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HALF-HOURS IN JAPAN
NOTABLE 6s. BOOKS.
The Waters of Edera. By Ouida (Green
Cloth Library).
The Rhymer. By Allan McAulav (Green
Cloth Library).
Shameless Wayne. Bv Halliwell Sut-
CLiFFE (Green Cloth Library).
Through Fire to Fortune. By Mrs. Alexander
(Green Cloth Library).
Was it Right to Forgive? By Amelia E.
Barr ((jreen Cloth Library).
Mr. Thomas Atkins. By Rev. E. J. Hardy, M.A.
The Preparation of Ryerson Embury. By
A. R. Carnl\n.
Sand and Cactus. By Woolcott Beard.
The Diary of a Dreamer. By Alice Dew-
Smith.
The Mystery of Muncraig. By R. J Mum
T. FISHER UNWIN, P.\TER\OSTER SQUARE,
LONDON, E.G.
EVERVIJAV DKESS.
HALF-HOURS
IN
JAPAN
REV. HERBERT MOORE, M.A,
(sometime s.p.g. missionary in the country)
(With over 70 Illustrations and Map)
LONDON
T. FISHER UN WIN
PATERNOSTER SQUARE
1900.
BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO. LD., PRINTERS,
LONDON AND TONBRIDGE.
All Rights Reserved.
PREFACE.
The idea of writing: this book was sus^s^ested
to me by the large number of questions with
which I have been assailed since my return to
England ; which assured me that many people
are interested in Japan, and also showed me the
subjects upon which they desire information.
I have obtained some information from Miss
Bacon's excellent little book, "Japanese Girls
and Women," and from various publications
of the Japan Society. For some of the illus-
trations I have to thank Col. Cotton-Jodrell,
M.P. ; several, including that of Mr. Ishii and
his family, are from the Rev. J. H. Pettee's
pamphlet, " Mr Ishii and his Orphanage."
For the rest I owe my thanks to the kindly
people of the Land of the Rising Sun, which
none can visit without being the richer for many
beautiful thoughts and happy memories.
April, 1900. H. M.
CONTENTS,
CHAP.
I. GEOGRAPHY
II. HISTORY . . . .
III. BABIES
IV. BOYS AND GIRLS .
V. SCHOOL ....
VI. FEMININE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
VII. MARRIAGE
VIII. HOUSES . . . .
IX. GARDENS AND CASTLES .
X. FOOD .....
PAGE
I
XI FRUITS AND CONFECTIONS
XII. FIRES AND EARTHQUAKES
XIII. TRAVELLING IN JAPAN
XIV. AN IXN
XV. FLOWERS . . . .
XVI. BOATS AND SHIPS
XVII. HOT SPRINGS
XVIII. RELIGIONS IX JAPAN
XIX. FUNERAL RITES
M
19
28
42
• 53
• 58
66
77
94
• 103
112
122
• 137
. 143
■ 153
. 162
. 172
viii Contents.
CHAP. PAGE
XX. DRESS . . . . ... 184
XXI. TEMPLES . . . . . . 199
XXII. MONEY, FLAGS, AND STAMPS . . . . 2l6
XXIII. RICE, TEA, TOBACCO, SILK .... 223
XXIV. FESTIVALS . . . . . . . 230
XXV. STORIES, ETC. . . . . 236
XXVI. CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN . . . . 244
XXVII. THE EMPEROR ...... 250
RESCRIPT . . . . . . . 254
NATIONAL AXTHEM . . . . -255
GLOSSARY . . . . . . ..257
HALF HOURS IN JAPAN
CHAPTER I.
GEOGRAPHY.
The real name of the country we call Japan
is Nippon, made up of two
words, " Nitsu," mean-
Mytlwlogv. . ,,
mg 1 he oun, and
" Hon," meaning " Beginning,''
or " Origin." In old days, when
no man had sailed eastwards and
found land, the Japanese watched
the Sun rise from the bosom of
the broad Pacific Ocean, tip
with light the snowy peak of
Fujiyama, and then pass over
their islands to do his work in
the great continent of Asia.
They thought that the Ocean was
the boundary of the Earth, their
country to be the first warmed and lighted
J. "^ . B
l^
2 Half Hours in Japan.
by the Sun's beams ; and so they called it
Nippon, " The Land where the Sun begins,"
or " The Land of the Rising Sun."
You may read in the old histories of Japan
how the islands came into existence. Long,
long ago all things were in a state of chaos.
Little by little the pure elements ascended,
and formed the Heavens, while the impure
descended, and formed the Earth. One day,
as the god Izanagi no Mikoto, with his august
spouse Izanami, was standing on a bridge,
" the floating heavenly bridge," holding in his
hand the jewel-spear of Hea\'en, he thrust it
down, and groping about found the Ocean.
As he drew it out, the drops of salt water and
foam which fell from it hardened, and formed
a beautiful island ; this was a middling-sized
island nearly in the centre of the group, called
" Awaji," " foam-land," in memory of the
event. Here Izanagi and Izanami took up
their abode, and in due time formed the rest
of the archipelago. From them were born
children and children's children not a few ;
among them the Sun Goddess, and the Sea
God, whose daughter was the mother of Jimmu
Tenno, the first Emperor of Japan, said to
have been born about 700 B.C.
Geography. 3
"Is it true?" do you say? No, the Japa-
nese know now that it is not true, and that
the land of Japan came to be what it is in the
same way as any other part of the world.
But I am sure you are interested in hearing
one of the old stories told in " the childhood of
the world."
If you look at a map of Japan, you will see
that it consists of a number of islands Ivino: in
the form of a crescent off the east coast of
the mainland of Asia, between longitudes 130^
and 145 East of Greenwich. The four larger
islands are called Hondo, Kiushiu, Shikoku,
and Yezo, and there are several hundreds of
smaller ones, including the Loochoo and Bonin
groups. After the war with China the large
island of Formosa was ceded to Japan. The
red lacquer of which we see so much in
Japanese fairs and shops in England mostly
comes from the Loochoos ; Formosa produces
nearly all the world's supply of camphor.
Japan time is nine hours and twenty minutes
in front of Greenwich, so that when boys
and girls are going to bed in England, their
brothers and sisters in Oriental Japan are
getting up.
You can travel to Japan eastwards or west-
B 2
4 Half Hours in Japan.
wards. If vou (^"o eastwards, }'{)u pass through
the Suez Canal, touching at Port
Said, Aden, Colombo, Singapore, and
Hong Kong : all, you wili notice, British
possessions. The western route crosses the
Atlantic, and traverses Canada or America, to
Vancouver or San Francisco, on the western
shores of the Pacific, where once more we
take ship and cross that ocean to Japan.
Of course this latter route is the quickest, as
trains go faster than ships ; it is possible to
reach Yokohama from Liverpool in twenty-six
days. If you should go round the world in a
straight line from London, you would never
reach Japan at all, for Japan is far south of
Greenwich ; the capital, Tokyo, being on the
same latitude as Jerusalem. So you can
understand that though the climate of Japan
is not unlike that of Encjland at some
Climate. ^ ^ ,^
seasons oi the year, the summer is
much hotter. Yet the winter in the Northern
Island is colder and of a longer duration than
an ordinary English winter ; there are often
twenty feet of snow in those parts.
The five months from May to September are
the hot months, and during these that little
pest, the mosquito, lives and thrives ; so you
Geography. 5
see residents and tra\'ellers in Japan have one
annoyance which we do not have to face in
England. There is the wet season, too, in
June, when it rains ahiiost continuously for
six weeks, and the air is laden with hot mois-
ture, as the temperature is generally over 80°
in the shade, and you feel as if you were living
in a fern-house. People have to be very care-
ful of their clothes at this time of the year, for
if they leave them in their wardrobes without
taking them out to be aired, thev will find them
covered with spots of white mildew, while boots
get green with mould.
And so where would you rather live ? In
England, with her rainy days and her fogs,
and her smoky air, and her sharp, cheering
frosts ; or in Japan, with her wonderful clear
blue sky, her fixed time for rain, her great
summer heat, and her wet season ?
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY.
So far as we know, St. Francis Xavier, the
great Roman Catholic missionary, was the first
foreigner to land in Japan, in the
m2.wL.year 1549. His preaching was not
successful, and he returned much
disappointed ; but other missionaries, chiefly
Jesuit, Dominican, and Franciscan monks,
followed, who toiled with such success that,
in spite of considerable opposition, there were
in thirty years' time as many as 150,000
Christians, chiefly in the Southern Island.
During these years full many had shed their
blood for Christ, and the infant Church so
watered seemed to have a great future before
it. Yet a few more years sufficed utterly to
stamp out all visible signs that the Gospel had
ever been heard in Japan, and seemed to have
extinguished all hope that it ever would be
heard in the future.
How did this come about ? Partly owing
History. 7
to the disagreements among the representa-
tives of the three orders of missionaries,
between whom the most jealous rivahy existed,
strengthening the opposition such as every
missionary must expect on the part of the
people of the country ; the Jesuits were
expelled in 1587, not to the regret, apparently,
of the Dominicans and Franciscans. But the
comparatively moderate spirit of persecution
would not have succeeded in entirely extir-
pating Christianity had it not been for the
following circumstances.
At that time the ruler of Japan, as now, was
the Emperor, whose centre of government was
Kvoto, the "Western Capital" — such
History. . ' . r i 11
IS the meanmg oi the word— who
claimed descent from Jimmu Tenno, the first
Emperor, in unbroken line through 2,500 years.
The country was divided into provinces, each
with its governor, called Daimio, and its chief
town, near which was placed the castle in
which the Daimio lived, with his faithful
Samurai, or knights wearing two swords, and
his soldiers : drawing a revenue paid in rice
from those he governed. There was also an
official called the Shogun, or Commander-in-
Chief, appointed whenever the necessities of
8 Half Hours in Japan.
the times might seem to require it. But, as
often has happened in history, he who held the
power of the sword was hkely to covet also the
power of government, and two or more of
these great Daimios were frequently found to
be rivals for the position of Shogun. This was
the state of the case at the end of the sixteenth
century. One Daimio now thought he saw
his way to success. He declared that he was
a Christian, and that if he were Shogun he
would espouse the cause of Christianity, not
only by stopping opposition and persecution,
but by actively working for its spread. He
even sent an embassy to Europe, placing him-
self and his province under the protection of
the Pope, probably in the hope, that Spanish
or Portuguese soldiers would be sent to his
assistance. The Christians rallied round him,
but, alas ! " He who takes the sword shall
perish with the sword," and in a series of
battles the}^ were defeated, and driven
Massacre i r i i a
of the farther and farther south. A great
Christians. ^^^^^^ ^^ iought in the year 1638 in
the Southern Island, close to Nagasaki, in
which 37,000 Christians were killed or driven
over the cliffs into the sea. The cliffs of the
little island on which they made their last
History. g
stand are pointed out to the traveller leaving
Nagasaki harbour ; and, by a curious coin-
cidence, they are of a deep blood-red.
The successful Daimio, lyeyasu, of the
noble family of Tokugawa, had, thirty years
before this, after a decisive victory over another
of his rivals, assumed the title of Shogun, and,
with the title, power such as none other had
ever before dared to assume in Japan. The
Emperor continued to reside in Kyoto, but the
Imperial government was taken out of his
hands ; it was the Shogun who ruled the
country, establishing himself in Yedo, the city
now called Tokyo. Against Christianity he
adopted the severest measures : notices were
posted upon wooden boards all over the country,
offering rewards for the discovery of a foreign
missionarv, a native teacher, and an
^'ohlbil^: ordinary Christian respectively. Fur-
ther, no Japanese might leave the
country, and no foreigner might enter it ; the
only foreigners allowed to land being the mem-
bers of the Dutch trading factory at Nagasaki,
who declared that they were not Christians, but
Dutchmen, and who were required each year
to trample on the crucifix in the presence of
officials. And so for 250 years Japan was like
lo Half Hours in Japan.
a sealed cabinet : years of the utmost value to
,^^^, the country, for the Tokugawa Sho-
country guns were liberal patrons of the arts
and of learning, andthe Japanese were
able to develop their own gifts on their own
lines, without any admixture from abroad.
We see the results to-day in the wonderful art
products of the country, and in the character
of the people. It was this very patronage of
learning which prepared the way for the great
change which came at last. For the text-books
of the schools were the writings of Confucius,
the great Chinese philosopher, who died about
480 years b.c. This writer laid great emphasis
„ ^ . . on five duties : duties to Emperor,
Lonjiicianism. ^ _ ^ '
to Daimio, to Parents, to Teacher,
and to Friend. With the first of these duties
continually impressed upon them, it seemed to
many thoughtful men to be a strange thing,
that the Emperor should be residing with but
a semblance of power in Kyoto, while the real
governor of the country was the usurping
Shogun. It must be added that the other
Daimios, who were required each year to reside
for a certain time in Yedo, to show their fealty
to the Shogun, were far from content with
such a position of subservience ; and so it will
History. ii
be seen that people and princes alike were
ready for the great change, whenever circum-
stances should arise which should make it
possible.
It came in 1854. Commodore Perry, after
an unsuccessful attempt in the previous vear,
arrived v/ith a strong American fleet,
and persuaded the Shogun to con-
clude a treatv with him, bv which foreigners
were allowed to reside in certain parts of Japan.
At once violent criticism was aroused. There
was the constitutional party, the product of the
schools, crying, " By what right has the Shogun
concluded such a treaty ? " And there was the
conservative party, which objected to the intro-
duction of foreigners, foreign manufactures,
and foreign customs. Civil war broke out,
which ended in the Emperor himself declaring
his conviction that such a change was good for
his country, and placing himself at the head of
the party of progress. Thousands of Japanese
were sent abroad to study law, science, com-
merce, mechanics, medicine, and all that the
Western World could teach them. The Emperor
left his retirement at Kyoto, and took up his
residence at the old palace of the Shoguns at
Yedo, the name of the city being changed to
12 Half Hours in Japan.
Tokyo (Eastern Capital) in memory of the event.
In a proclamation to his subjects he
promised a constitutional government,
and the present era of Meiji (" enlightened
government ") was inaugurated.
And the Shogun ? He and all the other
Daimios willingly laid down their power, their
castles, their revenues, at the feet of the
Emperor, and became as private citizens. The
representative of the Tokugawas recently had
audience of the Emperor, at which the utmost
expressions of courtesy were used on both
sides, and, on that of the Tokugawa, of loyalty
as well.
Who can fail to predict a prosperous future
for a nation whose leading men have made
such sacrifices, whose people have made such
an effort, in the name of loyalty and obedience
to the highest teaching thev possessed ?
CHAPTER III.
BABIES.
In all civilised countries the entrance of a
little child into the world is an occasion of great
gladness, and the advent of a baby in Oriental
Japan diflers but little from that of the small
stranger in Occidental England. Perhaps it is
true to say that the birth of a son occasions
more gladness than that of a daughter, but a
child of either sex finds a welcome, and in this
respect Japan is far above and very difterent to
her neighbour, China.
On the occasion of a birth it is customary to
send a messenger with the good news to the
houses of relations and friends. The
b^rtMa' baby then receives many presents in
the form of toys, pieces of "chirimen "
{i.e., Japanese crepe) and silk for dresses.
Sometimes with these presents boxes ot eggs
and dried fish (called " Katsuobushi ") are sent
for good luck. These presents are daintily
tied up in white paper and tri-coloured string,
14 Half Hours in Japaji.
with a peculiarly-folded piece of paper attached
(called "Noshi") in which a morsel of dried fish
is inserted. As soon as the mother is able to
walk, the little baby is taken to the Shinto
temple, gorgeously dressed, and with many
little charms and offerings tied into its wide
sash. A near relative chooses the name, often
an uncle or aunt, or even a grandparent : or
several names are written on small pieces of
paper, which are all given to the officiating
priest, who throws them into the air, and the
name on the piece which first alights
name^ On the floor is the one chosen. There
is no such thing as a family name :
girls are generally called after flowers or things
gentle or beautiful, as "Take" (bamboo),
" Yuki " (snow), and boys after some heroic
virtue or brave animal.
The ceremony depends on the wealth of the
parents. Sometimes many Shinto priests are
present ; on other occasions I have seen the
mother present her child alone, and the cere-
mony has consisted of the ringing of a bell, and
clapping the hands, the baby being strapped
on to the mother's back, and not carried in a
nurse's arms.
On the thirtieth day the parents send
A JAPANESE BABY
Babies.
17
presents, in the form of square lacquer boxes
filled with red rice, to all who have sent
presents or congratulations to their child.
The rice of Japanese " mochi " cakes, un-
pounded, is used for this festive red rice, which
is coloured with the juice of a red bean, and
called " sekihan." Together with this " seki-
han," salt mixed with " goma " seeds is sent.
The boxes must be returned unwashed : it
would be a serious breach of etiquette to do
otherwise. The boxes are arranged on pretty
gold lacquer trays, and covered over with a
piece of crepe, called a "fukusa."
Babies in Japan have not such a luxurious
mode of locomotion as babies in England. You
do not see elaborate mail carts with
locoinotion. Splendid rubber tyres, although you
may see a few antiquated tricycle
perambulators. Until babies can walk they
are carried on their mother's or nurse's back,
even from the tender ae^e of a few weeks. But
the fortunate babies born in the royal house-
hold or among the ranks of the nobility are
never carried in this way ; they always rest in
nurses' arms.
The formal dress and gravity of the
little children is highly amusing. The shape
J. c
1 8 Half Hours in Japan.
of their dress is the same as that of their
parents.
Babies are not tumbled about on a nurse's
knee, and made to put their little arms throu^^h
so many sleeve holes, and have so many
Baby's c^^rings tied, as European and Ameri-
can babies have to do, but they are
dressed in softly padded straight, wide-sleeved
garments made after the same pattern as the
grown-up " kimono." All the garments are the
same in shape, and are fitted one inside the
other before they are put on ; then they are laid
on the floor and baby is put into them. A sash
secures the dress in its place round the body.
CHAPTER IV.
BOYS AND GIRLS.
Japan has been called the Paradise of
Children. I have seen it asserted that in that
country they never cry, and that in the tovvns
every other shop is a toy shop. My own
experience is that Japanese children crv just
as much or as little as those of other countries ;
and that the proportion of toy shops is much
the same as in England.
Tokyo has its Lowther Arcade — a long
paved street leading up to the great temples
of Asakusa, the visitors to which naturally
want to take back something pretty for the
little ones at home. But elsewhere one does
not see so very many toy shops, except at the
temple festivals, when booths are set up in
great numbers for the sgile of cheap playthings
of various sorts.
You will see that nearly all Japanese boys
have very stiff, stand-up-straight kmd of hair.
This is because one of the first visits a baby
C 2
20 Half Hours in Japan.
pays is to the barber's shop ; he sits quite still
in his nurse's or mother's arms, while the
barber shaves his tiny head quite bare. In the
case of a girl, however, he only shaves a piece
on the very top of the head, about three inches
across, leaving the fringe which you have seen
reproduced in Japanese dolls. Hence the boys
when they are a little older, seem to have heads
like blacking brushes ; the girls like mops. It
is not a bad arrangement, for very often the
poor little things get some painful skin com-
plaint, owing to feeding difficulties ; it is much
more easy to keep a bare poll clean.
Boys and girls each have their own games.
The boys play " onigoto" (" goblins") a good
deal. The " goblin" is our old friend
Games, the " blind man." Sometimes two boys
are blindfolded, one of them having
a couple of stones in his hands. He knocks
the stones together, and then dodges out of
the wav, if he can, of the other, who rushes
to the spot where he heard the clash of the
stones. Sometimes two blindfolded boys will
fence with swords made of rolled up paper.
Then there is the game of "touch" and
" cross touch," and a kind of " bait the bear."
The bear is tied by a rope to a post, and the
Boys and Girls. 21
other bovs bully him, trying to keep beyond
the reach of the bear, who of course cannot
get further than the length of the rope, while
22 J^^^lf Hours in Japan.
they can come as near as they Hke to the
post.
In all schools there is military drilL For in
Japan every one may be called upon to serve
in the army — they have the system of con-
scription — so they are taught to stand at ease
and march as soon as possible. Out of school
they will have mock drill in the streets, ending
in sham fights and military reviews. During
the war one could not see a piece of unoccupied
ground in Tokyo, without a " ragged squad "
exercising upon it.
Bigger boys wrestle a good deal. You catch
your opponent where you can and as you
please, and have to get his hand to the ground.
Japanese wrestling is a very complicated affair;
there are over a hundred different grips, and I
do not know how many difterent ways of falling
so as not to hurt yourself. Fencing is another
form of exercise ; the head is covered wdth a
strong wire helmet, the body with a coat
chiefly made of bamboo, and the fencing stick
held in both hands. Of late years base ball
has come into fashion in the large schools, and
some of the students are very good players in-
deed. Golf links are impossible in that country
of rice fields, and neither cricket nor football
Boys and Girls. 23
seem to interest young Japan, but rowing and
tennis have been taken up to a certain extent,
and the small bodies and wiry frames of the
Japanese make them excellent at gymnastics.
Turning to the girls — their games are of
course much more quiet. They are very
seldom to be seen nursing dolls ; the dolls are
kept for the March show. Battledore and
shuttlecock (both made of wood) is a favourite
amusement. Two girls will play together, skil-
fullv returnino^ the cock from one to the other.
They are very fond of balls, tossing and
catching two or three at the same time, or
bouncing them against the ground with strokes
of the hand.
There is a game like knucklebones played
with small bags of beans ; and such frivolities
as "keeping shop." The girls seem to grow
serious very early. They have to nurse their
little brothers and sisters, if they have any ;
they have to learn to play the " koto " and
the "samisen," sewing and ceremonial tea-
making ; they have to begin house-keeping
usually very much earlier than our girls, for
they marry very young.
You will often see a mysterious transaction
going on among young people, when they are
24 Half Hours in Japan.
playing a game in which EngHsh boys would
cry " Bags first," " second ! " and so on. Two
boys, say, have to decide which shall be first
goblin. " One, two, three ! " they cry, and
each darts out a hand, in one of three posi-
tions. The fist may be clenched, to resemble a
stone; or the hand may be open, to stand
for paper ; or the first and second fingers
pressed together may be separated from the
third and fourth like scissors. Scissors will
cut paper, not stone ; paper will wrap up stone.
If A offers scissors, B stone, B wins ; but if B
has paper, A wins, and so on.
This chapter would not be complete without
an account of the March and May festivals — the
girls' and boys' months respectivelv.
Dulls. In March all the dolls are brought out,
some of them hundreds of years old,
handed down from mother to daughter through
many generations. There will be dolls to
represent the Emperor and Empress, dolls in
Court dress, dolls in ordinary dress of the last
century and of this year (though perhaps owing
to this very custom fashions in Japan scarcely
change at all), all arranged in groups one above
the other upon a series of shelves, in the place
of honour by the main pillar of the room, to be
Boys and Girls. 25
found in every Japanese house. For a month
the dollies are shown with pride to friends
and relations, and then back they all go into
the big boxes until next year. This dolls'
festival is called the " Hina matsuri."
In May, if you stand on a hill looking down
on a town, you will see a number of curious
long paper objects streaming in the wind, one
above the other, to the number of four or live,
from poles set up at the gables of the houses.
These are paper carp, with wide mouths kept
open by a ring of metal, from which a string
passes to fasten them to the pole. Into the
mouth of the carp the wind rushes.
The carp. ^ ^ ■ ^^^ ^ ^
passes through his swelling body,
and out at his tail, swaying him about in
graceful folds as it rises and falls, but holding
him usually almost in a horizontal position.
Thus he always seems to be struggling against
the wind to reach the pole.
Now, wherever you see these carp waving
over a house, you know that the master of
the house has a son, and every Japanese boy
knows what they mean. For there is a
picture by a celebrated artist, reproductions
of which you constantly see, of a carp making
his way up stream against a furious torrent.
26 Half Hours in Japan.
The water rushes down, threatening to carry
the fish with it ; but the carp is a plucky fish,
and pounds away with his tail, undaunted,
until at last he reaches the smooth water
above the rapids. Like him, the boy will one
day have to fight his way through the furious
waters of life ; difficulties of all sorts will
threaten to overwhelm him, but, like the carp
struggling against the stream, he is to learn
never to give in, but to fight his way manfully
until he reaches the goal he has set before
him.
One thing more. You read (p. lo) how the
Third Confucian virtue, firmly impressed upon
the very hearts of the people during
obedience ^hosc 250 ycars of isolation, was that
of obedience to parents. I wish that
all Christian children kept the Fifth Command-
ment as well as Japanese children obey this
command of Confucius ! There is no such
thing as a w^orkhouse in Japan. For when a
man is growing old, he retires from his busi-
ness, which he hands over to his son. Did
he not bring him into the world ? Did he not
tend him during his infancy, feed him, clothe
him, educate him ? Now it is the son's turn
to take care of the father ; and the son is
Boys and Girls. 27
perfectly willing to do so. In the same way
the mother hands over her housekeeping
duties to her daughter or daughter-in-law.
