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ary Facility

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THE LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

GIFT OF

COMMODORE BYRON MCCANDLESS

^rr.

Mandarines Country Seat

A Picturesque and Historic Description of these LanJs and Peoples

By G. Waldo Browne

Author of " Paradise of the Pacific," " Pearl of the Orient," etc.

IVitb a General Introduction by EDWARD S. ELLIS, A. M.

Author of " History of Our Country," " People's History of the United States,"

" Youth's History of the United States'," etc.

With the followi'ig Special Articles

By the Honorable HENRY Cabot LODGE

By Major-General JOSEPH WHEELER

By His Excellency KOGORO TakaHIRA

(Hhhta

By the Honorable JOHN D. LONG

(Cuba

By General LEONARD WOOD

JJnrtn Biro

Bv the Hononble CHARLES H. ALLEN

Illuslratedby about 1,200 Photogravures, Colored Plates, Engravings & Maps

MARSHALL f () N 1{ S COMPANY

BOSTON

V.3

CONTENTS

VOJ UME III

JAPAN — Continued

CHAi^rfm

\'lil. XiKKO AND Its Temples

IX. Natives ok the Gkeenwoods

X. Lakes of the Highlands .

XI. In the Wilds

XII. The Kden ok the North

XIII. .Shadows of Dkpauted Power

XIV. The Wonders of .\tami
XV. The Rip Va.v Winkle of .Japan

XVI. Regio.v of the Great Earthquake

XVII. .\lono the Inland Sea

XVIII. The Heart of Japan .

XI.\. The Flower of Religion

.\X. Religious Festivals .

XXI. The Pine of the Lovers

X.XII. The Market of Mirth

XXIII. The Star Lovers

XXIV. Pa.stimes of a People
XXV. Indoor Recreations .

XXV'I. When the Wurld Was New

PAQE

3S3
396
403
411
418
427
437
451
400
470
4S0
4<I3
.503
513
522
533
541
552

1024461

FULL PAGE ENGRAVINGS

VOLUME UI

Mandarin's Country Seat. Phologramre
Chiusenji Lakk, Xikko ...
A Buddhist Temple. Coloured
I.MAICHI Road, Xikko ....
S.^CRED Bridge, Nikko ....
Tamadare Waterfall, at Yuxioto

Reading a Letter

Ku.\iamoto Castle

Kaxiakura

Japanese Post.man. Coloured

Lilies .... ...

Fujiyama, fro.m Orniya Village .
Snowballs

Coloured

Fujiyama, from Iedzumi Village .
Cherry Tree, Maruyama, Kioto .
Bridge at .\rashiyama. Coloured
Junks .......

FUJIYA.MA, THE Sacred Mountain of Japan
Plu.m Blossoms

KiNKAKU Te.MPLE, KiOTO ....

JiNRiKisHAS. Coloured ....

.■\ Tea-house Girl

JAPANESE Monkey Trainer

Bridge over the Rio Grande

Wrestlers. Coloured ....

Xarra Temple Gate and Stone Lanterns

Japanese Actors. Coloured .

Xagoya Ca.stle ...

Japanese Festive Decorations, Bentendori, Yokohama

The Toilet . .

Frontispiece

Facing Page

373

378

390

394

402

410

418

426

434

438

442

450

458

466

474

478

■1

479

480

486

494

502

510

518

522

<•

526

534

542

550

558

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

VOLUME HI

Stable, Nikko ....

Y.\sH.\.MO.\ Gate, Nikko

Monkey Carved Stable, Nikko

Temple at Nikko

Sacked Post at Nikko .

Kanaya Hotel at Kikko

A Buddhist Shrine

View of Matsushima

Tame Deer, Nara .

A Public 1'leasure Resort, Kan

azawa ....

A Cobbler ....
A " Tea-house Womax " i.v Jix

RIKISHA ....

Folding Clothes ...

Washing

Resting Kago ....

YUMOTO

Husking Rice ....

Fujiyama

FujiYA Hotel at Miyanoshita

ToRii, Shinto Temple Grounds

Country Girls

School, Old Style .

Rekresh.ment Seller

A Fisherman ....

Lantern .Makers

Feedinc; Silkworms

Yo Mei Gate, Nikko

Main Street, Tokyo

View on the Uluff, Yokohama

Road TO THE Temple

A Ru.sTic Te.mple Shrine

In a Nobleman's Garden

Irls Garden

View at .Atami

In a Temple Court

A Shinto I'uie.st

Theatre at Osaka

PAGE

374
376
377
379
3S0
384
385
387

3SS
3«,)1)

391
393
394
397
399
401)
403
40,0
407
4()S
409
41_>
414
41.')
41(i
419
4_".'
4_'3
424

4J.T

42H
130
131
133
134
43,-)

Fujikawa River Looking toward

Fujiyama 4.38

Fujiyama 440

Suwa-Yama Mountain, Kosfc . 442

Shiraito Waterfall, Fujiyama . 444
-Mountain View fro.m Monastery

Garden, Nikko . . 446

Girls Warming Themselves . 447

Country Road 448

Japanese Physicia.v . . . 449

Girls Dancing .... 452

Threshing Rice .... 454

Carpenters 455

Japanese Tea Trader . . . 457

Fishing with Cormorants . . 458

River View, Nagasaki . . . 461

A Waterfall at Kobe . . . 463

.\ Pleasure Boat .... 464

.Japanese Bedchamber . . . 466

\'iEW of MiYAjnL\ .... 467

Bluff, Yokoha.ma .... 468

Kyoto from Maruyama . . . 471

.A Garden, Kyoto .... 472

\'iEW NEAR Kyoto .... 474

GioN Temple, Kyoto . . . 476

Kiyomizu at Kyoto . . . 478

Temple of Shiba .... 481

Si EPS to the Sacred Gate . 482
Typical View in a Monst^ry

Garden 484

Smiranui Te.mple .... 485
Grove Sukrocnding a Shinto-

BuDDiii.sT Shrine . . 4S7

Dancing-girl, Tokyo . 489

The Sacred Road .... 490

SniNio Priest 491

\'ii.LAGE Festival .... W,

Kdta and Samsin Players . . 495

A Palanuuin 497

Vlll

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Toilet 499

A Sacred Retreat .... 500
Great Stone Lantern, Yokohama 501

OiREAN Girl 504

A Wrestling Match . . . 506

Bronze Horse 507

Japanese Doctor .... 509

Types 510

Lake-shore AND FouAGE . .511
Lantern Seller . . . .514
A Wine Cellar . . . .516
Children's FestivaIi . . . 517

Toy Dealer 519

A Flower Girl .... 520
Catching Shell-fish . . . 523
A Country Seat .... 524
A Beautiful Garden of Tokyo . 525
Lantern !\L\kers .... 527
Bracket Bridge, Fukagawa . 52S

PAGE

i\IlYANOSHITA RiVER

530

Wrestlers

634

Acrobats .

535

Actor as an Old-time

Warriob

536

Japanese Kite .

, ,

538

A Toy Seller .

. ,

539

Geisha

542

A Flute Player

543

House Cleaning

545

Tea-house Girl

o o

547

An Actor .

548

Actors

. e

549

A Broom Seller

. .

552

A Cooper .

554

A Garden Cascade .

. .

556

Iris Garden

557

Garden at Kagoshima

558

An Inland Sea

BOO

559

JAPAN -Continued.

CHAPTER VITI.

NIKKO AND ITS TEMPLES.

UNTIL within a few years the traveller to Nikko could get no nearer
liy rail than tlie little town of Utsunoniiya, twenty-five miles from
his destination, but the beauty and grandeur of this last stage of
his journey more than made up for the added inconvenience of travel.
The entire way, which is a broad, well-made road, as highways generally
are in Japan, is bordered by twin rows of loft}' cryptomerias, some of
them risinjr to a height of two hundred feet, their stately bodies free
of branches for more than half that distance. These grand old monarchs,
excepting a few that have taken the place of the originals, were planted
a long time ago by a nobleman to make this road a fitting avenue leading
to the resting-place of the shoguns sleeping in their bronze tombs on the
hills of the city of temples.

Truly no more worthy monument could have been raised, and it is
estimated that over a hundred thousand per.'sons annually make their pious
pilgrimages to the sacred shrines of Kikko. But the sublime effect has
been marred by the modern methods of travel, and a band of pilgrims
seeking their Mecca on an express-train lose their devout appearance.
All over Japan the railroad is robbing it of much of its old-time grandeur,

Nikko nestles at the foot of the Nikko-zan range of mountains, in one
of tlie grandest valleys of picturesque Japan two thousand feet above the
sea. It has a cool, salubrious climate in summer, so it is a popular resort
at that time, as well as being the keeper of the proudest temples hi the
land. Among the many sacred treasures of this storehouse of nature,
there is none so ancient or so noble as the venerable mountains clothed in
their dense growth of forest.

The city of temples is especially fortunate in its environments. If the
mountains are the noblest in the northland, the waterfalls are the wildest
in Japan. One of them leaps a sheer 350 feet into a basin of snow ;
another is broken and twisted into a .series of cascades, whose silvery

372

JAI'AN.

373

beauty cannot be conveyed to paper. The ancient forests are hung with
rare mosses, that give theui an increased appearance of hoariness. The
silence and solitariness of the village of Irimachi, hemmed in by the
towering heights, possesses an intensity of loneliness beyond comparison.
But everywhere the atmosphere is laden with the sweet perfumes of a
thousand flowers, and l)irds of rare plumage and melodious songs

STAIII.E. MKKO.

enliven the scene. Tlie temperature, too, has a delight liil and invigor-
ating tone, both healthful and hopeful.

At Nikko is seen a shrine of the oldest religion in .Japan — older than
her history, in fact. Beside this emblem of the Shinto faith was erected
by the saint Shodo Shonin, in 716, a temple "t Uiiddiia. The later religion
was introduced into tiie empire from China, but its priests were wise
enough not to attempt to replace the primitive Shinto by it, being content
to imite the two. The al)lest and most powerfid follower of Buddha was,
no doubt, that great warrior, lyeyasu, who was deified by the emperor as
" the great incarnation of Buddha, the Light of the East." Upon his death

n74

THE FAR EAST.

this noted man was buried at Kiinozan, in the southern country, and noble
shrines were built to immortalise his memory. But in time it was felt
that sufficient honour had not been done the mighty man, and it was
decided to remove his remains to a more fittmg resting-place at Nikko.

So in 1617, on the greatest day Nikko ever knew, his body was removed
to her exalted protection, with such impressive ceremonies as only the
rites of Buddha can afford. Japan has never seen such another burial; it
majf never again see its like. The remains of the hero were borne up the

Y.\SHAMON GATE, NIKKO.

grand avenue lined by stately cryptomerias, to the mausoleum on the
cedared mount, by the imperial envoy, made up of a long train of noble-
men with two-sworded retainers, many gorgeously decked priests, and
the living shogun.

The most-sought approach to the temple-tombs of the illustrious dead
is over the sacred bridge, which is a wooden structure lacquered a deep
red, in vivid contrast to the sombre hue of the pines, and supported by
stone piers. Gates are closed at either end, stopping all entrance, except
when they are open once a year for the annual festival, and vast crowds
pass over the sacred way. Leaving this bridge, the avenue lies under

JAl'AX.

;37.j

overhanging cr}'ptomerias, and is terraced with stones worn smooth by
many footsteps.

Midway in the ascent is a small belfry, looking like a huge mushroom
under its big sloping roof, covered with bronze plates, and surmounted by
the crest of lyeyasu. A bronze bell, rung by means of a big log of wood
placed at an angle so that, upon being pulled back by a rope, it will
strike the deep- toned instrument as it rebounds, sends forth its clear
resonant notes so as to be heard a long distance. At the head of the
terraced ascent stands a massive sj-mbol of Shintoism, a granite torii. This
is twenty-seven feet and six inches in height, but looks dwarfed beside the
handsome five-storied pagoda standing near by. The latter has a beautiful
crest, its stories decreasing in size as they stand one above another. The
eaves of the lower story are decorated by the painted carvings of the
twelve Japanese signs of the zodiac : the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, ser-
pent, horse, goat, ape, cock, dog, and pig.

Broad stone steps lead to the entrance, through the " Gate of the Two
Kings," to the storehouses containing the precious relics of lyeyasu, and
the numerous belongings of the temple. In the great courtyard, with its
rows of stone lanterns, beside these two structures, with their large tiled
roofs, is another and larger building, with painted carvings of elephants
showing their hind legs turned the wrong way. These ornaments are the
work of the famous left-handed artist, Hidari Jing(jro, and are considered
marvels of artistic taste. This elegant court is lighted, on special occasion,
by 118 magnificent lanterns placed on massive stone bases, the gifts of
noblemen in honour of the sleeping god lyeyasu. Kept in a small stable
near by is a snow-white pony sacred to the use of the god. This building
is ornamented by the carvings of three monkeys, supposed to represent the
unique trinity of San-goku no saru, the trio that neither see, hear, nor
speak any evil. This fact is symbolised by the attitudes of the monkeys,
one having his paws over his eyes, the second covering his mouth, and the
third his ears. Wherever one goes in Japan he will see these images of
blind, dumb, and deaf monkeys. In this .same court is a cistern fashioned
out of solid rock, and holding holy water, which comes from a stream on
the mountainside, known as the White Thread Cascade, as the water flows
over the brink of the precipice in such a delicate layer of the silvery fluid
as to look to be a part of the glistening stone.

376

THE FAR EAST.

In the midst of his admiration of this scene the tourist hears the soft
ting-a-ling of golden wind-bells under the eaves of the buildings, as they
are gently swayed to and fro by the breeze.

At the head of another flight of steps the visitor comes upon a second
court, filled with wonder-works of Japanese skill, and gifts from other
coimtries. Among these last are a bronze candelabrum, that belonged
years ago to a king of Loochoo ; a huge candlestick sent from Holland,

MONKEY CARVED STABLE, NIKKO.

and a strange bell wliich was once the pride of a Corean king. These
gifts came from those kingdoms when they were considered as vassals of
Japan.

Another flight of steps ascended, and the visitor pauses before the Yo
Mei gate, its two stories decorated with remarkable carvings of the com-
mon and the unusual in artistic work. Engraved in intricate tracings of
marvelous cunning and grotesque invention are groups of happy children,
wise-looking Chinese sages, heads of weird dragons, and beasts that live

JAPAN.

377

only in the mythology of a picturesque people. On either .'^ide are clois-
ters prodigal of theii- carvings of birds and flowers.

As the ponderous gate swings ajar we are ushered into a courtyard con-
taining several buildings, one of which was reserved in ancient times for
the kagura, or sacred dance, which was performed by priestesses in wide-
flowing silken trousers, an overdress of gauzy texture, and a wreath of
artificial flowers, while they held in their hands tiny bells, that gave forth
soft, bewitching music. They swirled and postured in absurd positions,

TK.Ml-I.K AT SIKKO.

making ridiculous passes with their fans before amused priests. Near the
centre of the court is an enclosure holding the chapel, which contains tliat
universal emblem of Shintoism, the golden gohei, attached to a long wand,
and a Shinto mirror on a table lacquered a deep black. Save the decora-
tions of l)ronze figures on the walls and ceilings, carvings and frescoes in
gold and black lacquer, there are no ornaments hero. But the dinniess of
the light, the coolness of the atmosphere, and the deep solemnity that per-
vades the sacred precinct, with its impressive mementos of the days of
old, linger long with the beholder.

There is another way leading to this court, through an old gate bearing

378 THE FAR EAST.

over its top the ancient carving of a sleeping cat, denoting the tireless
sentry, and the work of the left-handed artist already mentioned. This
path leads up 220 moss-grown steps to that spot of greatest sanctity, the
tomb of Japan' s greatest ruler. In fact, all these preludes of courts, stone
stairways, massive gates, and displays of decorations have been only the
entrance to the mausoleum.

Situated within an enclosure of lofty walls surmounted with a balustrade,
and sheltered by stately old cryptomerias, the tomb itself is unadorned,
and stands an impressive and fitting resting-place of the mighty shogun.
It is constructed of huge blocks of stone, crested with an urn of gold,
silver, and copper-bronze raised in the form of a pagoda. A vase of bronze
filled with lotus flowers and leaves in brass, a bronze tortoise supporting a
stork, an ornament typifying the length of the days, and an incense burner
of the same metal, all stand on a table of stone in front of the tomb.
Situated on this noble height imder the deathless shade of the pines,
and behind the picturesque temples reared in his honour, the great
monarch sleeps amid surroundings in keeping with his illustrious record.
Truly, in no other land is fame more lasting, or honour more highl}'
esteemed.

Scarcely inferior to this sublime mausoleum is the monument raised to
the memory of his grandson, lyemitsu. This is reached by an avenue
turning from the approach to the other. In this direction, courtyards and
flights of stone steps, gold and bronze images, grotesrpie carvings, temples
to the Shinto faith, the tomb of Yoritomo, the shrewd, ambitious, and un-
scrupulous founder of the shogunate, niches filled with figures of m;ytho-
logical gods and goddesses, among which ^ve note those ridiculous monsters
with prodigious display of teeth that are sujiposed to rule the wind and
thunder, gates that show both art and skill in the building, an oratory as
impressive as that of lyeyasu, and with more of ornamentation ; all this,
and many other beauties, which to describe would call into use every
synonomous adjective in the English language belonging to the class mag-
nificent, until we stand in our bare feet and with bowed head in the
tomb of this noted man.

The two temples and their environments have interests that are different,
as the first has, in comparatively late years, been shorn of its profuse
adornments and rededicated to the Shinto gods, whose surroundings are

A Buddhist Temple

JAPAN.

always of the simplest kind ; while the latter remains in Buddhist hands,
and retains the ornate glory of this religion. Its storehouses are filled
with works of art and rare paintings, which no pen can adequately
describe. The beauty, grandeur, and sublimity of these famous shrines of
Nikko must be seen to be appreciated. Art and Nature seem to have
joined hands in outdoing themselves. India, famous for her sacred shrines,
has nothing to com-
pare with the m .
Even w hen the
Taj Mahal, that
" temple-tomb of
Asia," has Vjeen
placed in compari-
son with these seen
at Nikko, the be-
holder finds all the
awe and wonder of
the other, placed
amid its soleiuu
sliadows, revivified
with intensified in-
terest, until he feels
that it was here, in
the mountains of
the north, art began
and temples had
their origin.

Leaving these
splendid sepulchres of the founder of the Tokugawa dynasty, and his
quite as illustrious grandson, in the midst of stately mountains, clothed in
ancient forests, and invested in storied mysteries of the ages, we soon
reach that fla,shing stream Daiya gawa, plunging headlong down the pre-
cipitous descent in a frantic race to gain ihc. lowlands, where it is spanned
by the Mi Ilasi, or sacred liridge, built in 1G38 A. D., at a spot where leg-
end says was made the first pilgrimage to the mountains of the .'iaiiit
Shodo Shonin. A lesser temple is raised by the wayside, dedicated to the

SACKED I'liM AT MKho.

380

THE FAR EAST.

goddess of rice, Inari, and bearing the figure of the fox, which is the per-
sonification of this deity.

Nikko puts on her best livery at the festival of lyeyasu, and the shrines
to this hero are then seen to the best advantage. But the tourist has not
seen it all untU he has been present at one of the annual pilgrimages to
the mountain shrines.

The day is perfect. Nikko has more perfect days, it would seem, than
any other spot in Japan. The grand avenue is provided with refreshments

KANAYA HOTEL AT NIKKO.

for the coming multitude, and a pine, consecrated to propitiate the evil
spirits, is dragged furiously up the terraced path. Eager, excited people
rusli after it, plucking branch after branch from the tree as charms against
evils, until it is bare of leaf and branch. During this performance a con-
tinual outcry of voices from a hundred throats rings up and down the val-
ley erstwhile so heavy with the silence. Then the broad gate of the sacred
Red Bridge is flung open, and the anxious, travel-worn pilgrims move
solemnly forward on their march to the holy temples. Sanctimonious
priests in robes of gold brocade or silk chasubles and white cassocks, and
mounted on ponies selected with religious veneration for this pious occa-

JAPAN. liSl

sion, are followed by their train of devoted parishioners, clothed in bright
yellow gowns, and holding on long poles over their heads huge fans.
Behind these marches a long train of warriors, made conspicuous by their
ancient trappings and arms of olden styles. Next in this strange proces-
sion walk, in double file, men and boys, with masks over their faces and all
wearing quaint costumes of other days donned for this especial scene. The
last squad wave banners or temple flags of queer device over their heads,
or carry live birds or monkej's. In the rear, attired in skins of wild
beasts, and to make the imitation more startling, men creep upon their
nands and knees, following two and two abreast. Besides these singular
bodies of people, at intervals along the marching column zealous adherents
of the faith draw sacred cars on wooden wheels, with temple-shaped roofs
and bodies of dark lacquer, valances of rare needlework, and rich draperies
of red and yellow silk. The entire scene is enlivened, if not rendered more
enjoyable, by all sorts of instruments, musical and otherwise, sending forth
their medley of sounds. The procession is at least a mile in length, while
the avenue is fairly deluged by a flood of spectators who have come from
all parts of the country — some hundreds of miles — to witness this famous
festival.

One day is deemed sufficient for the religious celebration, in which there
is an amazing mixture of the profane and divine influences. At eventide
the whole affair is closed with an extensive illumination of the temples
and surroundings for a long distance. Lights from gay-coloured paper
lanterns, swaying from every building and gateway, from the trees, the
pagoda, the tomb, dazzle the beholders of the night scene. Lanterns of
bronze and stone lend their sparkling blazes from courts and avenues,
while smaller lanterns of paper, carried by the surging nuiltitude, look
like so many fireflies dodging liither and thither. The wind-bells, swayed
gently by the mellow evening air, send forth tlieir trenndous notes with
sweet cadence, while the deeper tones of the bronze bell float away in tlio
far, misty distance. The crowd finally, witli backward glances, moves
leisurely down the avenue wlience it had ascended in the earlier hours,
until the silence and loneliness of yesterday fall upon the scene.

But the mixed train of prayerful priests and pious pilgrims, of devout
people and curious sightseers, moving sublinudy along the nol)le avenue
consecrated to the gods of two reliLnons. has nomo and gone ami ntiirni'd

382 THE FAR EAST.

again with autumnal regularity for over a thousand years, and who would
gaze upon its like again has only to come to Nikko at its next annual
matsuri. He may not see the same individuals making up the singular
array of marching columns, neither will the forests have on the same
vestments as before ; but the solemn mien of the pine, and brilliant colour-
ing of the maple still remain unchanged, while the same picturesque
pageantry of worshippers will pass before the eye. It may be that JajDan,
in its new light of progress, has little use for these relics of romantic
paganism, but she will hold upon them 'Avith ancestral veneration for many
years to come.

CHAPTER IX.

NATIVES OF THE GREEX WOODS.

NIKKO'S attractions do not end with the temples described, by any
means. There are other shrines as full of historic interest if not
of religious importance, and one never tires of visiting these holy
retreats embodying so happily the combined fascinations of art and nature
and religion, romantic valleys and sparkling cascades, hillsides clothed in
their variegated coats of bright and dark foliage, with vistas of plains in
the distance.

Near the hotel, and amid surroundings that have been used at some time
as the burial-grounds of an older generation, stands the temple of Jokoji.
A stone image of Koyasu-Jizo, the god of children, is found at this place.
To this, come the motliers, with offerings and prayers for his conciliation
and influence to cure their children of their ills, or if well, to guard them
from misfortune. This idol is nearly six feet in height, and continually
decked with red and white linen, that anxious mothers have placed upon it
for the effect it is believed to have upon their loved ones.

As we explore these sacred precincts about Nikko we are continually
meeting with some god or goddess consecrated to some worldly object, and
the central figure of some temple or shrine. No sjxjt is so isolated or in-
accessible that it does not have such an attraction. A hideous idol may
stand watch in a snake garden ; a goddess of light may throw her imagi-
nary influence for good over some temple, or the god of darkness crouch
behind a more dreaded shrine. A memento of Shintoism, or reminder of
the rites of Buddha, may be seen ; every sacred object having its devotees,
and the roads leading to them lined at all times with pious pilgrims wend-
ing their way hither. These solemn scenes are made brighter by occasional
vistas of one of the landscape-gardens which seem a part of Japan.

On the west of the village, nestling amid the hills, is a corner cut from
paradise, and dropped here by a generous Giver. It is famous for contain-
ing htnidreds of images sacred to the memory of that powerful deity that

384

THE FAR EAST.

once dwelt here, Amida. These time-worn, moss-grown figures, cut
roughly from blocks of stone, are jilaced in a long row beside the pathway
leading into the sacred vale, A legend the devout Buddhist believes to
this day says that these images cannot be counted twice alike, except
under the divine incantation of a faithful priest. Its rocky bed lying be-
tween two massive walls of mighty rocks, the river of the gods sweeps
wildly and triumphantly through the narrow valley.

Among the other places sought by tourist and pilgrim, are Rainbow

A BUDDHIST SHUINK.

Falls, where all the hues of heaven and earth blend in a harmonious colour-
ing of water and mist ; and Pillow Cascade, a charming little stream that
takes an unexpected leap of sixty feet over the brink of a rocky wall,
carpeted with soft moss and covered with ferns, to quickly recover its
equilibrium at the base and hie away singing as merrily as ever. Wild
azaleas lend their beauty to the scene, pine and bamboo their dignity
and solemnity, while the song of birds from the maples awakens the
solitude.

With a climate similar to that of New England, it is natural we should
look for about the same denizens of the green woods. The result is not a

JAPAN.

38.-)

disappointment. Roaming to-day tiie wilds of Japan are tlie deer, fox,
badgei, weasel, and smaller animals of the last type. In tlie north is to
be found the bear, while the wild l)oar and the monkey live in the moun-
tain ranges of the central and southern provinces.

In this group of natives of the woods the fox is ranked at the head by
the human family,
and he enjoys a
sort of charmed life
among the agricul-
tural people, as the
superstitious farm-
ers believe he is the
reincarnation of
that sacred deity of
the pastoral pur-
suits, Inari. The
veneration shown
this god is ex-
pressed on many a
hillside by a ver-
milion -coloured
shrine, where the
farming class are
wont to congregate
to render homage
to their patron di-
vinity. In this
manner the fox has
not only come to be

looked upon witli respect, if not fear, but he figures in nearly all ui the
fairy tales of Japanese folk-lore. He is often associated with the bad-
ger, which is considered an luioanny creature, and is avoided as much as
possible by all except tho.se who hunt him for the jmrpo.se of killing him.

Deer of a small species are found plentifully, and, in the vicinity of the
consecrated grounds of the a>gis of the Hiiddhist religion, he roams at will,
unfearing and unharmed, amid the temples or along the village streets.

VIKW OK MAT,-

386 THE FAR EAST.

But away from the special protection of these sacred places, in the fastness
of mountain and valley, he is hunted as in other countries, while his meat
is esteemed as a delicacy.

The bear, among the Ainos of the north, and the wild boar in the Pyre-
nees of the south, are alike hunted and considered ugly customers when
brought to bay, as many a battle-scarred hunter will attest. The flesh of
either is not looked upon with favour. In fact, the meat of the hog has
been considered, until within twenty years, with more than Jewish hatred,
as unclean. Of late, however, it has become a part of the national diet,
along with beef.

Of the domesticated animals, the horse ranks easily at the head, though
he is of a small breed and has never been put to severe work. There are
the ox, cow, pig, dog, and cat, the sheep being conspicuous by its absence.
The last do not thrive anywhere in Japan, the rugged kaya grass and the
stout bamboo, upon which they will persist in feeding, proving poison to
them. The native horse, if small, is hardy and fleet of foot, and capable
of great powers of endurance. Horses are inclined, however, to be vicious,
and are not trained to work except as racers and jumpers. Oxen and cows
are employed in agricultural pursuits in most parts of the islands, but
milk is not generally considered as an article of food.

Goats, in some localities, are quite common, while there are two species
of dogs which do not belong to any kind that we have, though as a lap-
dog one of them has become quite common here. The other is called the
inu, and more nearly resembles the wolf than any animal we know. It is
quite easily domesticated. Cats are without number, — and also without
tails, except in a few cases, when they are of great length. Rats are
numerous, and looked upon with something of favour. The rat is one of
the Japanese signs of the zodiac.

Japanese art has led us to expect much of her bird life, and naturally
we look first for the stork, so familiar to us all, through the artist and the
decorator, as the king of the feathered tribe. In many respects we are
disappointed. The stork, tsuru (Grus leiicau chen), attains a height of
nearly six feet when erect, and approaches the size of the ostrich. It has
a white, glistening body, with ebony wings and tail-feathers, and head
conspicuously marked with a spot of crimson. Appropriately seeking the
black, sinuous pines that overhang the old castle walls, and shores of the

JAPAN.

387

reedy ponds in the ancient parks, circling around the gnarled arms of
the dark evergreeen, or jjosing in graceful and stately manner amid the
grottoes and lakelets of these olden pleasure-grounds, if he does not meet
the expectations of the foreigner, he richly deserves the admiration the
Eastern artist so loves to picture.

A companion to the stork, in size if not in public favour, is ihogo-i-scKji,
or heron of " noble rank." Then there is the snowv heron of the rice-

TAMF. DKF.H, NAKA.

fields, more numerous than desirable. There are several otiier varieties of
this kind of bird, but of lesser importance.

Another of the feathered creatures that stands high in popular opinion
is the mandarin duck, also common in China. These ducks have a mag-
nificent plumage of a rich colouring, and, shyly seeking the secluded waters
of some isolated lakelet or stream, are worthy of the unstinted praise be-
stowed upon them. This love is strengthened by the belief that when one
of a pair dies, the other remains without a mate the rest of its life, a
striking example of conjugal fidelity.

A bird of most beautiful plumage and gurgeous tints is that native of

388

THE FAK EAST.

Japan, the copper pheasant, very often found in the southern and central
islands. Teal, mallards, widgeon, woodcock, snipe, and quail, are all to be
found abundantly in the marshes and unfrequented bodies of water.

A Japanese sjiring would not be spring without its swallow, which
comes and goes here as it does elsewhere in the world, never failing to
make its flight to and fro as unvaryingly as the seasons. But here it builds
its mud house inside the roof instead of under the eaves, as it does in New

A PUBLIC PLEASURE RESORT, KANAZAWA.

England. That dusky representative of every zone, the raven, is seen in
this clime, the same bold, saucy, cunning mischief-maker.

Among the sweet singers of the Land of the Sunrise is the skylark,
whose notes in Japanese are just as melodious as in English. Here are
also the cuckoo, which for some reason has fallen into ill-repute, linnets
and finches, starlings, sparrows and sparrow-hawks, and owls with no
more of cheerfulness in a Japanese wood than in a New England swamp.

The denizens of the farmyard are the same as in New England, and

JAPAN. 389

among the fowls bred for eggs and table are the Black Spanish, Plymouth
Rocks, Dorkings, Cochin Chinas, the common duck and goose, with the
turkey, or " bird of seven faces," as they call the last.

From early times fislung has been a common pursuit, and Japan is
extremely fortunate in the nundier and variety of her finny tribe. Every
kind of fish known in America, and many that are strangers with us,
appear in the menus of Japan. The highest bidder for public favour is
that bright pink roach of immense size, called the tai, which is ever to be
found at a well-devised banquet, either baked, boiled, or roasted, unless
it is preferred raw. Fish is often served without being cooked. It is the
rule, rather tlian the exception, to take fish to the market alive. This is
done by carrying them in shallow buckets, fitted with lids, and venders
of fish go from house to house with their stock still alive. It must not be
supposed that this practice is confined to tlie thickly settled districts, for far
back in the mountains these fish-i:)eddlers are to be seen going about from
hamlet to handet. As has already been said, fish is generally eaten, while
beef and pork are only sparingly partaken of. Naturally those fish which
are tlie most rare bring the highest price in the markets.

Besides these creatures of mortal life that people the green woods now,
the forests were formerly, according to legend and traditiijn, the home of
many strange races of beings, that still live in the w(jnder tales of Japan.
Our little wiry-framed guide, wliose tongue, like his limbs, never seems to
tire, is pleased to tell us one of these.

Many years ago, while these woods were yet young and the mosses of
mountains had not given them their ])atriarchal ajipearance, elves lived
in these forests, and held sway over otlii-r forms of life. They had
bodies like men, but having been hatched from the eggs of the hawk,
had heads like that bird, and two powerful claws on their hairy hands
and feet. In early life they had wings and feathers over their bodies, but
these fell away as they grew older, until they donned the garli of men,
and stalked ationt witli all the majesty of kings, declaring tli.it tlicy were
lords of the forest. Tims when a person becomes vain .nnl frivolous it is
said of him, "lie has become a TvaUju" which was the name given tliis
elfish race of tlie nioinitains by the sons of men.

The chief of the strange creatures living in fiie fastnesses of 03'ama,
half man and half elf. was the Dai-TenLMi. wlio was prouder* and more

390

THE FAR EAST.

vainglorious than any of his followers. He had a long gray beard and
moustaches, and he seldom spoke, but continually waved a fan of seven
gay feathers, and looked very wise whenever he was addressed. Over his
left shoulder he carried in a sling a formidable axe, and this, with his
fierce, sombre looks, gave him the reputation of being extremely cruel.

