at a prayer meeting : ' We ought not to be content to worship in a hired house ; we ought to luiild our- selves a church. I will undertake to give $30 in two it HI il i Q:\. I ) i:' m I 5 1 111 274 RAMBLES IN JAPAN years f>r the purpose. What will others give ^ This was i.iaeoa ail eiioniious sum in a .ouiitry where a workin, man earn. $3 a month. A shopkeeper exclaimed: ' If he can oive 830, 1 mn.t give $50 ; uud other, tnlluwcd suit. So $800 was raised, and the church was huilt. We were at the last service held m u '-Ul mission-room-a hired house of two stories, the lower of which, open to the street, was devoted to prcm hmg to the heathen, and for holding various inquirers, meetinos, while the up]..-r <.hamber was the church hi whiVh Christians met for worship. It might possihly hold a hundred people seated close together :,u the floor. I found the crowd and heat over- powering, and fear I did not set an exan.ple of attention, but I may V)e excused. 1 wonder if my reader ever tried to listen t.> an unknown tongue for two hours while sitting on the floor in a cramped posture. If so, I am sure I shall be forgiven. The following Sunday was a day much to be rem- -vU.red in the history of the infant cauirh of Kiu -'"iu Bishop Bickcrsteth had arrived the previous evenn.^^ for the consecration of the new church, which by working night and day was completed-a feat that seemed hopeless a few days bef<.re. The ,„attin men o\ 'loved into the ludi< seats. Almost all the men were got up in European lashion, frock c<..its predominating; but I was glad to notice that there was not a single female, whether of higher or lower rank, in Western costume ; Tior did 1 ( ' ^r during my wanderings meet a wonuir. in any but the national dress. We can only hope that, warned by the mean appearance of the other h. a. unbecoming habili- ments that it is fashio to adopt, the ladies' style will never change. The cerenKmial seemed to be exactly as at home : the petition for consecration, the lawyer's part, and the handing and signing of title and trust deeds, were all duly performed at the communion table. After the consecration was a confirmation of eight r.dult men and three women converts, and the Holy Com- munion, with sixty-four communicants besides the clero'y. The people are fond of sermons, and at the evenino- service after the bishop's address and con- firmation there were two sermons to a crowded congregation, preached by catechists, the second being of portentous length from a young man gifted with Hibernian elo^^uence and more than Hibernian vehemence. While spea' ig of the consecration, I forgot to mention the ceremoni.al eounected with the building, T 2 ill M m MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No, 2 1.0 I.I 1.25 iu |||||2i S m ir iM Ir 14,0 1.4 II 2.5 12.2 2.0 1.8 1,6 A -A PPLIED IM/1GE Ir ^^ b'^i East Mam Street ZT^Z i'Ocheslet, New York 14609 USA 270 EAMBLKS IN JAPAN I* ' i' i i. ^|v 'W:'' which is exactly the reverse of the Western custom. We lav founclation stones. In this country, on the contra'ry. I'uihlings are always l.egun by setting up the roof-tree and then completing the whole root supported ])y a wooden pillar at each angle, from whirl! thev build the wooden walls downwards, havincr a shelter un.ler which to work. As soon as the ridcre of the roof is fixed, and before the rafters have been attached to it. in the centre of the beam a hole is cut, in which the bottle of documents and corns are deposited with as much ceremony as amongst ourselves. When I first noticed this amusing contrast to our ancient Western custom, I was naturally led to associate it with the fact that no trace whatever of Freemasonry has been found in Japan, where the building material being exclusively wood and not stone, there was no scope for those operative masonic traditions which are so interwoven with speculative Freemas(nn-y. The situation of the church is certainly the choicest in Fukuoka, adjoining the large Post Office buildings, facing the river, with the wide roadway „f the quay in front, lined with barges and sampans, and close to the bridge whi.