And so in nearly every Japanese house you
will find an old man or an old woman peace-
fully living on, with no duties and no cares,
save that of guarding the house in the absence
of its master and mistress — the old gentleman
smoking his pipe by the side of the "hibachi,"
or reading his newspaper on the sunny
verandah ; the old lady keeping the charcoal
fire bright and playing with the children, till
the}' pass away into the great unknown.
No foreicjn enemv has ever landed on the
shores of Japan ; and there are those who
think that in this wav Almi2:htv God has ful-
filled His promise to those who honour their
father and mother, and made their days long
in the land He has ijiven them.
CHAPTER V.
SCHOOL.
"The whining schoolboy, with his satchel,
Creeping like snail unwillingly to school."
Did English schoolboys whine in Shake-
speare's day ? And did they object to going
to school ? I do not believe they did. They
do not do so now, and Japanese boys and girls
trot off to school by nine o'clock every morn-
ing as cheerfully as boys and girls in England.
Greatly indeed are the schools changed
from what they were in old times. Then the
teacher would give the best vears of
/// his life to the instruction of one pupil,
old days. Qj, perhaps half-a-dozen at most ;
and they paid him very much more deference
than they did money. Respect for teachers
was one of the five great virtues taught by
Confucius, and recognized by all classes.
Once the Daimio of Osaka, well nigh the
greatest man in Japan at the time, thought
to do honour to a celebrated teacher whose
School, 2g
home was not far away. He reached the
gatewa}' of the humble dwelling where the
learned man lived, and demanded admission.
To his astonishment he was denied admit-
tance. " Tell his Excellency," the teacher
had instructed his servant to say, "that I am
with my pupil in the middle of a lesson, and
cannot see him until it is finished." And the
Daimio, with his knights and his men-at-arms,
humbly waited without until the lesson was
done, and the teacher could come out to
receive him. It was character, not learning —
wdiat his boys were, not what they knew —
which such men made their aim.
But with the opening of the country in the
sixties, a new demand for learning arose.
^cJwois ^^^^il^ the West had been advancing
in the in practical knowledge of all sorts,
present day. , -r^ , i i , i
the bast had been asleep ; and now
that Japan was about to take her place among
the nations of the world, her people must be
mentally equipped if she wished to contend
with them on equal terms. Accordingly, one
of the first signs of " Meiji," the " era of
enlightenment," was the establishment of Uni-
versities, Higher Grade Schools, and Public
or Common Schools, in town and countrv alike.
30
Half Hours in Jap
an.
You do not see noble piles of buildings like
our Eton or Charterhouse, or even our village
or board schools ; with few exceptions all are
built of wood and painted white, picked out
with slate colour. Let us pay a visit to a
common school, where the children of the
THE OKAYAMA ORPHANAGE SCHOOL.
working classes are taught for a fee of about
fifteenpence a month or less. The play-
ground is generallv extensive, for it is
^Xr ^^^ed by the top classes, when school
is over, for drill ; not only march-
ing, wheeling, and so on, but exercises with
dumb bells and manoeuvres with wooden rifles
are practised every day. In the porch is a box
resembling a long bookcase, on the shelves of
f- M i^
9F 1 1
una -^
■^ -M ^
-^ <f^ "V
^ ?^^^ ^^
'?^:!-
'^K'^'QvS'^-N^^-
--^-^s^
15 B
p -a
6 o
School. 33
which the children place their " geta " on
entering the building, and their straw sandals on
leaving it. And when you pass into the class-
room vou find bovs sittinsf on one side, oriels
on the other (I believe that this system is
being gradually abolished, and the two sexes
wdll soon be taught separately in every school).
What are they doing, this hour ?
A reading lesson.
Poor little Tom. or Mary, with twenty-six
letters to learn, and all those nasty columns
of spelling ! But you are not so
^l^n'^ badly off as Jiro ov Haru San.
They have ninety-eight simple cha-
racters to learn, with no meaning of their own,
but simply denoting sounds like our letters ;
all of them, but two, ending in what we call
open vowels, such as Ha, Ro, Fu, Mi. And
when that is done, they must begin a mass
of characters, each of them meaning some one
thing, like our numerals — one for "dog," one
for "ink," and so on. So there are as many
characters or combinations of characters
(words like virtue, teacher, require
Hiero- \_\x6) as there are thins^s in the world ;
glvphics. ' ^ '
to read a newspaper you must
know about 4,000, to be a scholar 10,000?
J. D
34 Half Hours in Japan.
to be a great scholar, 30,000 or more. And
then, most of these may be pronounced in two
or more different ways (as 12 may be read
" twelve " or "a dozen," only it is much more
difficult to remember than that) ; some of
them have only two lines, but most have from
seven to twelve, and one has sixty-four ! They
are not read across the page from left to right,
as this book is, but from the top to the bottom,
beginning with the right-hand column. And
the first page of a Japanese book is where the
last page of an English book is. Which of
us is it that begins at the wrong end ?
The characters are the same that are used in
China, but the pronunciation is quite different
in the two countries, so that a Japanese can
read a Chinese book, though if a Chinese was to
read it aloud to him he could not understand
it at all. The order in which characters are
printed, too, is different, but I cannot explain
that now.
A reading lesson is rather a noisy affair. The
teacher reads a sentence, and the pupils, with
their eyes on the book, repeat it aloud after him,
and when he has read a page or so, are left to
con it over to themselves, still out loud. This
habit of reading aloud sticks to a Japanese
School.
35
all through
ife ; and it is verv embarrassing^
&
^-^
^
when a fellow passenger in a railway carriage
suddenly opens fire with his newspaper in the
curious sing-song which he picked up when a
boy at school. The reading
books are very well compiled.
The whole series usually con-
sists of eight volumes, begin-
ning with lessons written in
the simple syllabary, advanc-
ing by gradual stages until
in the eighth Reader the
rarer and more complicated
characters only are intro-
duced. The illustrations are
excellent, and the subject
matter verv interesting:.
When the writing lesson
comes on, each child produces
his "rubbinsf-box, "containing:
a stick of hard ink
'^kls!>^^ (we call it "Chinese" or "Indian"
ink), a little pot vessel containing
water, and a flat rubbing-stone, on which he
pours a little of the water, and then rubs his
ink. For a pen he uses a brush with a fine
point ; his paper is not smooth, but rough
D 2
A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
36
Half Hours in Japan.
and porous. The teacher writes a character
on the blackboard, and the pupils copy it, and
write it over and over again, paying exact
attention to the kind of stroke used in each of
its parts (there are about twenty ways of making
a stroke), until it is well fixed in the memory.
So to learn to read and write is a matter of
years, though it is wonderful how retentive the
memory of a Japanese child is. Some pupils
of mine learnt
the Greek alpha-
bet at a single
lesson.
But arithmetic
is very plain
sailing indeed.
None of your
pounds, shill-
ings, and pence, your Troy weight and Avoir-
dupois ! The Japanese most wisely adopted
the metric system, and everything is done by
tens — ten " rin " in a " sen " (cent), a
yen" (silver
SCHOOL-CHILDREN.
sen
m a
arithmetic hundred
dollar, worth just half of the American
dollar), and so on. What is that great frame,
from top to bottom of which run wires, covered
with large wooden buttons, hanging up three ?
A CALCULATIuX u.X THE buROBAN.
School,
39
That is a '^ soroban," and every child in the
class has one — a thinglike the abacus you some-
times see in an English school. There are no
calculations to be done in the head : it is all
done with the fingers. " Add together 365 and
4007 ; " the little hands raise the top of the
soroban, so that all the beads run to the
bottom, and then the little fingers rattle up to
the top again enough to represent 365, then
three of the end row come down, and one
goes up on the fourth, four go up on the
fifth, and the thing is done. When you go
into the shops presently, you will see sorobans
in every one : and when you have bought
your thirty-two shaku of crepe at 47 sen a
shaku, the man will shake up and manipulate
his beads, and tell you the amount long
before you have calculated the cost in your
own head.
This class of big boys and three biggish
girls is having an English lesson. Here
^^^ is something you can understand.
English But the pronunciation is odd : very
lessor.. 1 1 / , A • •
oaa. 'A worm was praymg m
the garden, and the rittle duck raughed."
There is no "1" in Japanese, and curiously
no " r " in Chinese. So a Japanese talks of
40 Half Hours in Japan.
"praying" when he means "playing," a
Chinaman the other way about. And when
they translate the sentence they have read, the
friend who is with you. and knows Japanese,
will tell you the translation is so very literal
that it often means nothing. But they do
not mind, and some day they will be good
English scholars. Nearly all Japanese children
are taught English letters ; few do not know at
least the numerals.
So much for the "three R's." Then there
are accomplishments, chiefly for the girls :
playing the "koto" or " samisen," flower
arranging, tea making. These are taught by
a special teacher, and so is sewing, which is
generally the afternoon lesson in a girl's
school.
When the students pass out of the common
school the girls mostly go home and help in
the house until they are married, though there
are now higher schools for such young ladies as
wish for further education. The boys go to
one of the higher grade schools, and eventually
to one of the three universities, or to a " special
school " for commerce, law, medicine or
science, until they develop into the polished
young gentlemen, speaking and reading
School.
41
English without difficulty, and with a wide
acquaintance with very many branches of learn-
ing, of whom Japan has good reason to be
proud.
»].
PENS, INK, AND PAPER.
CHAPTER VI.
FEMININE ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
When a girl leaves school, or just before,
she receives lessons in etiquette and flower
arranging.
Japanese etiquette is of a very complicated
kind, and includes such things as the correct
way of saluting guests, rising from or
Etiquette. .'. ^i n • j
sittmg on the floor, openmg and
shutting of the sliding doors, and such like
things.
Every movement of a woman in Japan
is marked by the characteristic grace of
the country, and the long, low bow which
accompanies " Sayonara " (" Good-bye ") is
admired and spoken of all over the world.
The Japanese maiden owes her graceful
movements to her etiquette lessons. Our
own schoolgirl is quite an awkward tom-boy
by the side of her Japanese sister, but then
we are always so busy in England, and one
finds at the end of the nineteenth century
Feminine Acconiplislinients. 45
that there is more and more need for hurrv
and bustle if one is to win in the race for the
good things of this world. It is not so in
Japan, though there, too, people are beginning
to find that ten hours a week is too much time
to be given to the acquirement of graceful
movements.
Flower arranging is one of the fine arts :
the aim is to make the flowers in the vase
look as if thev were growing, so
afransTng. ^^^1 the branch is bent and clipped,
and the buds and blossoms are
so arranged as to simulate the shrub or tree
from which it has been cut. Branches of
fir and pine, bamboo and flowering plum, are
specially favourite objects. Stones, holders
cut from bamboo stems, and many other con-
trivances are generally necessarv to hold the
branches and stalks in position, but the vase,
when finished, is always simple yet elegant,
and far more beautiful than the old-fashioned
crowded bouquet of all colours and all kinds
of flowers, which was considered correct in
our grandmother's days. The vases used are
either of bronze or china, and they are placed
on a small stand in the " takuma " of the
dwelling room.
46 Half Hours in Japan.
Another accomplishment which girls learn
before their education is considered "finished "
is that of the ceremonial tea making^.
In a lars^e house there is grenerallv a room
set apart for this observance alone, while in
some cases a separate small house is
uamaking. ^uilt in the .crrounds, consisting of
the one room, something like an
English summer-house. It was my privilege
to see the ceremony more than once, and in
the case of a nobleman's daughter it was
exceedingly well performed.
Ceremonial tea-making ("0 Cha no yu") is
different from the ordinary serving of tea for
refreshment, which is made from the leaf dried
in the sun. For O Cha no yu the tea is
ground into a fine powder, and the cakes are
of a special kind, eaten not with the tea, but
after the ceremony. This consists in the
preparation of single cups of tea, and nearly
two hours is required to bring about the great
result, so some idea can be formed of the
innumerable details involved.
First, as to the guests. The number of
their bows on entering, or on sitting down, or
in passing the cup, and acknowledging any
little act of the hostess, are all prescribed by
Feminine Accomplishments/ 47
rule. The hostess, on her part, follows an
equally strict etiquette, and in the number
of steps she takes in approaching the little
fire upon which water for the precious liquid
is heated ; in the number of pieces of charcoal
she places on it, and in their arrangement ; m
the number of motions needed to suitably
brush and dust the kettle and tongs, lay down
the dipper, &c., she never fails in the smallest
particular, nor in the absolute absence of
hurry in performing the minutest detail, so
necessary to a perfect observance of the tea
ceremony.
Four distinct stages are observed :
a. The arrival of the guests, and prepara-
tion of the brazier ;
b. the making of the tea ;
c. the partaking of it by the guests ;
d. and the admiration by the guests of
each implement w^hich " contributes
to so delightful a feast," to quote a
Japanese expression.
The room is empty except for the charcoal
brazier, which, in a room specially appointed
for the purpose, is sunk into the floor, and
a tiny table, a few inches high, to hold.
the cups.
48 Half Hours in Japan.
The kettle is boiled with much solemnity,
but at the crucial moment its contents are
tempered with several spoonfuls of cold water !
No teapot is used, but the fine, green, powdered
tea is placed in a bowl, hot water is poured
upon it from the kettle with a dipper, and the
whole is stirred up with a little bamboo whisk
until it foams.
There is a prescribed mode for receiving the
bowl of tea, and each bowl must be emptied
with three sips. Tea is made for each guest
in turn, in the same bowl. A special set of
utensils is used, all of ancient and simple
design ; so, too, the charcoal used on the
brazier is of a special kind.
When all have partaken, the guests politely
inspect the utensils, which will very possibly
be hundreds of years old, and express admira-
tion of their quaintness and antiquity.
This ceremony was devised by Hideyoshi,
a famous general in Japan, during a war over
which men's minds were much agitated. He
ordered its strict observance before every
meeting of his officers, "to calm the spirits
and prevent undue haste in an\- important
decision."
Girls of the upper and middle classes learn
1
•
.._ i^»^"°l
^^^
::m
J.
Feminine Acconihlisluncnts. 51
to play the " koto," while those of the lower
classes mostly learn the " samisen."
instruments, ^he " koto " IS a long horizontal
instrument with a sounding board,
about five feet long, upon which are stretched
strins^s supported bv ivorv brido:es.
It IS played by means 01 i\'ory nnger
tips. The player sits before the instrument
on the floor in the ordinary posture, and when
she touches the strings she often sings a soft
accompaniment.
The " samisen " is a kind of banjo, and is
often played during theatrical performances
and recitations. It gives forth dull
" Siuniscn.''
and monotonous tones. 1 he teach-
ing of these two musical instruments is largely
in the hands of blind men and women.
The Japanese scale has thirteen notes, and
some people think that Japan borrowed the
Western method of tuning ; but a " koto " was
used bv a native musician called Yatsuhashi
one hundred and twenty years before Sebastian
Bach wrote his celebrated fugues.
We have printed the Japanese National
Anthem at the end of this hook. If you play it
over you will see how diflerent Japanese music,
even when adapted to European instruments,
E 2
52 Half Hours in Japan.
is from our own. They, on their part, do not
easily understand our methods. A friend of
mine once heard a hvmn i^iven out in a church.
There was no harmonium, and the Japanese
clergyman did not know the tune, nor did the
people know which tune he intended — but they
all sang, and sang lustily, and the effect was
what you may imagine.
-^^
m 3
• .f-
"'
WORK-BOX.
CHAPTER VII.
MARRIAGE.
Every girl in Japan is expected to marry,
so when she attains to the age of sixteen or
thereabouts a suitable husband is sought for
her by her parents or a friend of the family.
The friend is often a professional match-
maker, who makes it his business to introduce
young people to one another. This third person
is called the "go-between," or "Nakadachi."
If all is agreeable the day is fixed.
The weddmg ceremony, such as it is, takes
place in the evening, and the bride leaves her
parents' house in the afternoon, to repair to
the bridegroom's for the ceremony. Some-
times the bridegroom comes to the house
of the bride, in the case of his adoption as
a son, or if the bride is the only child of her
parents.
She is preceded by more or less furniture,
and boxes of clothes, carried on poles by
coolies wearing a special uniform. She
54 Half Hours in Japan.
generally takes a writing-table and materials,
which consist of rolls of porous paper
iu^Z%^ for letters, packets of long thin
envelopes, and a rubbing-stone and
Indian ink enclosed in a square lacquer box.
In her luir^ras^e is also a chest of drawers,
called a "tansu," and lacquer tables for meals,
with complete sets of dishes and cups, and
chopsticks, and a large stock of dresses and
sashes. As the fashion does not change in
Japan, a bride can take to her husband's
house enough clothes to serve a lifetime.
Everv woman, except perhaps in Court circles,
knows how to sew, and makes not only her
own clothes, but those of her children
and husband as well. Gn'ls are
taught how to sew when quite young, and
most of the time out of school is spent in
making or re-making a "kimono," which is
the name given to the long, loose, outer robe
worn in the country. A w^orkbox is always
seen when sewing is in progress, and it has
small drawers in it for thread and scissors,
and a long foot measure fitted in at the back.
There is a regulation length for the stitches,
which are carefully measured.
But to return to the wedding ceremony.
Marriage.
55
The
cevemonv
This itself is strictly private, no one being
present except the bride and her
parents, the bridegroom and his
parents, the
go-between — " Xaka-
dachi ' ' — and a servant,
whose business it is
to pass the " cup."
"Sakazuke" then
takes place, which is
the drinking of " sake"
(the native spirit) from
a twin-spouted cup.
There are three cups,
one arranged above
the other, and the bride
and bridegroom drink
each alternately.
Then this is repeated
between bride and
bridegroom, and
parents, and go-
between respectively,
nine times. Fortunately for the happy
pair the cup is very small ! The go-be-
tween then proceeds to sing a song, specially
composed for the occasion. (The Japanese
A WEDDING CAKE.
56 Half Hours in Japan.
are very original, and easily compose songs
and orations.) When this is over the many
invited guests, who in the meanwhile have
been quietly sitting in an adjoining room, are
invited to enter, and great merriment prevails
till late in the night. Wedding cakes are
eaten at this gathering, made of rice-flour and
sugar, stamped out in the shape of a
stork and tortoise, emblematic of long
life and felicity. Accompanying these cakes
are sugar flowers, beautifully made and deli-
cately coloured to imitate nearly every flower
of which Japan is proud. You often see most
perfect representations of the peony, narcissus,
maple leaf, azalea, chrysanthemum, camelia,
and even fir cones. These cakes are done up
in thin wooden boxes and sent round to all
relatives and friends, in much the same way
as the custom prevails in England.
There is no " going away " for bride and
bridegroom like the English honeymoon tour,
but the bride at once receives callers
the home ^^^ settles down in her new home.
Here her time is occupied with work
in the house, and attentions to her husband's
comfort. Various duties fall to her lot :
she entertains friends, receives and returns
Marriage.
57
presents (which is a much-observed custom in
Japan), superintends her servants in the pohsh-
ing of the verandah boards, and gives directions
for the provisioning of the house. This is a
most important duty for the housewife in
Japan, for there are rigid rules of hospitahty,
and friends often call unexpectedly, and if
they have travelled far stay a whole day, if not
longer, and the lady of the house must always
have things in readiness.
CHAPTER VIII.
HOUSES.
Almost every house in Japan is built of
wood ; brick and stone would not stand the
continuous earthquake shocks. They are
very easily
erected, and
cost \^ e r }'
little ; the first
partto be con-
structed is the
framew^ork of
the roof. A
recently ar-
rived mission-
ary was once
preaching the sermon which was part of his
examination in the language. " Brethren,"
he said, "in a flower garden you do not
look for fruit before the seed is sown ; in
building a house you do not begin with the
roof. Similarly," &c., &c. But the congre-
A STREET,
Houses.
59
gation stared : for the roof is just the part
with which the Japanese builder does begin.
When it is ready the framework is hfted bodily,
and supported on the beams of the future
house. Of course there are houses and houses,
the cottages of the poor and the mansions of
the rich ; but the main features are the same.
Every house, larofe and small, has the tatamied
A HOUSE DOOR.
floor, raised about two feet above the ground,
on which you stand as you enter; the shoji,
or sliding paper walls ; the tokuma, or main
beam in the corner of the best room.
"Tatami" are mats of rice straw, about two-
and-a-half inchesthick, the upper surface closely
woven, the packing: held tio:ht bv
threads passmg through and through
it. They are always made six feet long and
6o Half Hours in Japan.
three feet wide ; the square of six feet formed
bv two " tatami " placed side by side is called a
" tsubo," and is the standard used in measuring
land. " A room of eight mats," " of five
and a half mats," &c., gives a Japanese a clear
idea of its dimensions.
Before entering a house, if you wear boots,
you sit down, on the edge of the raised
tatami — covered floor — and take them
cttmncc. ^^5 if you Wear " geta " you slip
your feet out of them, for the floor
is to a Japanese both chair and table and
bed ; it would be as unreasonable to walk on
it with dirty shoes as to trample on a white
tablecloth or bed-spread. But you must not
do this until you have cried " Moshi, moshi "
{" I say "), or " Go men nasai " ('* I beg your
pardon ") when the master of the house, his
wife, or servant, pushes back the " shoji,"
receives and returns your salutation of " Kon-
nichi wa " (" iVs for to-day "), and begs you
C' O hairi ") to come in. You step in, in your
stockings or " tabi," and follow.
A flat cushion stufl*ed with wool, about two-
and-a-half feet square, is laid on the ground
at a convenient distance from the " hibachi,"
and on this you kneel, sit on your heels, and
Houses.
6 1
Hihachi
placing your hands together on the mat in
front of you, bend down until your forehead
touches them, then resuming your previous
sitting posture.
The " hihachi " is a box filled with sand
or ashes, in the middle of which some char-
coal is kept burning. It admits, of
course, of all sorts of elaboration, both
in material and construction, and the charcoal
used varies much in
value and excellence,
the best being made
from cherry wood.
Very • rarely does the
hihachi give off any
fumes : and even these
are not poisonous. I
have often slept in a room containing one or
more, with no ill effects. A poor French cabman
tried one in his cab, to keep his fare warm ; but
he had not Japanese charcoal, and the result of
his very first experiment was a funeral.
To sit on one's heels for long: too:ether is
trying to a foreigner, but it is the ordinarv
Sitting posture for a Japanese, unless he is
posture, '^vearing trousers ; for his foot and
leg, as he sits, form a straight line from
THE HIBACHI.
62 Half Hours in Japan.
the toe to the knee, and there is no strain
on the muscles ol the instep. It is an
exceedingly convenient posture for a large
gathering of people : an audience of ti\'e hun-
dred persons would occupy not half the space
of the chairs necessary for the same in Europe.
But it can scarcely he doubted that it is to
this that the short stature ot the Japanese is
due ; it is in the legs, not in the body, that
they seem to be ill-developed.
While the master or mistress is making you
a cup of tea, you have time to look around you.
On the side of the room which faces the open
air, the wall consists chiefly of " shoji " ; on
that opening into the next room, of "fusuma."
But these slide in grooves to allow of entrance
and exit. A " shoji " consists of a framework
of wood, about Ave feet six bv three,
" Shoji.'' 1-11 1 • • - 1 '
latticed by thm strips of the same
kind of wood running parallel with the sides,
the spaces between the lattices being about
five inches by four. Upon this, very thin
white paper is smoothly pasted, which freely
admits the light, and, it must be admitted, to
a great extent, the cold air : while the best
carpentry in the world cannot make the frames
and grooves to fit exactly, so as to be draught-
Houses. 63
proof. But outside the " shoji," on the other
side of the verandah, if there is one, a series
of wooden shutters shde in similar grooves for
use at night or windy weather. " Fusuma "
are verv much hke " shoji," except
that nistead oi the lattice work and
thin paper there is one sheet of thick paper on
which pictures are painted, or great savings
and sentiments of wise men are daintily written
in black.
And now look at the corner of the room.
About six feet from one end of the house wall
(invariably covered with white or
-to^onouiar ^^^^^^ piaster) there is a wooden
pillar, standing some eighteen inches
into the room ; between this and the other wall
there is a step of wood, about six inches high.
The kind of wood varies with the wealth of the
owner, the most beautifully grained woods
procurable being used, often at very heavy cost,
for this purpose. In the middle of this step
there will be a vase, again as beautiful as
means will allow, containing liowers, a branch
of blossom, or leaves ; and on the wall above
this, a hanging picture ("kakemono"), fre-
quently, though not invariably, of some
religious subject. This pillar conveys our
64 Half Hours in Jap
an
" Englishman's house is his castle " idea : at
the family conclave the master of the house sits
beneath it, at a social function it is the post
of honour. To give a description of the rest
of the furniture does not take long, for there
^ , is none unless it be a box contain-
ihc inodel ,
of mg a few books, a picture or two —
neatness. ^^^^,^, ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^,^^^ ^^^^^^ illustrated
paper, in foreign frames, and terribly out of
keeping with the rest of the room — hung above
the "fusuma," and possibly a quaint stone or
chased vase of bronze. The Japanese do not
make their rooms like museums, to harbour
dust, and form a continual occasion of saying,
" Don't touch " to the children, and " The cat
broke it " to the mistress : they bring out their
pretty things when they are wanted, but put
them awav in the go-down when they are not.
