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diff --git a/41722-0.txt b/41722-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7d283b --- /dev/null +++ b/41722-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10063 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41722 *** + + THE SPELL OF JAPAN + + + + + THE SPELL SERIES + + + [Illustration] + + _Each volume with one or more colored plates and many + illustrations from original drawings or special photographs. + Octavo, with decorative cover, gilt top, boxed._ + + _Per volume $2.50 net, carriage paid $2.70_ + + [Illustration] + + THE SPELL OF ITALY + By Caroline Atwater Mason + + THE SPELL OF FRANCE + By Caroline Atwater Mason + + THE SPELL OF ENGLAND + By Julia de W. Addison + + THE SPELL OF HOLLAND + By Burton E. Stevenson + + THE SPELL OF SWITZERLAND + By Nathan Haskell Dole + + THE SPELL OF THE ITALIAN LAKES + By William D. McCrackan + + THE SPELL OF TYROL + By William D. McCrackan + + THE SPELL OF JAPAN + By Isabel Anderson + + THE SPELL OF SPAIN + By Keith Clark + + [Illustration] + + + THE PAGE COMPANY + 53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. + + + + + [Illustration: _Court and Gate, Shiba Park, Tokyo_ + (_See page 60_)] + + + + + _The_ SPELL _of_ + JAPAN + + + _BY_ + _Isabel Anderson_ + + + [Illustration] + + + ILLUSTRATED + + + Boston + THE PAGE COMPANY + MDCCCCXIV + + + + + _Copyright, 1914._ + BY THE PAGE COMPANY + _All rights reserved_ + + + First Impression, July, 1914 + + + THE COLONIAL PRESS + C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A. + + + + + TO THE MEMORY OF + _MY FATHER_ + WHO WAS THE FIRST TO TELL ME OF + THE LAND OF THE MILLION SWORDS + + + + + JAPANESE PRONUNCIATION + + +In general, single vowels have the same sounds as in the Continental +pronunciation of Latin. The diphthong _ai_ is like _i_ in fight; _ei_ +like _a_ in gate; _au_ like _ou_ in bough. The consonants are sounded as +in English, except that _g_ is always hard and in the middle of a word +is like a prolonged and very nasal _ng_; and _z_ before _u_ is the +equivalent of _dz_. When consonants are doubled, both are distinctly +enunciated. Syllables are pronounced lightly and with nearly uniform +accent as in French, but vowels marked long are carefully lengthened. + + + + + INTRODUCTION + + +The term "Spell," as applied to a series of books treating of various +countries seems instantly to conjure up before the vision the most +romantic and attractive episodes in their history, the most picturesque +and fascinating aspects of their geography, the most alluring qualities +of their inhabitants. Under this ample and elastic term, Romance has +been able to weave its iridescent glamour, if possible enhancing the +charm of the reality, like a delicate veil over a mountain view. + +The fortunate authors have been enabled to take journeys as it were on +Solomon's magic carpet, the aerial vehicle of the Imagination, and to +depict ideal conditions based nevertheless on solid foundations of +Truth. + +Occasionally Fate seems to idealize reality: a novelist could hardly +conceive a more fortunate setting for a romance than the Court of an +Oriental Potentate, or find a happier source of vivid experiences than +would spring from the position of an open-eyed American woman suddenly +transported to such a scene as the wife of an ambassador sent to some +exotic Empire. Fiction in such a case is transcended by actual fact and +there would be no need of inventing opportunities of inner observation: +every door would stand open and the country would be revealed in its +highest perfection. + +In this respect Mrs. Anderson's "Spell of Japan" differs perhaps from +most of its predecessors in the series of "Spell" books. Her husband was +appointed by President Taft in 1912 Ambassador Extraordinary and +Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of His Majesty the Mikado, and the +whole time of their sojourn in Dai Nippon was filled with experiences +seldom vouchsafed to foreigners. They witnessed functions to which they +were admitted only because of their official position; they were granted +every facility for seeing aspects of Japanese life which ordinary +visitors would have infallibly missed, and they became acquainted with +the very flower of Japanese civilization. + +Mrs. Anderson took copious notes and she has utilized these in the +preparation of her most delightful and illuminating volume. It is so +naturally and unostentatiously written that one almost forgets to be +amazed at the intimacy of the pictures: one enters the Imperial palaces +and attends Court functions as simply as one would go to an afternoon +tea at home. Then perhaps suddenly comes the realization of what a +privilege it is to be admitted to see through her keenly observant eyes +the penetralia so jealously hidden from the general throng. + +The book therefore is rightly entitled to carry the title of Spell, for +it shows Japan at its very best; it makes one understand the glamour +which the courteous manners, the elaborate customs, the harmonious +costumes, the perfect Art everywhere displayed, cast over all those who +have been fortunate enough to visit the Land of the Rising Sun. + +Mrs. Anderson's book cannot fail to serve as a new and important tie of +friendship between the United States and Japan; it will be hailed as an +eminently fair presentation of Japanese ideals, and will from its +authoritative accuracy and its admirable spirit give great pleasure to +all in the best circles of the Empire and serve to do away with many +prejudices which ignorance has disseminated among our own people. It +could not have breathed a more conciliatory and friendly spirit, and its +simple and engaging style cannot fail to win golden opinions for its +talented author. + + NATHAN HASKELL DOLE. + + + + + FOREWORD + + +My recent residence in Japan, when we lived in the Embassy in Tokyo, has +served only to enhance the Spell which that country has cast over me +since I first crossed the Pacific, sixteen years ago. What beautiful +summer evenings were those on the Southern Seas, when the moon was full! +As we sat in the bow of the _Doric_ and sang to the music of the +_eukalalie_,[1] we gazed into the water glistening with phosphorescence. +The mornings found us there again, listening to the swish of the waves +as the boat slowly rose and sank on the long Pacific swell. We watched +the flying-fish, and the schools of leaping porpoise, and the tropical +birds with their long white tail-feathers sailing in the blue sky. + + [1] Hawaiian guitar. + +The excitements and interests on the steamer were many and varied. On +Sunday, while Christians were singing hymns, Chinese and Jews gambled at +fan-tan, Filipinos and Japanese wrestled on the steerage deck, and +Chinese and Hindus knifed each other. Among the passengers were +missionaries with large families, and wayward sons shipped to the East; +in a single group we saw an opium smuggler, a card sharp, and the +ever-present commercial traveller. + +As we neared Japan a huge turtle floating on the smooth surface of the +water appeared to have come out expressly to greet us and wish us long +life and happiness, for that is what he represents to the Japanese. We +are grateful to him, for it is true he was a good omen; we were on our +honeymoon, and Japan cast its Spell about us then and still holds us in +its toils, for we have returned again, and yet again. + +As Japan consists of five hundred and eighteen islands it is often +called the Island Empire. In the days of mythology and legend it was +named The Country in the Midst of the Luxuriant Reed Plains; later it +was The Mountain Portal, while during the Middle Ages the Chinese called +it The Source of the Sun, or The Land of the Rising Sun--Hinomoto. +Finally it became Nippon Dai Nippon--Great Japan. But it has still other +names, such as The Land of the Gods, The Land of a Million Swords, The +Land of the Cherry Blossoms, and The Land Between Heaven and Earth. + +Notwithstanding the changes of recent years, the picturesque and +enchanting Old Japan that men of letters have written about so +delightfully still survives in many ways. The enormous bronze Buddha at +Kamakura sits calmly looking down upon us, as always. At Nikko the +avenue of cryptomerias is still wonderfully fine, while the huge blocks +of stone in the long flights of steps on the wooded mountain-side bring +up a vision of the armies of coolies who placed them there to remain +through the ages. The bronze tombs are the same, only more beautifully +coloured with age, and the wood-carving and lacquers of the glorious old +temples have been kept bright and new by faithful, loving hands. The +Inland Sea is just as mysterious and ever-changing, while Fuji is +worshipped to-day as it has been since the beginning of all time. + +So much has been written--and well written--about Old Japan, that in the +language of the Japanese, "The Rustic and Stupid Wife is loth to give to +the Honourable and Wise Reader these few poor notes." It is not so much +of Old Japan that I will write, however, but rather of New Japan, of +social and diplomatic life, of present-day education, of motor trips, +and politics, of bear-hunting among the Ainus, and of cruising in the +Inland Sea. + +Notwithstanding our four visits to Japan, on all of which we kept +journals, I wish to say that I have begged, borrowed or stolen material +from travelling companions and others; I desire to acknowledge my +special indebtedness to Mr. C. J. Arnell, of the American Embassy, who +kindly contributed the chapter on bear-hunting, to Major Gosman, also of +the Embassy Staff, who gave me notes on motoring, to Mrs. Lucie +Chandler, who allowed me to use her conclusions in regard to education +and missionaries, to Miss Hyde for the loan of her charming wood-cut, +and to the _Japan Magazine_. Much of my information, besides, came from +my husband's journals. I wish also to thank Miss C. Gilman and Miss K. +Crosby, who have done so much to help me in getting this book together. + + I. A. + + WELD, BROOKLINE, + March First, + 1914. + + + + + CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + INTRODUCTION vii + + FOREWORD xi + + I. OUTLYING JAPAN 1 + + II. HISTORIC KYOTO 23 + + III. FIRST DAYS AT THE EMBASSY 40 + + IV. COURT FUNCTIONS 64 + + V. LIFE IN TOKYO 90 + + VI. THE GROWING EMPIRE 112 + + VII. A YEAR OF FESTIVALS 136 + + VIII. CULTS AND SHRINES 164 + + IX. NEW LIGHT FOR OLD 188 + + X. PROSE, POETRY AND PLAYS 214 + + XI. AMUSEMENTS 245 + + XII. BEAR-HUNTING AMONG THE AINUS 274 + + XIII. MOTORING AND CRUISING 293 + + XIV. FLOWERS, INDOORS AND OUT 326 + + XV. THE ARTIST'S JAPAN 350 + + XVI. SAYONARA DAI NIPPON 375 + + BIBLIOGRAPHY 383 + + INDEX 385 + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PAGE + + COURT AND GATE, SHIBA PARK, TOKYO (_in full colour_) + (_see page 60_) _Frontispiece_ + + MAP OF JAPAN _facing_ 1 + + A KOREAN COUPLE 8 + + A VIEW OF SEOUL 10 + + THE AMERICAN CONSULATE, SEOUL 16 + + "WE PASSED ... STRANGELY LADEN HORSES" 23 + + THE TOMB OF MUTSUHITO 25 + + THE FUNERAL CORTEGE 27 + + HIDEYOSHI'S HOUSE AND GARDEN 29 + + THE AMERICAN EMBASSY, TOKYO 42 + + JAPANESE SERVANTS 46 + + "SECRET"--WOOD-CUT BY MISS HYDE 51 + + SHIBA PARK, TOKYO 60 + + THE COACHMAN AND THE _BETTO_ OF THE AMERICAN + EMBASSY 65 + + THE MOATS, IMPERIAL CASTLE, TOKYO 67 + + THE LATE EMPEROR 80 + + "LITTLE GIRLS WITH LITTLER GIRLS ON THEIR BACKS" + (_in full colour_) 110 + + A RICE FIELD 130 + + DISPLAY OF DOLLS, DOLLS' FESTIVAL 147 + + DISPLAY OF ARMOUR AND TOYS, BOYS' FESTIVAL 153 + + GRAND SHRINE OF ISE 167 + + LACQUER WORK (_in full colour_) 175 + + EASTERN HONGWANJI TEMPLE, KYOTO 177 + + THE HONDEN, IYEYASU, NIKKO 180 + + OFF MIYAJIMA 183 + + MISS TSUDA'S SCHOOL, TOKYO 195 + + RED CROSS HOSPITAL BUILDINGS 206 + + ARMOUR AND WEAPONS OF ANCIENT WARRIORS 223 + + A JAPANESE STAGE 242 + + GEISHA GIRLS AT THE ICHIRIKI TEA-HOUSE, KYOTO 246 + + AN ACTOR OF THE PRESENT DAY 254 + + MR. ARNELL AND MR. ARNOLD IN A JAPANESE PLAY 260 + + A WRESTLER 265 + + THE _NO_ DANCE 271 + + THE HUNTING PARTY 274 + + MR. ARNELL AND AINUS 286 + + _KAGOS_ (SEDAN-CHAIRS) FOR MOUNTAIN CLIMBS 293 + + THE BUDDHA OF KAMAKURA 297 + + FUJI FROM OTOME-TOGE (_in full colour_) 302 + + "LOOKED WISELY AT SOME PRESENTS WHICH WE HAD + FOR HIM" 306 + + THE WONDERFUL AVENUE OF CRYPTOMERIAS 310 + + LAKE BIWA 314 + + AMA-NO-HASHIDATE 316 + + ANCIENT TEMPLE NEAR NARA 318 + + A VIEW OF MATSUSHIMA 320 + + JAPANESE JUNKS 322 + + THE GREAT _TORII_ 323 + + A JAPANESE FLOWER MAN (_in full colour_) 330 + + _IKE-BANA_ OR FLOWER ARRANGEMENT 336 + + "THE TABLE DECORATIONS ... ARE ESPECIALLY INTERESTING" 339 + + A JAPANESE GARDEN, TOKYO (_in full colour_) 342 + + A CARVED PANEL 353 + + THE CASTLE OF HIMEJI 355 + + VIEW OF MOUNT FUJIYAMA--PRINT BY HOKUSAI 364 + + THE LITTLE APES OF NIKKO 379 + + + + + [Illustration: JAPAN + MAIN ISLANDS.] + + + + + THE + SPELL OF JAPAN + + + CHAPTER I + + OUTLYING JAPAN + + +Our last sight of Brussels, when we left it in early December, was a row +of people, among whom was the Japanese Minister, waving good-bye to us +at the Gare du Nord. + +We were starting for the Far East, for my husband had been transferred +from his post in Belgium to that of Ambassador to Japan. This promotion +was very pleasing to us, for Eastern questions were vital, we liked the +Japanese people, and no country could have been more interesting to us +than the Land of the Cherry Blossoms. It was our fourth visit to the +Orient, and, strange though it may seem, when we reached Korea, the +"jumping-off place," we said to ourselves that we began to feel at home. + +A quick run across Germany and Russia brought us to Moscow, where +the great Chinese walls reminded us that we had reached an outpost +of the Occident, a city which had once been occupied by the Mongols. +When the Siberian Express pulled out of the station, we felt that we +had really said farewell to Europe and our faces were turned toward +the East. We crossed the vast plains of eastern Russia and western +Siberia--monotonous expanses of white, only relieved by the Ural +Mountains, which at the southern extremity of the range, where the +railroad passes over them, are not really mountains at all, but hills. + +Beyond the Obi River we rose from the level steppe to the foot-hills of +the Altai Mountains, a forest region interspersed with open stretches of +good farming land--a country so much like our own West that it is +sometimes called "the new America." We passed immigrant trains filled +with Russian peasants, and the old road over which the exiles used to +march before the railroad was built, and saw cars with barred windows, +like those of prisons, in which convicts are transported. + +The thermometer went down, down, as far as forty degrees below zero, but +the cars on the Trans-Siberian were kept as warm as the tropics. The +drifts grew deeper, and there were days and nights of endless snow. In +the hilly country around Lake Baikal we saw some fine scenery. Low hills +and high cliffs covered with larches border its eastern and western +shores, but to the southward, a huge mountain wall, lofty and snow-clad +as our Californian Sierras, closes in around the lake. + +In comparison with our fast American trains this "express" moved so +slowly that we feared we should be old, grey-haired men and women before +reaching the end of the journey. It was a welcome sight when Kharbin at +last appeared, and we knew we were nearing Manchuria. Most Siberian +towns that we had seen consisted of low wooden buildings, but Kharbin +contains many substantial brick structures. + +It is supposed to be nine days from Moscow to Kharbin, and fourteen days +from London to Tokyo direct, via Vladivostok. We were eighteen days from +Brussels to Kyoto, but we stopped off at Seoul. Our route was through +Korea, which, as everybody knows, is now a Japanese colony, because my +husband wished to see it on his way to his new post. Passengers for +Vladivostok left the train at Kharbin, but we were to continue on +southward toward Changchun, where we expected to find Osame Komori, a +Japanese whom we had known for many years, and who was to be my +husband's interpreter. + +We had already received the following letter from Osame: + + "DEAR EXCELLENCY: + + "My honourable sir, allow me the liberty presenting you this + letter. I meet you Changchun. My gratitude is higher than Fuji + and sacred as the Temple of Ise. Your kindness to me is as deep + as the Pacific Ocean. Your letter was like sunshine in my life, + your news gave me the life from death.... I am total wreck by + fire. We had storms lately turning the beautiful Fuji like + silver capped mountain, but grain still presents carpets of red + and yellow. About gold lacquer you write. I made several enquiry + when it will be accomplished. I kick Y. urgently to finish + it.... My baby has grown well and often repeat the honour of + your last visit. + + "Best wishes I remain, + "YOUR FAITHFUL SERVANT." + +Osame was better than his word, for he met us at Kharbin instead of +Changchun, bringing with him supplies of various sorts, which he thought +might be acceptable. + +After leaving Kharbin we passed through Manchuria, a flat and +low-rolling country, in places somewhat roughened, where streams have +cut their way. The black earth is carefully cultivated as far as the eye +can see, and at this season it was all in furrow. Little primitive carts +with shaggy ponies crossed the landscape, laden with bags of the bean +which is the great product of this section. Every now and then we passed +small fortified guardhouses of stone and brick, with the sentry at his +post, for protection against the brigands who sweep down from the +mountains and try to carry off even parts of the railway. + +At Changchun we were assured that the Japanese Government wished us to +be its guests, and we found compartments reserved for us on the Pullman +train. From this point we were escorted by Japanese officials, who were +sent to meet us and give us all the information we could ask about the +country. They told us with bows that the train would be run on a faster +schedule than usual in our honour, and sure enough, we soon were +speeding over the excellent road-bed at a good rate. + +As we went on, the snow began to disappear, and the sharp mountains of +Korea came in sight, with little villages tucked away in the ravines. +For Chosen, the Land of Morning Calm, as it is always called in Japan, +is a country of mountains. Granite peaks, deep gorges and fertile +valleys are everywhere in the interior, and the rugged, irregular +eastern coastline, of which we had a glimpse in crossing to Japan, winds +in and out around the base of the ranges. Among the hills and groves +that we passed were the mounds of buried ancestors. We were much +impressed by the sturdy, well set-up appearance of the Japanese soldiers +along the route, and the military bearing of their officers. + +Here live the bear and deer, and the long-haired Korean tiger, so +well-known to sportsmen. Foreign sportsmen are free to hunt among these +hills wherever they will and they find it a strange sensation to watch +for tigers on ridges from which they can look down on the thatched roofs +of small villages, or to hear at night from their tent in the village +the cough of the tiger seeking his prey on the hills. The wild pigs and +hog deer, startled by this cough, flee in blind terror, and are seized +by the tiger as they dash past him. In every village a hornblower is on +the watch at night, and when he sounds his horn, all the people beat +their tiger alarms of tin pans to drive the animal away. + +The Korean peasants eat the meat and drink the blood of a slain tiger in +the belief that this will render them brave and strong. They make an +all-powerful medicine from the long white whiskers, and use the tiny +collar-bones as charms to protect them from any devils they chance to +meet. + +Although it was winter, both men and women were dressed in white cotton, +which looked rather startling after the dark costumes of the Chinese and +the fur coats of the Russians. White used to be the badge of mourning in +Korea, but now it is the national costume. Various stories are told to +account for its adoption. According to one of these, in the early part +of the nineteenth century three kings died in close succession, and as +every one was obliged to wear mourning for three years after the death +of a ruler, at the end of this period all the dyers had become +discouraged and given up their business, and so white became the dress +of the people. Now, when the men are in real mourning, they wear huge +straw hats, and do not think it proper to speak. + +Although white is still the national costume, the Emperor, some years +ago, published an edict giving his subjects permission to wear other +colours. The nobles wear a number of coats of the finest cream-coloured +silk lawn, over which there may be an outer garment of blue. The white +garments impose a needless burden upon the women of the lower classes, +who are incessantly engaged in laundry work. The coats are ripped to +pieces and washed in some stream, where they are pounded on stones, then +after they are dry are placed on wooden cylinders and beaten with sticks +until the white cotton has taken on the sheen of dull satin. + +Korean men wear curious little open-work hats of black horsehair, which +make them look very tall and slight and give them a dudish appearance. +They present an especially funny picture when riding a bullock. The +women, on the contrary, are wound about in white cotton to such an +extent that they look rather Turkish, and they waddle as if bow-legged. +Many of them are comical in green silk coats, with which they cover +their heads without putting their arms into the sleeves. They were +allowed to wear these garments as a badge of honour for their bravery in +battle, or, as some say, that they might be ready at a moment's notice +to change them into soldiers' coats. + + [Illustration: A KOREAN COUPLE.] + +It is said that the broad-brimmed hat sometimes worn by the men +originated, several centuries ago, in the efforts of one of the emperors +to put a stop to drunkenness. He decreed that all the men should have a +light earthen-ware hat of the shape worn to-day, which was never to be +taken off, except when they were lying down. The head was protected +against the hard surface of this covering by a light padded cap beneath. +As the rooms of Korean houses are small, not more than four men could be +seated in one, if they had this peculiar headgear. When any one was +found to have a broken hat, it was taken for granted that he had been in +some drunken brawl, and he received the prescribed punishment. + +On our arrival in Seoul, we were met by Japanese officials, and were +also greeted by our Consul-General, Mr. Scidmore. + +Seoul is charmingly situated in a valley surrounded by beautiful +white-capped mountains, over which wanders the high wall that encloses +the city. The old entrance gates are massive structures--great +foundations of stone with arches cut through them, on which rise the +double recurving roofs of tile. The old town with its narrow alleys and +its filth has well-nigh disappeared. Under Japanese administration, the +gates are no longer closed at night, for there is police protection, and +parts of the city are lighted by electricity. The new streets are wide, +clean and well drained. Although Korea is called the Hermit Kingdom, and +said to be many years behind Japan, there are telegraph lines, electric +cars, bicycles, even one or two motors, brick houses and a Railway +Station Hotel. The Japanese portion of the town was gay with flags +flying from bamboo staffs, in honour of the approaching New Year, and +red and white lanterns swung along the ridgepoles. + +One peculiarity of Korean houses strikes a Westerner as very strange. As +their walls and floors are of stone or brick, it is possible to heat +them in the same manner as the Chinese _kang_, that is, by fires built +below. So, many of them are warmed in this way, the wood being put in +from the outside through an opening in the wall of the house, and the +smoke escaping through a chimney on the opposite side. A network of +pipes under the floors carries the hot air to every part of the +building. + + [Illustration: A VIEW OF SEOUL.] + +We visited the old palace where the dethroned Emperor and Empress used +to live. It is rather Chinese in appearance, but not quite so handsome +as the palace in Peking, which we had seen previously. The approach to +it is by a broad way lined on each side with low, tile-roofed houses; +this leads to the great _Mon_, the entrance gate, with double +overhanging roofs towering above it. Inside this is a great court, next +another massive gateway with two-storied upturned roofs, then another +courtyard, around which are low houses, and a third gate, leading into +the last court, which is approached by terraced steps of stone. Finally +appears the audience hall, a building with recurving roofs of tile, +beautiful carvings, and brilliant decorations in colour. Passages and +courts lead from this to the pleasure pavilion, a large, open, +two-storied structure with a heavy pagoda roof, which stands on a stone +terrace, and is reached by three bridges with stone balustrading. Beside +it is a tank where lotus grows, and near-by a park-like grove of quaint +pine-trees. + +In this palace, several years ago, Empress Bin of Korea was assassinated +while asleep. The Emperor, however, dressed as a coolie, escaped to the +Russian Legation, where he lived for two years. He afterward built +himself a new palace in European style, where he resides now as a sort +of prisoner, while his son lives in another palace, and the grandson is +being educated in Japan. The Emperor is now known as Prince Yi the +Elder, and his son as Prince Yi the Younger, while his grandson, who +also bears the same name, is the last of the Yi dynasty, which has ruled +Korea for five hundred years. + +As we all know, Korea was involved in the two terrible wars that have +been waged in the Far East in recent years. Japan needs Korea as an +outlet for her surplus population, as a source of food supply and a +market for her manufactured products, but still more does she need it as +a strong country to stand between herself and Russian aggression. In the +last decade of the nineteenth century the Hermit Kingdom was still under +the suzerainty of China, and its government was weak and hopelessly +corrupt. Japan refused to acknowledge this overlordship of China, and +insisted that the Korean government must be reformed. China was asked to +help in enforcing the changes, but refused to interfere. Neither China +nor Japan would yield. + +Finally the Koreans sent for Chinese troops, and then the Japanese +attacked the Emperor's palace. A great naval battle was fought at the +mouth of the Yalu River, in which the Chinese were defeated and five of +their ships sunk. The Japanese army took Dalny and Port Arthur. Another +naval battle ended in the surrender of the Chinese fleet and the suicide +of the Chinese admiral. Togo and Yamagata, whom I once had the pleasure +of meeting at a luncheon in Tokyo, and Nogi, were among the heroes of +this war. By the treaty of Shimonoseki, in 1895, China agreed to pay an +indemnity to Japan and to recognize the independence of Korea, and also +ceded the Liaotung Peninsula with Port Arthur, and the islands of +Formosa and the Pescadores group to Japan. No sooner was this treaty +signed, however, than the Great Powers compelled Japan to restore +Liaotung to China. + +But within a few years, Russia obtained a lease of Liaotung, and the +Powers made no protest. She soon invested immense sums in Manchuria--in +building the Manchurian Railroad, in fortifying Port Arthur and making +it a naval base, and extending the Chinese Eastern Railroad toward the +Yalu and Korea. She made Kharbin her military base and filled Manchuria +with soldiers. + +Japan saw the necessity of protecting not only her freedom of trade, but +her very existence as a nation, for Russia, from her vantage ground in +Manchuria, had begun to take possession of the valley of the Yalu River, +on Korea's northwestern frontier. Once this section was in her power it +would be an easy matter to sweep down through the peninsula and across +the narrow Straits of Shimonoseki to the Island Empire itself. + +In vain did Japan try to open up negotiations with Russia. On one excuse +or another, she was put off for months, while all the time Russia was +preparing for war. Finally diplomatic relations were severed by order of +Baron Komura, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, and war was declared +February 10, 1904. Baron Kaneko, in an address before the Japan Club of +Harvard University, in April of that year, said that Japan was fighting +to maintain the peace of Asia and to conserve the influence of +Anglo-American civilization in the East. + +After Admiral Togo had destroyed the Russian fleet, and the long siege +of Port Arthur had ended in its surrender to the heroic Nogi, all the +Japanese armies combined for the final struggle around Mukden, which +terminated in the flight of the Russians from Manchuria. The treaty of +peace, which was signed at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, gave Japan Port +Arthur, a protectorate over Korea, and half the island of Saghalien, and +provided that both nations should evacuate Manchuria. The protectorate +over Korea has since become a sovereignty. + +The Japanese Governor-General, Count Terauchi, is a very strong and able +man, and under his administration many improvements have been made in +Korea. This has not always been done without friction between the +natives and their conquerors, it must be confessed, but the results are +certainly astonishing. The government has been reorganized, courts have +been established, the laws have been revised, trade conditions have been +improved and commerce has increased. Agriculture has been encouraged by +the opening of experiment stations, railroads have been constructed from +the interior to the sea-coast, and harbours have been dredged and +lighthouses erected. Japanese expenditures in Korea have amounted to +twelve million dollars yearly. + +The Governor-General gave us a dinner at his residence, a big European +house, where everything was done in European style. The four Japanese +ladies who received, however, were all in native costume--black kimonos, +which they wear for ceremony only, and superb gold _obis_, or sashes. +One of them was the Governor's daughter, Countess Kodama, who was very +beautiful. I went in to dinner with the Governor-General, and had on the +other side a Japanese doctor of the Red Cross, who had been much in +America and was well acquainted with Miss Boardman, the head of our Red +Cross here. + +Our delightful luncheon at the Consulate must not be forgotten, for no +more charming people could be found anywhere than the Scidmores. Miss +Scidmore is the author of "Jinrikisha Days," as well as other books on +the East. The remarkably pretty Consulate, which is owned by our +Government, is an old Korean house, or _yamen_, built in a walled +compound on the slope of a hill. Having only one story, it presented +more the appearance of a studio than of a residence, but was made cozy +with open fires and attractive with many beautiful curios. + +The religions of Korea are Buddhism, Confucianism and Shamanism, all +found there to-day. Shamanism is the form of worship of the more +primitive masses. There are many Buddhist temples in Chosen. For +instance, among the peaks of Keum-Kang-San alone, in the heart of the +Korean mountains, there are over fifty monasteries and shrines, but all +more or less in a state of decay. Christianity was brought into the +country by the Roman Catholics in 1777. + + [Illustration: THE AMERICAN CONSULATE. SEOUL.] + +The American colony in Seoul numbers about five hundred, among them +being many Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries. In regard to the +recent troubles between these missionaries and the Japanese the accounts +differ. The Governor was attacked by some Koreans, and, of course, +ordered an investigation and the trial of those accused. Some of the +Koreans asserted that they were tortured by the Japanese during their +imprisonment, but in most cases this was proved untrue. The +missionaries, having been the advisers of the natives in all kinds of +ways, should not be too harshly judged for taking the part of those whom +they believed innocent. + +The results of mission work in Chosen are certainly very striking. I was +told by an unprejudiced observer that the largest congregations she ever +saw were in Seoul, and she was assured that, farther north, the numbers +drawn into the churches were still greater. Even if we admit that some +of these converts were won over by the hope of material gain, we cannot +fail to see that all this work has had a humanizing effect, which is +especially needed in this country. + +Some of the best work of the missions is done in schools and +hospitals--especially in hospitals. Hygienic conditions among natives +not in contact with foreigners are frightful, and their ideas of +medicine and surgery are most primitive. From mere ignorant attempts to +aid alone there is tremendous physical suffering. The foreign hospitals +have now won the confidence of the people, so that in the end they +always make application there. + +When we left Seoul, many Japanese officials were at the station in the +early morning to say good-bye, among them being General Akashi, Count +Kodama, and others. At every town of any importance, during our journey +south, the mayor, the chief of police, reporters and hotelkeepers came +to the train, presented their cards, and exchanged pleasant remarks with +my husband. We were surprised to see how many of them spoke English. + +Southern Korea is quite beautiful, with fine snow mountains and +cultivated terraces, where rice is raised by irrigation. The red soil is +very fertile, but the mountains are bare of trees, the Koreans having +cut down the forests. As the Japanese have made good forest laws, +however, the trees will now be allowed to grow again. The whole trip +through Korea was beautiful and most interesting, and in the south +particularly we noticed that numbers of Japanese immigrants were +settling in the country. + +The colonial possessions of Japan include not only Korea, but part of +Saghalien, Formosa and one or two groups of islands in the north. It was +to Saghalien that the most desperate of Russian convicts were sent for +many years. The southern half was ceded to Japan after the +Russo-Japanese War. It has proved quite a valuable asset, inasmuch as it +contains extensive forests of pines, larches and other trees of +sub-Arctic regions, is noted for its fisheries, and abounds in sables, +the fur of which is shipped to Japan. These last are perhaps not so fine +as the best Russian sables, but they are of good quality, nevertheless. + +Formosa, which I had seen on a previous visit to the East, lies to the +southward, off the coast of China. About one half as large as Ireland, +it consists in the west of a narrow, fertile plain, and in the centre +and east of mountains, which descend to the coast in sheer precipices +over three thousand feet high. Mt. Morrison, the loftiest peak on the +island, is higher than Fuji, and has been renamed by the Japanese +Nii-taka-yama, the New High Mountain. The ascent of Mt. Morrison +discloses all the variety and luxuriance of vegetation seen nowhere +except on a peak in the tropics. At the lower levels are palms, banyans, +huge camphor trees, tree-ferns and rare orchids, and impenetrable +growths of rattans; higher up are cryptomerias--giant cedars; still +higher, pine-trees; and alternate tracts of forest and areas of grass +land extend to the very top. + +The word _formosa_, which means beautiful, was given to the island by +the first Portuguese navigators who sailed along its coast. It is indeed +one of the loveliest islands of the Far East. In the late afternoon, the +day we passed by, the sky was a hazy grey and the island a delicate +mauve. The sun disappeared behind the peaks, and the heavens became a +glowing red, transforming the mountains into dark, flaming volcanoes. As +darkness came on, the heat was so great that we slept on deck. The +beautiful Southern Cross gleamed above the horizon, and the glory of the +sunset gave place to the wonderful, mystic charm of a tropical night. + +After having been occupied by China for over two centuries, Formosa was +ceded to Japan in 1895. Here, as in Korea, Japanese administration has +introduced great changes, and it is difficult to realize that railways +and electric lights are to be found in this remote part of the earth. In +return Formosa supplies Japan with rice, tea and sugar. It also produces +nearly all the camphor used in the world. + +The Chinese, during their possession of the island, inhabited only the +western section, and had no power whatever over the wild Malays of the +eastern half. These savages are head-hunters, and are difficult to +handle, because they enjoy above everything else that most terrible and +exciting game in the world, the game of taking another man's head. They +dance war dances, and keep the skulls of their slain enemies as +drinking-cups, from which they drink wine made from the brains of their +victims. The Japanese have devised an ingenious scheme for keeping the +head-hunters under control and conquering them. They have encircled the +mountain peaks with a live electric wire, and have stationed guards at +intervals along the line. The natives have learned the danger of this. +Now the Japanese are gradually moving the wire higher and higher, so +eventually they will have the savages pocketed, and will subdue them by +starvation or otherwise. + +After our brief stay in Seoul we bade farewell to the Colonies and +turned our faces toward the Land of the Rising Sun itself, making