-h unites the two towns. The porch has granite pillars, and is at the south- w(>st angle of the building, surmounted, as are also the eastlind west gables, with the cross in a circle. The fine granite font was the gift of two members of the congregation. Early on the ]\londay morning we proceeded on our way by rail to the stati<^n for Dazaifu, one of % ■i:i; ISLAND OF KIUSHIO 277 the interesting historical sites in the island. II.» , depcitea onr luggage, wc took kurumas ac^ss ri e plain to the foot of the hills where Da.a.lu is s.tuatcl. fniost interesting old place, the seat ol the goven,- ment ot Kiushiu two thousand years ago a,id nK . The island used to be a dependency, on y nonnnahj .„,,ject to the Mikado, who appointed the govern™.- „e„eral, ar,d was not really ineorporated m Uo ,11 >o 13-W The temples here arc tV cinnire until A.o. i-J'>o- ^ i v ^ i i-,, „it ancient in Japan. One of them is dedicated . Tenjin (i.e., heaven man), the name under wh. h . ZL r, Icr and scholar, Sugawara, has hecn de.i.cd. This day, 000 ..a, the governorship of Knishiu was looked upon as a hanishmont and disgrace It the post to which illustrious or powerful men who „i,l!; have offended the Mikado wea-e relegate Teniin is worshipped as the god of caligraphj. In L t of the temples dedicated to his honour is gene,- placed the figure of a recumbent cow, ,n aceord- n e with the tradition that, having ^. horses in h, X he used to ride about on a cow. Us temple at Daza'ifu is approached by a long avenue and a to u „•„ gateway) of lironze, of a si.e such as I saw ,;Lre else The avenue was flanked by splendid : sttues of dragons, lions and cows, larger tl.m iifLke. and some ot the finest camphor-trees I eve, "^The temple itself was more striking from the evidences of its anthputy than its beauty, and in Uie courtyard iu front of it were again many bion.e ZZ of cows, lions and owls. The priests were .( i 278 RAMBLES IN JAPAN I li> Wi ill much pleased for a fee to show us the relics and treasures of this temple, the swords of many historical characters by ftimous makers, some a thousand years old, manuscripts claiming to be fifteen hundred years old, the original holographs of one of the greatest poets of Japan, bronze statuettes of Confucius and his chief followers, brought from China in 630 A.D., and many choice specimens of ancient lacquer. In fact, the sacrarium of this temple was simply the treasure- house of an antiquarian and historical museum. We walked on a mile or so further to visit a still older temple, somewhat dilapidated, but with yet older relics than the other, amongst them the metal mirror of the first Emperor of Japan, B.C. ?, of unknown date, and some ancient lacquer work. It was an exercise of patience to wait for the exhibition of the historic swords, which had more wrappings and cases than the mummy of an Egyptian monarch. Seating himself on the ground after opening one coffer and then another, the priest would take out the icng package, enfolded in marvellous wrappers of faded silk embroidery, tied with broad ribbons in knots which seemed to have some mystic meaning, and it was not until after some 1. lozen of these covertures had been successively unto.aed that the sword in its elaborately inlaid sheath was revealed. The temple of Kwannon, the goddess of mercy, not far off, was well worth a visit, as it also possesses a number of interesting relics. In the centre of the building is a colossal figure of Kwannon, with two other smaller yet colossal statues on either side, all and icnor THE ISLAND OF KTTJSHIU 270 three gilt, or ratlici-, if the priest's statement be true, covered witli thin <5old plates. If so, they must be of fabidous value. A walk of two miles more took us to tho site of the old court-house and palace of Dazaifu. Little now remains of the old capital of the island except the granite bases of the columns of the buildino-, and the colonnade leading to it, but its shape and ouriinc can be clearly traced. It remin.led us on approaching it of a Druidical circlet. We had a hurried walk down to the nearest village, where we were able to hire kurumas, and caught the last train towards Kuraamoto, our bourne. The°line was not yet opened, and the train deposited us fifteen miles sliort of our destination. When we reached