We shall see a go-down (" kura ") if we accept
the invitation to come and see the garden.
We need not look at the other rooms, for
they are much the same as that in which we
had our tea and talked to our hosts, though
not so fresh and new-looking. You will see a
little furniture in them : a chest of drawers, of
light wood, strengthened at the corners with
black iron angle pieces, and in two divisions.
Houses. 65
so that in case of fire you can pick up the two
parts one after the other and carr}' them out ;
a huge chest, which contained the trousseau of
the mistress when she first came as a bride ;
the musical instruments played by the ladies of
the household, and the low table at which the
master of the house sits to read or do accounts.
You will read about the kitchen in another
chapter.
!
1
J.
CHAPTER IX.
GARDENS AND CASTLES.
A Japanese gardener aims at producing form
rather than colour, though he will, if possible,
so arrange his shrubs and trees that one at
least shall be in flower, or in brilliant leaf, all
the year round. If you will look at the chapter
on Flowers you will see that this is quite
possible.
In describing a Japanese housC; I promised
to show you a " Kura," or store-house, when
you went to see the garden. It is at
the end or the back of the house, with
very thick walls and a door of mud, so that if
the house should catch fire, the kura, containing
all the valuables, escapes uninjured. After a
fire, the kuras may be seen proudly standing up
among the charred ruins of the houses, none
the worse except for being a little browner,
and if a rearrangement of streets is considered
advisable, they are raised on beams, and moved
upon rollers to their new site.
F 2
Gardens and Castles. 69
To turn now to the o^arden itself. A lars^e
garden will be sure to contain an artificial pool,
with a quaint stone bridge across it, and
stepping-stones leading up to the bridge. The
surface of the water will be almost hidden by lotus
or water-lily leaves, and a carp or gold-fish will
now and then raise his head above it. A lawn
of smooth turf has no beauty to a Japanese
eye; but beside the pond there will be a pine
tree reaching its long branches so far over the
water that but for a support or two they would
certainly break oft', and on the other side, if
there be not naturally a slope, the ground will
be made to rise irregularly, the better to allow
the various trees to reveal their graceful shapes.
Sometimes there will be a representation of
Fuji, or of some well-known group of moun-
tains and valleys. In any case, the whole
will present to a Japanese some symbolic or
allusive meaning, which you or I cannot appre-
ciate ; though even foreigners are conscious of
a sense of restfulness as they sit enjoving the
beauties of the garden. There are no long
lines of scarlet geraniums, red daisies, blue
lobelia, and so on — no flower-beds with the
fresh soil exposed to view ; green is the pre-
vailing colour, save for some majestic camellia
70 Half Hours in Japan.
or ma^^nolia standin^^ <i^ravely by, or a splash of
azalea, all the more brilliant by contrast with
the sombre hue by which it is surrounded.
You do not turn a corner to be almost vStartled
by the blaze of colour, as in an English garden ;
it is the shape and arrangement of the trees
that impresses you, and the message of the
whole scene seems to be " peace." Every-
thing suggests old times, calls one to forget the
hurry and bustle of the last years of the nine-
teenth century, and to turn back in thought to
the days when those trees were planted, fifty
or a hundred years ago ; when railways were
not invented, and jinrickshas unknown ; when
life jogged on easily and smoothly, full of
poetry and art. Those days are gone for
ever from Japan, but it is good for the
nation to be reminded of them by her old
gardens.
The Japanese move trees as readily as they
move kuras. As much earth as possible is
r left clintjinii: to the roots, which are
Large . .
trees wrapped in matting and securely
bound round with straw rope. The
whole is then placed upon a hand-cart and
wheeled to the required spot. I have seen a
large tree lifted in this way, with the help of
ONE OF THE IMPERIAL CASTLES.
. Gardens and Castles. 73
an elaborate scaffolding, and a small armv of
men, clean over a wall twentv feet high.
Vou will remember how the Daimios sur-
rendered their castles at the Restoration
(p. 12). Thev are now, if not in
Castles. ^ 1 -
use as barracks, thrown open to
the public. The characteristics of a Japanese
castle are the moat, the massive wall over-
hanging it, the extensive plateau, and the
castle itself.
The largest castle is that of the old Shoguns
at Tokyo, now the residence of the Emperor.
It is surrounded bv five moats, the
Tokyo. . . . '. ,
outermost of w^hich is dug out on one
side, in spite of its enormous width, to the
depth of over a hundred feet. Next in size
is the castle of Osaka, the last stronghold
of the party opposed to reform in
the Civil War (p. 11). The stones
of all the castle walls are very large, fitted
together like mosaic work, without cement ;
those at Osaka are the largest of all. For the
Daimio who built it ofiered a large reward
to him who should brin"- the bis^eest stone.
There were many competitors, who, with
immense labour, transported huge masses of
rock to the spot. They were duly measured,
74
Half Hours in Japan.
and the
prize
awarded,
And
now
m\'
friends, the rest of ^'()u mav take vour stones
back
air am
I."
Needless to sav, the rest left
their stones where thev were, and thev were
NAGOYA CASTLE.
built into the castle wall. At Himeji Castle a
laro^e round stone is pointed out, called
the "old woman s stone, because,
when the castle was built, she w^as anxious
to do her part, but being only a feeble old
Gardens and Castles. 75
woman could only offer her mill-stone instead
of her services.
Passing through the gate and- up a stone
staircase of enormous strength, you reach the
plateau. This is useful as a place for drilling
soldiers, or for drinking tea ; several castle
grounds I know make the most delightful spots
for picnics, high enough to give a good view,
and with an old-world romance hanging about
them. In those to which visitors are admitted
there is sure to be a tea-house, where you can
get hot water, and when you are rested from
your walk you go on to inspect the castle.
This IS usually oblong, of five stories, each
one smaller than the one below, with walls
of huge thickness and narrow windows. At
each end of the ridge of the roof projects
some kind of head, usually a dolphin or
dragon, carved in stone. At Nagoya
}^agoya thesc figures are covered with a
opiins. g^pQj^g jj,Qj^ netting, for thev are made
of solid gold ! Once upon a time a robber
climbed on to the roof, detached one, and was
making away with it when he was arrested.
But yet another adventure awaited the
dolphins. They were sent to the Vienna
Exhibition, and on their way back the ship
76
Half Hours in Japan.
was wrecked. They stayed for some time at
the bottom of the sea (quite the right place
for dolphins if they had not been made of
gold), but were at last fished up again, and
restored to their places, from which no amount
of persuasion shall ever again remove them.
CHAPTER X.
FOOD.
" Bread is the staff of life." Yes, to us
Englishmen : not so to the Japanese. To them
rice is " the staff of life " : it is served as the
main part of the morning, the mid-day, and the
evening meal. The kitchen in a Japanese
house does not contain anything like
uteusUs. ^^"^^ complicated arrangement of cook-
ing stove, oven and hot-water boiler
which we consider necessary. There is an iron
apparatus, something like the copper used for
boiling clothes in this country, in which wood
is used for fuel, for cooking the rice ; and a
large hibachi, sometimes long enough for the
performance of several operations at once, for
doing all the rest, boiling, broiling, and frying.
Where there are no milk puddings, no bread,
and no pastry, baking is naturally unknown ;
the frying-pan is used very little, chiefly for
the makins: of a dish closelv resemblino: our
omelette. When a great heat is required a
78 Half Hours in Japan.
" shichi-rin '' is used. This is a brazier of
earthenware, constructed so as to admit a
strong current of air to the charcoal. Its name
means " seven rin " (ten " rin " make a cent),
for that was once its value ; it now costs about
twenty times as much. In an ordinary house-
hold rice is only boiled earlv in the
Rice. . , . ' .
mornmg and at supper tmie, enough
being prepared at breakfast time to last over
lunch. And it is exquisitely cooked. An
English cook thinks it necessary to boil the rice
till it is soft, when she empties her saucepan
into a colander, and strains off all the w^ater.
A Japanese knows exactly how much water to
put in, so that by the time the rice is done
enough water has boiled away to make it readv
to serve. You, perhaps, will have heard how
during the Indian mutiny the native soldiers
generously insisted on the Europeans eating
the rice, " only let master give us the water he
strains off it." But the water so strained off
takes with it half the nutriment of the rice.
People living in rice countries know this ; the
European cook is ignorant of it, and so is very
wasteful without knowing it.
The second staple article of food is fish. The
Japanese rivers and seas abound in fish, and
vou
Food.
can hardlv be so far from the coast
that vou cannot o:et it either fresh or
Fish. , ' *^ .
dried. I have seen it stated in books
that flesh is cut from the poor fish while they
are ahve : I have never seen this, and doubt if
it is true ; though I have been shown the tank-
in which hve fish were swimming about, and
chosen one for my supper.
You will like to know which are the most
common kinds offish.
From the northern island comes the salmon :
a fine big fellow, dried hard, very salt, with
flesh of a deep red. He is soaked
Salmon. . , , r ^ ^
m cold water to get some of the salt
out of him, cut in thin slices, and broiled on a
wire netting over the charcoal. Very good
he sometimes is to those who can stand salt
things.
The carp is more common than the salmon.
He is broiled whole, and laid on a dish with
some brown sauce on him ; his flesh
Carp. . 1 • 1 1 T^
IS very white and toothsome. Dace
are treated in the same way, but thev are
rather difficult to manage, they have so manv
small bones.
To my mind the greatest delicacy in the fish
line is " sashimi " — raw fish. A steak is cut
J. G
82 Half Hours in Japan.
sometimes from carp, but more often from a
huge shark-like creature from four to
six feet long, and sliced into thin strips
\vithout the shape of the whole being disturbed.
On the same dish with this is served a little
heap of finely shredded onion, a piece of
ginger, and a tiny mass of some very hot root
pounded up — hotter than the best mustard
ever produced — and a small yellow chrysan-
themum flower. These you put into a tall
handleless cup, half full of "soy" — a sort of
Worcester sauce, made from burnt beans —
beat it all up, and then, dipping a slice of
" Sashimi " into it, convey it to your mouth. It
is strongly recommended by doctors as being a
most nutritious and easily digested food for
invalids and others.
Then there is a fish something like cod,
which is boiled in square lumps, and served
in the water in w^hich it was boiled,
S,?^^!' with the addition of some delicate
varieties.
herbs; " katsuobushi," looking like
a piece of stick cut from a hedge, so hard
is it dried, from which you scrape some
shavings as an accompaniment to your rice if
you have nothing else (memorandum — it goes
most excellently with a curry) ; minnows, which
Food. 83
are massed together before they are dried, and
eaten whole, hke whitebait ; and a most curious
flat white fish, with hairy antennae and a long
tail, very thin, and, to all appearance, very
leathery, much in vogue among men addicted
to drink, as an accompaniment to " sake," to
give them a thirst. This I have never tried.
Many hotels, and private gentlemen also, keep
eels in tanks for use when wanted. Thev are
rather strong, and greasy to eat, but I suppose
eels are so in other countries too. These are the
most important kinds offish : but to a Japanese
cook '' all's fish that comes to my net." I was
once at a village on the Pacific coast, where
they gave me a huge plateful of the most extra-
ordinary kinds of fish I have ever seen —hard,
soft, red, white, bitter, sour, and even sweet !
They were all served raw with some sort of
vinegar.
Before I go further I really must tell you
how a Japanese eats his meal. He sits on
the floor as usual, and the servant
A meal. , , P . .
places before hmi a low table, perhaps
two feet square, of lacquered wood, with a rim
round the edge to prevent things falling oft\ It
contains a small bowl of soup, one offish, and
one of some kind of beans or vegetables ; also
G 2
84 Half Hours in Japan.
an empty bowl, with a cover, and a tiny flat
saucer containing a few small cubes of " dai-
kon " — of which more presently — and a pair of
what we call chopsticks. If you thin down a
couple of lead pencils, you will have a good
idea of these. Next, the " nesan " (servant)
brings in a tub of rice, and sits dow^n before
him : he takes the cover off the empty bowl —
it is about five inches across at the top — and
with a bow, if he be a polite man, hands it over
to her. She receives it on a tray, digs out some
rice with a wooden spatula, something like a
small battledore, such as children use in Lan-
cashire, and fills the bowl, replacing it on the
tray to hand back to him, with another bow,
of course. He puts it on his table, and first
drinks his soup; then, with the rice bowl in his
left hand, and his chopsticks in his right, he
takes a mouthful of fish, then a mouthful of
rice, and whatever he fancies from the viands
before him, and so goes on with his meal, the
servant being ready to fill up his rice bowl
whenever it is empty. You may have as many
helpings of rice as you like : but I have seldom
seen any one ask for another portion of anything
else. Such a thing as a joint is unknown in
Japan : everything is served " a la Russe."
Food. 87
When the gentleman has had enough he
pours some tea into his rice bowl, and drinks
it : \'ou may leave as much as is necessary in
the other bowls or dishes, but it is considered
very bad manners to leave any rice. At the end
of the meal, too, a piece of the daikon is eaten.
Daikon is a kind of turnip, growing to a
length of eighteen inches, and a thickness of
about two inches. It is simplv washed
" Daikon.'^ . ., , , • 1 . 1 •
and cut up tor table without bemg
cooked. The people say it is equivalent to our
cheese, which, in itself indigestible, helps all the
rest to disfest — but dear me ! I would rather
suffer the worst dvspepsia in the world than be
condemned to eat a piece of daikon after e\'ery
meal. Of course you mav leave it
Chopsticks. , -IT ^1" ^ 1
it you wish. I may say that chop-
sticks are not at all difficult to manage, after a
little practice. You hold one tight (try with
two pencils) against the middle of your thumb
on one side, the root of the first finger, and
the tip of the third finger on the other ; the
second works easily between the tips of the
thumb and of the two first fingers. Well do I
remember how, very shortly after I reached
Japan, I went for a row on the river with some
students. We stopped at a tea house famed
88 Half Hours in Japan.
for sweet millet cakes, and I found myself with
a dish of them in front of me, and a pair of
chopsticks in my hand. With much difficulty
I managed to get hold of a cake, like a dump-
ling in shape, and was gleefully raising it to
my mouth, when lo ! ("There's many a slip
'twixt the cup and the lip " ! ) the stupid chop-
sticks let go, and down fell the dumpling plop
into my cup of tea, w^hich happened to be
underneath, and my reputation with the
students was gone for ever.
I spoke of vegetables. Shalottes and scarlet
runner beans, without their shells, are the
most common : they are boiled (some-
Ves't'tablt's. . . . . , ^ , ,
tmies with sugar), and eaten cold.
So are greens ; not cabbages, but turnip tops.
And there is one kind of vegetable which will
surprise you : lily bulbs boiled in sugar.
English people grow cherry trees to eat the
fruit, lilies to admire the flower: the Japanese
grow cherry trees for the sake of the blossoms,
lilies in order to eat the bulbs. They are very
nice, something like marvons glaccs. Another
strange dish is boiled bamboo root, which
separates into flakes, like the outer part of an
artichoke. This is white in colour, rather
insipid in flavour, and somewhat indigestible.
Food. 8g
I must not omit " nori " (seaweed), which is
kept in store dry, and prepared by the addition
of some hot water. I have ah'eady alluded to
eggs, which are usually poached and put in
the soup, or made into sweet omelettes, or
eaten raw, beaten up with soy or sugar.
I think I have said enough about ordinary
meals. At a great dinner much the same
dishes are served, and in the same way. The
guests sit round the room, the host just under
the " tokonoma," and before each one is placed
his table, w^ith soup, fish, and dainty upon it,
while the servants bring in rice. Healths are
drunk in sake, the national drink of the country,
brewed from rice, and scarcely at all intoxi-
cating : you wash out your tiny cup in a large
bowl of warm water (with cherry blossom,
if possible, floating in it), held by the nesan,
and have it filled with sake ; this you hand to
the gentleman to whom you wish to pay the
compliment, he drinks from your bowl, and
then does the same for you. At a big dinner
there is usually an exhibition of dancing by
some professional girl performers, and when
you go home you are provided with a small
wooden box, in which you may carry away all
that you have not eaten.
go Half Hours in Japan .
The same kind ot" box is used for another
extra-ordinary meal ; when you are travelhng.
r, . J , There is no rushino^ out of the train
Refreshments ^ ^
on the for a cup of coffee, too hot to drink
laic.ay. .^, ^^^ ^^,^ nervous about the train
o-oine^ on without vou, and a stod^^v bun or hard-
boiled ^gg' Boys and men come down the
platform with butlers' trays hanging by straps
from their shoulders : these contain teapots
filled with freshly made tea, and the wooden
boxes I spoke of. The tea, pot and all, only
costs three farthings, and you can keep the pot.
The boxes are divided inside into two compart-
ments ; in one of them is cold boiled rice, in
the other pieces of fish, ginger, or beans. Or
if you like you may have a box of "sushi." A
thin strip offish is pressed into some rice, and
the whole rolled up into a cylinder two inches
long, with a thin film of piquant seaweed to
cover it. " Sushi " is very much nicer than
sandwiches.
Meat is eaten to a very limited extent. It
is forbidden by Buddhism, which, however,
allows fish. You still see occasionally
Meat. . , . 11- ^1
m big towns the advertisement posted
over a beef shop, " Mountain whale sold here."
Call it beef and it is forbidden, call it whale and
KHFKESH.MEXT:
Food, 93
it is all right. About as frequently you will see
" horse flesh " notified.
Both these are cut into small pieces and fried
with onions, sugar, and soy, and eaten straight
from the frying-pan. In the mountains vou
will meet with bear flesh, the taste of which is
something like corned beef.
To turn to drinkables. Besides " sake,'' beer
is gradually coming into use. It is very light,
like German beer, too expensive at
Drinks. r i i r i i-
present tor the pocket oi the ordmary
Japanese, and he does not know how to drink
it. Instead of a good long pull, such as beer-
drinkers in this country enjoy, they take it in
the same tiny bowls from which they drink
sake. I have, on the railway, seen passengers
during a long journey pull out their bottle
every hour or so, take a snack, and put it away
again. There's no accounting for tastes.
CHAPTER XI.
FRUITS AND CONFECTIONS.
They call Scotland "the land o' cakes."
And yet, when I went there once, ihey gave me
eggs for breakfast, and quite laughed when I
asked for cakes ! Now Japan is really a land
of cakes. You can get them whenever you like :
not large four-pounders, or bun-loaf, which
requires to be cut with a knife, but daint}' little
morsels, large enough for two or three bites
and no more. A confectioner's shop is a
pretty place, so varied are the colours and
shapes of the things for sale.
Cakes are divided into two classes : the soft
and the hard. The soft kind are made of
beans, pounded into a pulp and well
cakes. sweetened ; this is enclosed in a
covering of rice -dough, white in its
natural state, but usually tinted with some deli-
cate colour. Some are round, some diamond-
shaped, some in the form of leaves, and some
in the shape of flowers. There is one curious
Fruits and Confections. gy
variety of cake, with a mass of brown bean
pulp simply folded inside a film of rice-dough
and wrapped in a leaf. It is said that once
upon a time a faire ladye was bewitched, and
compelled to live at the bottom of a pond,
guarded by a dragon. When her friends
threw ordinary cakes into the water, the
dragon ate them, so they wrapped them in
leaves, and then the dragon failed to see them.
This is probably a story invented after the
custom of wrapping cakes in leaves came in :
for dragon or no dragon, it is certain that the
leaf gives a most delightful flavour to the cake.
Then there are " dango." You will read
about Momotaro later on, and see how useful
his " dango " were to him. They are
[.^[/l made round, of millet-dough, with or
without bean pulp in the centre.
When there is a full moon, the Japanese take
evening walks to enjoy the sight of it : and everv
here and there you pass a man crying, " Tsukimi
dango ! " " Millet cakes for looking at the
moon ! " They are eaten warm at such times,
and no doubt keep off chills from the night air.
Beans are used, too, for making jelly — either
nice little round lumps of clear transparent
jelly, or a thick dark red stuff, called "yokan,"
J. H
g8 Half Hours in Japan.
more like very stiff blancmange or cornflour.
Ydkan This is cut mto strips and eaten with
^^^^y- chopsticks, or taken in the fingers :
and honestly, it is one of the nicest sweetmeats
I have ever tasted. You can buy it beside
most of the waterfalls, and other show places,
and if you are tired and hungry after a long
walk, it is most refreshing and strengthening.
" Ame," or " mizu-ame," is a sweetmeat
rather than a cake, but I may be allowed to
mention it. It is a thick liquid like
treacle, or still more like the malt
extract which you may have had to take in a
spoon out of a bottle, when you were "run
down." It is made from wheat and is delicately
sweet, with no suggestion of medicine about
it, though doctors say it is as good for you as
malt extract and cod-liver oil. I have eaten
pounds of it with bread and butter. And
besides the liquid form, it is made in solid
oblong pieces, very much like the Turkish
delight you can buy in England. I wonder if
a good friend of mine remembers how he asked
the nesan one day to bring him '' Umi," and
how she stared in horror, wondering what he
could want the sea for, and how she could get
it into the tiny room in the inn !
Fruits and Confections. gy
The hard kinds of cakes are made of sugar
and rice flour. I do not much care for them :
they are too dry and powdery, hke the biscuit
that the Red Queen gave to Ahce in " Through
the Looking Glass."
''O soba " is a sort of macaroni made from
buckwheat. It is boiled till it is soft, served
in a large bowl, and eaten with soy. A moun-
tain of " soba " speedily becomes a molehill
under the vigorous attacks of a traveller's
chopsticks. Of " mochi " you wdll read in the
chapter on the New Year.
Japan is not very fortunate in her fruit. As
you know, cherry and plum trees are grown
chieflv for their blossom : the fruit is
Fruit. ' . .
made into a pickle — the very remem-
brance of which makes my mouth fill with
water — which is served as a digestive in good
inns with your early morning tea. Peaches
there are, but they are very hard, and have
nothing like the flavour of ours.
Grapes grow to a certain extent in one broad
valley among the mountains, but are very small
at the best ; and the only good apples produced
in the country come from the Northern island,
the cool air of which seems to suit them. Straw-
berries have been introduced into the island, but
H 2
100 H^if Hours in Japan.
are hardly safe to eat, as the Japanese throw
a great deal of liquid manure on the beds, and
the fruit is often tainted by it. You occasionally
come across figs, not of the best quality.
There is one fruit which you do get in per-
fection — the persimmon. It is ready for eating
in September, about the size of a
Persimmon. ^
peach, and of a dull golden colour.
The first to be gathered are hard : you pare off
the rind, and cut it in four, taking out the long
pointed stones. As the summer advances it
grows softer and softer, till you can pull out
the stem, and eat the fruit with a spoon with-
out breaking the skin — most luscious and juicy.
A little later, as you walk along the country
lanes, you see rows of them hanging from bam-
boo poles, drying in the sun ; and later again,
you can buy them packed in boxes, like the figs
we get at the grocer's. But the best of their
flavour is gone by then ; it is when ripe, or half
dried, that they are at their prime. At a hotel
in Kyoto, a lady sitting at the table next to
mine remarked to her husband one morning,
" You will find life worth living if vou eat three
persimmons a day." Poor dear Jack, or what-
ever was his name! The life of a "globe-
trotter " must be a gloomy affair.
Fruits and Confections. loi
" As the oranges grow yellow the doctors'
faces grow green," is a Japanese proverb. In
November vou see grreen orane^es for
Oranges. i ' i i i
sale, and you shudder : but really they
are not so sour as they look. The Japanese
orange is a very thoughtful fruit ; it has no pips
to be swallowed by accident. There are tiny
ones, such as we call " Tangerine " oranges,
and pay three-halfpence apiece for: in Japan
they are seven or eight for a farthing. Then
there are medium-sized ones, very sweet and
easily peeled : there are some with hard skins,
and very little juice : and there are big fellows
as large as melons, with very thick skms, and
a great deal of white lining. These last two
kinds make good marmalade.
In the hottest part of the summer the water
melon comes to cool you, or perhaps to make
you very ill, if you eat too much of it.
mdoni ^^ grows Up to the sizc of a " Match "
Rugby football, and is eaten with pow-
dered sugar, for it has little taste of its own.
And pears? Don't talk to me of Japanese
pears. They are much more apple-shaped
^, , than pear-shaped, as hard as turnips.
Hard pears. .
and with less taste. The Japanese
cut them up and soak them in water, but
I02 Half Hours in Japan.
even then you can hardly munch them comfort-
ably. Foreigners stew them to eat with milk
pudding, and even then they have no flavour,
though they shed an enormous amount of juice
in their indignation at being so treated.