These Tengus were fond of passing away their time, which must some
days have hung heavily on their hands, in wild, fanciful games, such as
leapfrog over steep precipices, fencing with their long, pointed noses, or by

A COBBLER.

balancing themselves on the tops of high trees and in building bridges in
mid-air by locking their noses together, to make their children walk over
the narrow way, or spring from one span to another.

Once it so happened that the son of a great warrior at the court in
Kyoto, named Sakato, fell into the power and teachings of these wild
denizens of the green woods of Mount Oyama. His father liad fought
the good fight for his chief, and, being defeated, was obliged to flee to
the fastness of the forest with his dearly beloved wife. He soon died
of a broken heart, but she lived to give birth to a son, whom she named
Kintaro, the Golden Boy, because he had such Ijright hair. Though she

mm^a^^^Mr

JAPAN.

391

was grieved to tiiink of the loss of her noble husband, and her pleasant
home that she had been obliged to desert, the mother grew to be happy
in the company of her sturdy little boy.

The wild beasts of the forest were her enemies, which she feared much
at first ; but as Kintaro lay on his bed of ferns he made friends of the
birds, while they gathered in the tree-tops and sang him to sleep day
after day. Their presence telling the wild animals that no human being

'lEA-IIOlsK Woman in jimukimi a.

could be around tlie i)Iace, they served as guardians as well as soothing
him to rest. So his mother did not fear to leave him alone with the birds
for hours at a time, while she picked berries or obtained vegetables for
food.

In this way Kintaro grew and played in the companionship of tlie
birds. By and by, as he became larger, these, having comnuinication with
the other creatures of the forest, one day invited a bear and a sUig to
see him. These were so pleased with tlie little felluw that tliey began
to come regularly to see him, and Kintaro soon learned to spring un the

392 THE FAR EAST.

back of the stag, that would carry him about in the woods. At first his
mother was frightened at this, but as some of the birds promised to watch
over him, she became reconciled to his trips, which grew longer and
longer.

On one of these journeys through the wildwood, up and down mountain-
sides, and over dizzy heights, the stag came to a leafy spot in the forest,
where rippling water made sweet music the day long, and succulent grass
tempted the strange steed to stop and get his dinner. Kintaro soon saw
with amazement the most elfish creatures he had ever known, for he had
been brought to the home of the Tengus. They were playing at rolling
small stones across a bridge made by putting their noses together, but
instantly stopped at sight of the newcomer. Quickly encircling the
Golden Boy, they began to sing a musical song, which expressed pleasure
at seeing him.

Fortunately for Kintaro, he had been taught by the birds never to be
deceitful, and his mother had always made him acknowledge great love for
all the creatures of the forest. The stag told this to the Tengus, and they
received him with luiboinided delight. The oldest and wisest of them,
who never went around without a book in his hand, began to teach the
boy all that he knew of birds, beasts, nature, and humanity. He taught
him the languages of all the denizens of the woods, until Kintaro could
talk with them all, holding conversation with everything that flew in the
air, walked on the earth, or swam in the water. When he had tired of
his lessons, the stag took Kintaro home, and his mother was told of the
many wonderful things he had seen and learned. From that day he was
known as the Prince of the Forest.

After that Kintaro looked more anxiously than ever for the coming of
the stag, and winding his arms around the noble creature's neck, he would
be borne swiftly away to the court of the elves in the distant green woods.
Here, as he grew wiser from the teachings of the Tengus, the young
prince delighted to hold court with the innumerable inhabitants of the for-
est. At the call of the Tengu chief, every living creature, would quickly
appear : the fox, the badger, wolf and bear, the deer and dog, the marten,
squirrel, and many others too numerous to name. Nor were the birds,
whether great or small, missing. The hawk and the eagle, leaving their
lofty perches, the crane and heron, sweeping from over the plain, the

.lAl'AX.

393

stork and wild duck, from the ancient grove of black pinos; in fact, all
of the feathered friends alighted on the cedar branches to listen to the
tales of the youthful prince they loved so well.

But the sun does not always shine, and there came a day when Kintaro
found none to attend his court under the cedars. "While at play with
some of the Tengus he had got imi)atient at their inattention to the game,
when he spoke angrily to them. They were the lirst angry words he had
ever sptjken, — except possiljly to his mother, and a mother forgives

easily, — and the little Tengiis flt;w u]t to their nests in the lofty pines.
Angered still more at this, Kintaro shook the trees, and lie proved so
strong that the nests of the Tengus were shaken from their supports and
fell \o the ground.

This so incensed the mothers of the injured elves that they banisiied
the prince from their courtyard, and he was forced to start home on foot,
with a feeling of sadness at his heart he had never known before, lie
had not gone far before he was reminded of his fallen estate liy the attack
of a bear, wliicli threatened to kill him. 15nt tiie little prince of the forest

394

THE FAR EAST.

was plucky, and he wrestled with the big bear until he was nearly tired
out. He was thinking what nis mother would do, in case he never
returned home, when a good and brave man came along. He quickly
killed the bear, and took Kintaro in his arms, all bleeding and torn as he
was. Kintaro soon told the stranger who he was, and how his father had
fought in a lost cause and been exiled to the woods, to die there. There-
upon the man wept, and held him closer than before in his arms, saying
that he had been a soldier with his father, that at last the tide of battle

WASHING.

had turned in their fa^^our, and that Sakato and his wife were free to
return to their home.

With what joy, tinged with sadness over his father's fate, Kintaro led
the messenger to his mother may be imagined. She listened to the story
with gladness for the sake of her son, and preparations were begun for
the journey home. In the midst of this, the Tengus, who had repented
of their hasty condemnation of the boy that they loved so well, came and
begged of him not to leave them, but to be their prince always. Their
pleadings did not avail, and finding that he was really going away,
the Tengus summoned all the creatures of the forest to be present at his

JAPAN. • 395

departure. So many tears were shed on that occasion that a stream nm
to the sea, and unlike other rivers that dry their founts in summer-time,
this never becomes dry. And the story-teller stops here, except to add
that Kintaro became a great warrior, wlio ever remembered and kept
the precepts taught him by the elves of Oyama while he reigned as
Prince of the Forest.

(;H AFTER X.

LAKES OF THE HIGHLANDS.

FEW siglitseers visit Nikko without making an excursion fartlier
up the mountains to those lakes of the highlands, Cliuzenji and
Yumoto. This trip is made best in one of those basket-chairs called
Icago, which is borne on the shoulders of two or four carriers, according
to the condition of the route and size of the occupant. Even this is not a
comfortable way of riding, on account of the cramped position the occu-
pant has to maintain, but where the roads are steep and rough it is better
than the jinrikisha. If the tourist is strong of limb and not afraid of
exercising his powers of locomotion, he will be inclined to walk, but this
mode of travelling, it must be confessed, is not in good favour in Japan.
However, we are free to confess that, used to mountain climbing and feats
of pedestrianism, we let tongues say what they might, and " took to our
heels." This is nature's way, and one cannot improve upon it if he
wishes to reap his full reward for his time spent in the rural districts of
any country. We may add, however, without fear of contradiction, that
the visitors to this region, no matter how they make the trip, are never
disappointed by the grandeur and magnificence of the scenery unfolded
to the gaze.

Some of the party go on horseback as far as the hamlet of Uma-gae-shi,
which means " horse-send -back," as this is as far as these sure-footed
equines can go. From this point, those of the men who can, climb the
precipitous pathway on foot, while the others and the women are carried
in the yama-kacjo, or mountain-chair. The ascent is slow, imtil, at last,
effort is rewarded by the grand sight of the lake of the mountains in its
peerless setting of rock and forest.

We are now 4,-375 feet above sea level, and surrounded by cloud-capped
mountains, clothed in light .shades of the hard woods at their base and
the darker tints of the pine above. Lake Chuzenji is a popular summer
resort, and its shores are dotted with the tea-houses occupied during the

.I.M'AX.

noi

warm period of the ^-ear and deserted through tlio winter. A gi'ove of
pines, festooned with trailing mosses, stands out Ijoldly on one of tlie
distant points of land, while from this rises the sheer, majestic form of
Xantai-zan, the sacred mountain. This is over eight thou.sand feet in
height, and on its .summit the wind god is supposed to have his dwelling.
This brings hither each season a great niunber of pilgrims with mo other
errand than to propitiate Avith appropriate tributes this fickle deit}', that

l[K:STIN'(i KAlin.

lie may remain in good liuminir until the autunni harvests have been
safely stored. On the siih^s, broken ranges of hills, covered with den.se
growths of forest, fringe the crNstal waters with a border of dark hue.

Crossing the lake in a boat, catching many a glimpse of the linny in-
habitants of the waters as we pass along, we are soon wending our way
under an archway oi gra})e-vines, .*iyringa, azaleas, and r.iniv bambno
grass, overtoppeil with ehns, chestnuts, and maples* until wr liually lialt^
at Ryuzu-ga taUi, or Dragon's Head Ca.scade, where dancing waters make

398 THE FAR EAST.

merry the livelong day in the midst of their lonely surroundings. Leav-
ing this spot with an affectionate backward glance, we plunge into the
deeper woods. The flowers and the vines grow scarcer and more puny,
we outstrip the maple with regret, while the forest grows denser and
darker. Up, up, up, we continue to climb, higher and higher, until even
the hardy oak no longer greets us, and we advance under gnarled and
haggard pines, that make noonday dark with their shadows.

We are wondering if we had not better turn back, when, without any
warning, we suddenly find ourselves looking down upon a scene which, for
the deep silence and solemnity that hangs over it, fairly takes away our
breath. There are still lofty peaks hanging over us with their grim, awe-
inspiring fronts, but it is not that which makes the situation so im-
pressive and sublime. We experience that sensation which accompanies
every spot which seems to lack room. The bright body of water at our
feet, made dark by its surroundings, seems compressed into half the space
it needs ; but we soon get used to this, and look to our guide for explana-
tion.

He tells us this is the upper of the highland lakes, famous Yumoto, of
which we have been hearing ever since we landed at Yokohama. It has
become thus noted as a resort for victims of rheumatism, who fancy they
can find here a balm for their suiierings in the numerous sulphur springs
in this vicinity. A hamlet of inns and tea-houses finds scanty standing-
room on the rim of the lake. At this place are foiind the two extremes of
temperature, — the excessive heat of summer and the extreme cold of win-
ter. Very beautiful Yumoto looks under the benign influences of sum-
mer, and here gay life makes one forget his aches and pains if its warm
fountains do not. In the pulilic places of Japan the promiscuous bathing
of the sexes is generally forbidden, but here the force of the law is lost,
and the old-time custom prevails. But Yumoto's reign each year is brief.
A short season of health-seeking and pleasure-finding, and at the warning
of the frost a coarse matting is thrown over the dwellings, the people hie
away to their respective homes, while Yumoto is left to languish during
the long winter in its crystal i^rison, covered with ten feet of snow.

The return to Nikko is made over the site of one of the famous battle-
grounds of ancient dliys, and we reach the city of temples glad we made
this trip to the mountains, — thrice glad it is done. We came to Nikko

JAPAN.

399

from Utsu-no-miya behind a wheezy iron horse at the rate of from twelve
to fifteen miles an hour. But in doing that we missed hirgely the beauties
of the sacred avenue, so we decide to hire a jinrikisha to get back, and the
result is most satisfactory. Performing this stage of our journey, we go
by rail to OAama, and thence take a westerly course through the great
■wilderness of mountains and valleys which makes this region " the Switz-
erland of Japan." Here we find the people living nearer to nature and

nature's god. where there is less of foreign and more of the aburiginal
inlluence. The plains along this road, as far as the foothills of A.sauiais,
are producers of two great staples, rice and mulberry. Ijjirge factories,
where silk is Mi)un from cocoons, are to be seen. The food for the silk-
worms is obtained by planting a stem from the parent nuilberry-tree. and
when this has grown to full leafage, the leaves are plucked or else the
whole branch is placed in a basket where the wonna can feed tipon them.
Rice is cut by the sickle, as grain was harvested in this country l)efore

400

THE FAR EAST.

the invention of the reaping-machine. A labourer follows the reaper to
gather the straw. The grain is separated from its stalk l:)y means of a
steel blade with a row of teeth along the upper edge. A bunch of straw is
held in one hand, while the other pulls the heads over this saw-like instru-
ment, and the rice falls on a cloth spread to catch it. The hulling process
is even slower and more primitive. The rice, after being put in its basin

■

''^^^^^^^^^KjE A: ' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S*^

^^^gr^Sj*jg££j^^- ' 1 li^ 'll 1 'Mi — >MWwllllll 1

^^^m^

of stone, is beaten from its covering liy the weight of a lever falling into
the receptacle.

The houses along this route are made of wood, except an occasional
stone dwelling, and the roofs are shingled, tiled, or thatched. Outside the
large cities the means for keeping warm during the cold periods are primi-
tive in the extreme. The princii)al resort is for the sufferer to put on
more clothes. The only artificial way of affording heat is the /lihashi.
the charcoal brazier, a wooden liox filled with ashes, on the top of which is
placed a layer of red-hot charcoal. Around this, muffled in their extra
clothing, the family huddle and shiver, for the Japanese are very suscepti-
ble to the low temperature. Houses are lighted in the mountain districts
by a wick floating in a cn]:i of cocoanut-oil, ))laced in a paper lantern, or

JAPAN. 401

by a candle of vegetable wax, stuck in a candlestick of grotesque pat-
tern.

In the amphitheatre of the northern mountains the toufist suddenly and
unexpectedly comes upon a tea-growing province, where he had least
expected to tind it. But the plant raised here is not considered of a very
good quality, and it is cured in the simplest manner possible by being dried
in the sun. It is not offered for the foreign -narket, but finds a ready
demand from home consumers. It goes without saying that Japan is
greatly interested in tea-growing, and great attention is given that crop,
botii in raising and curing, thougli only a small percentage is sent abroad.
The soil best adapted to the crop is that composed of disintegrated granite,
which quickly partakes of moisture and is easily drained. Green tea with-
out milk or sweetening is the universal beverage, and the stranger accepts
this the more willingly as the water of Japan, before it is boiled, is less tit
to drink than that of almost any other country.

Tliis route of travel crosses the backbone of Japan, where two engines
are required to draw the coaches up an incline of one foot to each fifteen
feet of progress from Yokogawa to Karuisawa through Usui Pass. In a
short distance twenty-five tunnels are threaded, having an entire length of
about three miles. These tuimels are built of stone or brick.

At the summit, four thousjind feet above the sea, is to be found a typical
Japanese inn, where the traveller stopping for a brief rest is invariably
offered a small tray, called bon, containing a teapot, teacups, a caddy of
hot water, and a small charcoal fire with which to light the pipe or
cigarette. A charge of ten sen is made. A tea-house contains one large
room, which can be divided into ."everal smaller ones by simply drawing
.•iliding screens. The.se apartments are wholly unfurnished during the day.
At nightfall the bed is made In' first sprinkling a generous amount of flea
powder over tlie straw mat laid on the smooth floor. A mattress about four
inches tliick is then laid down. Dvi-r this spotless sheets are spread, and
over them down quilts, the inunber gauged by the temperature of the
weatlier. A mosquito netting is tlicn Imng over the couch, and a paper
hiiiti-ni, with a dim light burning frmii ;i wick floating in oil, placed near
the head. To this is added, for the women, a wooden head-rest, .*!o they
will not disarrange their hair. This is a typicjil Jai>anese bed. without a
single article of furniture in the apartment, and separated from that

402

THE FAR EAST.

adjoining bj a screen wall, which is moved back against the outer wall of
the building when the sleeper arises in the morning.

A large tub is convenient, where all of both sexes bathe promiscuously
without any feeling of shame. The Japanese live more by washing than
eating ; they are a cleanly people, but, as a race, subject to skin diseases.
This may be due to exposure, and again disease may be spread by con-
tagion, from their habit of public washing. A Japanese, upon reaching an
inn where he intends to stop any length of time, doffs his heavy clothing,
and puts on a light kuiiono girthed about with a silken sash. This habit
not only makes him comfortable, but puts him into good harmony with his
Burroundings.

FfJIVAMA.

CHAPTER XI.

IX Tin; wiLus.

MANY stop over night ut tliis lofty station to witness the glory of
tin- .sunrise. The reward is ample for lo.ss of time or any incon-
venience the delay may have caused, for nowhere in the Land of
Sunrise is the day ushered in with greater beauty or magnificence. The
surroundings are such as one might pitture for the stepping-stones of the
awakening god. as he climhs from his couch in the deep to the rosy lieights
of morning. In the midst of the.se colossal benches re.sts that mighty moun-
tain boat, Jini-finic-sa/i,^ i\!i if driven in from the distant sea, and stranded
on the splintered jjeaks scattered around the lofty monarch, A.sama-yama.
This grim sentinel towers nearly nine thousand feet above the ocean, the
blue and purple tints that touch the u])per jKirt relieved lower down by
the delicate shades of green running from the pine to the maple. Not
least among the group of royal giants stands grand old Ikao, while still
nearer to us, with its castles of cliffs and jiointed spire, ri.se in bold relief

•XiiiiiiMl "Hock-boat Mountain" from tlio Kliapf nf lU pt-iik : Iwa, rock; fune, bout; sun.
uiounUiin.

403

404

THE FAR EAST.

the castellated ramparts and huge arches of Miyogi-san, or Rocky Moun-
tain. In the two lights of the dawning day the silver tower of peerless
Fujiyama is pillared in the southern sky. On the west rolls the Sea of
Japan, while in the glorified east the broad Pacific lies with unruffled
bosom.

The clouds that all night have hung ovir the mountains roll slowly
away, as the starlight takes on the peculiar transparency' of early morn-
ing. Then the mists settle swiftly down over peak and pine-fronded hill,
until their soft profiles are but dimly seen. Afar in the east a faint
streak of crimson tinges the horizon. The transition that follows is as
rapid as it is delicate and glorious. But the pen cannot reveal the sweet
incense of the highland breeze and the fragrance of the flowers, for that
requires a sense over which the mind is no mediator ; the brush cannot
picture the glory of the summer dawn, flecking here and there with gold
and pink the green carpet Nature has spread on the landscape, because
the eye has no language to impart its treasures ; the imagination cannot
bestow the softness of the songs that stir the heavenly air, as fancy has
no gift to feel as others feel, and hear as o'^hers hear.

But look ! the peerless mountain suddenly stands before us more re-
splendent in her dazzling morning robes than at midday. Fleecy clouds
fall away from her matchless form, as if the goddess had begun to dis-
robe ; the gauze-like veil that has concealed her marble white coimte-
nance drops from the snowy forehead, that she may catch the first flash
of the golden eye of the east. With jealous haste the hills of the north
then tear aside with their long pine arms the mist curtains enveloping
them, when their daring profiles stand boldly out against a sapphire back-
ground. These detached draperies of more than silken delicacy hang
for awdiile tremulous in the airy space, rising and falling with gentle imdu-
lations on the soft breath of morning ; now they break apart, and now
they cling together ; now they are torn into a thousand shreds, to swim
away on the current of air, growing dimmer and dimmer as they float
into the distance, or sink slowly, lightly, into the dark valleys, unnum-
bered veils of finest gauze wafted whither the wind listeth. A fresh
flaw of wind comes rushing up one of the rents In the mountains, the
last delicate filaments are torn ruthlessly aside, and the smile of the risen
sun illuminates the earth.

.lAl'AN.

405

Leaving this station in the mountain pass, the raih'oad winds down the
western descent thronjrh what is considered the very heart of picturesque
Japan. Deep gullies now yawn constantly on the one hand, while on
the other cloud-capped peaks look grimly <lown, none grander than old
Asama-yania. who appears at the zenith of his glory from this point of
view. Below, in the distance, lie the rice-fields of Iwamurata, looking in
the month of harvest like golden foils laid on the wide-spreading plain.

1 .in A mil Ki. \ 1 M 1 . \

Nowhere in the land of .soft contrasts does the deep green of the jiine-clad
mountains oppo.se more vividly the gray of the lime l>elt. tin- hrown of
the lava tops, and the .shadows of the furrowed valleys.

There is no hamlet, however small, in .Ja))an that does not have at least
one shrine and a temple. It is e(jualiy true that i-vcry Japanese home
contains the gods of Shinto and IJuddha, the first to protect the family in
their bodily wants, and the other as a guardian over their spirits when
death shall come. The .shrine of the first is easily distinguished from the
temi)le of the other by its torii, always placed before it.

406

THE FAK EAST.

At Zenkoji is the celebrated temple of Ainicla, dedicated to the sacred
three, Amida, Kwannon, and Daiseislii, whose images are all enshrined
here. This group is claimed to have been made by the renowned saint,
Shaka Muni, from gold that he obtained from Mount Sliuni, the centre
of the universe. It is entwined with a tale of wonderful adventures in
China and Corea before it was brought to Japan in 552 a. d., as a
pledge of friendship fi'om the king of the last country to the Emperor
of Japan upon the entrance of the religion of Buddha into this country.
It was received with a storm of indignation from the followers of Shinto,
and was subjected to all kinds of treatment. But legend says it was in
vain that its enemies threw it into the sea, attempted to hew it into pieces,
or tried to burn it. It came out of every attack unharmed, until in 602
A. D. it found a peaceful resting-place at Zenkoji.

The present temple was erected about two hundred years ago, and is
a two-storied structure, 198 feet in length and 108 in width, with a heavy
gable roof supported by 136 stone pillars. This roof is claimed to have
69,384 rafters, a number exactly equal to the written characters of the
Chinese version of the scripture of Buddha. One thousand and six hun-
dred square feet, covered by eighty-eight mats, comprises the kneeling-
room for the worshippers praying to the different gods arranged about at
every available spot and niche. This ancient temple is rendered more
unique and picturesque by the practice of painting upon the shingles the
name of each person aiding in the support of the temple. These shingles
are fifteen inches long and four wide.

Night-watchmen are common throughout Japan, and in the small towns
and villages they carry, as in olden times, two sticks made of hard wood
called hioshigi, or "tune-blocks." All through the night, at regular
intervals, the sharp click of these instruments striking together is heard.
The hov;rs are designated by the number of strokes of the sticks, five
o'clock being given by five strokes, and the half hour by one click.

The roads of Japan are kept in excellent condition, which is more easily
done from their hard, smooth bed or bottom. At the wayside farms, that
noisy but cheerful occupation of threshing grain is going on as w^e pass
along in our jinrikisha, the work being done by both men and women.
The well-dried straw has been laid on mats outside the barn, and the ker-
nels are pounded out by clumsy-looking flails, which are handled witli a

JAPAN.

407

dexterity quite surprising. Another way of getting out the grain is to
place the stalks on frames of bamboo and beat them with clubs.

In tlie pro%'ince of Echiuo,. on the northwest district of Hondo, the
settlements are mostly small villages, and but few houses have thatched
roofs. The majority are covered with shingles, which are held in place
by cobblestones, as the winds of the winter season are very violent in
this section. The women of this province are larger and more nuiscular
than in some of the southern districts, which may be due largely to the

TORIl, SIMXTii TKMl'I.K tiltOl'NDS

fact that they work as hard and as much out-of-doors as tlie men. It is
no uncommon sight, but rather the rule, to see young and pretty girls
working side by side with weather-beaten men, and the pathetic prospect
of no better state in the immediate future lies before them and their
children. They soon age and grow stout of figure, their good looks leav-
ing them in a few years. Women .smoke as nuich as the men. and in-
varialily carry pouches for pipe and tobacco by their sides. This part of
the i.sland does not offer the inviting pro.spects of other portions, \inless
it be in the number of eliildren. which .seem to be the fruitful crop of
this rather cheerless country. The parents are poorly clad, while the

408

THE FAR EAST.

younger members of the family are content with little, if an}-, clothing.
The price of lal^our, whenever it commands a reward, is a mere pittance,
women using the pick and shovel from sunrise to sunset for the paltry-
sum of ten cents. An example of this kind is where they are working for
some railroad or improvement company, which seems to be about the
only avenue open
to them to earn
money.

The island of
Sado lies off this
coast about twenty
miles from the
mainland. Sado
is forty miles in
length and about
eight miles in
width, and has a
population of
135,000. It has
mines of lead, cop-
per, silver, and
gold, the last hav-
ing been discov-
ered in consider-
able quantities in
the seventeenth
century.

The river Shi-
nano-gawa, which
turns over its

floods to the Sea of Japan at Niigata, drains this province from the south,
and the river Aka-gawa, from the mountains on the north. The first is a
wide, shallow stream, often sluggish in its current. The other is more
rapid, and has several pretty falls.

This district is noted for the amount of cotton and tobacco it raises.
It is a common sight to see young girls spinning, and only these are

1 1)1 .N 1 i;v i,ii;l?.

JAPAN.

409

employed at this industry. One of the must frei^uent sights to be seen
along tlie roads is a single ox or bull drawing a load of tobacco to the
city, the yoke being simply a wooden stick held on top of the neck by a
thong running underneath.

Owing to a chronic weakness of the eyes, the natives wear huge, mush-
room-shaped hats to shield them from the sun, and when the heat is most
severe, wear big smoked glasses for further protection. These spectacles
are made round instead of oval, and are two inches or more in diameter,

M'llUIlL, <>l.l> M^I.K.

giving the long, thin countenance of the wearer a peculiar ai)pearance.
They still fiu'ther add to the picture.squene.ss of their looks by straw mats
suspended from their shoulders.

Niigata, with a population of 34.n(M). was made an open iiort in ISf'iO.
This town is not particularly interesting to the toiu'ist, and has fewer
relics than the average citv.

Between Niigata on tlu; west sliore and Fiiku-shima on the eastern
boundary of the adjoining province of Iwashiro, stretches north and south
the backbone of Hondo, affording a i)ictures(pie scenery. Here are vast

410

THE FAR EAST.

forests of cedars and cryptoraerias, the former being used to a great extent
for building purposes, nearly all of the floors of the houses being laid in
this wood. Planed and finished without paint or varnish, it acquires a
beautiful polish after long use. The most attractive mountains are the
0-Bandai and Ko-Bandai, the latter rising to a height of over six thousand
feet. As late as 1888 it showed the volcanic influences at work within by
breaking forth with great vigour, destroying nearly five hundred people.

One of the pleasant features of this country is its schoolhouses, square,
substantial stone buildings, where often as many as seventy-five youths of
both sexes are taught the principles of knowledge, songs and marching
enlivening the course of studies. Modern methods are being adopted to a
greater extent than might be expected. A railroad penetrating this coun-
try, and running for miles at a stretch along the ancient highway, is
nearing completion.

IttAIHNti A I.KTTKK.

CHAPTER XII.

THE EDE\ OF THE XOKTII.

SHAPING our course now toward the eastern coast, and leaving
beliiud us tlie railroad and all liupe of a railroad, we plunge boldly
into a country where the mountains present their grandest peaks, the
valleys don their richest verdure, and the sky takes ou that rare wealth of
colouring peculiar to this region. As we proceed, signs of life become less
apparent, until only the coal huts and smoky fires of the charcoal burners
of Japan are scattered over the broken landscape, wherever there is sutii-
cient growth to admit of their vocation.

For a time the way grows more and more precipitous, the mountains
become more bulky ; and then the latter gradually slope off in front into
hillsides, the growth becomes dwarfed, stunted pines and bamboos takiug
the place of the lofty monarchs of the forests. Over the tops of these
scrubs we catch the gleam of water, and soon realise that the sea is on
either side and ahead of us. The last is the Strait of Tsugaru ; that
on the right hand the Pacific Ocean ; on the left, the Sea of Japan. We
have reached the northern shore of the main i.sland of tlie Empire of the
Far East, Hondo. Ahead of us lies the second island in size, Hokkaido,
which has an area of about thirty thousand square miles and a population
of nearly one hundred and fifty thousand.

A somewhat boisterous passage across the strait takes us to Hakodate,
which was the .second Japanese i»ort opened to American commerce, and
the most imirartant city in Hokkaido, — the North Road, or district, —
which comprises not only thi.s island, which initil recentl}- has been known
as Yezo, but the crooked line of isles to the north of this, tlu! Kuriles,
Hakodate has a fine harbour, protected on the .sfnith by a rf)ik\ harrier
over eleven hundred feet in height. The town lies at the foot of this, and
has become quite a resort for invalids on account of its delightful climate.

There is a museum at this place, among its other attractions, where is
tn lie found an extensive collection (»f sen shells, birds of many kinds, and

411

412

THE FAR EAST.

relics of the stone age. Leaving Hakodate, we soon find that there are
few good roads in Hokkaido, and that tlie best mode of traveUing outside
of these is on horseback. Much of the interior of this island is a primeval
forest, seldom penetrated by man, and then only by the hunter of the bear
and other animals having their haunts wdthin the wilds.

Before quitting Hakodate we frequently meet with a different type of
people from those we have been accustomed to see in Hondo. Tliese we
soon learn are the Ainos, as they are now called, and considered the

EEFRESHMEXT SELLER.

original inhabitants of the more southern islands, but who ha\"e been
driven to this less genial clime by their overpowering rivals. The dis-
tinction between them and the Japanese is quickly seen, one of the most
noticeable characteristics being their great abundance of hair. Except that
they are milder in their natures, they Ijoar about the same relationship to
Dai Nippon and its present people that the American Indians do to the
United States and its inhabitants. They have eyes with the inward fold
peculiar to the Japanese, but they have wider countenances, broader
shoulders, and more sturdy limbs. The men sometimes reach a height

JAPAN. 413

of six feet, though more commonly standing from five feet six inches to
eight. With their heavy gruwtli of hair and beard, wliich is never allowed
to be shorn, they bear a marked resemblance to the description of Esau.
The average height of the women is about five feet, and their costume
does not ditfer materially from that of the men, their principal gar-
ment being a frock open in front and held about the waist by a girdle.
It is usually ornamented simply by embroidery done in some fanciful
design of individual invention. Unlike the men, the women keep their
hair cut quite short, while they give the appearance of a moustache to the
upper lip by tattooing it.

The habits of these peculiar people are as simple as their personal
appearance. Their dwelling is simply a hut raised on posts, and slieltered
by a reed roof. Their slee2)ing-couchi'S are rude benches built around the
walls and covered with mats. A hole is left in one wall for a place of
entrance, while a second serves fur a window, and affords the only ventila-
tion they have. Tlie Ainos, in their religious rites, worsiiip the sun and
moon as deities, and the bear as a sort of mediator between themselves
and these others.

In certain districts Hokkaido has a rich virgin soil, but the Ainos lived
solely l)y hunting and fishing, imtil the new government at Tokyo in 1870
decided to try and raise these })eople from their barbarism by teaching
them how to raise crops. Accordingly a farm was established patterned
after a California fruit plantation. In order to carry out this experiment
successfidl}, Sapporo, situated near the centre of the island, was selected as
the seat of control here. Tlie first tiling to be done was to cut a road
through a trackless wilderness for nearly seventy-five miles from Hako-
date, and otiier liighways had to be opened, so that in all nearly one hun-
dred and fifty miles of road were built. In addition to this expense large
sums were laid out in mills to saw luml)er, and in machinery of one kind
and another to run the work of building houses and bridges across the
numerous streams intersecting the country. From such a beginning, and
with this worthy object, spnnig into existence a capital with houses of
boarded walls and shingled roofs, similar to the homes of our own Far
West.

The l)uilding of railroads next eng.aged the attention of the Japanese,
and now Sajjporo has coiuiecticm by rail with Otarunai, on the north c<jast,

414

THE FAR EAST.

twenty miles distant ; to the Cola mines of Poronai, thirty-five miles away ;
and southward, to Shin-moraran, a good port on Volcano Bay. Along
these same routes are lines of telegraph, which have been of great benefit
in opening up this country.

The natives taking kindly the efforts of the government, wonderful

A FISHERMAN.

results have followed. The trains into Sapporo from either direction rush
through thousands of well-tilled farms, where a little more than a quarter
of a century ago stretched vast forests, wliirh were the lairs of wild beasts.
Crops natural to the temperate zone, Indian corn, melons, cucumbers,
onions, asparagus, and others, yield good harvests ; fi'uit trees grow abun-
dantly. Horses, cattle, hogs, and some sheep are among the domesticated

JAPAN.

41.-)

animals. So here, in a climate that causes the ground to be covered more
or less with snow for half the year, with the simple means at their com-
mand, by the assistance of their conquerors the Ainos have builded for
themselves a thriving agricultural country, a region of pleasant surprises
to the newcomer. Away from this district the Ainos remain about the
same as in past generations, primitive in their customs and gentle in their
associations. They numbt-r in all about twenty-five thousand.

Much of the scenery in Hokkaido is picturesque and interesting, particu-

LANTKItN MAKKKa.

larh' on the ncjrthern shores, but the southland claims us, and, with a brief
sojourn among the " Yezo hills," we bid adieu to its lakes, uiount;uns, vol-
canoes, and picturesque people, to recross the Strait of Tsugaru, clouds of
strange-looking sea-fowl screaming over our heads as the little steamer
heads for the main island.