the terminus— it could harcHy be called a station— no kuruma man was willing to take us on, as it was too far and too late. However, we persuaded some at last to convoy us at least to the first village. Here we were set down in the road in front of a tea-house, and certainly the poor fellows who had brouoht us > nuit ^oi a mmi- i--. .u .1 280 RAMBLES IN JAPAN nicnt erected on a mound of the battlefield where the Satsuma rebellion was finally crushed. This was, in fact, the Cullodcn of Japan, the last struggle of the clans and feudal independence against centralised government and the new rtyime. It had lasted for several years, and was finally crushed in 1877. Our friends Mr. and Mrs. Brandram, of the Church ^lissionary Society at Kumamoto, had almost given us up in despair when at length our kuruma men found their house. We found, besides the family party, a young Japanese doctor who .spoke English perfectly. By a strange coincidence this gentleman, who was a complete stranger passing through Kumamoto on his way to a distant town, had called on Mr. Brandram as a fellow-Christian. In the course of conversation, my daughter's name being mentioned, he said that he had been invited to my house in England and knew some of my friends. Not a little astonished was he when told that we were expected that very evening, and he agreed to stay to meet us. Strange that in this remote town in Japan three of us should meet who had never seen each other before, and yet had many common tangents— Dr. Saiki Ijeing an Edinburgh graduate >vell known to my friends, ]\Tr. Brandram the curate of an okl curate, and JMrs. Brandram the daughter of an old friend. Kumamoto, with its population of 60,000, is the most important military centre in Kiushiu. This it owes chieriy to the very commanding position of its li' wi THE ISLAND OF KIUSHIU 283 ancient fortress, which is equally nnportant under the eonaitions <.f m.Klem warfare. Like the Cast e of Nagoya, it has happily escaped the ravages of the iconoclastic fever of twenty years ago, and next to it is perhaps the finest relic of the feudal times. I may i,est describe it as an inland Gibraltar, stany sit^ge, and thus gave the government time, to collect their forces at Fukuokn. The siege l.eing raised, the gallant Saigo, after several struggles being finally defeated, when all was lost at Kagoshima, got a friend to decapitate him, and thus terminated the last effort of old Japan. The mausoleum of ihe old Daimios is full of interest, though on a mu(;h smaller scale than the one at Fukuoka. One of the Daimios in a.d. IGOO was a well-known Christian, but his descendants have (riven him a Ihid.lhist epitaph on his tomb. The rrardeus of this old family arc now the pnl)lic park of the place, tpiaint and artificial, with kdces and mounds, and the azaleas just past their full beauty. The town has one feature not common in Japan, that all the streets are more like boulevards, from the rows of trees planted down them. Almost the whole city having been burnt at the time of the siege, oppor- tunity was taken to treat the place as was old London after its great fire. Kumamoto is an im- portant educational centre, with a large government college and very extensive buildings. The Professor of English, a Canadian fellow-countryman, who has since left, most kindly showed us over everything, and especially the museum, where I picked up some THE ISLAND OF KIUSIIIU 285 information, though I was sorry to find thut the authorities had not yet learned the importance of noting the localiticB of their spcciraeua. One evening dining our stay we attended a shimbokkwai given in the town hall, and attended by nearly three hundred Christians, in honour of a native catechist of the Church ^lis.sionaTy S.)ciety, who was leaving on account of health. The Church Missionary Society is l.y no means the only mission iu this great city, and the interesting feature about the atfair is that it was got up by the Christians of other denominations as a brotherly farewell. IJIUI P" 286 i'f CHAPTER X ARO SAN AND THK GEYSKRS OF YUNOTAN From Kunianioto we mude an intensely - teresting two dajA excui-Hion to Aso San, an active volcano, 5,1)00 feet above the