There is one Japanese fruit which I am sure
you have never seen : the " biwa " or loquat.
A branch of " biwa " looks very much
''/w^'.l " li^'e one picked from an oak tree when
covered with yellow galls. What there
is of it is not bad ; but it has a tough skin,
and very large stones, so that there is very
little left to eat. The stones are slimy, and slip
down verv easily ; I have heard of several
people who have died through swallowing one.
The children of wise parents are not allowed
to eat biwas. A friend told me that he had seen
them on sale in London, at half-a-crown apiece !
CHAPTER XII.
FIRES AND EARTHQUAKES.
You will remember that nearly all houses in
Japan are built of wood, because of the earth-
quakes. So you can easily understand that if
a fire breaks out it is very difficult to extinguish
it. I was once coming home from church on a
Sunday morning in Tokyo, when I saw the
whole horizon clouded with smoke. It was
from a fire which in ten hours burnt down two
thousand six hundred houses ! Fires used to
be called " the blossoms of Tokyo " ; over
and over again almost the whole city was
destroyed, till after one huge conflagration in
1870, a certain Count persuaded the authorities
to insist upon a single street being formed, where
two had formerly run parallel with one another,
down the centre of the city, so wide that the
flames could not easily leap over it. This is
called " Ginza" (" seat of money "), and is a fine
handsome street with an avenue of trees along
each side, and tram lines laid down its centre.
104 Half Hours in Japan.
The style of fire-engine, too, has been much
improved. In old days it was a box with a
pump, worked by a couple of cranks,
cntinr' ^^ small that only two men could work
at the same time, when it sent out
a jet of water about as big as that from an
average garden syringe. Now they have
excellent Merryweather steamers, which don't
give the poor fire a chance, when the wretched
horses have once brought them to the spot.
You can easily imagine how fires begin.
The lamp of the household is usually set on
the edge of the " hibachi " : one of
^Zf fins' ^l^e children upsets it; it falls on the
" tatami,"and there is at once a blaze.
Often, too, some rascal starts a fire in an
empty house, in hopes of picking up something
when the people of the neighbourhood bring
their furniture out of their houses to remove it
to a place of safety. I have heard it said that
carpenters out of work, or timber merchants
who want to sell their stock, occasionally com-
mit the same crime. And then you must
remember the earthquakes. Out of a thouj^and
lamps placed on the edges of a thousand
" hibachis " an earthquake shock will probably
overturn two or three ; so there will be two or
Fires and Earthquakes. 105
three fires starting up together, and if a strong
wind is blowing, the fire-bells are soon jangling
all over the citv. These fire-bells you
Fire-bells. , i , p * i • i i i i
see raised aloft on high ladders close to
every police station, often with a man con-
tinually on duty standing at the top. As soon as
he sees a fire he clangs the bell : if it is far
away with an interval between each sound — ding
— ding — ding. If it is near enough to be a
source of danger, it is ding, ding — ding, ding :
nearer still, ding, ding, ding — ding, ding, ding:
if close at hand, ding, ding, ding, ding, as fast
and as loud as he can go. And then there is
such an uproar ! Out rushes a crowd of people,
each carrying a paper lantern with his name
on it if it is night, and all make for the place ;
some merely to look on, some to help any friend
whose house may be in danger. The friend's
house is easy to find, for everyone who lives
near will at once have huno^ out a bisr lantern
with his name also painted upon it. And then
all set to work to bring out their household
goods and chattels : tatami, bedding, eating
utensils, hibachi, shoji — everything comes out,
and is put in a place of safety, perhaps to be
removed a second time, if the fire spreads.
Meanwhile the firemen are upon the roofs of
io6 Half Hours in Japan.
the adjoining buildings, beating out the flying
sparks as thev fall on the thin wooden
Firemen. . , '
shingleswhich cover most of the houses
in Japan, and plying the hose or the hand
pump. They wear a special uniform and head-
dress, and each corps of five or six men has its
own standard, a curious three-sided object
painted black and white, formed of interlacing
circles of cork, cut and gashed in the most
eccentric manner, and with a fringe of long
streamers ; this they plant on a house-top, and
then comes the struggle. The comic editor
will have it that this concern is a representa-
tion of the fire-god, and that it means a hint
to the fire not to come any further ; on the
same principle as a bamboo rod, which they
lay across the ridge of the roof, hanging
baskets from each end, as a sure means of
preserving that house. But the true meaning
seems to be that all the members of any corps,
seeing their standard at some point, know
where to concentrate their efiorts, and so, not
through superstition, but through sheer hard
work, they do say to the fire, in many cases,
" Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther."
Presently, the wells are found to be running
dry ; and then indeed the prospect seems sad.
Fires and Earthquakes. 107
It may be necessary to overthrow a house, for
which purpose huge poles are kept ; or the
fire may burn until it reaches a street too wide
for it to cross. Fire plays most remarkable
freaks, leaving one house standing when all
around are burnt, or suddenly e:oino^ out
apparently of its own accord, really of course
through a change in the direction of the wind.
Sad indeed is the sight next morning.
The carpenters will be early at work, erecting
a hoarding to mark the edge of the site of
the burnt property ; within this there will be
half-a-dozen people huddled together over a
fire raked together from the charred embers.
I was once assured that the owner of a burnt
house thought it beneath him to take a lodging
elsewhere, as it would then appear that the fire
and the weather had together mastered him:
but I doubt the truth of this. Very soon the
builders will be on the spot, and in a month's
time you can only tell by the new appearance
of the houses that the fire ever took place.
Perhaps you have never felt an earthquake,
and do not know what to do if one should
Earth- o^cur. There is, first of all, a long
quakes, hcaving motion, and then, if it is a
bad earthquake, a sort of jerk as if poor old
io8 Half Hours in Japan.
Mother Earth was having a tooth pulled
out. The natural inclination is to run out of
the house. But then the tiles from the roof
will fall on your head : a great many people
have heen killed in that way. The best thing
to do is to stand in the doorway ; then, if the
roof falls in, the lintel protects you, and the
tiles fall clear of you. Early one frosty winter's
morning there was an earthquake. I heard
a man who was sleeping in the same house
with me jump out of bed, and run down to
the door : it was locked, and bolted, and
chained. He fussed about furiously with the
fastenings of the door, and by the time he
got it open, the earthquake was over, and he
returned to his bed a colder and a wiser man.
A Japanese told me that when an earthquake
occurred, he always put his children to sit on
the floor beside the chest of drawers ; the
beams would fall on this, leaving a clear space
underneath.
Residents in Japan never grow accustomed
to earthquakes. If they feel one while out in
the evening, they almost fear to return home,
lest they should have left the lamp in a dan-
gerous place. In i8gi there was a great
earthquake in the centre of the country, by
Fives and Earthquakes. log
which the city of Gifu was ahiiost entirely
destroyed. The houses were thrown
IJrthlmlc. "to ^^^ ground, crushing hundreds of
unfortunate people beneath them, and
then, when there was no one free to extinguish
them, the flames broke out, and where a
flourishing town had stood, nought was left
save smoking ruins. That was indeed a
terrible catastrophe. A number of people
were gathered in a Christian chapel for prayer,
and most of them were killed. In some cases
the heavy thatched roof fell bodily, imprison-
ing but not harming the people in the house.
A cotton mill fell with all its machinery and
its poor operatives ; the manager had been
standing just under the wall, but had turned
back to light his pipe, when the crash came.
A lady in Osaka screamed to her children to
run into the garden. The first child tripped
and fell, the next fell over him, then the next,
and last the nursemaid carrying the babv.
While they were on the ground, the garden
wall just in front of them, underneath w^hich
they w^ould have been passing but for that
stumble, was throwm over. Railwav brido:es
were ruined, and rails twisted into all sorts of
shapes ; the earth cracked and the wells were
no Half Hours in Japan.
damaged, to add to the woes of the poor
survivors.
In Gifu, the shocks continued at intervals
for nearly two months ; they could not tell
at what moment the next might occur, and
people would lie awake listening for the
roaring sound, like a railway train in the
distance, which preceded the shocks.
It was a terrible time !
Earthquakes are caused by a sudden settling
down of the earth's crust. Pressure from the
sides of a particular district gradually raises
it, until something gives way, and down it
goes again. The result is much the same as
that when you throw a stone into a pond :
you see little waves starting in circles from
the centre, where the stone touched the water,
becoming smaller in height as they spread.
In the earthquake I have been speaking of
you could distinctly see the waves of earth
travelling along a road or railway, as if you
put some toy bricks in a row on a rug, and
passed your hand along underneath.
There was a sea-quake, for a change, in
^ 1897. ^^ ^1^^ middle of the Pacific
sea-quake. Qccan there is a great cliff at the
bottom of the sea, so that the water suddenly
Fires and Earthquakes.
Ill
becomes a thousand feet or more deeper. It
is supposed that the top of this broke off,
and fell, for a huge wave suddenly rushed
up on the shores of the Northern Island, sub-
merging whole villages, and carrying boats
high and dry inland. About ten thousand
people were drowned in this terrible occurrence.
Remember, now ! If there is an earthquake
tomorrow morning, do not run out of the
house, but stand quietly in the doorway until
it is over.
CHAPTER XIII.
TRAVELLING IN JAPAN.
In Old Japan the only means of conveyance
was the "kago," or basket chair hanging from
a pole, carried by two or four men.
*' ' These varied in style from the simple
affair used by country people, to the magnifi-
cent creation, lacquered and draped with silk,
brocade, of the great Daimio. It was a
grand sight to see a Daimio on his way to
Tokyo to take up his yearly residence
^ Yahif^ ^^ close proximity to the Shogun ;
the messengers going before to com-
mand everything to be in readiness for the
coming of the great man, the Samurai with
their two swords, the mounted retainers, the
long train of splendid " kagos " for the Daimio
himself and his suite, the soldiers with their
spears and battle-axes.
Such a procession forms the subject of
many old pictures.
"Kagos" are still found in Japan, among
A JINRICKSHA.
J.
Travelling in Japan. ii5
the hills, especially when the road crosses
a pass, or climbs up a steep mountain side
to some hot spring or cool village, whither
gentlefolk resort to escape the summer
heat.
Foreigners have found them so uncomfort-
able, that at most of the places where they
cons:reg:ate a special kind of "kao^o"
of IS lounu, long enough to give room
New Japan. ^^ ^^^-^ j^^^^ {"^^^^ P^^, ^l^^ Japanese,
as you read elsewhere, are accustomed to sit
on their heels ; and if visitors find this a diffi-
cult cramped position to maintain for long
in a comfortable room, much more is it so
when they are being jolted to and fro in
"kagos."
It is the jinricksha that has superseded the
kago. It was the invention of an American,
who seeing^ one dav a number of men
JuiricksJia. ... * . ,
standmg idle m the street, conceived
the idea of utilising this potential labour. He
hung a chair on a pair of wheels, and told a
man he would pay him if he pulled it. The
idea spread like wild-fire, and now there are
more than forty thousand jinricksha pullers
in Tokyo alone, while the primitive chair
hung on wheels has been elaborated into the
I 2
ii6 Half Hours in Japan.
lacquered and sometimes ornamented car, its
motion rendered easy by complicated springs,
and its jolting deadened by luxurious india-
rubber bicycle-wheel tyres. It is onl}' in the
treaty ports that one sees such machines as
these. Travelling in a jinricksha in general was
described by a Scotch doctor as being " Vera
good for the liver, but uncomm.on hard on the
trewsers." You are quite ready for your hot
bath after a long day's ride.
People sometimes speak of " rickshaws,"
but that is quite wrong. The word is com-
pounded of " jin," which means man ; " riki,"
which means power; and " sha," a wheel or
carriage : it thus denotes " man-power car-
riage." I need not say that it is very hard
work — I have seen a man fall down dead
in the street from heart disease. Yet the
Japanese themselves have no pity on the poor
jinricksha pullers, and never dream of getting
down at a hill, or where the road has just
been mended with heavy gravel. However,
there are nearly always men waiting at the
foot of a steep hill where there is much traffic,
to push the jinrickshas from behind for a trifle ;
and a list of legal fares posted in English, for
the benefit of foreigners, at a certain place in
Travcllni^ in Japan. 117
Kobe, makes special provision for rough roads
in the following quaint terms :
One person, each ri .... 10 sen.
Ragged road .... .... 12 sen.
Very ragged road .... 15 sen.
A sen is about a farthing, a ri about two-and-
a-half miles, so that jinricksha riding is not
expensive. And fancy a poor student in Tokyo
so anxious to study, that he pulled a jinricksha
all the evening and far into the night, so as to
earn the small fees necessary to enable him to
go to school !
Of course, squabbles do arise between the
men and their fares, just as between cabbies
and precise old ladies in London. But they
are generally most good-hearted and simple
men, verv grateful if their fare will walk up
a hill or add a halfpenny to the wage, very
honest in running after him to hand over
anything he may have forgetfully left in the
jinricksha. If another seems to be gainin.s: on
&•
your own puller from behind, he will exert
himself to the utmost, and run till he streams
with perspiration, rather than let himself be
beaten. It is a great object of ambition to be
considered the fastest runner in Tokvo. Not
ii8 Half Hours in Japan.
long ago there was a great race between two
rivals for the honourable title, through miles of
streets, up hills, and over a large turfy plain.
I suppose the best man won, but alas, he
spent the wager in salt fish and sake, in which
he indulged not wisely but too well after his
tremendous exertions, and was dead before
morning.
And now^ we must leave the quaint romantic
man-horse-carriage, and tell how it, in its
turn, is being driven out of the field
by the railway. i he nrst hne was
twenty miles long, between Tokyo and Yoko-
hama. When it was first built foreign
engineers and navvies had to be imported,
and the plant brought in from England. It
cost an enormous sum ; but in a year it had
paid for itself through the enormous number
of people who took tickets to see what it was
like. And now a great railway, nearly goo
miles long, passes along the coast from end to
end of the main island, and off-shoots from
it are being constructed in all directions. No
foreign engineers are needed now, for the
Japanese are as good as any to be found in
the world. They cannot make their own rails,
for there is hardly any iron in Japan, but they
Travelling in Japan. iig
are building their own engines. One railway
which ascends a steep pass in the centre of the
island, is regarded as a marvel of constructive
skill.
Mountains have to be crossed in every
country ; but there are few countries in which
the engineers have to face such for-
midable difficulties as the floods which
are so prevalent in Japan. The water pours
down from the mountains, carrying with it
sand and shingle, so that the rivers are all
very shallow. It takes little to raise the level
of the water above that of the surrounding
ricefields ; then some sluice gate or dyke will
give way and the valley becomes a sea. We
shall never forget one experience of ours :
how we had to leave the train and walk to
a point where two boats were in readiness
to take nearly a hundred passengers over a
mile of flood. Despairmg of ever getting our
turn, we tramped through pouring rain, and
mud almost up to our knees, to the railway,
which we followed until it vanished into an
ocean, above the surface of which rose the
tops of some poor drowned pear trees, with
here and there the roof of a summer house.
From this point we walked along a dyke until
I20 Half Hours in Japan.
we found another boat which took us to a spot
where we had been assured we should find
a train to take us on to Tokyo. Alas, there
were nine feet of water over the metals just
beyond, and we had finally to spend the night
in an inn, the water rising higher and higher,
and with it the goods and chattels of the
proprietor and what little there was left to
eat, all of which had to be carried upstairs ;
and next day to take boat and train back
again to Kobe, whence we made a new start
by steamer.
The novelty of the train in Japan has passed
away by this time. People do not travel now
for the fun of the thing, nor do they leave
their wooden shoes on the platform. You
know that when you enter a house in Japan
you slip oft^ your shoes and leave them at the
door. So as the trains rolled out of the stations
in old days, there was left behind on the edge
of the platform a long line of wooden shoes,
which the passengers had left there, forgetting
that when they stepped out of this little wooden
house on wheels, they would not find that the
station platform had been taken in tow.
One more little thing. A Kobe lady dropped
a diamond ring down the space in the door
Travelling in Japan. 121
left for the window to fall into. She communi-
cated with the station-master at the end of her
journey, who had the door taken off and turned
upside down, restored the ring to the lady,
and refused to take a cent for his pains.
CHAPTER XIV.
AN INN.
The Japanese are a great people for
travelling and for sight-seeing, so that you
can hardly go to a village anywhere, even
A COUNTRY IX\.
among the mountains, without finding a
decent place where you can stay the night.
Of course the inns vary exceedingly in size
and comfort, from the great hotel in " foreign
style " at one of the treaty ports or the capital,
where you can get as complete a dinner as
AN INN IN KYOTO
An Inn. 125
at a London restaurant, and almost (I dare
not say quite) as good, down to the little
sake shop in the country village, where the
best room is probably occupied by other
things during the day, but can be put at
the disposal of an occasional visitor during
the night.
There is nothing that suggests an English
public-house about a Japanese inn. The
profits are derived from what is eaten much
more than from what is drunk. There is no
gaudy advertisement of beers and spirits to
attract the wavfarer who has no thouo:ht of
imagining he is thirsty. I will not denv that
when a train has come in the passengers as
they leave the station are well nigh deafened
by the shrill cries of " Irasshaimashi " (" Prav
come in") from the landladies and waiting-
girls from the row of inns always to be found
on the side of the road opposite the station ;
but that is because they want them to pav
for their sleeping accommodation, not because
they hope they want a drink.
We will accept the invitation of this buxom
little party standing at the door, with a plump
and rosy-faced maid on either side of her, who
all three bow themselves almost to the ground
126 Half Hours in Japan.
as the traveller approaches with the evident
intention of asking for a room.
Passing through the outer door you find
yourself in a passage with tatamied floors on
either side of you. You sit down and up runs
the girl (called Ne-san — " elder sister ") to help
you to take off your boots, and provide you
with straw sandals, for the same rule applies
to inns as to private houses.
In a small inn the mats may be brown with
age, but there is not a spot of dirt or dust
upon them. Looking up as you give your
boots to Ne-san, you see on the other side ot
the passage the living room of the people of
the house, with a little low desk at which the
master sits on the floor making up his accounts,
over his head possibly a shelf or two with some
odd bottles of beer or effervescing waters, in
case any one should happen to call for such
things, and above that, the "kamidana," the
shelf on which are placed the memorials of
his ancestors, with a w^ck floating in oil at
either end, which is lighted at sundown. If
you should pass down this passage you will
come to the kitchen, and beyond that the
bathroom.
But you are tired after your journey and
An Inn. I2g
turn to go upstairs. Mind your head, both on
the stairs and everywhere, for you are probably
much taller than the native guests for whom
the house was planned. The staircase is
little more than a ladder, and creaks sugges-
tively. At the top is a passage, with a polished
wooden floor, down which you walk, your
sandals sloppetting at each step, until Ne-san
slides back a fusuma and precedes you into
the room. She goes straight to the hibachi
in the middle of the floor, brightens it up by
adding to it the charcoal she has remembered
to bring on a tiny shovel, and puts the kettle
on ; looks to see if there is any tea in the tea-
pot, which, with five handleless cups, is on a
tray by its side, and vanishes, to reappear
presently with a kimono of thin cotton stuft^ for
you to put on instead of your own garments,
which felt so uncomfortable when you got out
of the train. You make your tea, and Ne-san
soon tells you the bath is hot: will master go?
By all means go. None of your tin saucers
or hip baths put down in the middle of a rug,
as a sort of unwritten warninij that
bath y^^ must not splash, however eagerly
your shoulders may be thirsting for
their share of water ; but a great tub, oblong
J. K
130 Half Hours in Japan
or square, perhaps six feet by four, and three
feet deep, with a fire underneath it, so that
you can sit and simmer in hot water up to
your neck. The floo^' is of stone, and you can
splash as much as you please. It is well to
get to an hotel as early as possible, for all the
guests go into the same w^ater, one after
another ; so that by the time Ne-san's turn
comes at twelve o'clock, the bath is pretty
brown. Of course no soap may be used: and
the towel is a thin strip of stuff about a yard
long, used, not to dry yourself with, but to
serve as a sponge. Topsy-turvey as usual.
Then you will like to go out and " see the
toon," or enjoy a smoke on the verandah —
every upstairs room in Japan has a verandah
— until your food comes. Japanese food is
described in another chapter. Here we will
only mention an incident which usually occurs
during the course of supper at an inn. The
landlord comes up and asks you your name
and address, where you came from, where you
are going to, and how old you are, for entry
Registration ^^ ^^^ book which he must send
of every day to the local police office.
ues s. y^^^ ^^^y -^ ^^ -^^ once cost the poor
messenger a ten mile walk, but it could not be
An I JUL 131
helped. A foreigner must also allow his pass-
port to be copied into the book. One poor
man, I am sorry to say, regrets to this day
that out of the kindness of his heart he received
into his house, the inns being closed, a
foreigner, who reached his town at twelve
o'clock at night. His house was a fried pork
shop, of all places in the world, and this recep-
tion of a foreio-ner beins: the first event of the
kind in his experience, he neglected to copy
the passport ; he was summoned and heavily
fined — one shilling. It is well to be sure of
one's asfe when travelling:. The writer once
gave his years correctly as "thirty," which
was received by the landlord with some
apparent incredulity. " And the other gentle-
man ? " My companion a little hesitated,
while I suo:o:ested " Fiftv." We all three
laughed politely, till my friend modestly
intimated his true age ; upon which mine host
evidently thinking my "thirty" was the first
round number which had come into my head,
turned again and asked, " x\nd now, sir, how
old are you really ? "
When it grows dark Ne-san will light a
hanging lamp of paraffin, or in a poorer inn
stand one on the floor — most trying to the eyes,
K 2
132 Half Hours in Japan.
and most annoying- to try and read by. So
vou will be ^i^lad when it is time to retire. No,
vou don't take your candle and go upstairs, to
find a white bed and bedstead, a toilet-table
and looking-glass: you call Xe-san, and say,
" Please pull out my bed things," and she
slides back a door of thick paper, disclosing a
cupboard piled full of futons.
Futons are like very thick quilts, padded
with cotton wool ; and Ne-san wall pull out a
few of these, and lav them on the
Futons. r ^'^
noor, one on top 01 the other ; one or
two more are placed by the side, and turned
down at the head end to go over you, a pillow
appears from somewhere, and with a cheerful
" Please rest well," the little woman disappears.
Then your turn comes.
It is fatal to interrupt her in her work, and
suggest that a yard of leg will be exposed
to the night air unless special arrangements
are made out of consideration for your Western
tallness. She would be willing enough, oh,
ves ! But by the time her ingenuity in
devising ways and means w^as exhausted, you
would be ready to sleep on the back of a
chair, if you had one. No, let her do what
she thinks best — say it's first-rate — and then,
An Inn. 133
when no eye is upon you except that of the
stork painted on the shutters, rearrange your
materials according to your own ideas.
I have never yet heard of a foreigner who
could use a Japanese pillow. Ladies only
have their hair done about twice a
hiUoic ^^'eek, and if they were to lay their
heads on a pillow like those we
use, the disarrangement would be terrible
to contemplate next morning. So the true
Japanese pillow is made of wood, about two-
and-a-half inches thick, six inches high, square
at the top and bottom, but delicately curved
in at the middle. On the top is fastened
some sort of padding, which just fits into the
temple of the sleeper's head, leaving the
crown projected into space. It is advisable
to remove this ao-i^ravatinHv hard and ill-
balanced object, and substitute for it a rolled-
up futon, and to get a few mcjre out of the
cupboard to lengthen those which serve as
under-mattress and coverlet. And so you lie
down ; but not, in winter, at once to sleep,
unless you have a thick flannel dressing-gown
or woollen rug. For these futons, thick as
thev are, form the most unsympathetic bed-
clothes imaginable. They don't fit close to
^34
Half Hours /;/ Japan.
you, and they take such a woefully long time to
get warm. But you are not in darkness if
you lie awake. Few Japanese go to bed in the
dark, owing, some say, to their fear of earth-
quakes. A curious paper construction called
an " andon " is produced, a wick is placed
All Inn. 135
in the saucer full of rape seed oil which it con-
tains, and you have a gentle steady light which
will burn till morning, giving you sufficient
illumination to study the hanging roll-up pic-
tures, which adorn, at least, one of the walls.
"This is like fairyland, isn't it?" I once
asked of my companion in such circumstances.
"More like North Pole land! "was the answer.
But by morning you are warm enough.
Before the Ne-sans retire for the night a
tremendous din may always be heard. They
are pushing the wooden outside shutters into
their places along the outer edge of the
verandah. A Japanese house at night is
indeed " shut up ; " there is not a window to
be seen anywhere. For burglars are very
expert, and can climb up on to any verandah ;
so these shutters are provided, fitting closely
into grooves, top and bottom, and securely
fastened when all are in their place. It is
vain to protest, even in the middle of summer ;
neither landlord nor guests could sleep in
peace if a single aperture was left open for air.