Upon reaching the .shore of Hondo we take the grand trunk line for
Tokyo, the first place of intere.st which wc pa.ss being Sendai, the "city
of enchantment." We tiicn pass ihniii,i,fli tlic region of the lacqucr-trfi-.
which affords that varni.sh .so much used in Japan. It re.sembles our a.sli
to a considerable extent, and it is its sap wliidi is so extensively used to

416

THE FAIL EAST.

finisli wood. It also has an oil and vegetable wax that are valuable for
lighting purposes.

Another tree of especial value growing in this country is the camphor,
which is an evergreen belonging to the laurel family, and lias great
clusters of yellow flowers considered with great favour. But the gum
obtained from tliis tree is wliat makes it tlie most valuable. This sub-
stance is obtained by cutting the wood into small pieces and then extract-

FKEDIXG SILKWORMS.

ing the sap by steaming the chips in a wooden trough until the sap oozes
out and is caught in a vessel placed for that purpose.

Even going at our slow rate we soon reach Fukushima, the centre of the
silk industry. Tliis occupation is almost entirely monopolised by girls
and women, as they are better adapted to it on account of their lighter
touch and greater patience than the men. Groves of mulberry-trees are
everywhere to be seen. The homes of the people have a busy appearance,
with the women stripping leaves and reeling silk, while rows on rows of
white and yellow cocoons are placed on mats exposed to the sun's rays in
order to " kill " the chrysalis. Three weeks "f constant care, day and

JAPAN. 417

night, are required to liatch the eggs, and even then many of them are
lost. Leaving this region behind, we reenter the country of rice-lields
and tea-plantations, where young girls are to be seen gathering the leaves
of the lastrnamed plants, and putting them on drying-mats. The branch
road running to Nikko is reached, and we find ourselves travelling the
same route taken in coming up. Again we view the plantations and the
flooded fields, the level patches of deep green stalks, the stacks of ripened
grain belted with their natural fringes, until we are familiar with it all,
and hail with gladness the reappearance of Tokyo's vast expanse of homes,
business houses, and public buildings.

CHAPTER XIII.

SHADOWS OF DEPARTED POWER.

THE day has already come when the stranger can travel to all parts
of the island empire without hindrance, though until very recently
the one way open to him was the Tokaido, the imperial grand trunk
of the main island. This word means, as has been said, " Eastern Sea
Road." Along this historic highway were scattered in ancient times
several cities of importance, among which may be mentioned Odawara,
now but a shadow of its old self, Atami, Okitsu, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu,
Okazaki, Nagoya, while but slightly removed are the great silk-making,
tea-raising, and pottery-producing regions of Uji, Gifu, and Banko.

Following this great highway, the traveller beholds miles of unob-
structed view of the Pacific, with its silvery beaches on the one hand ; on
the other, ranges of mountains crowned with snowy crests ; while he
passes over reedy plains or through beautiful towns, his pathway bordered
for the greater part of the distance by lofty cryptomerias. These vener-
able and gigantic trees were planted by command of that noted shogun
(general) whose tomb we visited at Nikko, lyeyasu. This was done about
265 years ago, or very soon after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
It is true many of the original trees have fallen away for others of a
more recent planting, but the majority standing to-day bear the ancient
grandeur of that far-distant day. If the fame of that deified warrior rests
largely upon his prowess with arms, he is to be credited with many
humane acts, among which ranks high the planting of these cedars of
Japan along her most frequented highways. The prime object in doing
tliis was to prcA^ent sunstroke to the numerous travellers passing along
the road. How many tired and perspiring pedestrians have blessed his
name, for this work is beyond estimation, but the number must be legion.
This grand thoroughfare is the equal, if not superior, of that leading to
Nikko, of which he was the originator. Beginning with the seventeenth
century, twice each year gorgeous retinues of daimios (nobles) passed over

418

.lAl'AN.

419

this route to offer to the shogun at Tokyo, then called Yedo, their renewal
of fealty.

As is the case with many other old roads in Japan, much of the ancient
glory of the Tokaido has departed with the advent of the railroad, which
runs for long stretches within sight of it. This modern rival for the
patronage of travel was begun in 1872, and completed seventeen years
later. The difference between the old way and the new is aptly shown by

Wr *■'• '?^^

^;P^ ^'J^"-m

I 1!:

^1^— fW* ■»— r •.--

the fact that while it formerly took seventeen days to perform the journey,
it cjin be compassed in as many hours by the ste^vm horse.

Wishing to stop over at Tokyo until another day, before resuming our
journey to Yokohama, and thence along the renowned Tokaido to the west-
ern country, we improve the opportunity to see the yn^hihu or " s]iroad-out
house," as the Japanese word means. Now Japan can olaim as the orig
inal productions of her own artists and architects three forms of Iniild-
ings, or structures. One of these is the torii, found at the entrance of all
Shinto shrines, and which has been described. The second t>f the list
is the shiro^ or castle, wliicli claims a high place on account of the vtust
extent of the woik, and the great size of the stone used in its buililing

420 THE FAR EAST.

material. The castle of Ozasaka, built by Hideyoslii, contains stones forty
feet in length, ten feet m width, and five or six feet in thickness. In the
highest part of the citadel of Tokyo are stones over sixteen feet long, six
feet high, and three feet thick. What makes the size of these blocks of
granite seem most remarkable is the distance from \vhich they have been
brought, — as far away as Hiogo, more than two hundred miles distant.
They were drawn neither by steam nor Ijy beasts, but by hmnan arms,
and were raised to their lofty positions by the same power.

The third of these products of Japanese skill, the yashiki, has a unique
and striking appearance. This consists of four lines of houses arranged
in the form of a hollow square. In the centre of this front wall are
erected mansions for the daimio and his ministers, while the outside
dwellings are occupied by their retainers. The array on the frontage has
the appearance of a single building on foundations of stone, with, rows of
grated windows. The hollow interior is filled with gardens, walks, and
fire-proof warehouses.

A ditch or moat, usually eight to ten feet in width, and varying in depth
from three to twelve feet, filled generally with running water brought
from a long distance, encircled the yashiki. The lotus-flowers were allowed
to grow along the rims of the moats. In case the castle stood on an
elevation the slopes were grassed over, while the escarp was faced with
blocks of stone. Often miles of frontage of these yashikis were to be seen
in the larger towns, under the old r%ime, making a most monotonous
appearance. The result to the two-sworded gentry living within tliem
can only be surmised. " Some of these yashikis covered many acres of
ground, and the mansions of the Go Sanke families and the great clans
of Satsuma, Kaga, Choshiu, and Chikuzen are known at once upon the
map by their immense size and commanding positions. Within their
grounds are groves, shrines, cultivated gardens, fish-ponds, hillocks, and
artificial landscapes of unique and surpassing beauty. The lord of the
mansion dwelt in a central building, approached from the great gate by a
wide stone path and grand portico of keyaki-wood. Long, wide corridors,
laid with soft mats, led to the master's chamber. All the woodwork, except
certain portions, stood in virgin grain like watered silk, except where
relieved here and there by a hard gleam of black lacquer-like enamel.
The walls were gorgeously papered with gold, silver, or fanciful and

JAPAN.

421

coloured designs, characteristic of Japanese art, — among which the pine,
plum, and cherry tree, the bamboo, lily, the stork, tortoise, and lion, or
fans, were the favourites. The sliding doors, or partitions, of which three
sides of a Japanese room are composed, were decorated with paintings."
With the advance of Japan along new lines, these structures, the outcome
of the Japanese tent in the early days of Yedo, are growing yearly less
frequent in Tokyo. In the light of modem civilisation there is no call to
replace those the hungry flames destroy.

We are impressed more than ever by the size of Tokyo, which is about
equal to that of London. An odd feature to us is the general lack of
sidewalks, the pedestrians passing along in the middle of the streets,
without particular danger to themselves. The drivers of vehicles of
numerous kinds carry horns, which they blow to warn aside any foot-
passenger who may be in their way. The Broadway of Japan is the Bund
of Tokyo, along which an odd mixture of humanity is constantly passing
and repassing, the representatives of many races of men and many condi-
tions in life. In the midst of this surging mass we caught sight of an
undersized man, dressed in a sort of mixture of Oriental and Occidental
fashion. Notwitli.standing his singular dress, a glance showed that he
was an American, and the load of books under his arms that he was a
scholar. Upon inquiry, we learned that he was the celebrated Lafcadio
Hearn, the author of several books ujwn Japan, and at present a profes.sor
of foreign literature in the university. In fact, he is the only foreigner
left in the Japanese institutions of education, where a few years ago
American and European teachers were common. But that was Ijefure
the Chinese-Japane.se war, and even this man of letters might not be tiie
exception had he retained more of his Americanism and adopted less of
his chosen country.

The train leaves Tokyo for Yokoliama at 1.30 r. m., and bidding the
capital good-bye for another period, which may be longer than our first,
two hours later we are again threading the streets of the latter city. Here
we plan a tour into the heart of Jajian, intending to visit the historic
spots of the empire, which were the battle-grounds of the days of feudal-
ism. In order to do this to our greatest sati.sfaction we shall travel
little by rail, preferring the jinrikisba, or that still more primitive mode,
travel by foot.

422

THE FAR EAST.

If not particularly attractive in itself, Yokohama is favoured with
beautiful surroundings. Twelve miles from this city is Omori, where
Professor Morse discovered mounds of shells similar to those found in
Florida, New England, and Denmark. Near by are the temples of Ikegami,
which annually are the scene of one of the grandest religious jjageants to
be seen in Japan.

A popular seashore resort is at Honmoku, on the beach of Mississippi

MAIN S.T1;KET, TOKYO.

Bay, where is found that famous tea-house of Tsukimikan, which means
"Moon House." Another fine bathing place is Yamashita, which is con-
ducted in a more primitive manner. Boating is very much in vogue at
the former place, which has a fine beach.

Twenty miles from Yokohama lies the shadow of that city of sacred
memories and relics, Kamakura, which was the capital of the shoguns for
nearly three hundred years, beginning in 11 9J. In tlie zenith of the
prosperity and military glory, a million inhabitants lived where to-day are
plains covered with forest, patches of rice, and fields of tasseled corn-

.lAl'AN.

42.S

Kamakiira had a most eventful history. In 1333, two Japanese warriors,
named Ashikaga and Yoshisada, after a long siege, captured and nearly
destroyed the city. Then the former established a new dynasty of shoguns.
Among the historic curiosities of this place is the temple of Hachiman,
standing on a high plateau, which is reached by a path leading up fifty-
eight stone steps. The hero deified here was a god of war. This temple,
plain in its architecture, contains many relics of the long and sanguinary

vriw IPS iiii HI 1 ( ► . voKiiHAMA.

wars of the old regime, and is a treasury of military rDllfctions to be
prized. In reaching this sacred spot the visitor passes through a cluster
of ancient trees, among which i.s a venerable icho, over twenty feet in
circumference, and asserted to be over a thou.sand y«'ars old. This noble
patriarch has a wide-spreading foliage that, under the touch of the autumn
frost, turns to leaves of gold.

r>( yond this spot is a grove of great religious intt're.st, holding within its
sacred precincts the best image of the Great Buddiia to be found in Japan.
In the park at Kara is a larger representative of the bead of the letding

424

THE FAR EAST.

religion of the Far East, but this image is acknowledged to be the better
work of art. There are many notable images of Buddha to be found in
the Land of the Gods, but not one which can compare with this in its
impressive presentation of the principles of Buddhism, in its historic
associations, and in its size and work as a masterpiece of art, — sitting
here on the deserted plain of Japan's ancient capital, with its mighty but
reposeful face turned toward the sea, with a look fitting its august mys-
tery. Tliis image was made in 1251, and at that time was covered by a

ROAD TO THE TKMPLE.

temple, one hundred and fifty feet square. A tidal wave, in 1369, swept
away the building, but left the statue uninjured. The temple was soon
after rebuilt, but as if the elements held some especial enmity against it,
for the second time it v\^as destroyed, 1494, two years after the discovery
of America by Columbus, and it has never been reconstructed.

Though standing in the open air, the Bronze Buddha remains to-day in
an excellent state of preservation, and is surrounded by a park, cared for
by individuals. It is a perfect symbolisation of calm resignation and com-
plete mastery over all tl e passions and tempests that beset the human
frame, while an intellectual light pervades each of its mighty features.

J A TAX.

4iirj

Buddha is represented to have had great love for all dumb creatures. A
noted Japanese warrior and king, named Yoritomo, is credited with con-
ceiving the idea of placing here at his capital an image of his god which
should outrival that at Nara. He died before he could carry out his plan,
but one of the ladies at his court finished the work of collecting funds, and
Kamakura's '■ Buddha " was cast in bronze on the spot by Ono Uoroe-
mon. Its height lacks onl}- five inches of fifty feet, while its greatest

A RUSTIC TKMI'I.E flllKINK.

girtii is ninety -seven feet and twu inclies. The widtli from car to ear is
seventeen feet and nine inches. The eyes are of unalloyed golil ; the fore-
head is embossed with silver that would weigh thirty jjounds. As its
name implies, the image is cast of lironzc, tlic parts carefully brazed
together, in the hollow of the interior is a small shrine, and a ladder
leads up into the head.

Amid a .solemn silence, the 8Ui)plicaut enters into the awful presence of
tlie graven god, and prostrating himself before tiie .shrine pleads for its

426 THE FAR EAST.

favour. How many thousands have here each year offered up their prayers
to the divine ruler through this object of worship, there is no way of
knowing ; but since the image was first placed here the number must be
beyond the most daring calculation of man.

A short distance from Diabutsu, the Great Buddha, is a temple standing
on a summit overlooking the plain of Kamakura, noted principally for
holding a wooden image, gilded and lacquered, and thirty feet in height,
known as the goddess of mercy, — Kwannon. This deity has modestly
sought shelter from the common gaze behind closed doors, and who wol^ld
look upon her must pay a small fee. At this temple there is also a popu-
lar idol, the god of money. He does not sit, as an American might expect,
upon typical money-bags, but rests on two sacks of rice, the Japanese
idea of prosperity, and holds in his hand a mallet. The superstitious
believe he has power to helji them in affairs of finance. Another potent
image, let the believer tell it, is a god who possesses the power to cure the
ills of the human body, providing the afflicted sunply rubs that part of
the figure where his ills are located.

It requires no great strain of the imagination of the modern visitor, as
he wanders amid these relics of other days, — temples of a thousand years
looking as if they had been reared yesterday, and images remarkable as
works of art though hideous in themselves, — to imagine himself walking
along the well-ordered paths of these ancient groves, where so many feet
have pressed the sod, and under such conflicting emotions as he of neces-
sity 'can know nothing. Everywhere one turns one is confronted with
sights and traditions of gods and goddesses, all of whom seem strangely
out of time, and yet as miraculously having something to show for the
superstition that gave theni being.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE WONDERS OK AT.V.MI.

THE Tokaido railroad swings to the northward, and climbs the rid,f;e
reaching away to Fujiyama at Gotemba, in order to pass around
one of the most interesting historic points in Japan, Hakone Lake.
This charming sheet of water is held, at a height of over 2,300 feet above
the sea, in a basin that was once the crater of an active volcano. Shel-
tered by the adjacent grassy peaks, the resplendent beauty of the sunny
slopes of the Peerless Mountain are clearly reflected in the placid bosom
of this Loch Lomond of the Far East, situated in the midst of a scene upon
which nature has lavishingly bestowed her treasures. Hakone Hills, as
well as possessing great historic interest, have become a noted health
resort, on account of the numerous hot springs to be found in this thrice-
favoured locality. There is a double chann in lingering about these
springs, which the tourist and health-seeker is not apt to deny himself.
While some of these outlets of the spongy earth are perfectly clear, others
are dense with the sul})liur they contain. The odour several of these
emit is detected miles away. Not only is this a beneficial retreat for the
invalid, but it affords a profitable location for the innkeeper, while a con-
siderable supijly of sulphur is sent to the markets. Formerly this region
was known as Kojigoku, or '• Little Hell," Init the emperor, on a visit to
the place in 1877, changed this to Ko-waki-dani, which means " little
boiling valley."

If one at first wearies of the softness of a Japanese landscape and the
dreaminess of its atmosphere, and looks back with longing to the rugged
vvildnessof an American scene, he eventually learns to admire this languid
beauty. It may be a loss of energy in the end, but it is a robbery we do
not feel.

At Kodzu we turn to the south, to find, at the end of an avenue of noble
pines, on the shore of the sea, that silent, dejected town, Odawara, a queen

427

428

THE FAK EAST.

sitting in mourning over her departed grandeur. Formerly tliis was the
stronghold of the Hojo clan, one of the early factions of warlike power,
and it was the last place to hold out against the triumphant forces of
lyeyasu. Becoming a part of the territory belonging to this conqueror,
when he took up his capital at Yedo, Odawara dwindled into an insignifi-
cant town. Eventually its situation made it a promising commercial city,
when a second enemy worse than the first, the cholera, left only a handful

IN A NOBLEMAN S GARDEN.

of its inhabitants, and it has never recovered from this visitation of disease
and death.

Atami, that strange but popular little village by the sea, next attracts
our attention, and we leave Odawara in her gloom to follow a road run-
ning in and out of numerous orange groves, but losing sight of the water
only at rare intervals. Now and then we catch sight of lines of fine
specimens of one of the most interesting trees in Japan, the hamamatsu,
or coast fir. These trees seem to have an especial liking for the sea-

JAPAN. 4-29

brine, for they press their way down to the very edge of the water, often
dipping their arms into the bay.

Atanii lies between tlie arms of two verdant hills, that vie witli each
other in keeping their charge from slipping into the sea. This delightful
resort is noted for two attractions above its minor charms, its lilies and its
geysers.

Artificially, Japan is the very paradise of flowers and birds. The lead-
ing figures in the decorative art so common and highly perfected are
these fairest gifts of nature, until the canvas literally glows with the one
and awakens with the songs of the other. Japanese fiction abounds with
vivid pictures of the plum and cherry bluss(jms ; we see in fancy a land
brilliant with the varying colours of flowering buds, and the lives of its
people a continual round of floral picnics. The four seasons are those
of the chrysanthemum, peony, iris, and wistaria. Thus we are led to
expect everywhere the beauty and fragrance of flowers, the sung and
mu.sic of birds, which shall make of this fortunate country an Hesperian
garden. But the real Japan is remarkably silent of songsters, and barren
of the flowering plants. '■ Tliere are no pastures dewed with daisies and
starred with buttercups and dandelions and cowslips ; no glades carpeted
with bluebells ; no golden plains of orange-scented gorse ; no groves of
laburnums and lilacs ; no fields of glowing poppies." Tiie ever pervadinc
love fur the beautiful has been inculcated througii a longing for it rather
than jMKssession of it.

Groves of lir and pine, both red and Itlack, clothe nearly all the slupes
of the indenti'd mountain ranges, and, where these hardy trees cannot find
sustenance, the clinging azalea carpets rock and jirccipice to the very brink
of the tumbling cataract. This shrub is the only fluwering plant that i.s
really to be considered of supreme importance. Even this has that love
fur its native haunt that it will nut thrive except wliere nature has given
it ruot. These favuured spots are few and far apart. Of course wo are
speaking now of what nature and not man lias done for Japan.

Even in the last situation, when we come to the core of truth, we liiul
that the oft-p'-ai.sed cherry is conspicuous fur its want ratlier than for its
richness of blo.s.som. What is true of this applies to the plum. Tlie
beauty of a wcll-ordereil grove of dierries is not to be gainsaid, liut it is
of a loner grade tliau tliat of an Anifrican apple orchard. Tlic fruit

430

THE FAR EAST.

being wortliless, and there being a scarcity of flowers, the people bow to
the cherry-tree in worshipful adoration.

We see this same idea illustrated in the matter of the leading, and. it
might almost be said, of the only universal fruit of Japan, the pear, which
is really a second-class article. There being no better subject to outrival
it, it is eaten everywhere in the empire, and given a conspicuous place on
every fruit-stand. It .is carefully cultivated in groves and orchards,
whither visitors are invited in the season of riiiening. These orchards

litis GARDKX.

are objects of beauty in themselves, being planted with checker-board
uniformity, and carefully trained, laterally, along trellises of regular height
and form. Natural archways, reaching for long distances, are places of
great beauty both in flowering and fruiting seasons. So it is, the empire
over. Let flowers be scarce or plentiful, the love for tliem is the growth
of many generations, and there is no person so high or humble who does
not treasure the knowledge and worship of them in his heart.

Wherever the floral giver bestows her gifts, she does it with a liberal
hand, and if the slopes of Hakone are resplendent during the spring with
uncultivated gardens of wild azaleas in their pink, white, and \ ariegated

JAPAN.

V.U

hues, so are the hedges and hillocks, the vales and plauis, of Atami, decked
to profusion with miniature groves of hydrangea in their glowing foliage,
and blue, white, and lilac blossoms, with lilies of gorgeous colouring burst-
ing upon the landscape like waterfalls, whose foam is of many hues. The
princess of these floral showers is the magnificent white lily that proudly
lifts its snowy crest, nearly a foot in diameter, to the height of a tall man.
Its stems are pink, and its broad leaves are splashed with crimson stains.

Vll.« Al

Of less haughty showing, and of more modest beauty, arc the orange,
while, or soft-tinted pink flowers that sccni everywhere present. Not
content with beautifying the earth, these lilies venture to the very edge
of the seashore, and their sisters, in scarlet dress, spread out over the
rocks, until all their bleak barrenness is concealed under a coverlid of daz-
zling brightness.

While the lily is the object of beauty at Atami, the wonder of this
place is its remarkal)le ge38er. This sulphur spring, which has been the

432 THE FAR EAST.

source of prosperity where was once poverty, is located near the centre
of the village, and within a short distance of the seashore. It is not
active all of the time, and occasionally for days it is as silent and motion-
less on the surface as if its powers had been spent. Then a low rum-
bling, swiftly increasing in volume until it can be heard for a long distance,
proclaims its coming ; the earth quivers and shakes for rods around ; and
the hot, sulphurous stream bursts forth, rising several yards into the air.
This upheaval lasts for ten, sometunes fifteen, minutes, when the power
underneath seems suddenly to collapse, and only a dense cloud of white
mist remains to mark the scene. These displays come with clockwork
regularity every four hours, except during those rare periods when the
interior forces seem to be taking a vacation, and, though continuing less
than a quarter of an hour, present a vivid and impressive phenomenon
the beholder will not soon forget. Baths in this oyu, hot water, are
considered very beneficial, and Atami is continually thronged with health-
seekers.

Atami would not be a Japanese town did it not have its temple.
The latter stands just back of the village, embowered in the green woods,
whei'e visitors delight to wander on the hot, sultry, do-yo days of August.
The first among these ancient trees to attract attention is a venerable
camphor, supposed to be the largest of its kind in Japan, and possibly
the oldest. Its years and weight have separated its trunk so it has two
bodies, looking at first like the trunks of twin trees, whose united girth is
over sixty feet. If betraying evidence of its great age in its body, the
ancient giant shows a vigorous old age in its huge canopy of dense foliage
overhead.

As Ave sit under the cooling shadows of this famous tree, accompanied
by our inseparable guide, we recall the strange story told us in the moun-
tains of the north regarding this king of the greenwood, as well as of the
temple on our right, now slowly falling into ruins, and of the geyser in
the distance, at this moment sending forth its torrent of steam and hot
water. Our companion must be a mind-reader, for he begins to repeat
with great fervour of speech and token of faith the story.

Not always has Atami been the thriving and happy town of to-day, and
away back in the period of its poverty and distress there lived here a
very good and pious man, whose one great source of sorrow was the

JAPAN.

433

extreme suffering of his people for tlie simple necessities of lift-. In those
days there were not the many ways of earning a livelihood that we have
now, and the inhabitants were fain to depend on their catch of fish for
food. EvL-n the sea was fickle, and often its tides carried the finny tribes
of its kingdom to other places, so that the people living at Atami fre-
quently went hungry.

This holy man had taken up his abode in a temple on this hilltop,
so that he might get a wide view of the bay, and warn the people w hen-

is A TKMrl.K <<>I1CI.

ever the spirits of the deep frowned upon the land. You see yonder the
ruined walls of his temple-honie. During the warm .sea.son this devout
priest loved to sit here under this ciiniph(»r-tree, whith was then hale and
hearty, spreading its wide liranches to the gateway of the temple. One
day. while a famine was on his ]>eople. who were groaning aiid ei)m]ilain-
ing in their hopelessness, the faithful i)riest, worn witli watching and
praying, fell asleep at his \>n>\.

While he slept, he dreamed that the .•seashore was heaped with iish of
many kinds that wt-re delicious to the palate. In iiis joy he .started

43-t

THE FAR EAST.

toward the scene, when a great noise and commotion m the water
stopped him. Huge clouds of steam filled the air, so that he could hardly
see the bay, which was churned into foam l^y some terrible power under-
neath. He saw now that the lish all lay on their backs, dead, every one
of them having
been scalded to
death b }■ the
boiling water.

His distress
was so great at
this sight that
he awoke ; but
wath his eyes
wide open he
looked on the
same strange
spectacle, only
the dead fi s h
were piled deeper
on the seashore,
while the vol-
canic forces sent
spouts of hot
water high into
the air. He
closed his eyes
to shut out the
sight, and prayed
that this awful
visitation of hor-
ror and desolation might not be felt by his people. In the midst of this
unselfish prayer he heard a terrific crash behind him, and ujjon turning
around, in new fright, he saw that the huge camphor-tree had split in
twain from root to branch ! As he looked upon it dumfounded, lo ! a
beautiful goddess stepped from the heart of the riven tree, and, handing
liim a branch from its broad arms, said, in a voice of peaceful intonation :

A SHINTO I'HIEST.

Japanese Posttnan {Tattooed)

.i.\r.\x.

4.S3

"Take tliis camphur wand, lioly man! and wave it thrice over tl'.e
boiling sea ; and ere its final circuit is finished toss it far over the water
in the name of Kwannon, the goddess of mercy, when thy prayer shall be
answered, and Atami's woe will Ijecome Atami's joy."

He took the protfered camphor branch, and as he did so she, as it
seemed, vanislied iiitu air. Mindful of liis duty, he ran toward tlie sea-
shore, whicli he reached quickly, though an old man. On the shore, with

IIIKA I KK AT (ISAKA.

the h(jt water liissiug at his feet like many rt'ptilcs, lie waved the charmed
wand tlirice over the tide, and tiircw it far out to .sea, witii a prayer for
Atami's salvation ringing out clear and strong above the tmnult. that
Kwanncju luiglit hear it. Immediately a miglity convulsion sliook the
earth all around iiim, followed by a dei-j) rumbling underground, which
grew louder and nearer each moment. Then, with a deafening roar and
a rush frightful to behold, the earth oi)ened, sending forth a torrent of
seething, steaming water, whicii ran down to sea. At the same time, tho

436 THE FAR EAST.

water of the bay became calm, and the fish swimming in it had nothing
more to sutt'er from its flood.

All the people now gathered about the fomitain of hot, sulphurous
water, and marvelled, and trembled for the end. But the prophecy of
the goddess had come true : Atami's woe had become Atami's joy.
The ill soon learned of the wonderful curative powers of the geyser,
and came from afar to be healed. If the fish swam shy or bold in the
sea, the population of Atami were no longer dependent upon them for
their food, and cared not. Wise men have said that the goddess of the
sacred camphor-tree was Kwannon herself. Be that as it may, the visitor
of to-day sees proof of her coming in the riven trunk of the tree, and
again in the living geyser, which is both the wonder and the wealth of
Atami

CHAPTER XV.

THE Rll" VAX WINKLE OF JAPAN.

THE rivers of Japan are short, but their careers are as brilliant as
they are brief. Innumerable rivulets, bursting their silvery bonds
amid the vild gorges of the Fujiyama regions, unite their volumes
to form turbulent streams before the lowlands are reached. What is here
lost in number is more than made up in swollen floods. Fed by so many
tributaries, the rise of water in this network of rivers is often rapid, so
that when the ice and snow melt on the mountains the effect is startling
along the cour.ses which are incapable of carrying oft" the increased tide.
But these generally subside as swiftly as they rise, though this does not
relieve the difficulty of bridging these erratic streams. The Japanese
have long understood the art of bridge-making, but the amount of capital
required to build the colossal structures necessary to span these mountain
rivers has, until within a few years, deterred the people from attempting
to reach satisfactory results. Japan has now several bridges of huge
dimensions, built with no little engineering skill.

The rivers of tlie Tokaido district become almost dry during the winter
months, but, swollen by the thaws of spring, they overflow their banks and
run wild for a few days. The longest of these streams is the Ten-ru,
Heavenly Dragon River, Avhich rises in the Nakasendo, or Middle Moun-
tain road, near the thrifty town of Uyeda, and traverses 130 miles of
country. The Oigawa finds its source over ten thou.sand feet above
sea-level, while the Fujikawa, a stream fifty miles in length, drains the
Peerless Mountain.

This last giant of sleeping volcanoes, whose prismatic splendours and
artistic sublimity have been so often expressed in works of Japanese art,
now attracts our intimate attention. Seen from the distant ocean, its
truncated crest, wrapped in a robe of snow for three-fourth.s of the time,
looks like a pink and white pillar rising abrujaly from the inuneasurable
deep. The first land view defines it, some fifty miles away, as a lonely

437

438

THE FAR EAST.

sentinel in wliite, the pinnacle of more than fifty square miles of country,
every foot of which has helped to rear this gigantic monarch. Seen in
the clear light of morning, a mystic halo seems to encircle it, from which
it bursts forth like a jewel of purest lustre set in an opaline sky. Under
this effect, it is easy to accept the poetical signification of its name.

On a nearer approach, its complete isolation is removed, and other satel-
lites, one of them Oyama, as high as Mount Washington, in New England,

FUJIKAWA RIVER LOOKING TOWARD FUJIYAMA.

become visible, one after anotlier, until it is seen that this chief is really
the central summit of a court of serrated cones rising from attendant
mountain ranges and detached ridges and peaks. Here the monarch
holds his court in the realm of glittering mountain-tops, whose dazzling
splendours aptly bear out all that tradition has attributed to this grand
panorama.

The voice of ages says that this vast mountain was builded in a single
night, and the earth and substance taken to rear its majestic form were

JAPAN. 4;}9

taken from tliat hollow in the ground, two Imndred miles distant, which
is now filled with the water of Lake Biwa. In the light of modern
knowledge, this does not seem altogether impossible or iiiii)rohable.
Witliin a comparatively sliort time, tliat mighty protuberance which
breaks the steady rise of the eastern slope of Mishima has been lifted
bodily from a depression in the mountain's lower regions.

If it is now inactive, one need not go far to find ample evidence of the
terrific upheavals of earth, ashes, and molten masses, which are veiled but
not concealed by the thin growth of vegetables creeping over Fujiyama's
broad, pumice-covered slopes. What Vesuvius is to Naples, Kilauea to
Hawaii, Shasta to California, Hecla to Iceland, Fujiyama is to Japan.
It is a source of national pride, of majestic grandeur, of fear but lialf
concealed. If Nature created this mountain in haste, she gave it the soft-
ness of contour, placidity of aspect, and tenderness of verdure so common
to Japanese volcanoes. In fact, this term in Japan loses its meaning of
barrenness, desolation, and disruption, for all this is swiftly reduced
by climatic influences, or concealed under a dense mantle of vegetation.
We have seen, in the north, an alpine wildness and sublimity, but in the
heart of Japan " green valleys nestle in the arms of sloping hills, while
these are clothed in feathery bamboo or billow-boughed pines, which kiss
the fantastic seashore, where the waves seldom raise their cadence above
a whisper, as if fearful of breaking the brooding silence, deepened rather
than disturbed by the sweet tone of the temple bells."

Pilgrimages to the summit of Fujiyama are made with all the religious
ardour of similar journeys in India to the holy shrines of Mecca. More
than ten thousand pious pilgrims clothed in spotless white garments, with
enormous hats on their heads, and long, stout staves in their hands, annu-
ally wind their way slowly upward toward the lofty crater of tiiis sacred
mountain as if bound to an incen.se-burning altar. Aside from the rev-
erential feeling which naturally urges on the visitor to the Peerless
Mountain, it affords one of the noblest and most di-lightful tri])s that can
be taken in the Sunrise Land. Rising over twelve thousand feet from
the plain at one sweep, the view from the top is the broadest and finest
in all Japan. Not many years since, the entire distance from any
point had to be made on foot, or seated in the mountain-chair borne by
four sure-footed coolies. Now a three hours' ride by rail from Yokohama

440

THE FAR EAST.

takes one to the village of Gotemba, at the foot of the mountain. If
the tourist is able-bodied, he had better complete the journey on foot.
Despite his extra exertions he will find this preferable to being carried,
cramped up like a jack-knife half closed, in a kago, or that more pre-
tentious but scarcely more comfortable Eastern palanquin, the noriinon}

Aljove the farm-lands, which reach upward to a height of over fifteen
hundred feet, is a wide belt of grassy moorland ; then a girdle of forest,
stopping at six thousand feet, succeeds. Above this band of growth the

FUJIYAMA.

vegetation gradually becomes sparse and sickish in aj^pearance, until
finally the ancient paths wind in and out of rocky ravines, around or
over huge patches of volcanic deposits. The kago-bearers go no farther
than the upj^er rim of the forest, so that all climbers are then obliged to
walk.