the +crossing from Chosen to Shimonoseki in a single night. This is far +pleasanter than the passage from Vladivostok, which requires several +days. In order to attract travellers, the Japanese have put their best +cars and boats on this route. Our last glimpse of the Hermit Kingdom was +a picture of jagged peaks rising in lofty precipices from a moonlit sea, +their black masses outlined in solemn grandeur against the heavens. + + + + + CHAPTER II + + HISTORIC KYOTO + + +It was a day's journey in the train from the coast to Kyoto. We ran +through stretches of glistening paddy-fields, with their patches of +bright green crops and rows of yellow straw-stacks, and then through +long villages of tiny thatch-roofed houses, or by avenues of twisted +pine-trees. We passed bullock carts and strangely laden horses, and +people clip-clipping along on their wooden clogs, and arrived finally, +late on Christmas Eve, at Kyoto, the ancient capital. + + [Illustration: "WE PASSED ... STRANGELY LADEN HORSES."] + +To our delight and surprise, we found that the thoughtful hotel +proprietor had arranged a pretty Christmas tree in our parlour. So we +had supper and exchanged gifts, although the hour was late, and felt +that in spite of being so far from home we were having a real Christmas +after all. + +We stopped in Kyoto for the especial purpose of making a pilgrimage to +the burial place of the late Emperor Mutsuhito, now known as Meiji +Tenno. The emperors take their posthumous name from the name of their +era; the present Emperor has chosen to call his era Tai-Sho, for +instance, which means Great Righteousness. As L. wished to pay his +respects, it was arranged that we should visit Momoyama, where the late +Emperor is buried. + +As all diplomats are obliged to wear Court mourning, we put on our +deepest black--I had a crêpe veil and bonnet which I had been wearing +for the mother of the King of Belgium. We went in a motor. The roads +were excellent, and the people made way for us, so that we ran with +speed and comfort, even through the narrow streets of the continuous +village with their congested traffic. + +The place chosen for the tomb of Mutsuhito is on a hill beyond Kyoto +where there is a fine outlook which the late Emperor greatly loved. As +we drew near, constabulary, who were apparently waiting for us, directed +and stopped the traffic, so that we soon reached the broad new highway +which had been made for the funeral. It is a wide gravel road winding +around the base of the mountain to the low-lying buildings about the +tomb. These are of the simplest style. Indeed, the entire burial place +and shrine are in the Shinto fashion, very plain in form and +arrangement. + + [Illustration: THE TOMB OF MUTSUHITO.] + +We were met by the Honourable Chief Keeper of the Tomb, a Japanese +gentleman in a frock coat and top hat who conducted us into a pavilion +at one side, where seats were placed at the head of a table. Here we sat +for a few moments, and then, preceded by the Keeper, passed into the +wide gravelled courtyard surrounded by houses and walls of plain wood. +There are two "wash-hand" places at one side, between which a path leads +to steps that ascend from the court toward the burial place. People are +admitted to this courtyard, and at times over a hundred thousand have +come in a single day to worship the memory of the late Mikado. Princes +and ambassadors may go beyond this space, however, so we bowed and +passed up another gravelled way to the Memorial Temple, in its simple +Shinto style. Immediately above this, higher up on the hill, is the +temple beneath which the Emperor's body is buried. + +At one side of the Memorial Temple, in a small pavilion, three figures +were squatting, immobile and expressionless. These were noblemen, +dressed in ancient fashion. Here we found a mat on which we knelt for a +while, then rose and bowed again toward the tomb, and then toward the +figures in the pavilion, who bowed in return. After that we passed out +as we had come. + +It had really been a most impressive ceremonial, although so simple. As +we had been received by his late Majesty in audience and at luncheon, +there was something personal as well as official in the respect which we +had tried to show by our pilgrimage. Afterward we heard that it had been +greatly appreciated by the Japanese officials and people, who consider +their Imperial family almost divine. + +The funeral of the Emperor occurred several months before our arrival in +Japan. From all accounts it must have been a very wonder of wonders. +Special ambassadors came from every country as guests of the Japanese +Government, and fine houses were put at their disposal. Mr. Knox, our +Secretary of State, was conveyed from the United States in a man-of-war. +Great pavilions in Shinto style were erected in Tokyo to accommodate the +distinguished guests during the evening of the procession, and feasts +were provided for them. + + [Illustration: THE FUNERAL CORTEGE.] + +As it had been so long since an Emperor had died, special Shinto +services had to be arranged. The funeral was at night. The music was +very weird and sad, and the wheels of the funeral car, which was drawn +by oxen, were made to creak as they ran along, as if writhing and crying +in agony for the loss of the Great Emperor they were bearing to his +resting-place. + +High officials, officers, and priests, in old ceremonial costumes or +modern uniforms, were in the procession, and the brightly decorated +avenue, lined with soldiers and crowded with onlookers, made a weird +picture in the flashing lights--one never to be forgotten, I should +imagine, by those who were fortunate enough to witness it. After passing +in this fashion through the streets of Tokyo the body was put on the +train and conveyed to Kyoto, where the procession was resumed to the +tomb. + +Of its reception in Kyoto, Terry, author of "The Japanese Empire," says: +"To the distant crashing and the reverberating roar of minute-guns; the +wailing of bugles and the booming of gigantic temple bells; to the sound +of the wild minstrelsy of priests and bonzes, the pattering of a +weeping, drenching rain and the sighing of a vast concourse of mourning +people ... the mortal remains of Mutsuhito ... were laid tenderly in +their last resting place." + +A poem written by the late Emperor and translated by Dr. Bryan has +recently been published. It is called "My People," and although so short +is rather impressive. + + "Whether it rain or shine, + I have only one care: + The burden of this heart of mine + Is how my people fare!" + +Kyoto, sometimes called Saikyo, was the ancient capital, where the +shoguns and mikados used to reside in the early days. It is a city of +temples, where nothing under three hundred years is counted old, and +although typically Japanese it seems somehow different from other +cities. The tiny houses and narrow streets appear tinier and narrower +here than elsewhere. + +The hills to the east of the city are covered with old shrines and +buildings, and the woods are full of temples, too. In the Chionin +Temple, founded some seven hundred years ago, may be seen an umbrella +left among the rafters of the roof by the master-builder during its +erection. Tradition insists that it flew thither out of the hands of a +boy whose shape had been assumed by the guardian deity of the temple, +but the other explanation, while less romantic, seems more probable. +Near this temple, on a small elevation among the trees, stands the Great +Bell, the largest in the country. Not far away are many other +interesting things, among them the Dai Butsu--the Great Buddha. There +are also some sacred springs, a curious temple on stilts, and +innumerable lanterns. + +The two most important temples are the Eastern and the Western +Hongwanji, which belong to the most powerful Buddhist sect. We went +through the latter, which had some excellent paintings. The garden and +houses belonging to this temple, which are six hundred years old, were +built by Hideyoshi, the famous "clever boy," who from nothing at all +became shogun. The Eastern temple is described in the chapter dealing +with religions. + + [Illustration: HIDEYOSHI'S HOUSE AND GARDEN.] + +The approach to the Gosho Palace, once the abode of the mikados, is not +very attractive, leading through a bare, flat park. Our interest was +soon aroused, however, by the sight of one of the six gates of the +palace, through which we drove, following the grey wall with its stripes +of white and its tiles showing the sixteen-petalled chrysanthemums--both +emblems of royalty. Another gate, perhaps a little smaller than the +first, brought us to the immediate entrance. The building is +comparatively new, the old palace having been destroyed by fire in 1854, +but it is very large, covering an area of twenty-six acres. + +Two officials greeted us at the inner gate, and, after politely asking +us to remove our shoes, conducted us down the long, narrow corridor to +what were probably waiting-rooms. There were three of these, decorated +in sepia. From here we were led through another corridor, past the room +with a dais at one end for the higher nobility, where the courtiers used +to dine off the flat, red lacquer tables, to the Seiryoden--the Pure and +Cool Hall--a room used for religious festivals, with marvellously +coloured birds painted upon its walls. This hall received its name from +a small stream of clear water which runs through a sluiceway near-by. +Opening from this is a courtyard in which grow two clumps of bamboo, +named centuries ago for the two ancient Chinese kingdoms, Kan and +Go--Kan-chiku and Go-chiku. + +To the right of the Seiryoden is a room which is reserved for special +audiences, called Shishinden, or Mysterious Purple Hall. In the centre +of this is a platform on which stands the throne, a great chair inlaid +with mother-of-pearl. It is covered by a canopy of pale fawn-coloured +brocade with outer drapings of red and purple, and is guarded by the two +sacred dogs. The walls of this room are painted in panels representing +Chinese sages, the panels being copies of the originals, which were +painted in 888 A. D. and afterward destroyed by fire. Leading from the +courtyard into the hall is a flight of fifteen steps, corresponding in +number to the grades into which officials of government were divided. +The higher order stood on the upper step, and so on down to those who +were obliged to stand in the court. On one side of the steps is a wild +orange tree named Ukon-No-Tachibana, and on the other a cherry tree, +Sakon-No-Sakura. + +From this hall we passed through more galleries, and through one +particularly beautiful chamber with decorations of wild geese in sepia. +At the end of a corridor, making a turn to the left, we came to some +more waiting-rooms, decorated in blue and white--the most heavenly blue, +surely pieces of the sky brought down from the kingdom of the gods by +the first illustrious ruler! Here tea and cigarettes were offered us, +and we were glad to rest and enjoy the view of the landscape garden with +its miniature lake and islands on which were temples and twisted trees. + +From this room we passed through more corridors to the entrance, where +we bowed to our guide, put on our shoes, and departed, with a feeling of +having been soothed and rested by the beautiful simplicity and solemnity +of the Gosho Palace. + +Once more out in the sunshine, we drove through the park into the +streets of the city and on to the Nijo Castle. This palace, formerly +belonging to the shoguns, dates from the early part of the seventeenth +century. Its splendid iron-bound gates are fine specimens of Japanese +architecture and carving. It is much more resplendent than the Mikado's +palace, having been built in a spirit of rivalry to show the superior +wealth and power of the Shogun. We were received here in the same +cordial manner as at the Gosho, and after removing our shoes were taken +into a small antechamber, which had two superb doors made of the +cryptomeria tree with bronze studdings and hinges. Then followed a +series of rooms, the first of which was set aside for the _samurai_ and +decorated with tigers with intent, awful eyes, crouching, rampant, even +flying, on a background of glorious gold. + +From these we passed into the rooms used by the _daimyos_, and on from +room to room, every apartment having its golden setting, which was so +rich and mellow with age that we seemed to be breathing in the creamy +softness of it. In each of these suites were secret closets, where +guards were stationed in olden times, unseen by the assembly. One +chamber with its paintings of pine-trees was very attractive in its +simplicity; the next delighted us with remarkable carvings; the +following one, with its cherry blossoms and its ceiling, so pleased the +late Emperor that he had it copied for the banquet-room of his palace in +Tokyo. Still another apartment, with its bamboo decorations, rivalled +those we had seen before, while the last one had a pathetic touch with +its poor little cold and starving sparrows. + +One door of especial note showed a heron, wet, cold and miserable, +standing on the gunwale of a boat. The grain of the wood had been +skilfully used by the artist to represent a rainstorm. The door had +unfortunately been much damaged by vandalism during the régime of the +Kyoto prefecture in 1868. + +From a long series of rooms radiant with sunshine we entered others +which had the moonlight for their setting--all so beautiful that it is +difficult to express one's admiration. From this suite we were led +finally back to the entrance once more, arriving there bewildered by the +vast number of rooms, the length of the corridors, and the splendour of +all that we had seen. + +It was in this palace that the last of the Shoguns formally turned over +his power to the Mikado, an event which marked the beginning of the new +era for Japan. + + * * * * * + +Japanese history, with which Kyoto is closely identified, begins with +myth and fable. No definite facts or dates are known, previous to the +fifth century A. D. According to legend, the country was first created +by Izanagi and his wife Izanami; from his left eye came the Sun-Goddess +and from his right eye the moon, while a tempestuous god came from his +nose. He was blessed with more than a hundred children, but, in spite of +this, his wife, Izanami, died and went to Hades. Although their parents +were divine, the children were only demi-gods, and came to earth by +means of a floating bridge. + +The Sun-Goddess, Ama-terasu, was given partial control of the new realm. +She appointed her grandson, Ninigi, and his descendants for ever, +sovereigns of Japan. Before leaving his grandmother's kingdom Ninigi was +presented with a sacred mirror, sword and jewel. The mirror is shown at +the shrine of Ise, the sword in a temple near Nagoya, while the stone +has always been kept by the Mikado. Ninigi, accompanied by a host of +gods, alighted upon a mountain in the province of Satsuma, and his son, +Jimmu Tenno, finally made a conquest of Japan. + +The Emperor Jimmu is said to have been the first human sovereign in the +land. He rowed up through the Inland Sea with his warriors, overcoming +and subjugating the savages whom he encountered. All this happened +during the seventh century before Christ. February eleventh is the date +celebrated as the anniversary of his coronation as Emperor, but, of +course, not only the date but even his very existence, is uncertain. The +present Emperor is believed to be a direct descendant of this first +ruler. + +Some think that Jimmu Tenno may have been a Chinese warrior, for it is +true that during the third and fourth centuries A. D. vast hordes of +Chinese and Koreans invaded the country, bringing with them the arts and +sciences of civilization, as well as the religion of Buddha. The Ainus, +who were probably the original Island people, began to disappear and are +now found only on the northern island of Hokkaido--also called Yezo. + +The first woman who seems to have taken an active part in Japanese +history is the Empress Jingo (Singokogu). She is supposed to have lived +in the third century A. D. and to have made a conquest of Korea, which +she added to her other possessions. + +The son of Sujin, "the Civilizer," became known as the Merciful Emperor, +because he did away with the terrible custom of burying alive, with a +deceased Emperor, his family, retainers, and animals. Instead, he +substituted clay figures about the tomb. This is still the fashion, for +such figures were placed inside the tomb of the late Emperor. They are +also to be seen on the avenue leading to the Ming Tombs, near the Great +Wall of China. + +Kyoto became the seat of the mikados during the eighth century A. D. and +was known as the Western Capital. From the twelfth century on, these +descendants of the Sun-Goddess were rulers of Japan in theory only, +however. In reality the power was held by a succession of powerful +nobles--mayors of the palace, like the Carolingians in mediæval +Europe--who were called _shoguns_. + +The shoguns continued in power for nearly a thousand years, living at +first in Kyoto but later--in the sixteenth century--removing to Tokyo +(Yedo), which became the Eastern Capital. They never claimed supremacy, +always affirming that they ruled the country simply by authority +delegated to them from the Mikado. Any titles or honours which they +wished to bestow upon themselves or their favourites were given in the +name of the Emperor. + +The Portuguese were the first foreigners to arrive, coming in 1542. With +them were Jesuit priests, who, under cover of attempted conversion, were +thought to be plotting a Portuguese conquest of the country. As a result +of this discovery, in 1587, an edict was issued that all Christian +teachers should leave Japan. Later even more stringent measures were +taken for the destruction of the Church, and all proselytes were called +upon to recant. + +After this event two centuries and a half of peaceful seclusion, known +as the Tokugawa Period, followed. The founder of this dynasty was +Tokugawa Iyeyasu, a general of great genius who succeeded in bringing +the other nobles to terms and in establishing a strong and effective +central government. Bismarck is said to have described him as "a great +man long trained in the school of adversity." Feudalism reached its +perfection under his rule. + +While the shoguns were in power they owned all the land in the realm. +This land they leased to the _daimyo_, or barons. These in turn sublet +to their vassals, the brave _samurai_, who formed the fighting class and +gave military service to their lords for the value received. Merchants, +traders, manufacturers, farmers, artisans and coolies, all owed +allegiance to their immediate master, who stood next above them in the +social scale. + +During the Tokugawa Period art and letters flourished. The country was +at peace, and well governed. The only foreigners allowed in the country +were the Chinese and Dutch traders, who might enter the harbour of +Nagasaki under guard. + +To Americans the most interesting date in Japanese history is that of +July 14th, 1853, when Commodore Perry appeared with his black ships, his +big guns, and a letter from the President of the United States to the +Shogun of Japan. (Foreigners did not realize that the Shogun was not the +supreme authority.) Prince Tokugawa not only received the letter, which +was contrary to national law, but in due time consented to the opening +of certain ports to foreign trade. + +Soon after this, the "open door" policy proving unpopular with the +people, the country found itself in the throes of a revolution which +resulted, in 1868, in the restoration of the Mikado to the throne of his +ancestors and to the power which went with it. Prince Keiki Tokugawa, +the fifteenth of the House of Tokugawa and last of the shoguns, retired +in favour of the Emperor, Meiji Tenno. He survived the Emperor by over a +year, dying in November, 1913. + +Although the Imperial line was restored to power, their capital, Kyoto, +was abandoned in favour of Tokyo, which has remained the seat of +government ever since. + + + + + CHAPTER III + + FIRST DAYS AT THE EMBASSY + + +Soon after Christmas we left Kyoto for Tokyo. After having been on the +train eighteen days I looked forward with pleasure to being quiet once +more. + +At the station we found the members of the American Embassy Staff and +some old Japanese friends waiting to greet us. There were nineteen in +all on the Staff--a larger number than at any other American Embassy. As +we walked down the platform to the carriage, the photographers took +flashlight pictures of the party in quite an up-to-date American +fashion. + +We had a house ready for us on our arrival, as the United States owns +the Embassy in Japan. Of course all our embassies and legations and +consulates are considered American territory, but as almost all these +are rented houses, the theory is rather absurd. Years ago, however, the +Government felt that it was necessary to buy land in Japan and Turkey +for embassies and in China for a legation, and this accounts for our +experience. + +Congress is not generous in anything which does not concern immediate +home politics. It will not pay for embassies which compare with those of +other nations, as a rule. The one appropriation so far suggested in +Congress for the purchase of five or six embassy buildings is not +sufficient to buy one suitable residence, so the Government would +probably acquire, at best, only a second-rate house, which would make +the American Ambassador second-rate in the eyes of the country to which +he was accredited. + +Granting that the Government did acquire a suitable house, however, it +would require an increase in salary to keep it up. Diplomats are obliged +to observe certain standards of living unless they wish to have their +country looked down upon. For instance, in Vienna even the secretaries +must drive in a carriage with a pair--a one-horse conveyance is not +considered suitable for diplomats. On the other hand, as there is no +regular diplomatic service in America, the raising of salaries would +attract a poor class of politicians who would seek foreign posts for the +money that went with them. This happens sometimes in representations +from other countries, but as they have a well-organized service it does +not occur very often. + +From the outside the Embassy in Tokyo looks rather like an American +summer hotel--a large white house with green blinds, of no particular +style and somewhat old and ramshackle. I was told that it had to be +built of wood on account of earthquakes; it certainly had great cracks +in the walls. It had been newly painted in honour of our arrival, and +looked fairly well on the outside, comparing favourably with some of the +other embassies: the English, German and Austrian are perhaps better, +and the French are to build an ambitious new one. The Dutch and the +Brazilians were our nearest diplomatic neighbours; the former have a +very nice compound on a hill near-by, and although the house is not +large it is filled with beautiful curios. Our own Embassy was shabby, +but we found it rather nice and comfortable, after all; it was one of +the few houses in Tokyo that had a furnace, which is a rare luxury in +Japan. + + [Illustration: THE AMERICAN EMBASSY, TOKYO.] + +The embassies are scattered about on commanding hills in different parts +of the city, as the land was bought at various times by their respective +governments. At one time Tsukiji was the only part down by the river +where foreigners who were not officials were allowed to live, but I +believe they may now rent houses in any section of Tokyo. + +Our compound was on the slope of a hill in a district called Akasaka. It +covered about two acres and contained, besides the Embassy and the +chancery and the servants' quarters connected with it, a stable and two +bungalows. One of the bungalows was for the First Secretary, the other +for the First Japanese Secretary, who was not a Japanese but an American +who had mastered the language. + +The compound itself, in which all the buildings stand, is really a +garden, with cherries and plums and twisted trees, an arbour of +wisteria, and, of course, a little pond and bridge. The snow that came +several times during the winter only added to its charm, making of it a +place where sprites would have loved to dance. + +The front door of the Embassy opened into a large hall with a staircase +at one side. On the left was the Ambassador's private office, which +connected directly with the chancery offices, while on the right was a +small reception-room with an open fire. I often received guests in this +room for tea; it was done in green and had Japanese brasses and prints +upon the walls. Opening out of it was another small parlour done in pink +and white, with rows of books about; from this one entered a +drawing-room with red brocade on the walls, heavy furniture, and a +piano. This led in turn into a large dining-room, finished in white, +with an enclosed veranda outside. + +Up-stairs there were four bedrooms, a library, and a long enclosed +balcony into which the sun poured all the morning. The bedrooms were +large and barn-like, but with the aid of Japanese crêpes and rugs they +came to look quite attractive. + +The place which I liked best of all was a writing-room on the veranda. +On a table covered with a blue and white Chinese cloth stood a small +_hibachi_, a fire-box for warming the hands, made of hammered brass, +with fantastic chrysanthemums and leaves. There were also a long Korean +pipe and a shorter Japanese one, as well as a gun-metal box that we had +bought in Kyoto, inlaid with a crouching gold tiger. On the wall were +red and green prints. Pottery and baskets with plants in them, and a +bowl of goldfish, completed the decorations of this little den. + +A few stray pieces of furniture, rather the worse for wear, were the +only things owned by the Government, but we had arranged to rent the +furnishings of my husband's predecessor. Fortunately these were +attractive things, so that the house was ready for use upon our arrival. +It is much harder than one would imagine, even to-day, to get things in +Japan for European houses. The foreign shops which had European +furniture to sell charged well for it, and did not have much that was in +good taste. + +During the first few days we were busy unpacking our belongings--some +old Japanese screens that had travelled round the world back to Japan +with us, a few rugs, and our linen and silver. We weeded out the things +we did not especially care for in the house, and picked up here and +there some interesting prints and curios. It was said to be the moment +to purchase porcelains that were coming out of China, and as Jaehne, an +American dealer in Tokyo, came back with some good things, we bought a +few. With these, and with the enchanting little dwarf trees in bloom, +the Embassy soon looked homelike and pretty. + +We had already engaged in advance the Japanese servants. These live in +the Embassy compound, and many of them are passed on from one Ambassador +to the next. Their quarters are connected with the Embassy house, and +they sometimes invite their relations to live with them, so that often +fifty or more persons may be found there. As they both eat and sleep +upon their mats and are very quiet, one would never know they were in +the compound at all. + +Watanabe and Dick, with the little maids, all wore Japanese costumes. +Watanabe, the "head boy," or butler, had been in the Embassy for +thirty-five years, and had entire charge of the housekeeping +arrangements. He was head of the "Boys' Guild" of Tokyo, and an +important person. Dick was the only one of the servants who had been in +America, although the cook had been in France, and O Sawa, the maid, had +been to China and the Philippines. + + [Illustration: JAPANESE SERVANTS.] + +Every morning the cook sent up a French menu for approval. European +food, as prepared by the Japanese, is really very good. Turtle, served +in American fashion, is quite as palatable as our terrapin, and the +"mountain whale," or wild boar, is a real delicacy. (In olden times the +Buddhists were not supposed to eat meat, and because it was difficult +for the people of the mountains to get to the sea for fish the priests +allowed them to eat the wild boar on the hills, but called it "mountain +whale!") Some of the meat used in the city comes from Australia, as does +also the canned butter. Cows are few, but we were able to get our own +milk and butter from a local dairy. My husband is very fond of Japanese +food, and as I like it too, often of an evening when we were alone or +had friends who also enjoyed it, we would have Japanese dinners at the +Embassy, served upon the table but in the pretty lacquer bowls on little +lacquer trays. Eels with rice and _soy_ was a favourite dish. + +I used to enjoy sitting in the den and listening to the street noises, +they were so strange and interesting. There were the songs of men +carrying heavy loads, and the bells of the men who, in the winter, run +from temple to temple, almost naked, and have cold water poured over +them, as a penance. There was the fanfare of the soldiers, too, +something like that of the Italians, and the flute of the blind masseur, +and the steady whistle of the man who cleans the pipes of smokers. The +newsboys all wore bells, and the people selling wares often had little +drums which they beat. + +When not listening to the sounds outside, I often used to sit and look +into the bowl of glistening water where the goldfish lived, for they +quite fascinated me, with their jawless chins, which they kept opening +and shutting for food in such a greedy manner! The swish of their tails +was like the grace of a trailing kimono worn by the ladies of long ago, +while their fins suggested the sleeves of a _geisha_ girl. Some of them +had popping eyes that stared at you, some were so fat that they swam +upside down quite comfortably. They would rush from one side of the bowl +to the other, pushing their noses up close against the glass, as if they +were eager to swim out of their lovely opalescent world. Many humans +live in a world not very much larger than a goldfish's bowl, and never +try to get out at all! + +Of an evening one heard the notes of the _samisen_, an instrument like a +small-headed banjo, made of catskin and having three strings. Japanese +music is minor, and being in half tones, which our ear is not trained to +appreciate, sounds very strange, and to many even uncouth. None of it is +written--the songs are simply passed on from one to another. Although so +many Europeans do not care for this music, I find it very fascinating. + +But our ideas of what is beautiful are bound to differ. Watanabe caught +a nightingale in the Embassy garden by means of a spider, and put it in +a cage in the house. It had several notes, not all very pleasant, I must +admit, but I suppose it was a compliment when he told some one, after +having heard me sing, "Bird's high note just like Madam!" + +In the silence of the night, one also heard the clack, clack of the +watchman at a house near-by, who beat two sticks together so that his +master might hear and know that he was keeping watch. Besides this, +there was the squeaking of rats, the meow of our cat, or the barking of +a dog. It must have been this same dog, by the way, who came to such an +untimely end while we were there. + +"Have you heard the news?" one of the secretaries asked one morning. + +"Why, no--what is it?" I inquired. + +"Perhaps you may remember that the Embassy dog barked so much that our +neighbours complained and we had to give him away. Some _geishas_ took +him, but he still came back to visit us." + +"Yes," I interrupted, "he comes back at night--I've heard him!" + +"He did come back--but alas! he never will again. That is the news--we +found him dead in the garden this morning. His funeral procession has +just gone down the street, the _geishas_ following the corpse in their +'rickshas." + +"A dog's funeral! How funny!" + +"Not so funny as something that happened not very long ago, when the +local veterinary died," the Secretary assured me; "our Embassy dog was +invited to attend his funeral. Of course we sent him, and he rode in +state in the first 'ricksha behind the body, followed by other dogs of +lesser rank, each riding in its master's carriage." + +Occasionally there would be the tremor of an earthquake. But most of the +shocks are slight--so slight that one doesn't often feel them. Having +been born and brought up on made land in the Back Bay of Boston, where +every team shakes the house, I did not notice one all the time I was in +Tokyo. I had to take the tremors on hearsay. + +Tokyo is considered cold in winter. It has a chill wind, but not so bad +as the east wind in Boston. The climate might, perhaps, compare with +Washington, but as the houses are so lightly built, and the people live +upon the floor with little heat, the Japanese suffer a great deal from +the cold. It had always been thought too severe in Tokyo for the +Emperor, who as Crown Prince used to go to the seashore during the +winter months, but this year, having become Emperor on the death of his +father, he was obliged to stay in town. Miss Hyde has perhaps the most +attractive house and garden that I saw in Tokyo. The garden was small, +but you entered under a _torii_ gate, and found a bronze Buddha calmly +sitting beneath a tree. Indoors, Miss Hyde had decorated some of the +_shoji_, the sliding screens, with pretty, laughing Japanese children. +Her wood cuts of these children, by the way, are enchanting. The day we +lunched with her the table was charmingly arranged, with little dolls +among the flowers carrying lighted egg-shell lanterns. + + [Illustration: "SECRET."--WOOD-CUT BY MISS HYDE.] + +The different members of the Staff were very kind in welcoming us by +dinners given in our honour. Each entertainment had a new feature +introduced. Some of the "boys" are very clever in arranging miniature +landscapes on the table, or dwarf box-gardens. Often electric lights are +introduced among the flowers. Japanese fingers are so deft that the +results are marvellous. At one dinner to which we went, the guests found +little lanterns with their names on them, and sat under a huge, +wide-spread Japanese umbrella. On many occasions the place-cards were +charmingly painted. One was repeatedly fascinated by the fairy-like +scenes that were set on the tables. After dinner we often had music or +bridge--every Saturday night a certain set met for bridge at the Italian +Embassy, and on another evening at the Austrian. + +One night, in the middle of a dinner, we heard great shouting outside. +It sounded like a college cry in Japanese and ended up with "_Banzai +Taishikwan_!" The latter word means ambassador. _Banzai_ is often used +as a toast--Good luck to you!--but literally translated, means, "Hurrah! +Ten thousand years!" + +At a dinner one evening, we met two Japanese ladies, sisters, who were +dressed alike in black kimonos with white dots to represent a +snowstorm--a design especially appropriate for winter; superb silver +sashes embroidered with black crows completed their costumes. At this +dinner an Italian tenor sang delightfully. For souvenirs we were given +charming lacquer _saké_ cups. + +We ordered as mementoes for our dinners at the Embassy small silver +boxes with the American eagle upon them. At Japanese dinners they often +give you exquisite lacquer cups or black lacquer boxes with decorations +in gold, tied with bright cord, or silver knickknacks made in artistic +designs. They are sometimes put on the table in their boxes in front of +you, or passed on a tray, uncovered, as is done at Court, at the end of +the repast, so that you may pick out the object you prefer. It was said +that the late Emperor himself used to design the tokens which were used +on the Imperial table. The little souvenirs are admired and greatly +treasured, both by the Japanese themselves and by foreigners, some of +whom have really beautiful collections which are displayed with pride on +the tables in their salons. + +Shopping in Japan is always a leisurely affair. It is fascinating to go +into the queer, pretty little shops with their soft mats, and to enter +the attractive courtyards. If the dealer thinks you are sufficiently +appreciative, he will take out of his _godown_ or treasure-house a blue +and white vase, or a peachblow, and will sit on the mat handling it +tenderly while you drink a cup of tea or smoke a tiny pipe, as you +choose. One may spend days in such a curio shop, discussing the beauty +of a vase, admiring the bronzes, and finally, perhaps, settling upon a +price! It is very exciting when the silken handkerchief is being unwound +from some treasure, and you see the beautiful thing at last, for you +never can tell whether it is going to be a little bronze or a piece of +ivory, or smooth lacquer. We knew enough to make the dealer go deep into +his _godown_ before we began to talk or bargain, for they don't trouble +to bring out their best things unless you insist. When you have seen the +really good work you wonder how you ever looked at the _muki_[2] which +was displayed at first. + + [2] Cheap articles made for foreign trade. + +After luncheon our drawing-room would fairly seethe with dealers, who +came to show us their curios both old and new, which they laid out on +the furniture or the floor, as it happened. They brought lacquer boxes +and porcelains to tempt the eye, and innumerable wood cuts of doubtful +quality. + +Not only the old curios, but the modern articles made for foreigners, +are very attractive, but dealers only make one or two of the same kind, +so it is often impossible to duplicate even the simplest household +things. Besides the silver tea and coffee sets, there are silk +articles--stockings, handkerchiefs, and crêpes of all kinds, beautifully +embroidered--while the modern porcelains are both charming and cheap. +But one finds most of these modern things in America now. The old +Japanese curios that are really good cost more than ever, and are every +year more difficult to find. + +The culture pearls are especially attractive, and only the Japanese +produce them. The oyster must be three years old when it is opened and a +piece of mother-of-pearl inserted. This causes an irritation, which +forms a pearl in about four years. They are often coloured pink or blue +by injecting chemicals, but as they are rather flat on one side they do +not bring the prices of natural pearls. + +It is possible to buy some furs which are rarely seen in America--the +long-haired rabbit, the badger, and slippers made of monkey-skin. +Wherever we went, we were advised to buy our furs elsewhere. China is, +of course, noted for its skins--the long white goat and the leopard +being among the best--but we were told not to buy in China because, +although furs were cheap there, they were not well cured. In Russia we +were warned not to buy them because they were so costly, but to wait +till we reached Germany, where they are both well-cured and inexpensive. +I must confess that we bought in all places, however, and found them +generally satisfactory. While the Japanese furs are not so cheap as the +Chinese, they are cheaper than the Russian and are well cured. + +The main shopping street of Tokyo, the "Ginza," is very broad and has +the most prominent stores. Some of these look quite as modern as those +on Broadway and are several stories high--a great contrast to the little +wooden houses about them. One finds to-day in the city a great many wide +spaces and parks that did not exist a few years ago, but, of course, +many of the streets are still narrow and picturesque. + +One lovely late afternoon, when there was a silver half-moon swimming in +the sky, I went for a walk with Osame through the city streets, which +are a continuous bazaar. We turned aside into little narrow ways, lined +with bamboo fences with quaint gates, inside of which were glimpses of +pretty gardens with gravel approaches and gnarled pine-trees, and of +little houses with overhanging roofs that threatened to tumble over with +their own weight. In front of the houses hung lanterns with characters +which Osame translated for me. Here was the house of a "Teacher of the +Tea Ceremony," there lived a "Teacher of Flower Arrangement;" each tiny +dwelling bore the name of its owner--and often his telephone number!