sea, almost exactly in the centre of tlie island. Aso San is the second or third in importance of the fifty -one volcanoes which are reckoned in the country, and it has, moreover, many satellites in the form of sulphur jet^, hot springs, and magnificent geysers. It is never at rest, though at present it was not ejecting anything beyond sidphur and smoke. The last eruption of consequence was in February, 1884, when there was no stream of lava, but showers of ashes fell, and destroyed the crops within a radins of thirty miles, and at Kumamoto the darkness continued for three days. It was also active, but not to the same extent, in 1889, simultaneously with the Kumamoto earth(piake. We organised a party of six for the expedition, three ladies, ]Mr. Lang, of the Church Missionary Society, and Mr. Brandram's Japanese servant, who, knowing the district well, proved himself an invaluable dragoman. After an early start we rode for five hours in kuru- mas, each in solitary state, choosing for the sake of the scenery, in preference to the new and lower road, the old Uzu road, under an avenue of pine-trees 300 W ASO SAN AND TnK r.KYSKRS OF YUNOTAN 287 yoara old. Our journey wa« throu^.i a rich cultivated .•ountry, gently l•iHi^,i.^ tho pine and cryptoniena avenues -iving gi'itoful shade, every n.,w an.l then interrupted l.v picturesque villages, with th- women l.nsily threshing wheat and barley by the roadside with flails on great mats, the men toiling in the paddy iioMs, whence^ the barley had been cleared. After this the earliest harvest of the year, not a moment is lost'; the water is turned in by the little channels whicli intersect the ph.in in every direction, and torm a perfect network of parallebgrums, fed by the n-.ountain rills, and ' d in this direction or in that with perfect doeility, as the little mud walls of the channel are opened or closed. Here the parties of husbandmen in hmg rows were busy dibblmg m the young rice plants in the black semi-tiuid mud. Tn other^ fields men were busily pulling up by the roots the long rows of wheat plants, which had all been drilled hi, for the Japanese agriculturist would scorn the slovenly and wasteful method of sowing broadcast, and as the wheat was uprooted, long rows of indigo or lentils sown between the drdls were briskly shooting up, now that they had space and light for growth. The plain on either side stretched far as the eye could reach, dotted ail over with labourers in their large bamboo umbrella hats, a perfect picture of agri- cultural peace and prosperity. We gradually approached what seemed a might} convex wall of mountain, in which just before us a solitary deep gap was cleft, up to which a mighty causeway led by a gentle slope from the plain. Here \' mmm^ 288 RAMBLES IN JAPAN h'i' lill m at a tea-house we dismissed our kururaa men, and secured two porters for our hand luggage. "We were gradually entering the one gap in the great circular crater of the most stupendous primeval volcano exist- ing in the world. The walls up to which we looked are the rim of an irregular circumference of forty miles, averaging 800 feet in height, and enclosing a plain of unsurpassed fertility, emhracing over a hundred agricultural villages. The present active peak is within the outer enclosing rim, on the further side from that by which we ascended. As we neared the opening in the enclosing ridge, we could see how, in some inconceivably distant geological epoch, the contents of that mighty cauldron have burst through this fissure, and spread their molten torrents over the vast plain below, to form in after ages by their decomposition the rich black soil of the plains of Iligo. It is a delicious climb, rough though it be under foot ; every road, lane, and path is now an avenue of the lovely wax-tree, I^hus succedanea, a beautiful, though not a lofty, tree, with wide-spreading branches, and foliage in form and hue something between the ash and the walnut, and in autumn turning to the most exquisite red. From its berries is extracted vegetable wax, one of the most important products of Japan. It has exactly the perfume and appearance of beeswax, and makes very clean candles. Until the introduction of mineral