The Japanese are an early rising people,
and at whatever hour }'ou choose to get up,
you will always find breakfast ready. The
Ne-sans wake you with the clatter of moving
136 Half Hours in Jap
an.
shutters back again, and you go to brush
your teeth — cold baths are ahnost unknown
in the country. The inn provides tooth-
brushes of willow wood frayed at the ends,
and coarse salt into which you may dip it
by way of tooth-powder, throwing it away
when you have done.
The Japanese for tooth-brush is " onna no
yo-ji " ("woman's willow thing"), for in old
days the sterner sex did not condescend to
such trivialities.
And so you are ready for your day's sight-
seeing or business ; the jinricksha man is at
the door, Ne-san smilingly brings }ou your
boots, and it only remains to pay the bill.
Ninepence was the usual charge at a good
hotel for supper, bed, and breakfast ; but
recently innkeepers have formed a union,
every member of which posts the same list
of prices on the wall, the tirst words being
" Foreigners — one shilling." We do give
them more trouble than their own people,
and anyhow it is cheap enough. You do
not "tip" the Ne-san or the cook, but you
add some small sum, called " chadai," to the
amount of your bill, to pay for the tea which
you have drunk.
CHAPTER XV.
FLOWERS.
Japan is a land of lovely flowers. There
seems almost to be a special flower for each
month in the year.
In January we have the Willow.
In February the small Narcissus buds out.
In March there is the Plum.
In April, the Cherry and Camellias.
In May, the Wisteria and Azaleas.
In June, the Peony.
In July, the Iris.
In Auo:ust, the Lilv and Rvdran^rea.
In September, the Lotus.
In October, the Maple.
In November, the Chrysanthemum.
In December, the Nanten.
The Plinn and Cherry are cultivated in
Japan for their flowers only, while in England
Plum and they are regarded as important
cherry, members of the fruit orchard. The
blossoms sometimes measure four inches
138 Half Hours in Japan.
in diameter, and there are two kinds, the
single and the double. It is, indeed, like
a visit to fairyland to tread where cherry
blossoms are specially cultivated, the delicate
scent adding to the pleasurable experience
of the sight of the pink and rose-tinted
clusters, and the ground you walk on is often
thickly carpeted with fallen petals.
Plum signifies " good luck."
Wisteria reaches its perfect state in Japan.
Clusters of both white and mauve grow to the
length of four feet and more. There
is a show-place in Tokyo — Kameido
— where the wisteria is trained over bamboo
arbours, and the clusters hang gracefully from
the trellis-work.
Many beautiful kinds of Azaleas grow wild
on the hillsides : magenta, white, lemon, and
scarlet. Of course where the bushes
Azalea. ^ . . . .
are cultivated the size and colours
of the flowers are more perfect. A Japanese
lover of flowers delights to have several
different coloured species planted en masse
by the side of a small artificial pond, and
then, when the blossoming time comes round,
he is made happy by a gorgeous display of
colour.
Flo
wers.
139
^^})S'^^.^^
The Japanese Iris has many names, and
there are many varieties ; at a place called
Hori Kiri, not far from the capital,
lyis. r '
there are not less than one hundred
different kinds to be seen in splendid profusion.
The beautiful white Lily with golden spots,
and exquisite scent, grows wild
amono^ the bamboo
Lily. ^
grass, but children do
not pick the flowers, as I expect
our English children would, and
carry the posy home to parents
or friends, for they do not care
about the flowers, and only value
the lily for its edible bulb. But
you will have read about cooked
lily-bulb in the chapter on Food.
The Lotus is the sacred
flower of Japan. It is dis-
played in most Buddhist emblems,
and is supposed to resemble Shaka
(one of the names of Buddha), who
was born into this corrupt world, and kept
himself so good and pure ; for the lotus is
a most fair and pure flower, and yet it springs
out of the mud at the bottom of stagnant
ponds.
WISTERIA.
Lotus.
140 Half Hours in Jap
an,
I said it was like being in fairyland to visit
a show place for cherry-trees, when they are
,, , in blossom ; it is the same fairyland,
Maple. ■ ■ \ r 1
but more gorgeous, to yisit a Maple
glen when the leaves are wearing their autumn
dress of brilliant gold and flaming crimson.
You will think it strange, but when a Japanese
visits a flower-show he leaves behind him, tied
on to the trees, a little bit of paper with a
specially written poem in praise of the flower
inscribed on it. And so try to picture a maple
glen, with hundreds of crimson-leaved trees,
and the strange addition of bits of white paper.
You know the national flower of Japan is
the Chrysanthemum, and it was introduced into
England about one hundred and ten
^thcmiZ' years ago. It is very highly cultivated
indeed, for the plain daisy is the real
true chrysanthemum ; so the chrysanthemum
we know is a real triumph of floriculture. The
sixteen-petalled chrysanthemum, the " Kiku,"
is the imperial badge of Japan. The flower,
in November, is largely used at fairs and shows,
for clothing figures representing heroes, and
even whole scenes of a chapter of the history
of old Japan are depicted on the stage, made of
chrysanthemum flowers alone.
Flo
wers.
141
N ant en.
Nanten is a shrub bearing verv pretty red
berries, closely resembling our holly berries,
and as it bears them about Christmas-
tide, the berries find a welcome place
in Christmas decorations.
It would be almost impossible to tell you
about all the flowers in Japan,
but I must not omit two trees,
the bamboo and fir.
You haye seen plenty of
Bamboo sticks in England. The
plant grows to a great height
and circumference. The
water supply of Tokyo
once conducted through
Bamboo.
was
bamboo pipeS; and it is often used
in the country districts for water-
shoots. The short, small bamboo
plant is graceful and feathery, and
small plantations of it are a
pretty sight ; for the faintest breath of wind
sends a wayy sheen through it, and reyeals
the silyery underside of the leayes. The large,
full-grown trees form well-nigh impenetrable
forests. Bamboo is emblematic of longeyity.
The Fir tree is perhaps Japan's glory in
tree culture. The extraordinary skill with
142 Half Hours in Japan.
which the tree is dwarfed and trained is the
admiration of all visitors to Japan.
Fiv. , .
The dark blue green of the pine, with
its often distorted shape and long wandering
branches, is fixed in the mind of most travellers
in the country. I think you have often seen
the tree represented in Japanese art.
The fir has the emblematic significance of
happiness^ and branches of it find a place in all
festive decorations.
CHAPTER XVI.
BOATS AND SHIPS.
Before your ship has well dropped anchor
in Yokohama harbour, she is surrounded by all
sorts of craft. First, the launches
harbour from the hotcls come puffing and
'^''^'''' bustling to the foot of the gangway,
each with the smart agent standing in the
bow, his hand full of cards, setting forth the
advantages of his establishment. Then come
the native craft, flat-bottomed, awkward-looking
vessels, wdth a crew of three or four men, short,
and yet very muscular, with " kimonos " barely
reaching to the knee, and closely cropped hair;
and as you look round you see the harbour
crowded with all sorts of ships, flying the flag
of almost every nation, from the native trading
junk to the 6,000-ton liner of the Canadian
Pacific Steamship Company, or the Nippon
Yusen Kaisha (Japan Alail Steamship Com-
pany), a white gunboat or two, and a feu-
men-of-war, probably English or Russian.
144 -^^(Z Hours in Japan.
The "hashike," or short-distance passenger
boat, has a flat bottom and a long, pointed
bow, with no cutwater, but sloping
up very gradually from the level of
the keel to a nose two feet or more above the
level of the bulwarks. She is propelled
by one or more oars, from the stern, which
is square, and the rowers do not sit, but
stand. For the oar is quite diflerent
Oavs. p ...
irom ours : it is bent at a curious
angle, the inship end turning down toward the
bottom of the boat. From a point just below
the bend, a button projects, which works into a
hole in the stern bulwark ; when the oar is in
use, a loop of rope fastened to the deck or
bulwark is hitched over a peg projecting from
the handle about eighteen inches from the end,
to help to keep it from slipping. The blade of
the oar (which is straight, not hollow), when
the loom is in a line with the bow post, is flat
to the water. When the rower begins to work
the oar, with his right hand grasping the peg,
his lett the end of the handle, he raises the
loom so that the blade, still flat, goes under the
water. He then throws himself back, with his
weight on the oar, and at the end of the
stroke, making a sharp turn from the wrists,
Boats and Ships. 145
he moves his left foot a pace forward, forcing
the blade through the water in a long sweep
underneath the surface, then throws back
again, and so on. Thus the blade of the oar
is kept continuously under the water ; the
power IS applied not only in pulling, but also
in pushing — there is no waste of time and
strength over the " going forward," as in our
system of rowing, and no catching the water
through bad feathering. The principle is
exactly that of a fish's tail, which our fore-
fathers left it to the peoples of the Far East to
observe and copy.
A larger boat, with oars worked from the
side bulwarks, as well as the stern, on the same
lines as the hashike, but with a masi
nshing and sail, and even a deck under which
junk. ...
you can sit, m ramy or sunny weather,
on the bottom of the boat, is used by fisher-
men for the conveyance of passengers and
goods across narrow straits and arms of the
sea. The Japanese are splendid boatmen,
hardy and resourceful. Of course thev are at
"loggerheads" with our sea-faring men as to
the best ways of doing things. The sails are
made of strips of canvas, sewn together
vertically instead of horizontally ; and when
J. " L
146 Half Hours in Japan.
a boat is to be brought to land, she is turned
suddenl}' round when a few yards from the
shore, out jump the men, and haul her up stern
foremost on to the beach, so that she lies high
and dry with her prow, not her stern, to the
water.
The trading junk has a magnificent snout
rising high above the water, a single mast
supporting one high sail, and a great
Junk. „
amount ol ornament about the stern.
Very heavy and awkward craft they are ;
but their place is rapidly being taken by
small steamers, which pi}' in great numbers
from port to port along the coast. But when
one considers that less than fifty years ago
these were the only vessels, for war or for
commerce, which the Japanese possessed, one
can hardly help asking by what steps the change
was brought about which has resulted in Japan
now owning one of the largest steamship lines,
one of the best navies, and certainly some of
the most powerful battleships (though we may
proudly remember they were built in England),
in the world ?
In the chapter on History, you read that for
two hundred and fifty years no Japanese was
allowed to leave the countrv. This meant
Boats and Ships. ^47
that the trifling amount of trade previously
carried on in Japanese vessels with China and
Corea was knocked on the head ; indeed, one
of the early regulations of the Tokugawa
Government forbade any ship to have more than
one mast, or to exceed five hundred "koku," /.6'.,
seventy- six tons burden. But when Commodore
Perry and his men-of-war arrived, the Japanese
determined to find out the secrets of Western
maritime success. The Government bought
one or two old steamers for use as transports
in a small punitive expedition against the rough
barbarians of Formosa, who had murdered the
crew of fifty-five men of a wrecked Japanese
vessel. A proposal was made to make these
old steamers the nucleus of a national
^n^^^f mercantile fleet, but it fell through,
and the vessels were sold to a Air.
Iwasaki, a merchant of great wealth and of
wonderful ability, whose family name is now as
fam.ous among his fellow-countrymen as that of
Rothschild in Europe. He traded under the
title of " The Mitsu Bishi Company." On his
death the Government consented to subsidise a
national line of steamers, called " The Kiodo
Unyu Company," in the hope of relieving
the small traders, who complained that the
L 2
148 Half Hours in Japan.
Mitsu Bishi was abusing its monopoly bv
chai\i^in(^ excessive rates. The end of it all
was, that these two companies united
mail into the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, com-
monly known as X.Y.K. (Japan Mail
Steamship Company), and speedily developed
into the prosperous concern it is at present.
Their ships number little less than one hundred,
including ten or twelve of over 6,000 tons ; they
have lines to America, to Australia, to China
ports, and the Philippines, to Vladivostock, to
Bombav, and to Europe ; and the Government
subsidv, combined with the low rates of wages
paid to their seamen, enables them to do
business at marvellously low rates. Besides
this great line, there are several smaller com-
panies whose steamers ply along the coast, and
sometimes steam as far as the China ports,
such as the Osaka Mercantile Shipping Com-
pany, numbering some eighty steamers, many
of them built in Japan.
The navy has advanced by equally wonderful
strides. An armoured vessel was purchased in
1864, and was the first of twenty-nine
The navy. ^ - ^ ^ ^ 11
which the Japanese possessed at the
outbreak of the war with China. Another was
lost, with all hands, on her \vay out from
Boats and Ships. 149
France, where she had been built, and a similar
misfortune befel another gunboat, which had
journeyed safely from Europe to the Inland
Sea of Japan, when she was run down by an
English steamer.
The original gunboat is now used as an
object-lesson at the naval school at Yokosuka,
not far from Yokohama, w^here the chief
■ ^ , arsenal has been established. There
Arsenals.
is another arsenal at Kure, on the
Inland Sea, near Hiroshima, and if you look
at the map you will see that no better place
could be imagined. No foreign ship could
possibly pass through the narrow straits
against the wdll of the Japanese, for they
can be absolutely blocked by torpedoes and
batteries in case of need. These arsenals are
furnished w4th every necessary appliance for the
construction of men-of-war, and two or three
ships have already been launched, as well as
numerous torpedo boats. Why was
I'flT"^ Japan victorious in the Chino-Japan
w^ar ? The whole issue lay in the naval
battle off the Yaloo river. Had the Japanese
been defeated, the Chinese would have cut off
supplies from the Japanese soldiers in Corea,
and harried them in time to death or surrender;
150 Half Hours in Japan.
as it was, the seas were left clear for the
Japanese to land as many troops as they
wished, to carry on the war in the enemy's
country. The number so transported was
cigJity t/iousand, a marvellous achievement.
But why did they win the battle of the Yaloo ?
First, because everything^ in their
Wliv Japan - 111
7,v?s fleet was good. i\ one can tell how
victorious, j^^^i^ ^^^ ^j^^ money intended for
expenditure on the Chinese navy stuck in the
pockets of the mandarins, but the Chinese
soon discovered that shells filled with sand, full
of cracks smeared with mud and blackleaded
outside, were not so useful in actual warfare
as the genuine article. Secondly, because
these good materials were well used. On the
Japanese ships everything was in its place,
and every man knew his dut}' ; there was
perfect order and discipline, while the captured
Chinese guns were found to be in such a
ne2:lected state that thev took a whole fortnight
to clean. Thirdly, because the Japanese are
a nation of fighting men, of sailors, of handi-
craftsmen. Read their history and you will
see how their constant civil wars made the
idea of fig' ting familiar to every Japanese
before he left his mother's arms. Look at the
Boats and Ships. 151
map and see what an enormous coast line,
surrounded by shoals, and rocks, and dano^ers
of every description. Look at their buildings,
their carving, their works of art. Do thev not
know how to use their hands ? The same
fingers that are schooled to that complicated
system of writing, that produce monkeys carved
in ivory with every cur\'e of the back true to
nature, can manipulate machinery, or sight
a gun. The engines of the small coasting
steamers work like clock-work, smoothly and
easily ; a Hotchkiss gun is as a delightful toy
to a Japanese seaman, whose very instinct
tells him how^ to use it. Fourthly, because
these born fighting men, these born seamen,
have the spirit of discipline bred in them.
Those five Confucian duties of obedience have
not failed to bear their fruit. We read of a
Chinese officer gambling with the sentry
supposed to be on duty, of the general running
away before the engagement began, and leaving
his tent packed with the various luxuries
which his love of pleasure made so necessary,
that he could not do without them even when
on active service. On the other side the officers
knew what orders to give, and they knew, too,
that their men would carry them out. Many
152
Half Hours in Japan.
incidents could be quoted to show that it is
certain that Japan can now control the result
of any war in the Far East. The defeat of
China gave her twelve ships which did not
cost her a cent, including two ironclads.
With the indemnity which her vanquished
enemy had to pay, she has bought new ships
in England, German}-, and America, two of
which, the Fuji and the Sliikishima^ are perhaps
the finest in the world ; and from her own
dockyards she is turning out ships and
engines of war, equal in quality to any afloat,
and at a much lower cost. In fifty vears' time
the navy of Japan may be as good as ours
is now.
CHAPTER XVII.
HOT SPRINGS.
In a land where there are volcanoes there
are hot springs usually to be found, and there
are at least three volcanoes in Japan.
Volcanoes. ^ i i i -r^ •• o i • ir
Indeed, the great buji San hmiseli
is an extinct volcano, as you can easily
see by the great masses of lava with which
his flanks are covered. The name Fuji is
probably a corruption of Huji, the word for
"fire" used by the original x\inu inhabitants
of the country, who have long ago been forced
to retire to the northern island from before the
Japanese. Bandai San, about 150 miles north
of Tokyo, was supposed to be extinct till i88g,
when a fearful eruption buried the surrounding
country deep under boiling mud. In the centre
of the main island is Asama Yama, and in the
south island Aso San, both active
Y^ama volcanoes. Asama is quite easy of
ascent, and when on the summit you
can look down from the edge of the crater
154 Half Hours in Japan.
upon the white-hot mass, boihn^^ and roaring
far below. A friend of mine threw in a huge
lump of lava, with the result that the great
cauldron heaved and swelled in indignation
till he thought there was going to be a special
performance for his benefit, ending in the
grateful spectator being either choked or burnt,
or both ; but fortunately Asama swallowed the
affront, though my friend said he had " never
seen anything so Satanic in his life."
Mineral springs, hot or cold, are met with
in a large number of places, and a cluster of
tea-houses and hotels is sure to
^watns spring up in the vicinity. Two of
the cold springs are well known in
England and America ; the water is bottled
after being charged with gas to give it effer-
vescing qualities, and shipped all over the
world. The proprietor of a cold spring
usually establishes apparatus for supplying
hot baths ; for, as you know, the Japanese
loveth not the cold tub.
In every Japanese street you will find a bath-
house. I have told you about the
A ...
hath- baths you may enjoy in an inn ; the
bath-house is on the same principle
— a huge tank at the far end of the room, with
Hot Springs.
155
a fire underneath it, and a pipe allowing a
continuous flow of clean water into it. A
man sits at the door to take the monev, which
is less than a halfpenny ; the men's side is on
156 Half Hours in Japan.
the right, the women's on the left, and each
wall is covered with pigeon-holes for the
reception of the bathers' clothes.
I read in a newspaper how one evening,
when a bath-house was crowded, an official -
looking person entered, shut and secured the
door, and announced that he was a bailiff, who
had come to distrain for rent due from the
proprietor. You may imagine the indignation
of the bathers when he declared that he had
the right, unless the money was paid, to seize
and sell, not only the furniture of the place, but
all the clothes in the pigeon-holes ! Another
time a thief entered, and slipped off with
some one's clothes. Out the bathers all rushed,
just as they were, and after a long and exciting
chase succeeded in securing the offender.
In these bath-houses it is ordinary water,
artificially heated, that is used. But the
Japanese much more appreciate mineral baths,
naturally hot ; especially in the summer time,
for the high elevation of the springs secures
coolness, and freedom from mosquitoes.
Sulphur and chalybeate springs are the
most common ; the former being considered
good for skin affections, which unfortunately
abound in Japan.
AIXU FAMILY,
Hot Springs. 159
On a hill near Yokohama is a famous
watering-place called Miyanoshita, just beyond
which are the baths of iVshi-no-yu.
%nngs. 'The s^^^ell o^ sulphur there is so
strong as to be quite unpleasant —
like rotten eggs. Further on is one of the
several spots in Japan called "Jigoku," or
''hells." The ground is hot and soft, and
cracked in all directions ; from these fissures
come forth noisome odours, which turn black
anything of silver you may have about you,
and if you stir the ground with your foot,
fumes of sulphur rise. It is quite unsafe to
walk there, unless you are shown precisely
where to place your foot. Another famous
spring, close to the sea-shore below Yokosuka,
is that of Atami. The hotel is built round a
geyser, which for two hours at a time throws
hot water into the air to a height of twenty
feet, and then quietly settles down again for
the space of two hours, after which it begins
its intermittent spouting again.
More inaccessible are the baths of Ikao, and
Kusatsu, of Suwa, and of Matsumoto ; indeed,
were I to try and catalogue all the mineral
springs to be found in mountain valleys, known
only perhaps to the inhabitants of the immediate
i6o Half Hours in Japan.
neighbourhood, I should never come to an end.
Perhaps those of Kusatsu are the most famous.
The German Professor of Medicine, in the
Tokyo University, expects that, before long,
invalids from Europe will be sent there, instead
of to Bath, Homburg, Baden, or any of our
health resorts. The water is exceedingly hot ;
even the people of the country, accustomed as
they are to boil themselves daily in water, at
a temperature which you and I would regard
as impossible, have to be drilled to encourage
them to get in. The gang of invalids stands
round the tank, and the conductor begins a
song. At a given point they all, together, move
one step nearer the edge, then one more, and
then with the last note of the verse, all jump
in. The conductor starts another tune, and
they listen with straining ears as the rhythm
proceeds, until the dropping of the voice gives
them the glad signal to hop out again.
It is well that Japan is so plentifully provided
with sulphur springs, for skin diseases of
various kinds are verv prevalent; the terrible
disease of leprosy is not infrequently met with,
chiefly among the lowest and dirtiest classes.
The sufferers make their sad state an excuse for
soliciting alms from the passers-bv. The laws
Hot Springs. ■ i6i
dealing with leprosy of which we read in the
Bible are strict indeed ; but if you saw a bad
case you would know why. Nothing could be
too strict which could preserve poor human
beings from such an awful condition.
After all I have said of sulphur, you will see
why Japan is able to produce such enormous
quantities of matches. Her forests are almost
mexhaustible ; and at the very foot of the
mountains from which the matchwood is cut,
the sulphur for the tips can easily be obtained.
And so all down the China coast, in the Straits
Settlements, in India and Australia, Japanese
matches are driving all others out of the
market ; they have even been sent to England,
where the cost of labour, as compared with the
same in Japan, is so great, that even when the
heavy freight for the long sea voyage has been
paid, they can be sold more cheaply than our
home-made matches.
M
CHAPTER XVIII.
RELIGIONS IN JAPAN.
You will hardly expect me to give you in a
few short pages a full account of Japanese
religions. Among people of different classes, and
in different parts of the country, the religions
vary. There are sects full many among the
great religious bodies, and you would not wish
me to discuss the points of issue between them ;
and, further, the people themselves have the
very haziest notions of what they are supposed
to believe. It must be added that, as know-
ledge extends, religious belief dies out. The
Japanese have never been a particularly reli-
gious people, and what faith they had will not
stand the light of scientific examination, so that
it is the rarest thing to see an educated man
visiting a temple for purposes of worship.
Most people will tell you that Buddhism is
the religion of Japan. But Buddhism was
somewhat unwillingly forced upon the people
in the ninth century as a political measure ;
Religions in Japan. 163
it has never found full acceptance. A ladv
teacher in a girls' school told me
Buddhism, that during the war she had said
something about Buddhism. '' Oh,
Buddhism," cried the girls, "that comes from
China ; we hate that." Buddhism is not a
religion, but a system of moral teaching, the
principle of which is that happiness can onlv
be found in peace of the soul, and peace of
the soul can onlv be secured bv fjettins^ rid of
desire. For this end a " nine-fold-wav ' is
prescribed, consisting of various methods of
self-mortification.
But as to the existence of God, Gautama,
the founder of Buddhism (who lived in India
about 450 years b.c), declared that he knew
nothing, and nothing could be known. Yet
there is a life beyond this present life, for
every soul passes through a variety of births
and re-births, so that if one spends a good life
one will be born again in a better kind of life ;
if a bad life, the new birth will be into the
condition of the lower animals. The end and
aim of the whole system is the cessation of
individual existence (Nirvana).
Existence itself was an evil in Gautama's
eyes, in India. I gather that this view is
M 2
1 64
Half Hours in Japan.
practically ii^nored in the Ikiddhism of buoyant,
light-hearted Japan. Yet a system of hells is
taught, one hundred and sixt\'-eight in number;
A FlGUKJi. OF BUDDHA.
and one often sees pictures in the temples of
poor wretches enduring most frightful tortures
in one of these.
The word Buddha means "enlightened one,"
Rcligiojis in Japan. 165
Gautama was, par excellence, "the enlightened
one," but others, bv following in his footsteps,
mav attain to Buddhaship. So there are many
saints, if I may call them so, held in honour
among Buddhists. Not far from Otsu, on the
lake-side, is a temple containing three hun-
dred fio'ures of saints, whose names or history,
however, nobody could tell you. Such images
are carved, invariably, in one of the live attitudes
of meditation, for meditation is in theory the
great characteristic of Buddhism — as unsuited
to a practical people, like the Japanese, as the
doctrine of Nirvana.