--on +a little wooden slab tacked on the gate-post. It was all so typical and +so characteristic--so different from a street anywhere else in the +world. We came to a hill and passed up long flights of steps, coming to +a temple on the summit which is as quiet and solemn as if it were miles +from anywhere. Then we went down again, by another long flight of +stairs, into a busy district, past many pretty tea-houses in which +_geishas_ live, and so out into the more respectable quarter of the +Embassy. When my husband was here twenty-five years ago, much of this +thickly settled part of the city was all paddy-fields. + +Some of the signs on the streets, written in English "as it is Japped," +used to be very funny, but the Government has tried to do away with the +amusing ones, so that to-day they are seldom seen in the city, though +one runs across them now and then in the country. "The efficacy of this +beer is to give the health and especially the strength for stomach. The +flavour is so sweet and simple in here if much drink," was one of them, +I remember. A tailor of uniforms had on his sign, "Gold Tail Shop," +while another shop assured the passer-by that "The tas [tea] are restful +and for sharpen the minds." Cigarettes are driving out the native +tobacco; a brand is advertised as being "very fragrant except a bad +smell." One sign insisted that within could be produced "wine, beer, and +others!" + +The days at the Embassy passed very pleasantly. Afternoons and evenings +were filled with social duties, but the mornings I was free to spend as +I chose. Mrs. Caldwell, wife of one of the Staff, and I found the +Japanese toys so fascinating that we could hardly tear ourselves away +from the shops. Madame Van Royen, the American wife of the Dutch +Minister, and I had several automobile rides together. Mrs. Caldwell and +I played tennis and sang duets, and sometimes of a morning I would have +a walk with one of the secretaries. + +There was always plenty of sight-seeing to be done whenever we had any +spare time. It was a happy surprise not to find more changes in the +outward appearance of the country and of the people since my earlier +visits. The hotels throughout the country are more comfortable, however, +and the European food better. The _naisans_ (maids) and _geisha_ girls +speak a little English now, which they could not do a few years ago. In +many of the towns the streets are wider and are bright with electric +lights, while electric cars and motors are quite popular, and even +flying-machines are to be seen. The cities are more sanitary than they +were, too, although even now an occasional case of cholera is +discovered, and foreigners are still careful not to eat uncooked food. + +The yellow journals of both America and Japan have been active in trying +to stir up trouble between the two countries. When we were in Japan +fifteen years ago, some of our papers said that foreigners were in +danger there, but we never saw then, or while my husband was Ambassador, +any rudeness or threat of violence. Lately, owing to the California +trouble, I understand that some rude speeches have been made, and some +writing has appeared on the Embassy wall. When we were there with the +American Secretary of War on our way to the Philippines, no people could +have showed greater good-will than the Japanese Government expressed in +every way to our party, which represented the United States. + +To return to the streets--although one sees many carriages and a few +motors, the man-drawn jinrikisha is still the most popular conveyance; a +few years ago there were forty thousand of them in Tokyo alone. The +runners can jog along at a good six miles an hour, and can keep up the +pace for a long distance. With a leader or pusher, or with three men, as +many as ninety miles can be made in a day. As Tokyo is almost as +wide-spreading as London, an automobile is a convenience in returning +visits, notwithstanding the narrowness of the streets, in which people +walk and children play. Pedestrians pay little attention to the warning +of the automobile horn, perhaps owing to the whistles and horns of the +dealers and the other noises of the busy streets. + +There are some large new brick buildings in Tokyo, and a new railway +station is being built. Some of the European government buildings are +quite handsome, as well as very large and imposing--they would look big +anywhere, whether one admired their architecture or not. There are also +two large European hotels, and a good bank. + + [Illustration: SHIBA PARK, TOKYO.] + +Shiba Park is not very far from the Embassy. People go there to see the +Shiba Temples, which were built in honour of the sixth, seventh, and +ninth shoguns. As usual, one enters through a _torii_, or gateway, into +a paved courtyard, and takes off one's shoes before going into the +temple. + +In feudal times, when the Shogun came to worship the spirits of his +ancestors, he alone ascended to the sanctum of the temple, the _daimyos_ +seating themselves next to him in the corridor below, while the rest of +the nobility occupied the oratory. + +The lacquer in these temples is perhaps the most beautiful that I saw in +Japan, and the carvings are superb. In many places one sees the +three-leafed asarum, which is the crest of the Tokugawa family, and the +lotus, the Buddhist emblem of purity. + +Behind the temples are the stone tombs with their bronze lanterns; the +newest one bears the date 1877, and is the burial place of the present +Emperor's great-aunt. Near the tombs can be seen the imprint of Buddha's +feet, which must have been of phenomenal size! + +One day we went over the Osaka Museum, which has probably more Buddhas +than any other museum in the world. It is a private collection near the +Embassy, and contains some superb red lacquers, all very well arranged. +It was interesting to note that the porcelains were tied to the shelves, +on account of earthquakes. + +One of the most popular resorts, Uyeno Park, which is well known for its +temples and the tombs of the shoguns, is on very high ground and has a +fine view. An immense stone lantern--one of the three largest in +Japan--is there, and also an ancient pagoda and some fine cryptomerias. +During the season people visit this park in hundreds to see the cherry +blossoms. + +The tombs of the Forty-Seven Ronins must be visited, so much has been +written about the brave band, and their dramatic story is so often told +in Japan. Under the huge cryptomerias on the side of a hill, one comes +to the many stone lanterns surrounding a sort of court, where their +admirers still place lighted incense sticks and leave their visiting +cards on the dead heroes. By the path leading to the tombs the well +where the Ronins washed the head of their victim still exists. + +Briefly told, their story is as follows: In April of the year 1701, +Asano, Lord of Ako, while in Tokyo with the Shogun, was asked to arrange +one of the great State ceremonies. Now, Asano was a warrior, and knew +little of such matters, so he questioned a nobleman named Kira, who was +well versed in Court etiquette. It did not occur to Asano that he was +expected to pay for the information, and when he failed to do so, Kira +jeered at him, and one day insulted him by asking him to fasten his +_tabi_, or footgear. Stirred to anger, Asano drew his sword and slashed +the nobleman, without, however, killing him. + +Unfortunately, this happened in the palace grounds. To fight in such a +sacred place is a crime, and Asano was told that as a punishment he must +perform _hara-kiri_, which he immediately did. Asano's castle was +confiscated and his family declared extinct, so that his faithful +retainers became _ronin_, or "wave men"--wanderers. + +Oishi, the head retainer, consulted with forty-six of the most trusted +of the band, and they swore vengeance on Kira, who had brought about +their master's death. In time the forty-six became trades-people, while +Oishi himself pretended dissipation in order to put Kira off the track. +But they did not forget their oath of vengeance, and two years later, +during a severe snowstorm, the Forty-Seven Ronins made an attack upon +Kira and his retainers, and succeeded in vanquishing them. + +As Kira was a great noble, he was given the privilege of performing +_hara-kiri_, but he was afraid to kill himself, and so Oishi murdered +him. As the Forty-Seven Ronins marched through the streets with the head +of their enemy, the people came out of their houses and cheered. Oishi +laid Kira's head upon the grave of Asano. Official sentence condemned +all the Ronins to commit _hara-kiri_,[3] and they have been worshipped +as heroes ever since. + + [3] _Hara-kiri_ is an honourable form of capital punishment, is + also a popular method of suicide. The man who is about to + die invites his friends to share in a farewell feast. Robed + in white, he takes leave of them and enters a screened + enclosure, where he proceeds to disembowel himself with a + knife. A friend who acts as a sort of second stands by and + with a keen sword puts an end to his agony by cutting off + his head. + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + COURT FUNCTIONS + + +Naturally, the most interesting event of the winter was our audience and +luncheon at Court. We started from the Embassy at half-past ten in the +morning. My husband was accompanied by his immediate Staff, in full +evening dress, and all wearing mourning bands on their arms--the Naval +and Military Attachés, of course, were in full-dress uniform. L. went +off in a State carriage of gold and black, sent by the Emperor, with a +Court dignitary to conduct him to the palace, and an escort of the +Imperial Lancers on horseback, bearing pennants of red and white, the +Imperial colours. Court carriages with the Secretaries and Attachés were +next in line, each one having a coachman with cockade and golden bands +on hat and livery, and two _bettos_, or running footmen. + +I followed this procession in the Embassy carriage, with the Naval and +Military Attachés' wives in other vehicles behind. The coachman and the +_betto_ of the American Embassy presented quite a fine appearance in +their characteristic livery--navy-blue hats, mushroom-shaped and bearing +the eagle, and coats to match, with shoulder capes piped with red, white +and blue. + +[Illustration: THE COACHMAN AND THE _BETTO_ OF THE AMERICAN EMBASSY.] + +So we started on that wonderful drive through Tokyo. Down the steep +descent from the quaint, lovely garden of the Embassy we drove, the +_bettos_ holding back on the poles to help the under-sized little +horses. Two mounted soldiers fell in behind the official carriages as we +passed down the broad streets. The _bettos_ ran on ahead, and shouted +out warnings to the pedestrians, who always fill the roadways where they +are narrow, and scatter over them where they are broad. Men and women +stood still and faced the Imperial carriage as it passed, uncovering +their heads, and some even prostrating themselves on the ground; others +came out from the miniature shops to gaze; jinrikishas and trolley-cars +stopped, and people got out of them and stood respectfully; the tiny +dolls of children even looked on in wonder, and the police stood at +attention at the corners. For we were going to see the mysterious +Mikado, Son of Heaven, Heir of Two Thousand and Five Hundred Years of +Direct Descent from the Sun-Goddess. Hidden away there in his palace +behind the ramparts and moats of ancient castles, strange and far away, +he is still held sacred by his millions of people! + +Every view was like a picture on a fan. We went on past the walled +residences of ancient feudal lords; past the _torii_--the "bird-rest" +gates at temple entrances--through which we caught glimpses of stone +lanterns and the wide-open fronts of picturesque shrines. Again we +passed tea-houses from which the twang of _samisen_ was heard; and left +behind us rows on rows of shops with wares of every kind exposed in +front for trade. Everywhere the men and quaint little women went +stumbling along on their clicking clogs, bowing low to one another; and +every moment through some opening of wall or entrance we could see +delightful little gardens of tree and stone and water arranged in a way +both fascinating and fanciful. + + [Illustration: THE MOATS, IMPERIAL CASTLE, TOKYO.] + +We came to the broad expanse before the first moat of the Imperial +castle. Beyond rose the great stone wall, grey, moss-grown and +impressive, of huge blocks like those of the Egyptian pyramids. The +branches of the grotesque overhanging pine-trees bowed down to the still +waters beneath, where the lovely lotus opens up its flowers in season +and the great leaves lie idly on the smooth surface. At the corners of +the wall rose the white, many-storied guardhouses, like pagodas with +their curving roofs. We passed through the huge gateway with its heavy +doors into a second wide space, which led to another moat and rampart of +the ancient castle fortifications, crossed another bridge, and entered +the sacred enclosure of the Imperial residence, with its imposing gate; +and finally wound round a gravel road, bordered with great trees, to the +palace entrance, a large covered porch, from which steps led toward the +reception hall. On each side stretched the palace, built in old Japanese +style, low and simple, in its wood colour and white. + +Count Toda, Grand Master of Ceremonies, Count Watanabe, Minister of the +Imperial Household, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other officials +and chamberlains met us at the entrance. With little delay the bowing +officials conducted the party through long corridors, laid with red +carpets. Here more officials in gold-braided European dress were +stationed at intervals. From the corridors we caught delightful glimpses +of large rooms with gorgeous decoration, and enjoyed the odour of +perfumed woods. The ladies were left in one reception-room and the men +gathered in another. + +My husband was conducted alone to the Phoenix Hall, where he was to be +received in audience by the Emperor. Taking a few steps along the +gallery, which looked out into another delightful garden, he faced into +a square, simple Japanese room, in the middle of which stood His +Imperial Majesty, with his interpreter beside him, while at a distance +behind and on either side were gentlemen-in-waiting. Etiquette required +a low bow at the threshold and two others while approaching. The Emperor +extended his hand, and made some inquiries through his interpreter. L. +read a short speech, which was afterward translated by the interpreter, +and handed his credentials and the letter of recall of his predecessor +to the Emperor, who passed them to an aide at one side, and replied in a +very low voice through the interpreter with a few words of welcome and +assurances of the maintenance of happy relations. Then it was indicated +that the Staff might be presented. They entered, making their three bows +as they approached the Emperor, who shook the hand of each one, then +they retired backward out of the room. After they had disappeared, His +Majesty again gave his hand in token that the audience was over, and my +husband made his bows and withdrew. + +After this he joined me, and we were both received by the Empress in the +Peony Hall, a small room with hardwood floors, wood carvings, +beautifully decorated walls and ceiling, but no furniture. I followed +L., courtesying at the door as he bowed, and again as the Empress gave +me her hand. The ladies with me followed in our train, also courtesying. + +Her Majesty talked through an interpreter, the conversation consisting +principally of questions, such as--"How did you stand the journey across +Siberia?" "Do you not find it very cold in Japan?" "Do you enjoy +flowers?" The Empress is young, bright and very pretty. She was dressed +in deep mourning, in European style, and her hair was done in the +Western fashion. After she had spoken a few words to each one of us we +courtesied and backed to the door. Their Majesties were kind enough to +say they remembered us from our former luncheon at the palace during the +reign of the late Emperor. + +In the interval between the audience and the luncheon, the latter not +occurring till half-past twelve, we drove back to the Embassy. Our "head +boy" told us it was customary to have a glass of champagne upon +returning from such a function, so we had some wine and biscuit, which +the Master of Ceremonies and the officer in command of the escort were +invited to share with us. Then we all went out and were photographed by +all kinds of cameras levelled by an army of photographers--as that +seemed to be the custom, too. + +When we returned to the palace, we were conducted into the vast Room of +One Thousand Seeds, which, like the Peony Hall, had no chairs; but the +ceiling was magnificently carved and there were beautiful panels and +vases of flowers. Different members of the Imperial family came in, the +men in uniform, the ladies in black European gowns and hats. As the +luncheon was to be informal, frock coats were worn by the men of the +Embassy in place of evening clothes. I was then presented to the +Emperor, who was in khaki uniform, and seemed alert and interested in +everything, and we followed Their Majesties into the large dining-room +near-by. + +This room was also vast and spacious, with glass on one side through +which we looked out into the garden. The table was set in handsome +European style for thirty or forty persons, and a number of servants in +European liveries stood in impressive line behind. Their Majesties sat +together in the centre of the table, with Prince and Princess Kan-in on +their right and left. + +Prince Kan-in, who was on one side of me, is a cousin of the Emperor, +young and quite good looking. Having lived in France for nine years, he +spoke French well. On the other side was Prince Katsura, who was at that +time Prime Minister and one of the strongest and best-known men in +Japan. Prince Katsura spoke a little English, but preferred German. His +German was not much better than mine, so we did not have so much +interesting conversation as we otherwise might have had. Prince Fushimi, +now quite an old man, whom we had met years ago in Boston, was there, +besides many others. + +The luncheon was in European style and delicious. The table ornaments +were exquisite orchids in silver dishes. During the meal the Emperor +sent me several messages through one of the gentlemen-in-waiting, who +acted as interpreter: "Do you have orchids in America?" "Are you going +to Nikko this summer!" To my answer that I had been at Nikko, His +Majesty replied, that his Summer Palace was at Nikko, and that he hoped +we might go there again, as he felt sure we would each time see even +more beautiful things. The Emperor proposed my husband's health by +lifting his glass and drinking, and L. rose, lifted his, and drank to +the Emperor. Then His Majesty pledged me, and I rose, and drank to him +in return. At the close of the luncheon charming silver bonbon boxes in +old Japanese designs, such as the _hibachi_ and the _kago_, or +sedan-chair, and bearing the Imperial crest, were offered us as +souvenirs. We were each delighted to select one of these attractive +mementoes. + +After luncheon we returned again to the Hall of One Thousand Seeds, +followed by the high officials of the Imperial Household. Here my +husband and I conversed more intimately with Their Majesties. +Conversation was carried on in a whisper through the interpreter, for +Japanese Court etiquette requires that the voice be never raised while +talking with the Emperor and Empress. Then the Imperial party withdrew, +and the rest of us were left to pass out at leisure and view with +interest and pleasure the rooms through which we were conducted, +visiting the large, simple Throne Room on the way. So this extraordinary +experience came to an end, and remains a dream, wonderful, seemingly +unreal. The day after the audience we went over to the palace, and +signed our names in the Imperial books. + +The reigning Emperor is the one hundred and twenty-fourth of his line. +It is said that he wishes to travel beyond his kingdom, but although the +Japanese people themselves seek to be up to date and familiar with the +ways of the Western world, many of them do not wish their ruler to be +so, and therefore do not quite approve of his taking so much interest in +foreigners. In his boyhood the Emperor went to school and seemed quite +well and strong; it is said, however, that he is rather delicate now. +Even then he was astonishingly democratic in his ideas. They tell a +story that, when a boy, while out driving one day, he saw a man on the +corner of a street selling cookies, and said that he wished to have +some. Other cookies were made like them and given to him, but he refused +them. Nothing would do but he must have those sold by the old man on the +corner. In vain the attendants argued that those cookies were only made +for common people, for human beings--members of the Imperial family are +supposed to be divine--the boy said that if human beings and the common +people could eat them, he could eat them, too. So the cakes were finally +bought, and no doubt he enjoyed them. + +The beautiful new palace on the edge of the city, at Akasaka, is a fine +building in good European style, much like the palace in Brussels. Here +the garden parties take place. The present Emperor has never lived in +it, preferring his Japanese palace on the same grounds, which he +considers more wholesome, and where he lived as Crown Prince. Audiences +are still held, as in his father's time, in the old palace, which has +been done over somewhat since the death of the late Emperor. + +After our audience and luncheon at Court, we were received also by +several of the Imperial Princes and Princesses at their palaces. To +these visits we went in our own automobile, our chauffeur and footman +wearing caps with the American eagle and gold braid on the visor, and +little shoulder-straps of gold that made them look suitably +ambassadorial. Sometimes we took Osame on the box instead of the +footman, so that he might straighten matters out in case of difficulty, +as the footman and the chauffeur did not speak a word but Japanese. In +his frock coat and top hat he looked quite properly funereal. My husband +went in his evening dress, and I wore black. The houses were usually +quite European, but were somewhat bare inside, with a little +old-fashioned European furniture. As we entered, we were greeted by +several officials-in-waiting in fine uniforms, and then were almost +immediately received, quite in the same fashion as by the Emperor and +Empress, except that we were asked to sit down. + +One day the Prince and Princess Kan-in received us. The Nagasakis were +in attendance and acted as interpreters. They spoke excellent English. +We had known them before, and had found them especially agreeable. Mr. +Nagasaki is Court Councillor and Master of Ceremonies, as well as Lord +Steward to His Imperial Highness, Prince Kan-in. Prince Kan-in's palace +is a large modern house with fine grounds, surrounded by a splendid +old-fashioned wall and entered by a great old-time gate. It was rather +cold and bare inside, but the Aide and the Master of Ceremonies in their +gold regalia gave bright touches of colour. + +The second princess who received us was the wife of Prince Asaka and +daughter of the late Emperor. Again the officer in attendance had been +educated in England and was a man of the world. As at Court, the women +were in European dress and in deep mourning with jet jewelry. The +conversation, as usual, was more or less about flowers, the weather and +the journey. + +Later, we were received at Prince Higashi Fushimi's, whose house we +found Japanese in style and especially charming. The room where we were +received, however, had been arranged for the comfort of foreigners, as +it contained a sofa, a table and chairs. Prince Fushimi, who is an +admiral in the navy, was in London with the Princess at the time of the +Coronation. Both spoke English very well. A card was sent to us as a +return visit within half an hour after each diplomatic audience, as is +required by Japanese etiquette. + +An important function, which the Diplomatic Corps missed on account of +the mourning for the late Emperor, was the New Year reception at Court. +At this the ladies wear beautiful long court trains hung from the +shoulders, such as are worn at the Court of St. James. I was told that +the diplomats are first conducted to the Throne Room, a large hall, +where two chairs are arranged upon a raised dais, much as at European +courts. Here they march in the precedence of embassies and legations +past the Emperor and Empress on their thrones, then past all the +Imperial Highnesses, bowing and courtesying to each one. After this, in +a smaller room they are served with tea, coffee and cakes, and receive +lovely gifts as souvenirs. Finally, in still another room, they are +received by Their Majesties and the other Imperial personages in a more +special way. + +Among Court recreations in which the Diplomatic Corps are invited to +join, is the Imperial duck-catching party, held in gardens near Tokyo in +the spring. By decoy ducks the wild birds are lured into little canals, +on either side of which stand those who take part in the sport, holding +large nets with long handles high in the air. All are silent and alert, +and as soon as a duck takes flight, the netter dashes forward and, if +expert, entangles a bird in the net. This sport is a combination of +snaring and hawking, for if a bird escapes the hunter, it is likely to +be killed by the hawk chained to the hunter's wrist, which is then set +free. Afterward luncheon is served, a delicious duck stew being the +principal feature, and the guests return home laden with the birds they +have succeeded in catching. + +The official celebration of the Emperor's birthday includes several +imposing Court functions. When my husband was in Japan in 1889, +earthquakes, reviews and events of all kinds were provided for His +Imperial Majesty's thirty-sixth anniversary. First, they were treated to +three seismic shocks within twenty-four hours, and of quite perceptible +violence. Then there was the Grand Review of troops by the Emperor at +the cheerful hour of half after eight in the morning. + +My husband thus describes it: "Aoyama, the 'Champ de Mars' of Tokyo, is +a tremendously large parade ground, which was simply walled in by the +mass of plebeians that had turned out to do honour to the occasion. For +the foreigners the 'high seats' had been reserved in the diplomatic tent +next to the Imperial stand. The Emperor, followed by the Lancers and a +gorgeous Staff, made a tour of the field, and then the troops passed in +review before him. They were about ten thousand in number, and made a +really excellent appearance; the marching and order were good, at times +very good. The cavalry appeared rather awkward, but this was due to the +brutish little horses more than anything else." + +"In the evening there was the grand ball at the 'Rokumeikan,' given by +Count Okuma, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, in honour of the +Emperor's anniversary, which starts the social whirl of the capital for +the season. It was an elegant affair, and from the good taste and good +management, it might well have been in Paris. The grounds were +beautifully decorated with lanterns and coloured lights, and the +building was superb inside with bunting and flowers, the national +chrysanthemum being used with excellent effect. The uniforms and +decorations of the guests added brilliancy and movement. There were +almost as many foreigners as Japanese, and nearly all the latter were in +European dress, only a few ladies wearing the native costume. Those in +European gowns carried them off exceedingly well, and danced waltzes and +quadrilles in most approved Western manner." + +The present Emperor's anniversary, as I have learned from a letter, was +celebrated in 1913 in much the same way as his predecessor's more than +twenty years ago--with one important exception, the three earthquake +shocks were omitted! The day began with the review of the soldiers at +Aoyama, after which congratulatory poems were presented to His Majesty +by the Empress and the Empress Dowager.[4] The Emperor then received the +Imperial Princes and Princesses, and entertained them at luncheon. + + [4] The Dowager Empress of Japan died of heart disease at the + Imperial Villa Nowazu, April 9th, 1914. She was the widow of + Emperor Mutsuhito, who died July 30th, 1912. The Empress + Dowager was born May 28th, 1858, and was married to the late + Emperor in 1869. She was the daughter of a nobleman, + Icliejo-Tadado, and was greatly beloved by the Japanese + people. + +The birthday dinner in the evening was followed by the ball given by the +Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baron Makino, at his official residence. +Here were princesses of the blood in white gowns and superb jewels, +Japanese ladies in kimonos, ladies of the Corps Diplomatique in European +costume, priests in their varied robes, and diplomats and attaches in +gorgeous uniforms. It was a brilliant scene. The rooms were lighted by +electricity and decorated with a profusion of chrysanthemums and the +Imperial crest in gold. Long clusters of wisteria depending from the +ceiling sparkled with electric bulbs, and in the supper-room the guests +were seated at tables under the branches of artificial cherry-trees +blossoming in the Emperor's honour. + +Some account of our previous reception at Court by the late Emperor and +Empress may be of interest. It took place when we passed through Japan +in the company of the American Secretary of War, Mr. Dickinson, on the +way to the Philippines in 1910. At that time we crossed the Pacific to +the Land of the Rising Sun. + + [Illustration: THE LATE EMPEROR.] + +News had been received while at sea by aerogram from the Embassy that +the Imperial Mikado and the Empress would grant an audience and +entertain at luncheon at the palace, but there was much doubt as to what +this really meant, for the audience might be only for the Secretary and +Mrs. Dickinson. So the pleasure and surprise were all the greater when, +on arrival, it was found that those accompanying the Secretary were to +be included in both functions. + +The invitations, in Japanese characters, were handed to us with many +others on our arrival, but had already been formally answered at the +American Embassy. The instructions were the same then as they are to-day +as to costume and etiquette. They indicated that the ladies were to wear +high-necked dresses with trains and hats, and the men were to be in +uniform or full dress. On the morning of the sixteenth (of July), we all +met at the Embassy at eleven o'clock--as the audience was due at +noon--and placed ourselves in the hands of the Ambassador. + +Two Imperial carriages conveyed the important official members of the +party to the palace, and the rest proceeded in vehicles hired for the +occasion. + +After the men of the party were presented to the Emperor, in the manner +already described, they rejoined the ladies, and all were introduced to +the lady-in-waiting, Countess Kagawa, and then conducted to Her +Majesty's audience hall. Mrs. O'Brien, the wife of the Ambassador, +preceded, making low courtesies; the ladies followed. + +The Emperor, who was in uniform, appeared older than we had expected. +Her Majesty was several years older than the Emperor, and had charming +manners, but she did not smile. Expression, we were informed, is not +considered aristocratic. Her hair and dress were in European fashion, +and she wore beautiful pearls. She had no children--the present Mikado +is the only son of Emperor Meiji by another wife. + +Some stories that are told of the late Emperor show how much real +strength of character he possessed. A few years ago, it is said, when a +plot against His Majesty's life was discovered, the Prime Minister went +to him and offered his resignation, saying that as this plot had been +brought to light while he was in office (the first plot against any +Mikado in the history of Japan), he felt that perhaps his administration +had not been good. The Emperor, however, would not accept his +resignation, saying that if the people wished to take his life, it must +be his fault--it must show that he had not been a good ruler. +Accordingly, he ordered only twelve of the twenty-four offenders to be +put to death. + +In his last illness, owing to the old belief that his person was too +sacred to be touched, even the doctors were not allowed to come in +contact with him, his pulse being counted by a silken cord about his +wrist. The Empress was at his bedside when he died. The only person who +ever entered his apartment, I was told, was Prince Ito, who came on some +urgent affair of state in response to a telephone message from the +Emperor himself. The Prince was admitted before the Mikado was dressed +in the morning. Even on the greatest occasions, however, he was never +really well dressed, because no one was permitted to fit his clothes, +lest a mere human being should touch his person. + +Yet the life of the late Emperor, secluded though he was within his +palace walls, was freedom itself in comparison with that of the ancient +rulers. In olden times, so Hearn writes, "His (the Mikado's) feet were +never permitted to touch the ground out of doors, nor was he allowed to +cut his hair, beard or nails, or to expose himself to the rays of the +sun." His only excursions outside the walls of his palace were made in a +large _norimono_, or palanquin, borne by fourteen men, in which, behind +the latticed windows, he was able to catch glimpses of the outer world +while himself invisible. Even if he granted an audience, he was never +seen, his person being completely hidden by bamboo screens. + +The emperors of ancient days were allowed to have three consorts besides +the Empress, also nine maids of high rank and twenty-seven maids of +lower rank, all of whom were known as wives. In addition to these, he +was at liberty to have eighty-one concubines. Only one of the wives +ranked as empress, but the twelve next below her had each a palace near +that of the Emperor. By way of contrast, it is said that the present +Emperor has never loved any woman but the Empress. The Mikado's eldest +daughter was in olden times appointed chief priestess of the Temple of +the Sun, at Ise. + + * * * * * + +Somewhat in contrast with my husband's experiences were those of +America's first Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Townsend Harris, as he has +related them in his journal. After his arrival in Japan and many weary +months of waiting at Shimoda, he wrote September 25th, 1857, "I am to go +to Yedo (now Tokyo) in the most honourable manner; and after my arrival +I am to have an audience of the Shogun, and then present the letter of +the President!!" + +"The manner in which I am to salute the Shogun," he adds, "is to be the +same as in the courts of Europe, that is, three bows. They made a faint +request that I would prostrate myself and 'knock-head,' but I told them +the mentioning such a thing was offensive to me." + +After two months spent in preparation for the journey, Mr. Harris with +an imposing retinue started for Yedo, about one hundred miles away. + +As a part of the preparation for his journey, "Bridges had been built +over every stream," he tells us, "the pathway mended, and all the bushes +cut away so as to leave the path clear." At one place the road had +actually been _swept_ only a few hours before the procession passed over +it. All along the way the people stood motionless in front of their +houses, and all the shops but the cook shops were closed. The +magistrates of each village conducted Mr. Harris to the borders of the +next, prostrating themselves in salute as they left. The Government had +also ordered that there should be no travel over the Tokaido, the +Eastern Sea Road, during his journey. + +In Yedo the American Envoy was domiciled in the "Court" section of the +city, and eight _daimyos_ were appointed as "Commissioners of the voyage +of the American Ambassador to Yedo." Another week was passed in +receiving and paying visits of ceremony, and in arranging matters of +detail. Mr. Harris received as a present from the Shogun seventy pounds +of Japanese bonbons beautifully arranged in four trays. + +On December 7th, at ten o'clock in the morning, our Ambassador set out +for his audience of the Shogun. "My dress," he says, "was a coat +embroidered with gold after the pattern furnished by the State +Department, blue pantaloons with a broad gold band running down each +leg, cocked hat with gold tassels, and a pearl-handled dress sword." He +was escorted by the same retinue that he had had during the journey. He +was carried in his _norimono_ up to the last bridge in front of the +audience hall, and before entering this building he put on a new pair of +patent leather shoes. The Japanese, of course, went in their _tabis_. +After a time he was led to the audience hall, past a number of +_daimyos_, seated in Japanese fashion, who saluted by touching their +foreheads to the mat. The Prince of Shinano, Master of Ceremonies, then +threw himself on his hands and knees, and Mr. Harris stood behind him, +with Mr. Heusken in the rear bearing the President's letter. + +At a given signal, the Prince crawled forward on hands and knees, and as +Mr. Harris followed and entered the hall of audience, a chamberlain +called out, "Embassador Merican!" With the prescribed three bows at +intervals, he advanced toward the throne, before which the members of +the Great Council lay prostrate on their faces. Pausing a few seconds, +Mr. Harris then addressed the Tai-kun--as he had been instructed to call +the Shogun--expressing the good wishes of the President. + +"After a short silence," says Mr. Harris, "the Tai-kun began to jerk his +head backward over his left shoulder, at the same time stamping with his +right foot. This was repeated three or four times.