oii« from America, and more recently of the electric light, the country was entirely dependent on the illuminating power of the produce of the wax-tree. ASO SAN AND THE GEYSERS OF YUNOTAN 289 men, and We were ;at circular ?ai)o exist- \vc looked e of forty inclosing a g over a cnt active bhe further we neared d see how, epoch, the st through rents over !S by their IS of Iligo. t be under avenue of beautiful, I branches, 3tween the .ng to the extracted )roducts of ippearance cs. Until erica, and )untry was wer of the I cannot describe the charm of the mountain path as we api)roached the crest. Waterfalls peeping amongst trees shooting out of cliffs ; deep glens below us ; festoons of wistaria bloom, painting with purple lines the fresh green foliage of the maples and other nameless trees overhead; a new outline; anew abyss revealed at every turn, till variety itself became monotonous. We climbed to the top of a ridge, and got our first view of the vast primeval crater. The rim is complete except at this point where the Shira- kawa (the one drainage of the whole basin) pours out over the bed of the once glowing lava streams. The diameter of this great crater varies from ten to fourteen miles, and the hundred villages boast of 800 farms. Within this, but at the further side, is an inner -^rater of much later geologic date, rising to an elevaoion of 4,150 feet, enclosing an irregular plain, which is comparatively barren and waterless, and then at the further side of this is the inner- most, modern, and living volcano of Aso San. ^ I have not seen the volcanoes of the Sandwich Islands, which evidently have points of resemblance with this, but it recalled most vividly the pheno- mena of the Island of Palma in the Canaries, with this difference, that the Caldera of Palma is only one-third its diameter, but five times its depth, being 4,500 feet from the Pi-- di Muchacio to the bottom of the crater, which is equally celebrated for its extraordinary fertility, and has a gap through which the lava has flowed in such vast quantities u ii 290 RAMBLES IN JAPAN as to cause the well-known pear-shaped form of Palma. , i t From our ri.lge we rapidly descended by a mountain path into a deep glen, from the bottom of which rises a column of sulphurous steam. Here •u-e laro-e puldie hot baths, with lodgings and tea- houses,°the baths supplied by bamboo pipes from the boiling springs hard by. They are ingeniously (.mstructed against the side of the hill, and are all open to the path, and both sexes of all ages were enjoying their public parboiling in common m perfect nudity ° Just in front of us was a lovely view. Another deep glen, or rather chasm, joined the one we were following, and the clifls facing us, several hundred feet high, and all but perpendicular, were clad with forest trees, clinging, one hardly can conceive how, to the face of the cliff. The dashing torrents were fringed with all sorts of ferns, conspicuous among them the giant Woodimrdm japonkn, dropping its fronds to the surface of the stream. We were all encluiiited, but we had a walk of some hours before us. After another hour, arriving at a wayside tea- house, the man with the horses and our luggage declared that here we must stop for the night. I should have said before that when we discharged our kurumas, although one man could easily have carried all we had on his back, we engaged a horse, for which we were charged the enormous sum 'of forty sen, rather less than twenty pence; and this agreed to, he must needs have a second ASO SAN AND THE GEYSERS OF YUNOTAN 291 m of by a fottom Here d tca- i from liously are all s were perfect led the several r, were lly can dashing ferns, dward'xi . of the hud a idc tca- luggage e nio;ht. scharged ily have oaoed a enormous y pence ; u second horse and a friend to accomj)any him, but as these were on a return journey, they need not be paid for. To have rested at this pbu-e wouhl lave meant to add another day to our journey and dislocate all our phms, but for some tinui we were much afraid the strilce would have been successful. Every argument was used : we ought to have stayed iit the hot baths we had passed ; everyone would be tired ; there would