As Buddhism is a religion without a God, it
has to satisfy men's natural instincts of feeling
after God bv borrowing from the religions of
whatever country it enters. This is why
Buddhism in Ceylon, in Burma, in China, and
in japan, is so different. In Japan it has thus
borrowed from Shinto, the indigenous religion
of the people. Shinto means "the
Shinid. 1 roi •
way ot the gods;" [Shm=:gods, to
= wav] of these Shin there are said to be
800,000,000, a number which is used, like our
" mvriad," to express a vast sum, and not an
exact total. And who are they ? Briefly, we
may say that they are the old heroes of Japan,
1 66 Half Hours in Jap
an.
whose example the Japanese of all time are
called upon to follow. You have read in a
previous chapter of the five Confucian duties,
the third being that to parents. During- his
life the father supports and guards the house,
and is reverenced by all its members. Why
should he cease to take an interest in it after
he is dead ? Or why should he not be still
reverenced ? In fact, he has become a " shin ; "
he has entered the number of the 800,000,000.
Read the emperor's edict, at the end of this
book, and see how he appeals to the spirits of
his ancestors ; remember how, every morning,
he commits his country and people into their
keeping. This I gather to be the real meaning
of Shinto: "Well shall it be with you, if you
follow in the way (to) of the great and good men
who have gone before you, and now are gods
(shin), and protect your country and family.
So shall you one day enter their ranks."
At this point Buddhism has come in. All
life, it teaches, comes from one Divine source.
The sum of which nothing is known, but into
of which, at last, all life shall be once
Buddhism ' , , . , ,
and more absorbed, when it has become
'^^""^''* perfectly enlightened, and freed from
earthlv defilements. This is the meaning
BUDDHIST DEVOTIONS.
Religions in Japan. i6g
of attaining to Buddha-hood. Buddhism
has identified "becoming a shin" with "be-
coming a Buddha " and practically given up its
abolition of personality, while the 800,000,000
together form the divine element it needed.
The spirit of a dead man becomes " Hotoke."
If you ask, "Is Hotoke one or many?" the
answer is, "Both one and many." It represents
the universal spirit to which all life returns,
and yet also the individual person who has so
returned. This is what I meant when I said
that Buddhism had borrowed from Shinto.
Different parts of the country, and different
temples, make much of particular members of
this myriad-membered family of gods. Thus,
in a great manv temples, Hachiman
jm IS the object 01 worship, who was
one of the first emperors of the land, and a
mighty man of war ; in others, Nichiren, a
s:reat reformer of the seventeenth
Nichiren. ^ a i •
century, and so on. And agam,
when men in early days saw the gloomy
forest, the tremendous precipices, the roaring
waterfalls, the towering mountains of the land
which they entered, they fancied that each of
these great gifts of nature must have a deity
residing in it. One could easily be found
1 70 Half Hours in Japaii.
among the 800,000,000. He could be the spirit
of a hunter, for instance, who was killed in
the forest by a bear which turned upon him,
or who fell from a cliff. His spirit would be
supposed to stay about the place where he met
his death.
And then there are the deities who preside
over special classes of men : the farmers' god ;
the inn-keepers', and so on. It is easy to see
how some of the myriad of gods could have
such duties assigned to them ; a prosperous
farmer would be told off, after his death, to
look after the operations in which he had been
successful during his life.
In nearly every house you see a '' Kamidana,"
or shelf for the gods, if not a shrine containing
a gilded figure of some Buddhist saint. On the
shelf are various religious emblems, especially
paper cut in a peculiar way, and tablets, serving
as memorials of the departed ancestors of the
house. At sundown a light is put at each end
of the shelf, and the old man of the house
squats before it, claps his hands, and recites
his formula of worship. The old man, I say ;
for the present generation of Japanese does not
seem to take any interest in religion. May
God grant that the true light of the world may
Religions in Japan. 171
soon give them the glad enlightenment of Him,
Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life ! You
will learn something more of Japanese religions
from the chapter on Funeral Rites.
CHAPTER XIX.
FUNERAL RITES.
A FUNERAL, in many cases, is the onh'
occasion upon which a Japanese visits a temple.
It creates far more stir than a hirth or a
wedding.
It is prescribed bv law that the funeral shall
follow within thirty-six hours of death, so a
good deal of bustle is inevitable. Word is sent
to as many friends as possible, who, in their
turn, will send flowers — very different in kind
and arrangement to ours, as you will hear.
But it will be simplest for me to try and
describe a funeral which I happened to witness
just before I left the country.
I was passing down the main street of Kobe,
when I observed five old gentlemen sitting in
chairs placed along one side of the road. You
have heard that Japanese never use chairs ;
but these are special foldmg thrones of
lacquered wood. The old gentlemen had
shaven heads, and the most gorgeous raiment
[N FULL DRESS.
Funeral Rites. 175
you can imagine : silk and brocades, purple,
green, yellow — splendid. Along the narrow
street, jinrickshas, hand-carts, foot passengers,
and hawkers were passing to and fro, raising
a considerable amount of dust, and withal it
was a dull, windy day; but the five sat there
unmovtd, fanning themselves with red fans. On
the other side of the street was the house of
the deceased. There, too, were priests moving
about ; their duty was to read a list of virtues.
" So and so," it is declared, " has done justly,
has obeyed his parents, has been a good
citizen ..." etc., etc. It does not matter
whether he has performed these virtues or
not, the list must be read. Can you under-
stand, from the last chapter, why ? Because
these are the virtues of the '' Shin," and this
person cannot join their ranks unless he has
followed their way (to). The reading of the
list of virtues is a declaration that he has so
followed their " to " (way).
From the door of the house, as far as you
could see alono^ the road — I have seen a funeral
procession which took half an hour to pass one
spot — mourners were marshalled in two long
lines. The floral offerings, sent by friends, are
pyramids of evergreens some eight feet high,
1^6 Half Hours in Japan.
relieved bv clusters of red berries, and various
coloured flowers, real or artificial. Cabba^^es,
run to seed, are much esteemed for funeral
flowers. There were some hundreds of these
floral erections, fixed on the top of low bamboo
stands, with coolies standing beside them to
carry them to the temple grave-yard, wearing
peculiar grass hats and white kimonos. White
is the colour of mourning in Japan, and
mournins: dresses are lent out on hire from the
undertakers, for as they are only worn on the
day of the funeral, it is considered unnecessary
to buv one for a few hours' use.
When the function in the house is finished
the procession sets out. First walk a couple
of coolies carrying paper lanterns on the top of
poles, bearing the name and " mon " (armorial
bearings) of the deceased. Then two abreast
come the bearers of the floral ofterings, each
showing the name of the donor written on a
wooden tablet. These are here and there
varied by a wheeled cage, containing birds,
which it is an act of kindness to set free. Of
course the birds fly back to the undertakers,
and are used again for the next funeral ; but
the will is no doubt as good as the deed. Other
coolies will be bearing trays of rice and cakes.
Funeral Rites. 177
Presently you see the gorgeously arrayed priests,
riding in jinrickshas, and at last the coffin
appears. It is usually in the shape of a tub,
and borne upon a bier, more or less highly
ornamented ; immediateh' behind it comes the
nearest kinsman, very often a little boy. He,
as well as the rest of the mourners, is dressed in
white, and, unless the distance to the burying
ground is too great, he walks, and carries a
kind of cage, which plays a most important
part in the ceremony. It is about twelve
inches square, composed of a thin framework
of bamboo, covered over with gauze. Inside it
the spirit of the departed is considered to have
taken up his abode for the time being ! It made
me feel quite creepy the first time I saw this.
Next follows a crowd of mourners, some
riding in jinrickshas, some walking, and those
at the tail of the procession wearing their
ordinary clothes, as their acquaintance \\ith
the deceased was not close enough to justify
mourning dress. On arriving at the cemetery
the priests' chairs are placed in two rows, facing
one another, just within the entrance of a kind
of mortuary chapel. Wind instruments of
music, something like clarionets, but with two
pipes, are given them, and they play the most
J. ^ ' N
178 Half Hours in Japan.
weird music \'C)u can imai^ine, until the
mourners are all in their places. Facing the
door, at the further end of the building, is a
wooden table, in front of it a small four-legged
stand, and in front of this again a brazier for
burning incense. The gauze-covered box is
placed on the stand, and the chief priest,
standing at the table, recites certain formulae,
and then some more formuhe in front of the
stand. Lastly he takes a little incense, and
clapping his hands throws it on the burning
charcoal, afterwards retiring. Each of the
other priests then rises and ofters incense in
turn, and when the\- have finished the mourners,
in order of relationship, do the same, each
passing out of the hall mimediately. Then
the bier is taken to the grave and interred, the
mourners at once appearing to forget the object
which brought them to the spot. Indeed,
throughout the ceremony their behaviour might
be described as irreverent. \Miile the priests
are performing their part of the function, the
mourners are chatting together, sipping tea,
smoking, eating the cakes provided for the
occasion — anvthin"- but what we should call
o
"joining in a service." I once saw a man,
who was smoking a big cigar, called to burn
..\ A TEMILF. AT TOKYU.
N 2
Funeral Rites. i8i
his incense. He took the cigar from his
mouth, held it in the middle of his back with
his left hand, and marched boldlv across the
hall to the gauze box. As he wore white, vou
may imagine that the brown cigar was prettv
conspicuous.
And can you see why incense is offered before
the box in which is supposed to be the spirit
of the departed ? It is because he has become
a " shin." His fathers who went before him
followed a "to," or way, and therefore became
shin : he has done so likewise (as was declared
by the list of virtues read in his house), and
has now joined their ranks. But, as I said,
800,000,000 is simply a very large round
number, so that it does not increase, from
generation to generation.
Such is the procedure at the funeral of a
fairly well-to-do man. Of course a poor man
who cannot pay the fees for several priests,
has to be content with one ; and if the remains
are to be cremated, either in accordance with
the wish of relatives, or throuofh death beino-
the result of infectious disease, the ceremonial
is somewhat different. But the above account
is fairly typical of a Japanese funeral.
The cemeteries are usuallv on the sides of
1 82 Half Hours in Ja^
(111.
hills, or if there are no hills in the neighbour-
hood, in bamboo groves. The tombstones do
not display the virtues of the deceased in the
foolish manner of some of our English epitaphs :
thev simplv give the name of the person
buried beneath, and the date of death. Some
graves are marked by stone lanterns, in which
a light is placed as often as possible : if
at no other time, at least on the evening of
the " bon " festival in November, when a
cemetery is dotted all over with lights. Others
have a lofty stone, inscribed with words of
wisdom of the ancients ; but these are few,
the vast majority having but a rounded or
squared tablet. Here and there you will see
a long, thin strip of wood, its edges cut like
the edge of a saw, planted on its end by a
grave. It is inscribed with curious letters,
supposed to be Sanscrit. Whether it is or no,
no one is a bit the wiser : I never met a Japanese
who professed to understand the language.
Peaceful resting-places these cemeteries are.
You come upon them unexpectedly in the
middle of a grove of trees, as you are taking
a walk — the two rows of stones, shaded bv
the trees, the trim path between them, and
perhaps a dutiful daughter stooping beside a
Funeral Rites. 183
o:rave to renew a bunch of " sakaki " — a sort
of dwarf laurel, only used for the decoration of
tombs — placed in the bamboo vases before it,
or to clear away the remains of the incense
sticks which she left burning at her last visit.
But not yet can the Japanese commit the
bodies of their dear ones to the earth, "in
sure and certain hope of a joyful resurrection,
through our Lord Jesus Christ."
CHAPTER XX.
DRESS.
The chief article of dress, both for men and
women, is the " kimono," a loose, flowing gar-
ment reaching to the feet, folded left
Kimono. "^ 1111
over right, and secured to the body by
the sash. The sleeves are long and wide,
sewn up at the bottoms, forming capacious
pockets. " Wetting the sleeves " is an expres-
sion equivalent to "being in great sorrow,"
for girls use this lower part of their sleeves to
wipe their eves. Round the waist is
wound the " obi " or sash, which in
the case of a man is narrow, and folded
negligently. From it is hung his pipe, tobacco
pouch, and knife, while his purse and watch
are concealed in one of its folds.
K woman's obi is quite another thing. It is
wide, and carefully folded, passing three times
round the body and twisted and padded upon
itself in an enormous roll at the back. In the
case of young girls the obi is, on special dress
Dress. 187
occasions, screwed into a graceful erection
called the butterfly bow. It is a most costly
article, and cannot be dispensed with. My
house-servant, who with her husband earned
^17 a month, spent ^16 on a single obi
for her daughter's wear at the New Year
festivities. A girl is expected to have a new
one every year. She perhaps onlv displavs it
a few times, and then it is carefully folded up
and put away with others, to form part of her
"trousseau" wdien she is married. The obi
is almost always of rich silk, and costs more
money than all the other articles of dress put
together. It is made of two colours of silk
sew^n together, and in the large roll at the
back both colours are well seen ; and a o:ood
obi is always reversible.
Over the kimono and obi a " haori " mav be
v/orn ; it is similar in shape to the kimono,
but instead of overlapping: in front is
Hewn. .,/^ ^ ,
secured by short silken cords across
the chest. It is usuallv of black material,
shorter in length than the kimono, and in the
centre of the back between the shoulders, and
also on the sleeves, is stamped, in white, the
mon or crest of the wearer, about the size of
half- a-cr own.
1 88 Half Hours in Japan.
For women, a cape of cloth, entirely covering
the kimono, and fastened by loops in front,
has recently come into fashion for winter
wear and rainy weather.
Men have their throats bare, unless they
fear catching cold, when they entirely spoil
the graceful appearance of the kimono bv
wearing a most incongruous woollen comforter.
Women wear a daintily patterned collar ("eri")
above the top of the kimono, sewn on
Evi.
to the top of the lower kimono, and
allowed to appear above the outer one.
It is only recently that the Japanese have
begun to use wool at all, for sheep cannot live
in Japan, owin"- to bad pasturas^e.
Wool. ^^ -^ ^ \ . ^ , . , ^^.
liut now, havmg learnt its value m
keeping oft' coughs and chest complaints, so
terribly prevalent in the country, they are
using a great deal of flannel, and also of wool,
which they knit and crochet with great skill.
More skill than taste, indeed ; one woollen
article which they love is a baby's cap, and the
colours they use for its manufacture are the
crudest greens, yellows and reds. It is- curious
how their artistic instinct seems to desert them
when they leave then- own native products to
adopt foreign st}-les. I have seen a boy wearing
AX liLAbuKAit iiJlLETTt.
Dress.
igi
knitted stockings, of five different coloured
wools !
It only remains to mention the " hakama,"
or divided skirt, of sober-coloured cotton stuff,
,, , to complete the description of the
Visible part ol the dress. This is
occasionally worn by boys and students, and to a
very limited extent by men. Some schoolgirls,
especially those of the upper classes, w^ear
hakama of a peculiarly bright purple colour.
Under the kimono are worn three or four
garments of the same shape, and a well-
dressed lady so arranges her toilette that at
the sleeves, and at the opening of the kimono
in front, the edges of all these garments just
reveal their delicate silken tints. Pvlen have
for the last few years taken to wearing jerseys
next the skin.
All Japanese, when either walking fast, or
doing hard work, tuck up the skirts of their
kimono into the obi. It is then very easy
to distinguish which members of a party of
young women, whom you may meet out for
a walk together, are married and which
unmarried, for it is the privilege of a married
woman to wear a white under-garment, wdiile
an unmarried woman wears a red one. In
ig2 Half Hours in Japan.
the country districts, too, you would probably
find that those wearing the white skirt would
also have their teeth blackened ; for in old
days all women blackened their teeth on
marriage, but fortunatel}' the custom is dying
out, as is also that of shaving off the eyebrows.
Some of us wdio have now and then to pay
pretty heavv milliner's bills, would be glad
Ladies if the Japanese method of covering
'''^1^ ^^^ head could come into fashion in
hut— this country. Japanese ladies do not
wear hats at all ; their hair is dressed by
professional hair-dressers twice a week, in an
elaborate stvle, ornamented with various combs
and hair-pins, called " kanzashi."
kciuzashi. • VI
1 hese kanzashi are long puis with
artificial fiowers, or fruit, or birds, and tinsel
and tassels fixed at the end.
On a cold winter's day a woman will wrap a
piece of dark blue crepe around her
Zukin. \ "■
head, to protect her from the chilling
blasts. This covering is called a " zukin."
Men wear hats of all shapes and makes ;
there is no fashion in the matter. Straw hats
are very cheap and good, but the bowlers
and wide-awakes which are generalh' worn
are of very inferior quality.
Dress. 193
On the feet, corresponding to our stockings,
are worn the " tabi," which reach just to the
ankle. The tabi is a kind of foot-
glove (why not? the Germans called
gloves "hand-shoes"), made in two colours
only, navv blue for ordinary wear, and white
for wear on greater occasions. It fits close
to the foot, with a division for the big toe,
and is fastened round the ankle by two metal
clasps. The sole is of thick canvas, so that
in case of need the sandal can be dispensed
with for outdoor wear. The reason why there
is a special division for the big toe is, that
every Japanese shoe, whether geta, zori, or
waraji, is held to the foot by a thong fastened
at the ends to the two sides of the sole, about
half-way down, and stretching as far as the
fork of the great and second toes, where a
short strap passmg between these two toes
connects it with the sole.
. The " geta " is the ordinary outdoor shoe,
made of hard wood with a flat upper surface
on which the foot rests. It is made
either two inches thick at the heel,
tapering to a wedge-shape at the toes, or else
about half-an-inch thick from end to end, but
raised well above the ground by two strips of
J. ^ o
194 Half Hours in Japan.
wood fixed edgeways at right angles to the
sole. Getas are easily slipped off at the door
of a house, and are very convenient on a wet
day if the mud is only on the surface. But
if the ground is clay soil, the edges sink so
deep into it that you have to tug furiously
with your toes against the thongs at each
step. If in your exertions you should break
the thong, you are put into a humiliating
position, for you must walk home barefoot.
" Zori " are sandals made of finely woven
straw, intended for wearing: in the
Zori. ^ ' ^ . . ^ .
house ; as, tor mstance, m passmg
along passages and verandahs.
"Waraji " are roughly woven sandals, made
from untrimmed straw, and have three loops
along each side of the sole, so that in
addition to the thong passing between
the toes a string crosses and recrosses the
foot, finally passing round the ankle. They
are thus suited for very rough wear, and
are chiefly used by jinricksha pullers and
agricultural labourers. A pair of geta costs
about fifty sen (one shilling), and lasts a year.
Zori cost about twopence, and waraji about
three-farthings a pair respectively.
All dress materials are made in lengths of
2
Dress. 1 97
one tan, that is twenty-eight feet, and of the
invariable width of fourteen inches.
To wash a kimono the threads arc taken
out, and the pieces, which are straight, are put
^^. , . into the washtub without soap. They
Washing. . . "
-are then, if a cotton fabric, hung
in the open air stretched on bamboo poles,
and when dry converted again into a kimono.
If the material is silk, the pieces are, while
wet, smoothed on the face of a board which
is set on end facing the sun.
As to materials and colours, kimonos for
every-day wear are of cotton material. Silk
. , is reserved for special wear on g^reat
Materials. . t • i • i
occasions. Little girls wear very
bright dresses of most gorgeous colours and
large patterns, red being the predominant
hue. As they grow older the colours of their
kimonos become more and more sober. The
prevailing colours in a Japanese crowd, in
summer time, are white and blue ; for the
rest of the year dull gravs, blues, and browns
predominate.
You must not suppose that the bright paper
umbrella vou see at a bazaar in
L nib I'd la. -p^ , , . ' . , p
England is a common article of every-
day use in Japan. Paper umbrellas arc fast
igS Half Hours in Japan.
giving place to silk ones, which are cheap in
this country of silkworms and mulherry trees.
7'he paper umbrellas actually used are covered
with very strong oiled paper, bearing about
as close a relation to the h replace ornament
umbrella sent to England, as a barge to an
outrigged sculling boat.
CHAPTER XXI.
TEMPLES.
There are no stately buildings in Japan like
our cathedrals, but there is a dignity and a
beauty about a temple which is quite its own.
The tiled roof has a remarkable curve, the
beams are of immense thickness and strength,
the carvings very lifelike and accurate, and
the very position of the temples, in the fore-
ground of a well-wooded slope, as most of
them are, or at least nestling among lofty trees,
shows off the building to the best advantage.
In front of every temple stands a " torii,"
thought by some to be a place for birds (tori
= bird in Japanese) to perch upon.
It is formed of two stone or wooden
uprights fixed in the ground, one on each side
of the approach, supporting two cross-bars,
one above the other. It is a common
method of honouring a temple to set up a
torii ; and at some shrines you pass under a
whole series of torii, placed so close together
200
Half Hours in Japan.
that vou could hardly get wet if it came on
to rain. The approach is usually paved with
thick oblong stones and is broken by one or
two short flights of steps. If the temple stands
on a hill there will be two separate ways of
ascent, one straight and steep, called the man's
ascent ; one more gradual for the women. Often
there is a dog or a fox carved of solid stone on
Temples. 203
each side of the approach, and numerous stone
lanterns. You pass through a gateway
f ' of o:reat size, possibly with a couple of
gateway. o ' r . r
gigantic red wooden figures on the
right and left, enclosed in wire netting. They
are very hideous and frightful creatures, and are
plastered here and there with pieces of chewed
paper. For, if there is anything a worshipper
wants very much, he writes it on a piece of
paper", and then chews it up and spits it at the
figure. If it passes safely through the wire
netting, and sticks, he trusts he will get the
thing desired, but if it is caught by the wire
netting and falls oft, he fears the worst. If you
look up at the roof of the temple you wdll most
likely see it supported by gilt dragons' heads,
with gaping crimson throats.
Passing through the gateway you find yourself
in a courtyard, which is sometimes surrounded
by a kind of cloister, and sometimes
^^,/w!Lw merelv fenced in ; the stone causewav
C-UHT L\ CI ] it * • •
is continued through the courtyard up
to the door of the temple. On your left will be
a bell, sounded not by a clapper, but by a pole,
hung in such a way that, if pulled a short
distance forward, it will fall back and strike
the outside of the bell with its lower end.
204 Half Hours in Japan.
Further on is a small covered platform, for use
as a theatre at the time of the temple festival ;
and other buildings, erected in memory of some
particular person, as dwellings for the priests,
or for other purposes.
Everything, except the roof, is built of
wood, frequently painted a dull red, or bright
vermilion.
Before entering the temple, a worshipper
laves his hands at a stone trough, roofed over,
which stands before the door ; he then
ec'o J#.r. ^^'alks up the stcps, and, if he is a
devout man, throws between the bars
of a large chest, or on the tatami, a very small
copper coin. From the lintel over his head
hangs a thick straw rope, communicating with
a round brass bell. He gives this a good shake,
bows his head, claps his hands, says his prayer
in an audible tone, and his duty is done.
If he should wish to enter the temple, he
must, of course, leave his geta, or boots, out-
side, but if it is a large temple with a verandah
running round it, he may walk on this without
removing them. Over the door of the temple
there is often some line carving, or painting,
and when you enter the building you are
surrounded bv colour. In front of vou is
l!^;^^^!
^m 1IW *HHS ^H^^^^^S'
Rpl^^^
^'WmwM
Fi
s nnTTTTTnr-rf
."'is
m^i
— fi
THE APPROACH TO A TEMPLE.
Temples. 207
a table of lacquered wood, on which stand
various objects of religious significance, the
most prominent being large paper lotus
flowers, if it be a Buddhist temple (see p. 139),
strips of curiously cut paper called " gohei,"
and a round metal mirror, if it be
inivrov. Shinto. According to some, this
mirror is intended to remind you
that nothing you do is without its eftect ; that
" fields have eyes, and hedges have ears," that
the most secret action is reflected somewhere.
" Thou God seest me." But legend improves
upon this. A certain ill-favoured god once
upon a time fell in love with the sun-goddess,
who, to escape his attentions, ran away to the
lower world. This left the earth in darkness,
and all the other gods and goddesses came to
the entrance of the lower world, to entice her
ladyship back by offering her a mirror, rolls of
white and blue cloth, and jewels hanging from
the branches of a tree. Others performed
dances, whilst the wisest of all offered a prayer.
All these things enter into a Shinto service, the
rolls of cloth being represented to-day by the
paper '' gohei."
The roof is flat and comparatively low ; the
cross-beams are concealed by embroidery, the
Wall.
208 Half Hours in Japan.
subjects generally represented being storks and
other birds, and flowers, and from
them hang lanterns of all sorts of
shapes and sizes. Some of these are decorated
with long streamers heavily gilded. Indeed,
gilding is the most common method of
ornamentation.
On the walls are hung pictures, most often
representing horses, ships, men saying their
prayers, or the adventures of Nichiren,
a great religious reformer and founder
of a sect. These are generally thank-oflerings
for the fulfilment of some great hope. At
the back of the temple is a second shrine
containing the emblem of the deity worshipped.
None may enter this except the priest, and he
only on special occasions.
Sermons are preached in most temples on
one day in each month. The congregation on
such occasions is not large ; the
Sermons. . . in- r '^ • 1 •
preacher sits on the rioor lacmg his
audience, which is also sitting. He has a
little desk for his book and his notes, and
has no objection to making people laugh. The
last sermon I heard was an attack upon Chris-
tianity, which taught men to say "Our Father."