[5] After this he +spoke audibly and in a pleasant and firm voice," expressing his pleasure +in the Ambassador's speech, and graciously adding, "Intercourse shall be +continued for ever." + + [5] I have been told that Mr. Harris _shouted_ in delivering his + address to the Shogun, who, perhaps, had never before heard + anyone speak above a whisper. + +Mr. Harris then presented the President's letter, after which he +withdrew, as he had entered, with three bows. + +Mr. Harris' description of the Shogun himself is of interest: "The +Tai-kun was seated in a chair placed on a platform raised about two feet +from the floor, and from the ceiling in front of him a grass curtain was +hung; when unrolled, it would reach the floor, but it was now rolled up, +and was kept in its place by large silk cords with heavy tassels. By an +error in their calculation, the curtain was not rolled up high enough to +enable me to see his headdress, as the roll formed by the curtain cut +through the centre of his forehead, so that I cannot fully describe his +'crown,' as the Japanese called it. The dress of the Tai-kun was made of +silk, and the material had some little gold wove in with it, but it was +as distant from anything like regal splendour as could be conceived; no +rich jewels, no elaborate gold ornaments; no diamond-hilted weapon +appeared.... The Japanese told me his crown is a black lacquered cap, of +an inverted bell shape." + +Two years later Mr. Heusken, Mr. Harris' secretary, was assassinated, +and his own house was burned. But Mr. Harris never wavered. Dignified, +firm, self-respecting, he was always the kind, patient teacher of the +Japanese in the ways of the outside world, winning from them the title +which they love to give him--"the nation's friend." He was a great +diplomat, but his was a strikingly human and Christian diplomacy. He +laid the foundations for America's subsequent dealings with Japan so +deep in the bedrock of justice and mutual forbearance that the +superstructure has never yet been shaken. Our own personal experiences +were pleasanter because Townsend Harris had led the way. + + + + + CHAPTER V + + LIFE IN TOKYO + + +Our diplomatic visits were made within two days of our arrival, as +etiquette requires. My first visit was on the Doyenne of the Diplomatic +Corps, Marchesa Guiccioli. The French Ambassador was Doyen, but as he +was not married the Italian Ambassadress was the first lady of the +Corps. When our diplomatic calls had been made and returned, we returned +those made by the American colony in Tokyo and Yokohama. + +During the winter the ladies of the Diplomatic Corps decided to have a +day "at home" each week. The period of second mourning for the late +Emperor had begun, and we all dressed in black and white. Dinners and +calling among the diplomats continued, but the official dinners between +the Japanese and the foreigners did not take place on account of the +mourning. + +The diplomatic dinners were always large affairs of twenty or thirty +people, and quite formal, with the host and hostess sitting in foreign +fashion at the centre of the table, the ends filled in with young +secretaries. There were but few women present, for many of the diplomats +in Tokyo were not married. Occasionally we found one or two Japanese at +these dinners, but not often, owing to the official mourning. They might +have been given in Europe or anywhere, except for a touch of the East in +the costumes of the servants and the curios about the house. + +To show how a Japanese lady or gentleman answers an Ambassador's +invitation, I give literal translations of two responses which are quite +typical. + + "WORSHIPFULLY ADDRESSED. + + "Having received upon my head the honourable loving invitation + of the coming 25th day, I humbly regard it as the extremity of + glory. Referring thereto, in the case of the rustic wife there + being unavoidably a previous engagement, although with regret, + (she) is humbly unable to ascend; consequently the little + student one person, humbly accepting, will go to the honourable + residence. Rapidly, rapidly, worshipfully bowing. + + "Great Justice, 2d year, 2d moon, 19th day. + American Ambassador, + Beneath the Mansion. + Honourable Lady, + Beneath the Mansion." + + "WORSHIPFULLY REPORTING. + + "Having received upon my head the + honourable loving invitation to the + banquet of the honourable holding on + the coming 25th day, thankfully, joyfully, + humbly shall I worshipfully run. + However, in the matter of ----, although + regretting, (he) humbly declines. + The right hand (fact) upon + receiving (he) at once wishes humbly + to decline. It is honourably thus. Respectfully + bowing. + + + "Second moon, 20th day. + American Ambassador, Mr. Anderson, + Beneath the Mansion." + +Our first reception was attended by most of the diplomats, some of the +American colony, and a few Japanese. In American fashion I had the +ladies of the Embassy pour tea at the large table in the dining-room. +There were over a hundred and fifty guests in all, many coming from +Yokohama. On another of our days at home a huge shipload of tourists +from the _Cleveland_ arrived, which made the afternoon quite gay. They +began to arrive half an hour before time, much to their dismay. It seems +that they had been put into 'rickshas and their coolies instructed to +take them to the Embassy, but when they got there they could not make +the 'ricksha-men understand that they were early and wanted to drive +about a bit until three. When my husband came down-stairs they had +camped outside in the snow, which had fallen quite heavily the day +before; he heard them talking, and, of course, asked them in at once. + +One afternoon we entertained some American and English women. I was +quite amused when a missionary's wife came up to me, wagging her head +and looking very solemn about something. + +"I suppose you did not know," she said, "that the singer is a very +naughty man." + +"No, I didn't," I answered; "but I don't quite know what I can do about +it--" and I'm afraid I wagged my head, too, as I added, "Don't you think +we can reform him, perhaps?" + +She must have seen the twinkle in my eye, for she laughed and said she +didn't believe we could. We agreed that he sang very well indeed. + +Our last big reception was held at the Embassy on Washington's Birthday. +We had some souvenirs made in Japanese style, little black lacquer ash +trays with the crest of the United States in gilt upon them for the men +and fans also decorated with the crest for the ladies. A good many of +the missionaries came, not only from Tokyo and Yokohama, but also from +the interior. + +On St. Valentine's day I took some presents out to Watanabe's house, +where I had asked all the children of the compound to gather. There were +about a dozen of them, sitting on mats and making a very pretty group. +They had put a carpet over the mat, so I did not have to take off my +shoes, and a chair was procured for me to sit in. Then I told Osame to +translate and tell them how, on St. Valentine's day, people in America +send each other verses--sometimes love-verses, sometimes comic +verses--but that as I couldn't write any in Japanese for them I had +brought some little gifts instead. The children all bowed to the ground, +and were very, very respectful--much better behaved than young people at +home! They seemed to be pleased, and after giving each one his present I +withdrew, telling Watanabe to give them tea and cake or whatever they +wanted. But pretty soon he asked if they might come into the Embassy and +thank us. So they filed in, bowing again, and sang a little Japanese +song to my husband and myself, which was all quite touching. We showed +them a toy tiger we had bought in Paris that would spring and jump when +wound up, and a bear that would drink water, both of which delighted +them greatly. After a while, bowing once again, they departed. + +We made some very pleasant friends in Japan. Among others we met +Baroness Sonnomiya, who is herself English but married to a Japanese. +During her husband's lifetime she had great power, as she was the +intimate friend of the Empress Dowager. There were also Dr. Nitobe and +his wife, who were among the most delightful people we met. I enjoyed +his books thoroughly, as well as his address before the Japanese Peace +Society, which met at the Embassy. + +This gathering had its amusing side, because the president of the +Society had made most of his money selling guns! Moreover, before I +realized that it was the Peace Society which was coming to the Embassy, +I had invited the Naval Attaché's wife and an army officer's wife to +pour tea! Just at that moment it hardly looked as if the cause of peace +was making much headway in the world, for while we were talking about +it, terrible battles were being fought in Turkey, the City of Mexico was +under bombardment, and there was talk of fighting between Austria and +Russia. + +One day I called on Madame Ozaki, whom I had met in Italy when she was +Marion Crawford's secretary. Her mother was English, her father +Japanese; she is very pretty and writes charming stories. After living +in Europe for a number of years she returned to her father in Japan and +taught school, finally marrying Mr. Ozaki, one of Japan's most +conspicuous politicians to-day. When I called on her I found her dressed +in European style, but she had the true Japanese reserve; in fact was +much more Japanese than I had expected after her many years abroad. Her +house was partly European, but when the _shoji_ was thrown aside, the +little maid who received us bowed to the ground in true native fashion. + +Madame Ozaki did not speak of politics, although her husband had just +made an attack on Katsura, who had been for the moment overthrown. It +was said that she had received threatening letters warning her and her +husband to flee to England. + +At this time of political upheaval a curious article appeared in the +paper to the effect that three men had attended their own funeral +services, which they wished to hold because they were about to start on +a dangerous expedition. It was suggested that perhaps they might be +going to take some prominent man's life, but nothing happened, so far as +we knew, until spring, when Mr. Abe, of the Foreign Office, was +murdered. + +In order to explain the political situation in Japan as we found it, I +am obliged to touch briefly on the political changes during the last +fifty years,--that is, since the time of feudalism. + +After Commodore Perry's visit, the Tokugawa government, whose shoguns +had been the real rulers of the country for more than two centuries and +a half, decided to open the ports to foreigners, while officials at the +Imperial Court of the Mikado desired to continue the policy of +exclusion. Finally the reigning Shogun was brought to see that it would +be better for the country to have but one ruler, and resigned in favour +of the Mikado. This inaugurated the wonderful Meiji Era--the era of the +late Emperor. + +Since they had always been men of action, it was the clever _samurai_, +rather than the old nobles, who found a chance to show their ability +under the new régime. They became prominent in both the Upper and Lower +Councils, which were based somewhat on feudalism, and yet showed +strongly the influence of Western ideas. + +Political questions were freely discussed, political parties appeared, +and the first conventions were held. The first cabinet was formed in +1885, with Prince Ito as Premier. + +The Administration was divided into ten departments:--The Imperial +Household, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Finance, Army and Navy, Justice, +Education, Agriculture, Commerce, and Communications. A Minister of +State was appointed head of each department. The Empire was divided into +provinces, each ruled by a governor. In 1890 a national assembly was +granted, and the first Diet was convened. + +The government to-day is Conservative, and is controlled by the _Genro_, +the elder statesmen. The Progressive party, the Seyukai, is led by +Ozaki. The Socialists make a good deal of noise, but are still far from +powerful; their opposition to the Russian war weakened their influence +greatly. The Socialist party in Japan was largely responsible for the +recent anti-American demonstrations. + +For many years Prince Ito was considered the ablest man in the country. +Okubo and Okuma were also noted leaders, while Prince Katsura, in recent +times, held great power. Katsura was quite unpopular with the people +while we were in Japan. It was felt that he had delayed a meeting of the +Diet in order to form a party which would be stronger and at the same +time more completely under his control. Each time when the assembly was +postponed by a command from the Emperor, the blame was placed on +Katsura. Finally Yamamoto was chosen to form a cabinet, which took a +long time to do on account of the different parties. Ozaki, as head of +the Progressives, wished to dictate to Yamamoto, but the latter would +not comply, so things came to a standstill. People seemed to think that +Ozaki was going too far, and that he had better take half a loaf instead +of insisting upon a whole one. It appeared that the Japanese were not as +yet advanced enough for his ideas, or else that he was too advanced for +theirs. Later on, his party yielded somewhat, and Yamamoto made up his +cabinet with Ozaki left out. + +After the trouble had all blown over, people said that it had all been +worked out by clever Katsura. If this is true, it was one of his last +achievements, for the Prince, who is considered the greatest Premier +Japan ever had, died in October, 1913. His career was an interesting +one. His father belonged to the _samurai_ class, and the boy, Katsura +Taro, became a staff officer when only twenty-one. During the +Franco-Prussian war he was in Germany studying military tactics. Later +he was given charge of the reorganizing and modernizing of the Japanese +army. The success of the Japanese in the Chinese and Russian wars is +attributed to his genius and to his "silent and unrewarded toil." Only +after the battle of the Yalu, when he was made viscount, did his work +begin to be appreciated. Later he was created prince. After the Chinese +war he changed from soldier to statesman--was four times Prime Minister, +and "almost a whole cabinet in himself." + +Internal politics do not run any more smoothly in Japan than they do in +our own country. On account of the frequent changes of cabinet there was +often rioting in front of the Diet during the winter we were at the +Embassy. Newspaper offices were attacked and burned, and the mob seemed +to have an especial grudge against the police, who were hardly able to +cope with the situation. Hearing that there was rioting near the Embassy +one evening after dinner, several of us walked to a _matsuri_ not far +away, but the crowd was dispersing when we arrived, and only the +policeman's sentry-box, which was overturned, remained to tell the tale. + + * * * * * + +Clubs are an important element in our modern civilization, and +especially for foreigners in the Orient, where bachelors so greatly +predominate--I believe the proportion is even more than that of forlorn +damsels in Massachusetts. At Yokohama there are two organizations, the +Yokohama United and a German club, besides the two American societies, +the Asiatic and the Columbia. + +The Tokyo Club has the reputation of being the most charming in the +East. It is splendidly situated on a hill near the American Embassy. The +charges are moderate, and the service is generally good. Japanese as +well as Europeans belong to it. While we were in Tokyo my husband was +invited to become the foreign vice-president, the president being an +Imperial Prince. At first he begged off, but a committee of the club +visited him and urged him to accept the office, saying that the Japanese +were anxious to pay our country a compliment. The Tokyo Club is more +than a register of social prominence in the city--it is also important +as a political barometer, and this polite insistence upon L.'s accepting +the place was, in its way, a tribute to America. + +Many adventurers come to the East to seek their fortunes, and one hears +strange stories, tragic or romantic as the case may be. A lover waits on +the dock for his fiancée on the steamer, only to find that she has +decided at the last moment to marry another whom she has met on the +voyage; a wife returns from a long vacation at home to find her husband +consoling himself with a _geisha_; a father who comes out to look for +his son discovers him deep in debt and drinking himself to death. Such +are a few of the many tales we heard. + +Some differences in social customs may be noted here. It is polite, for +instance, to remove your shoes at the door on entering a Japanese home. +After you have entered it is only polite, as well as modest, to remain +near the door! When you are offered tea or anything of the sort, it must +be twice declined, but the third time it may be accepted. + +In conversation one must exalt the person addressed, while everything +belonging to the speaker must be held of no value at all. A father, on +taking a bright boy to the teacher, would naturally say, "O honourable +teacher, here is my idiot son!" And a mother, no matter how deeply she +may feel the death of a child, must shed no tears but continue to smile +and say, "Oh--child no good!" + +What Hearn says about poetry is also true of the Japanese smile. When in +danger, smile; when angry, smile; when sad, smile; in fact, it is +etiquette always to smile! In so many ways the Japanese are an admirable +race, and in none more so than in this. Their instincts are all for good +taste and good manners. + +Speaking of manners--of course, standards vary. It used to be a common +thing in the country villages to see men and women bathing together in +large tanks, but as Westerners disapproved of this custom, a few years +ago an order went forth that men and women bathing together must put on +suits. The result is that to-day they sit on the edge of the tank, or on +the seashore, and dress and undress as they have always done, before one +another, and wonder why they are obliged to put on bathing-suits when +they go into the water! But an order is an order, they say, and must be +obeyed. + +In 1897, when we were in Japan, foreign clothes and top-hats were very +popular, and to-day queer combinations of clothes are still noticeable. +The foreign cap is much worn by the men, and a sort of loose-sleeved +overcoat of English cloth, like an opera coat, is used in winter, worn +over the kimono. But the _tabis_, or linen socks made like a mitten, and +the clogs, are worn as before, while often an unmounted fur skin is +wrapped about the neck. People well dressed in European clothes are +called "high-collared"--in fact, this expression is applied to almost +anything that is Western and modern. Many of the men who have been +abroad are very correctly and smartly clad, but they usually put on a +Japanese costume in the evening, for they call the European dress an +"uncomfortable bag." + +Some of the "high-collared" Japanese have at least one meal a day in +European style, and part of the house is usually devoted to foreign +furniture. They also believe that milk and meat should be eaten in order +to make the race grow larger. Most of the men are anxious to learn +Western ideas, and take great pride in showing inventions that have been +introduced. They consider themselves quite up to date, and so they are +in many ways. + +When my husband was first in Japan, in 1889, a woman's highest desire +was to wear European clothes, and if she could hire a costume and be +photographed in it, she was perfectly happy. But I do not think they +feel like that to-day. The novelty has worn off. Besides, Japanese +dressmaking is a very simple matter; a kimono is made of straight +breadths of cloth basted together. Compared with that, the plainest +Western frock must offer many problems. + +It is certainly better for us not to attempt to talk Japanese, for if +one cannot speak it well it is safer not to try at all. One is very +liable to address a nobleman in the language of a coolie, or to mystify +a servant by speaking to him in the tongue of the higher classes--there +are three ways of making a remark, according to the rank of the person +addressed! No one can believe the difficulties of the language till he +has tried it. To master it in any degree requires years of study. + +To illustrate this I will quote from Dr. Gordon, the missionary, who +gives a bit of dialogue between teacher and pupil during a lesson. "The +pupil says,'The child likes _meshi_.' 'No,' says his mentor, 'in +speaking of a child's rice it is better to use the word _mama_--the +child likes _mama_.' Undiscouraged, the student tries again: 'Do you eat +_meshi_?' But his teacher stops him and tells him that it is polite, in +speaking to another of his having or eating rice, to call it _gozen_. +Having taken this in, the student goes on with his sentence-building: +'The merchant sells _gozen_.' Again the teacher calls a halt, and tells +him that _meshi_ and _gozen_ are used for cooked rice only, and that for +unboiled rice _kome_ is the proper word. Feeling that now he is getting +into the secrets of the language, he says, '_Kome_ grows in the fields,' +but he is again stopped with the information that growing rice is called +_ine_." + +More than one scholar in European tongues has declared Japanese to be +the most difficult language in the world. One has said that a man "can +learn to understand as much of Spanish in six months as he can of +Japanese in six years." Chinese ideographs are said to outnumber the +Japanese characters to-day, and in numerous instances have actually +displaced them, even among the common people. Many characters have two +meanings and only in combination can you know which is intended. There +are no pronouns in the language, nor are there any "swear-words" or +imperatives, the people are so polite. + +Family names are also very confusing--to the Japanese themselves, I +should think, as well as to us--because of the frequency of adoption. +Each family feels that it must have an heir to take care of the aged +members while they live and to pray for them when they die, so a child +is adopted and given the patronymic. Blood doesn't seem to count at all, +for even if a son is born later, it is the adopted child who inherits. +Sometimes children brought up in foreign countries take foreign names. A +naval officer told me of a charming Japanese girl whom he knew, named +Bessie. One day she confided to him that she was going to marry Charlie. +"Marry your brother!" exclaimed the astounded officer. "Yes," replied +Bessie sweetly, "you not know--I not father's real child, and Charlie +not father's real child. Charlie and I, we no relation--both adopted!" + +Adoption is not always necessary, however, for if a man has no children +he can easily divorce his wife, simply by telling her to return to her +father's house, and he may then marry another woman. The modern law also +gives this privilege of divorce to the wife, but custom is so strong +that she never leaves her husband of her own accord. + +Marriages are generally arranged by the parents, with the assistance of +a mutual friend. The man and girl are allowed to see each other, but +although they are not actually forced into marriage, few would dare to +disobey their parents' wishes in the matter. They have a wedding feast, +at which the bride and groom sit on the floor facing each other. The +ceremony sometimes consists of their both drinking from a two-spouted +tea-pot. The bride is clad in a white kimono and veil, which she keeps +all her life, and wears once more when she is dead. Many presents are +received, but the gifts of the groom, which are as costly as he can +afford, are offered by the bride to her parents in gratitude for all +that they have done for her in the past. + +After the wedding the husband takes his bride to his home, no doubt to +live with his father and mother. The wife must not only obey her +husband, but is also much under the rule of her mother-in-law. A man +sometimes brings his concubine into the house, and often her children as +well, and these his wife is obliged to adopt. If husband and wife +disagree, the go-between is usually consulted, and occasionally succeeds +in arranging matters. + +Japanese ladies, as a rule, do not go about very much, except those who +have married foreigners or have lived abroad. A few ladies appear at +foreign dinners with their husbands, but very often the men have dinners +at which their wives do not appear. This may be partly owing to their +inability to speak English. + +But, as a whole, the women have little pleasure. When the man of the +house entertains, he either takes his guests to a tea-house or calls in +a _geisha_ to help him do the honours, while his wife sits apart in a +room by herself and is neither seen nor heard. The diversions, even of +the well-to-do, are few, comprising the arrangement of flowers, the +composition of poetry, and an occasional visit to the theatre. + +Women are employed in manual work, in the fields, and in the loading of +coal in the big ports, and more and more in the new industries. The +kitchen-standard of wifehood is disappearing. Last winter a woman made a +speech in public; this caused great excitement--in fact, it was said +that she was the first Japanese woman to do such a thing. In spite of +the many changes which are coming about, they are as far from being +suffragists as we were a hundred years ago. The sex as a whole are a +long way from anything like economic freedom. + +A woman has recently been made bank-president in Tokyo--a quite +unheard-of innovation. She is Madame Seno, a sort of Japanese Hetty +Green. In spite of the fact that she is over seventy, she goes to her +office every morning punctually. Her tastes are very frugal. She wears +plain cotton kimonos, and travels third-class. At the outbreak of the +Russian war, however, she was the first to offer her subscription to the +Government. + +The children have a very good time, spinning tops, flying kites, and +playing battledore and shuttlecock. In the life of Japan everything has +its place and period, and the children's games succeed one another in +such due order that it is almost impossible to buy the toys of one month +when the season has passed into the next month. It is extraordinary how +the little people combine their work and play, for you see a small boy +carrying a baby on his back staggering around on stilts, and another +small boy pulling a loaded cart and rolling a hoop at the same time, and +little girls with littler girls on their backs tossing balls into the +air or bouncing them in the streets. It is really an unusual thing to +see a woman or young girl in the street without a baby attached to her. +I think one of the reasons why the Japanese race has not grown larger is +because the children from a very early age carry such weights on their +backs. + + [Illustration: "_Little girls with littler girls on their backs_"] + +Mr. Brownell tells a story of a Japanese girl which shows the filial +duty and faithfulness that prevail. It seems she fell in love with a +foreigner, and he with her. His intentions were good, and, although he +was obliged to go away on a trip, he wrote her that he would soon be +back to make her his wife. During his absence, however, her parents +arranged another marriage for the girl, and on his return he found this +letter from her: + + "SIR:-- + + "I am married and is called Mrs. Sodesuka, and by our Japanese + morality and my natural temperament I decline for ever your + impoliteness letter." + + "SODESUKA OTOKU." + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + THE GROWING EMPIRE + + +Although in many of her newer phases Japan is less fascinating to the +casual tourist than where she is still "unspoiled," the efforts she is +making to get into step with the rest of the world, and to solve the +problems which are confronting her, are full of interest to the student +and to the more sympathetic traveller. + +To wide-awake Americans the growing Japan should be of especial +interest, since however much we believe in and hope for continued peace +between the two nations, there is bound to be more or less commercial +competition. + +Where the British Islands have stood in regard to shipping and commerce +on the Atlantic, the islands of Nippon bid fair to stand on the Pacific. +Even to-day the Pacific is by no means an empty ocean, but its +development still lies largely in the future. It is the near future, +however, and Japan knows it. The Panama Canal is almost completed; China +is awakened and beginning to take active notice; Japanese colonies are +being planted in South America and elsewhere. + +While many countries of the Western world are facing a falling +birth-rate, Japan's is rising rapidly. There is a tradition which +accounts for this state of affairs. It seems that there was once a +quarrel between the creators of the land, Izanami threatening his wife, +Izanagi, that he would cause the population to die off at the rate of a +thousand a day. The goddess, however, got the last word, and increased +the birth-rate to fifteen hundred a day. Apparently she has been able to +maintain the ratio to the present time--at any rate, there is an annual +gain of half a million. + +With a population already averaging three hundred to every habitable +square mile, it is little wonder that the nation feels the need of +extending her boundaries and to that end is trying to open up new +territory to her emigrants. + +Emigration began in 1885, when the King of Hawaii called for settlers in +his island realm. Emigration societies were organized, under the control +of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and to-day the men of Nippon greatly +outnumber the whites. The Foreign Minister still has entire charge of +the societies: he grants all passports, and sees to the proper +distribution of the thousands who every year leave their own country to +settle more or less permanently in other parts of the world. Many +emigrants go to Manchuria, Korea and Formosa, some to the Malay +Peninsula and Australia, a few to the Philippines, and an increasing +number to Central and South America. But they are a home-loving people, +and eventually three-fourths of those who go out, return to Japan to +settle down once more with their families. + +Greatly to Japan's mortification, her people have been repulsed in +California. Professor Peabody of Harvard returned recently from a trip +to the Orient, and had this to say on the subject: "We accept as +citizens the off-scourings of Eastern Europe, and shut our door on the +thrifty Japanese, whose colour may be no darker and whose descent may be +from the same original stock. What nags the Japanese in the matter is +the indirect insinuation of bad blood, the intimation that a people +whose education is compulsory and self-help is universal may not prove +as serviceable elements in a commercial democracy as the average of +Syrians or Copts; that, in short, the Far East is intrinsically inferior +to the Near East." He points out that after twenty years the Japanese +hold only about one per cent. of the agricultural land in the State of +California, and that there are five thousand less of them there now than +there were three years ago, owing to a "Gentlemen's Agreement," by which +Japan limits her emigration to the United States. + +This land question came up after we left Tokyo, but it naturally +interested us intensely. The Californians seem to fear the Japanese +because they live so cheaply and work so hard that it is thought they +may come in time to own the whole state. + +A recent competition, with a prize offered for the best essay on the +California trouble, showed a world-wide ignorance of the real situation +and its causes. Since this was true of both American and Japanese +competitors, it seems to show that even the more educated among us need +to think and study more deeply into the problem before making up our +minds. + +An extract from the _Japan Magazine_, which is published in Tokyo, shows +how men of the better class feel regarding the land question: "Japan is +not angry, but she is earnestly anxious to know whether America will +rest content to allow the California attitude to pass as national. No, +Japan is not wrathful, but she is mortified to see any section of the +country that calls itself her friend, somewhat abruptly suggest that her +absence is preferred to her presence.... Happily, the California +attitude does not represent the American people, so that Japan still has +hopes of a reconsideration and a reinstatement. On the other hand, it is +unfortunate that the majority of Japanese residents in the United States +are not really representative of Japan. Certainly the average of +emigrants going to America is not at all on an intellectual or social +equality with the average citizen at home ... they are the poorest and +most unfortunate of their countrymen, and would never have left home if +they could have succeeded as well in their own country. The same may be +said of every immigrant from Europe.... When the lowest class can do so +well, a better class would do even better.... The main hope lies at +present in so instructing intending emigrants that they will be able to +assimilate speedily and amicably with American society and abide by the +customs and laws of the country." + +It is interesting to note that in Japan they talk of the "white peril" +and tell of the cruelty and oppression of Europeans to their "less +civilized" yellow brethren. They have no difficulty in finding cases +where might has made right, even in very recent times. + +It is suggested by a Japanese newspaper that their diplomatists, in +dealing with our country, have been imitating the attitude of the +British toward the United States, apparently believing it to be in the +end the one most likely to achieve results. The main features of this +"attitude" are much patience and brotherly kindness, but unwavering +firmness. + +Before leaving the subject a few statistics are not out of place. The +reason why the question centres about California is that sixty per cent. +of all the Japanese in the country are in that state, where most of them +are engaged in agriculture. During the last five years the number of +immigrants has steadily decreased. In 1911, the Japanese farmers +produced more than twelve million dollars' worth of crops, which is +nearly twenty per cent. of the entire yield of the state. Reckoning +their labour on land they do not control, however, they are responsible +for at least ninety per cent. of the agricultural products of +California, whether vineyard, vegetable, or fruit. The most successful +farmers are in the northern part of the state, where the low district +along the river is tabooed by Americans, and but for the men from Japan +would be idle and useless. The immense harvest of fruit and grain in the +San Joaquin valley could hardly be gathered without them. + +During the agitation against Asiatics, when the number of Japanese was +reduced, and Indians, Greeks, Mexicans, and Italians took their places, +the American managers admitted that one Japanese was