The mountainside is dotted with rude huts built for the accommodation
of pilgrims and tourists, who may get caught in one of the snow-storms
which break over the scene, often with unexpected fury. On the summit,

' OrigiiuUly the noriraou was the carnage of tlie nohle.s, and the kago a basket for the coa-
veyaiice of the middle chiss.

JAPAN.

441

two and one-fourth miles above the sea, a stone hut has been raised, a
tip-top house for the protection of the comers to that lofty, dreary, and
desolate outlook, for such it is until one's immediate surroundings are
forgotten by the charm of the view beyond.

A short distance from this building is the sacred gateway leading to
the crater, which is four hundred feet deep ; and if it has been inactive
fur almost two centuries, it has punctuated Japanese history with many
lurid periods from time iunnemorial, and still furnishes proof of its
living fires by the thin wreaths of sulphurous smoke rising from its
secret chambers. In 1707, after a long interval of silence, it suddenly
burst on its southern slope, burying the lowlands around deep in ita
molten debris, while clouds of ashes were wafted out to sea fifty milch
away. Who stands in its awful presence cannot fail to realise, as he
may never have before, his own feebleness and the power of that force
at work beneath, which the next moment may send him miles into space.

But the horrors of the pit are forgotten in the presence of the beautiful
and the majestic. Below, stretch the corrugated crests of the inferior
mountains, mere hills as viewed from this lofty eyrie, while farther away
are the plains and valleys, the dark groves of fir and pine, the cultivated
fields, glistening sheets of water, silvery rivers winding across the land-
scape toward the sea, hamlets and towns embowered in gardens and way-
side trees, the bays indenting the coast, and, beyuml all these, the placid
ocean. No view of this kind is without its charms, and the Peerless
Mountain of Japan is not surpassed in this respect.

It is natural that the aborigines of any country should hold their
mountains in awe, and the Japanese believed that it would be contrary
to the wishes of the goddess who was 8upi)0sed to have her abode here
for a woman to ascend this silver-crested pyramid. So it was left for
a foreigner, Lady Parkes of England, to perform that feat. She was
watchcil with awe, as she resolutely climbed the ascent. That was in
1807, and many of the gentler sex have since made the arduous journey;
so that the spell has been broken, and it is considered nothing remarkable
to make the trip.

While we rest from this " feast for the eyes," our Japanese friend sur-
prises us with a fancy tale of legendary days, when the earth was younger
and its inhabitants lived in clo.ser connuuiiion with it. Tlie magic of the

442

THE FAR EAST.

narrator's impressive language, and the flash of his eye, as he dwells on
the scenes pictured on his vivid mind, had become a mysterious part
of his subject, which cannot be conveyed in the speech of tongue or
pen any more than the laughter of tlie sunny waters or the song of
the summer breeze can be imprisoned in the caverns of the imagination,
to be freed at will with all their subtle expression. Shorn of this beauty,
his story runs :

Over two thousand ^ years ago, long ere the old faitli was shaken, and

SUWA-YAMA MOUNTAIN, KOB^.

each pathway leading into the forests immemorial led under a massive
torii to some sacred shrine, there dwelt in the heart of Old Japan a cer-
tain good man named Yisu. With him dwelt a faithful wife and two
sons and two davighters, the sunlight of peace and happiness falling like
the beams of the sacred sun over his liome. His dwelling stood under
the fringe of the forest, so that he looked out upon the broad plain of
Suruga.

In the summer he was accustomed to tend his growing crops, but with

' 286 B. c.

JAPAN. 443

the cuniing of winter, with its legions of wind and snuw, he delighted
to toil with his axe from sunrise to sunset under the warm tent of the
pine. At nightfall he could l)e seen struggling homeward under a load
of logs and branches of trees for the fire. Visa was renowned as a story-
teller, and aroinid the cheerful blaze he loved to narrate to his family
wonder tales of the deep greenwood and the fairies and elves that dwelt
in its midst. The region to the north was wonderland to his listeners, so
often did he repeat his strange stories.

One night, as he was telling an especially interesting tale of the secrets
of the forest, a strange noise startled the little group. As one and all
listened, it grew louder and more terrific, luitil it seemed as if the wliole
interior of the earth was in convulsion. The cry of " Earthquake ! " rang
out shrilly, but Visii quieted his family somewhat by saying that had it
been an eartiiquake it must needs have been sooner over. But, before he
had finislied speaking, the thunder was .so loud that he could not make
himself heard. He was frightened himself, and taking his smaller chil-
dren in his arms, while his wife and the other children clung to his side,
he ran out into the night.

Even in his fright he noticed that the sky had taken on an unusual
lirilliancy. Orion's band of jewels hung low in the stellar realm, while
the dipper's seven diamond points shone like a glittering finger-board in
the sky. Wliat amazed him most was the fact that every tip seemed
focused toward the plain of Suruga and the forest beyond. Dazzled and
bewildered, Visu looked northward, where the way was shown him, and
lo ! he saw a sight he never forgot.

Where at sunset had stretched the vast plain, and beyond the green-
woods, which had been his pride and boast, rose a mountain ! And such
a mountain as he had never looked upon. It ro.se before him like a tower
of fire, sending forth, far and wide, storms of stones and molten debris,
while Haunting into the air banners of llames that lifted and spread until
the very light of the sky turned into darkness. Visu and his family
watched the scene, terror-stricken, until another day, wlieii they returned
to their home.

With the morning light they saw the black folds whicli bad encircled
the new-born nioimtain take on the bright and purple hues of the golden
roJies of the sun goddess, which told them tliat .she was pleased at tho

444

THE FAK EAST.

appearance of the newcomer, wliicli Visu saw was higher and mightier
than any mountain he had ever seen, and he had penetrated far into the
region of the northern hills. He named it Fujijama, declaring that it
was a peerless mountain, which distinction it has borne ever since. As
the days passed, and the young giant grew cahner and milder in his
appearance, Visu loved nothing better than to sit at eventide, with his
day's toil done, and watch the rays of the setting sun, as they played

fHIRAITO WATERFALL, FU.IIYAMA.

arovuid the still smoKing crest in purple streaks that lapped over into
twilio-ht.

In time Visu learned strange facts concernmg the birth of Fujiyama,
his mountain, as he delighted to call it, and vfhich he looked upon as a
watchman of the plain. In the same hour that it had risen from the
heart of the great greenwood, all the sacred hills of the Kyoto district had
disappeared with a great hue and luibbub. and where they had stood
quickly shone a tranquil sheet of water of a heavenly blue. It was

.lAl'AN. 44.-)

sliaped like the loved lute, and was named Biwa. The people knew now
that tlie Peerless Mountain had travelled nearly two hundred miles under-
ground in order to reach its abiding-place.

Though he was the guardian of the great greenwood, and the keeper
of its secrets,, being on visiting terms with the Tengus, and often met on
sacred grounds the gods and goddesses that ruled over tlie things and
creatures primeval, it was fully a year later before Visu dared to leave
his home so far as to penetrate into the deep forest skirting the foot of
Fujiyama Then, as he went farther and deeper into the trackless realm,
he was more and more pleased with what he saw. It seemed to him the
trees nmer had l>x)ked so friendly and beaming, the sun had not shone so
briglit. or the sky looked so blue. Tims he kept on and on, until finally
he realised that he must turn lia<k. lie had barely decided to do this,
when a merry little t'nx bounded across his pathway in front of liiiii.
Visu thought the bold little fellow looked at him with longing eyes as he
sped past, and stop[)ed Avithin sight. Of all the denizens of the green-
wood the fox is held in highest esteem.

" It is a good omen to have a fox cross one's path." thought Visu.
"Seeing he has not fled away, perhaps if I approach him he will pass
in front of me again, and thus ilouble my good fortune."

Witji this intention in his uiiud, Visu advanced, imtil the wary fox
stiirted to run ofif, but .so shaped his course that ft^r the second time he
ran before the delightL-d woodman. As he had stopped within sight now,
'/isu imagined he was still inviting him to come ahead, so he continued
to move forward, when, to liis increased joy, the fox cro.ssed his wa}' for
Jie third time. In fact, this niantpuvring was repeated, until .Master
Reynard iiad actually cnisscd and recrossed the |»ath of Visu ten times.

"Never did siuh good promise of fortune fall to the lot of mortal
before," thought the forester, "antl I am sure my happiness is to be
iiicr('asc(| tenfold. '

Hut if so auspieiims, tliis singular progress liati. <piite unconsciously to
Visu. t;d<en him so deeply into the woods that, when he ciine to junk
about liini. he found lie was so far that he would be puz/.led t^' lind hi-
wav out. As he stopped to look alxuit and listen for s<uue sound nnid
the s(denni silence, he was |)leased to c.iteh the soft murmur of waif
gliiliug slowly along a smooth course, while there bi'oke upon his eir the

446

THE FAR EAST.

louder and harsher sound which he took to be the gurgling of a cascade,
where foam-capped waters wei-e tossed sharply from rock to rock as they
hurried on their way.

" The water always runs toward the plain," said Visu, half aloud, " and
by following this stream I shall be able to find my way home."

Acting upon this idea, parting the bamboo thicket just ahead of him,
he stepped boldly into a little green, or clearing, in the forest, where the

MOUNTAIN VIEW FROM MONASTKRY GAUDJCN, NIKKO.

morning dew still lingered on the pale green leaves like pearly drops,
though the sun was sending his silvery shafts into the beautiful retreat.
Visu thought it was the prettiest glade he had ever beheld, and he stopped
to admire the scene, when a yet fairer sight caught his vision, and held
him spellbound.

Visu saw nothing less than tw^o maidens sitting on the mossy carpet
of the green, close beside the bank of the rivulet, playing go} They were

' A liousehold game played by the Japanese, which resembles somewhat our chess or chcck-
srs. It is played with boxes of little round buttons for checks, with the players seated arcniiid

JAPAN.

447

the fairest, sweetest couple he had ever seen, and so absorbed were they
in the game that they phiyed on in silence, except for the clicking of the
checks and the singing of the running waters. Tlie waving bamboos
partly shaded their fair faces from the sunlight, but their features seemed
lit by a light divine. As they had not noticed his appearance, Visu con-
tinued to watch the twain, as graceful of movement as the slender willow,
and as fair of presence as the blossom of the cherry-tree. Entranced by

GIKLI4 WARMING TIIKMSKLVES.

the lovely sight, he did not have the power to break the mystic spell, and,
leaning on his axe helve, he watched and watched the motions of the beau-
tiful players, scarcely daring to breathe lest he dispel the illusion. Olilivi-
ous of him, th(! maids continued to move the chessmen as if their fut\u'e
existence depended upon their skill in pla3ing. The gentle breeze stroked
softly their long, dark hair, lifting it ever so lightly, until the sun's rays,

a mat spread on the ground or floor. WomiMi and cliildrcu play it at lionio, wliilo it i» no un-
common sight to see men stop in the midst of th<?ir hibour, or journey, to spread a mat at their
feet and amuse themselves for liours at a time.

448

THE FAR EAST.

grown bold with their opportunity, played hide and seek amid the d^isky
coils, and ran races along silken roads. A strange power seemed to bind
the enraptured watcher, its delights growing with its strength ; time and
again he closed his eyes to reopen them upon the same scene : the green
with its moss mat, the pearl-drops on the laamboos, the sweet maids play-
ing, as if they never intended to stop, in silence and beautiful contentment.
At last, when it seemed to Visu that it was possible he had fallen asleep
and dreamed it all, be rallied enough to bestir his cramped limbs The

CUUXTKV H<)AI>.

action brought a low cry of pain to his lips, and he found himself so sore
and stiff in his joints that he could scarcely move. He looked for the
fair players, to find to his surprise that they were gone.

"Strange they should have slipped away before my eyes^ without my
seeing them," he thought. " I must hasten home and tell those there of
the rare sight I have seen in the heart of the great greenwood."

Leaning heavily on his axe helve, as he started to move away, the wood
crumbled from under him. and he fell to the ground. So stiff" were his
knees, and there were so many aches and pains in his joints, that it was
several minutes before he could regain his feet. lie saw to his further

JAl'AX.

449

amazement that his hair reached far down over his shoulders, while his
beard hung from his chin wide and flowing. Doth, until now, black as
the raven's wing, were white as the snow on Fujiyama's lofty crest !

Not knowing what this all meant, well might he be frightened, and he
hobbled homeward with what haste he could. But it was many hours
later when the poor, bewildered woodman came to a hut standing near

tlic b(ir<l( r (if the forest and looking out upon the ])lain. IIo reinenibered
it as his home, though strange cliildicn were plaviug iiniiind the ddor, and
unfamiliar voices came from within.

"ThcTe must bo visitors at hmne," hi- dt'fidt'd in bis mind, as he .stepped
inside, to be greetetl with the decorous reception tiic .lapanese alwavs
accord strangers.

" I am looking for my wife and (bildren. " be said. " I left them, a
•short time since, for a ramble in tbe green wood. I'eilia|is tlnv bave got
aiixiniis, and gmie in searcb nf nie. if su, piitliee make baste and Inl'inin

tlieni of my safe return. Strange to say, 1 am fatig I over mv walk,

though it has not been overloug."

They l()i)ked ujion bim with a wundef tliev could not enlirelv cunceal.

450 THE FAR EAST.

and after listening to his speech the man shook his head. When Visu
insisted that this was his home, he protested, saying that liis father, and
his father's fathers, had Uved there before him. Surely this hoary-headed
stranger, clothed in tatters, was one bereft of his reason, and he pitied
him. Then the dazed woodman told his name, when the other finally
recalled that an ancestor had been named Visu, and that he had been a
man of considerable renown, who, when tired of the earth, had sought
rest in the fastness of the forest that he had loved so well. But he had
served his family ill by going away without imparting his intention.

" Nay, brother! " cried Visu, " now you wrong an innocent man. I am
that woodman, and if I have been gone overlong it was no fault of mine.
Tell me where I may find my wife, that I may obtain her forgiveness.
She was ever indulgent, and I promise never again to pass within the
magic circle of the mountain green."

" Thy wife," replied the other, looking incredulous, " if thou art, as
thou claimest, Visu, has slept with the faithful for six generations. Those
you look upon here are descendants of her children, — hers and Visu's."

Slowly and painfully it dawned upon the returned woodman that while
he had tarried in the forest, watching the beautiful maidens playing go
in the deep greenwood, his wife, his children, and his children's children,
had lived their natural spans of life and departed. He realised that he
had mysteriously fallen out of the race run to the grave by his generation,
and been left a lonely old man in a lonely world. He was taken in and
cared for most kindly, but his heart was no longer light. His remaining
days on earth were passed in making pious pilgrimages to Fujiyama,
and in looking for the fair players of go. Once he fancied he caught a
gleam of the little fox who had allured him into their court, but he never
saw the delusive maids. Upon his death. Visu was fittingly sainted, and
he has ever since been worshipped as a deity of prosperity.

CHAPTER XVI.

KEGIOX OK THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE.

DESCENDING from Fujiyama and regaining the route to Kyoto, we
notice all along the way a fine view of the country at our feet.
The view at Sano is especially fine, the sacred mountains affording
a magnificent background, while the vista in front is one of the fairest
landscapes in Japan, with a broad belt of glistening water beyond. Dur-
ing the afternoon we pass the scene of that charming tale from Japanese
folk-lure, " The Robe of Feathers," which our guide stops to relate.

Many years ago, as all legends begin, some fi.shermen passing the
shore here, one day, saw a beautiful rube made of feathers from some
strange bird hanging upon the trees that dipped their arms into the
seaside. The wondering men, after stopping a moment to admire the
magnificent object, showed tluir honesty by passing on without offering
to touch the rolje, which they concluded belonged to some woman of the
nobility, w'ho had perhaps come here to bathe in the clear tide.

A little later a single fisherman, landing on the shore near by, dis-
covered the robe, and, less scrupulous tlian the others, immediately
took possession of it. As he was making awa}' with it in high jjleasure,
a most beautiful maiden ajijteared on the scene, coming from he knew
not whence. With tears in her luvely blue eyes, unused t(j weeping, and
in a voice of the sweetness of the wilil dove, she told him the robe was
hers. Then he laughed at her, declaring that having it in his possession
made it his.

She continued to plead with him. saying that without it she could not
return to her home in the sky. He soon learned that she was one of
many attendants that waited upon the "thirty monarchs" that ruled
the moon. This only made him more oljdurate, while he was fascinated
by her loveliness. So he hesitated in rowing away, though he refused
to give up his prize. To hesitate in his case meant final surrender, for
hinting to him of the gay life of the immortal dancers, he consented to

451

-v7

THE FAR EAST.

let her put on the robe long enough to dance for hhn one of the wonder-
ful di'eanis of fantasy enacted beyond the pale of mortals. It was the
agreement that he should have the robe, when she was done dancing, by
coming to her for it. The narrator then proceeds to picture, in language
and gesture which cannot be translated, the bewildering mazes and fan-
tastic figures she performed on the sun-kissed sands, while music from
ethereal flutes made light the movements of the fairy maid, and sweets
from Elysian bowers made fragrant the summer air. Gradually he grew

^..

l,IKl,> l>A.\tI.N(;

dizzy from watching, and as she finished he reached to grasp the feather
robe. At that moment a breeze from tlie sea spread out the precious
"■arment like the wings of a bird, and to his amazement she was wafted
upward, the last note of the song dying away as she disappeared in the
blue space overhead.

One of the noted places passed on this route is the city of Shidzuoka,
situated on an open plain fifteen miles from the seashore, and especially
honoured in being the home of the " last of the tycoons." This Shogun
Keiki, having been shorn of his royal poAvers, retired to this city in
1868, where he lived the life of a simple country gentleman of leisure.

.I.M'AN. 453

spending his time in fishing and hawking. Japan, Europe, and America,
owe more to hira than they will ever acknowledge, as it was mainly due
to him tliat the latter government (by the term America we mean the
United States in their broad signification), through its representative,
Commodore Perrj', succeeded in opening intercourse with this Robinson
Crusoe of nations. The real emperor maintauiing his official seclusion at
Kyoto, this shogun, as his agent, received the strange visitors, and began
negotiations with the new power. In this correspondence he was desig-
nated as tai-kun, or tycoon, and as such his name stands in an honoured
position in history.

Beyond this place an iron bridge fully a mile in length spans a rivei
which, except for a brief while in spring, is a narrow, dejected stream
It is but an example of rivers in Japan. Streams that for eleven months
out of the year are dried up affairs, that seem to i)e withering to nothing,
suddenly spring from their beds as the snow melts from the mountains
and deluge the country far and wide.

The country along this coast for a hundred miles is a vast rice-field,
made up of numberle.ss patches devoted to this crop. The division of
these little plots, of a quarter of an acre in area, can always be defined
by the grass-tufted ridges. A horse attached to a plow of antique design,
and with a tooth that turns up a furrow three feet in width, is the means
of stirring the sod. But rice culture must be a very disagreeable occu-
pation, as the weeding and resetting have to be done in mud and water
knee-deep. The mud of Japan is the muddiest kind of mud, too. Much
of this work is done by women, and it is no uncommon sight to see
mothers, with infants strapped upon their l)acks, working day after day
in the rice-swamps. Forty l)ushels of rice to an acre is considered a fair
yield. The main article of diet for these workers is millet, wheat, or
barley, dried fish, and seaweed.

Though we did not pass the marble monument erected to mark the sad
incident, we are reminded of the fate of the French .M. M. steamer Nil,
in the Yoshida Bay, off the town of Irima. on the night of the 20th of
March, 1874. This steamer had on Ixianl 111 persons, and the articles
Japan had .sent for exhiliition at Vienna. The night was dark, the tide
running high, and her engine getting out of order, the steamer ran upon
a rook and .sank. Only four persons escaped.

454

THE FAR EAST.

One of the finest reminders of auld lang syne is the city of Nagoya,
situated at the head of Owari Gulf, with a castle aud moat of the days
of feudalism well preserved. No tourist fails to visit what was once the
home of the son of lyeyasu, built in IGIO. Of late ^ears it has been
taken for military purposes, and the broad strip of plain between the outer
and inner moats has been converted into a parade-ground and a barracks.
The moats are dry now, and along them deer roam, amid the surround-
ings of war, in peace. The castle is a five-storied stone pagoda, the roof

THRESHING RICE

surmounted by two golden dolphins eight feet in height and considered to
be worth two hundred thousand dollars. A wide view of the country can
be had from the top of this pagoda, while its glittering ornaments are
prominent objects from all parts of the city.

An entrance through a richly ornamented gateway of two stories
admits one into the great courtyard of the temple of Higashi Hongwanji.
The walls and ceiling of this temple are rich in their carvings. Among
the special objects of interest is pointed out a stone with the imprint of
Buddha's huge foot. As a matter of uniformity it ought to be large.

JAPAN.

455

as it is claimed he stood sixteen feet in height. This place is noted for
its five hundred images of the followers of this religiovis founder, painted
in bright colours, but no two of the same tint. They are about two feet
in height, and show every emotion in their grotesque features, from gay
to grave, sublime to ridiculous.

A tour of the streets shows the workmen of various classes busy at
their toil. If at first their movements and methods seem clumsy and
awkward, we are soon forced to acknowledge that there is a certain ease

jrv: »-t

CARI'KNTEKS.

and skill in their workmanship that is hard to equal. In the lightness of
touch, the rapidity of motion, and the nicety of completion, they excel any
other race. We .see proof of this until we are convinced. Nothing is
left unfinished, or with a lack of proper poli.sh. The carpenter is able to
build a house with fewer pins or nails than we u.se, because he fits his
tenons to mortises with a closeness that makes the joints water-tight.
.Tapane.'^e workmen use their feet as extra hands, and the great toe rivals
the tliunib in usefulness.

Another place, located on one of the sounds of Owari Gulf, which

456 'i"HE FAR EAST.

indents the island so that its width is narrowed to less than seventy
miles, is the village noted as holding the revered shrine of Ise, erected on
the sacred spot where the early ancestor of the emperor first set foot on
Dai Nippon. If we are to follow tradition, the tenshi, as his loyal people
love best to know him, is a direct descendant from Ama-ga-terasu, the
sun-god, who came down to the earth in primeval days to dwell for a
time in what is now the province of Ise. This town of itself is an attract-
ive spot, embowered in umbrageous groves, and surrounded by a beautiful
landscape of hillocks and valleys.

The Uji Province, noted for its tea-raising since an early day, lies
between Ise and Kyoto on the west. A tea plantation, consisting of acres
of evergreen bushes, from two to three feet in height, is one of the pret-
tiest sights of this region. Except the better grade of tea, the plants are
left exposed to the rays of the sun, Isut those that produce the highest
qualities are covered with mats thrown over bamboo frames. The soil
and climate of this locality combine to make the cultivation of this herb
particularly successful. Throughout this large district every swell of
land, be it hill or mound, is terraced and planted with the tea-shrub,
which looks at first sight like the myrtle. It bears a yellow and white
blossom, resembling the wild camelia. It is from this region the tea
comes which we get in the United States.

North of Nagoya, we pass through the central region of the great earth-
quake of 1891, and the evidence of its awful visitation is still to be seen.
Before reaching Gifu, a considerable ascent is made witli Ibukiyama frown-
ing down upon us, with its bare sides rising over four thousand feet into
E id-air. Gifu, -situated at the angle of the railroad threading this coun-
try, suffered horribly from the earthquake just mentioned, not less than
ten thousand people losing their lives, while twice that number were
made destitute.

Fishing with cormorants, which seems to be the principal vocation of
the people here, has served to give tlie place world-wide notoriety. The
cormorant, which figures so prominently in this sport, belongs to the web-
footed species of birds, of the migratory order, and lives on fish, wliich it
catches with remarkable dexterity, and devours with an equal voracity.
It is caught bj the Japanese when, as a young bird, it lingers on the coast
of Owari Gulf on its migration southward from its summer haimts on the

JAPAN.

437

northern shores of Hokkaido. This difficult part of the work is usually
done by placing a wooden image of the bird in a conspicuous position,
partially covered with leaves, and generously sprinkled with bird-lime.
The young captive then has to be given a course of training for future
usefulness. This requires great tact and patience on the part of the
owner, and the expense of keeping the cormorant through the winter,
when no fishintr is done, is considerable. There are cases where the owner

JAl'ANKSK IKA TKADKH.

actually deprived himself of needed I'uod in order to keep his prize in good
shape for the summer season's fisiiing.

Cormorant fishing is generally done l)y a party of fishermen making up
a series of boats, with four men to each boat. The chief or leader of each
stations himself in the bow, and has under his management at least
twelve birds, and sometimes iis many as eighteen. The way he and his
feathered helpers ply their trade is what has given this locality its wide-
spread reputation for this peculiar enii)loyment. Tliis man is distin-

458

THE FAR EAST.

guished by his hat from a second fisherman in the boat, who handles four
birds. A third person, seated in the stern, tends strictly to navigating
the boat, while the fourth, seated in the forepart, keeps up an incessant
noise by striking bamboo sticks together, and in shouting to encourage
the birds. He is called Tcako, and is quite as indispensable as the others.

Each cormorant has had a metal ring placed around its neck, fitting
close enough to prevent it from swallowing the larger fish, and suffi-

>4ir.- ' '\^.. ^t ■ )^ iM

liafe.

ISHING WITH CORMORANTS.

ciently loose to allow the small ones to pass down its throat. A sort of
harness is rigged about the body, to lower and lift the cormorant at the
will of its master. This contrivance is somewhat after the style of a
shawl-strap, a piece of whalebone answering for the handle on its back,
while a stout cord is fastened to this to keep the bird from straying too
far, and to guide its movements. This is made of spruce fibre, and is
usually about a dozen feet in length.

The details carefully arranged, the steersman allows the boat to drift
down the river, its course lighted by rows of torches on each side, for

.lAI'AN. 459

cormorant fishing is always done at niglit. Upon reaching the fishing-
ground the master lowers one after anotlier of his birds into the water;
and when the entire lot has been let down, he gathers the reins in his
left hand, keeping his right for the recajfture of the cormorant and
removal of fish as often as the occasion demands. He in control of the
four birds follows the example of the leader, and the sport opens in
earnest. The fish are attracted toward the boat by the torchlights, and
the birds begin to gorge themselves with members of the finny tribe.
The creatures that seemed so clumsy on land dart hither and thither with
astonishing swiftness, diving whenever they catch sight of a fish. These
feathered fishers are managed by the fishermen with remarkable skill,
and a lively time ensues. The moment one of the cormorants has filled
its capacious mouth, it has to be pulled in and disgorged, when it returns
to the scene with renewed zest. It has brought in perhaps half a dozen
good fish, and in an hour it will catch from a hundred to a hundred and
fifty. As soon as the catch is considered sutficiently large, the run is
made back to Gifu, with the birds resting in rows in the boat.

Tiie willingness and intelligence with which these birds enter into the
work is surj)rising. One of each set, lusually the oldest, an old. grizzled
warrior, is leader, and he goes by the name of ichi, or captain. The oth-
ers, arranged in numbers according to their age and size, are put into the
water in regular order, the ichi last, being taken out first. So clearly do
the creatures understand this rule, that, if by mistake or intention it is
broken, there is a rumpus at once.

CHAPTER XVII.

ALONG THE INLAND SEA.

THE Tokaido is the main artery of Hondo, running from the heart
of Japan, and through it courses the life-current of the empire.
It runs through the most populous cities, and the richest lands for
agriculture. It is along this route that the spirit of modern enterprise,
as well as ancient glory, has been most potent in shaping the affairs of
the realm, and with this is connected the better part of its history.

Leaving Gifu, we soon after reach the sliore of that sheet of water
whose beauty and legendary origin we have already heard told in glowing
language. It is really the lake of Omi, though more often called Biwa, on
account of its resemblance to a Chinese guitar. Two small steamers now
ply between two towns on its historic .shores, Otsu and Hikone, the latter
a castled city on the north end. Not far from here is that notable place
on the west shore of Hondo, Fukui, the " well of blessing." Biwa is the
only lake of any size in Japan, and its setting is worthy of the gem. It
lies only 340 feet above the Inland Sea, and has a length of nearly forty
miles.

We are now on the direct route to Kyoto. The country is compara-
tively level. On our left we see series after series of rice-plantations,
with the labourers bending over their tasks completely hidden under their
huge hats. On the road we meet many Japanese farmers, either going
to market or returning. They carry their produce, or the product of
manufacture, suspended from long poles, nicely balanced on their shoul-
ders. Some of the loads thus carried are enormous. Once we overtook
what looked like a huge pile of baskets moving slowly along the highway.
A closer inspection disclosed a man under the load. Again we met
another, evidently moving, for he was bowed beneath a load of mats and
household utensils.

We are still on the line of the railroad, and at Kusatsa we take the
train for Kobe on the shore of the Gulf of Osaka. This will take us

460

JAPAN.

461

through the ancient capital, but we shall not stop there to look around, as
we purpose to finish our tour of picturesque Japan with a voyage down
the Inland Sea to Nagasaki. Later, with ample leisure, we will return to
note the many interesting scenes and history of this renowned " city of
peace," the soul of ancient Japan. We shall pass through another city
of even more modern interest, Osaka, which shall occupy its share of
attontion at the proper time.

Itl\KIt VIKW, XACASAKI.

We follow quite closely the course of tlie river Yudo, whitli lluws
leisurelv l^etween banks covered with reeds, and throu<fh '^roves of lirs
and bamboos, its margins dotted with groups of thatched dwellings. It
was in this region that the Jesuits and Franciscans from Manila, with
more zeal than prudence, went from hamlet to hamlet, more than two
hundred years ago, in their vain attempt to introduce Ciiristianity into
this country. Their pathetic fates have been descril)ed in our treatise on
the Philippines. This stream is a favourite li.iuiit for the stork, the
noble white heron, and the less adinircd hawk.

462 THE FAR EAST.

In more recent time this territory has been the battle-ground of the
powers contending for the supremacy of the empire. In 1868, under the
shadows of Yamazaki, near the village of Hashimoto, which means
" foot of the bridge," the army of the Tokugawa was driven in disorder
to Osaka by the forces of the emperor. Japan has been so drenched in
blood that it would seem as if her fountains must well forth a crimson
current, and the sap of her trees run red to the earth. But Mother
Nature, who sets about at once to heal the scars made upon her features,
forgets not more quickly than her children, and everywhere a spirit of
peace preA^ails. The great aim of Japan is not to parade her sorrows,
but to conceal them ; not to sound her triumphs, but to silence them
under the spell of merriment.

Scarcely thirty years ago the streets of Kobe were furrows in the sand,
and the sites of the numerous dwellings plots of the same white earth.
This town is a lining proof of the thrift of an Occidental plant placed
in Oriental soil. Across the harbour, which is called from ancient faith
the " Gate of God," stands its opposite, in more respects than one, Hiogo,
of olden glory. This was founded in the days of Taira triumphs, and,
as its name indicates, was an arsenal. It wears now a very peaceful look.
These two towns, presenting such a vivid picture of ancient and modern
influences, are landlocked by green-walled hills. This port was the first
visited by the Pacific steamers running between Yokohama and Hongkong.
The trip from Yokohama here is made in twenty-four hours, or six hours
longer than by rail. The cost by cars is $10.74 for first-class, and $7.16
for second-class.

Among the spots of historic interest are the tomb of Kiyomori, and at
Minato, near by, a temple reared to the memory of one of Japan's heroes,
Kusunoki Masashighe, the patriot who welcomed death rather than
disloyalty to his country.

A place frequented by visitors to Kobe is the Men-daki, or Female Fall,
popular as a summer resort. This is considered as the especial bathing-
place for women, while higher up the mountain is the On-daki, or
Male Fall, where men and bo^-s are supposed to hold dominion. The
height of the first fall is a little less than fifty feet, while the water of
the latter drops over a precipice over eighty feet high. The first is the
prettier spot, but the latter is one of wild surroundings. Considered

JAPAN.

463

together, the}- are known as the Nunobiki Falls. Kobe was opened to
foreign trade in 1868.

Sixteen miles inland from Kobe is situated that mountain hamlet,
Ariraa, where a large percentage of the bamboo baskets for the foreign
market are manufactured. This town is noted also for its medicinal
springs, where the sufferers from rheumatic ills flock the year around.
It is a romantic spot set in picturesque surroundings.

A V, A 1 LKI ALU A 1 KOiil..

It is four hundred miles in round numliers from Kub6 U) Nagasaki, the
brightest, fairest, grandest water tour to be taken in Japan. Tlie Inland
Sea is the choicest bit of water .snatched from old ocean, and hemmed in
by .shores that are an ideal of poetic and romantic scenery. Isles of
enchantment are scattered all along the way, while the steamer, a tlnatiug
island with a dense population, drifts dreamily past .sleepy hamlets and
wide-awake towns, productive plains and terraced hills, reedy moors and
glistening rivers, ancient castles and impressive temples, evergreen forests
and sunny mountain .slopes, day after day.