Now, "father'' in Japanese is " chichi," and
»^ .«f:
p.
A TEMPLE COURTYARD.
Temples. 211
" chichi " also means " milk." " How can God
be a Father if He be milk ? " Not very funny,
you will say, but the people laughed. When
notice is given of these sermons, it is posted up,
that " in this inoiintain so-and-so will preach ; "
even in the midst of a city it appears thus, for
all temples were on mountains in old davs.
Every morning and evening the Japanese priest
has his " kyo " to perform. Kyo is the ancient
religious scripture, perhaps I may call it " law "
in English — it cannot be called prayer — and it
is, of course, written in an antique style of
Chinese, which the priests themselves, much
less the ordinary people, hardly understand.
It is read sitting by the side of a small gong,
struck every now and then by the reader, unless
there is an assistant, whose duty it is to make
a ting, ting, ting, all through the recitation.
At the same time offerings of rice, fruit, or
cakes, etc., are made. Besides these large
temples there are innumerable small shrines,
from the size of a dog-kennel upwards, placed
by the roadside, on mountain summits, and
beneath cliffs, containing a fox or other figure
of stone, and two flower vases, containing
either leaves of laurel or strips of paper.
The most famous temples in Japan are those
p 2
212 Half Hours in Japan.
at Xikko. The approach to the town is
Avenue through an avenue of great crypto-
^/'•^ . maria trees, twentv-one miles lonij.
cryptomaria ' - __ *^
/m-.s. Two hundred \'ears ago the Shogun
was about to visit Nikko, and all the Daimios
in the neighbourhood prepared costly presents
for him. But one Daimio was poor, and could
afford no lacquer cabinet or costly vase : " I
will make him a present which shall serve as
a memorial of him when these things have
mouldered to dust," he said, and he planted
this double row of trees. There is now^ a
railway to the place, which, every year, carries
thousands of pilgrims, whose desire it is to
ascend Nantai San, the sacred mountain
beyond. A description of the great temples
at Nikko, with their wonderful carving and
elaborate decoration, would fill a volume. I
will tell you of just two things.
There are three monkeys, side by side, life-
like and vigorous. The one on the left has
both hands (surely a monkey has
:\ikko hands ! ) over his ears, the one in the
''"^'^'y'- middle has both hands over his
mouth, and the one on the right has both hands
over his eyes. Can you understand the
sermon which, without speaking a word, these
Temples. 213
monkevs have been preaching for three hundred
years? "It is good to have sharp ears to pick
up things quickly, but don't listen to anything
that is bad ! It is good to have a smart
tono:ue, but don't say anvthino- that is bad ! It
is good to have one's eyes open to mark
anything useful, but don't look at anything that
is bad ! ''
A little beyond the monkeys stands a pillar,
the pattern upon which is upside down. This
was not accidental, but intentional. It was
done for fear that the gods might be jealous of
absolute perfection in human work, and
destrov it or its authors with thunderbolts or
with a plague.
I must tell you of another figure seen in
some temples. It is a tall and stately lady
with one hundred hands. She is the
Bcntcn oroddess of mercv, Benten Sama, and
her hundred hands mean that for deeds
of mercy two hands are not enough. There is
so much pain and wrong in the world that, if
we had, each of us, a hundred hands, we could
hardly alleviate it all ; use then the two hands
you have with all your might, that you may
do at least your share.
The priests of the temples are not very
214 Half Hours in Japan.
admirable persons. The}' wear shaven heads,
and a curious black muslin " haori." I am
afraid they do not lead very good lives. There
are, too, a ^^reat number of religious beggars
in Japan ; they move from house to house, at
each door tinkling a bell which hangs from
their waists, repeating some "kvo," and asking
for alms.
I spoke of pilgrims. In many villages there
is a subscription paid by everybody all through
the vear, and when the summer comes
round a certani number are selected
to go on the pilgrimage. Fifteen or twenty
men, with perhaps a few women, all dressed
in white, their heads sheltered by enormous
hats of rice straw, set forth staff in hand
for some distant mountain which they will
climb, and, after a brief act of worship, admire
the view and come down again. At the
inns at which the^' stop they hold a kind
of service, with much recitation of kyo,
separately and together, and ringing of bells,
lasting till perhaps eleven o'clock at night,
and by five next morning they are gone.
Pilgrimages are not at all bad things. They
give the people an opportunity of seeing the
beauties of their native country and of a thorough
Temples, 215
change from their daily duties, and carry
information from province to province. Some-
times they have also carried disease, but the
authorities are now very careful of this..
Why are stone foxes so often seen in or
about the temples ? Foxes and badgers are
supposed to be able to do a great deal
stone q£ harm. If a man is strangle or
foxes. ... ^
eccentric he is considered to be pos-
sessed bv a fox, and there is a regular method of
driving the fox out. I heard of a coolie who one
night felt a pain in his arm. Up he jumped
and ran off to the nearest police station, where
he thumped and yelled till he roused the whole
street, crying that he was possessed by a fox.
The policeman rubbed his arm with some
ammonia, and the fox apparently left him in
peace.
CHAPTER XXII.
MONEY — FLAGS STAMPS.
Until 1897, ^^'^^ silver dollar, called a
"yen," worth then about 2s. oJ(i., was the
standard of value. "Yen" means
a "round thing" — the circle formed
by joining the tips of the finger and thumb
alwavs expresses "money" in Japan. An
old man asked me once in a rest-house,
where I was going. " Out for a walk," I
answered. "Ah, sowing this ? " and he held
up his hand with his thumb and finger joined.
The " ven " is one of the most handsome coins
in existence ; it is stamped with a very fierce
and truculent dragon.
A hundred copper " sen," or cents, make a
yen ; there are nickel pieces of 5 sen, silver
pieces of 10, 20, and 50 sen. Ten
" Sen.'' . ,, . , 1
" rm agam make a sen; as the
sen is about an equivalent of a farthing,
the " rin " is obviously not a valuable coin.
The sen used to be oblong, with a square
Money — Flags — Stamps,
217
hole in the middle. This coin was issued
in the era of Tempo (protection of heaven),
and was called a "tempo sen." It
5/,"- is no longer in circulation, but the
word is used, for when the new round
sens were issued, the tempo fell to the value of
nine rin instead of
ten. Tempo-sen
thus became a term
applied to every-
thing not of quite
full value, and now
to call a man a
tempo-sen is to
suggest that he is
" not quite all
there," or "got a
screw loose." Rin money.
are no longer
coined ; they are only used by the poorer
classes, and have a hole in the middle for
strino:ino^ them tosrether.
Gold is found in a small island called Sado,
lying to the north of the main island, and in
one or two other places. Before
foreigners arrived there was a good
deal of p"old in circulation. I am sorrv
2i8 Half Hours in Japan.
to sav that the foreigners bought up all the
gold thev could, paying for it with silver, and
a ereat deal was sent out of the country before
the Japanese knew its true value. Still a few
gold dollar and five-dollar pieces were struck,
the value of the gold and silver dollar being
supposed to be the same (value 35. ^d,). But
silver is produced in such quantities in America
and elsewhere that it is not now worth so
much as it used to be ; so that while the
silver dollar was worth 2S. o^d., the gold dollar
was still worth 3s. 6d. This made business
with foreign countries very awkward, and now
the silver dollars are being called in, and the
eold dollar has become the standard. This
was done just before I left Japan, so I cannot
tell you the result.
Paper money is very extensively used.
There are one, five, and ten yen notes ; some
bear figures of the god of wealth.
Paper y^r[i\^ f^t paunch and well-filled monev
money. ^
bags, some figures of sailors or black-
smiths, some merely the Imperial badge, the
sixteen petalled chrysanthemum. The paper
is very tough, and will stand a great deal of
use, though you do get a very brown and
ragged one given you occasionally. I once
Money — Flags-
Stamps.
2ig
read of a man who put chree hundred and fifty
yen notes into a waste paper basket, thinking
no one would disturb them. On his return,
after a very brief absence, he found that his
wife had, in the interval, sold the contents of
the basket to a ras: and bone man for a few
sen. However, he pursued the man and got
his money back.
There are two varieties of flags, the military
and the naval. Both have a white back-
o^round, in the centre of wdiich is a
Flags.
red sun. The naval flag has in
addition red rays issuing from the sun, and
carried ris^ht across to the edsre of the flas:.
There is no mistakin^j a festival dav in
Japan. In the early morning a pair of flags,
mounted on slender poles of bamboo, painted
or lacquered with alternate bands of white and
220 Half Hours in Japan.
yellow, are hun^r cross-wise over the gate of
every house, the poles tied together with
purple tassels at the point where they cross.
Foreigners cross the national flag with that
of their own country.
The first issue of stamps was in 1871.
There was no representation of the Emperor
„ , corresponding^ to the face of Her
Postage ^ «^ _
Stamps Gracious Majestv, which we are
accustomed to see upon our own
stamps. The Imperial visage could not be
made too common, and besides, it was impos-
sible that it should be desecrated by the
cancelling stamp of the post office coming
down upon it on every letter that was posted.
So the earliest stamps had but the value in
Japanese characters placed upon them, sur-
rounded bv a device of guarding dragons.
In the 1872 issue, the Imperial chrysanthe-
mum surmounts the words "postage stamps" in
Japanese, encircled bv wreaths ot
1872 ^ 1 '
flowers ; above and below the value
is written in English, down the sides
in Japanese. This was slightly varied
' in 1874, but in 1875 an issue was
published of which the characteristic
mark was a bird, enclosed in a circular frame.
Money — Flags — Stamps. 221
The forty-five sen stamp, bearing an eagle
with outspread wings, is now rare and
valuable.
In 1876 the words, in English as well as in
Japanese, " Imperial Japanese Post," were
first introduced, the distinguishing mark being
the chrysanthemum or the sun in an oval
frame, with the value marked in the corner.
A new issue of 1888 showed but little change,
but in 1894 the silver wedding of their Imperial
Maiesties was celebrated, and to
,„^^ commemorate the event an oblons:
red 2 sen and blue 5 sen were
issued. In the centre is the chrysanthemum,
in a frame bearing the words " Imperial
Wedding, 25 anniversary," and its Japanese
equivalent.
In i8g6 an entirely new departure was
made in memory of the victory of Japan over
China : a 2 and a 5 sen stamp were
issued, bearing heads, not the
Emperor's — for the people must be gradu-
ally accustomed to the new idea — but those
of two kinsmen of his. Prince Shirakawa
and Prince Arisugawa. It was expected that
before long all the stamps would bear the
impress of the Emperor's head, but mv last
222 Half Hours in Japan.
letters from Japan are stamped with what is
evidently an i8qq issue, and the old
chrysanthemum is the only sign oi
Imperial Majesty upon it.
Stamp collectors must be very cautious in
regard to Japanese stamps. Of none are the
counterfeits so numerous or so cleyer, for as
soon as the common people found they could
send a letter by sticking a piece of paper upon
it, they began to copy them for themselyes.
I found what I thought to be a great prize in
an old book shop just before I came home,
but, alas, I haye strong doubts now as to
its genuineness.
CHAPTER XXIII.
RICE TEA TOBACCO SILK.
Long before I went to Japan I knew that
the country produced the best rice in the world.
More land is laid out for growing rice than for
all other kinds of agricultural products put
together.
The rice is sown in April and May in small
square plots of carefully prepared soil, over
which water is allowed to run very
tiTrT(^. slowly. The seed soon springs up,
covering the beds with a carpet of
bright green shoots, which completely hide the
water. When these are some four inches high,
they are taken out in handfuls and planted out
in the rice held. Terrible work this
pianUmr must be, for it is done during the wet
season, and the strain on the labourers
must be very severe, for they are stooping all
day long, while the rain is pouring down, and
the mud in which they are planting the rice
reaches almost up to their knees.
224 Half Hours in Japan.
The rice-fields are exactly like a number of
billiard tables, one placed at a slightly higher
level than the other, step bv step from
Rice -Jit Ids. . 1 1 r 1
the \'er\' bed oi a stream up to the
highest point on the hill on which water can be
found. It is water that rice must have. From
the spring it is led to the first little tableland,
so as just to cover its perfectly flat surface,
escaping on the lower side to flow over the one
below ; and so it passes down, the same water
fertilizing perhaps fifty fields, till it reaches the
river. When possible, the fertilizing effect ot
the water is made greater by the addition ol
liquid manure.
Harvest begins in October, by which time
the rice has lost its bright green colour, and
begins to look very rusty. The run-
Jmrvest ^^^^ ^3' which the water streams into
the fields are then blocked, and when
the surface is dry the rice is cut with sickles,
and the grains torn out with a primitive instru-
ment, consisting of two metal blades placed
side bv side, between which the ears are
dragged. The straw is piled up round trees
or poles to get thoroughly dry, while the grains
are sent to market. A curious custom still
prevails of announcing the price of rice at
Rice — Tea — Tobacco — Silk. 225
Osaka to the merchants of Kobe by a system
of flag signals along the hills. It would be
much less troublesome, and save much time,
to send word by telegraph, but the old ways
cannot be given up.
Rice is pounded either by wooden mallets
worked by hand, or by means of an ingenious
arrangement by which a water-wheel lifts and
drops again one or several poles weighted at
the lower end.
I suppose a good many schoolboys in
England have kept silk-worms, sometime or
other, and know their ways. Silk is
worms, produced chiefly in the mountain
districts, which favour the growth
of the mulberry trees. It is astonishing what
a quantity of leaves the little rascals eat. The
girls go out early in the morning with their
great baskets over their shoulders, and as fast as
they can fill them the silkworms empty them
again. You know that the worms go to sleep
twice before they spin, some kinds earlier than
others. In a Japanese newspaper, telegrams
are published from different parts of the
country announcing that '' The silkworms
have just gone to sleep," or " The silkworms
are waking up from their second sleep," and so
T. Q
226 Half Hours in Japan.
on. The cocoons when ready are put into hot
water, and the vsilk is wound off in great skeins,
to be dyed, its weaving on the handloom
affording employment for the women folk all
through the winter.
Tobacco is grown extensively, but only for
home consumption. The leaves are hung in
long rows against the farm-house walls
Tobacco. -Ill
to dry, and sent to the retail dealers
uncut ; so that at every tobacconivSt's there is a
man working a heavy cutting machine with his
foot. It is cut exceedingly fine, and made
very dry. The pipe in which it is smoked is
very different to those you are accustomed to
see in England, for the bowl is about the size
of the tip of your little finger. It holds just
enough tobacco to allow of two or three whiffs,
after which the ashes are knocked out into the
palm of the hand, to light the next pipe withal
if the smoker is of an economical disposition ;
if not, they are just thrown away. I have seen
a man use up a whole box of matches during
the hour's railway journey between Osaka and
Kobe, so often did he refill and light his pipe.
_, . The bowl and mouthpiece is of metal ;
The pipe. . ri i
the stem sometmies oi bamboo, some-
times of the same metal as the bowl and
Rice — Tea — Tobacco — Silk. 227
mouthpiece, in which case it will be brightly
ornamented and chased. In the Treaty ports
one often sees a coolie smoking a foreign pipe
and American tobacco, evidently considering
himself a grand man for doing so ; and the
young blood of the country chiefly patronises
the cigarette. One company alone imiported
over a hundred millions of cigarettes in two
and a half months ! The tobacco used in them
is very rank stuff", for it has to be cheap to
suit the pockets, not apparently the tastes,
of the consumers. The native love of imita-
tion is peculiarly conspicuous in the tobacco
trade. For instance, a certain American
company devised a brand of cigarettes called
" Sunrise." Immediately a Japanese firm
produced a rival brand, of nearly an identical
appearance, but needless to say of a very
inferior quality, called " Sanrise." Imported
cigars are verv much cheaper than in England,
for Manila is near and the duty is low. They
are much appreciated by those who can afford
them, and a present of a cigar to smoke during
a business conversation, with the prospect of
the rest of the box to follow after it, offers
the best assurance of the conversation ending
satisfactorily.
Q 2
228 Half Hours in Japan.
The finest Tea in Japan comes from the
neii^hhourhood of Kyoto, where the plantations
are situated which have for many
^generations supphed the Imperial
household. Tea is a low,. thick growing shrub,
bearing a white flower. Only the fresh young
leaves are picked, except for cheap brands, in
which you will often see bits of. stalk and other
worthless pieces ; this work is done by women
and girls. The leaves are dried in the sun, or
over a hibachi, and are then ready for use. It
is not black like the tea we use, for that is
roasted in the "tea-firing houses" in the Treaty
ports. It is put into iron pans heated by
steam, and kept constantly moving until it is
black.
The manner of brewing tea in Japan is also
quite different from our way. Any good house-
wife in England will tell vou to warm
Infusion. *" " . .
the teapot, have the water boihng but
only just boiling, and so on ; some people drink
it as it leaves the pot, but most add milk and
sugar. A Japanese, on the contrary, pours the
water from the kettle into a flat saucer-like
bowl, until it is lukewarm ; it is then poured
over the leaves, and almost immediately the tea,
of a delicate straw colour, is ready to pour ofl\
Rice — Tea — Tobacco — Silk. 229
The first two or three cups are considered the
best, as there is a pecuHar oily flavour which
passes away after a few minutes' infusion. As
for adding milk or sugar, no one would dream
of doing such a thing. It looks very innocent
stuff, and the cups from which vou sip it are so
tiny that it is easy to lose count of their number,
but woe betide you if you drink too much late
at night. You may be sure you will lie awake
if vou do.
CHAPTER XXIV.
FESTIVALS.
There are about ten National Festivals every
vear. The first three days of the New Year
and the Emperor's Birthday are holidays;
there is also the " Apprentiees' holiday," a
sprin<( holiday, one on the day of the rising
of the Dog-star, and one in the autumn,
for the " bon," when lights are placed on
all graves.
During the New Year Holiday, every one
goes a-calling, with a packet of visiting cards,
one of which he leaves upon each of
^^Yeav^^ his friends — as many as 150 or 200.
He need not go in to partake of the
New Year delicacies ; it is enough if he deposits
his card on the tray which is placed for the
purpose at the door. Over every door is
stretched a curiously plaited straw
DlZatims. I'ope, thick in the middle, and tapering
to a point at the ends, with a bunch
of evergreens, an orange, and a lobster, fastened
Festivals. 231
at the thickest part. Outside in the roadway
there is an arrangement of thick bamboos,
cut in a special shape, on each side of the
door. If the visitor does go in, he is offered
some " mochi." Mochi-making is a great
business at the end of the year. A party of
men carry round from house to house a boiler,
three heavv mallets, and a hus^e
wooden mortar, otandmg round the
mortar they pound the dough furiously, until it
is ready for boiling. What with the thuds of
the mallets, the shouting and whistling of the
men, thu blazing fire and steaming caldron,
your garden is like pandemonium during the
process. At the New^ Year "mochi" is eaten
soft, with brown bean sauce.
In the evening, there is a festive meal,
followed by games, the favourite being a card-
game, played as follow^s. One hundred well
known proverbs are selected, each divided into
two parts, and printed each part on a separate
card. The old man of the house has the
hundred first halves, which he reads aloud, one
by one ; the hundred second halves are dealt to
the other players, who place their hands face
upwards on the tatami. As the first half of
any proverb is read, the holder of the second
232 Half Hours in Japan.
half throws it out, or if he vsees it unnoticed
among his neighbour's cards, seizes it and
gives him one of his own. The player who is
first " out " wans. New Year's Day is the one
day in the whole year on which all shops are
closed.
On the " Misoka," the last day of each month,
it is correct to eat "o soba " (p. gg). It is a
great day for paying bills.
Other national holidays are not observed
in any particular way, except at the schools
(P- 253). Like our Bank holidays, they give
everyone an opportunity of counting on a "day
off" about once a month.
Besides these national holidays there are
local holidays, in connection with the Temple
Festivals, called " Matsuri." These
have largely lost then* religious signi-
ficance, like the "wakes" and "fairs" of
England, and are chiefly occasions of amuse-
ment. Every house in the vicinity of the
temple hangs out its paper lantern, and every
shop its paper box, with a quaint figure or two
painted upon it, in which a light is placed at
sundown. The little theatre is swept clean,
or, if there is none, a portable one is brought
from another temple ; and from morning till
Festivals. 233
night a dumb-show is carried on, to the accom-
paniment of a shrill flute and a drum, represent-
ing some scene in mythical Japanese history.
The four or five performers wear masks ; there
is always a fox, and an old man with a long
white beard, and one with the flat, foolish face,
called "Okami." At the same time a curious
contrivance is brought from somew^here, like a
glorified bier. Sometimes it is borne on wheels,
when children are allowed to sit on the edge of
its wagon as it is towed through the streets by
a line of little boys or men, wearing short w^hite
frocks, blue "obis" and " zukins." Sometimes
it is carried on men's shoulders. As they go
they shake and heave it, up and down and to
and fro, shouting " Hasu ! Hasu ! " I have never
been able to obtain an explanation of this. The
bier is evidently a reminiscence of the funeral
rites of the hero honoured at the temple, who
on his death became a "shin" (p. 166),
but why it should be treated so badly I do
not know.
The priests meanwhile are busy with people
who want to know what their luck wall be.
The inquirer makes an offering of the smallest
possible value, and is given an oblong box with
a hole at one end. He shakes it up, and a
234 Half Hours in Japan.
slip of bamboo comes out of the hole, with a
number on it. This corresponds to one of a
number of drawers, which the priest now opens,
and takes from it a slip of paper, inscribed with
a sentence from the sacred books. It may or
may not be exactly applicable to the circum-
stances of the case, but the inquirer somehow
or other decides, with its help, whether the
plan he has in his mind will turn out well
or ill.
The courtyard of the temple is crowded all
this time with stalls, for the sale of sweetmeats,
"kanzashi," pipes, and other small wares; peep-
shows, containing pictures from all Japanese
history ; booths, in which for one sen you may
see the performing canaries, the gigantic snake,
or the vanishing lady ; theatres, with drop-
scenes which are raised every now and then,
giving you time for just one peep, so that your
appetite may be whetted to pay your money
and go in, to be lost in wonder at the per-
formances of acrobats, or the skill of conjurers.
And each show has its tout, screaming himself
hoarse with announcing the superior attrac-
tions of his concern. And the crowd, as good-
natured a crowd as can be found in the
world, moves round from show to show,
Festivals.
235
staring and gaping, and now and then paying
its money and going in. Yes, it
[s great
lun, and one sees no drunkenness or bad
behaviour.
CHAPTER XXV.
STORIES, ETC.
TJic Sake Drinker's Dream.
A YOUNG man who had been lunching out,
one warm summer's day, fell asleep on his return
home, and dreamed that he was given a bottle
of sake, steaming hot. " Oh," said he in his
dream, " I'll just put this aside to get cool."
But a mosquito chose that moment to bite him
on the ankle, and he woke up. " P'ool that I
was," he reflected, " not to drink that sake
just as it was ! "
On a Notice Board.
Milk of Cow.
N. Ohashi,
First milk squeezer of Tokyo.
(2.)
Shiotani,
Washer of Ladies and Gentlemen in
torpedo washer. Prices low.
Ladies 1-50 the hundred. Gentlemen one dollar.
Stories, Etc. 237
Froju a ChilcVs Reading-book.
A gentleman sitting under an oak tree
observed a large water-melon growing on a
stalk, which ran straggling over a rubbish heap.
"What a poor arrangement," he said to him-
self, "to put a great melon like that on a
creeping plant, and a tiny acorn on a tall oak
tree. If / had had the making of the world I
should have put it the other way about, the
acorn on the plant, and the big melon on the
great tree." Just then there came a puff of
wind, which shook the trees, and down came
an acorn upon his nose. " Ah," he said, " Tm
o:lad I didn't have the makinsf of the world."
Moinotaro.
An old wood-cutter and his wife lived in a
hut by the side of a stream. One day the old
woman observed a very large peach floating
down the stream. She fished it out, and put it
on a shelf until her husband came home, that
she might share it with him. But hardly had
she placed it on the supper-table when it began
to crack — and lo ! instead of a stone, there was
a little tiny boy inside. They put him in a
bath-tub, which to their surprise he raised above
his head; and this was the first of a series of
238 Half Hours in Japan.
feats of strength far exceeding that of an ordinary
babv. They called him Momotaro — Peachling,
for " momo " means "peach." When he had
grown a little, he one day called the old woman,
and asked her to make him five " dango," that
is, millet dumplings, for he was going to attack
the castle of the goblins. She was a little
surprised, but she made them, and he put them
in his bag and set out. Presently a voice
called him from a tree — " Momotaro, what
have vou there ? " He looked up and saw a
pheasant. " The best dango in all Japan ; come
with me and you shall have one." So the
pheasant accompanied him. Next, a monkey
called — " Momotaro, what have you there?"