equal to three or +four of the other nationalities in agricultural work. The farmer from +Nippon is a hard-working man, always eager to have his own little hut +and a wife and family. + +Dr. Sidney L. Gulick, in his recent book, "The American Japanese +Problem," points out the one-sidedness of the attacks made upon the +Japanese in California. He says, for instance, that "When Governor +Johnson and Secretary Bryan came to Florin [a town used as an 'awful +example' of Japanese occupation], Mr. Reese, already known for his +anti-Japanese attitude, was chosen by Governor Johnson to be their guide +and instructor, while Mr. Landsborough, known to Governor Johnson as +pro-Japanese, was turned aside." The report of the State Labour +Commission, which investigated the situation, was so favourable to the +Japanese that the state government is said to have suppressed it--at any +rate, it has never been published. + +The _Los Angeles Times_ says: "The Japanese have become an important +factor in the agricultural and commercial life of the southwest. Their +thrift is remarkable, their patience inexhaustible, and they are natural +gardeners, seeming to read the secrets of the very soil and to know +instinctively what will do well and what will do better. The result of +this close study of soil conditions, close observation of crop and +weather conditions, enables the Japanese to control to a great degree +the vegetable-raising industry of Southern California." + +Considering that there are more Italians in New York than there are in +Rome, and that one person in every three in our metropolis is a Jew, +while half the population of Norway is in this country--to mention a few +cases--it doesn't seem as if we ought to object seriously to a handful +of Japanese immigrants. + +Although California repulsed them, South America has proved very +hospitable to the Japanese. The "Latin-American A-B-C" of Argentina, +Brazil and Chile, receives their colonists eagerly. Guglielmo Ferrero, +the Italian philosopher, finds traces of a possible racial likeness +between the Japanese and the natives of South America. While he is by no +means sure of this relationship himself, he says, "Japan will not shrink +from relying upon the anthropologic theories above stated for the +purpose of opening to its emigrants the ports of this immense and +wealthy continent and establishing the strongest ties of close +friendship where Europeans are gathering such harvests of wealth." + +The friendship which exists between Japan and Argentina, however, is not +based upon any real or fancied racial ties. It began at the time when +the latter country sold the Island nation two new warships which she was +having built in Europe, thus proving herself a friend in need. +Emigration to Argentina has only just begun, but the future is very +promising commercially, not alone on account of the cordial relations, +but because the republic offers a good market for Japanese +merchandise--with a population of but six million, she buys and sells +more in a year than China with her three hundred million. + +There is a great demand for Japanese immigrants in Brazil, where there +is no race prejudice to be encountered and much fertile land to be had +for the asking. Brazil is a Portuguese country, which is especially +appropriate, since Portugal was the first to send missionaries to Japan, +nearly three centuries ago. + +A company has been formed in Japan for the purpose of colonizing in +Brazil, aiming to settle the surplus population in a country where it +will be well treated. At least three thousand immigrants a year are +promised by the company, but more will be welcomed, Brazil promising +land, roads, and transportation from Japan. Farmers, who in their own +country received perhaps fifteen cents a day, are able to save from one +hundred to three hundred dollars a year to send home, while wages are +steadily rising. + +A writer in a recent issue of a Brazilian bulletin comments on the scene +at the dock when the first shipload of Japanese immigrants arrived. "The +spectacle was curious and very different to the disembarking of European +immigrants," he says. "The men, many of whom had their chests adorned +with the Manchurian medal, carried little flags in which the Brazilian +and Japanese colours were mingled, green and gold, white and red. The +extreme cleanliness of the Japanese was remarkable; while European +emigrants, and particularly those from the south of Europe, leave the +ship that has transported them in a filthy state, the cabins of the boat +on which the Japanese travelled were on arrival as neat as at the time +of departure. Each of them had in his baggage ... numerous articles of +toilet, tooth-paste, and tooth-brushes." + +As yet there is little commerce between Brazil and Japan, but another +year will probably see a change in this respect, for the opening of the +Canal will make the route four thousand miles shorter, and the +freightage, as a consequence, much lower. + +The Panama Canal will make a considerable difference in Japanese trade +with the United States. At present her exports to our country are nearly +double her imports from us. There are now two routes to New York--the +quicker one, to San Francisco and thence by rail, the slower one, all +the way by sea, through the Suez Canal; the former is expensive, while +the latter may require six months. It will be possible to make the trip +by way of Panama in almost the time needed for the shorter route, but +with the low freightage charge of the longer. + +The Canal will also facilitate trade with the eastern coast of South +America, giving direct intercourse, not only with Brazil, but also with +Argentina. At present exports to these countries are sent via Europe and +transshipped. + +On account of her insular position Japan has always been a sea-going +nation, but her shipping has increased enormously since the war with +Russia. She now has over six thousand ships, manned for the most part by +her own seamen. The question of building larger liners, such as are +being put into commission for the Atlantic trade, has been discussed. At +present the Japanese steamers which carry passengers are as good as the +American ones, if not better. Instead of buying them abroad, Japan is +beginning to build her own steamships--there are large shipyards at +Nagasaki and Kobe. + +In her efforts to cope with her rapidly growing population and +multiplying industries, Japan is seeking trade-openings all over the +world. Her business men are touring the globe in search of them. At +present she is, perhaps, most interested in China, which has doubled the +amount of her annual trade in the last ten years. The first months of +1913 showed a gain of forty-six per cent. over the corresponding months +of 1912 in exports to China, while the United States exceeded her +previous purchases by only three per cent. Of the hundred thousand +Japanese in the former country, nearly all are engaged in commercial +pursuits, rather than in farming as they are in other parts of the +world. Japan also has the advantage of being near this great market, and +with labour so cheap she can easily compete with England, Germany, and +the United States. She could make great profits if it were not necessary +for her to buy most of her manufacturing machinery abroad. + +America is by far Japan's best customer. She sold us and our colonies +over a hundred million dollars' worth of goods last year--about a third +of her total exports. Incidentally, she is an excellent customer of +ours, for she bought over thirty million dollars' worth of cotton alone, +in 1912, and much else besides. + +Usually the Empire finds it necessary to import the raw materials and +the machinery for their manufacture, while she exports the finished +product. Much of her Oriental trade consists in yarn and cloth; the raw +material is brought in from China and America and sold again to China +and India. + +In no way is the growth of Japan more striking than in her industries. +Sixty years ago she had no foreign trade, for she had nothing to export. +To-day Great Britain finds her an interesting rival. Mills and factories +have sprung up like mushrooms, almost over night. The conditions which +accompanied this change and rapid development are worth noting. + +In feudal times both the arts and the industries were carried on under +the patronage of the nobility--the _daimyo_ and the _samurai_. They were +great lovers of beauty, these warlike lords; it is said that many a +_samurai_, returning from the wars covered with glory, preferred the +gift of an exquisite vase as a reward for his valour, rather than lands +or decorations. They encouraged their subjects to make things; but, more +than that, to make them beautiful. + +Nevertheless, manufacturing conditions were very primitive. There was no +division of labour, so that often a man would need to be skilled in +several crafts in order to make a single article. Each man worked by +himself. A boy inherited his father's trade, whether he liked it or not. +Each trade had its guild, to which a worker must belong if he wished to +be free to carry on his business. These guilds still exist to-day, but +have far less power than labour unions in America or guilds in China. + +The feudal system came to an end in 1868, and private ownership of +property began. Organized industries appeared on a small scale: +machinery was imported from Europe and America, railroads were built and +factories started. Nine years later the first industrial exposition ever +seen in Japan was held in Tokyo; soon afterward the Island Empire was +sending exhibits to Europe and America to show the world what she could +do. This, of course, resulted in stimulating the export trade and the +manufacturing of such articles as were most in demand. + +After the Chinese war, in 1895, there was a great boom. Old methods of +private enterprise were no longer adequate to meet the increased demand. +Stock companies began to be organized. The Government itself took over +certain forms of industry for the purpose of raising revenues. Improved +machinery was introduced from the Western world, and experts were +engaged. + +Since the Russo-Japanese war industries have multiplied so tremendously +that the demand for labour has been very great. Wages have gone up, and +the workers have become much more independent. As yet, there have been +no labour strikes of any importance; fortunately, no Gompers or +McNamaras have appeared. + +For the first time in Japan women began to be employed. They are to be +found in large numbers in the factories near Osaka (which is called the +Chicago of Japan) and Kobe, as well as in the districts near Tokyo. Most +of these women are peasants from the provincial sections who serve on +three-year contracts. Children are still employed, although the +Government does not allow them to go to work under twelve years of age. + +Wages in all branches of industry are still very low, and the cost of +living is rising. But living conditions, even at their worst, are much +better than with us among corresponding classes. Weavers, dyers, and +spinners receive from ten to twenty cents a day, while a streetcar +conductor gets five or six dollars a month. + +The factory owners keep their employees in compounds, where they provide +some sort of shelter free and charge a nominal amount for meals. In the +older type of factory there is often crowding and a low standard of +living, but in the more modern and socialistic ones great attention is +paid to the worker's needs, physical, mental and moral. + +There is a fine factory in Hyogo from which many of our mills might well +take pattern. Besides having beautiful recreation and dormitory gardens, +there are rows of pretty, two-storied houses with tiny gardens in front +of each. The owners also furnish a theatre for the use of their +employees, a coöperative shop, a spacious hospital, and schools and +kindergartens for the children. + +Japan has more than seventy cotton mills in operation, and can +manufacture cloth as cheaply as any of its rivals. The home demand is +large, since the lower classes wear only cotton the year round. Cotton +towels, printed in blue and white, have become so popular in America +during the last year or two that the export trade in them has increased +enormously. + +Four years ago a boy of eighteen, Torakichi Inouye, succeeded to the +hereditary management of a large towel firm in Tokyo. He realized that +foreigners seemed much attracted by the pretty designs, and were buying +them in surprising quantities at the shops where they were for sale. So +he began trying them on the American markets, with the success that we +have seen. To-day his factory is making two hundred thousand towels a +day, and in ten months shipped over 175,000,000 pieces. He originated +the idea of printing designs that could be combined into table-covers, +bedspreads, etc. The patterns for the towels are cut in paper, like a +stencil, and are folded in between many alternate layers of the cloth. +The indigo-blue dye is then forced through by means of an air-pump. + +Instead of importing all their machinery, as formerly, the Japanese are +now beginning to manufacture it for themselves. They get the foreigners +to come and teach them how to build steamships and locomotives, and as +soon as they have learned whatever they wish to know they put their own +countrymen in charge of the work. Although at one time there were many +foreign engineers in different parts of the Empire, every year finds +fewer of them filling important positions. This is true in every branch +of industry. + +Inventive genius is being cultivated, too, for clever people are not +content simply to imitate. A system of wireless quite different from +that generally in use is said to have been perfected for the navy. +Wireless telephones are used over short distances, and are being rapidly +improved and extended. Quite an advance has been made this last year in +aviation also. Experts in both army and navy are making good records. + +In spite of many difficulties several thousand miles of railway have +been built during the last forty years. Engineers often find it +necessary not only to tunnel through mountains, but under rivers the +beds of which are shifting. To make matters even more interesting, there +are typhoons, earthquakes, and torrents of rain which end in floods. +Notwithstanding the cost of building and maintaining the roads under +such conditions, railway travel is cheaper than with us or in Europe. +First class costs less than third in an English train. + +For the wherewithal to feed her people, Japan depends largely upon her +native farmers. In spite of their poverty these are of a higher class +socially than in most Western countries. The _samurai_ and _daimyo_ made +much of agriculture, ranking it above trade. The Government to-day +continues to do all that it can to aid and encourage farming. Experiment +stations have been established, and various coöperative societies formed +for the use of the farmers, who also have a special bank of their own. +Prices are rising, and, on the whole, the prospects are good, although +the nature of the land is against any great advance. The surface of the +country is so mountainous that only about one-seventh can be cultivated, +and that is not especially fertile. Sixty per cent. of the population is +agricultural. + +Each man owns his own little farm, which he tills in primitive fashion, +growing rice, wheat, or beans, according to the soil or season. Almost +no livestock is kept, and pastures are rarely seen. An average farm, +supporting a family of six, has about three and a half acres. + + [Illustration: A RICE FIELD.] + +The soya bean, which is much grown, really furnishes an industry in +itself. It has many uses. _Soy_, the national sauce, is made from it, +and also bean cheese. Recently an English chemist has discovered a +method of producing artificial milk from it. Its oil is extracted and +sold to foreign markets, rivalling the cottonseed oil, which is better +known. The pulp remaining is used as fodder and fertilizer. + +Rice is the favourite crop and is of such good quality that much of it +is exported to India, whence a cheaper grade is imported in return for +the use of the poorer classes. Instead of forming the national diet, as +we are inclined to suppose, rice is really such a luxury that many +people never eat it except in sickness or on feast-days. + +For all the Japanese farmer is so independent, he is often miserably +poor. An acre of rice may in good years produce an annual profit of a +dollar and a half, but there is quite likely to be a deficit instead. +When one considers that it takes the labour of seventeen men and nine +women to cultivate two and a half acres of rice, this is not surprising. +Vegetables do better than grain, and mulberry plantations for the +raising of silkworms do best of all, but it has been figured that a +hard-working man, with very likely a large family to support, does well +if he clears a hundred and twenty dollars in the course of a year. As a +result of this, most of the peasantry are in debt, and many of them are +leaving their farms and going to the city, as they are doing in our own +country. + +Really more important than rice, of which we hear so much, is the sweet +potato, of which we hear so little. The first one reached Japan some two +hundred years ago as the gift of the King of the Loochoo Islands to the +Lord of Satsuma. The latter prince was so pleased with the taste of it +that he asked for seed-potatoes, and before long the Government +commanded that the new vegetable should be grown throughout the country, +since it could be raised even in famine years, when other crops failed. +In Tokyo there are over a thousand sweet-potato shops, where one buys +them halved or sliced or whole, all hot and nicely roasted, serving in +cold weather to warm one's hands before delighting the inner man--or +rather, child--for they are a delicacy much prized by children. There is +no waste in their preparation, for not only are the peelings sold for +horse-fodder, but the ashes in which they are roasted are used again +around the charcoal in the _hibachi_! + +The silkworm was introduced into Japan by a Chinese prince in 195 A. D., +and a century later Chinese immigrants taught the people how to weave +the new thread. To-day sericulture is largely carried on by the women +and children of the farm, and is twice as productive as the rest of the +crops. As in poultry-raising, however, the gains are not in proportion +to the size of the plant, the smaller ones being the more successful. + +The mining industries have been much slower to develop than most of the +others, although they are of ancient origin. A great deal of +metal--gold, silver and copper--was exported during the Middle Ages. It +has been suggested that Columbus had the gold of Japan in view when he +set out upon the voyage which resulted in the discovery of America. + +Japan has been described as the missionary to the Far East. Certainly, +whatever her motives, her influence in Korea and Formosa has been most +helpful. The latter island has been nearly freed from smallpox and other +plagues, while its revenues have been increased six hundred per cent. +Her influence in the liberalizing of China is marked, too, although it +is less concentrated, of course, than in the smaller fields. + +The Japanese have an undoubted advantage over other nationalities in +China. Their agents know the language, but more than that, they are able +to adapt themselves to native conditions of living and to "think +Chinese." For ages past China has been the godmother of Japan, teaching +her many valuable lessons in art and industry. It is now only fair that +the pupil should do what she can to help her ancient teacher. Naturally +the form which this expression of gratitude takes is by no means +unprofitable commercially to the younger nation! + +"With regard to that part of Manchuria which comes under Japanese +influence," writes a British merchant, "the conveniences and facilities +afforded by the Japanese to one and all in regard to banking +institutions, railway communications, postal and telegraph service are +far and away superior to those afforded by the Russian and Chinese +institutions." + +It has taken Europe six hundred years to do what Japan has done in +sixty, and if the little Island Nation has left a few things undone, or +has made mistakes and perhaps gone too far in some directions, it is not +surprising. The marvel is that with the thrill and bustle of modern +business life she has kept so much of the ancient charm and delight as +to make us even to-day feel the witchery of her Spell. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + A YEAR OF FESTIVALS + + +Most important and most generally observed of all Japanese festivals is +the New Year, the holiday season lasting for about two weeks. The most +striking feature to us was the varied decorations of the gates, which +were adorned with a collection of emblems of one kind and another, +producing an effect unique in the extreme, even if their significance +was unknown. These decorations are put up before Christmas in the case +of the foreigners, but those in front of the native houses are not +completed until New Year, and remain in place throughout the holidays. + +A large number of apparently incongruous articles are used in +ornamenting Japanese homes for the New Year, and not until we learn the +symbolic meaning of each one of these can we understand their use. They +range from bamboo, ferns, oranges, pine-trees and branches of +_yusuri_-tree to paper bags, straw ropes, bits of charcoal, seaweed and +even lobsters, incomprehensible as it may seem to the Western mind that +some of these objects should have any significance whatever. + +As you enter a house you discover, stretched from post to post of the +gateway above your head, a thick, twisted rope--the _nawa_--with the +following emblems suspended from it: first, the _yebi_--lobster--whose +bent back is the symbol of long life, suggesting the hope that he who +passes beneath may not die until time has bowed his back in like manner. +Surrounding the lobster, as a frame to its brilliant scarlet, are the +_yusuri_ branches, on which the young leaves are budding while the old +have not as yet fallen, significant of the several generations of the +family within. Almost hidden by the lobster and directly in the centre +of the _nawa_, are perhaps the prettiest of all the emblems, two dainty +fern-fronds, symbolical of the happiness and unity of wedded life, and +carefully placed between the two, a budding leaflet emblematic of +fruitfulness. + +From Japanese mythology we learn the significance of the _nawa_--the +rope of rice straw. Ama-terasu, the Sun-Goddess, in terror of her +brother, Susa-no-o, fled to a cave, from which she refused to come +forth. Then the Eighty Myriads of Gods took counsel as to how they might +induce her to bestow upon them the light of her face once more. They +decided to give a wonderful entertainment, introduced by the songs of +thousands of birds. Ama-terasu came out, curious to know the meaning of +these sounds, daylight returned, and the gods stretched a barrier across +the mouth of the cavern in order that she might never retreat to it +again. The _nawa_ represents this obstacle, and wherever it hangs, the +sweetness of spring is supposed to enter. + +But one may ask, what is the connection between the New Year and the +coming of spring? According to the old Japanese calendar, the year began +at any time between January sixteenth and February nineteenth, so it +came, as a rule, at least a month later than with us, and the idea of +spring was always associated with the New Year. Although spring arrives +in Tokyo about the time it does in Washington, January first is far +enough from any suggestion of buds and flowers: but the Japanese keep +the old associations and call the first fortnight of the year +"spring-advent" and the second fortnight "the rains." + +The mention of spring suggests a charming stanza by an anonymous +Japanese poet, which I give in Professor Chamberlain's translation: + + "Spring, spring has come, while yet the landscape bears + Its fleecy burden of unmelted snow! + Now may the zephyr gently 'gin to blow, + To melt the nightingale's sweet frozen tears." + +That the gods may not be forgotten, propitiatory offerings in the shape +of twisted pieces of paper cut diagonally--_gohei_, meaning +purification--are attached at intervals along the _nawa_, looking for +all the world like the horns stuck in the hair in the children's game of +"Horned Lady." Setting off the scarlet hue of the lobster, on either +side is placed a _daidai_,--a kind of orange--expressing the hope that +the family pedigree may flourish. The rather incongruous piece of +charcoal--_sumi_, meaning homestead--comes next, and gently waving to +and fro beneath the oranges may be seen strips of +seaweed--_konbu_--signifying rejoicing. + +On either side of the gateway stands the guardian pine-tree, indicative +of long life, supporting the _nawa_, which is about six feet in +length--on the right the _me-matsu_ (the red pine), and on the left the +_O-matsu_ (the honourable black pine). Behind, giving grace and dainty +freshness to the whole, nod and sway the exquisite feathery branches of +the bamboo, typical of health and strength. The full list of symbols is +not always seen, as the task and the purse of the individual are both +consulted before deciding upon his gateway decorations. But even among +the poorest there is never a doorway wholly unadorned; the omission +would be sure to bring harm to the householder and misfortune to his +friends, and the gods unpropitiated would look frowningly down during +the year. Although two diminutive pine-trees before a house may be all +that can be afforded, the dweller within feels as securely guarded +against harm in the coming year as if the whole panoply of emblems were +waving over his humble doorway. + +The pine-trees remind me of Bashô's epigram on New Year decorations, +beautifully translated by E. W. Clement: + + "At every door + The pine-trees stand: + One mile-post more + To the spirit-land; + And as there's gladness, + So there's sadness." + +Much brighter colours are worn at the New Year than at other times, and +presents are exchanged. The older people make gifts of dwarf trees, +while the children give one another dolls and kites, and games of +battledore and shuttlecock, which one sees both old and young playing in +the streets. The small, stocky horses that drag the carts with their +picturesque loads are adorned with streamers of mauve and lemon and rose +in honour of the first drive of the year, and many of the carts carry +flags and lanterns on bamboo poles, so that the streets are very gay. +Tokyo is especially gay the last evening of the old year, because a +_matsuri_, or fair, is held in the principal street, with little booths +illuminated by lanterns, where any one who is in debt can sell his +belongings in order to pay all he owes and begin the New Year fairly. + +Small groups go from house to house, carrying the strange lion-dog's +head, which they put through various antics, while they dance and sing +in order to drive away evil spirits. (The lion-dog is a mythical animal +borrowed from the Chinese.) They are usually rewarded by the owner with +a few pennies. People go about on New Year's Day, stopping at the +doorways of their friends to say: "May you be as old as the pine and as +strong as the bamboo, may the stork make nests in your chimney and the +turtle crawl over your floor." The turtle and the stork symbolize long +life. + +Part of the preparation for the New Year festival consists in the annual +house-cleaning. This custom is kept up to-day, and is carried out even +in foreign houses. Under the old régime, we are told, officials of the +Shogun's Court sent overseers carrying dusters on long poles to +superintend the work and thrust their brooms into cracks and corners +where dust might be left undisturbed by careless servants, at the same +time making mystic passes with their poles to form the Chinese character +for water. The merchants, too, have their "big cleaning," when all their +wares are tossed out into the street. As one of the Japanese poets has +said: + + "Lo, house-cleaning is here; + Gods of Buddha and Shinto + Are jumbled together + All on the grass!" + +One of the most attractive customs associated with the New Year is that +of placing under the little wooden pillows of the children a picture of +the _Takara-bune_, the Treasure Ship, with the Seven Gods of Good +Fortune on board. This ship is said to come into port on New Year's Eve +and to bring a wonderful cargo, among other rare things being the Lucky +Rain-Coat, the Inexhaustible Purse, the Sacred Key and the Hat of +Invisibility. This is the Japanese interpretation of our expression, +"When my ship comes in." + +At the Embassy the observance of New Year's Eve was a mixture of +American and Japanese customs. We invited all the unmarried members of +the Staff, and after visiting the _matsuri_ we returned to the Embassy, +and as the clock struck twelve we passed a loving bowl, and all joined +hands and sang songs. Then, as the passing year was the year of the +cock, and 1913 was the year of the bullock, some one crowed a good-bye +to the rooster of 1912, and some one else mooed like a bullock as a +welcome to the newcomer, and we had a very jolly time. + +But New Year's Day itself is not without its religious and ceremonial +observances. Every man is obliged to rise at the hour of the tiger--the +early hour of four o'clock--and put on new clothes. Then he worships the +gods, does homage to the spirits of his ancestors, and offers +congratulations to his parents and the older members of the family. All +this must be done before he can breakfast. + +The first repast of the year is in every sense symbolic. The tea is made +with water drawn from the well as the first ray of the sun touches it. +The principal dish is a compound of six ingredients, which are always +the same, although the proportions may be varied. A special kind of +_saké_ is drunk from a red lacquer cup in order to ensure good health +for the coming year. In addition to these things, there is always an +"elysian stand"--a red lacquer tray, covered with evergreen _yusuri_ +leaves and bearing a lobster, a rice dumpling, dried sardines, and +herring roe, also oranges, persimmons and chestnuts, much as in a "lucky +bag." All these articles of food are in some way emblematic of long life +and happiness, and the stand itself represents the chief of the three +islands of Chinese mythology, where all the birds and animals are white, +where mountains and palaces are of gold, and where youth is eternal. + +New Year calls are as much a part of the celebration in Japan as in the +Western world. Originally, these were genuine visits, and the "elysian +stand" was set before the guests for their refreshment, but among the +higher classes the calls are now the most conventional of affairs, in +which the visitor simply writes his name in a book or leaves a card in a +basket, often without being received by the householder at all. The +caller leaves also a little gift of some sort--such as a basket of +oranges, a bunch of dried seaweed, or a box of sweetmeats--wrapped in a +neat package and tied with a red and gold cord in a butterfly knot. A +finishing touch is given to the parcel by a sprig of green in a +quiver-shaped envelope tucked under the knot. + +The seventh of January was the proper time to go out into the fields and +gather seven common plants, among which were dandelion, chickweed and +shepherd's purse. These were boiled with rice and eaten for health, +strength and good luck. + +Originally, the Japanese had no weekly day of rest and recreation, but +in recent years the Sabbath has been made an official rest-day, to be +observed by all in government employ. The mass of the people, however, +bring up their average of holidays by other occasions. There are during +the year ten or twelve special feasts which are always observed--the +Emperor's birthday, or when he eats first of the season's rice crop, or +makes a pilgrimage to the shrines of his mythological ancestors, and +other similar events, are all made the occasion of a national holiday +and popular rejoicing. Besides, every section of a city or district in +the country has a little _matsuri_ every day or two, and these, of +course, are held holiday, but it must be remembered that many of the +festivals mentioned in this chapter belonged to Old Japan, and are dying +out to-day. + +Some festivals take the names of animals, such as the Horse Day, and the +years are also named after animals, 1914 being the year of the tiger. +The Fox Temple Festival is well known, when the people pray for good +crops. Among other holidays are the Lucky Day, the seventh day of the +seventh month, when two planets are in conjunction, and the first day of +the eighth month. Certain prescribed flowers and plants are used on each +of these occasions. Any important date, such as that on which a young +man comes of age, or an official is promoted in rank, is also made a +festal day. + +The twenty-eighth day of every month is observed by the Japanese, but +more generally in the first month than in any other, in order to begin +the New Year properly. We went to a Buddhist temple in Uyeno Park, where +they beg the god of luck to protect them and keep them from misfortune +throughout the year. Before entering the temple, as is always done, they +purify themselves by washing their hands and scattering little offerings +of money done up in paper. On account of some ancient custom, money is +much more valued in Japan if wrapped in paper. Candles are lighted, and +priests sitting cross-legged with their backs to the audience read from +sacred books. A holy fire is kindled, and each worshipper buys a hundred +tapers and walks from the fire to the shrine, praying, I suppose, for +they seem to be saying something. As they reach the fire again, they +throw a taper into it, and repeat the ceremony till all are gone. +Surrounding the temple are little booths, where toys are for sale and +gay lanterns and good things to eat and drink are displayed, so that +when the prayers have been offered, the people can enjoy themselves in +feasting, watching the jugglers at their tricks, or making small +purchases at the booths. + +On the night of February third, distant shouts were heard at the +Embassy. Upon inquiring what the noise was about, I was told that this +was called "Bean Night," when the servants in most houses throw beans +out into the garden, crying, "Demons go out, luck come in." As I passed +a temple that evening, I saw crowds of people, and noticed some Shinto +or Buddhist priests doing a religious dance. + + [Illustration: DISPLAY OF DOLLS, DOLLS' FESTIVAL.] + +The third of March is the Dolls' Festival, the great day of the year for +little girls. At all times of the year the Japanese have miniature +belongings for children which are very attractive, but just before this +festival the shops are even prettier than at Christmas in America, and +the windows are always arranged either to show the _No_ dance--two +figures in curious dress in front of a gold screen with pine-tree +decorations--or the Emperor and Empress. These dolls are placed on the +top shelf with a screen behind and a canopy overhead to suggest a +palace. Although for twenty years or more the Emperor has generally +appeared in uniform on State occasions, and the Empress has been gowned +in the latest Parisian style, these Imperial dolls wear flowing robes +and have strange crowns upon their heads, the Emperor, too, having his +hair curiously arranged; and they sit in Japanese fashion on a raised +platform. On the shelf below are ladies-in-waiting, then follow +musicians, lanterns and articles of food down the steps in order, all +very tiny and perfectly made. + +For a picture of this festival as it is kept even to-day I borrow from +Miss Alice M. Bacon's "Japanese Girls and Women," only adding that I was +so delighted with the toys myself that I bought many of them, and with +the aid of Watanabe set them up in proper order at the Embassy: + +"It was my privilege," says Miss Bacon, "to be present at the Feast of +Dolls in the house of one of the Tokugawa _daimyos_, a house in which +the old forms and ceremonies were strictly observed, and over which the +wave of foreign innovation had passed so slightly that even the calendar +still remained unchanged, and the feast took place upon the third day of +the third month of the old Japanese year, instead of on the third day of +March, which is the usual time for it now. At this house, where the +dolls had been accumulating for hundreds of years, five or six broad, +red-covered shelves, perhaps twenty feet long or more, were completely +filled with them and with their belongings. The Emperor and Empress +appeared again and again, as well as the five Court musicians, and the +tiny furnishings and utensils were wonderfully costly and beautiful. +Before each Emperor and Empress was set an elegant lacquered table +service--tray, bowls, cups, _saké_ pots, rice baskets, etc., all +complete--and in each utensil was placed the appropriate variety of +food. The _saké_ used on this occasion is a sweet, white liquor, brewed +especially for this feast, as different from the ordinary _saké_ as +sweet cider is from the hard cider upon which a man may drink himself +into a state of intoxication. Besides the table service, everything that +an Imperial doll can be expected to need or desire is placed upon the +shelves. Lacquered _norimono_, or palanquins; lacquered bullock carts, +drawn by bow-legged black bulls--these were the conveyances of the great +in Old Japan, and these, in minute reproductions, are placed upon the +red-covered shelves. Tiny silver and brass _hibachi_, or fire-boxes, are +there, with their accompanying tongs and charcoal baskets--whole +kitchens, with everything required for cooking the finest of Japanese +feasts, as finely made as if for actual use; all the necessary toilet +apparatus--combs, mirrors, utensils for blackening the teeth, for +shaving the eyebrows, for reddening the lips and whitening the face--all +these things are there to delight the souls of all the little girls who +may have the opportunity to behold them. For three days the Imperial +effigies are served sumptuously at each meal, and the little girls of +the family take pleasure in serving the Imperial Majesties; but when the +feast ends, the dolls and their belongings are packed away in their +boxes, and lodged in the fireproof warehouse for another year." + +As we may well believe from the tenderness with which it is treated, the +Japanese doll is not simply a plaything but a means of teaching a girl +to be a good wife and mother. It is never abused, but is so well cared +for that it may be in use for a hundred years. Certain large dolls, +representing children two or three years old, were formerly believed to +contain human souls, and it was thought that if they were not well +treated they would bring ill luck upon their owners. + +A story is told of a maid who was much disturbed by dreams of a +one-armed figure--the ghost of a girl or woman--which haunted her bed at +night. These visitations were repeated so many times that she decided to +leave the place, but her master prevailed upon her to stay until he had +made a thorough search of her room. Sure enough, in the corner of a +cupboard shelf, he came upon an old one-armed doll, left there by a +former servant. The doll's arms were repaired, it was honourably put +away, and the restless little ghost was laid. + +Lafcadio Hearn says, "I asked a charming Japanese girl: 'How can a doll +live?' 