464

THE FAR EAST.

This charming body of water, every part of which holds some tale of
olden chivalry and modern romance of warlike deeds, is connected with
the Pacific Ocean on the east by the Channel of Kii, and to the Sea of
Japan on the west by the Straits of Shimonoseki, which has been aptly
termed the Gibraltar of Japan. Its length is about 250 miles, while its
breadth varies from narrows less than five miles in width to broad belts
of thirty miles' expanse. It has an actual seaboard of 720 miles, with
many fine harbours, towns of active trade, and castled cities. It is said

A i'LiiA,>Li;i. liuA r.

to have an island for every day in the year. There are certainly enough
of them for the comfort of the naviscator.

The name by which this Eastern Mediterranean is known to-day seems
to have originated with foreigners. The Japanese designated it as Seto
TJchi, but were accustomed to give it as many as six names, all taken
from the nada, or provinces, that bordered it at different parts. This
was according to the prevailing method of the Japanese prior to the
coming of the foreigners. Instead of giving a general name to a river,
they would give the stream as many different local designations as it
passed through districts. What was true of the rivers applied with equal

JAPAN. 465

force to all other natural features of the islands. In fact, the island of
Hondo was without a name for centuries, while Shikoku and Kyushu
awaited a christening by strangers.

The tourist who has seen everywhere evidence of the work of the deso-
lating volcano, covering fertile plains with ashes and pumice-stone until
they are capable of bearing nothing better than bamboo grass and the
stunted scrub, realises more than ever, amid these picturesque scenes and
charming sea \'iews, that Japan is not a land blessed superficially with a
richness of earth. It is true no spot of arable soil, whether surrounded by
some volcanic debris, or by the rocks of some precipitous hillside or sea-
girt isle, has escaped the mattock of the industrious inhabitant, who has
snatched a precarious living where one less frugal must have starved. No
cove, however bleak or sheltered, but affords a hamlet of peo^^le, who
manage, somehow, by sea or soil, to eke out a cheerful existence. This
slate of things may be better understood by the fact that nearly nine-
tenths of the territory of Japan at present yields no part in the supply of
food for its inhabitants. The percentage of area in cultivation is slowly
but steadily increasing, however, where that great modern king of develop-
ment, the iron horse, penetrates. As the remote regions are thus brought
within reach of the markets, new land in the interior fastness is being
taken up.

By this it is not to be supposed that Japan is really a country of
poverty, any more than that its people lack the finer tastes and apprecia-
tion of the better things of life. We have shown that where there is a
paucity of flowers, they have a love and trained taste for them of the
highest order, which is prodigal in its display. If the Japanese show an
utter lack of business display about their centres of trade, if their dwell-
ings are flimsy, wooden structures with iimer walls of paper, if they
hover over charcoal braziers instead of coal or wood fires, if at night their
heads repose on blocks of wood rather than pillows of feathers, it nuist
not be concluded that they do this through ignorance or lack of culture,
or even that they consider it an indication of jioverty. Naturally the
stranger to this idea of life, who enters one of these primitive homes for
the first time, is surprised at the complete absence of what he considers
necessary to the comforts of a home. The house that has no furniture,
not even the common contrivance of a chair, none of the appliances of ordi-

4G6

THE FAR EAST.

nary comfort, no pictures on the walls, no books on the tables, — because
there are no tables, — no bric-a-brac or any movable ornament ; the room
where he must eat his dinner from the floor, and sleep on the same plane,
and whose walls are silently folded away in the morning, mvist seem to
the stranger barren and inartistic. Gradually he comes to imderstand
that this very simplicity denotes a superior taste^ and an artless education
of which he has known nothing, a finer conception of true art because more
closely concealed inuler an exterior of studied plainness. Nowhere does

JAI'A.NKSK l!l.DC]IA.Mlii;K,

the tourist find picturesque cottages embowered in sweet-scented flowers
of many-hued foliage, but everywhere the plain dwelling ; the love of
flowers in the heart, the absence of flowers in the surroundings ; the love
of the beautiful in the soul, the modest concealment of this in the dwell-
ing — the body. ,

The naval station of Hiroshima is reached, and the sacred island of
Miyajima is pointed out by our Japanese friends, and we look upon shores
lined with stone lanterns and wistaria-entangled groves, where deer roam
at will. A prominent feature is a torii, Imilt so far out into the water
that, at high tide, it is cut off from the land. We are told that there has

JAPAN.

467

never been a birth or death in this fairy-hind, tliough it is inhabited.
Temple Ishind is the definition of its name, but the Japanese hne best to
call it " the enchanted isle of Princess Sayori." This hints of romance,
and we are prepared to expect what follows.

Shintoism still prevails here, and formerly devotions were paid to
the' spirits of the mountains; but this was changed when a lovely god-
dess, like Aphrodite of Cyprus, sprang from the sea to receive the homage

VII-.W • 'J M 1 "■ \.IIM A.

ol I lie people in place of the invisible beings of yore. The sailors look
upon tiiis divinity as their especial protectress, and this veneration is
held all over the i.sland empire. Everywhere here, gentleness is supposed
to be an attribute of the godde.ss, so that beautiful tame dci-r waiidi-r
where they will unmolested, and ])ut their soft noses into the hands of
strangers, asking for their caress or for food. Lest this peacefulness be
disturl)ed, dogs are not permitted to live in this Eden. A (pieerer custom
is not to let any death occur here, and the dying are kindly and an.xiou.sly
ferried over to the mainland to breathe their last, for fear the hallowed

468

THE FAK EAST.

spot may be touched by sorrow. On tlie other hand, no hfe is allowed to
begin its solemn journey in this sacred precinct, for fear it may bring
struggles and hardships.

Sayori is honoured with three temples of great beauty, appearing to
rest at high tide upon the bosom of the placid sea. The galleries of these
notable structures are siipported by columns standing on three islets, and
the water nearly ovei'flows them and flows under the arches. The first

BLUFF, YOKOHAMA.

shrine is said to have been built in the seventh century, but the distinc-
tion belonging to it dates from 1156, when Taira Kiyomori won that
victory over his enemies which gained him the throne beyond dispute.
As he came to rise to the pinnacle of his greatness he remembered his
scene of triumph here, and did nuich to enhance the attractions of the
place.

Many chapters might be written upon the beauty and pleasure of this
ti'ip on the Inland Sea, until at Shimonoseki the steamer passes the last
narrow gateway, and steams majestically out into the open ocean. The

JAPAN. 469

course from this i)oint, however, is close in to the shore dotted with
villages, and set with a hackground of terraced landscape. The noted
Arched Rock is seen and admired, the long, narrow bay leading to the fine
harbour of that San Francisco of the Far East is reached, and we are at
Nagasaki.

We find this one of the busiest places we have seen. Men-of-war lie
at anchor surrounded by lesser craft, not forgetting the gondolas of Japan,
the sampans, which seem everywhere present. On account of the frequent
rains, their cal)ins are covered. The town has many places of interest to
the sightseer. It has its great temple, the O'Suwa, surrounded by a beau-
tiful public park. As at Yokohama, foreign residents choose their building
sites on a hill, w'hich commands a wide view of the city. A little removed
from the town are the hot springs, which call a generous number of tour-
ists hither. There are quaint villages lying under the du.st and rust of
ages scattered along the coast ; and there is that historic castle of
Kumamoto, which we nnist not fail to see. In the midst of our attempt
to decide which way to turn first, the steamer's whistle blows, and we
know that the journey to China is resumed. Let them keep on who will,
we will give a week to this vicinity, and then return, most ot ilie way by
rail, to ancient Kyoto.

CHAPTER XVm.

THE HEART OF JAPAN.

IN Kyoto, the Moscow of Japan, one treads on hallowed ground. To
lier credit belong unnumbered sacred shrines, the beautiful fulfilment
of Japanese art, centuries of classic memories, and a thousand years
of imperial life. This ancient capital, with a population not far from
three hundred thousand, has, to a less extent than most Japanese cities,
become the victim of the antagonistic ideas of conflicting ages. The seat
of Eastern imperialism for 1,074 years, and during three centuries the
strono-hold of " the Tokugawa regents," it might be expected to possess
the grandeur and magnificence supposed to be a part of an ancient and
imperial capital. Kyoto does not hold these attractions, though she
atones for this lack in oth6r ways.

The explanation for this absence of royal splendours is found, in part,
m the tact that tlie emperor was nov tne real ruler, the administrative
power being actually held by the regent, or shogun, and nis followers, the
feudal chiefs who held the greater amount of wealth. The nobles of
the emperor, with- lineages running "back to kingly ancestors, on the
other hand, were comparatively poor, and their abodes were marvels of
modesty and plainness. The former resided in the Eastern capital,
Tokyo, while the latter lived in the Western capital, Sai-kyo, or Kyoto.
Here even the simplicity of the imperial castle was noticeable. A
few decorations from the brush of some gifted painter relieved the bare-
ness of its walls, and the timbers were of fine grain without knots, — this
is all that can be said regarding royal display.

Kyoto became the capital in 794 A. d., and the plan for the new city,
where the emperor was expected to be absolute, was one upon which all
historians delight to dwell in glowing language. It was laid out with
streets running with particular precision in regard to the points of the
compass, until a network of communication was formed that was a marvel
of perspicuity. At the divergence of these lines, a citadel, becoming the

470

APAX.

471

l>ropused splendour of the capital, was built. The Ijuildiugs that followed
must have been grand for those remote times, and there is little doubt of
the refining civilisation which existed then. But the power of the rulers
centred here soon bet^an to weaken, and that arch-eiiemv to the accuinula-
tion of wealth, fire, stepped in, time and agam, to destroy the structures
on street after street. Each time that new buildings were raised to take
tiie place of those destro3ed, they were smaller and cheaper than those
before them. Feudalism was expanding and strengthening, the revenues

KYOTO FROM MAItTYAMA.

of the imperial city were l)eing turned into anutlier channel, ami tlii^
residt was inevitable. The emperor and his nobles were comi)elled to .^et
this example, and the citizens could not do otherwise than follow. So
Kyoto grew poorer and poorer, weaker and weaker, the faithful people
bowing meekly to the will of their imimveri.shed chiefs. Wiiile the sub-
stance of it all went to Tokyo, the greatness and grandeur of the actual
capital became a shadow.

Seventy-seven em|)erors held their courts in Kyoto, each succeedin ;;
generation showing diminishing jiomp and pageantry, it is true, but with
no diminution of grace paid to them by tiieir followers. In the cour.se of

472

THE FAR EAST.

so long a period of time, many changes must have been made in the gen-
eral appearance of the city, and yet the original outlines of its plan are to
be seen now. The scheme was suggested by Nara, with certain modifica-
tions borrowed from the Tang dynast}- in China. It had the form of a
rectangle, and was surrounded by moats and palisades. The imperial
palace, with its citadel, halls, and auxiliaries, standing in the north sec-
tion, was gained by a main gate on the south, which opened upon a long
broad street (280 feet in width) running north and south through the city,
and cutting it into two equal parts. The division on the east was kno^^'n

A (iAl;l)KN". KViiKl.

as Sakyo, or "left metropolis;" that on the west as Ukyo, or "right
metropolis." Taken together, the two parts were divided into nine dis-
tricts, separated from each other by wide streets, varying in width from
eighty to 170 feet. These passed through the city east and west, and
were numbered, instead of being named, from one to nine, as icM-jo, one ;
ni-jo, two ; san-jo, three, and so on. These names, or significations, are
retained to this day.

As would be naturally expected where the residences of the nobility
presented a marked simplicity, the dwellings of the common class were
low, and devoid of ornamentation. This gave a monotonous and inartistic

JAPAN. 473

frontage, thougli the rear was relieved by that happy gift of the people
of converting bare grounds into fantastic gardens. The roofs of the
houses, as a rule, were covered with rived shingles, thougli occasionally
tiles of a slate colour were used. Tlie palace was conspicuous by its
green roof, made so by tiles imported expressly from China at great
expense.

The difference between Kyoto and Tokyo is now easily distinguished.
The latter has its dissimilar parts : its official and commercial Tokyo,
the pomp and glory of its nobility, the poverty and plainness of the
common people. It was so in the days of feudalism ; it is so to-day ; only
the simple, meagre huts of the reedy moors are being slowly replaced by
better dwellings. On the other hand, Kyoto stands to-day, as it did when
royalty and its willing subjects associated in the fraternal bonds of univer-
sal brotherhood, as a happy example of an ideal capital of the Land of the
Gods. Here we see by the cosmopolitan idea of the plan of the city, and
the respectful attention given to the abodes of the common class, the
capital of a nation rather than the stronghold of a military head. If
the first appearance of the streets was that of sombre austerity, there
was no dwelling so poor which was not flanked by a miniature park
beautified with tiny hills terraced with grassy slopes, dwarf forests, and
babbling waterfalls. There still remains evidence of the high quality of
the education and civilisation of Japan as disseminated here under
Eniporor Kwamnm a century before England liail become a nation under
Alfred the Great, and a thousand years before Columbus discovered the
Western world.

Unlike some of the other Japanese cities, Kyoto is not yet dominated
by the industrial arts, and if the streets are filled to a certain extent
with the bustle and confusion of modern manufacture, there is still to be
seen many an artist following his decorative craft after the manner of
oM, ill imitation of nature, from leaves and flowers that overhang the
windows of his workshop. The city n.sed to lie in constant dread of
volcanic eruptions, but this fear is gradually dying out. It has now been
sixty-five years since it last felt the shock of the internal forces.

Kyoto lies on a productive plain, embowered by mountain ranges that
are covered with the deep greenwood of a semitropical clime. As well
as lioing the centre of an agricultural distrirt and the home market for

474

THE FAR EAST.

tlie tea of the Uji coimtry, it is famous for its manufactures of silken
goods, its porcelain wares, brocades, and embroideries. In yet another
direction it is noted as being on a large scale what Nikko is on a smaller,
the " city of temples," holding within its circuit twenty-five hundred
Shinto shrines, and thirty-five hundred temples dedicated to Buddha.

The bronze Buddha of Kamakura, the finest work of its kind in Japan,
has been described, but here in Kyoto is to be seen the largest image of

\iK\V M Al: hVi

that god, though it is made of wood and consists of head and shoulders
only. But these parts are of such enormous dimensions that the top
reaches into the temple loft. The image is gilded, and made hollow,
numerous beams and cross-timbers keeping it in position. Formerly a
bronze statue occupied the place, but both fire and earthquake seemed to
have especial grudges against it. In 1662 the temple and its sacred
contents were piled promiscuously upon the earth. lemitsu was the
reigning shogun at that time, and his treasury being low, lie seized upon

Bridge at ylrashiyjtna

JAPAN.

U,)

the opportunity to fuse the bronze into coins, some of which are in
circulation to-day.

Located in a building near by is an object of greater interest to the
general visitor, the ponderous bell made of bronze and weigliing over
sixty-three tons. Its walls are nine' inches in tliickness, and it has a
height of almost fourteen feet. This is larger than the Ta-shung-szu in
Pekin, which has been considered the largest suspended bell in the
world.

As mighty as this bell appears, it has a companion that outrivals it.
A broad avenue lined with cherry-trees leads to the temple of Chion-in,
standing upon a hill in eastern Kyoto. This edifice was erected in 1211
A. u., by a sort of wandering priest, who had organised a new creed
known as " the Road to the Pure Land."

This temple is the principal monastery of the sect. The edifices of this
religious order, now called Jodo, are always jjlain and unostentatious,
though full of interest. This one at Chion-in, if nothing else gave it
fame, is noted enough for its massive bell, in reality the largest in the
world. It hangs in the big bell tower erected in 1618, is ten feet and
eight inches in height, nine feet in diameter, nine and one-half inches in
thickness, and weighs but a fraction under seventy-five tons. For almost
three hundred years it has regularly pealed forth its melodious calls to
prayer.

Japan has many other big bells of which she may well be proud, all
of them producing a musical, voluminous sound, which falls on the ear
with a softness and depth of tone that is wonderfully delightful. Russia
is justly famous for her bells, — the bells of holy Mo.scow, the bells of St.
Petersl)urg, the bells of lonely Ural Pass, whose mellow cadence has
fallen like a funeral knell upon so many sad-hearted bands of exiles
marching to a fate worse than death, the merry bells of festive Novgorod,
— but the White Empire is outrivalled by the Sunrise Land, for nowhere
do the bells of evening send forth sueh sweetness and volume of melody
as in Japan. Here, in Kyoto, if ynu ])lease, ring out those clear, .solemn,
massive tones, vibrating on the mellow air and through the ancient forests,
swelling into grand t)f'taves to which the atmosphere seems to lend wings,
as they float far and wide, rising and falling with tremulous power ; now
fleeing into space, until .ippan-ntly gone for ever, anon retiiriiiiiLr with

476

THE FAR EAST.

reinforced melody ; again retreating, returning softer, sweeter, fainter,
until languishing in space their beautiful cadence lingers long with the
listener after the massive bell itself has become silent and motionless.

The freedom from harshness distinguishing the bells of Japan is ob-
tained by the different method taken in ringing them. Instead of having
the metal tongue strike sharply against the l)owl, a heavy wooden shaft is
arranged to fall against the bell, which does not break in upon the deep-

GION TEMPLE, KYOTO.

volumed sound, which reverberates in an increasing circle, until the
melody dies away in the distance with a gentle murmur.

In the grounds of the great bell of Kyoto is an unpleasant reminder of
war in the shape of an ancient mound, raised to commemorate the burial-
plot of the trophies of a struggle with Corea in the sixteenth century,
these mementoes being nothing less than the ears and noses of the slain,
brought home by the triumphant army because it couldn't very well
bring the bodies.

JAPAN. 477

One of the spots of ancient interest is the shrine of Inari, which word
signifies '' the rice man." This plain, austere structure was founded in
711 A.I)., over eighty years before Kyoto was Imih u|) as a cit}!, and it
is supposed to stand upon the spot where the goddess of rice first appeared
in thi.s vicinity. She was met by an old man carrying a sheaf of this
grain on his back, and this .symbol was accepted as the deity of the shrine.
Like all sacred resorts of this aTicient faith, the entrance is made under
a great red torii standing on the main road, and then through a massive
gate flanked by stone fo.xes. Reaching tlie haiden, or court, one comes
to the principal chapel, witli plain portals, and walls painted red and
white. As well as being a shrine to this goddess, this place is the memo-
rial of many followers of this religion, their monuments being parallel
colonnades of red wooden torii, aggregating nearly five hundred in num-
ber but varying in size.

M0.SC0W, the ancient capital of Russia, with its semi-Oriental and pic-
turesque native grandeur, is to the Russians what Jerusalem is to tlie
Jews, what Mecca is to the Mohammedans ; and Kyoto is all to Japan that
the first is to the White Empire. Here Shintoism found its strongest
adherents, and here it knew its greatest power. In later years it has
become the headquarters of Buddhism, and the sects which have sprung
from this religion.

The former is called by the Japanese Kami no michi, which means
'• the way of the gods." The word Shinto comes from the Chinese, and is
the form adopted by all foreigners. Shintoism treats of the universe as
simply Japan. It knows no other land, and its legends belong solely
to the people of that narrow range of country. The religion is a mystery
in itself. Its most devout followers do not appear to understand it. It
appeals to the people from its very simplicity. It has no written doctrine,
proclaims no moral code, pretends but vaguely to immortality, and knows
no heaven nuv hell. Its gods an; nature'.s attributes personified, or
national heroes deified. The first are the glorious sun, the mysterious
.sea, the swift-flowing river, the gray rock, the deep forest, the migiity
mountain, and other forms and .sounds, with their accompanying hosts of
lesser powers. The majority of its deities however are historical per.son-
ages, with the main principle ever in sight, that the emperor is the de-
scendant of the gods who created the world, as Sliintoism knows it. Thus,

478

THE FAR EAST.

the one great object of the religion is to obey the royal representative in
all things. This religion is the natural product of the country, but it is
not unconunon to find a person born under that faith who dies under that
of Buddha.

As has been said, the Shinto shrines are severely plain, and alike at all
places, illuminated by stone lanterns, and reached under massive stone or
wooden torii. They are classified under four official grades : state, prov-

K.YO.MIZr AT KYOTO.

ince, prefecture, and district. The first are mostly dedicated to " divine
ancestors," the exception being wliere deified rulers or subjects have won
especial distinction that gave them this honour. This list embraces two
sovereigns, Ojin and Kwammu. Between these shrines and those of the
district, the difference is not so much in the deities worshipped, but in
the manner under which they are sought. The latter of necessity must
be simpler, poorer, and less respectful. This comparison is illustrated by
the shrine of Isfe dedicated to Daijin-gii, the goddess of the sun, which is

Fujiyatna, the Sacred Mountain of Japan

JAPAN. 471)

the highest in rank of all, and the Myo-jin, an inferior form of the same
image, to be found in almost every hamlet.

Few of these shrines receive more than a paltry support, say a couple
of hundred yen a year, while others are more highly favoured. There are
in the vicinity of one hundred and ninety-five thousand Shinto shrines in
Japan, over which fifteen thousand shinkwans, Shinto officials, or priests
as we should call them, perform the rites. The explanation, as to how so
many shrines can be officiated at by so few priests, is explained by the
fact that at many of them only one service is held during a year. The
rest of the time the structure may stand open, but empt}' of visitors, save
that at irregular intervals a straggler may enter in solemn silence, sound
the gong by pulling upon a hempen cord dangling conveniently near, and
thus summoning the desired deity, to whom he mutters his supplication,
pay his small fee, and leave with a hopeful heart. The salary of the
priest is a mere pittance — perhaps thirty yen; or he ma}', however,
receive as high as one hundred yen, which would mean a hundred
dollars a month, providing a yen were worth par value. Unfortunately
for him it is not. The lives of these religious men are simple in the
extreme, but they are allowed to marry.

CHAPTER XTX.

THE FLOWER OF EELIGION.

OUR Japanese associate and corapanion must have been under tlie
influence of the spell of Shintoism, when he guided us with becom-
ing gravity to that sacred spot, Yomega-shiraa, " the island of the
Young Wife." Tradition claims that except at bright noonday, or under
a bright moon, this holy retreat consecrated to Benten, the goddess of
beauty and eloquence, lies swathed in vapours. It was neither noon nor
night when we reached the hallowed place, but we never gazed on clearer
waters or a more entrancing landscape. We cheerfully forgive the gods
for any omission they may have been guilty of on that particular occasion.
What tradition lost we gained. Our companion, whose fund of legends
touched with history, and tradition tinged with romance, never seems
exhausted, quickly breaks in upon our revery of other days. We cannot
well imagine where fact blends into fancy, but it is all very pretty.

Sometime, no matter when, so long as it is over, a beautiful young
woman disappeared from her home. Everybody believed that she had
been treated ill, though very pious and good. The river was searched in
vain by those who sought for her body, and the people despaired of ever
solving the mystery of her fate. Then, at the still hour of midnight,
this island was lifted noiselessly from the bed of the stream. When it
was discovered in the morning by tlie amazed people, the drenched form
of the beautiful but unhappy woman was seen lying prone on its bosom.
This was accepted as an omen from higli heaven that she was well in her
new sphere. Her body was buried on the island, and the islet conse-
crated to Benten. A torii was then set up, surrounded by huge stones of
marvellous shapes. The torii, with its stone lions, and the shrine stand
yet, while overhead towering pines, grown gnarled, knotty, tortuous, with
the years, fling their long, twisted arms over the place. We see all this,
and we take our last look at the rugged trees, which remind us of so
many Druids standing guard at this hallowed ground, in silent acceptance
of the stor}-.

480

I'll M llI.ii-.«.iiM>.

JAPAN.

481

On our way home we are reminded of another religion, that has tried
for twelve hundred years to master this simple faith of Shinto, by a visit
to the temple of San-ju-san-gen-do, first built in 1132, and rebuilt in 12G6
by the Emperor Kameyama. This is noted as Ijeing the depository of
the 33,333 images of Kwannon, the thousand-handed goddess of mercy
so often seen in Japan. Outside, the building has little to attract the eye.

TKMITK l>K

but, unce inside, the sight is dazzled In the vast collection of gilded deities.
The central figure in the big hall of nearly four hundred feet in length
is tlie large image of Kwannun, resting upim an enormous lutu.s-leaf.
The goddess is attended liy twenty-eight followers. Tlie altar is decked
witli numerous symbols of Buddhism, while rows of the, images of this
particular goddess, cut five feet in height from solid wood, and gilded, are
placed one above another on eitlier siile of the throne. In the mitck halo
enrireling the forehead, and in the hand of each figin-e, are smaller images.

482

THE FAR EAST.

There are a thousand large figures, and the rest made up of smaller
ones, all representing the same original, but with no pair exactly alike.
Glittering in their gilded vestments, they make a bewildering array. The
gallery behind this strange display was formerly taken as a shooting-
ground, and there are many arrows yet left sticking in the woodwork,
that were sent hither by archers long since gathered to the dust of their
fathers.

Like the creed of Shinto, Buddhism was at first given to the inhabi-

STErS TO THI-. SACUKD GATE.

tants in a simple manner. In its simplicity lay its invading power. Its
teachers nmst have foreseen this. A people that had lived longer than
history, and in the dreamy atmosphere of an Oriental clime, imder Shin-
toism, were not prepared to receive a radical change. Tliis new creed
from the West, by the way of Corea, simply sought to teach that it was
evil to take life, to steal, to be an enemy to woman, or to partake of
stimulants. The cardinal virtues, which might have been expected to
complete such a discipline, Avere to be gentle to all dimib creatures, pure
in mind, truthful, moral, patient, charitable, peaceful. It is easy to see
that these precepts carried out would make a person a model moral being.

JAPAN. 483

It is not difficult to understand that a race raised upon the code of Shin-
toisni could not be expected to take at a single draught even this simple
remedy for their salvation.

It will be seen that no revelation was attempted. While the old creed
was silent in regard to the future, this new doctrine dared not venture
at first into the mysteries of the unknown. The patrician, who had been
given to believe, under the ancient plan, that he might eventually reach
the dignity of becoming a deity, failed to accept to any particular degree
the first tenets of Buddhism, which did not hold out to him this possible
reward. Even the plebeian desired some more certain promise of promo-
tion after deiith than he could see in this. So the high priests of Buddha
went to work and gave to the religion its first touch of Japanese spirit.
One Dengyo Daislii, in 805 a. n., under imperial sanction, if not encour-
agement of the Tended, that is, " the heavenly command," taught the
beatitude which declared the " Lotus Law," or that the covenant of the
Buddha was the manifestation of the ancient deities Japan had been
worshipping under the old creed. With this innovation, which restored
to the patrician all of his old dreams, with pleasant surroundings, and
gave to the plebeian what he had looked in vain for before. Buddhism
became a naturalised subject, and immediately won favours and followers.

Yet the new religion met with opposition from many sources on account
of the deep mysteries about it, which even its teachers dared not or could
not interpret, and becaii.se it required an absolute separation from worldly
duties on the part of its di-sciples. It was commanded that the faithful
follower should neither tarry by the way to ailmirc the beautiful, covet
the treasures about him, give any thought to business, or ajiplication to
work. The average Japanese might readily accept the primar}' precepts
of morality, abstemiousness, and care for his family that it taught, but
lie could not den}- himself the busy world. Singularly enough, the
cloister from whence emanated this doctrine was yet alive with the noise
and tumult of strife not fairly over, fi)r the monastery of Hiyei-zaii, where
these overzealous priests ha<l tlicir headquarters, had often echoed with
resoiiant ring of anus and the tread of marching soldiery.

So another, one of the greatest of Japane.se religious teachers, Kobo
Daishi, caTue forward, in 81G .v.n., with the doctrine of the ''True Word,"
which eliminated the object i()nal)le features. The creed now ronsisted of

484

THE FAR EAST.

a central saving spirit, a band of pleading angels in heaven, and an end-
less day of happiness for those who followed the divine law, and an
enduring punishment for those who had broken the religious precepts.
It also held to the incarnations of the Supreme Being, whose mission -was
to enlighten men, and lead them toward the better life.

The Japanese were so well satisfied with this plan of Buddhism, that
it received no modifications for 360 years. Then a change in the condi-

111-11 Al, \11\\ IN A .MiP>A^lKl;V GAK1)1-.K.

tion of worldly affairs called for different religious teachings. Strife and
contention had run such a wild riot over the land, that the country was
deluged in blood, and sorrow bound the hearts of the people in such dis-
tressing bonds that a brighter prospect for future salvation was desired.
In the midst of this hopeless plight, Honeu Shonin, in 1174, relieved the
spiritual despair in a large measure by the foundation of the sect of Pure
Land, Jodo, the underlying principle of which was faith. We have seen
the temple of this sect at Kyoto. The beguiling tenet, that trust in
Amida, the Buddha of endless life and happiness, gained for the disciple

.lAl'AX.

485

admission to the garden of peace and jjerpetual joy, found many fol-
lowers.

Half a century later, this system was enlarged to accept love as an
abiding element, and the new sect, whicli really became a supplement to
tliat of the Pure Land, strengthened and beautified the whole. It was
now taught that not only did Amida stand Avaiting at the golden gate to
admit his disciples into paradise, but that he actually took \ip his abode in

SIflKANUI TEMPLE.

tile lieart of hi.s wor.sliipper during his mortal life. Many of llie jiriests
now married, ate meat, and learned in the home what they could never
acquire under the old regime. Much of the superstition whicii ii.ul pre-
viously entered into the forms of worship was abolished. This became
the "Spirit Sect," and is to-<lay, beyond question, taken in conjunction
with its ])areiit. the Pure Land denomination, tlie most numerous religious
onler in Japan. One-tliird of all the temples in the empire litlong to it.
Still it was left for another, Nichireu, "the Lotus of Light," to

486 THE FAR EAST.

approach nearer yet to Christianity by founding the sect known as the
Ho-Hokke-shu, or " Flower of the Law." Tlie essential difference between
the idea advanced by this deep thinker, and the doctrine already adopted
by the people, was that he held to the principle of a god who was supreme,
the beeinnino- and the end. All others had taurfit the result without
trying to explain the origin. Nichiren's god was an omnipotent, omni-
present, omniscient deity, to whom was due all the attributes, mental and
physical. It held that common men failed to grasp the great principle
that man was not of various natures, but with one ; that the earthly house
in which he lived was not materially different from the heavenly abode,
except as he saw things through eyes worldly and not divine. The
mission of the sect of Nichiren, then, was to announce the close relation-
ship of this life with that immortal. Under these teachings '• death
ceased to be a passage to a mere non-existence, and became the entrance
to actual beatitude. The ascetic selfishness of the contemplative disciple
was exchanged for a career of active charity. The endless chain of cause
and effect was shortened to a single link. The conception of one supreme
all-merciful being forced itself into prominence. The gulf of social and
political distinctions that yawned so widely between the patrician and the
plebeian, separating them by a chasm which seemed well-nigh impassable,
and all the unsightliness of the world, became eidola, destined to disappear
at the first touch of the moral light. The Buddha and the people were
identified."

At this point it may be aptly inquired as to whether the influence upon
the two classes of people in Japan was potential, and on wliieh it fell
with the greater power and good. Appealing at once to a large number,
among which were the most far-seeing of the people, it fostered a litera-'
ture of high rank, and a philosophy of broad scope. It led to a search
into the mysteries and j^rofoundness of the Chinese life and learning,
hitherto unknown to them. It reared temples grander, nobler, and richer
than anything they had dared to imagine, while the ritualistic work was
imposing and impressive beyond description. Not only did it afford a
development of the morals, intellects, and ceremonials that had already
subjugated Asia, but it showed to its latest disciples causes and results
of which hitherto they had been in the densest ignorance ; it taught them
the sanctions of worship, tlie penalties of wrong-doing, and an order of

JAPAN.

487

reasoning which was capable of enlarging and improving the inner nature
of man. The patrician.s received through it newer and broader ideals of
laws and government, higher estimates of personal worth, and nobler
conceptions of the household. The plebeians acquired through it im-
proved methods of husbandry, loftier niotives for toil, stronger ties of
brotherhood, and a deeper valuation of home and its environments. In
short, the religious iiiniiigraut from Asia brought a now era of civilisation,

IJItoVK SII(ltlUXI>I.N(J A 8HISTO- BrDDIIIST SIMM.N'K.

ami whi'ie before had been rhaos, a blank space in the passage of time, .so
far as written history is concerned, gave them a record, and existence
among tlif nations.

It need not bo suppo.'<od that all nf tlio (•crcinoni.ils and sanctity of
worship at the Budilhist shrine are nia(b' with tlio actual solemnity that
appears on the surfaoo. Many come hero with tlioir otTerings, for the
op])ortunity to enjoy a rest from daily toil. It is true there are cortain
features about the forms he adopts that seem to an Occidental sevore ;
but X') him who looks deeper into the matter little of this is apparont.