be no food at Tarutama, our proposed destination ; the distance yet to go was, according to their account, greater than when we had started in the morning ; and tinally, as a clinching argument, there would be no policemen there to look at our passports! At last the men were heard to say, 'There is no help for it. If we don't go on, things won't do,' and on we went. Oh, such shrubs 1 Wistaria, deutzia, wiegelia, daphne of three or four sorts, wild roses of three species, honeysuckles of two, azaleas of all sorts, a shrub that looked like a white fuchsia, which 1 never saw before or since, and many others quite strange to us all. After a long climb we halted in a sort of Devonshire lane for afternoon tea and a rest, the ladies having brought all paraphernalia for tea- making, and a little rill supplying the water. More climbing, till about 6 p.m. we were l)rought up short by our narrowing valley becoming a gorge, and finally a cul-de-sac with a clilf some hundreds of feet hioh in front, covered with wood, and a cascade of hot°water dashing down it. \yo. h.ad arrived at u 2 292 RAMBLES IN JAi'AN Tarutama. Under the cliff a long row of two-storied sheds crammed with people, a sort of square in front, two sides of which wrve formed by large open l>aths under roofs, Imt with no enclosing walls fed l.y ban.ho.. pipes, with the liot suli^hurous water from the foot <^f the cascade providing a continuous stream through the fully tenanted baths. Tlie place has crreat renown, especially for rheumatism. There wrre^'onlv two imndrcd people here now, but as summer npproached they expected the number to vise to ei'.ht hun.hc' ^;:M :^ i .^^ 296 RAMBLES IN JAPAN il tubes from the geysers, were as public and as fre- quented as those we hud seen before. Two or three hundred yards above a cluster of geysers poured fortli their jets with a deafening roar. The largest sent up pillar of boiling water and mud to a height of twenty feet. Every few seconds the column seemed to drop two or three feet, and then immediately to rise again. A number of stones of various sizes were shot up with the mud, and oftnn, but not always, dropped outside. Three or four other geysers a little higher up the valley shot up columns (piite as large in volume, but only to about half the height. The place seems very little known, and is quite retired from any ordinary thoroughfare, but is very popular as a health resort for the poor. At these baths, as at those we visited on the previous day, the sheds, for they are really nothing better, where the visitors are sheltered at night are maintained by the local authorities, and the lodging as well as the baths are free. They are indeed a great boon to the poor, for rheumatism in all its forms is exceptionally prevalent in Japan, and no wonder, when we see the poor labourers of both sexes working all day knee deep in the mud and water of the paddy fields. We were assured that they rarely fail of etlccting a cure, and in the very worst cases give considerable relief. Some patients would sit in the water at a tempera- ture of 100*^ F. for six hours at a time. The water must be very strongly impregnated with sulphur, as it fm-ms a deep incrustation all round the geysers. Thence we had a wij long trudge through a lovely ASO SAN AND THE OEYSERS OF YUNOTAN 297 wooded valley to Tocliinoki, where the roud coni- mences, and we were to iiiid our kurumas. The warm s])riiig weather had evoked ahuudant insect life, ami I added, in these two days, many choice specimens of hnttertiies to my collection. We were atniin in the hreach throuu;h which the lava in old (Tcoloo'io time had broken through the crater, a little to the north of the path by which we had entered, and we looked thron"v in the centre room of a house, and once a year ;it dnid of night, after the house had been '•arefuUy shut up, ih<' relics were opened and shown, the si^ni of the cross made, and tlic children told it was tlie pv '-ribed religion of their ancestors. But they knew nothing more. When the country was opened, an nothing with the;;- -.inles.s you give thorn a dinnoi I \. Give mo $n(v, ^ud I will provide tlu- dinner, ai 1 make all right.' But tUoy cautiously replied t!wit they would wait and .see the foreigners first. Tl man took thorn to the ("hurcli iMis.'U<.nary Society bookshop, and it turned out that all he knew of the matter was the oxi.