'Why,' she answered, '_if you love it enough_, it will live.'" + +But as all things earthly must have an end, so even a Japanese doll at +last comes to the close of its life. It is lovingly cared for even then, +is not thrown away, is not buried, but is consecrated to Kojin, a god +with many arms. A little shrine and a _torii_ are erected in front of +the _enoki_-tree, in which Kojin is supposed to live, and here the doll +finds its last resting-place. + +On the eighth of April is celebrated the religious festival known as the +Baptism of Buddha, when crowds assemble at all the temples, and pour +_amacha_, or sweet tea, over the statue of Buddha. In the centre of a +small shrine set up for the occasion is the image, adorned with flowers +and surrounded by small ladles to be used by the worshippers. The right +hand of the image is uplifted toward heaven and the left pointed +downward toward the earth, "in interpretation of the famous utterance +attributed to Buddha at birth: 'Through all the heights of heaven and +all the depths of earth, I alone am worthy of veneration.'" + +The ceremony is said to have originated in the effort to +interpret the meaning of the _sutra_--a Buddhist text--called +Wash-Buddha-Virtuous-Action _sutra_. In this we are told that "a +disciple once asked Buddha how best to enjoy the virtue ascribed to the +Master both in heaven and on earth." The answer was in substance that +the worshipper would find peace by pouring a perfumed liquid over +Buddha's statue, and then sprinkling it upon his own head. While +performing the ceremony, the devotee must repeat the golden text, "Now +that we have washed our sacred Lord Buddha clean, we pray that our own +sins, both physical and spiritual, may be cleansed away, and the same we +pray for all men." This festival is an especial favourite with children, +who throng the temples, each one throwing a small copper coin into the +shrine and deluging the god with sweet tea, which is usually a decoction +of liquorice and sugar in water. + + [Illustration: DISPLAY OF ARMOUR AND TOYS, BOYS' FESTIVAL.] + +At the Boys' Festival, on the fifth of May, over every house where a boy +has been born during the year a bamboo pole is set up, from which flies +a paper carp, the fish moving in the breeze as if ascending a stream. +The carp is the boldest of fish in braving the rapids, so to Japanese +boys he symbolizes ambitious striving. In every household where there +are sons the favourite heroes of olden time are set out in the alcove of +honour of the guest-room. Among them will be seen the figure of an +archer clothed from head to foot in gay armour, with a huge bow in his +hand and a quiver full of arrows on his back. This is Yorimasa, the +famous knight, who was the greatest archer of his time. On this day, +too, pride of family and veneration for ancestors are inculcated by +bringing out the antique dishes, the old armour and the other heirlooms +that during the rest of the year are stored in the _godown_. + +The Gion Festival, on the seventh of June, in honour of the mythical +Prince Susa-no-o-no-mikoto and his consort, Princess Inada, and their +son, Prince Yahashira, is famed for its magnificent procession, in which +the car of the god is drawn. In the centre of the car is a figure +attired in rich brocades; in front is a beautiful youth, who is +accompanied by other boys, all wearing crowns; at the back is the +orchestra that furnishes music for the procession. This display is +witnessed by crowds of people, who throng the Shijo Road, in Kyoto, +where it occurs. + +In ancient times it was customary to atone for a crime by shaving the +head and cutting the nails of the fingers and toes. This custom has now +been modified to a sort of vicarious atonement, called _harai_. _Gohei_, +which in this case is cut in the shape of a human figure, is rubbed on +the body of the evil-doer in order that it may take his sins, and is +then thrown into the stream and carried away. Repentant sinners obtain +_harai_ from the priests of Shinto temples. + +This ceremony, which occurs in June and is called the Festival of the +Misogi, is referred to in the following old song: + + "Up Nara's stream + The evening wind is blowing; + Down Nara's stream + The Misogi is going: + So Summer has come, I know!" + +A festival of fairy-land is the _Itsukushima_, celebrated at Miyajima, +on the Inland Sea, from the fifteenth to the seventeenth of June. +Brilliant decorations are everywhere--on the long avenue by which the +shrine is approached, and over the water, where bamboo-trees have been +set up, and flags and lanterns are hung from them. Musicians in three +boats furnish music for the assembled crowds. The place is thronged by +thousands on the last day of the festival, when the boats with the +musicians are stationed under the great _torii_, and the sweet sounds +floating over the water and the myriad lights reflected in the sea make +the scene one of indescribable enchantment. + +On the seventh of July occurs the _Tanabata Matsuri_, or Festival of the +Stars, which, like so many other Japanese customs, was introduced from +China. A charming nature myth tells us that beside the East River of +Heaven, the Milky Way, lived the fair Princess Tanabata, who was known +to the human race as the star Vega. She was a weaver by profession. As +she was obliged to marry in order to fulfill her destiny, Heaven chose +for her the great male star, Kengyu (Aquila), whose abode was on the +West River. In her happiness the Princess forgot her weaving; whereat +Heaven was so displeased that she was sent back in disgrace to the East +River, and ever after was allowed to see her husband only once a year. +All devout Japanese pray for fine weather on July seventh, as that is +the date on which the unfortunate lovers meet; for, if even a few drops +of rain fall, the East River will rise above its banks and prevent the +Princess from crossing to her waiting spouse. + +On the evening of this day, the young maidens of the family lay a straw +matting in the garden, and place on it a table with fruits and cakes as +offerings to the two stars. Then they present their petitions for +themselves and their true loves. Some pray for long life and a large +family; others set up a bamboo pole, on which they hang a piece of +embroidery as an emblem of their desire for skill in needlework; still +others attach to the pole pieces of paper, on which are written the +poems they bring in praise of the heavenly couple. This festival has +scant observance in large cities. + +Touched with a peculiar tenderness and pathos is the Festival of the +Dead, observed from the thirteenth to the fifteenth of July. In every +house new mats of rice straw are laid before the little shrines, and a +tiny meal is set out for the spirits of the departed. When evening +comes, the streets are brilliant with flaming torches, and lanterns are +hung in every doorway. Those whose friends have only lately left them +make this night a true memorial to their dead, going out to the +cemeteries, where they offer prayers, burn incense, light lanterns and +fill bamboo vases with the flowers they have brought. On the evening of +the third day the Ghosts of the Circle of Penance are fed, and those who +have no friends living to remember them. Then on every streamlet, every +river, lake and bay of Japan--except in the largest seaports, where it +is now forbidden--appear fleets of tiny boats, bearing gifts of food and +loving farewells. The light of a miniature lantern at its bow and blue +wreaths of smoke from burning incense mark the course of each little +vessel. In these fairy craft the spirits take their departure for the +land of the hereafter. + +In September occurs the Moon Festival, which appears to have no +religious significance whatever, but to be simply an occasion for +enjoying the beauty of the moon. It was doubtless borrowed from the +Chinese in the eighth century, and is still celebrated in some places. +The ancient Chinese, however, observed it in solemn fashion, going to +the top of some pagoda and writing poems about the Queen of the Night, +but the Japanese of olden times combined with pure æsthetic enjoyment +the pleasures of actual feasting. They used to gather in the garden of +some restaurant by a lake or river, where a banquet of rice dumplings, +boiled potatoes and beans was set out, and enjoyed at the same time the +good food and the scene before them. + +Also in September is the Ayaha Festival, in honour of the two Chinese +women who first taught weaving to the Japanese, many centuries ago. +These teachers died in September, and on the seventeenth of that month +cotton and hempen fabrics are offered to their spirits at the shrines +built in their honour. + +At the temple of the goddess Amaterasu-Omikami, near Shiba Park, Tokyo, +the Shinmei Feast is observed from the eleventh to the twenty-first of +September. This is especially the time to offer the petition, "O God, +make clean our hearts within us," hence much ginger is sold, the plant +being supposed to prevent impurity. A sweetmeat called _ame_ is sold in +cypress-wood baskets, curved like the roofs of ancient shrines. Cypress +is held sacred because the roof-trees of old shrines were made of it, +and is supposed to have the power of warding off diseases. + +One of the most curious of all Japanese festivals is the Laughing +Festival of Wasa, celebrated in October. A procession is formed of old +men carrying boxes full of oranges and persimmons impaled on sharpened +sticks, followed by children with the same kinds of fruits on bamboo +rods. On reaching the shrine, the leader turns round and makes up a +comical face, which is greeted with shouts of laughter. + +According to the legend, the gods, once upon a time, met in the great +temple at Izumo to consider the love affairs of the kingdom. When all +were seated, one alone, Miwa-Daimyo-jin, was missing, and although +search was made, he could not be found. Now, this god was so deaf that +he had misunderstood the day appointed for the assembly, and he appeared +at Izumo only after all was over. The Laughing Festival commemorates the +laughter of the gods when they heard of poor Miwa-Daimyo-jin's mistake. + +Another October celebration is held in memory of Nichiren, called the +Luther of Japan, who endeavoured to purify Buddhism from the +superstitions that had crept into it. He was the founder of the sect +named for him. On October thirteenth great numbers of his disciples +assemble at Ikegami, the place of his death, near Tokyo, carrying +lanterns and banners, and reciting a _sutra_ in concert. + +A curious feast is observed by merchants on the twentieth of October in +honour of Ebisu, one of the seven gods of good luck, who is especially +the guardian genius of tradesmen. They invite their friends and +relatives to a banquet, upon which a large picture of the god looks down +from the wall. Fishes, called _tai_, are laid before this picture as +offerings, and are also eaten by the guests. After the feast has +proceeded a little way, sport begins. Perhaps one of the guests starts +an auction of the dishes before him, his companions bidding up to +thousands of _yen_,[6] the joke continuing until it runs itself out. +This little buying and selling episode is to emphasize the fact that it +is a merchants' festival that is being celebrated. + + [6] The _yen_ is fifty cents. + +The present Emperor's birthday is the thirty-first of August, but +henceforth it is to be celebrated on the thirty-first of October, which +brings it very near to the third of November, the late Emperor's +birthday, so long a holiday all over Japan. Although this is one of the +annual festivities, the celebration is so largely official and +diplomatic that I have described it among Court Functions. + +The fall _matsuri_ in Tokyo is held early in November at the Shokonsha, +a temple sacred to the memory of the patriots who have given their lives +for their country. It is especially a soldiers' festival, and is the +occasion when the garrison comes in a body to worship at this shrine. +The troops form by divisions in front of the temple and salute, +presenting arms while the bugles sound a sacred call. Afterward the +soldiers have a race-meeting on a half-mile track, which is made very +amusing by the rivalry between the different divisions and the mad +careerings of the little horses. This is a large _matsuri_, and the +booths of peddlers and mountebanks line the streets for blocks. + +November eighth is the day of the _Fuigo Matsuri_, when thanks are +returned to the god of fire, who invented the bellows--_Fuigo_ meaning +bellows. As the centre of the worship of this god is in Kyoto, it is +observed to a greater extent there than elsewhere, beginning in a +curious way, by opening the windows before sunrise and throwing out +quantities of oranges to the children who are always waiting outside. + +The Japanese counterpart of our New England Thanksgiving occurs the +twenty-third of November, when the Emperor is the chief celebrant, +making an offering of the new rice of the year before the shrine of his +ancestors, and in behalf of the nation uttering a prayer of thanksgiving +and a plea for protection. After presenting this offering His Majesty +partakes of a sacred feast, consisting of the first fruits of the year, +and the next day he invites the highest officials of the State to a +grand banquet at the palace. + +Near the end of December comes the _Kamado-harai_ Feast of the Oven. The +_kamado_ is the fire-box on which the food is cooked, and it has a god +of its own. As the year draws to a close, the god of the _kamado_ +carries to heaven a report of the conduct of the household during the +twelve months. So the priests are called in to pray the oven-god that he +will give as favourable an account as possible. As modern stoves are now +taking the place of the old _kamado_ to some extent, this feast is less +observed in the larger cities than in the country districts. + +At a shrine in Shimonoseki the festival of _Wakamegari-no Shinji_ is +observed on the thirty-first of December. A flight of stone steps leads +through a stone _torii_ down into the sea far below the lowest +tide-mark. The Shinto priests, in full robes, are obliged to descend +these steps on the feast-day until they reach and cut some of the +seaweed (_wakame_), which they offer at the temple the next day. +Japanese legend relates that the Empress Jingo sailed from this spot to +the conquest of Korea, bearing two jewels that were given her by the god +of this shrine. When off the Korean coast, she threw one jewel into the +water, and a flood tide at once bore her ships high up on the shore; +then she tossed the other gem into the waves, and the swift ebbing of +the tide left the fleet safely stranded. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + CULTS AND SHRINES + + "He that practiseth righteousness receiveth a blessing; it + cometh as surely as the shadow followeth the man." + + +The quotation at the head of this chapter is of especial interest, +because it reminds one so much of a precept from the Bible. It is taken +from a little Japanese text-book of ethics, which is ascribed to a +Buddhist abbot of the ninth century. + +There are two distinct but perfectly harmonious forms of non-Christian +belief in Japan to-day--Shinto and Buddhism--which dovetail so well that +each one contributes something of value to the Japanese character. The +Confucian philosophy, also, had its share in developing _Bushido_, the +"Soul of the People." + +Shinto is the native religion of Japan, and both because it is so little +known outside of that country and because a study of it goes so far to +explain many national characteristics, it seems worth while to consider +it at some length. The word Shinto may be translated as the Way of the +Gods, and defined in brief as a worship of ancestors, especially of the +Emperor and his forebears. Human beings are believed to be the children +of the sunshine, and sin is hardly recognized. + +Shinto is a combination of primitive instincts. It is based on hero +worship, and it has myriads of deities, who live in every conceivable +object, from the spirit of the sewing-needle to the gods of thunder and +lightning, or of the sun, moon and stars. "The weakness of Shinto," says +Dr. Nitobe, the eloquent exponent of Japanese beliefs, "lies in the +non-recognition of human frailty, of sin." The sum total of its moral +teaching is this, "Be pure in heart and body." + +The Shinto idea seems to be that it is only necessary to act out the +natural impulses of the heart in order to be pure. But where there is no +sense of sin, there can be no consciousness of need, no incentive to +higher things. Shinto lacks ideals. It allies itself with the practical +affairs of every-day life, inculcating industry and personal +cleanliness, some of its sects even prescribing mountain-climbing and +abdominal respiration as religious duties. But, as it has no theology, +it offers no explanation of the great problems of the universe; and, +having no sacred writings, it has no authority on which to base a system +of ethics. Theology and the spiritual element in religion came to Japan +with Buddhism; while ethics was the gift of Confucianism. + +The first sign of a Shinto temple is the _torii_. This peculiar gateway, +though originally erected only by the Shintoists, has been adopted by +the Buddhists, who have changed it by turning up the corners of the top +beam and adding inscriptions and ornament. Passing under the _torii_ you +stand before the huge gate, generally painted red, guarded by wooden +figures, or keepers. These are supposed to be Ni-o--two gigantic and +fierce kings--and they occupy a sort of cage with wire in front, that +stands on either side of the entrance. Every worshipper makes a wish as +he enters the temple, and throws at the kings little wads of paper +precisely like the spitballs of school children. If the wads go through +the wire, the wishes are supposed to come true. + +The temple itself stands in a courtyard inside the gate, and is rather +plain and undecorated, much like Japanese houses. A flight of steps +leads up to a balcony on the front, there is matting upon the floor +inside, and an altar in the centre supports a big bronze vase, which +usually contains pieces of gold paper, called _gohei_. A mirror is the +most important article in a Shinto shrine, the idea being that it is a +symbol of the human heart, which should reflect the image of Deity as +the glass reflects the face of the worshipper. The mirror is not found +in the temples of merely local divinities, but only in those sacred to +the Sun-Goddess herself, and even there is not exposed to view. Wrapped +in a series of brocade bags--another being added as each in turn wears +out--and kept in a box of cypress wood, which is enclosed in a wooden +cage under silken coverings, the mirror itself is never visible to the +eyes of the curious. + + [Illustration: GRAND SHRINE OF ISE.] + +Two famous Shinto shrines--at Ise and Kitzuki--are especially revered on +account of their great age. Kitzuki is so ancient that no one knows when +it was founded. According to tradition, the first temple was built by +direct command of the Sun-Goddess herself, in the days when none but +gods existed. The approach to the sacred enclosure is most imposing. A +beautiful avenue, shaded by huge trees and spanned by a series of +gigantic _torii_, leads from a magnificent bronze _torii_ at the +entrance to the massive wall that surrounds the temple courts. Within +are groves and courts and immense buildings. The people are not admitted +to the great shrine itself, but offer their petitions before the Haiden, +or Hall of Prayer. Each pilgrim throws money into the box before the +door, claps his hands four times, bows his head, and remains for a few +minutes, then passes out. So many thousands throng this court that--to +borrow Hearn's figure--the sound of their clapping is like the surf +breaking on the shore. + +Although the shrine at Kitzuki is the oldest, the temples at Ise are +more venerated. The inner shrine itself is a plain wooden building set +within successive courts, but stately cryptomerias and the most +magnificent camphor groves in all Japan give the place an unusual air of +grandeur and sanctity. + +Wedding and funeral customs are extremely interesting. They have both +the religious and the civil marriage in Japan. To make it legal, the +parents must sign in the register. Marriages in Shinto temples have been +unusual until recently, as they have generally taken place in the home. +The custom is changing now, and temple weddings are becoming more +frequent. Funeral customs are changing also. Formerly it was always the +Buddhist priest who conducted the burial service, now the aristocrats +are interred according to Shinto rites. + +At a wedding that we witnessed in a Shinto temple the couple first +listened to a sermon by the priest, then they were given tapers at the +altar. The bride lighted her candle first, and the bridegroom lighted +his from hers. After this the two tapers were put together in such a way +that they burned as one, symbolizing the perfect unity of wedded life. +The bride was handsomely dressed--the _obis_ for these occasions +sometimes cost over one hundred dollars--and wore the headdress with +horns, half hidden by a veil called the "horn-hider." This name would +seem to refer to the Buddhist text, "A woman's exterior is that of a +saint, but her heart is that of a demon." After the marriage ceremony, +the bridal party was photographed in the temple courtyard in a decidedly +up-to-date fashion. At the house the bridal couple drank the nuptial +_saké_, which had been prepared by two girl friends of the bride. This +was poured from a gold lacquer vessel into one of silver lacquer--the +two representing husband and wife--then into a cup, which the master of +ceremonies handed to the bride and afterward to the groom, and from +which they both drank. + +As Shinto is the faith of the reigning family, the funeral ceremony of a +prince throws a good deal of light upon the cult itself. I did not +witness such a ceremony myself, so I condense the vivid description +given by the Baroness d'Anethan, who, as wife of the Belgian Minister, +resided in Tokyo for many years. + +The funeral procession was headed by over eighty bearers dressed in +white, the Japanese sign of mourning, each carrying a huge tower of +flowers. Following these were officers in uniform holding cushions, on +which rested the Prince's numerous grand crosses and orders. Next came +various persons surrounding a casket, which contained the favourite +food, the shoes for the journey (large wooden _geta_), the sword to +guard against evil spirits during the soul's fifty days' wanderings, and +the money to pay for the ferry-boat that crosses the river to Eternity. +Finally appeared a beautifully fabricated casket of pure white wood (the +Shinto sign of purity), embossed with the family arms in gold, in which +the body was arranged in a sitting position. The chief mourner, a young +prince, was dressed in the old-fashioned Court mourning, consisting of a +wide, full, black silk petticoat, covered partially by a short white +kimono, crowned by an unusual form of headdress, made of what looked +like stiff black muslin. The two princesses of the family also wore +ancient Court mourning--a greyish-brown _hakama_ (a kind of divided +skirt)--and had their black hair puffed out at the sides like great +wings and hanging down the back. + +Arriving at the cemetery, the Corps Diplomatique walked up a path paved +in wood and bordered on each side by covered seats, at the end of which +were high trestles supporting the coffin. The service now began, +accompanied by weird funeral music. Low white wooden tables were placed +before the coffin, all sorts of objects being offered to the departed by +the priests. First was a long box, containing the name which His +Imperial Highness was to bear in the next world. After this followed a +repast of various kinds of fish, game, sweetmeats and fruit--the +favourite foods of the deceased. These articles were handed with great +ceremony from one priest to another. There were ten priests, and as each +one took the dish, which was placed on a stool of white wood, he clapped +his hands twice to call the gods, and the last priest, bowing very low, +finally set it on the table. After all the food had been deposited, +prayers were intoned from an immense scroll, the final ceremony being +that each member of the family, and after them, the Corps Diplomatique, +approached the coffin, carrying branches of some particular tree, from +which floated long papers inscribed with prayers. The actual interment +took place some hours later, and with the remains of the Prince were +buried the various articles of food and clothing. + +Our visits to the cemeteries showed us the veneration of the Japanese +for their noble dead, and impressed us with the significance of ancestor +worship in the Shinto cult. The big graveyard in Tokyo, where Nogi and +his wife were buried, was most interesting. Modern cemeteries in Japan +are much like ours, each owner having an enclosed lot and misshapen +stones or stone lanterns to mark the graves, but they are not so well +kept up as in America. Attached to the fence surrounding the lot is a +wooden box, in which visitors leave their cards when calling at the +abode of the dead. The mourners sometimes burn incense and leave +branches of laurel, too. As we approached the resting-place of Nogi and +his wife, we saw crowds of people standing near, for although months had +passed since their dramatic death, the Japanese were still visiting +their graves in great numbers. + +In many cemeteries are the statues of "The Six Jizo"--smiling, childish +figures about three feet high--bearing various Buddhist emblems. A bag +of pebbles hangs about the neck of each one, and little heaps of stones +are piled up at their feet and even laid upon their shoulders and their +knees. Jizo is the children's god. He is the protector of the little +souls who have gone from this world to the Sai-no-Kawara, the abode of +children after death, where they must pile up stones in penance for +their sins! When this task is done, the demons abuse them and throw down +their little towers; then the babies run to Jizo, who hides them in his +great sleeves, and drives the evil spirits away. Every stone that is +laid at the feet of Jizo is a help to some little one in working out its +long task. + +Hearn gives an interesting account of a wonderful cave at Kaka, on the +wild western coast of Japan, which can be visited only when there is not +wind enough "to move three hairs," for the strongest boat could not live +in the surf that beats against the high cliffs and dashes into the +fissures in their sides. But let one make the journey safely, and he +shall find in this grotto an image of Jizo, and before it the tiny stone +heaps. Every night, it is said, baby souls make their way to the cavern, +and pile up the pebbles around their friend, and every morning the +prints of little bare feet--the feet of the baby ghosts--are seen in the +moist sand. + +Buddhism has become so complicated and changed in the different +countries through which it has travelled since it originated in Southern +India, and there are to-day so many sects, that it is difficult to +define. + +The Ikko sect undoubtedly holds the purest and loftiest form of this +faith. Its chief teaching is, that "man is to be saved by faith in the +merciful power of Amida, and not by works or vain repetition of prayers. +For this reason, and also because its priests are permitted to marry, +this body has sometimes been called the Protestantism of Japan." + +All the followers of Buddha believe in reincarnation; they feel that +life is a struggle, which human beings must get through with as well as +they can, and that as they are frail, they return to this earth in +various forms in punishment for their sins, always toiling on, until at +last their purified souls merge in the Divine and realize calm. As an +old Japanese writer puts it, "Though growing in the foulest slime, the +flower remains pure and undefiled. And the soul of him who remains pure +in the midst of temptation is likened unto the lotus." + +There have been many Buddhas, who have returned at different times to +this world, Yamisaki being the latest. Buddhism has degenerated in +Japan, having absorbed the Shinto gods, and as it is based on a +pessimistic view of life, it appears to be rather a depressing religion. + + [Illustration: _Lacquer Work_] + +Buddhist temples are adorned with wonderful carving and lacquer work, +and contain bronzes and golden Buddhas. One of the largest and most +magnificent in Japan, surrounded by gardens of great extent and beauty, +is the Eastern Hongwanji temple in Kyoto. The shrines of the Ikko sect +are called Hongwanji, meaning "Monastery of the Real Vow," from the vow +made by Amida that he would not become Buddha unless salvation was +granted to all who sincerely desired it and testified their wish by +calling upon his name ten times. There is no government fund for this +shrine, and it has no regular source of income, yet it has been the +recipient of munificent gifts from royal personages and men of wealth, +and has all the prestige that could come from temporal support and the +sanction of government. + +When we visited this temple, we were ceremoniously received by the +priest in charge and a number of his confrères. The head priest, short, +fat and clean-shaven, who met us at the gate, grunted and drew the air +through his teeth in greeting us, as a symbol of great politeness and +respect. His costume was a black silk robe over a soft white +under-garment, and a gold brocade band about his neck. + +As we passed into the building, we were told that the present structure, +which is said to have cost seven million _yen_ and was sixteen years in +building, was erected on the site of an ancient temple that had been +destroyed by fire. It is noteworthy that the new temple contains a +system of tile pipes in the roof and ceiling, from which, in case of +fire, water may be dropped over the entire area. + + [Illustration: EASTERN HONGWANJI TEMPLE, KYOTO.] + +Before the altar is a broad sweep of stone flooring, and in front of +that a railing, outside which the people come to worship. Several were +kneeling there as we passed, their palms together in the traditional +attitude of Christian prayer. Others were prone on the floor. The +ragged, the lame and the desolate, blind and deaf to the passing crowd, +knelt upon this bare stone pavement--separated from the altar by a +railing beyond which they might not pass--their hands lifted in +supplication or adoration, their heads bowed in humility. The scene +called to mind the legend of Sandalphon, the Angel of Prayer, whose +mission Longfellow has so beautifully described. We looked at the silent +god standing within the lotus--sacred emblem of humanity--veiled by the +pervading incense, and we wondered how many of those unspoken prayers +penetrated to the mysterious depths where Buddha dwells. + +To the left of the altar is a space reserved for the priesthood, where +Buddhist monks come daily to their morning devotions and religious +exercises. Although the priests do not live in the temple, they +sometimes pass the night here in meditation, seated on the long rows of +mats that we saw arranged in orderly fashion. About forty priests are +usually in attendance at the morning services, but on occasions of State +ceremony larger numbers gather from all parts of the Empire. On the +twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth of each month services are held in memory +of the founders of the temple. + +The priests conducted us between the railing and the altar, bowing their +heads as they passed. A number of small coins were scattered on the +matting--these were offerings left by worshippers. Our hosts, who +treated us with unfailing courtesy, pointed out further details of the +building, and afterward took us to a room where we were served with tea +and small cakes. We were told that this apartment had been donated by +the present Emperor. + +We followed one of the priests into the walled garden and through its +narrow paths. We crossed brooks on bamboo bridges, and looked into the +calm waters. Among the trees were small temples and tea-houses +overhanging the water, and curiously shaped stones and crooked pines. +Hongwanji garden has all the fascination of a true Japanese garden, and +has, besides, the additional charm of age, for it is over three hundred +years old. We sat in this ideal spot, in one of the pretty tea-houses +with its soft mats and lacquer and polished wood, and again drank tea +from wee porcelain cups and ate sugared cakes. + +The memory of this temple garden clings to me still. I imagine the +priests sitting on the little covered wooden bridge gazing into the calm +water with the lotus flowers, while the crickets sing in the +silence--crickets who were perhaps once human, now doing penance for +their sins. I hear the priests murmur over and over _Namu Amida Butsu_, +the Japanese rendering of the Sanskrit invocation meaning "Hail to the +Eternal Splendour of Buddha!" I see them meditating on the unending life +that they believe to be in store for them, until evil shall have left +them, and they shall be absorbed into Nirvana, "as a dewdrop sinks into +the shining sea." + +As we left the temple we were shown the great coil of ropes made of +human hair. There were originally twenty-nine of these cables, the +longest of which measured two hundred feet. It seems that at the time +when the old shrine was burned, and they wished to rebuild it, the +church had no funds. People came together from all over the Empire, and +set to work like beavers. The men gave what they could, in work and +money; the women had nothing, yet they, too, wished to help. In a frenzy +of religious zeal they cut off their hair--their most treasured +possession--and cast it at the foot of the shrine of Buddha. From their +offerings were woven the cables that hoisted the tiles to the roof and +lifted into place the great wooden pillars of the temple. + +The temple of Buddha, with its unpainted exterior, its bare pillars in +their naked simplicity, its glint of gold, its magnificent carvings, the +delicate fragrance of burning incense, its candles, its wealth of +symbolism--all this is a fading memory; yet its fascination lingers. We +wonder how much of the temple of Buddha we really saw, how much we felt +the presence of that power which is so intimately linked with the spirit +of the East and with the genius of the Oriental peoples. We felt the +reverence--unexpressed in word or outward act--with which our hosts, the +priests, drew our attention to the inscription above the altar, painted +in golden Japanese characters by the hand of the late Emperor, which, +being interpreted, means, "See Truth." + +The temples at Nikko, the finest in Japan, are part Shinto, part +Buddhist. A ceremony which we once witnessed there, in the mausoleum of +Iyeyasu, the great Shogun, was full of interest. After taking off our +shoes at the entrance, we wandered over the mats, looking at the +gloriously carved panels, till we were informed that all was ready and +were invited to enter an inner room. I was given a peach-coloured +brocade robe, which I threw over my shoulders, but was told that it was +not necessary to don the skirt, which forms the rest of the ceremonial +costume. They gave us two camp-chairs, as we preferred to sit on them +rather than on our heels, in Japanese fashion. On either side of us +squatted three priests in white and green robes with curious black +openwork hats on their heads. We faced the inner shrine, in which stood, +on a table, a vase containing the gold paper for purification, such as +is seen in Shinto shrines. + + [Illustration: THE HONDEN, IYEYASU, NIKKO.] + +Then began the most unearthly music that I have ever heard, made by the +three priests on L.'s side, who were musicians. One had a strange +instrument made of flutes put together, resembling a small organ, which +gave