488 THE FAR EAST.

Tlien, too, there are features connected with these exhibitions, — for they
seem such to a stranger, — that appear oddly out of place in the presence
of a worshipful throng. But the sight of some trivial, it may be vulgar,
act, as we should rank it, in the sacred resort, does not shock the devout
follower of Buddha. The female rope-dancer pUes here what seems a
proper calling, as her performances tend to enliven the solemn scene, and
what lightens the cares of life must be right and pure in sight of Buddha.
It should also be said that here the female gymnast performs her part in a
manner quite unknown in the Occidental world. She dresses to conceal
rather than to reveal any hint of her sex, and her acts are in keeping
with this purpose. It is her skill in doing some difficult feat that
attracts the audience, and not any bold or untoward conduct. Again, a
trained bird may be the object of interest, and surely there is no harm in
this manner of entertainment. Meanwhile, inside the temple, the click-
ing of the coin dropped into the treasury, the sputtering of the burning
incense, and the monotonous tone of the priests at prayers, mingle ^vitll
softening influence on the ripple of laughter rising from the light-hearted
crowd surging to and fro, the chatter of monkeys, the cries of showmen,
the song of birds, and the witty saymgs of pretty girls. The whole creates
a peculiar and not unhappy medley where the followers of religious faith
do so with open hearts, and attempt no vain show of pretence of under-
standing what of necessity they cannot know, laying their very souls, and
not the mockery of a form, at the feet of a deity before which they bow
in honest if in blind adoration.

So far, Buddhism has met with no distressing opposition ; but now we
come to its first great reverse. Until the capital was established at Kyoto,
Shinto had absolute sway at the court of the ruling power. At this time
Buddhism established a foothold, wliich made it a growing, if not a dan-
gerous, rival. Still it was not recognised by the state, and its patrons
were given no special privileges, until the triumph of lyeyasu led the sho-
guns to look with increasing favour on the new faith. Under lemitsu,
the third of the Tokugawa d^niast}^, the state stepped in to exercise con-
trol over religious affairs, and the priests of Buddha were compelled to
yield, and the teacher and scholar became neither. Once noted for his zeal
the priest seemed to have lost all ambition and character. He did little,
if anything, toward advancing the cause he represented, not even consid-

JAI'AX.

499

ering it a part of his duty to administer solace to the ill and suffering ;
nor did he offer any hopeful message to the dying. Once a year, at the
great Bon festival, when the spirits of the dead were supposed to return
for a short time to their former homes on earth, he was arousi-d from his
lethargy enough to minister to his subjects, spurred on tlien by the
thought of the recompense coming to him at this time, when a large
percentage of his revenue was paid him. In view of this state of mind
on the part of the
leader, it can be no
wonder if the spirit
of religion waned.

In the midst of
this slow decline,
when the doom of
Buddhism seemed
foreordained, the
missionary from
the Western world
came to crush out
this lotua plant.
But antagonism
proved the means
of awakening Bud-
dhism from its be-
numbing sleep.
New life was
quickh- infused
into the old faith,
and .>*chools were establi.shed to educate its jiriests, who had too long
been suffered to rest in ignorance. Thus the old religion was revivified
and given new life by a rival. So the sui)porter3 of this ancient faith,
hnported hither from India by the way of Corea about six hiiiidnil years
after the birth of Christ, are making earnest efforts to give greater power
to their religion. New and imposing temples are being built, when' art
and nature coml)ine at tiicir liest to make them attractive. IVoplo from
over the country are contributing to their support, and an example of

DANCIXIi-lilltl.. TOKYO.

490

THE FAR EAST.

their liberality is the offering of women's hair from those who are too poor
to contribute money. To understand the sacrifice made by these donors,
one must know the high value placed on a head of good hair in Japan,
where these ornaments are none too jjlentiful, and where the fair sex wear
no covering for their heads which might conceal their loss until the shorn
tresses have grown again. It means six months of retirement ; six months
of seclusion. Here in Kyoto is a temple built in 1895 bj- the disciples
of the sect of Monto, which cost in its construction over 8,000,000 yen.

TlIK SA<_i4KIJ ItUAU.

The cables, used to draw the huge timben, were made of women's hair,
and there is a gift here by the women of one province, of a huge rope of
hair nearly three hundred feet in length.

During the first half of the eighteenth century, when the tidal wave
of ancient tradition swept over the country, an attempt was made to
drown out the tenets of Buddhism and Confucianism. This had much
to do with the political revolution of 1867. The Buddhist temples were
shorn of their rich appendages, and religion suffered the loss of vast
estates belonging to it. But it was too deeply engrafted into the beliefs
and inspirations of the people to be uorooted by official and political

JAPAN.

491

interposition. It soon began to reassert its fallen prestige, and by the
Constitution of 1869 it was firmly declared that Japanese subjects should
be free to enjoy religious belief according to their wislies.

Buddhism has never been more thoroughly ali\e in Dai Nippon than it
is at the present
time. It has 108,-
000 temples in
Japan, and fifty-five
thousand priests.
These last, unlike
the Shinto, have no
oflicial rank, neither
are their temples
classified. They
obtain their means
of sustenance
from c o n t r i h u -
tions paid by their
parishioners, and
from the income
derived from lands
belonging to relig-
ious organisations.
This last source of
revenue was greatly
reduced when gov-
ernment took away
a large portion of
this landed iiroj)-
erty.

No native-born Christian has risen to the jmsitiun of prelate, though
ihere are several bishops and archdeacons l)elonging t<j the Protestant
ind Catholic faiths who were born in America or Europe, while there is
an archbishop of European birth. The Japanese churches are represented
by pastors of their own nationality, and these are in duty bound to attend
the ceremonies given by the imperial direction at the Hall of Kcverence.

SillNTU ritlEST.

492

THE FAK EAST.

The Christian portion of the jijopulation, as might be expected, fail to
participate in the religious rites which the followers of the ancient relig-
ions hold to be important.

Of late the Shinto has made rapid strides toward tlie belief in one god,
and Amaterasu is worshipped as that supreme divinity, while the imperial
family are looked upon as her descendants, and treated as under-deities.
This religion remains the creed of the royal house, based upon the follow-
ing statement, which gives in unmistakable terms the standing of that
line : " The imperial founder of our house, and our other imperial ances-
tors, by the help and support of the forefathers of our subjects, laid the
foundation of our empire upon a basis which is to last for ever. That this
brilliant achievement embellishes the aimals of our country is due to the
glorious virtues of our sacred imperial ancestors and to the lovalty and
bravery of our subjects, their love of country, and public spirit." To many,
it will not be a startling discovery to find that Buddhist priests assist in
this Shinto worship, since it has been shown that the representatives
of the former religion have declared Buddha to be a reincarnation of
A.materasu.

VILLAGE FESTIVAL.

CHAPTER XX.

REI.KJIOr.S FESTIVALS.

JAPAN denies herself the rest and religious exercises of Sunday as
taiiirlit hy the Protestant Church, but she has many sacred ol)serv-
aiices and traditional festivals regarded by her people as acts of wor-
sliij). Until recently, Church and state joined hand in hand in these
ceremonies. But modern Japan has broken the rule of ancient Japan.
In other respects the situation has not changed, except to modify in a
.slight degree the manner of oKservance. In all ages the people have
held to the bright side of the picture, attempting to please the gods by
the sunshine of light hearts rather tiian by the clouds of a devotion made
in sackcloth and a.shes.

This form of worship, however, has always contained a certain amount
of evil, on account of the lack of restraint allowed by the devotees. Thus,
more than a thousand years ago, olKcial interposition hail to be made in
tlie sen)i-annual festivals of the North Star to hold in check the prodigal
display of the lower sentiments of the religious followers, lest the very
gods be offended at the low scale of morality \inder which their believers

41>3

494 THE FAIl EAST.

worshipped. The effect of this intervention was not lasting, for a httle
over a hundred years later official intervention had to be made in the
very capital of the nation to moderate, if not control, the wild passions
of the overzealous performers, whose ungovernable claims of the body
outweighed their spiritual inspiration. To-day we discover evidence of
this human weakness where we had hoped to find a stronger sentiment
prevailing, and even at the sacred groves of Ise, within sight of the gods
and goddesses of religious renown, stands the Temple of Temptation, with
doors wide open to those who would enter.

Religious festivals are the most striking features of native life, and
mirror the very soul of Japan. The most imiaortant fete of this kind is
the Gion-matsuri, held annually in Kyoto, which it is our good fortune
to see. The most important distinction of this, like many another, is the
magnificence of its pageantry. The foremost daslii, or car, carries upon
the top of a mighty upright, rising a hundred feet into the air, a glaive
forged from the ;^Gharmed anvil of the wonderful sword-maker, Sanjo
Munechika, and credited with possessing the virtue of curing the ague at
a single touch of its blade. Behind this dashi follow twenty-three cars,
bearing the effigies of as many noted scholars and j^hilosophers, a mock
moon, a mantis, and a stealer of flowers. One of the most prominent per-
sonages of this elaborate procession is a dancing-girl, who postures in the
centre of the dais on the foremost da.shi. Upon her the city has lavished
its richest and finest display of clothing, nothing considered too good or
beautiful. She is accompanied by a maid of honour on either side, though
they reap small share of the glory showered upon the car. Upon reach-
ing the portals of the temple of Gion, the " little goddess " is given a glass
of holy wine, and an amulet supposed to have l)een blessed by the god,
whereupon she at once Ijecomes a " sacred child."

Each special district, at the time of its matsuri, or festival, given in
honour of some particular deity whose shrine has been reared in that
place, feels at liberty to worship as manj" other deities as it likes. Thus
these fetes are often marked with a singular mixture or combination of
divinities, summoned at the will of the people from the mystic fountains
of the material and spiritual world.

Each of these deities is allowed a separate palanquin, a shrine on
wheels, the principal god being given the place of honour at the head of

jinrikishas

JAPAN.

4!»rj

the sacred van. The carriage is hicquered a deep black, relieved by
golden ornaments. On the roof a golden phenix perches with wings
outspread, while a roof-tree glistens in decorations of copper. Inside this
slirine is placed the effigy of the god who calls forth this train, a torii in
front and one behind, made conspicuous by their red lacquer. The otlier
deities are not placed inside the car, but mounted in gorgeous panoply
high over the heads of the crowd riding upon it. The first car is not
decorated, but this one, called the dashi, "■ a car of gentle motion," can be

KUTA AXl> .SAMSIX PLATERS.

described as a wooden house on four wheels, but having a mass of carving,
decoration, and elaboration tliat defies description. An attempt of tlii.s
kind WMulil lie useless, as far as concerned its representation of a class, for
no two of these strange cars are ever made alike. The carvings on this
one represent, in part, flights of phenixes rising on wide-spreading wing.s,
trains of tortoises, and cohnnns of marching dragons. Among the deities
included are to be seen the zodiacal conceptions, the goddess of matriiimny,
the goddess of the sea, the seven gods of fortune, the conquering empress ;
in fact, the deities supposed tfj govern every trade and craft which most
affects tliat particular locality. On a platform raised fiimi twelve to

496 THE FAli EAST.

twenty feet above the ground, encircled and entangled amid the drapery
of silk and brilliant brocades, snow-white gohei, and wreaths of gold and
silver flowers, stand half a hundred people, while over their heads rises,
on a high pillar, the carved head of the sacred object to which the car
has been dedicated.

The host of images, and the dashi on which they are transported, are
kept in the dwellings of chosen citizens and it is, perhaps, needless to say
that they are watched over with zealous care. Not one of these objects
is without its special interest as well as personality, and every bit of his-
tory connected with it is known to its guardian, who relates it with great
pride and piety. As may be imagined, these festivals scintillate with
romance and tradition. Not one is barren of some wonder tale, some
strange and interesting incident connected with its career, and the
occasion of the fete is regarded as a day of uncommon importance in
the annals of the place. But along with the crumbling of the institu-
tions of old Japauy the glory of these festivals is gradually wearing away,
and in the light of modern thought and enterprise will soon live only in
memory.

Perhaps our Japanese companion is thinking of this, and vividly con-
trasting the old way with the new, for he suddenly bursts forth into a
strain of eloquence over a description of one of the famous Sano trains
as it wound through the one hundred and sixty streets constituting that
parish not so very long ago. Preparations were begun for the festival by
the citizens two days before the grand event came off, when the dwell-
ings were made as gay and attractive as possible by many-coloured mats
thrown over corner, lattice, and lintel ; in fact, every spot where a show
could be made. The tops of the buildings were made as good sites for
watching the procession as possible. The rooms of the houses that fronted
upon the street were fitted up with screens of gold-foil for a background,
and from poles hung up, and from the eaves of the buildings, were hung
paper lanterns of bright hues and fantastic paintings. Everywhere no
pains were spa''ed to enliven the coming event with the grandest display
that could be made.

The dashi was drawn by six black oxen decorated in red and white,
and moving with becoming slowness, stopping at frequent intervals. At
these pauses the music of flutes and drums filled the air, while the merry

.lATAN.

497

spectators applauded roundly. When moving, the chant of the dashi
drivers kept time in a sort of rhythmical order in keeping with the
decorous advance of the train.

The procession was led by two small ami two large banners, or hata,
made of .strips uf white cotton cloth strung from bamboo poles, and bear-
ing the names of the tutelar}' deities. The carriers of these were followed
by a spearman, a dozen men carrying a big drum, two men with wooden
blocks, which they smote together at regular intervals, two men with

A PAI.AXlil I.S.

flutes, twenty-four men bearing above their heads the image of the sacred
S/iishi-no Kfis/iira. or Dog of Fo, a inounted Shinto priest, thirty-two men
carrying three heavy spe;irs, another pfiest on horseljack, the sacred steeds
of tiie gods, a sacred sword, three inomited Shinto ])rie.sts, the guards of
the shrine, a couple of musicians disguised with masks of the Tengii. or
forest genii, fifty men bearing the saired ])alani|uin, two men with the
rice-box of the ])rinci])al deity. si,\ men bearing the bancpiet Uible of the
deity, half a dozen attendants on tlie shrine, liody (if pruminent citizens
in costumes bi'littiii',' the occasion, thirty inferior Shinto priests in sacer-
dotiil costume, two men carrying the gohei (an emblem of Sbintoisin u.sed

498 THE FAR EAST.

in the temples), a young girl attired in attractive costume and riding
in a richly decorated palanquin, two men with hyoshigi, a second palan-
quin borne by fifty men, followed by the same retinue as the first ;
a third palanquin carried by fifty men, and succeeded by attendants
with rice-box of the deity, table of the deity borne by six men,
mounted Shinto priest, ten Buddhist priests in armour and riding
war-steeds, the Lord High Ablaot in canonicals, riding in a palanquin,
the four-doored palanquin of the deity, ox-carriage of the god, spears-
men, and glaivesmen, followed by vast crowds of people ready to pull
or push on any of the carriages, to shout or sing, as the occasion might
demand.

Alternating with the Sano festival is that of the Kanda, which occupies
the attention of the capital city for nearly a month. This is considered
of greater consequence than the other, and greater preparations are made
for it. With the gorgeous display, a generous amount of food and drink
is furnished, the national beverage, sake, being freely offered. But the
main feature is the dress. The }'Oung daughters of the city are decked
out in most elaborate manner, without regard to cost, the one object in
view being to outshine any previous attempt of that kind. A prominent
feature of the Kanda matsura is a bevy of geisha, dancers, who follow
the procession and exhibit from time to time examples of their art in
ancient dances, which consists principally of waving the hands in a most
graceful manner. It must seem strange to the foreign observer to see
these dainty, pretty little maids dressed, not in the bright costumes that
it vi^ould be natural to exnect on this festive occasion, but in the som-
bre hued, and unbecoming garments of the common labourer, the tighv-
legged trousers and small-sleeved tunic. The dancing-girl has sacrificed
her glossy raven hair, imitating in this part the fashion of her brother.
But here she stops, and the plainness and darkness of her garb is con-
cealed beneath fairy grounds of embroidered blossoms and foliage, in the
brightest colours of nature. So while she sacrifices something for her
religion, she gains much in display, and a surfeit of applause from her
admirers. And somewhere in that vast crowd of seekers after pleasure
and religion is one who has perhaps spent half of his year's earnings
that she may win the honours of this fete. He is, moreover, willing to
spend another six months' wages that she may remain in indolence until

JAPAN.

490

tlio.se sacrificed tresses shall again become a respectful adorniueut fur her
shapely head.

The more prominent deity worshipped in this festival is a descendant
of the sun-goddess, but there is another who shares its glory whose name,
according to the moral code of any other country, would seem to invite
oblivion and obloquy rather than this respectable prominence. He was
an arch-traitor to a ruling sovereign of Japan in the sixth century, the
only man in the history- of the country to imdertake a rebellion against

his rult'r. Ik' paid ftjr his rebellious ambition with bis life on the j)lain3
of Sininiosa, d\ing in tiie midst of battle, and his head was taken in wild
exultation to Kanda for interment. Later, the stigma belonging to his
memory was sup])lanted \)y loud praises, and his efligy was borne with
divine honours at the festival of Kanda. Why was this done ? Do the
Japanese love treachery, that they would deify such a man, and hold him
up as an ol)je('t of divine adoraticm ? Xo. It is not because of this; but
it is done as an expression for their love of heroism. If Massakado, the
rebel, died as a traitor, he fell lighting like a hero. It is the liravery of
that undaunted spirit, which dared defy his very sovereign, that afforded

500

THE FAR EAST.

an example of heroism which, they -worsliip ; not Massakado, whose name
is ahhoiTed and detested.

There is another example of this kind at Sano, where a deity is held
up for admiration and honour, whose very name is covered with shame
and ignominy. This is Kumassaka Chohan, burglar of ancient times, but
a man of such audacious recklessness that his effigy is held in religious
veneration, and his bravery extolled in song and story and religiuus rites.
It will thus be seen that the Japanese possess such a high sense of

A< Kill liKTREAT.

courage — an attribute we are not prepared really to understand — that
they can overlook the low-born nature of the hero while they worship
that divine spark of heroism inherent in him.

A case of this kind has had a more recent origin. In 1889 the Viscount
Mori, minister of education, and one of Japan's most enlightened states-
men, was stabbed by a young man on the steps of his home, in sight of a
crowd of people, just as he was starting on his way to the palace on that
occasion which was to witness the acceptance of the nation's first Consti-
tution. Scarcely had the assassin struck his terrible blow before he fell,
pierced by the swords of half a dozen f)f the minister's attendants. The

JAl'AN.

501

body of the murderer was buried without ceremony, and it seemed that lus
memory would be speedily relegated to the caverns of obloquy. But soon
after, in reply to the inquiry- set afoot as to what had led the rash youth
to commit such a flagrant crime, under sucli daring circumstances, and at
a time of such approaching honours, it was said he had been prouipted
to the act under the fanatical belief that he was the chosen agent to
avenge what he considered an insult committed at the great shrine of

UlIKAT sTU.NE LANlll:\. ^ i .K . iir v \1 \.

Is<i liy tlie pnjminent statesman. Tiie irreverence of the minister may
have been only the wild imagination of the overzealous murderer, but
the circumst^mces under which he dared t(j strike his blow of vengeance,
the time, the vast ninnber of witnesses, and the certainty that he nnist
pay for it with his life, fired the Japanese witli a religions veneration for
the heroic deed of the avenger. His burial-place was disclosed, and his
grave no hjnger remained a secret corner; the crowds flocked to it as a
sacred sjwt, tlie smoke of incense floated over it, and tin* hallowed ])laee
became a garden of flowers. Hither flocked the high and low, the artisan

502, THE FAIl EAST.

and the actor, tlie farmer and the merchant, the geisha and the wrestler,
the fencing-master and the warrior, the priest and the politician, one and
all. By this it must not be understood that the masses Avere ignorant of
the real signification that might be given to this. A word from the em-
peror would have mstantly stopped it all, and the mob would have as
quickly turned upon him who dared to render further homage to the dead.
It was not hero-worship, as we bestow it ; it was tlie valour of the doer,
the picturesque daring which had caused an educated youth, with bright
prospects in life, to ignore them all, and, under the unselfish motives of
religious duty, to seek his victim in broad daylight, at his very home, siir-
rounded by his armed retainers, and in the presence of soldiery and police
and citizens to deal the most influential man in the empire, next to the
emperor, his death-blow, which placed him among the deities. Had he
struck that blow in the dark, as a coward strikes, or sought to cover
himself from death by flight, it would have been diiferent, and the name
of Nishino Buntaro would have lived only in tlie calendar of crime.

Speaking of the shrine of Ise, we are reminded here of the perpetual
fire of Hestia kept burning two thousand years in the Grecian prytaneum,
and find that the stone lanterns of this place have been sending forth
their continuous flames of light since the early days of the gods, a period
of nearly three thousand years. Another shrine that outrivals the record
of Greece in this respect is that in Izumo.

A IKA-IH>|.| I.I

CHAriER XXI.

THE PINE OF THE LOVERS.

AWAY from the centres of population the reHgious festivals often
partake of singular features, and common objects are frequently
made the subject of desire or adoration. In the province of Omi
is a form of worship intended to encourage fidelity in married women.
This takes place in the month of April, on " the first day of the horse."
In Japan the faithful wife is a person of high esteem, and it is the aim
of the truly conscientious woman not only to be true to the marital
bonds, but to keep the memory of her husband after his death by remain-
ing in the single stiite. By being faithful in the marital bonds it is not
to be understood to be merely faithful in outward appearances, l)nt for
her to adapt her.self to the whims, caprices, and temper of her husltand,
though he is not expected to do as much on his part. When it is taken
into consideration that the wife assumes these vows without any previous
acquaintance with her future master, something of the responsibility she
takes upon herself may be imagined. It might be thought that man}' of
them would shirk this exacting and trying part, but it belongs to woman's
glory to be married once, and to show to the world lur faitlifulinss in
conjugal life. On these festivals mentioned, the wives and widows are
expected to parade themselves before the public, carrying ujion their
heads as many earthenware pots as they have had husbands, the fewer
the greater the honour. One might conclude that they would hesitate in
thus publicly proclaiming their record, for in Japan marriage and divorce
are close companions, but they have another motive in view. This is tlie
belief, that the goddess of matrimony will puni.sh any insincerity, which
prompts them to carry the full nimiber of pots, let the tongues of the
gossipers wag as they may. There is a legend that one woman, more
crafty than wise, managed to have her pots graduated in size, so that,
while their number was not small, she presented the appearance of carrving
but one. As is often the ca.se with such triflers, slie was ovcrt.ikt'u in

504

THE FAli EAST.

her deception, for she tripped and fL-ll. Avlien her trne character was shown,
to lier lasting disgrace.

In tile ])rovince of Kisliu there has been and is to-day, among the more
superstitious, the belief that all the deities repair every year in the tenth

month to hold a
festival of rejoic-
ing, which is called
the '• lausrhins; fes-
tival." This takes
place at the great
shrine of Izumo,
and the period is
known elsewhere,
on account of the
fact that all the
gods gather here to
the neglect of their
usual duties, as
" the month of the
godless moon."
Here and then,
amid a scene of im-
common mirth, are
arranged the nup-
tial plans for the
coming year. The
name and peculiar
signification of this
festiA-al originated
with the incident
of a belated god. One of those who was to meet there, in the days of
yore, started in season, but, mistaking the date, and thinking he had more
than ample time to reach the sacred place, dallied by the way, so he did
not arrive until the last debate was over and the exercises closed. It is
supposed the other deities laughed long and heartily over the discomfiture
of their comrade, and thus the fashion of the festival was set for all time.

OIKEAN GIRL.

•lAI'AX. 505

Tlie manner of observing this divine parliament is quaint. As the time
draws near, old and young collect, the latter forming in front of the pro-
cession, the others falling into line in the order of their ages, each one,
from the first to the last, carrying two boxes of oranges and persimmons
held aloft on bamboo sticks. Ui)on reaching the shrine, the march hav-
ing been made with proper solemnity, the children are commanded by the
eldest man to lauijh. No sooner has the first child started the j^lee than
others catch up the merriment, the men following the example, until, the
entire train keeping up the merrymaking, the whole district rings with
the laughter of the occasion. In this way it is believed the gods like
to have their people meet and make merry, as well as to bear cheer-
fully the heavy cares of life.

Other festivals follow various methods of proceeding, and among these
athletic competition is held in high favoui-. Here in Kyoto we have seen
the annual wrestling tournament, which decides the national champion-
ship as to muscular strength and skill. In the Ugo Province stands a
shrine of this nature, where regularly, on the fifth day of the first month,
the athletes of the province, often to the number of thousands, used to
gather to decide the mettle of their arn)s and bodies. As this spot was
situated at the top of the mountain of Kinipo-zan, where at that season
the snow lay to the depth of a dozen feet, and often deeper, it was no
small part of the undertaking to reach the scene of the trial. It was
expected that the rivals should all repair to a snow-cave a quarter of
a mile distant the night before the trial. At the break of dawn, stripped
to their loin-cloths, they were expected to rush from the rendezvous to
see who could reach the shrine first. This victor, who won oiilv after
a stern race up the snowbound cliffs, was sujiposed to be favoured with
the protection of the god throughout the year. Following this race, the
whole party got as near to the shrine as possible, when the great wrestling
trial began. The object was really not to see who .should remain the
longest on his feet, but rather to oust one after another out of the en-
closure. As fast as the sjjace was partly cleared, newcomers, who had
been behind in the race to the summit, joined in, it being the rule for the
strongest to aid the weakest. The excitement and confusion of this wild
sport, in which several thousands joined, may be well imagined, but aci'ord-
ing to legend no one was ever seriously injured in the melees. This i.s

506

THE FAR EAST.

accounted for mainly by the utmost good-feeling which, prevailed through-
out the whole affair, until the last man, the champion of the year, was
left alone on the sacred ground. Then he was caught up on the shoul-
ders of his companions, and bearing him thus the entire crowd marched
down the mountain in good order, singing and shouting as they moved
along.

A festival is given at Ono-machi in honour of the Susa-no-o, that high-
tempered god who drove his sister into one of the caverns of the earth.

A WRESTLING .MATCH.

This ceremony does not call for any regal processions, any elaborately
carved and decorated dashi, or artistically dressed dancing-maidens, but
is performed by a band of lusty men dragging the chariot along the road
at a furious pace. Upon reaching the seashore, they plunge in breast-
deep, holding above the briny tide their burden; then they rush back
to the shrine at the top of their speed. Should any one fall by the
way, there is another to take his place, every one running and striving
as if his life depended on his activity. Once the shrine is reached,
all this wild tumult instantly ceases; the horde that a moment before
seemed so anxious to rend each other to pieces in the mad struggle

JAPAN.

507

now chat and drink as if dull care and strife were unknown to
them.

Other objects at other shrines are as zealously catered to in the wild
fashion of the people. At Hakozaki is the shrine of the " god of war,"
where it is believed the bountiful offerings made in the thirteenth century
caused that god to raise a storm on the sea, which destroyed the power-

BKUMZE IIOKSK.

ful armada of the Monguls, then on its way to conquer the country of
Dai Nippon.

At the temple of Kwannon a scrabble for pieces of wood thrown to
the multitude by the priests is made in commemoration of the "goddess
of mercy." This is at Saidai-ji, in the province of Bizen. These blocks
are not credited with any supernatural attributes, but are emblematical
of the benevolence of the giver. As it is considered of importance to get
one of these annilets, the rush for them grew from year to year, until it
became neces.sary to limit the number of the rivals. Again athletic exer-
cises were resorted to in order to regulate the matter. So everything is
arranged to open at a specified time.

At ten o'clock at night, on the fourteenth day of the first month, the

508 THE FAR EAST.

8th of February corresponding to tlie calendar now, the competitors hav-
ing taken their places, at the beat of a drum they dash madly through
the grounds of the temple, and running at breakneck speed, reach the
river flowing through the town. Here a swift bath is taken to purify
themselves, and they enter the sacred enclosure by a way hitherto untrod
by them. A second tap of the drum at midnight warns another bod}-
of contestants to follow in the track of the first. Two hours later the
drum sends forth its deep-toned note, as a signal that the first part of
the contest is over. During the four hours a steady stream of rushing
men has been passing through the court, the constant tread of so many
feet, rising and swelling in volume, making a roar similar to the breaking
of waves on the seashore, so that the echo of these footsteps can be heard
twenty miles away.

The last drum-beat has not died away before the shinrji, a round stick
of pine wood, consecrated by the prayers of the priests, is flung from a
temple window into the midst of the crowd. At the same time a hundred
lesser tokens, called kushigo, are made to accompany the other, and the
mad struggle of the mob begins. As the main prize is tlie shingi, every
one bends all his energies toward capturing that as long as lie has any
reason for hoping to obtain it. The second scramble comes for the smaller
prizes, and fortunate is he who gets one of these in a crowd of tens of
thousands, of whom only a hundred can win. That the contest is a
furious one goes without saying, and the noisy battle of the naked men
striving there in the temple grounds is a sight to be long remembered
by the witness. In all these religious festivals, and we have only men-
tioned a small part, it will be seen that the more educated class has little
to do, it being left for the more ignorant and superstitious to keep alive
the spirit of their existence.

Wherever one goes in Japan he is unpleasantly reminded of the practice
of burning the body and limbs by doctors to cure the ills of the flesh, or
by the person himself, if he belongs to the athletic class, to produce
muscles where strength is desired, or else by officials as a way of punish-
ing criminals. The result is many ugly, repulsive scars on men, women,
and even children. In Kyoto are many specialists of this sort, who, for a
trivial sum, practice this ancient method of treatment on their patients.
In the ofl&ces of these physicians hang life-size charts of the human form,

JAPAN.

500

with dots and dashes showing where certain diseases must be Iruuted.
Tlieir outfit consists of two hirge iron pots containing sluuibering fires,
over which are placed sticks of rcd-liot charcoal. Over the spot to be
treated on tlie patient, a small piece of combustible substance lilie punk
or sponge is laid, and the fiery end of the stick of charcoal is held on it
until the object begins to burn. The fire thus fed is allowed to eat into
the flesh a suflicient depth, when the burning mass is removed. The
odour of burning flesh is apparent, and sometimes these wounds are as

.IAI'A.SK.--I-.

large as a silver dollar. Jinriki.sha men, whose limbs require strength,
often resort to this method of gaining the required muscle, until tlieir
liml)s are covered with these hideous .scars along the sinews and ligaments.
We have been on a trip to the shore of the Inland Sea, and a royally
good time we have had, too. Among the places of interest that we visited
was that hallowed tree on the bank of the Takasago, known in romance
as the " Pine of the Lovers." Whoever pas.se3 that way on a moonlit night
can see the shadowy forms of the ancient lovers step forth frnm the heart
of the pine, and hear in the whispering coast wind their renewed pledges
of love and fidelity. If the fortunate comer looks closer, he will soon see

510

THE FAR EAST.

tlie maid and her lover, with bamboo rakes in their hands, draw together

the fallen needles of the ancient tree.

If the time was not auspicious for us to behold this pretty sight and

listen to the oft-repeated murmurs of love, this was partly made up for by

the mellow
voice of our
dreamy com-
panion as he
told in lano-uacre
that bore unmis
takable impres-
sions of other
days the legend
of the tree,
which was
planted in the
last days of the
god of sacred
trust. No man
was living in
this country
then, but later
a humble fisher-
man and his
wife took up
their abode on
the sandy shore
not far from the
Great Pine. In
time there was

born to them one child, a beautiful daughter, whose eyes were as clear as

the silvery pools of the Inland Sea, and whose countenance shone as

brightly as the sunshine on Lake Biwa.

0-Matsu, for that was the name given her by her parents, havmg no

playmates, loved to sit by the hour under the pine, knitting the fallen

needles into strange and fanciful shapes. At one time she wove herself a

JAPAN.

511

mantle uf .suoli Ix-auty tlial her father and motlier marvelled much. Again
she braided a fantastic sa.'<h, uhioh they called obi, and this she declared
she would not wear until her wedding-day came. Thereupon the faces of
her parents grew anxious, for they knew of no eligible young man to seek
her for a bride.

But it wa.s not for poor mortals to peer into the future. Even as
0-Mat.>*u had been plying her shuttle, a youth across the bay w'as watching

LAKE -BROIll

\ ■- 1 1 I • 1 1 I U . H .

the flight uf the far-flying heruu, and wondering what laud lay beyond
the broad sea plain. The more he thought about it the stronger became
his determination to visit the unknown country; so one day he started to
swim the long di.stance. Well was it for him that he was a .stalwart
swimmer, else had he never been cast up by the waves at the very feet of
0-Matsu, as she wove her fancy work and dreamed her dreams.

If she was at first st^irtled l»y this unexpected stranger, coming in this
strange manner, she soon recovered herself. She saw tiiat he wa.s both

512 THE FAR EAST.

young and good looking, and she dragged him to where she had raked
together a goodly layer of pine-needles. Lying on this soft conch, the
newcomer speedily returned to consciousness. His joy upon awakening
and seeing who was watching him need not be told ; neither need it he
repeated how the twain immediately felt for each other that love which is
as changeless as the pine.