«,tenen of this shop. Tho colporteur sent thorn to Mr. TTutoliinsou, and th.-y began by producing, in true .lupauosr fasliiou from handkerchiefs, two large tin.s of mutton, which tho\- had brought as an introductory present. INlr. llutth- inson heard their story, felt satisfied of their sincerity, and told them he would send them two teachers t. instruct them in the religion of Je.«u8, but they nuisi expect no money nor any worldly a.lvantage. He smi Mr. Naknmura, the present cato> INDEX .Aiiinn, ^o. AniHHir, 5", 5'^. A^() Sail, voliaiiu of, 291-2(15. Austin, Kcv. W. 1'.. work nl, _?4. Awaji. I>laii(l of. 247. 261 , HalliiiiK anati. 258. Hiiddha, images of, 105, I41, 204. >acir(l iioi^e ot, ()S. Cherry trees, 35, 50. Chinese language, uses of, 1 14. Christian eduealors, 39, 20S, 237, 2jS. relics, 40. Chusi'uji, Lake of, if)7 113 Climate, l>), 20 Cloisonne ware, 175, 177- Coal mining, 22, 23, 2O.S, 209. Cormorant fishing. 181. Cryptoinerias, 83. icN. Iiti. C/areviteh. assault u|ion. iSS, 190. Da/aifu. 277. Deshima. 13, 15 Doshislia, 208. Lartliijuake. 73. I'jnperor's gardens. Kiot(j, 211, 212, palaces, 4I, 2 1 9. " I'.nglisii as she is spoke," 136, 137. 197. . English language, spread ul, 114. Falconry. 94,97. 98. Fisherie's, 21, 258, 2OI. Fishing-tackle, '12, Flower show at » )saka, 245. Formosa, Island of. 20. Fruit trees, 35. Fuji San. mountain of, 127, origin of word, 102. I'ukuoka. 2(1(1-270 (ieysers of N'unotan, 2()5. Cifu, 180. 182. ( ioteniha, 153. llakone, 13S, 142. Hawking, 94, 97, ()8. Ikraldry, 40. llideyos'hi, 22(), 227 Hiei/.an, mountain of. 214, 215. Ilikone, 184, 187. Hotels, 86. 87, 88,90, 112, 1S3, 155, 184, 1(|2. Inland sea, 24, 25, 266, 2(17. JoS Insignia. 39. 40. lyeyasu, 9I, 92. teniples and niausoN uni ol, ()•>, 93, (^8-101. Irrigation, 144, 287. lapanese courtesy, 163, eating customs, 15S> 's*'' literalne--s, 153, 154. love of the beautiful. 14.15. 109. sjionge cake. 88. linrikslia>, 35, 42. Kaimnoii-ga-fuchi. 102. Karasaki, pine trees near, 18 i. Kiushiu, Island of, 19, 266-285. Ki(.to, 195-222. indu'-trial exhilution. Jl ; Kobe, 24. Ko/u, 128. Kumamolo. 27(1. 2S0. 2S3. I.am|)s, bron/e and sione, 50. .Match factory in ().-.aka. 241. Mauvileums. 100, 271. 284. Mav (lav, 71. 3"5 ,11 \l ' i ;uO N 1) 1-. X Muura!-, J (iilu. iSj >at»uiu ;\ \v;ur, IJj. 171). Sell VI. ^.' 2oS, ;_iu, -,i/. lulvUoUii, Jt>(). 272-275. I\iiiii.niii)!ii. 2S0. KmiHiu'. .^it^ ,i"'' S^^-- ( )>rtk;l, 22i)-2 j4- Sliil<<>l^ii. 247. ■lukio. 7.;, 74- ■r,,ku..liiiiui, 250-250.^ Mi\;i-iH' ^liiia, jiiuiiu'v U), 13.5, l.H- MuMUins, 45, 4*'. 47- Nagasaki. 1,?. I5- '''• Nai^oya. ii>5-iSo. Namlo, 2()i, 2i>2. Nc-oshiuui. losepli. 20S, 211, 212. Nijo. ca-tlf 'if, 221, 222. Nikko, Si--i2;v ca-eadi.-, nrar, loO, K",, U'). i.mniey to, Si, S2, S.?, S4. Nippi.n, \-V\w\ of. K.I. Oilawara, 128, I2y. ( Vaka, ,^0, 225-246. ( Hsii. l.Si), I'l". I'ailiaiiunl limi-c. 41- ra^>]>orN. M. I'aimiiii;, 177. I'licasaiils. S(). fiallirr> exportrd, <><)■ I'oaclntif;;, 107. I'onekiiii, making ol, I75' ' ' "• '"■ pac-kinu; ol. 17S, KaiUvav station luiidicoiis, K'S- 172. 1S4, 26!S, 2fK), 27(1, Rollins. U-^iii'l I't- ""> ^"> Sailniv' hoiiir. ^4. Sliiba, 57, 7"- Sliikoku, l^laiul ol. 247 -"^ voyage 10, 241S. ^Iiiulo tfiiipli'S, 47, 4^, •"•, Sliodo Shoiiiii, lfU''i>*l" "'' ^5' S(). Siioguiis, 41.1, <)S shiiiiis ol, 50, <)5. Si. .\ii(lrc\v's school, 70, St. lliMa's school, 77. Straw briilj^cs, 1 lo. Naudals. lio. Sulphur bat'is. 141, I4«, 2')2, 2y5. ra\i(icnnists" shops, *)2. •|'anilaiiia, 292. Tea drinking, 242. making, 298. leniplfs, 47, bb, 90-102, 1(>I. 17°, '/•. 172, 191, 198-208, 21S, 229, 25J, 277, 278. Tides at Naruto, 202. Tokio, 35, 36. university ot, 53- Tokushinia, 251^-257 Trees, (hvarllng and transplanting, 54 preservation of, 269. Tycoon, meaning of. 40. Uyeno, 4-, 45, 4^'. Volcano of .Aso San, 2()i-295. Water travelling, 24. 248, 249. 250, 266, 267. Wax-trees, 288. Women, clothing ol. 23. Ne//o, i..,laiid of. 10. Yokohama, },},. 54- 249, 250, /*aSlr«* ■'** - feu; » ~ -ti \ li * •:%^' V 3. H 1-^^^^ tlPWf