out a sound somewhat like a bagpipe. While this man played a weird +tune on his pipes, another with a different instrument made a most +unpleasant whistle, like that of a train, which continued throughout the +entire ceremony. + +Besides the green-robed musicians there were on my side white-robed +priests with even quainter head-gear, who moved about on their knees and +presented food and drink before the altar with many bows and much +clapping of their hands. This service led to the opening of the door of +the inner shrine, into which we were afterward taken and served with +_saké_. Then we were conducted behind one beautiful set of painted +screens after another till we came into the innermost place, gloriously +decorated in lacquer and painting but in absolute darkness, except for +the glow of the lanterns which we took with us. On emerging from these +hidden recesses, we left the temple, with polite bows to the priests and +thanks for their courtesy. As we walked away from the building, we could +hear the screeching instruments, the priests going on with the service +as the offerings were brought out of the sacred place. + +Just as we were departing, I was given this translation of the Precepts +of Iyeyasu, which I have been glad to preserve as a souvenir of +beautiful Nikko: + + PRECEPTS OF IYEYASU + + Life is like unto a long journey with a heavy load. Let thy + steps be slow and steady, that thou stumble not. Persuade + thyself that imperfection and inconvenience is the natural lot + of mortals, and there will be no room for discontent, neither + for despair. When ambitious desires arise in thy heart, recall + the days of extremity thou hast passed through. Forbearance is + the root of quietness and assurance for ever. Look upon wrath as + thy enemy. If thou knowest only what it is to conquer, and + knowest not what it is to be defeated, woe unto thee! it will + fare ill with thee. Find fault with thyself rather than with + others. Better the less than the more. + + _Translated by Prof. K. Wadagaki, + of the Imperial University._ + +The Japanese, like Arabs and Hindoos, not content with worshipping at +near-by shrines, often make pilgrimages to holy places at a distance. +There are several of these resorts in the Empire, some of the most +famous being the temple of the Sun-Goddess at Ise, the holy mountain +Fuji, the monastery of Koya-san, and the lovely island of Miyajima, in +the Inland Sea. As most of the pilgrims belong to the artisan and +peasant classes, and have scarcely more than enough for their daily +needs, they have evolved a scheme for defraying the expenses of these +trips by forming a great number of associations, or brotherhoods, the +members of which contribute each a cent a month. At the proper season +for the pilgrimage certain members are chosen by lot to represent the +brotherhood at some shrine, and their expenses are paid out of the +common fund. No distinctive dress is worn by most of them, but those on +their way to Fuji and other mountains are attired in white garments and +broad straw hats. + + [Illustration: OFF MIYAJIMA.] + +These Japanese pilgrims are not only performing a pious duty, they are +also taking their summer vacation. After their prayers are said, as at +the various festivals I have described, they do not hesitate to join in +all the amusements that are provided. It makes little difference to the +mass of the common people whether they worship at a Shinto or a Buddhist +shrine, and the Government actually changed Kompira from Buddhist to +Shinto without in the least detracting from its popularity. The relics +guarded in these temples of Buddha remind us very much of the sacred +memorials cherished by the Roman Church--holy garments, holy swords, +pictures by famous saints, and bits of the cremated body of a Buddha. + +It was from her religions that Japan drew her Knightly Code, _Bushido_, +obedience to which raised the _samurai_ from the mere brutal wielder of +swords to the chivalrous warrior. From Shinto he imbibed veneration for +his ancestors, the strongest possible sense of duty to his parents, and +the most self-sacrificing loyalty to the sovereign. Buddhism gave him a +stoical composure in the presence of danger, a contempt for life, and +"friendliness with death." It made him calm and self-contained. Finally, +the _samurai_ obtained from the teachings of Confucius his principles of +action toward his fellow men. + +_Bushido_ is spoken of as "the Soul of the People." The Greeks of old +located the soul in the kidneys, the Romans in the heart, and it is only +in recent years that it has been described as in the head; even then the +soul at best is indefinable, so I am at a loss to tell exactly what +_Bushido_ means. + +When I asked a Japanese to define _Bushido_, he answered, "Loyalty--the +loyalty of the servant to his master, of the son to his father. The +servant is willing to make any sacrifice for the master. The Forty-Seven +Ronins are an example of this. General Nogi is another instance of the +same thing. Nogi felt that his death would remind the younger generation +of the Spartan virtues of the older days, which they were forgetting, +and would be a good thing for the country. He also wished to die in +order that his master, the Emperor, might not be lonely." + +The Japanese national hymn, as translated by Professor Chamberlain, +fitly embodies this sentiment of loyalty to the Emperor: + + "A thousand years of happy reign be thine; + Rule on, my lord, till what are pebbles now + By age united, to mighty rocks shall grow, + Whose venerable sides the moss doth line." + +"Among the rare jewels of race and civilization which have slowly grown +to perfection is the Japanese virtue of loyalty," writes Dr. W. E. +Griffis; "In supreme devotion, in utter consecration to his master, in +service, through life and death, a _samurai's_ loyalty to his lord knew +no equal.... Wife, children, fortune, health, friends, were as +naught--but rather to be trampled under foot, if necessary, in order to +reach that 'last supreme measure of devotion' which the _samurai_ owed +to his lord. The matchless sphere of rock crystal, flawless and perfect, +is the emblem of Japanese loyalty." + +The material side of _Bushido_ is the fighting spirit, and the germ of +the spiritual side is the idea of fair play in fight--a germ which +developed into a lofty code of honour. In feudal times Japanese warriors +endured severe discipline. They were obliged to be expert with the +fencing-stick, skilled in _jiu-jutsu_, the aristocratic form of +wrestling, in archery, and in the use of the spear and the iron fan, as +well as the double sword. They felt that mastery of the art of battle +gave self-control and mental calm. + +Mental exercises were practised more generally in olden times than they +are to-day. There are several cults for the training of the mind, such +as _Kiai_ and _Zen_, both Buddhist practices. The secret of _Kiai_ +condensed is: "I make personality my magic power. I make promptitude my +limbs. I make self-protection my laws." + +_Zen_ teaches: "Commit no evil, do only good, and preserve the purity of +your heart and will. If you keep aloof from mundane fame and the lusts +of the flesh, and are inspired by a firm resolve to attain the Great +Truth, the gates of Stoicism will be opened to you." + +_Bushido_ is the foundation of the nation, built of rock. It is strong +and true, and whatever is built upon it in the future, even if it topple +and fall, can always be rebuilt again, for the rock is there for ever. +May they build something worthy to rise on such a firm foundation! + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + NEW LIGHT FOR OLD + + +The Old and the New Japan jostle each other at every turn. One day we +visited the tomb of the heroic Nogi, who sacrificed his life on the +altar of _Bushido_, and the next we received at the Embassy the pupils +of the Tokyo Normal School, who will have so large a share in the +continued remodelling of the nation. The Land of the Rising Sun has +undergone decided changes within the last fifty years in her desire to +make herself the equal of the Great Powers of Christendom; she has been +willing to cast aside tradition, to modify her form of government, to +adopt Western customs. But none of these things appears to me so vital +as the reconstruction of her educational system and the free admission +of a new religious belief. + +The old system of Japanese education was derived from Chinese models as +early as the eighth century, but for many hundred years it was barely +kept alive in Buddhist monasteries, and was never fully carried out +until the Tokugawa period. The higher institutions were devoted entirely +to the study of Chinese history and literature, and their object was +chiefly to train efficient servants of the State. Buddhist priests were +the usual teachers of the lower classes, but retired _samurai_ often +opened elementary schools, such as that pictured so vividly by one of +their pupils:[7] + + [7] Dr. Nitobe, in "The Japanese Nation." + +"This primitive school," he says, "consisted of a couple of rooms, where +some twenty or thirty boys (and a very few girls), ranging in age from +seven to fourteen, spent the forenoon, each reading in turn with the +teacher for half an hour some paragraphs from Confucius and Mencius, and +devoting the rest of the time to calligraphy. Of the three R's, 'riting +demanded the most time and reading but little, 'rithmetic scarcely any, +except in a school attended by children of the common people as distinct +from those of the _samurai_. Sons of the _samurai_ class had other +curricula than the three R's. They began fencing, _jiu-jutsu_, +spear-practice and horsemanship, when quite young, and usually took +these lessons in the early morning. As a child of seven, I remember +being roused by my mother before dawn in the winter, and reluctantly, +often in positively bad humour, picking my way barefooted through the +snow. The idea was to accustom children to hardihood and endurance. +There was little fun in the schoolroom, except such as our ingenious +minds devised behind our teacher's back." + +Yet this primitive system of education trained leaders of sufficient +wisdom, unselfishness and breadth of view to guide Japan safely from the +old to the new. Okubo and Kido, two members of the embassy that was sent +to the treaty powers in 1871, discovered, upon landing in San Francisco, +that the very bell-boys and waiters in the hotel understood the issues +at stake in the election then going on. This convinced them that nothing +but education could enable Japan to hold her own beside the Western +world. Okubo said, "We must first educate leaders, and the rest will +follow." Kido said, "We must educate the masses; for unless the people +are trained, they cannot follow their leaders." Between the two, they +got something of both. + +The younger generation lost no time in availing themselves of their new +privileges, and indeed they are to-day so eager for learning that, after +their daily work, many of them sit up the greater part of the night to +study. In consequence, they often grow anæmic, nervous and melancholy. + +While the Japanese seem now to have adapted their elementary schools to +the needs of their people, they have not been so successful with their +secondary schools, called "middle" for boys and "high" for girls. The +course of study for boys is much the same as in this country, except +that instead of Greek and Latin they have Chinese and Yamato--old +Japanese. English occupies six hours a week through the whole five-year +course, but is taught only for reading, so that while most educated +Japanese can understand some English and have read the classics of our +literature, they may not be able to carry on a conversation in our +language. In girls' high schools there is a room that might be styled "a +laboratory of manners," where pupils have a "course in etiquette, +including ceremonial tea and flower arrangement." The certificate of the +middle school legally admits a student to the government colleges, but +as there are only eight of these institutions in the country, they +cannot receive all who apply. Consequently, students must pass a rigid +entrance examination. There are four Imperial universities, of which +that in Tokyo is the oldest and has about six thousand students, and +several private universities, one of which, Waseda, has an enrollment of +more than seven thousand. + +It did not escape the notice of the wisest leaders that perhaps the +weakest point in this new educational system was its lack of moral +training, all religious teaching being forbidden in government schools. +Accordingly, in 1890, the late Emperor issued the Imperial Rescript on +Education, a printed copy of which with the Emperor's autograph is +sacredly cherished in every school, and upon which nearly all modern +Japanese text-books of ethics are based. The most important part of this +document reads as follows: + +"Ye, Our subjects, be filial to your parents, affectionate to your +brothers and sisters; as husbands and wives be harmonious, as friends +true; bear yourselves in modesty and moderation; extend your benevolence +to all; pursue learning and cultivate the arts, and thereby develop +intellectual faculties and perfect moral powers; furthermore, advance +public good and promote common interests; always respect the +Constitution and observe the laws; should emergency arise, offer +yourselves courageously to the State; and thus guard and maintain the +prosperity of Our Imperial Throne, coeval with heaven and earth." + +I was much interested in two secondary schools in Tokyo. We had the +pleasure of entertaining the graduating class of young men from the +Normal School. Professor Swift, who accompanied them, had been teaching +in Japan for twenty-five years, having had the present Emperor at one +time in his school. He said his students had never been received at the +Embassy before, and in fact, he thought none of them had ever been in a +European house. There were about forty of the Japanese and one young +Chinaman. I think most of them were perhaps about twenty years old. They +wore European dress, but the Japanese master came in his native costume. +According to their rules of politeness, they gathered about the door, +and could scarcely be induced to come in to shake hands with us. When +they finally did come, they backed into a corner, and in true Japanese +fashion had to be invited three times before they would enter the +tea-room. + +These students go out through Japan to teach English after they +graduate. They did not speak English, however, quite so well as I had +expected, but no doubt they were a little frightened, and probably they +were more used to such questions as I heard at one school when the +teacher read to the class, "Where was Phineas when the mob gathered +about the portal?" Our guests enjoyed the mechanical bear and tiger, +for, like most people of the East, the Japanese are especially fond of +such toys. The students seemed to take interest in the photographs also, +and when one asked for music, we started the Victor and allowed them to +choose their own records. + +Male and female teachers are trained in separate normal schools, which +are government institutions. All their expenses--for board, clothing, +tuition and books--are met by the State. After a preparatory course of +one year, they take the regular course of four years, which covers a +very full curriculum. Music, gymnastics, manual training, law and +economics form part of this very modern course of study, and commerce +and agriculture may be added. English is also included, but made +optional. The necessary training in teaching is given in a practice +school attached to each normal school. A shorter course of one year is +devoted chiefly to the study of methods and practical work. A severe +military training is given in the schools for males. Graduates from the +regular course are obliged to serve the State as teachers for seven +years, and those from the shorter course for two years. + + [Illustration: MISS TSUDA'S SCHOOL, TOKYO.] + +The second school which particularly interested me was Miss Tsuda's. +Miss Tsuda herself was one of several Japanese children from good +families who, when they were very young, were sent to America to be +educated. Three of the girls, it is said, decided at school how they +wished to live their lives. One said that above all things she should +marry for love and in the Western fashion, and so it was--she met a +young Japanese studying in America, and they were married and returned +to Japan. The second one said she wished to be a power, and she returned +home and in Japanese fashion was married by her parents to a very +prominent leader in political life. Miss Tsuda felt that she wished to +help her countrywomen, and that she would remain unmarried and devote +her life to education. So, curiously enough, these three women have +carried out the ideals of their girlhood. + +The school for the higher education of Japanese girls which Miss Tsuda +has established is practically a post-graduate course, to fit them for +teachers. One class that I visited was reading really difficult +English--something of George Eliot's. Miss Tsuda herself is a graduate +of Bryn Mawr, and speaks most beautiful English--perhaps the most +perfect I have heard from any Japanese. The school is supported chiefly, +I understand, by people in Philadelphia. I was told that the Bible was +taught, but that the study of it was not compulsory, and that many of +the girls were Buddhists. These students are from all stations in life. + +The outside of the buildings was in Japanese style, but the schoolrooms +were like those in America; the pupils sat in chairs and had desks. I +inquired why they did not sit on the mats, and Miss Tsuda said they had +adopted chairs and desks because the girls felt that on the whole the +chairs were more comfortable, and that they could move more quickly. It +is thought the race will grow taller if they all learn to use chairs, +instead of sitting on their legs as they have always done. The majority +of the girls had writing-boxes and books upon the floors of their own +rooms, and kept their bedding in a cupboard after the custom of their +people, but they were allowed to have chairs if they asked for them. +Hanging upon the _shoji_ were Christian mottoes, photographs of their +relatives, and in one case a picture of Nogi. European food is given +here, as well as Japanese, and our methods of cooking are taught. + +These students have modern gymnastic training every day, and they also +play baseball, which the old-fashioned Japanese think very unladylike. +Every Saturday evening they play games, have charades, and act little +plays, both in English and Japanese. + +On a previous visit, some years ago, L. had gone over the Imperial +University with Professor Yoshida. At that time Tokyo University and the +Engineering College had lately been amalgamated. He said it seemed +strange, coming from an American university, to see the complete neglect +of what we call classics, Latin and Greek. All the modern sciences, +medicine, the 'ologies and law were studied in English, German and +French. + +One department, the seismic, established especially for the separate +study of volcanic disturbances and earthquakes, was then peculiar to +this university. It is particularly interesting to the Japanese, for +they are constantly experiencing such disturbances--the late eruption in +the province of Satsuma is a hint that results might be still more +serious. + +In the art schools in Tokyo, which we visited, we saw the students +painting and carving in their peculiar, painstaking way. + +An American teacher, who is not herself a missionary but has lived with +missionaries in Japan for some time, and whom I consider an impartial +judge, has given me her opinions on educational matters, including the +work of the mission schools. The Japanese need, she feels, both moral +and commercial instruction of the kind that only Western teachers can +give. This teaching should be well given by the mission schools. At +first, as in Korea, these schools were the only sources of Western +thought, so they were frequented by all the Japanese who wished for any +sort of progress. Everything was gobbled down hungrily. Even if they +were not religiously inclined, they pretended to be, for this was their +only means of learning English. + +At the present time, the government schools teach Western branches, but +they are hampered by a narrow-minded educational board with antiquated +methods, and tied up by miles of red tape, so that their teaching of +Western studies is away behind the times. We might consider the English +heard all over Japan a fair sample of the superficiality that prevails, +but, to be impartial, we must take into account the difficulties that +have to be overcome by students and teachers. Because of the ideographs +and other peculiarities of their own tongue, it is far more difficult +for the Japanese to learn English than for us to learn French or German. + +Government schools are superior in Japanese branches--they teach +Japanese and Chinese classics and ethics, Japanese law and ideals better +than the mission schools--and certificates from them give better +positions, so ambitious Japanese go to them, but in Western subjects +they try to do too many things. The students work only for examinations, +not for really substantial progress. This is noticeable, except in rare +individuals, who would probably progress under any conditions. The best +Japanese educators realize this as well as the foreigners and greatly +deplore it. + +The reason that some of the mission schools are not so good as they +might be is that they are too much occupied with proselyting, and hardly +give more than superficial training to students. It would be better for +the Japanese in the end if more real educators were sent out rather than +so many preachers. If the mission schools would combine in having +Japanese teachers for Japanese subjects, there could be concentration of +effort and expense. + +There is also a crying need, my friend says, of schools for foreign +children, because there are no good ones in Japan, and it is expensive +to send the boys and girls to America or Europe. An international +foreign language school, too, is much needed. _The ignorance of foreign +tongues is one of the greatest barriers to amicable relations with other +countries._ The inscrutability of the Japanese, which we hear so much +about, is due principally to their lack of familiarity with languages. + +To understand the religious situation in Japan at all, it is necessary +to take another backward glance over her history. Except during the two +hundred and fifty years of the Tokugawa Period, the country has always +been open to foreigners and foreign ideas. Chinese and Koreans, who +brought new religions, a new civilization and a new philosophy, were +gladly received. Young men from Japan sought learning in other +countries, even in distant India. So, when Francis Xavier and his +intrepid Jesuits made their way thither in the sixteenth century, they +found a cordial welcome awaiting them. + +For fifty years Christian work went on; hundreds of thousands of +Japanese accepted the Roman Catholic faith. But the Roman Church claims +to be superior to the State, and the rulers of Japan saw reason to +believe that the priests were aiming at political power. At once they +reversed their former policy, branded Christianity as "_Ja-kyo_," the +"Evil Way," and set about its extermination. Thousands of converts laid +down their lives for the new faith in the terrible persecution that +followed; foreigners were driven out of Japan, and her own people were +forbidden to leave her shores. + +After the "Long Sleep" of the Tokugawa Period, the Meiji Era, known as +the "Awakening," began in 1867. Once more Christianity was brought in, +but this time in the guise of Protestantism, and again it made rapid +progress. By the middle of the eighties some Japanese leaders of opinion +were even advising that it should be declared the national religion, +although this was largely for political reasons. However, full religious +liberty was granted in 1889. + +In the early nineties came the reaction. The conservative element in the +nation began to make itself heard against the mad rush for new things. +Japanese students returning from abroad brought stories of vice and +crime in Christian lands. The Japanese began to discover, too, that the +standard of Christian ethics was a higher one than they had ever known, +and demanded a change of life as well as of belief, and that the +diplomacy of so-called Christian countries was often anything but +Christian. So those who had simply "gone with the crowd" into the +Christian ranks fell away. The churches were sifted. + +This revulsion of feeling was not lasting. Gradually the Japanese came +to modify their conclusions. Those who remained in the churches did so +from conviction, and a stronger church was the result. In this period of +reaction Japan simply stopped to take breath, to adjust itself to the +new life upon which it had entered. Progress now may be slower, but it +is more substantial. + +The missionary question is absorbing, if one has time to see what has +been done and what is being done now in the schools and kindergartens +and hospitals, although to-day these Christian teachers are not playing +so important a rôle as they did a few years ago. At first the Japanese +went to the foreigners as their advisers and teachers, but now that they +have travelled more and know more of Western ideas they do not need them +so much. Six hundred thousand dollars goes yearly from America to Japan +for missions. Japan is a poor country, but some people feel it is time +for the rich men there to come forward and contribute to their own +charities, rather than to let foreigners do so large a share. I feel +that there is more need of missionaries in China to-day, especially +medical missionaries. + +Fifty years ago there was desperate need of medical missionaries in +Japan. When Dr. Hepburn opened his dispensary in a Buddhist temple at +Kanagawa, diseased beggars were very common on the streets, for +hospitals were unknown. Now there are over one thousand public hospitals +managed by Japanese doctors, who are well fitted for their +profession--some have been educated in Germany and are very skilful. + +As there are natural hot springs in Japan, lepers in the early stages of +the disease go there in the hope of being cured, but as a cure is not +possible, they gradually become worse and cannot leave the country, so +one often sees them begging in the streets. The only beggars I have ever +seen in Japan have been victims of leprosy. + +Up to 1907 there were no hospitals for lepers except those founded by +foreign missionaries. In that year the Government established five of +these institutions, but as they are always crowded, the poor sufferers +cannot be received unless they are very ill. Father Testevinde, a French +Catholic priest, founded the first private hospital for lepers--which is +still the largest--in 1889. Miss Riddell, an Englishwoman, has +established another, which she is now trying to enlarge. + +Eye troubles are especially prevalent in Japan, but the blind earn their +living by massage, and the note of their flute is often heard in the +street. There is a great deal of tuberculosis, but there are no +sanatoriums for consumptives, who are taken into the regular hospitals. +As the sufferers are kept in their homes until the last stages, the +disease is spreading rapidly. + +It is very common to see children afflicted with skin-diseases. Japanese +mothers believe that inborn wickedness comes out in this form. Since +they no longer shave the children's heads as in the old days, however, +the skin trouble is disappearing somewhat. Well-organized dispensaries +and district nurses are certainly much needed in out-of-the-way +villages, but no provision has as yet been made for such work. Midwives, +however, are to be found. + +The Episcopal hospital in Tokyo, where Japanese women are taught +nursing, is supposed to be the best in the country. Dr. Teusler is doing +excellent work there. The Japanese hospitals are not so well managed as +the best foreign ones, and the training for women nurses is not so long +or so thorough as in America. It is difficult for foreigners to judge +their hospitals, because they are intended for Japanese patients and +their whole manner of living is so different from ours. At first, on +account of native customs, only the poorer class of women could be +induced to take up nursing as a profession, but to-day the better class +are engaging in it. + +In no branch of medical work has Japan made greater progress or achieved +finer results than in the Red Cross. In 1877 the _Hakuaisha_ was +formed--the Society of Universal Love--which cared for the wounded in +the great civil war. Japan joined the European Red Cross League in 1887. + +The Japanese Red Cross was finely organized for service during the war +with Russia. The first work was the care of the Russian sailors at +Chemulpo, who were even presented with artificial limbs by the Empress +of Japan. During the war six thousand sick and wounded Russian prisoners +were cared for by the Japanese. In return the Russians subscribed to the +Japanese Red Cross. The women nurses remained at home stations, all +relief detachments at the front consisting of men only, but on the +relief ships there were both sexes. An American nurse who was in Japan +during the war said we had many things to learn from the Japanese and +few to teach, in the way of handling the wounded. + +The pamphlet called, "The Red Cross in the Far East," states that if a +member dies, his _hair_ or his _ashes_ with the death certificate and +his personal belongings shall be forwarded to his former quarters. + +The Red Cross in Japan numbers now more than one million five hundred +thousand members, has twelve hospitals and two hospital ships, and +nearly four thousand doctors, apothecaries and nurses ready for service. +On her first voyage, the hospital ship _Kosai Maru_, was out from March, +1904, until December, 1905, and transported more than thirteen thousand +patients. There are Red Cross stations also in Formosa and Port Arthur. +The Empress Dowager often attended the meetings of the society, and +assisted with large contributions. The Japanese Red Cross is said to be +the largest, the best and the richest in the world. + + [Illustration: RED CROSS HOSPITAL BUILDINGS.] + +To return to distinctively religious work, the time that I could myself +give to the observation of missions was limited, but I saw something of +the Episcopal work in Tokyo. Bishop McKim was absent most of the winter +in the Philippines, but the Rev. Dr. Wallace, whom we had known in +Honolulu years before, conducted the services. Japanese services were +also held at the cathedral, and a school for native children was carried +on by the mission. The bishop's house and that of Dr. Wallace, which +were in the cathedral compound, were of brick and looked fairly +comfortable. + +As the lower classes are decidedly emotional and are easily influenced +by revival meetings, while the better class naturally tend toward +philosophy and other intellectual studies, there is room for Christian +workers of different denominations. In actual numbers there are more of +the Episcopalians than of any other Protestant denomination, as they +include the English, Canadians, Australians and Americans. Next to these +in number are the Presbyterians. There is a Unitarian mission conducted +by the Rev. Dr. MacCauley, who has been there many years and whom we +knew well. The Baptists are prominent in Yokohama. The American Board +missionaries--the Congregationalists--I have been told, do the best +work. + +A very kindly spirit exists among them all, but they could economize +greatly if they worked even more in union. Each mission, for instance, +has its Japanese secretary, because of the difficulty of the language, +but if they combined, they could do with fewer secretaries, and could +also have Japanese teachers for Japanese subjects. A few big, +broad-minded men--like Dr. Greene, who was looked up to by every +one--who were men of affairs as well as clergymen, could do much good by +acting as the heads of the missions and directing the Japanese +Christians, somewhat as is done in the stations of the American Board. + +Right here I wish to pay my tribute to the beautiful life and the great +work of the Rev. Dr. Greene, whose death last September left the +American Board mission poorer for his loss. Dr. Greene and his wife went +to Japan in 1869, when the government edict banning Christianity was +still in force. They lived to see the country under a constitutional +government, with a modern system of education and full religious +liberty. Dr. Greene was a missionary statesman; he was the intimate +friend of Count Okuma and other Japanese leaders. As teacher, author, +translator of the New Testament, and president of the Asiatic Society, +he did a varied work. A few months before his death the Emperor +conferred upon Dr. Greene the Third Class of the Order of the Rising +Sun, the highest decoration awarded to civilians residing in Japan. + +A work frequently overlooked is the service rendered in translation and +the compilation of dictionaries. When Dr. Hepburn, to whom I have +already referred, reached Japan in 1859, immediately after establishing +his dispensary, he began the preparation of a Japanese-English +dictionary, and as he had previously lived for several years in China, +he was able to make rapid progress. In 1867 he brought out his great +lexicon, which was published in Shanghai, because printing from metal +type was not then done in Japan. When an invoice of it arrived in +Yokohama, "Two worlds, as by an isthmus, seemed to have been united.... +As a rapid feat of intellect and industry, it seemed a _tour de force_, +a Marathon run." Later, Dr. Hepburn assisted in translating the Bible +into Japanese. For all his work--as physician, lexicographer, translator +of the Bible--and especially for his noble character, he was known in +Japan as "_Kunshi_," the superior man. Engraved on his tombstone are the +words, "God bless the Japanese." + +The following statistics, given out recently by the Japanese Bureau of +Religion, are interesting as showing the number of adherents to each of +the great faiths: + + Christians, 140,000 + Buddhists, 29,420,000 + Believing Buddhists, 18,910,000 + Shintoists, 19,390,000 + Believing Shintoists, 710,000 + Temples with priests, 72,128 + Temples without priests, 37,417 + +The discrepancy between the number of "believing Shintoists" and +Shintoists is explained when we remember that all persons in government +employ--military and naval officers, officials in the civil service, and +teachers in government schools--must be nominal Shintoists, even though +they are Buddhists at heart. + +I cannot better close this chapter than by giving the opinions of a few +representative people of different faiths and nationalities upon the +subject of missions in Japan. + +Professor Masumi Hino of Doshisha University, _a Christian Japanese_, +gives reasons why none of the old faiths will meet the needs of Japan +to-day. He says, "Shinto stands for polytheism, which in Japan stands +side by side with skepticism and religious indifference." He credits +Confucianism with teaching "fair and square dealings with every man," +but adds, "It nevertheless fails to meet the people's yearning after the +eternal values." Buddhism will also, he believes, "fail to be the +supreme spiritual force in Japan," because it does not attach sufficient +importance to ethical teaching; because it sinks the individual in "the +absolute and the whole;" and because its belief in immortality is "based +on the pessimistic view of life." + +Professor Hino acknowledges his own debt and that of the Japanese people +to all three religions, but questions whether any of these can meet the +pressure of twentieth-century life and problems. For himself he believes +Christianity alone "is able to meet the demands of the coming generation +in Japan." + +Mr. E. J. Harrison, _a resident of Japan for fourteen years_, says in +his book, "The Fighting Spirit of Japan": + +"I venture the opinion merely for what it may be worth, but that opinion +is, that those who flatter themselves that the day will ever dawn when +the Japanese as a people will profess Christianity imagine a vain thing, +and are pursuing a will-o'-the-wisp. They will dabble in Christianity as +they have dabbled and are dabbling in numerous other 'anities,' 'isms,' +and 'ologies'; but the sort of Christianity which will ultimately be +evolved in Japan will have very little in common with its various +prototypes of the Occident." Most people residing in Japan for any +length of time agree with Mr. Harrison. + +Then there is the _missionary opinion_. As recently as August 22, 1913, +Rev. Dr. Greene wrote from Tokyo: + +"Everything points to an increased appreciation of the place of religion +in human life. The rapid headway which the more spiritual philosophy of +the West, as represented by Bergson and Eucken, is making among the +thoughtful men of Japan, including the young men of the universities, +suggests much promise. Professor Anezaki, head of the department of +Comparative Religion in the Imperial University of Tokyo, said not long +ago that the students were weary of the materialism still propagated by +certain of the older Japanese thinkers, and were seeking guidance of +younger men imbued with the more recent philosophical thought. + +"If the Christian leaders will but put themselves in harmony with this +deep-flowing stream, they may well indulge the brightest hopes." + +At a special gathering of public men in Tokyo in 1913, when evangelistic +preachers from America were present, Baron Sakatani, the Mayor, although +_not a Christian himself_, said: + +"You men of the West owe us a lot. Your civilization has come in and +broken down very largely the old faiths of Japan. We are looking for a +new and better one. You owe it to us to help us find something to take +the place of that which we have lost." + +A year or two ago, the Minister of Education, who is _not a Christian_, +called a conference of Buddhists, Shintoists and Christians, at which he +said, "What Japan needs is more vital religion, and I ask each of you to +become more in earnest in bringing your faith to bear upon the lives of +our people." + + + + + CHAPTER X + + PROSE, POETRY AND PLAYS + + +The Japanese are true story-tellers, and for centuries their folklore +has been passed down by word of mouth. The stories which Madame Ozaki, +Pasteur and others have so cleverly translated into English are a great +delight to me, many of them are so full of humour, pathos and charm. +They fall into three characteristic types:--stories of the unreal world, +legends of the great warriors of feudal days, and tales of love. Instead +of trying to describe them I will give an example of each in condensed +form. + +Fairy tales play an important part in the literature of the people, and, +except possibly the Norwegian, I think none compare with those of Japan. +They have a strange and fascinating quality which specially +distinguishes them from ours--they deal with imps and goblins, with +devils, foxes and badgers, with the grotesque and supernatural, instead +of the pretty dancing fairies, the good fairies that our children know. + +"The Travels of the Two Frogs," from the charming version in Mr. William +Elliot Griffis' "Fairy Tales of Old Japan," is given here in condensed +form. + + * * * * * + + THE TRAVELS OF TWO FROGS + + Once upon a time there lived two frogs--one in a well in Kyoto, + the other in a lotus pond in Osaka, forty miles away. Now in the + Land of the Gods they have a proverb, "The frog in the well + knows not the great ocean," and the Kyoto frog had so often + heard this sneer from the maids who came to draw water with + their long bamboo-handled buckets that he resolved to travel and + see the "great ocean." + + Mr. Frog informed the family of his intentions. Mrs. Frog wept a + great deal, but finally drying her eyes with her paper + handkerchief she declared that she would count the hours on her + fingers until he came back. She tied up a little lacquered box + full of boiled rice and snails for his journey, wrapped it round + with a silk napkin, and putting his extra clothes in a bundle, + swung it on his back. Tying it over his neck, he seized his + staff and was ready to go. + + "_Sayonara!