The lovers hailed it as a good omen that they exchanged their vows of
constancy beneath the old sacred tree, and the parents of 0-Matsu were
very much pleased, for they looked on Teoyo, as the lover gave his name,
as a model youth. So the happy couple were wed, and Teoyo, having no
desire to recross the sea, remained to help his new father, who was
becoming aged now. 0-Matsu never had reason to regret her marriage,
and the happy pair, when the day's toil was done, used to seek the old
pine, bamboo rake in hand, and while they repeated their pledges of love,
raked together the pine-needles.

The passing years took away their aged parents, and changed many
■ conditions of the country ; but three things remained unchangeable. — the
Inland Sea, the noble pine, and their love. A crane came and built her
nest in the old tree, and reared her young there, while a tortoise came and
dwelt close by its foot. These two and the pine gave the lovers promise
of long life and endurance. But the longest span must have an end, and
there came a season when both tottered under the weight laid on them by
many years. Still they did not fail to visit often the friendly pine, and,
seated on its soft needle carpet, they would tell over, as they had done m
their youth, the sweet story of love, sweeter far now under the constancy
of years. And never did they forget to rake together a pile of needles
with their bamboo rakes before they went away, that there might be a
couch for them when they should return. At last a day came Avhen the
sunset played at hide and seek in the top of the lofty pine, and the bamboo
rakes lay undisturbed for the first time during many years. This was not
because their owners had at last been unfaithful to their trusts, but be-
cause they rested on a couch made by hands eternal on the farther shore
of the River of Souls. And this simple story explains why the two
lovers are seen at bright mooidight beneath the old pine.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE MAUKET OF MIKTII.

LIVING the existence of a secluded people for over two thousand
years, — what has been a])tly called a Crusoe life, — Japan affords,
in the study of any part of her history, rare interest to the scholar,
])hilosopher, and antiipiurian. while the general reader cannot fail to Ije
instructed and amused. Closely allied to the religious festivals of the
inhabitants have been their fetes of seasons and flowers, their pastimes^
and the celebration of important events, which have marked the long
highway of centin'ies like so many mile-stones. One by one these ol>
servances have been added to the growing list, coming with steady and
unannounced heraldry through all the generations, until such a strong
bond of custom and conventionality has been fastened upon the peojile as
they hardly realise. Thus the island em])ire is environed and interwoven
with such a strict system of religious and fraternal associations as no
other country on the globe can equal. At the same time, no other race is
capable of showing a finer appreciation of these pleasant, graceful, appro-
I)riate, and harmonious observances.

The year in Dai Nippon, during the old regime, began under a movable
calendar, and in the winter season it was from two to six weeks later than
inidcr the Gregorian reckoning. But even then it came in what was
really a winter month, thougli it was looked n])on as the awakening of
sj)ring, and was called ris-shun, " springtime," notwithstanding the fact
that the plum and the yuki-wari-so, " snow-parting plant," did not oiien a
bud for weeks to come.

New-year's is among the most scrui)ulou.sly observed days in the year,
and no work of any kiml is supjtosed to be done. This does not mean
that any one is left in iilliiiess, fur there are the preparations for calling
on friends and acquaintances, and as on this occa.sion all dnii their best
cliftlies, no little care and time is spent in this part of tlie celebration.
The calls on those in the higher class by those in the lower are of the most

.'>13

514

THE FAR EAST.

forraal nature, but those between friends are generally visits of pleasure,
where small jDresents are given and the gossip of the season is exchanged
in a confidential manner. Every countenance is wreathed in smiles, and
peals of laughter are heard on every hand. Each person is dressed in his

or her best, which
means that bright
Colours have been
given an outing, for
the Japanese love
best the hues that
set the example of
cheerfulness in this
market of mirth.

In some respects
New-year's Day is a
serious affair to the
head of the family,
though its duties are
performed to the
minutest particular
with a grace and
lightness of spirit in
keeping with the
general brightness of
the glad occasion.
First donning his
holiday attire, he
makes his offerings
to the deities, both
spiritual and terrestrial, proffers his remembrance to the shades of his
fathers, offers his salutations of good-will to his living kin and friends,
and then partakes of a morning meal intended to be in keeping with the
association of the day.

No householder is in such humble circumstances that he does not have
to prepare a " heavenly table," — a tray lacquered in bright colours and
decorated with the foliage of the evergreen yuzuriha. This is considered

LANTKKN SKI.LKU.

JAPAN. 515

the only fitting receptacle for those seven dishes of allegorical origin, "a
feast of fortune," of Avhich the following is a list, with accompanying sig-
nifications: A rice cake, or "'mirror dumpling," because it is made in the
shape of the sacred mirror of the Shinto rites, and supposed to contain what
is good for the digestive organs ; oranges laid on green leaves, meaning a
" bequest from one to another ; " chestnuts dried and crushed, signifying
victory ; persimmons, considered to possess medicinal value ; dried sar-
dines, denoting conjugal fidelit}', as the little fish never swim singly ; the
ehi, a lobster, its long tentacles and curved back suggesting life so extended
that the shoulders become bowed and the beard grows long and heavy ;
last, a herring roe, that creature of the sea which is supposed to be the
most prolific. This "table of elysium " is also emblematical of the three
islands of youth located somewhere in the extreme corner of the sea-world,
according to a Chinese legend, where all creatures retain perpetual youth,
the birds and animals are of a pure white, and the palaces of the people
are of gold and silver.

" Young water," that is, water drawn from the well luider the first rays
of the light ushering in the new day and the new year, is used in preparing
the tea, and the principal edibles are a special compound of six articles
of diet, none of these being ever omitted, though they may be changed
in the proportion of their amount, to suit tiie tastes of those at the meal.
These foods are the mochi, rice cake ; imo, potato ; daikon, Japanese tur-
nil) ; awabi, haliotis ; (jobo, a sort of burdock ; kombu, a kuid of seaweed.
In order to ensure good health during the twelve months to follow, it is
deemed necessary that a goodly measure of sak(i should be quaffed from
a bright-lacquered cup. Tliis part i>f the custom is said to have been
introduced from China centuries ago, and to have originated there with an
old hermit, who made it a practice to distribute amoig the villagers on
each returning New-year's Day portions of Jthysic, with tlie injunction that
if it was drunk with sak»? it would secure for the drinker a hale and hearty
body.

The most prominent feature of the decoration is the " pine of the door-
wa}'," festooned with the shiine-nnwa, or rope of rice-straw. The first
consists of small pines and l)aml)<)os placed on either side of the vestibule,
the trees supposed to typify l)y their evergreen foliage long life. The pine
became a part of tliu decoration al)i>ut a tliou.sand years ago, while the

516

THE FAR EAST,

b;uiilioo is a later addition by some five hundred yeai's. The straw rope
is of greater antiquity, and is emblematical of spring, and refers to tlie
ancient morning when the goddess of sunlight was enticed from her cavern
of darkness by the discontented gods of darkness, then overruling the
earth, and the rope was placed across the entrance to the cave so she could
not return to her underground abode. These ropes are the most important
of the decorations, and are stretched not only across the entrance to the
house, but before every other spot which the sunlight is supposed to

A WINE CKLLAR.

benefit, such as the well, bathroom, sacred shelf, and inner court. Some-
times a piece of charcoal is suspended from the rope, it l)eing considered
efficacious in warding off evils ; and a lobster, decorated with fern fronds,
and indicating hardiness, is attached to the line.

It is not held to be necessary to resort to the temples that the deities
may be propitiated, though a few do it. The majority prefer to ascend
the most convenient eminence in their neighborhood, and the entire party,
joining hands, watch and sing as the new sun sends its virgin beams over
the landscape. Later in the day small bodies of both se.^es parade the
streets, dancing and playing before the homes of the inhabitants. Besides

JAPAN.

517

these are parties called " bird-chasers," which are made iip of maidens go-
ing about with wide coverings nearl\ concealing their features, while they
play on the samiseu, under the belief tliat this will drive away birds of
ill-ouieu that are supposed to be fluttering on wing over the homes of the
rich and poor.

Among the pastimes held in high estimation at this time is the game of
shuttlecock and battle-board, which found its way into Japan from China.
Tradition gave the shuttlecock, the shape of a dragon-fly, and attributed

( ill l.liKI N ~ I I > 1 i \ Al..

to it the power to drive away mosquitoes. It lacked the battle-board, and
the Japanese added that, — a thin, flat board of pine lacquered in red and
gold on the back, and since adorned witii pretty pictures. This game is
played by the young of both se.xes, an<l the Japanese maiden cherishes her
battle-board next to her dolls, though she is very fond of the latter.

On the day following New-year's there is a sort of semblance of resum-
ing work and business, though this can be scarcely called more than a ])re-
tence. Three days later the men-of-arms resorted, in other years, to the
practice of marksmanship, being careful to have the tjirget large enough
so that there could l)e no failure in hitting it, lest their records for the

518 THE FAR EAST.

coming year sHould be unfavourable. Still three days more are allowed to
pass, when the pine and bamboo decorations are torn down and burned,
willow wands twisted and braided into artistic forms being hung from the
eaves of the dwellings. With the burning of the decorations the observ-
ances are practically ended, but it is considered a part of the same to
allow the servants, male and female, on the fifteenth day the privilege
of visiting their homes. On the twentieth day the closing scene is per-
formed by the housewives, who offer rice dumplings to their toilet mirrors
as an evidence of their culinary skill.

For man}' centuries the " five festivals of the seasons " have been
prominent and favoured fetes. These are observed on the 7th da}- of the
first month, the 3d day of the third month, the 5th day of the fifth
month, the 7th day of the seventh month, and the 9th day of the ninth
month. It will be seen that they occur with a numerical regularity which
is striking. The Japanese seem to have a peculiar pleasure in such ar-
rangements.

The first of these festivals refers more esj^ecially to the domestic arts,
and is largely a combination of stewing, brewing, and divination, called
the " chopping of the seven herbs." The women are mostly concerned in
its performance, which lasts through the earlier hours of the day.

The second is a child's festival, during which dolls representing every
trade, craft, and calling, civil and military, historical and legendary, are
made. Each feature of these dummies is shown with an exacting fidel-
ity to the original. The setting forth in display of these figures, often
numbering a thousand, is both interesting and educating to its partici-
pants. This month, March, with its toys and opening blossoms of spring,
is primarily the month for the girls, and the little Japanese maids queen
it right royally both at home and among their friends.

The festival of the 6th day of the fifth month is especially a boy's fete.
This is given in honour of the birth of a male child within the past twelve
months. The happy event is proclaimed by flying a paper or silk imita-
tion of a carp from the top of a staff. Made of light material, and subject
to every passing breeze, these banner-like objects can be seen streaming
from hundreds and thousands of houses, until it looks to the beholder as
if a flood of fish had been sent down upon the towns from the sky. The
big eyes of the carp are considered to be typical of a persevering will, as

♦I

JAPAN.

519

well as the indomitable spirit the fish displays in swimming up the streams
against strong currents and cataracts. It being now the season of tlie
iris and the sweet-flag, bouquets of the latter are conspicuous, while
the sake drank on this occasion is seasoned with the petals of the former.
Once warriors and battle-steeds figured prominently in these festivals, and
displays of feats with the sword and mimic battles took place, but these
warlike scenes have passed away with the new order of things. The
tango, as this is called, is of very ancient origin, and many legends of its

TOY DEALKR.

as.sociation still live, though none explain definitely its rise and growth.
One of the customs is to extinguish all the lights in the temples at the
hour of the liare, so thjit the frightened animals may sock their homes
without fear.

May is the month of flowers. It is then that the cherry blossoms,
which are the embodiment of all that is pretty, refined, and invigorating,
according to Japanese ideals, are in the full flush of their glory. It is
true that a single blossom has no special claim for admiration, and even a
tree loaded with its gems is worthy of but a passing glance, but it is
when many of these gigantic flowering plants are ma,s.sed and llu-ir foli.ige

520

THE FAR EAST.

trained according to the taste of the artists that the grand effect is
obtained. Broad avennes along river-banks are rendered transcendently
inviting by them ; or a framework is made an enticing retreat by a
network of these smiling messengers of summer and harvest. Cherry
groves are the pleasure-grounds both of the young and beautiful, with no

further care in life than
the seeking after the
niany-hued bauble of
love, and also of the
gray-headed philoso-
pher, who looks deeper
into the mysteries of
life, as Avell as of the
poet, the artist, the
labourer, and the noble.
The jjurpose of the
Japanese is to celebrate
each season wdth appro-
priate floral emblems,
from which come the
picnics of the wistaria,
a z a 1 e a , iris, lotus,
peony, chrysanthe-
mum, orchid, and the
forests in their gor-
geous autumnal tints.
The ideal observance is
that of the simplest
nature. An eypression
of some tender senti-
ment made in a couplet, the paper upon which the verse is Avritten sus-
pended from the branch of a tree of especial i;iterest, or from a blooming
plant, is an example, the act being accompanied with outljursts of song
more voiceful than melodious, and strains on that most unmusical of in-
struments, the samisen. These are all outdoor fetes.

The ceremonies of the sixth month are of a religious nature, and are

A FLOWER Glltl,.

JAPAN. 521

perfurined on the river-banks at twilight, where one of the Shinto priests
sets np a rude cross, and prays for the peace of the households of that
vicinity. As will be seen, this is a relic of Shintoism.

At Kameido is celebrated a feast called the " First Rabbit of Japan,"
which is given in memory of the great scholar, Sugawara Michizane, who
lived in the sixteenth century. On account of the interest he took in
literature the poetical youths write long poems (so considered by them),
and burn them as offerings on his tomb during these fetes. If the cinders
from the flames float high in the air, or are wafted to a considerable
distance, the author turns away with high hopes for his future success.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE STAR LOVERS.

IN early summer occurs a picnic which combines pleasure and business
in a happy manner. It consists in seeking, as the tide ebbs, the shell-
fish which are to be found buried in the sand under the water a few
inches deep. Both sexes, old and young, find relaxation and satisfaction
in this sport. The pleasure-seekers float out with the tide in a sort of flat-
bottom boat, making the scene merry with snatches of song and music
from the tinkling samisen. At the proper distance the boat is stopped,
and the enlivening rout begins. In the midst of the active scene the light-
hearted damsels soon lead their sterner rivals a lively competition. To
overcome the disadvantage they might seem to have in the matter of
dress, the wide sleeves of their loose-fitting waists are fastened up by bright
cords crossing over the bosom, so as to give each owner of a white, well-
rounded arm ample chance to plunge it into the water without wetting
the garment. The bright-coloured underskirt is dextei'oualy tucked up
under a concealed girdle, and the fair water-nymph is alive for work or
sport. If there is a generous display of pretty ankles, it must not be sup-
posed that it is made at the sacrifice of good taste or modesty. The
Japanese see nothing wrong or imprudent in that wliicli of necessity must
be done.

In the month of August," according to the present calendar, is a festival
called most commonly Bon, which is dedicated to the ghosts of the de-
parted friends, who are supposed to revisit the scenes of their earthly career
at this season. Five days are given over to this fete, but the ceremonies
are not elaborate. An altar of straw is raised on bamboo pillars, between
which is hung the " sweet air rope " for the spirits to ascend. The floor
is strewn with the leaves of the coxcomb and lespedeza, while imitations
of horses and oxen are cut from melons, and a band of cedar-leaves is
bound about the whole. Each dwelling has lanterns hung before its door
to guide the visiting spirit, and at eventide of the second day little hemp

522

i^Vrestlers

JAPAN.

523

fires are kindled to show tliem witli greater plainness the way within. On
the sixteenth, the last evening, these tiny lamps are set to light the path
of the departing spirit, and the festival is then over.

During the ceremonies omukae-dango, " cakes of welcome," and okuri-
dango, "cakes of
farewell," are eaten,
with other viands in
keeping with the
means of the house-
holder. Throughout
the entire reception
of the departed
friends making this
annual visit a deco-
rous demeanour is
maintained, and no
effort is made to win
their favour. The
whole purpose is to
receive them as if
they came in flesh
and blood, kindly,
courteously, and
generously.

The festival of the
7th day of the
seventh month has
nearly lost favour,
even in the remote
districts where such

customs linger longest. This consisted of cake otTfrings td tin- star.x,
based upon the legend of the iu-nl-lioy prince cro.ssing tlir ibavcuh River,
the Milky Way, in order to keep his tryst with his l)elov('(K tlir Weaver
Princess. This was illustrated by ves.sels of water placed between row.s
of smoking incense set up in .><tieks. Tbe object of tliis festival is ex-
plained by the story of the star lovers.

CAH iiixii siii;i,i. - usii.

524

THE FAR EAST.

It all happened a long time ago, when the Sun, ruler of the universe,
dwelt in his sjaacious mansion on the near bank of Silver River, which
flows across the heavenly plain and is known to mortals now as the Milky
Way. The Sun had a daughter named Ame-kujo, who was very beautiful
and gifted. She was an exceedingly industrious maid, and worked so
constantly at her loom, weaving fairy-like fancies, that she became known
far and wide as the ^Yeaver Princess. The father was very 2)roud of his
lovely daughter, and he was greatly pleased over her industry, until at last

A COLNTKY SEAT.

he saw that she was growing moody and silent at her work. This troubled
him sorely, for her vivacious spirit had been the light and song of the
palace, Avhen her speech had sparkled with witty sayings, and her counte-
nance beamed with the cheer of a youthful heart.

She had had many lovers, and her troubles were readily traced to these.
Among her suitors was a noted warrior, grown gray in the service of his
king. While he talked much of war and little of love, — which is not the
way to win a maiden's heart, — her father favoured his suit, and frankly
said as much to Ame-kujo. Then she confessed that she had plighted her
troth to a herd-boy iiamed Kinrin, who tended his father's flocks on the

J A PAX.

525

bank of the Heavenly River. Thereupuu tlie Sun was so angry that, for
a whole week, he kept his face veiled from the world behind black clouds.
From that time the princess became very sad, and a great gloom gathered
over the household.

The warrior suitor saw this change, and wondered what it foreboded ;
the herd-boy lover saw it, and knew it portended evil to him and his maid.
When he found opportunity to speak to her, he bade her be of good cheer,

A IIKAI llHI, <..M1I>K.N l^)t lOkYK.

and hope for a liappy fvdtilnient of their dreams. But the Sun would not
listen to the pleadings of his daughter, and the grizzled warrior repeated
iiis offers of matrimony freijuently and stuliltornly, though her only
response was to ply the shuttles of her loom faster than ever. No more
was she the merry, vivacious maid of yore.

Finally the Sun decreed tliat Kinrin, on the 7th day of the seventh
month, should be banished to the farther bank of the wide Silver River, and
siioulil remain tliere an exile for ever. Hearing of her lover's unhappy

52(1 THE FAR EAST.

fate, Ame-kujo stole down to the place of his starting, and there the
unfortunate couple met and parted, as they believed, for the last
time.

The Siui had commanded all the magpies in the kingdom to gather Avitli
outspread wings, and thus make a bridge for the exiled youth to pass over
thie river to his future abiding-place. Kinrin saw through his tears the
"weeping princess, as she watched liiui out of sight. On the distant l)ank
of the River of Heaven the magpies dispersed, leaving the disconsolate
lover alone in his despair.

The sadness of tlie days to Kinrin, as he followed his herd in the remote
land, and that of Ame-kujo, while she plied her slmttles in her desolate
home, cannot be pictured b}- a mortal. The warrior who had wooed her
with such fiery words, now that he saw the change in her once lovely
countenance, refused to wed such a disconsolate bride.

When he found that his daughter grew more and more dejected,
and that she was going to die unless the burden of her sorrow was
lightened, the Sun relented so far that he declared she and her exiled
lover might meet on the Tth night of the seventh month of the
coming j^ear. She at once dried her tears, and something of her
old-time lightness of heart returned, her spirits growing happier as
the day she was to go to Kinrin drew nearer. The only fear was
that the day might bring rain, when the river would be so swollen
that she could not cross.

But the very elements were her friends. The day came and departed
without a shadow. At evenfall the stars set their bright watch in the
sky, and joy reigned triumphant throughout all the heavens. The mag-
pies came as they had the year before for the exiled herd-boy, and spread-
ing wide their wings made a safe bridge for Ame-kujo to cross over the
broad river to her lover. His surprise was more than equalled hy his joy,
and with such happiness as only the pure and faithful know, the two lived
those happy hours of the stars. She uuist leave him before the Sun should
return from his nightly pilgrimage, and with sorrowful hearts the lovers
separated, their only solace being the hope that they might be permitted
to meet again another year.

In all the years that have fled since then, unless it be very stormy, on
the Tth day of the seventh month, the faithful star lovers have met

JAPAN.

527

in that far-off country of the sky. the great joy of their meeting made
brighter by the liope tliat some time tlie banishment of Kinrin will be over,
and that they will know no further sejiaration.

On the 1st day of the eighth month it was expected that a grand
annual festival would be held at Yedo, now Tokyo, in connnemoration of
tlie entrance of lyeyasu, the founder of tlie shogunate, into that city.
But modern Tokyo ignores all tliis show of military glory, and is happier
in paying homage to the moon in \hv month whicli. according to the new

IAN ] I i;n M Ahl l;>.

calendar, is fair September. There is an old saying in Japan that the moon
of the springtime loses her l^rightest beams among the blossoms of the
flowers; in tlie sunnnertide the water n-dcrts her image in jturer tints
than her own light; in the winter the north wind robs her rays of much
of their lustre ; but in the autumn all nature is her friend, and rejoices to
see her at her best. Thus tiie harvest moon of Japan is the moon of
festivities. Especially is this a poetic and romantic festival in the more
thinly jiopulateil di.stricts, where the old-time spirit still linger-s, the laugh-
ing waterfall vies with the moon in her transcendent Iteauty, and the noisy
cataract seeks to attract Ipy its tumultuous forces wh.it it loses in oilier

528

THE FAR EAST.

respects. Man, nature, and moon combine to make this the happiest
event of a happy season.

Three things are wanted to make this festival a success : the time, the
moon, and water. Tokyo is well favoured in respect to the last by the
river Sumida ; Osaka, by the noble Yodo, coming fresh from Lake Biwa ;
and if Kyoto is less fortunate in this respect her people do not know it, so
the result is the same. While this festival has lost much of its ancient

BKACKET liKUM.K, ]l KAIJAWA.

glory, it has gained in the new order of things. Generous display of fire-
works, hosts of bright flying pennons, pretty, vivacious geishas, decked in
their daintiest costumes, their most fascinating grace of manner, their
gentle refinement of womanhood, all aid in making this the happy fete
it is.

A favourite place of holding one of these festivals was a bridge spanning
one of the streams which drained the Fujiyama district. Upon building
this bridge, in order to bring about the most good to the public, it was
considered necessary to have the two happiest men in the province first

JAPAN. 529

pass over the new structure. In looking around for proper persons, tlie
officials were exceedingly fortunate in findinif two men who had each been
masters of homes for threescore years, and whose wives and children,
twelve in each famil}^, were all living. Therefore these gray-headed patri-
archs were chosen to lead the way across the bridge, which had been painted
a bright red as an emblem uf a light heart. The venerable twain were
accompanied by their faithful wives, while behind these couples marched,
two and two, according 'to their ages, their grown-up cliildren, grand-
children, and great-grandchildren, making a long procession. A vast
crowd of spectators watched the train, laughing and shouting for joy,
while showers of fireworks illuminated the night air, and the thunder of
cannon shook the distant mountains. As was foretold then, the bridge
has stood long and firm as proof of its happy beginning.

This was better fortune than that which befell another structure of this
kind, which a powerful daimio in the Keicho era decided to rear
across the river that had witnessed one of his victories, as a monument of
his prowess. But when he came to build the bridge there seemed to be no
solid bottom to the stream upon which to raise pillars to support the long
structure, with its picturesque curves and multitudinous feet like the centi-
pcdti. Thousands upon thousands of stones were thrown into the river,
but as often as the bridge was constructed it would sink into the bed of
the river out of sight. In his despair and disappointment at being de-
feated in what had seemed so slight a matter, when compared to his
triumph over armies of men, Horio Yoshiharu swore by his beard that he
would ultimately succeed.

Now it had been a heaven-ordained iiiL; among men that no person
should cross a bridge without having a machi in the back of his linknma ;
that is, a piece of stiff cardljoard sewn into the garment to keep it smooth
and in good shape. So wlien it was found that one named Gensuke had
been accustomed to pass over this bridge as soon as it was reared without
regard for this custom, the cause of the evil was quickly thought to have
been found. Gen.suke was instantly seized, and in order to appease the
anger of the gods whom he had offended, he was buried alive in the bed
of the river, where he sleeps to this day. Tiie result was all tliat had
been devoutly e.xpcrtfil. The foundation for the pillars became as solid aa
till- rock-ribbed hills; so the bridge was compli'tcd with wluit speed was

530

THE F'AR EAST.

jjossible. There it stood firm and faithful for over three hundred years.
The truth of this story was shoAvn by the fact that the middle pier bore
the name of the foolhardy man, and was known as the Gensuke-hashira.
It was claimed by the believers that on moonless nights, at the dead watch
between two and three o'clock, the pillar would be enveloped in a ghostly
red light.

In the idyllic season of early autumn the festival of the chrysanthemum

.MIVANOSIUTA ItnER.

holds high place, and once Japan could justly claim the peerage of the
world in this flower. If nature has been chary of her floral gifts to Dai
Nippon, she somewhat atoned for this niggardliness by bestowing upon
it the kiku, or world-famous chrysanthenmm. The gardener, whose arts
and skill in arranging beautiful parks abounding with artifical waterfalls,
foimtains, lakelets, rockworks, tiny bridges, and dwarf trees seem without
limit, gives his best attention to this flowering plant. Sometimes he trains
a number of these plants upon frames to represent scenes of national
interest, and shows his love and adeptness in hundreds of ways. The

JAPAN. 531

emperor's gardens at Akasaka afford a fine display of the chrysanthemum
in its natural state.

Formerly a royal banquet was held annually in honour of this flower
at the imperial court at Yedo. Then the women in higher walks of life
engaged in rivalry to see who should be the fortunate one to send a
blossom which should be accepted by the consort of the reigning shogim.
Sometimes great enthusiasm and excitement ruled. If this has all passed
away under the new order of government, the love of the chrysanthemum
still remains with the Japanese, and they do not cease to praise its fitness
for decorative work, its prolificness of blossom, the ease with which it
can be massed so as to portray historic and legendary and mythological
pictures. To them it is, in its many varieties, " the moon-touched flower,"
" the pearl of hearts," " crystal court," '* the sleep of the gray tiger,"
"frost beam," "the jewel of the inner court," '•the snow of the five
lakes," and so forth. The festivals of the cherry blossoms and the
chrysanthemums are the two fetes of the year when the climate and
the hearts of the people join in unison to make the very most of a gala
season. A garden of a type foreign to the country, as many other things
have usurped the old ideas and fancies in Japan, is now opened in the
golden month of October in Tokyo, when the aristocratic and ofticial
classes help to swell the vast crowd visiting the magnificent display.

A prominent feature at the fairs which come late in the summer are
great numbers of fireflies, imprisoned in horsehair Ciiges, and for sale at a
rin each. A rin, it should be remembered, compares to our mill. The
Japanese have a sort of reverential respect for these little " earth stars,"
and among the pretty ct^nceits related of them is the following :

Once upon a time an old woodsman saw a little moon-child on the
branch of a bamboo, and he captured the tiny creature and took her home.
His wife was delighted with the newcomer, who lived with them for
twenty years. As she grew older a brilliant light overspread her body,
so that the forester's humble dwelling was filled with the sweet smile of
her presence by day, and by night she moved aliout his home like a lamp
of gold. The stars paled to dimness when she went abroad, and the moon
became dark and angry witli jealou.sy.

Of course so fair a maid had many lovers, and among the others the
emperor was so charmed with her lieauty and sweetness that he wanted

532 THE FAR EAST.

to make her his bride. But a fairy had told her that twenty years would
end her earthly existence, so she refused her lovers with kindly firmness,
though without telling even the emperor her real reason. He became
very angry, and threatened to take her a prisoner to his castle. But
when he came to carry out his threat, lo ! she took flight on a moonbeam,
in her fright crying tears of silver. Then Mother Moon relented, and far
away from the pursuit of the distracted emperor took the fugitive in her
warm arms. Not having told the emperor her reason for refusing him,
the tiny maid did not feel that she had done right, so her tears took
wings, and on summer nights can be seen flying about everywhere search-
ing for the disappointed emperor. He died many, many years ago, an old
man, keeping in his heart a love for the proud little princess who dared to
refuse an emperor.

CHAPTER XXIV.

PASTIMES OF A PEOPLE.

AMONG the native methods of sport and amusement are feats of
acrol)atic skill, rinining, jumping, wrestling, juggling, living stat-
ues, trick monke3s, deformed animals, and shouting alleys, to say
nothing of trials at archery, with bows eight or ten feet long and arrows
of corresponding length.

The oldest of all the sports and pastimes is that of wrestling, supposed
to have had its origin over nineteen centuries ago, and to have held its
popularit}' through all the changes and vicissitudes, rise and fall of power,
during that long period. Tradition, which is ever ready to nurture
history, declares that as long ago as twenty-five years before Christ the
peace of the island empire was disturbed by the boasts of one Kehaya, a
member of the emperor's body-guard. As this gigantic wrestler grew
more and more arrogant in his manner, it was finally proclaimed that
whoever should be able to throw him should receive high reward. Accord-
ingly some of the strongest men began to practise for a trial witli him.
but when they came to meet him he overpowered them all. Tiiis made
him more overbearing than ever, and he loudly boasted that no two men
in the empire could master him. This called forth a challenge from a
certain soldier who had never been credited with any skill in that direc-
tion, and the bully quickly accepted. The venturesome soldier's name
was Sukune, and everybody pitied him, believing he; would meet the same
fate as the others. But in this they were mistaken. Sukune had been
preparing in secret for .such a match for over a year, and when he came
to contend with the mighty Kehaya lie speedily overcame him, cru-'jliiiig
him to the earth. Great was the rejoicing, and the victor was rewarded
with a large estate in the Yainato province. He has the credit of fixing
the code of scientific wrestling.

Be this legend or history, in 720 a. d. wrestling was given its first ro5'al
sanction, when Emperor Shomo and his imperial court extended public

5.t.l

534

THE FAR EAST.

patronage to it. One Sliiga Seirin, of Onii, was master of the arts and
artifices connected with it. He understood the forty-eight kinds of
clntclies and holds, liaving been the originator of many of them, and
knew the gradations belonging to the game. He improved upon many

of the grips, and
established him-
self so well as
master of the
pastime that his
successive de-
scendants held
the important
and honourable
position of chief
umpire at court
until the ex-
tinction of the
family line in
1187, after 450
years of credit-
able rule.

The honour
next fell on
Yoshida Oikase,
of Echizen, one
of whose lineal
descendants is
the present
chief, and who

is alone empowered to bestow upon the clianipiun wrestler that badge of
distinction which every ambitious follower of the order seeks as the ulti-
mate reward of all his training and skill in overcoming his rivals, the
yokozuna, a belt braided of two strands of white silk.

Tradition delights in attributing great size to the champions of this
pastime, picturing some of them as tall as seven feet, and weighing
between fonr and five hundred pounds. Such athletes among the slight-

WHKSTLKKS

Japanese Actors

JAPAN.

535

ligured men of the race must have ajipearod hke giants. It is needless
to say that wrestlers of such wonderful size are not found to-day, though
the contrast between their size and that of their countrymen is striking.
It is nothing unusual to find those among them who stand six feet in
height and weighing 250 pounds. This fact is accounted for by the cus-
tom of selecting only youths of uncommon size for this calling, and these
come princij)ally from the labouring class, which, as we have said, possesses
greater stature and muscle tliau the noliility. From the time of having

accepted this calling, the follower diets for the purpose, eating only the
most wholesome food, and abstaining from all intoxicating drinks.

The wrestlers of the country arc divided into "camps" or factions, the
Western and Eastern Camp. These are subdivided into classes, each with
its champions. These camps hold grand matches in the spring and the
autuiiui at Kyoto, Tokyo, and Osaka, and once a year in each important
centre of the interior i>rovinces. These trials take place within a ring
formed by straw sand-bags. An umpire is given position inside the ring
with the contestants, to see that the rules of the game arc strictly fol-
lowed, and to stop the battle as soon as he sees that one side is faltering.

536

THE FAR EAST.

The rivals strip themselves of all garments that are likely to interfere
with the free movements of limbs or body, and agree to obey all rules
and restrictions, which are many and often look intricate to the onlooker.
The umpire's duty is no slight matter, and he is often called upon to exer-
cise strong expression
of purpose to keep the
wrestlers within the
code of grips and
thrusts . He w^ho
finally succeeds in
throwing his adver-
sar}- outside of the
circle of sand-bags is
declared victor. Ut-
most good feeling
prevails inside the
ring, but the specta-
tors often become
wild with excitement.
One of the methods
of rewarding the
rivals is for members
of the audience to
throw their clothes to
them, and redeem
them afterward with
money.