" The best dumplings in all Japan ; come with
me and you shall have one." So the monkey
came too, and presently a dog joined the party
also, on the same conditions. So they four
went on together. And when they came near
to the stronghold, the pheasant flew in front
of the others, and passing over the wall made
observations. She then called to the monkey,
who climbed up the wall at the place the pheasant
pointed out, and found an iron crowbar, which
he set in a handy place. He then unfastened
the great gate ; in rushed Momotaro and the
Stories, Etc. 239
dog, and while the dog snapped at the ogres'
heels, and the monkey threw stones at them
from the wall, and the pheasant flapped her
wings in their faces, Momotaro made play
with his crowbar, until they fell on their knees
and prayed for mercy. So he and his com-
panions entered the store-house, where they
found gold and silver and coral in abundance,
which thev bore in triumph to the old couple
at home, and made them rich and happy for
the rest of their days.
Kake means oyster ; kake means persimmon.
A Yokohama lady ordered a persimmon pie.
The cook made an oyster pie, and served it
with the sweets.
A faithful wife, in old days, was much
persecuted by a friend of her husband's, who
at last declared that if she would not leave her
home and follow him, he would kill her husband.
" If you will kill him first, I will come." She
then explained to him that he was to come bv
night, and cut oft^ the head of her husband,
which he would recognise by finding the hair
wet. All went well. Sword in hand, the
assassin found his way to the chamber of his
victim ; found a head with short wetted hair.
240 Half Hours in Japan.
with one stroke severed it from the body, and
bore it away to the place where the lady had
promised to meet him. The lady was not
there, and as day dawned he saw that the head
he held in his hand was not that of the husband,
but of the wife. She had saved his life at the
expense of her own.
There was a wood-cutter who had a terrible
wen on his right cheek. Caught one day in a
storm, he crept into a hollow tree, and fell
asleep. When he awoke he found it was
night, but the darkness was illumined by a
thousand tiny lamps, and in an open space
just by his tree a number of Tengu had opened
a sake tub, and were having high jinks.
Presently music struck up and a dance began ;
whereupon our friend rushed out and fell to
dancing with all his might, in the midst of the
peaky faces and long noses. They laughed
and cheered till the wood re-echoed, and as
morning dawned thev declared that he had
diverted them exceedingly, and must come
again. " And as a pledge that you will pay us
another visit, we take this wen ! " And in a
trice the wen fell from his cheek, so that it
became smooth as a child's.
Stories, Etc. 241
But a neighbour wood-cutter, who had a
huge wen on his left cheek, was stirred with
envv when next he met our hero, and would
have the storv of his cure. Learning the
secret, he set out with a new pair of straw
sandals on his feet. The Tengu duly assembled
round the sake tub, and wood-cutter number
two rushed out, and essayed to liing a leg.
But alas ! his agility or his skill was not equal
to that of his fellow wood-cutter ; the cheering
which greeted his first appearance died away,
and he ended his efforts amid chilling silence.
" Thank you," said the Tengu, " and as you
have tried to amuse us, we will pay you with
this ! " And forthwith they clapped upon his
ritrht cheek the wen thev had taken from
his fellow-sufterer, and he returned to his
hut adorned with two, instead of one, gigantic
wens !
The last story needs some explanation.
" Tengu " is the name given to fairies with
thin faces and long noses, supposed to live
among mountains in Japan. One sees pictures
and cardboard representations of them in shops
and houses ; and with them by way of contrast
are often put faces of another kind of fairy,
J. R
242 Half Hours in Japan.
broad and flat, with snub noses and fat, good-
natured cheeks, called " Okami." I was once
told that a Japanese mercliant sent to America
a few specimens of Tengu, as curiosities, and
was delighted to receive a large order. With
the next consignment he sent a few hundreds
of Okami as well, but was surprised to hear
that they were useless for the market. He
asked why, and was told that the American
public found the long noses of the Tengu made
very convenient hat-pegs, but the flat faces of
the Okami could not be utilised for that or
any other practical purpose.
There was a Tengu shrine near the house I
once occupied for a short time upon a hill near
Kobe, and it was not long before I found why
it was placed there. A ladv staying in my
house had taken a " kago," or native sedan
chair, for an expedition, and returned home
just after dark. The bearers had their meal of
rice, and received their fare. I supposed they
would return home; but my house "boy"
came to me and announced mvsteriously that
they really must stay the night. "Why? " I
asked. " Because of the Tengu." They really
did not dare to start, and, tired as they were,
preferred to sleep on the ground in the open
Stories J Etc.
243
air rather than descend to their huts at the
bottom of the hilh
These men, of course, were of the lowest
class ; but the fear of Tengu is not confined to
them. Mv house " boy " was a comparatively
well-born and educated man, but one night
when I told him to take a message to a neigh-
bourmg house, he said he would not go for
twenty ven. " Why, last year, a man was
leading his cattle down from the mountain after
dark, and never reached his home. They
found the oxen next morning, and traced the
man's footsteps to a place where the ground
was soft, and the oxen had evidently tramped
round and round, and up and down all night ;
but from the mass of hoof-marks his footsteps
never emerged. Beyond doubt he had been
carried oft bv the Tengu.''
You can easily understand that a man-servant
should be called " boy," for short ; but what
do you think of a woman-servant describing
herself as a " ladv-bov " ?
CHAPTER XXVI.
CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN.
You read in Chapter II. how Christianity was
stamped out and forbidden by the Toku^^awas.
Upon the reopenint^ of the countr}' in 1854,
missionaries of various countries found their
wav to Japan and commenced operations, at
first, of course, in the Treaty ports. The
Roman missionaries found some who knew
something of Christian teaching, which had
been handed down in secret from father to
son through all those 250 years, but on the
whole the disposition of the people was
distinctly opposed to, rather than in favour
of, a second introduction of the Faith of
Christ.
At first, then, there was a period of persecu-
tion and opposition. This was not due to any
action of the Government, for when
period of the Emperor promised his people a
opposition, c^^nstitution, he ordained that all
should be free to hold what religious opinions
Cliristiaiiity in Japan. 245
thev wished. Then an idea gained ground
that Christianity was a part of the
period of Western civiHzation Japan was so
success, aj-jxious to adopt ; full many were
baptized who had accepted the Faith with but
half their hearts and little of their under-
standings. Thev were as the " seed sown
among thorns" of the parable. For presently
there was a revival in favour of the old wavs,
and then many of them fell away, and either
resio:ned their Church membership
Reaction. ^ . ^
or ceased to attend service and say
their prayers. And then came the war,
followed bv such activitv in everv kind of
business as had never been known before ;
and now men seem to have no time for
thinking of religion, but "go their wav, one
to his farm, another to his merchandise," no
one seemins: to care even to examine whether
Christianity is true, or whether it has a
message for the country or for himself in
particular.
Statistics in regard to missionary work are
hard to obtain, and not verv reliable. There
are said to be about 100,000 Christians in
Japan, of whom the Roman Church claims
nearlv half and the Greek Church 16,000.
246 Half Hours in Japaii.
This latter total is the result, under God, of the
work of one man. Bishop Nicolai, who entered
the country as soon as it was opened, and has
„,, been workini'" almost simple-handed
Greek ever since. The secret of his success
^^^'"'''^'' is partly the Ritual of the Holy
Eastern Church, which appeals to the r.rtistic
Japanese people, parth' to his clear statement of
the Faith. " This is the way, walk \'e in it," has
been his motto. He has issued his Catechisms
and Text-books, opened his Divinity School,
and taui^ht clearlv truths which men mav
accept or reject. There has been no addin'j^
of difterent \-iews by different teachers, or
disagreement as to the articles of the faith.
Next in numbers come the Presbyterians
and Conj^reg'ationalists, with about 10,000
The 7cork of Hiembers each ; and then the " Nippon
English Sei Ko Kwai," or " Holv Church of
and ^ ,, • ■ * • 1 1
American Japan, m communion with the
missionaries. Churches of England and of America,
the fruit of the labours of missionaries con-
nected with those bodies. It is not a branch
of the English Church, still less an affair of
some missionary society, but an independent
National Church, with its own canons and
constitutions, its own Pra\'er-Book, its own
Christianity in Japan. 247
Home and Foreign Missionary Societies, its
own native clergy (now numbering about
twentv-five), and in the future, please God,
its own Bishops. Its members total 8,400.
It is noticeable that while the members of
other bodies have not increased, or have even
diminished, during the last few years, the
Nippon Sei Ko Kwai can alone, I believe, point
to an increase.
How this result has been obtained would be
a long story. The Church Missionary Society
has sent out more missionaries and
CMS.
lady workers than any other society,
SPG' .
the American Church not quite so
many, and the Society for the Propa-
gation of the Gospel a few. The Society
for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge,
too, has helped, by grants of money for
publishing and presents of books for libraries.
"God giveth the increase," and there are
few missionaries but could tell of the seed
sown bearing fruit in some quite unexpected
way ; few but would tell you that though
missionary work has its disappointments it
also has its joys, and that our Lord does fulfil
His promise of blessings a hundredfold.
The name of Bishop Edward Bickersteth
.?48 Half Hours in Jaj^an.
will for ever be associated with the organisa-
tion of the infant Church of Japan.
Edward It was his braui that nrst lormed the
Bickcrstcth. -^^^ ^^f ^^^ Independent National
Church ; his knowledge of ancient Church
customs and laws that devised the local and
general svnods, and drew up the canons and
constitutions which they presently accepted
as a basis for further advance. Other men
have now entered into his labours, for he
passed to his rest in August, 1897, largely
as the result of over-strain in connection with
a serious question affecting the prosperity of
the Japanese Church. May the foundations
be laid so well one day support a noble temple
— the Church of the Living God.
But it will not be yet. The Japanese must,
through the Holy Spirit, feel their need of the
Gospel before thev can accept it ;
Dijficultics. . ^ . . ' . . . -.,,/
they must lay aside then' mdmerence
in regard to religion ; they must be content to
become as little children, which, of all things,
is most hard to a people just conscious of its
strength. If you should ask what, bevond
these, are the great hindrances to the spread
of the Gospel, I should answer, first, the
impression that loyalty to Christ is somehow
CJiristiaiiitv in Japan. 249
opposed to lovalty to the Emperor ; secondly,
the passages of Holy Scripture which bid us
leave our father and mother and follow Christ
(for thev seem opposed to the Confucian duty of
obedience to parents) ; thirdly, the incon-
sistent, and even bad, lives of some professing
Christians ; and fourthly, the divisions which
exist amono^ us.
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE 1':mpkror.
His Imperial Majesty, Mutsu Hito, was born
at Kyoto on November 3rd, 1852. He is tbe
one hundred and twenty-third of the
rhc . -^
Emperors Imperial line, his ancestor, Jmimu
her son edit v. rr^ ^ i r i_ t^ u •
^ I enno, the nrst hmperor, havm^ii^ es-
tablished the dvnastv which has lasted unbroken
for 2500 years. We in England usually call him
the Mikado (literally " honourable gate," like
the "sublime porte" in Turkey), but in his own
country he is spoken of as Tenshi Sama — "the
lordof heayen" (heayen ofcourse is the Japanese
empire), or Tenno, of much the same meaning.
The Empress is rather older than his
'^^'^' Majesty. She has done as much for
Empress. ^ ^ '• ^ n i • 11 • r
the social well-being and education ot
her own sex as her noble Husband has accom-
plished for the nation generally.
The heir-apparent is Prince Haru, now
The Cro2,'n ^^out twenty years of age. I regret
Prince, to Say that his health is yery bad,
and he is continualh- in the doctor's hands.
Tlic Einpcrov.
:5i
When we reflect on the enormous changes
which have passed over the country- since the
Emperor left his retirement at Kvoto, we
THE EMPEROR.
can harcUv suflicienth' admire his foresight
in seeino- that the chancres must
His ' . . ^ .
open-minded come, and his prudence in carrying"
^"'^-^' out necessarv reforms. Thirtv vears
ago the Emperor never appeared in pubhc.
252 Half Hours in Japan.
When first he did so every door and window was
shut, for none might look, especially from
above, upon the Imperial Presence. Last
vear he graciously visited Kobe and drove in
an open carriage, not only among his own
people, but even through the Concession,
among the foreigners who not long ago would
have been spoken of as barbarians, and for-
bidden to set foot in the country.
You may be sure that he is dearly loved by
his subjects. During the war he left Tokyo
and took up his residence at Hiroshima, the
centre from which his soldiers were despatched
across the sea, for there were gathered the
greatest men of the state. It was an unprece-
dented act of interest in his countrv's welfare,
and when he returned to Tokyo the enthusiasm
aroused was intense. You will remember that
the first Emperor was considered to be the
descendant of the sun goddess ; for many
generations a claim to Divine honour was on
this account put forth on behalf of the
Emperors. This has been repudiated by the
present enlightened occupant of the throne ;
but if he receives less of worthless honour as
a deity, he receives far more love and true
reverence as a man.
The Emperor. 253
The greatest difficulty the rulers of Japan
had to meet, was the reconciliation of the old
customs and ideas with the new light
D ^^'•',, which suddenh' burst upon the
Rescript. - ^
country from abroad. Some, in
their excess of zeal for foreign ideas, would
have it that every truly Japanese institution
and custom must be given up ; others would
have these maintained at all costs, to the
rejection of the new teaching. Under these
circumstances, the Emperor issued a rescript,
which is read in every national school m the
country on opening days and prize days,
and also on the Emperor's birthday. On
this day the scholars must all be in their
places bv g a.m. A curtain is then drawn
back, revealing a large picture of his
Majesty, surmounted by Japanese flags, and
decorated with flowers. The national anthem
is sung, the Rescript is read, and then each
child moves in front of the picture, reverently
makes his bow in honour of the exalted
personage whom it represents, and returns
to his place. We cannot end this book better
than by giving you the Rescript, and last of all
the national anthem of Japan.
254 '^'/^'■' l\-i'Sii'i[)t.
THE RESCRIPT.
'* Our Ancestors established the Eni[)iie on a liriii
foundation, and stamped upon it iheir own virtues, which
Our subjects, by their unanimity in lo\alty and filial
affection, liave in all ages shewn in perfection. These
virtues constitute the essential beauty of Our national
polity, the true spring of Our educational system.
" You, Our beloved subjects, be filial to your parents,
affectionate to your brothers, be loving husbands and
wives, and truthful to your friends. Conduct yourselves
with modesty, and be l)enevolent to all. Develop your
intellectual faculties, and perfect your mental powers by
gaining knowledge, antl by preparing for a profession.
Further, promote the public interests, and advance the
public affairs; ever respect the national constitution, and
obey the Uws of the country ; and in case of emergency,
courageously sacritice yourselves to the public good.
"■ Thus do We bid you offer every support to Our Imperial
dynasty, which shall be as lasting as the Universe. You
will then not only be most loyal subjects, but you will be
enabled also to exhibit the noble character of your ancestors.
Such are the testaments left Us by Our Ancestors, which
must be observed by their descendants and subjects.
" These precepts are perfect throughout all ages, and of
universal application.
" It is Our desire to bear them in Our heart in common
with you. Our subjects, to the end that We may constantly
possess these virtues.
" Given this, the 30th October, the 23rd )ear of Meiji "
( = 1891).
(His Imperial Majesty's Sign-Manual.)
(Privy Seal.)
IHE NATIONAL ANTHEM.
Kimi ga yo wa
Chiyo ni yachiyo ni
Sazareishi no
Iwao to narite
Koke no musu made.
C
CO
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ir
i
M.1
T^^
^1
t
5
ft^
^t
S"
it
11
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n
;\-
"
vT
^-
lis
ft;
a-
ft
"OSTER Square. E.C
GLOSSARY.
WITH FURTHER EXPLANATORY NOTES.
Amado. — The wooden shutters sHding in front of the
shoji, when a house is shut up for the night, or during a
storm of rain. Pp. 63, 135.
A?ne. — A thick syrup or sweetmeat, like malt extract
prepared from millet. P. 98.
Andoji. — A large paper lantern used for illumination in
sleeping apartments. P. 134.
Benteti Saina. — The hundred-handed goddess of mercy.
P. 213.
Biwa. — -A fruit. P. 102.
Bon festival — The day on which the spirits of the dead
revisit the graves in which their bodies lie. A light is placed
on each grave to show the spirit the spot. [There was a
curious mixture of old and new to be seen in a cemetery in
Kobe. On the " bon " the graveyard was dotted with these
lights : above each gate-post was a brilliant electric light !]
Pp. 182, 230.
Chadai. — "Tea money." The small sum of money left
on the tray at a tea-house, or added to the amount of the
bill at an inn, to pay for the tea drunk. It is sometimes
paid on first arriving at the inn, when a liberal present will
ensure attention. P. 136.
Chirime7i. — Silk crepe. "To chirimen," cotton crepe.
P 13.
J- s
258 Halt Hours in Japan.
Chochin. — A paper lantern. Every jinricksha must have
its chochin after sundown, and must hang it on the right-
hand sha*"t, to lessen the risk of collision. P. 105.
Daikon. — Raw turnip eaten after meals. Pp. 84, 87.
Daimio. — The feudal lords of pre-Restoration days.
P- 7.
Dango. — Millet dumplings. Pp. 97, 238.
Eri. — A lady's collar, usually of flowered crepe or silk.
P. 188.
Fukusa. — The handkerchief in which small articles are
wrapped when carried through the streets, sent as presents,
etc. Shops do not always supply paper, so you take your
fukusa with you when you go shopping. And, it must be
added, paper is used for the purpose for which we generally
use pocket-handkerchiefs. P. 17.
Fiisuma. —Sliding cardboard screens between two rooms.
p. 63.
Futon. — Padded quilts for sleeping upon. P. 132.
Geta. — Wooden clogs. Pp. 60. 193.
Go??ia. — Sesamum ; a small seed about the size of rape
seed. Cuttlefish fried in sesamum oil is a favourite dish for
sale at the street corners. One writer on Japan says that
if the man who said " open sesame" to the rock-built door
in the " Arabian Nights " was cooking cuttlefish at the time,
the smell was probably enough of itself to open any number
of rock-built doors. P. 17.
Hachima?i. — The god of war. P. 169.
Hahmna. — A divided, pleated skirt. P. 191.
Haori. — The outer garment sometimes worn over the
kimono. P. 187.
Hashihe. — A small boat. P. 144
Hi7ia7natsuri, — The dolls' festival. P. 25.
Glossary. 259
Itasshai. — The polite invitation to "come in," which the
waitresses at tea-houses shout to passers-by. P. 125^
Jigohu. — A Buddhist hell. Pp. 159, 164.
Inkyo. — Retirement of old people. P. 27.
Jiiirichsha, — The two-wheeled carriage pulled by a man.
p. ..5.
Kanzashi. — An ornamented hair-pin. Pp. 192, 234.
Kake. — Persimmon. P. 100. Also oyster. P. 239.
Kamidana. — The shelf in a house on which are kept
memorials of ancestors. Pp. 126, 170.
Kohu. — ^A measure of capacity, a bushel. P. 147.
Ky'b. — Buddhist scriptures. P. 211.
Koto.—K musical instrument of nine strings, and about
six feet long. Pp. 23, 40, 51.
Kimojio. — Literally, a " wearing thing ; '' the most general
name for all garments in Japan, but chiefly restricted to the
long flowing outer robe of every-day wear. P. 184.
Kihi. — The chrysanthemum, the imperial crest. Piivate
gentlemen cultivate the flower as a hobby, and in Novem-
ber and December, when the flowers are in bloom,
throw their houses open to friends, when every variety
and every colour may be seen in magnificent array.
P. 140.
Kago. — The sedan chair used in mountain districts.
P. 112.
Kura. — Fireproof warehouse. P. 66.
Kahemofio. — A hanging roll picture. P. 63.
Katsuobushi. — A kind of dried fish. Pp. 13, %2.
Mochi. — Cake made of pounded rice. It is made at the
New Year. Pp. 17, 231. It is kept late in the year
hanging from the roof.
If it cracks early a hot, dry summer is predicted.
26o Half Hours in Japan
Mofi.— k gate ; an ancient coin : also a family crest.
Pp. 176, 203.
Misoka. — The last day of the month, l*. 232.
Matsuri. — A local or national festival. P. 232.
Meiji. — The era of enlightened government. As Eastern
peoples have no B.C. or A.D. they divided time into
periods. The emperors decided when a new period was to
begin, being guided by any remarkable event which seemed
to justify such a step. The present era has lasted since
1868: the era before that, ''Keio," was of four years
only. P. 29.
Mikado. — The ancient name of the emperor. P. 250.
Naiitcfi. — A tree bearing red berries, somewhat resembling
those of the mountain ash. P. 141.
Nc-san. — Properly "ane san," elder sister : the term used
for a waitress in a hotel. Pp. 84, 126.
Nichiren. ~A Buddhist reformer of the eighteenth century.
Many wonderful stories are told about him, as, for instance,
when an executioner raised his sword to cut off his head,
the sword shivered to pieces in his hand. P. 169.
Nippon or Nihon. — " Origin of sun." The true name of
Japan. P. i.
Nippon sei kokwai. — Sei = holy, ko = universal, kwai =
assembly; the nearest translation that could be found for the
Holy Catholic Church of Japan. P. 246.
^V. Y. K. — Nippon Yusen Kaisha, the Japan Mail Steam-
ship Company. Pp. 143, 148.
Noshi. — A piece of paper folded in a peculiar shape,
inserted under the string which fastens up a present.
P. 14.
Nakadachi. — The middleman or go-between in a marriage.
I'P- 53, 55-
Glossary. 261
Obi. — The wide sash worn by both men and women.
P. 184.
Ocha. — Literally, "honourable tea." " Cha "is never used
without the "o, " which is an honorific, properly applied
only to objects belonging to other people than yourself.
Ocha 710 }Ti. — The ceremonial tea-making. P. 46.
Ohami. — A flat-faced mask, representing a kind of fairy,
often hung as a sign outside an eating-house. Pp. 233, 242.
Onigoto. — " Goblin game," Blind man's buff. P. 20.
Ri. — A measure of distance, two and a half miles.
Pp. 36, 216.
Rin. — The smallest copper coin : y^^th of a sen.
P. 216.
San. Sama. — A term of respect usually equivalent to
Mr. Mrs., or Miss. "Takahashi San" is Mr. Takahashi.
"Takahashi O Fude San" is ISIiss Fude Takahashi. Sama
is an honorific of stronger force; " Tenshi Sama," the
Emperor : " Sencho San," the captain of a ship — unless you
want to ask him a favour, when you may call him " Sama,"
to put him in a good humour. P. 33.
Sakaki. — The Cleyera Japonica: an evergreen used for the
decoration of graves. P. 183.
Sakazuki. — The ceremonial drinking of sake at a wedding,
P- 55-
Sake. — The national drink of Japan, brewed from rice.
P. 89.
Sa?nisen. — A musical intrument, like a banjo. Pp. 23,
40, 51-
Sashimi. — Raw fish served for eating. P. 82.
Sayoiiara. — " Good-bye," generally accompanied with a
long, low bow Japanese do not kiss one another or shake
hands, when they say good-bye. P. 42.
262 Half Hours in Japan
Sen. — Same word as "cent :" y^xyth part of a silver dollar,
value one farthing. Pp. 36, 216.
Sa??iurai. — The t\vo-s\vorded knights of old Japan.
1^7-
Shogufi. — The title in full is " Sei-i-Tai-Shogun," ''Com-
mander-in-chief of the army to chastise barbarians." It was
originally given by the Emperor to the general whom he
entrusted with his forces to subdue the Ainu and other
aboriginal tribes in ancient times occupying the eistern
parts of the main island, as well as the island of Yezo, where
alone Ainu are now found. The title was assumed by ihe
Tokugawas, and with it the practical power of government.
P. 7.
Shogwatsu. — New year. P 231.
Shoji. — Sliding ])aper walls. Pp. 59, 60, 62.
Shin. — The spirits of departed ancestors. Pp. 165, 181.
Soda. — Generally called "o soba." A dish of macaroni.
Sushi. — Fish rolled in boiled rice, wrapped round with
sea-weed. P. 90.
Sekihan. — Red rice used on festive occasions. P. 17.
Soroban. — The abacus, or calculating machine. P. 39.
Tabi. — Socks, with a division for the big toe. P. 193.
Tatami. — Thick mats of rice straw, which form the fioor
of a Japanese house. Pp. 59, 104.
Tansu. — A chest of drawers. P. 54.
Tempo. — The era of "the protection of heaven." P. 217.
Tengii. — Goblins or fairies of Japan. P. 241.
Torii. — An archway to a temple. P. 199.
Tohonoma. — The alcove in the corner of a room.
Pp. 63, 89.
Tsubo. — A land measure, six feet square. P. 60.
Glossary. 263
U??ii. — The sea. P. 98.
JVaraJi. — Straw sandals for rough wear. P. 194.
Yohan. — A sweetmeat resembling Turkish delight.
P. 97.
Zori. — Straw sandals for light wear. P. 194.
Zukin. — A wrap for the head. P. 192.
THE END.
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