The bout between
the contestants is not
limited to one day,
but they are allowed ten days in which to end the struggle. The wrestlers
are good-natured men, who never fall into the vulgar habits of the common
brawler, and receive good remuneration for the following of their rugged
calling. It is very seldom one of them transgresses the law, and an arrest
is of rare occurrence. The goal toward which all are striving is the
exalted position of toshi-'/ori-i/aku, or " elder." These distinguished mem-

ACTOR AS AN OLD-TIME WARRIOR.

JAPAN. 537

bers are the organisers o£ matches, become referees, look after the finances
uf the camps, and take pupils for the profession. There are over eighty
of these elders at the present time in the country, while there are several
hundred wrestlers.

Football, according to Occidental methods, has supplanted the old-
style ke-mari, introduced from China more than a thousand years ago.
The object of this game was to keep the ball always in the air, kicking
it as high as possible. Goals were not arranged, neither was there any
organised eifort in the struggle. Te-mari, or hand-ball, is a pastime
adapted to the feminine sex, and the young girls show great skill and
grace in the manner which they play this popular pastime. Thei'e are
numerous fanciful figures, calling out the ease and suppleness of movement
fur which the Japanese dancer is noted. During the game, as the actors
jjirouette and bound to and fro, the entire body of players keep time with
some ditty sung in unison by the entire party.

Among the youth of the opposite sex kite-flying is the favourite pas-
time, even the adults deeming it not beneath the dignitv of their atje and
exjierience. So deeply has this sport fixed itself on the peojjle that special
seasons are set apart for the trials. In some localities the boys look for-
ward anxiously to the New-year's Day, as a time for kite-flying. On tho.se
occasions, the sky over some of the villages is literally peopled with kites
of many sizes and descriptions. In some localities, the birthday of a boy
is most properly celebrated by kite-flying, and, as soon as he becomes large
enough to participate in the sport, he invites his friends to join with him
in the merrymaking. On the day of the birth of a boy, his parents an-
nounce the happy event by sending aloft one of the messengers of the air to
announce the coming of the young heir, and also to illustrate with its lofty
flight their high aims and ambition for the child. If the family belongs
to till' lower class, it must be content witli a kite of small size. Init if the
parents are among the noltility, nothing sliort of a kite of enormous size
will satisfy the .soaring aspirations. Thus, those of this class are as much
as thirty feet in dianu-ter, and carry a Uiil of red and white, or pink and
blue, in alternate folds that reach for more than throe thou.sand feet.
Soaring high among the clouds, this enormous kite, with its bright.-<n)l
oured appendages, presents a most l)eautiful s])ectiiclf'. hundreds uf ])»'ople
turning out to watcli it. The moment it begins to drsccnd, tin- watchers

538

THE FAR EAST.

stand ready to seize hold of the tail, tearing off section after section, to
keep as precious relics of the happy event. The affair is ended with a
feast, to which all are invited.

The grown people all over the islands have their seasons for kite-flying,

but none is more
famous than the great
picnics of Nagasaki,
which are enlivened
with the spirit of
rivalry and contest
for the supremacy in
this sport. The time
set for these tourna-
ments is three days
in the beautiful month
of May, when the en-
tire population turns
out to witness or par-
ticipate ill the pas-
time. Kites as large
as twelve square yards
and as small as a foot
square, with bright
fringes completely
surrounding them,
are sent upward the
length of the holding-
cord, usually from two
to three lumdred feet.
These kites are of uniform shape, the frame being made of well-seasoned
bamboo ribs, slightly convexed to the wind, and attached to the flying-
cord by several lines fastened at regular intervals around the rim. The
most important feature in their construction is the covering of powdered
glass placed deftly the entire length of the holding-line. The purpose of
this is to cut whatever string it may touch of the other kites, and the great
object is thus to cut loose as many of the other kites as possible. The kite

JAPANESE KITE.

.lAl'AN.

539

thus sent adrift is lost to the owner, and becomes the property of whoever
may be fortunate or skilful enough to capture it. In these two directions
lies tlie interest of the occasion, and so furious becomes the rivalry that
exciting scenes are sure to follow. Not only are the kite-flyers eager for
the trial, but there are kite-catchers, who station themselves wherever they
may imagine is
good vantage-
ground, those
positions most
elevated being
considered most
a d vantageous.
Thus m a ii y o 1
them climb into
the tops of higli
trees, and there
wait and watch
for the prize.
Should it happen
that more than
one person reaches
the disabled kite
at the same time,
tlie one nearest
the end of the
string is consid-
ered the fortunate
jjerson. If more
than one can claim

A ToV SKI.I.KK.

an equal advan-
tage, the kite is cut into parts and tiuis divideil. Wonicii. nt'tcn lifautiful
girls, vie with boys and men in tliis exciting pastime, and many a lover's
fate has been decided in tlie.se tournaments. Once, at least, the fate of
Nagasaki hung on a flying kite, wlicn two faction.s contended for thr hon-
ours with an earnestness whioii tiireatened to end with a resort to spears
and glaives in place of iiarmlt-ss kites. Foitiinatelv the diO'ereufe was

540 THE FAR EAST.

settled by a compromise, and peace again reigned. Usually the best of
good humour prevails, and the results are accepted with commendable
resignation. The cost of the shi-yen-kai, as this picnic is called, often
de]3letes the pocketbooks of the most wealthy, all of which is taken as a
matter of course.

If Nagasaki prides herself upon the skill of her kite-flyers, and Toas
holds her a good second, Suruga claims honour in the matter of size. The
kites of this place are monsters of a thousand feet square, or of " two
thousand sheets," as they are called. The term " sheet " refers to the
number of sheets of paper of which the kite is constructed. One of these
kites costs about six hundred yen, and requires a cable and twenty men
to fly it.

An extreme in the matter of size is found in the province of Owari,
where the Smaller the kite the greater the distinction. Here tiny affairs,
miniature representatives of bees and cicadas, are sent aloft, attached to
gossamer silk wound on ivory spindles.

CHAPTER XXV.

IXUOUK IIECHKATIOXS.

A WHOLE volume of good size might be written on dancing and
(lancers without exhausting the subject. Probably no art or custom
of the Japanese has been as severely criticised, and it is equally true
that no part of their social life has been so little understood. In Japan
tlie dancers know nothing of polkas, waltzes, or quadrilles, their aim being
to represent some ideal picture, such as the festival of tlie cherry from the
planting of the tree, and the bursting of the bud into blossom to the gath-
ering of the flower, or to describe some household scene or drama of war.
Tlie figures of the geishas are beautiful, and their entire action is pervaded
witii a grace and charm that must be seen to be appreciated. Dancing,
according to Occidental ideas, has no place in Oriental life. In the former,
tliat which portra3s a happy motion of the dancer adapted to music is
demanded, sometimes with a spectacular display, which is best illustrated
by the ballet. In Japan these qualities are unknown. Here the art that
l)leases is the art which conceals the causes leading to the minutest result.
We find all the grace of the Occident in the swaying of the body and the
motions of the limbs, each of which is effected with a studied symmetry
which deceives the unsophisticated spectator into the belief that he is look-
ing upon that wliieh is commonplace, when in reality it is something be-
yond his comprehension. He does not at first appreciate tlie rhythmical
motion which offers no muscular development, but portrays to the initiated
some rare incident of ancient history, legendary tale, or family folk-lore.
The natural ease and grace with which it is acted comes only from long
training of the dancer, who, after all, must possess a herediUiry gift in that
direction.

Dancing is taught the girls and boys as soon as they are able to go
alone, and is never relaxed in the ca.se of those who desire to become
adepts. Few, if any, are lacking in the art, and puldic dances in wliicli
old and young, male and female, join in hearty resjionse are of coinnion

o4l

542

THE FAR EAST.

occurrence. Great events are generally observed and commemorated in
this manner. One of the most noted dances of old time was that which
lasted for a full week at Kyoto, soon after the capital was changed from
Nara to that city, near the close of the eighth century. Another Kyotoan

dance is worthj^ of
special mention on
account of the won-
derful varieties of
costumes, and the
great number of peo-
ple taking part in it.
This was an expres-
sion of thanksgiving
for the remarkable
prosperity of the
country, and each
district represented
was noticeable for
its individual colour.
The South, noted for
a wonderful bird of
crimson hue, chose
scarlet ; the West,
the lair of the gray
tiger of legend, had
white crape; the
North, the seat of
military power, was
GEISHA. distinguished by a

becoming dark hue ;
the East, where the great dragon inhabits the dark green sea, was known
for its light green silk. Upon these distinguishing grounds were woven or
embroidered designs and decorations of almost every shade and shape
imaginable. It is recorded that on one of the fields were to be seen such
ornaments as " a nightingale perched on a spray of blossoming plum ;
silver trout splashing in blue streams ; snowy herons roosting among pine

JAPAN.

boughs at the shrine of Gihon ; fiery maples glowing on Kwacho hillside ;
rosy cherry petals floating over the Otowa waterfall, or the vulgar Venus
embracing a mushroom on the Inari Moimtain." and innumerable other
figures and designs as unique and beautiful, initil it appeared as if the in-
ventive skill of the
weavers was with-
out limit. Never
before or since has
such a picturesque
concourse of people
danced through the
da}' in a maze of
graceful and gro-
tesque figures to
the music of flute
and drum.

Dancing is a
prominent feature
of the festival of
the 7th day of the
se ve n th month,
wIr'u tiny niis.ses,
in high coiffures,
spangled with silver
l)ins and pink tor-
toise shells, and
decorated with
richly embroidered
satin robes, set off
with a broad belt of emlx).ssed gold and purple di'sign.s, are among the
leading characters.

With the various dances and their checkered fortunes, it remained fur
the kanjin^o, commonly called now by its last syllable, to be put upon
the stage as a part of the ]irelude to the acting. This was an ancient
dance, which formerly fell tinm grace, to be placed by a daring admirer
on the boards of the theatre in 183(1, at a time when amu.sements of this

A KI.ITK PI.AYKK.

544 THE FAR EAST.

kind were condemned by the aristocratic class. His name was added to
it, so it became known as the sensuke-no. This dance and its powerful
auxiliaries, which may be said to have had two lives or periods of exist-
ence, is purely a Japanese affair. Many of the other dances in Japan
have been affected by Chinese influence, but this has not been the fate
of the no, which has been compared to the drama of old Greece. To no
otlier amusement do the Japanese lend their undivided interest as they
do to this, and they never seem to tire of it, though the foreigner may
witness it in disgust, and leave the place bored by its tediousness.

From the dancing-child has sprung, within a little over two hundred
years, a character in Japanese social life which finds no counterpart in any
other country. Almost at the beginning of the reign of this singular
person it was declared that she was undermining society, and the nobility
excluded her from their places of amusement. So for a hundred years the
dancers of this class were content to accept such adulation and encourage-
Inent as came from public resorts where the best morals were not expected.
After this long interval of ostracism the dancing-girls were allowed to re-
turn to good society, and they began to play an important part in polite
circles. The picture of one of these " sirens of society " is that of a pretty
girl in her teens, with an exquisite figure and a refining grace in all her
manner. She is so slight of form and airy of movement, in her brilliant
robes and sparkling head-dress, that she appears like a butterfly hovering
about a light. Her tiny feet keep perfect rhythm to the tedious humming
of the samisen, her flowing sleeves and parti-coloured skirts of bewildering
folds rising and falling, swelling and contracting, with. each graceful curve
and motion of her supple figure, the whole rendered more fairylike by the
red flame of the paper lanterns. Although profusely ornamented, she is
tastefully dressed, and appears both modest and demure, but with an arch-
ness which gives piquancy and winsome delight to her manner. She is
not only a model dancer, but she can play and sing, and is both wdtty and
well informed. This is a description which does scant justice to the much-
talked about, long-abused, and ever-admired geisha.

The very name is against her fair reputation, for it denotes that she is
not a part of a household, but an adjunct of a geisha-ya, a dance-house.
It betrays to those knowing the meaning of the term that she is a party
to a contract made by her parents or guardian to another who shall give

JAPAN.

545

ber employment for a certain iiiimlier of years. Tliis contract usually
means for seven or ten years, a pt)rtion of the proceeds going to her, and
the balance — the larger half — to him who has undertaken her charge.
If she enters her service before the age of ten years, she connnences as an
o-shaku, or cup-bearer, and five years later becomes what is denominated
the ipjion . This
means she has ad-
vanced far enough to
be entitled to an
amount of compensa-
tion, or •• honorary
tribute," of twenty-
five yen, in payment
of an entertainment
lasting during the
burning of one stick
of incense. She is
now allowed to leave
her dancing to her
younger companions,
while she devotes her
time to music. She
plays accompaniments
for convi\ial songs,
sings herself, perhaps,
and enlivens the
whole entertainment
with her vivacity and
ready tongue, never
lowering herself be-
low the dignity of maidenly modestly. If she is particularly l)right or
pretty she soon becomes in great (Irmaiid, and is often the recipient of
what seems a good income. Besides this, she is entitled by license to
pick up without question rewards along the by-paths of her calling. If
she prefers to incur the risk of being fminil out without propiT con.sent,
she plies her arts in secrecy. While she improves these opportunities,

nOl'SE CLEANING.

546 THE FAR EAST.

either bought or stolen, she has another and culminating object in her
little head. This is nothing less than to secure a lover who shall be able
to jDromote her from this public career into a home of her own. Much
has been written about the geisha, — dancer, singer, artist, and vivacious
little minx, so deeply skilled in artifice as to lose sight of art, — and her
cousin, the musume, — the dainty, jDlebeian, picturesque gii'l of the tea-
house ; but while the foreigner cannot help admiring and condemning
both, he does not really understand either.

In connection with what has been written here, the shadow of social
sin is apparent on the bright surface of society. This becomes plainer
when we learn upon investigation that the life of a geisha is not always
lived as her personal choice might dictate. She, as a rule, becomes such
through the request of her parents. They may be in straitened circum-
stances, and take this method of paying off an indebtedness. Looking
still deeper into the situation, we find that she is a sort of cousin to
another class of unfortunates, styled yii-jo, who are always the direct
object of a trade. Continental Europe licenses her social sin, and Japan
follows her example, except that she does not parade or exonerate her
vice. Although the unhappy party to this bargain has small voice in the
original transaction, she has the privilege to break that contract at her
own free will. If she seldom does this, who, not thoroughly conversant
with the true condition, is able to pass judgment upon her ? That the
delicate situation is felt and appreciated is shown by the fact that the
wife of a Japanese gentleman has to show a respectable record for several
generations back, and this fact more than an3^thing else works against the
marriage of the geisha, or yu-jo. The inhabitant of the Western world
is perhaps most puzzled to know how it is that parents will become the
prime factors in these unholj' trades. Let them answer, not the victim.

The drama was brought before the public in a somewhat romantic way,
near the close of the sixteenth century. A famous dancer named 0-Kuni,
having danced before the Shogun Yoshiteru, pleased that monarch so much
that he granted her especial favours, and she became celebrated. But
falling in love with one of the ruler's retainers, and their relations being
discovered, she immediately lost public approval. Both losing their posi-
tions, she suggested that they dance on the public sward for a living. In
this manner, what had been a religious dance was converted into a profes-

.lAPAX.

547'

sion of ;i profane characUT. though she made certain niodiiioations to suit
their purpose. Her jjart having been previously a character of historic
representation, picturing the enticement of the sun-goddess from her
cavern, the transition was easier. She and lier husband performed for
a livelihood. For
some reason, she often
assumed the part of a
man, while he acted
that of a woman. A
rude platform was
raised on the dry bed
of the river, and they
became known as
" the river-bed folks."
As might be expected,
their patrons were not
of the higher class,
but they met with a
success that enabled
them to Uve comfort-
ably. Soon others
followed them, but it
was a long time be-
fore this estiiblishment
of a theatre was re-
ceived with favour by
the upper class. Seek-
ing broader fields,
and it may have been
with tlie hope of elevating their standing, 0-Kiuii and her hu.sljaud, with
a goodly company, repaired to Tokyo. But there was no river-bi-d for
their rude theatre; the danseuses deported themselves in a niamu'r which
brought down upon them puldic condemnation, so that finally, in 1043,
government ordered that females should no longer act in pul)lic with men.
The parts of females, if acted at all, should Ije taken by men.

This edict brought into the field an actor who was capable of taking

TKA - IIIICSI-: (iini

548

THE FAR EAST.

the feminine part of the play with a fidelity which defied the critics, and
became so perfect that many refused to believe a deception had been prac-
tised. This actor, whose name was Genzaemon, had followers who carried
the art even farther than he, so that the refinements of feminine deport-
ment, the rare quali-
ties and grace of the
womanly parts were
so accurately repro-
duced that it seemed
incredible that such
lifelike playing was
the work of the male
sex. The restriction
forbidding women to
appear on the stage
has been removed,
but such as have
attempted the his-
trionic art have been
so low in morals that
they have not re-
ceived public I'eeog-
nition. The theatre
is now patronised by
the better classes, but
the actors have failed
so far to win their
way into the good
graces of society, and
they are not likely to until they have elevated the standard of their own lives.
There are no chairs in a Japanese theatre, and the spectators must sit
on their knees. The parquet is a bare floor, having neither benches, chairs,
nor aisles. Tlic better portion of the crowd sit within an enclosure sep-
arated by a rail, and corresponding to our parquet circle. This is raised
about two feet. Between acts children are allowed to go upon the stage,
and i)lay at their will. If tlii' lh':it is oppressive. ;is it often is, men appear

AN ACTOi:.

.lAl'AX.

549

quite naked, except for tlie loin-clutli, and the women do not hesitate to
remove their clothing entire to the waist, no one thinking it improper
to do so.

Among the more intellectual entertainments the gundan, or war-story,
deserves to rank first. This comes nearest to our lecture of anything in
Japanese life, and has served more than all else to maintain an interest
in the past histor}- of the country, and to inform the people of its secrets.
Until this form of public entertainment was instituted by some Buddhist

priest, the common class was in woeful ignorance of the warlike aims and
deeds of the patricians. In fact, such matters were not allowed to be
discussed, and even the literature of the times contained nothing more
than the l«ire mention of military events from time to time. For this
reason even the patricians became densely ignorant of the history of their
country. Thus, when the friars of medianal Japan, who were possessors
of this knowledge, began to give their reciUils before patrician audiences,
the gundan immediately became very i)opidar. But it was two and a half
centuries later before the lectures were given publicly, so that the common
class could listen to tliese militarv classics.

550 THE FAR EAST.

This popularity came about through the misfortunes of one of the
sumarais, who had figured prominently in tiie gorgeous pageants of his
earlier years. As a means of making a livelihood, he stationed himself
within the court of the temple of Twmma Tenjin at Kyoto, when a festi-
val was in process, and began to relate in stirring language some of the
scenes in which he had played a conspicuous part. The worshippers at the
shrine soon gave him an attentive ear, and lie reaped undreamed-of reward
for his vivid portrayals. Others, seeing his success, and in need of such
means to earn a livelihood, rather than to seek the vulgar calling of a
trade, imitated his example. In this way men came to devote their whole
lives to perfecting the art of oratory, so that, in time, the lecture became
not only a favoured way of entertainment, but no little talent was dis-
played by the raconteurs. The narrator, or koshaku-shi, is no mere
declaimer from some arbitrary text ; what he has to tell has not been re-
corded in any public document. He moves through his recital with all the
effectiveness of an actor, each part of liis narrative being in perfect accord
with the customs and environments of the period he describes. He at-
tempts no dramatical display, but, seated on a mat before a desk, holding
in one hand a fan and in the other a paper baton, he begins in a simple
manner, gradually rising in earnestness and intensity, as he forcibly
describes the passions that swayed the hearts of men, the gentle influence
of women, the anxious prelude to battle, the clash of the contestants, —
the swiftly-moving baton, as it falls sharply upon the wooden lecturn,
giving a vivid idea of the shock of arms, the din of the armed combat-
ants, the dash and surge of the wild hordes ; and then the climax, the
broken ranks retreating in wild disorder, and the hoarse cries of the
victors, — all depicted with remarkable fidelity, until the spectators behold
with their mind's eye the entire picture from beginning to end.

The amount of good done by these lecturers in imparting information to
the masses can scarcely be estimated, and yet they are poorly paid, except
in rare cases of the masters of the art. The followers of this profession
are divided into what are considered schools, each division tracing its origin
to some successful originator of that style in the past. All are devoted to
particular descriptions of some feature of history, such as the treachery of
some important clansman, the quarrel of some powerful chief, some critical
point in the condition of the conntr}', tlie rise of some obscure warrior, the

JAPAN. 551

career of some renowned liero, the romantic love episode of an ancient
gallant, and similar deeds and situations as may be easily imagined as
belonging to the history of the romantic feudal age. There are over three
hundred lecturers in Tokyo alone, many of them men of marl<ed literary
and oratorical ability. There are the tragedians, while there are those
following a different line, who aim simply to amuse. This class take for
their themes only romantic incidents, appealing to the sympathy or pleas-
ure of their audiences.

A BROOM SELLER.

CHAPTER XXVI.

WHEN THE WOKLD WAS NEW.

IT was fifteen hundred years ago, under the reign of Emperor Richu,
the seventeenth in descent from the first mortal sovereign, Jimmu,
that an attempt was made to wea\e a history out of the confused
mass of traditions and mysticisms enveloping the origin and rise of
the Japanese people. From that date, 400 a. d., the history of the island
empire may be readily divided into five periods, viz. : the first, beginning
with the legends of the misty ages, and ending with the establishment
at Nara of the wandering court of tlie Empress Jito in the early part of
the eighth century ; the second, comprising the early civilisation of Nara
and Kyoto, ending with the twelfth century ; the third, the era of civil
wars, which closed with the battle of Sekigahara, 1600; the fourth, the
period of the Tokugawa shogunate, closing in 1867 ; the fifth and last,
consisting of the late years of foreign intercourse and Japanese progress
under the present emperor.

It is not an tasy task to trace the origin and growth of this people ; to

JAPAN. 553

discover amid the shadowy army of mythological beings the first ruler,
Jimimi ; to describe the dynasty he is s;iid to have founded ; to portray
the civilisation that was built upon the ruins of tradition ; the arts and
literature that flourished amid such surroundings as we of the American
Republic cannot understand, and at that period when the glory of this
vast continent emanated from glittering temples and golden shrines, which
have long since crumbled into ruins, without leaving a record of their
builders. But if the blotted pages are filled with a bewildering array of
rival rulers in all stages of power, a shifting rabble of worshippers at
shrines dedicated to a medley of deities whom nobody professed to under-
stand, until it is impossible to sift out the real from the unreal, and fix the
actual situation in the mind, above the clashing of arras and confusion of
scenes, as the image of the unsheltered Bronze Buddlia remains to attest
to the one-time glory of the Genji clan at Kamakura, while the dust of its
castles has mingled with the sand of its plains, and the glitter of arms
is drowned in the changeless sea, so here and there along the path of ages
some stalwart figure, entwined with stories of heroism and nobility, stands
out in bold relief. Foremost among these appears the Goddess of the Sun,
who, in the traditions of a vivid-minded race, was the motlier of royalty ;
at the head of the dusky army of the ancients rises the Empress Jingu ;
next on the shifting stage the invincible Hideyoshi, the Taiko, and the
Ciesar of the Middle Ages ; lyeyasu, the Augustus of the Golden Age ; and
then Keiki, the Cromwell of the Tokugawa shoguns. When we have seen
these resume their places in the dazzling retinues, and noted their victori-
ous marches, we have brought Old Japan before us, with its simplicity of
common life, its gorgeous military pageants, its heroism and patriotism,
its cruel ambitions, its displays of the love of life, and its remarkable
indifference to death.

Whether the people now inhabiting Dai Nippon originally sprang from
mixed races, and, if that were true, whether tiiey were aliens to these
islands, remains to-day a mooted problem, though the theory to be advanced
here is that accepted by the majority of historians and antiquarians. As
we are about to follow this trail of the races, our Japanese friend gravely
reminds us that the very earliest inhabitants were descendants of the god-
dess that dwelt upon Tokama-no-hara. or the Plains of High Heaven. We
lend a respectful attention while he relates the tradition of the gods.

554

THE FAR EAST.

In the misty past, before time, when all the world was chaos, and th^
stars and moon, the earth and sky, were formless and only a vapour, was
the birth-time of the gods. Then only phantom shapes flitted hither and
thither across the space of eternity, as clouds drift over the surface of the
heavens. An inunense bulrush-bud, piercing the infinite distance, gave
birth to the first deity. This was followed by others, until, after three
generations of created objects, and where the tip of the bulrush had
pierced the space, four pairs of heavenly spirits came into being. For the

.1 WBJ.WJtW [ iJ.R

first time a division was now made, and the last pair of gods were given
the task of creating the earth. This couple, the source of all life, were
Izanagi, the God of the Air, and Izana-mi, the Goddess of the Clouds. A
fathomless gulf lay at that time between heaven and the chaos of region'
beyond, the space spanned by a floating bridge of heaven, one end se-
curely upheld on a mountain peak and the other on the wall of distance.
Tins pair, walking on the bridge, marked the void below, and the God
of Air said to the Goddess of the Clouds: "Let us visit the king-
dom beneath. There needs be a firmament there." Then he struck
his jewel-tipped spear into the mass below them, and from the pearly

JAPAN. 555

drops congealing on the point, an island was formed in the boundless
region.

The earth-maker and his companion then descended the Heavenly Bridge
to see what sort of a country had been formed. The sight of it pleased
them so much that Izanagi called up a high mountain to hold the end of
the floating bridge, and he and Izanami, pledging themselves to wed and
remain together on the earth, set out separately to explore its distant parts.
He followed the foot of the mountain toward the east, and she going
toward the west, they kept on until eventually they came in sight of each
other. Upon discovering him afar off, the Godde.ss of the Clouds exclaimed,
witli undisguised admiration, " How pleasant it is to meet such a noble-
looking youth!" Wishing to be equally as gallant he replied, "Not so
pleasant as it is to meet such a fair and lovely maiden." The couple then
completed their marriage by clasping hands and began to set in order tlieir
new home.

Soon afterward their bright prospects began to darken. The new lands
created by Izanagi proved barren and desolate ; their first-born son was
weak both in body and mind. Disappointed in each other and everything
about tliem, they returned to the palace of the heavenly spirits, when tlioy
were told that all their misfortunes had taken place because Izanami had
been the first to speak at that meeting beyond the mountain world. To
recover the treasures they had lost they must woo and wed again, l)eiiig
careful this time to obey the divine injunction. The couple again crossed
over the floating bridge, and Izanagi speaking first when they mot on their
journey around the mountain, great happiness came to their lot. Thev
created all the islands of Dai Nippon, and from the foam of the rolling
breakers, as they surged against the mainland, was formed China and the
rest of the world. They had children born to them, the Ruler of Rivers,
the Deity of Mountains, the God of Forests, and the Goddess of Flowers.
Izanagi was much pleased, but a.s he looked around over the beautiful
land.scape, lonely in its glory, he Siiid, " Tiiere should be one higher and
nnbler to rule and protect this fair world."

A daughter was born to this couple, and her beauty was so dazzling and
her deportment so regal that nothing below a throne in high heaven would
.suit her .station. She was Amaterasu, the Sim Goddess, and the jov of
Izanagi was so great that lie e.xclaimeii : '• She shall rule the universe

556

THE FAR EAST.

from the Blue Plain of High Heaven. Her clear smile shall gladden the
whole world. Fleecy clouds shall be her handmaidens, and glistening
dewdrops her messengers of love."

After the birth of the Goddess of Light a son was born to the happy-
deities, and as his was a dreamlike beauty of the gentle evening, he Avas
given a home in the far sky, and given alternate rule with his sister. His
name was Tsukvi-yomi, the Moon God. Izanagi and Izanami had other

A GAUDKN t A-l .'>l)i:.

children, who were not blessed with such glory. Two may be mentioned,
the God of Fire and the more to be feared Susa-no-o, who preferred shadow
to light, whose smile was a blight to flowers and plants, and who was
given the sovereignty of the sea. He soon became extremely jealous of
his sister Amaterasu, and resigning his kingship over the ocean reigned as
the Moon God, in the hope that he might better outrival her.

The Sun Goddess was loved by all, and under the benign influence of
her smile the earth yielded up from its treasure-house the iris and orchid,
the cherry and plum blossom, the pine and bamboo, the maple and wistaria.

JAPAN.

557

the rice and hump. The niouutaiii.-5 were clothed in deep green vestments,
the plains strewn with flower.'^, and tlie Inland Sea veiled in silvery ganze.
She had but to whisper her wish and it was answered. While she plied
her shuttles celestial maidens sang of the joy and peace on earth.

Susa-no-o looked on all this l)y night and was angry from jealousy. So
he did everything in his power to make existence miserable for his siste ,
who finally tied to a cave to escape his persecution. The universe was
then plunged into darkness, and strife and turmoil reigned supreme. The

litis (;aui>kn.

god.s, becoming alarmed fur the welfare of every beautiful thing, and even
for their own safety, assembled to see what could be done. Knowing that
the Sun Goddess alone could save them, they began to devise plans to call
her forth from her retirement. But plan after plan was tried and failed,
until that of the magic mirror was re.sorted to. Great fires were built
about the entrance to the cave, and eight hundred merry maidens were
told to laugh. As the merry peals of laughter made tlie eartli treml>le.
Amaterasu looked shyly forth to discover that it was light, when she had
supposed that darkness was reigning. Upon asking what this meant, she
was told that a goddess rivalling her had come among them. She believed

558

THE FAR EAST.

this when she gazed into the mirror and saw her own matchless reliection.
This caused her to step outside the cave, and, to stop her from returning,
a rope of rice-straw was deftly drawn across the entrance. The eight hun-
dred merry deities cried out, '" May the Sun Goddess always stay with us."
Thus darkness was driven from the world and happiness and rejoicing
again held sway.

But if freed from darkness, the earth was still peopled with evil spirits.

GARDEN AT KAGOSHIMA.

and tliere was no peace by day or night. Tlien tlie deities decided to send
some one down to quell the wild riot and prepare the people for the rule
of Amaterasu's grandson, Prince Generous-Giver. But of the agents sent
to do this difficult task, as many as tlu*ee failed. One lost courage at the
very outset ; another fell a victim to the violence of the mob ; and still
a third was captivated by the blandishments of a beautiful maiden who
met him on the seashore. He found life here so fascinating that he forgot
his mission, even forgot his brother deities, and revelled in the toils of a

JAPAN.

559

vulgar life. Finally the Sun Goddess sent a pheasant to inquire why her
messenger tarried so long. But the delinquent deity was so angry over
the appeal of the bird that he shot lier with a bow and arrow. The
pheasant fell, and the arrow continued its flight to the feet of the Goddess
of the Snn on her throne in high heaven. Anticipating that evil had
befallen her loved pheasant, from the blood on the .shaft, she sent the
arrow back to earth, with the injunction that it find the evil-doer.

A mitrhtv storm arose soon after, and on its wings the dead bodv of

the faithless prince was laid at his father's feet. Then there was weeping
and wailing, fur he had been dearly l)elovod, and a great mourning-house
was raised. But in the midst of this lamentation a brother of the dead
prince appeared, and was mistaken for the traitor. This so offended the
former that he cut down the mourning-house witli his ten-grasp sword,
and .scattered the ruins to the four winds of heaven.

This feat cau.sed the others U) declare that he, Taku-Mika, was the very
one to subdue the evil spirits below. In answer to Amaterasu's reque.st
he started at once on his warlike mission. He was accompanied by a
boon companion named Tori-bune. Upon reaching the -1i-t.' of lb.*

560 THE FAR EAST.

troubled land, in what is now the province of Idzumo, the doughty twain
placed their swords on the crest of the waves, and seated themselves on
the points of the weapons. In this manner they were able to defend
themselves from the evil spirits of the earth until they had conquered
them.

The Goddess of the Sun was greatly pleased over the exploit of her
latest emissaries, and she at once instructed her grandson, Ninigi, Prince
Generous-Giver, to go at once to the earth and begin his reign, which she
foretold would be one of peace and plenty, and from this fact he became
known as " Ruddy-Plenty, the Rice Prince." Among the treasures that
she gave him was the famous mirror, which had restored light to the
world.

Prince Ninigi looked on the A'ast pine forests, the reed plains and the
mountains, the rivers and seas, and was greatly pleased with his domains.
But this son of the gods was lonesome in the midst of his plenty, until
he met one day on the shore of the Inland Sea a maiden of such loveliness
as he had never dreamed. Falling in love with her, and learning that she
was the daughter of the Spirit of the Mountains, he sought her father to
ask for her hand in marriage. Now it so happened that this deity had an
older daughter who he was especially anxious should wed before her
sister. But she was very plain, and Ninigi would not take her in place
of the beautiful Ko-no-hane, Princess Tree-Blossom. This so angered the
older sister that she exclaimed in anger : " You have made a foolish
choice. Had you chosen me, you and your children would have lived to
a good old age ; but as you have chosen my sister, all your children and
children's children will perish as the blossoms of the trees." This explains
why human life is not as long as that of the gods who lived on earth
before the advent of man. But Prince Ninigi and his beautiful wife were
very happy during their mortal life, and from them have descended the
royal rulers of Dai Nippon.

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