_" cried he, as with a tear in his eye he walked + away--for that is the Japanese for "good-bye." + + "_Sayonara!_" croaked Mrs. Frog and the whole family of young + frogs in a chorus. + + Mr. Frog, being now on land and out of his well, noticed that + men did not leap, but walked upright on their hind legs, and not + wishing to be eccentric he began walking the same way. + + Now about the same time, an old Osaka frog had become restless + and dissatisfied with life on the edge of a lotus pond. Close by + the side of his pond was a monastery full of Buddhist monks who + every day studied their sacred rolls and droned over the books + of the sage, to learn them by heart. Now the monks often came + down to the edge of the pond to look at the pink and white lotus + flowers. One summer day, as a little frog, hardly out of his + tadpole state, with a fragment of tail still left, sat basking + on a huge round leaf, one monk said to another, "Of what does + that remind you?" "That the babies of frogs will become but + frogs!" answered one shaven-pate, laughing; "What think you?" + "The white lotus springs out of the black mud," said the other + solemnly, and they both walked away. + + The old frog, sitting near-by, overheard them and began to + philosophize: "Humph! the babies of frogs will become but frogs, + hey? If the lotus springs from mud, why shouldn't a frog become + a man? If my pet son should travel abroad and see the world--go + to Kyoto, for instance--why shouldn't he be as wise as those + shining-headed men, I wonder? I shall try it, anyhow. I'll send + my son on a journey to Kyoto--I'll cast the lion's cub into the + valley!" + + Now it so happened that the old frog from Kyoto and the "lion's + cub" from Osaka started each from his home at the same time. + Nothing of importance occurred to either of them until they met + on a hill near Hashimoto, which is half-way between the two + cities. Both were footsore and websore, and very, very tired. + + "_Ohio!_" said the lion's cub to the old frog, by way of good + morning, as he fell on all fours and bowed his head to the + ground three times. + + "_Ohio!_" replied the Kyoto frog. + + "It is rather fine weather to-day," said the youngster. + + "Yes, it is very fine," replied the old fellow. + + "I am Gamataro, the oldest son of Lord Bullfrog, Prince of the + Lotus Ditch." + + "Your lordship must be weary with your journey. I am Sir Frog of + the Well in Kyoto. I started out to see the great ocean from + Osaka, but I declare my hips are so dreadfully tired that I + believe I'll give up my plan and content myself with a look from + this hill, which I have been told is half-way between the two + cities. While I see Osaka and the sea, you can get a good look + at Kyoto." + + "Happy thought!" cried the Osaka frog. Then both reared + themselves up on their hind legs, and stretching up on their + toes, body to body, and neck to neck, propped each other up, + rolled their goggles, and looked steadily, as they supposed, on + the places they each wished to see. + + Now every one knows that a frog has eyes mounted in that part of + his head which is front when he is down, and back when he stands + up. Long and steadily they gazed, until at last, their toes + being tired, they fell down on all fours. + + "I declare!" said the older frog, "Osaka looks just like Kyoto! + As for that great ocean those stupid maids talked about, I don't + see any at all, unless they mean that strip of river which looks + for all the world like Yedo. I don't believe there is any great + ocean!" + + "For my part," said the other, "I am satisfied that it's all + folly to go further, for Kyoto is as like Osaka as one grain of + rice is like another." + + Thereupon both congratulated themselves upon the happy, + labour-saving expedient by which they had spared themselves a + long journey. Then they departed, after exchanging many + compliments, and, dropping once more into a frog-hop, leaped + back in half the time ... the one to his well, the other to his + pond. And so to this day the frog in the well knows not and + believes not in the "great ocean!" + + * * * * * + +Excellent collections of fairy tales have been made by F. Hadland +Davis--"Myths and Legends of Japan"--and R. Gordon Smith--"Ancient Tales +and Folklore of Japan." Children love to read about Princess Blossoming +Brilliantly Like the Flowers on the Trees, and Princess Long as the +Rocks, about Prince Fire Shine, and Prince Fire Shade, and the other +delightful characters with strange names. The story of "The Magic Sword, +the Glittering Jewel and the Heavenly Mirror" is perhaps an especial +favourite. + +A good example of the legendary narrative is that of Hachiro Tametomo +the Archer, told in English by Madame Ozaki in her "Warriors of Old +Japan" and given here much condensed. + + * * * * * + + HACHIRO TAMETOMO THE ARCHER + + Hachiro was the eighth son of an illustrious family. As a child + he gave promise of being a very strong man, and as he grew older + this promise was more than fulfilled. He early showed a love of + archery, and his left arm being four inches longer than his + right, there was no one in the realm who could bend the bow + better or send the arrow farther than he could. He became the + most skilful archer in all Japan. + + By nature Hachiro was a rough, wild lad who did not know what + fear meant, and he loved to challenge his brother, Yoshitomo, to + fight. As he grew older he grew wilder still, so that even his + own father found him unmanageable. One day a learned man came + from the palace of the Emperor to give the boy a lecture. In the + course of his talk he spoke of Kiyomori, an enemy of the house, + as a clever archer. At this Hachiro laughed aloud in scorn, and + told the learned man that he was both foolish and ignorant. + + This rudeness was so contrary to the rules of Japanese courtesy + that it made the lecturer very angry, and when his discourse was + finished he rebuked the boy sternly for his behaviour. When the + boy's father heard what had happened he, too, was angry with his + son for daring to dispute with one who was his elder and + superior, and refused to keep him any longer beneath his roof, + sending him away to the island of Kyushu. + + Now Hachiro did not mind his banishment in the least. On the + contrary, he felt like a hound let loose from the leash, and + rejoiced in his liberty. Free to do as he liked at last, his + thirst for conflict became so great that he could not restrain + himself. He challenged the men in all the neighbouring provinces + to match their strength against his, and in the twenty battles + which followed he was never defeated. He was like the silkworm + eating up the mulberry tree, for just as the worm devours one + leaf after another, so Hachiro fought and fought, one after + another, the inhabitants of all the provinces anywhere around, + till he had them all under subjection. By the time he was + eighteen the boy had thus mastered the whole western part of + Japan, and had made himself chief of a large band of outlaws + noted for their reckless bravery. + + This band became so powerful that the Government decided to + interfere and put a stop to the outlawry. A regiment of soldiers + was sent against them, but without effect: Hachiro could not be + brought to surrender. As a final resort the Government, hoping + thus to bring the son to bay, arrested Hachiro's father, and + severely punished the old man for being the parent of an + incorrigible rebel. + + Although Hachiro was so rude and undisciplined by nature, there + was hidden deep in his heart a sense of duty to his father, and + on this his enemies had counted. He was greatly distressed at + what had happened, and feeling that it was inexcusable to let + his father suffer for his own misdoings, he gave up, without the + least hesitation, all the western lands which had cost him such + hard fighting. Then, taking with him ten men, he went to the + capital and sent in a document signed and sealed in his own + blood, asking the pardon of the Government for all his former + offences and begging for the release of his father. When those + in authority saw his filial piety, they could not find it in + their hearts to treat him with severity, so they merely rebuked + him for his lawlessness and set the old man free. + + Soon after this a civil war broke out in the land, for two + brothers of the late Emperor aspired to sit on the Imperial + throne. Hachiro and his father fought on one side, while his + elder brother, Yoshitomo, fought on the other. Hachiro was not + yet twenty years of age, but was more than seven feet in height. + His eyes were sharp and piercing, like those of a hawk, and he + carried himself with pride and noble bearing. He was consulted + about the tactics to be used in a great battle, and if his + advice had been followed, the history of Japan might have been + quite different. As it was, the enemy won the victory. + + On seeing the foe approaching the gate where he was stationed, + Hachiro exclaimed, "You feeble worms, I'll surprise you!" and + taking his bow and arrow he shot a _samurai_ through the breast. + The arrow was carried in alarm to the general. It was made from + strong bamboo and the metal head was like a chisel--it looked + more like the arrow of a demon than a man, and the general + retired in fear from before the gate. + + When Yoshitomo came up, however, he was not afraid, but cried + out, "What a wicked deed you commit to fight against your elder + brother!" To this Hachiro answered, "It is wrong for me to take + up arms against my brother, truly, but are you not an undutiful + son to take up arms against your father?" The elder brother had + no words to answer this, and Hachiro knew that he could kill him + as he stood there. But they were brothers, born of the same + mother, and he felt that he could not do it. Yet he could not + resist raising his bow and arrow and taking a good aim at the + helmet which Yoshitomo wore, shooting his arrow right into the + middle of the star that topped it. + + In the end Yoshitomo's forces were so much greater that Hachiro + and his father were taken prisoners. The older man was put to + death, but Hachiro's courage aroused sympathy, even in the + hearts of his foes. It seemed a pity to kill so brave a man, and + so they set him free. But to prevent his using his wonderful + skill against them they cut the sinews in both his arms, and + sent him to the island of Oshima. + + The simple island folk recognized in him a great man, and he led + a happy life among them. One day, while standing on the beach + thinking of his many past adventures, he was seized with a + desire for more. So, stepping into a boat, he set out on a + voyage of discovery. He came to an island which was inhabited by + people with dark red faces and shocks of bright red hair. + Landing, he went up to a large pine-tree and uprooted it with as + much ease as if it were a weed, brandishing it above his head + and calling aloud, "Come, you demons! Fight if you will! I am + Hachiro Tametomo, the archer of Japan. If you will be my + servants and look up to me as a master in all things, it is + well--otherwise, I will beat you all to little pieces!" He could + have done it, too, because his arms were as strong as ever, + notwithstanding the sinews had been cut. So the inhabitants + prostrated themselves before him, and he took possession of the + island. Later, however, he returned to Oshima. + + Now the island of Oshima has always been free from smallpox, and + the reason is that Hachiro lived there. One day a little man, no + bigger than one foot five inches, came floating in on the waves, + sitting on a round straw mat. + + "Who are you?" Hachiro asked. + + "I am the germ of smallpox," answered the pigmy. + + "And why have you come here to Oshima?" + + "I come to seize hold of the inhabitants!" + + "You would spread the hateful pestilence--Silence! I am + Hachiro." + + At that the smallpox microbe shrank and shrank until he was the + size of a pea, and then he floated away for ever, as + mysteriously as he had come. + + On hearing of this, the Minister of State decided that Hachiro + was becoming too powerful and popular a hero. When the young man + saw the soldiers approaching the island, he seized his bow and, + pulling it to the shape of a half-moon, sent an arrow that upset + the boat and pitched the soldiers into the sea. After thinking + the matter over, however, he decided that if he fought against + the Government it would bring disaster upon the islanders who + loved him, and it would be better to die at the height of his + glory. So he committed _hara-kiri_ and thus saved himself from + all dishonour and the people of Oshima from further trouble. + + [Illustration: ARMOUR AND WEAPONS OF ANCIENT WARRIORS.] + + * * * * * + +Of a different sort altogether is the legend of the "Theft of the Golden +Scale," so charmingly rendered into English by Mr. Brownell. + + * * * * * + + THE THEFT OF THE GOLDEN SCALE + + Daredesuka was a _ronin_ bold, and Eikibo was a beautiful + _geisha_. One day Daredesuka asked Eikibo to be his wife, a + request that _geishas_ will generally accept, for it puts them + in the highest of the four classes of society, ranking almost as + well as the nobility. But Eikibo only laughed and said, "Such + promises are like the little flies that live a day and then no + one knows what has become of them!" + + Daredesuka cried, "It is not so! Give me some test, for I must + have you know I speak the truth. Shall I bring you pearls from + the deep sea, or golden scales from the dolphins on Nagoya + Castle? Only say the thing, and I will do it, for you must + believe me." + + Eikibo looked at him and said merrily, "Yes, I must believe you + if you bring me a dolphin's golden scale from the ridge of the + fifth story of the tower. I know Nagoya well, for I am there + every year. Yes, I should know you spoke the truth if you + brought the scale!" And she laughed again, for to the _geisha_ + the parents of a truthful man are not yet born. Then she added, + "_Sayonara!_ My call-time for the Full Moon Tea-house over the + river has arrived. I beg your honourable pardon, I must go now. + Next month I shall be at the great _matsuri_ at Nagoya, where I + am to dance. Bring me the scale, and I shall know your heart!" + + Two nights later he was in Nagoya. + + Now Daredesuka was a wonderful man with kites. He had made large + ones when he was with his old lord, and had once dropped a line + far over a junk that was blowing out to sea, and so saved many + lives. He decided that he would use a kite to get the scale that + Eikibo had declared would tell if he spoke true. Secretly he + went to work and made a kite so large that he was sure it would + carry the weight of his body. He found another _ronin_ to help + him in his strange plan, and on a stormy night, in wind and rain + and clouds, he went up with his kite, and secured a golden scale + from the ridge of the fifth story of the tower. But the tool he + had used in prying it off was wet and slippery, and it fell from + his hands to the ground far beneath him. The guards' attention + was attracted. At the fatal moment a rift in the clouds let the + moon shine down, and they discovered the kite. So it happened + that when Daredesuka reached the earth they caught him with the + golden scale. But because he was a _samurai_ he was allowed to + commit _hara-kiri_, and performed the act serenely before the + State officials. + + Eikibo did not do the fan dance at the _matsuri_ in Nagoya, for + on the morning of the day on which she was to appear, an old + priest found her body on Daredesuka's grave. + + * * * * * + +At first it seemed that the opening of the country to foreigners was to +be a death-blow to the old Japanese forms of art and literature. +Translations of American and European books have become very common, and +Western ideas permeate their work. But side by side with the newer +forms, the classic writings are again coming into vogue. + +Paradoxical as it may sound, much of the classical Japanese literature +is Chinese. This is especially true of the older works, but it holds +good only in less degree to-day. Chinese has always been the written +language of the students, and of the higher classes in general, while +Japanese was considered fit only for the common people, much as English +was regarded down to the time of More's "Utopia." But while written in +Chinese characters, much of this literature is distinctly national in +spirit and feeling, and belongs as much to the country as does that +written in the native tongue. Only within recent times has the common +language of the people been used for writing books and scholarly +treatises. + +Previous to the introduction of the Chinese ideographs in the early +Christian centuries, the Japanese had no written language. A knowledge +of these ideographs places all Chinese literature at the service of the +Japanese scholar. There are over eighty thousand characters, and three +ways of writing as well as of pronouncing each, but one finds that most +people know only about five or six thousand. + +The great classical period, corresponding perhaps to the Elizabethan +Era, covers about five hundred years, from the eighth to the twelfth +centuries. During this time history, romance, and poetry flourished. The +Japanese record of ancient happenings, dealing with early history and +mythology, dates back to 712 A. D. and is sometimes called the Bible of +Japan. The romances, many of which were written by women, described the +Court life of the tenth and eleventh centuries. Most of the verses were +written in the short _tanka_ form, but longer ones, comprising groups of +these stanzas, were common. + +In later times Bakin (1767-1848) became famous for his novels. One of +these--the "Tale of Eight Dogs"--contains no less than one hundred and +six small volumes. + +In spite of the fact that Kozo Ozaki was born less than fifty years ago, +he is regarded as the Father of Japanese Literature. His work may be +likened to that of making a stone palace from a prehistoric cave, for he +simplified and unified the language, which was a mixture of the +scholarly speech of the stage with the modern vulgar tongue. Ozaki was a +perfect type of the gentleman of Old Japan. He was an artist as well as +an author, and also an orator, people flocking to hear him speak. A +group of young writers was formed in his time, but he was distinctly the +leader. His stories were mostly of love. Among the seventy volumes +published before his death (at the age of thirty-seven) "The Confessions +of a Lover," "Three Wives," and "The Golden Demon" are especially well +known. Among his most noted contemporaries were Rohan Koda and Kyoka +Izumi, the latter of whom was termed the Japanese Maeterlinck. + +To-day Osaki Batsume is one of the most prominent writers. He was born +in Tokyo in 1867, and is said to have taken George Meredith as his +model. One of his best known works is "Botchan," which is on the order +of "Tom Brown's School Days." Much satire, and much philosophy, are +found in his books, but he shows little sympathy with the follies of +this life. His local colour and descriptions of social life are +excellent, and he attacks the imperfections of his day with good effect. +He is considered the master writer of modern times. + +Many writers and books might be mentioned, but I want to speak of Dr. +Nitobe, whose "Bushido" and "Japanese Nation" are known the world over. +His wife is a charming American woman, and he has been exchange +professor with America. I quote two of his essays that I especially +like. + + * * * * * + + HEART AND CONSCIENCE + + In thy sweet tremulous voice whisper in my ears what thou fain + wouldst have. And the Heart confided her secret of love to + Conscience. Said he in harsh tones of rebuke, "Thou most foolish + one! Thy love is born of flesh. Thou shalt never behold the face + of thy beloved. Thou art utterly corrupt." The poor Heart wept + its bitterest; but her sobs stern Conscience heeded not; they + reached the ears of the angels only. + + * * * * * + + THE SOUL'S QUEST OF GOD + + Oft have I asked the question, O God, who art Thou? Where art + Thou? And each time the answer comes in softest voice, Who art + thou that askest Who I am? What thou art, that I am, and what I + am art thou. And where art thou that askest where I am? Where + thou art, there am I--and where I am, there art thou. + + In worshipping God we worship ourselves, and in worshipping + ourselves we worship God. The real self is within us, the + essence of the Ego is divine. We clothe it in the rags of flesh + and of fleshly desires, until the divine self is hid; and we + call that self which does not strictly belong to it. + + * * * * * + +Japanese poetry differs very largely from anything with which we are +familiar. It has little if any rhythm, as we understand rhythm. The +_tanka_ was for many years the only form of verse known. It has five +lines and thirty-one syllables, which are arranged 5-7-5-7-7. This is an +unusual metre to our ears, and translators are obliged to change the +verses somewhat in order to make them sound more familiar to English +readers. The following poem by the late Emperor is typical:-- + + THE NEW YEAR PINE + + "Atarashiki + Toshi no hogigoto + Kiku niwa ni + Yorodzu yo yobo-o + Noki no matsu kaze!" + + "While New Year celebration fills my mind and heart, + I seem to hear above the palace eaves apart, + Winds calling midst the pines my garden doth adorn; + The voice of countless generations yet unborn!" + + BY MEIJI TENNO. + _Translated by Mrs. Douglas Adams._ + +Japanese classical poetry consists of poetical ideas expressed in +flowery language and packed into the regulation metre. It abounds in +word-plays and all sorts of puns, but is absolutely free from any trace +of vulgarity. In those early days philosophy, religion, and satire were +not considered fit themes for poetic treatment. + +There is an even more Lilliputian form of verse than the _tanka_, called +the _hokku_, which contains only seventeen syllables, often with little +or no rhyme. An example of this form given by Lafcadio Hearn is known as +"Vagabondage," and is a good example of much in little: "Heavily falls +the rain on the hat that I stole from the scarecrow." Two others of +quite a different trend are particularly exquisite: "What I saw as a +fallen blossom returning to the branch--lo! it was a butterfly." "So +lovely in its cry--What were the cuckoo if it laughed?" + +The Japanese believe that if the beauty suggested in the five lines of a +_tanka_ verse cannot be fully appreciated by the reader, there is +something hopelessly deficient in that reader. They do not believe in +"smothering the soul with many words." + +Perhaps what strikes one most in connection with the classic verses is +the dates at which they were written, for many that have come down to us +were composed a thousand years ago. Indeed, Japanese poetry is older +than Japanese history, and tradition says that there were many +versifiers even in the days of the mythological Emperor, Jimmu Tenno. At +any rate, Japan had a literature of its own long before the Northmen +found America! + +In the old days only nobles, Court officials and church dignitaries +wrote poetry. The lower classes were not supposed to know anything about +the art. Love and "picture" poems were popular, and it is wonderful what +perfect thumb-nail sketches were composed. It has been said that "the +predominating feature, the under-current that runs through them all, is +a touch of pathos. ... It shows out in the cherry blossoms which are +doomed to fall, the dewdrops scattered by the wind, the mournful cry of +the wild deer on the mountain, the dying crimson of the fallen maple +leaves, the weird sadness of the cuckoo singing in the moonlight, and +the loneliness of the recluse in the wilds. + +"The souls of children are often pictured as playing in a celestial +garden with the same flowers and butterflies they used to play with +while on earth. It is just this subtle element of the childlike +disposition that has helped to discover the secrets of flowers and birds +and trees, has enabled them to catch their timorous fleeting shadows and +to hold them, as if by magic, in a picture, on a vase, or in a delicate +and wistful poem." + +"'Do not say anything unkind, but compose a poem. Is your best-beloved +dead? Do not yield to useless grief, but try to calm your mind by making +a poem. Are you troubled because you are about to die, leaving so many +things unfinished? Be brave, and write a poem to death. Whatever +misfortune or injustice disturbs you, put aside your resentment or your +sorrow as soon as possible, and write a few lines of sober and elegant +verse for a moral exercise.'" Thus Hearn translates from an ancient +writer, and then goes on to say: + +"In the olden days every form of trouble was encountered with a poem. +Bereavement, separation, disaster, called forth verses in lieu of +plaints. The lady who preferred death to loss of honour composed a poem +before piercing her throat. The _samurai_ sentenced to die by his own +hand wrote a poem before performing _hara-kiri_. Even in this less +romantic era of Meiji young people resolved upon suicide are wont to +compose some verses before quitting the world." + +These three little love-poems, which have been translated into English +by William Porter, were written during the tenth century--the first one +in 961 A. D. by the Imperial Adviser, Asa-Tada. + + "To fall in love with womankind + Is my unlucky fate: + If only it were otherwise, + I might appreciate + Some men, whom now I hate." + +The second, by Kanemori Taira, was composed in 949 A. D.: + + "Alas! the blush upon my cheek, + Conceal it as I may, + Proclaims to all that I'm in love, + Till people smile and say-- + Where are thy thoughts to-day?" + +The last one was written in the same year by the minister of the Kawara +district of Kyoto: + + "Ah, why does love distract my thoughts, + Disordering my will! + I'm like the pattern on the cloth + Of Michinoku hill, + All in confusion still." + +Japan has not been without her women poets. Lady Horikawa, who wrote +this bit of verse, lived in the twelfth century and was in attendance on +the Dowager Empress Taiken. The poem is dated 1142, and, like the +others, was translated by Mr. Porter. + + "My doubt about his constancy + Is difficult to bear; + Tangled this morning are my thoughts + As is my long black hair. + I wonder--does he care?" + +The Empress Jito lived in the seventh century. She was the daughter of +an Emperor and became Empress on the death of her husband, the Emperor +Tennu. During her reign _saké_ was first made. She wrote: + + "The spring has gone, the summer's come, + And I can just descry + The peak of Ama-no-kagu, + Where angels of the sky + Spread their white robes to dry." + +Daini-No-Sammi, who was the daughter of a poet, composed this pretty +verse: + + "As fickle as the mountain gusts + That on the moor I've met, + 'Twere best to think no more of thee + And let thee go. But yet + I never can forget!" + +Old age seems a favourite subject. Tsure Yuki Kino was a nobleman at +Court and one of the great classical poets. He died in the middle of the +tenth century. + + "The village of my youth is gone, + New faces meet my gaze; + But still the blossoms at the gate, + Whose perfume scents the ways, + Recall my childhood's days." + +Jealousy is the theme of many of the verses: + + "Where many a tree + Crowns Takasu Hill, + Does my wife see + My vanishing sleeve + And so take leave?" + +Of the many picture poems, this is considered +one of the best: + + "Out of the East, + Over the field, + The dawn is breaking breaking-- + I turn to the West, + And the moon hangs low!" + +Another picture poem is by the late Emperor: + + "Kie nokoru + Matsu no kokage no + Shirayuki ni + Ariake no tsuki!" + + "At dawn, how cold the waiting moon doth shine + On remnants of snow beneath the pine!" + BY MEIJI TENNO. + _Translated by Mrs. Douglas Adams._ + +That the poetry of Japan is not without its humour is shown by the +following comic song, which deals with a subject of universal interest: + + "In the shadow of the mountain + What is it that shines so? + Moon is it? or star? or is it the firefly insect? + Neither is it moon, + Nor yet star.... + It is the old woman's eye--it is the eye + Of my mother-in-law that shines!" + +Modern poetry is read by every one, and composed by every one. Poems are +written on tablets and hung or suspended in the houses; they are +everywhere, printed on all useful and household articles. I quote a poem +called "The Beyond," which was published in a recent issue of the _Japan +Magazine_. It shows not only a change of form, but of theme as well. + + "Thou standest at the brink. Behind thy back + Stretch the fair, flower-decked meadows, full of light, + And pleasant change of wooded hill and dale + With tangled scrub of thorn and bramble bush, + Which men call life. Lo! now thy travelled foot + Stands by the margin of the silent pool; + And, as thou standest, thou fearest, lest some hand + Come from behind, and push thee suddenly + Into its cold, dark depths. + + "Thou needst not fear; + The hidden depths have their own fragrance too, + And he that loves the grasses of the field, + With fragrant lilies decks the still pool's face, + With weeds the dark recesses of the deep; + March boldly on, nor fear the sudden plunge, + Nor ask where ends life's meadow-land. + E'en the dark pool hath its own fragrant flowers." + +The two young poets, Horoshi Yosano and his wife Akiko, are known as the +Brownings of Japan. Yosano was editing a small magazine of verse not +long ago when the poetess Akiko sent him one of her maiden efforts for +publication. A meeting followed, and in spite of poverty--for poets are +poor in Japan as elsewhere--they fell in love and were presently +married. They went to France, and were made much of by the young poets +of Paris. Yosano is something of a radical, impatient of poetic +conventions and thoroughly in harmony with the new spirit of Japan. The +power of Akiko's work is suggested in a poem of hers called "The +Priest." + + "Soft is thy skin: + Thou hast never touched blood, + O teacher of ways + Higher than mortal: + How lonely thou art!" + + * * * * * + +The Japanese drama has not held so high a place as have the other forms +of literature, for the stage was regarded for many years as nothing more +than a rather common and even vulgar means of amusement. The classic +drama, represented by the _No_ dances, was partly religious and had more +prestige, but there have been few good dramatists. The stage is of +interest, however, because it is the only place left where one may study +the manners and customs of long ago. + + [Illustration: A JAPANESE STAGE.] + +To give a brief summary of this art--the Japanese drama, like the +ancient Greek, and the English also, had its origin in religion. In the +very earliest days there were crude religious dances and songs. Later, +popular tales of history and legend, mixed with poetry, were dramatized. +Minstrels often recited these to the accompaniment of the lute. +Marionette dances accompanied by songs were also popular. Since these +performances were regarded as beneath the consideration of the nobility, +the _No_ performance with a chorus came into existence for their +benefit. After the earlier form had become debased and vulgarized the +_No_ dances kept their ancient ceremonial character, and continued to be +performed before Shogun and _samurai_, and even before the Imperial +family. They developed into something very like the classic drama of +Greece. The actors were masked, the plays were held in the open air with +no scenery but with elaborate costumes, and had a religious quality +which they have retained to the present day. As the _No_ is very long, +comedy pieces were introduced, like the "interludes" of the +pre-Elizabethan stage, to offset the classical severity. The actors have +always been of a better class than the _kabuti_, or players for the +common people. + +Takeda Izuma is one of the most celebrated play writers, having +dramatized the story of the Forty-Seven Ronins, as well as other +historic tales. Chikamatsu is sometimes called the Shakespeare of Japan; +his best work is a play in which the expulsion of the Dutch from Formosa +is used as a theme. He was a prolific writer of rather a sensational +order. Samba, who has taken the name of Ikku, is one of the best +dramatists of the present time, and is renowned throughout Japan. + +Hitherto myths, legends--religious or secular--and folklore, as well as +passages from Japanese history, have been the material used for plays. +To-day, however, novels are dramatized as with us, and many plays are +translated. Western dramas are having a great vogue at present. + +Whether the plays are original or not, the author's name frequently does +not appear at all. When Miss Scidmore, the author of "Jinrikisha Days," +asked a great tragedian who wrote the play in which he was appearing, +the star was puzzled and said that he did not understand. A bystander +explained that it was based on newspaper accounts of various +catastrophies, made into some sort of scenario by a hack-writer, with +the stage-effects planned by the manager and the dialogue written by the +actors--each of whom composed his own lines! No wonder the tragedian was +puzzled by the question. As a rule, however, the dramatic author has +entire charge of the production--he writes the play, arranges the +scenes, and consults with the leading actor and proprietor. + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + AMUSEMENTS + + +As the traveller's first idea on reaching land after a long voyage is to +enjoy himself, I am going to suggest several forms of amusement. Perhaps +I had better begin by trying to answer what is sure to be his first +question--"Where is the best tea-house with the prettiest _geisha_ +girls?" + +We found that the most celebrated _geishas_ were in Kyoto, where the +dancing is classic, a model for the rest of the country. Here were also +the best-trained _maikos_, or little dancers. The Ichiriki, or +One-Power, Tea-house, which we visited, is one of the most famous in the +country, for here in the long-ago Oishi, leader of the Forty-Seven +Ronins, resorted in order to mislead the emissaries sent out to watch +him by pretending dissipation and cowardliness. There is a shrine in the +tea-house to the revered hero. + +The place is very typical, with its clean-matted rooms and its tiny +garden with miniature features of rock and water, its lanterns and +stepping-stones, its gnarled trees and clumped bamboo. At the entrance +to this tea-house we removed our shoes and passed over the soft mats +into the simple, pretty rooms, open to the air and overlooking the +lovely garden. + +It took some time for the little entertainers to gather, for they are +not used to haste. In the meantime we sat on mats while tea and _saké_ +were served by the _naisan_, or maids, who shave off their eyebrows in +order to make themselves plainer and so set off the beauty of the +dancers. They came slipping in and falling upon their knees before us, +bowing low and presenting the tiny cups for drinking--all a matter of +much ceremony and etiquette when politely done. + + [Illustration: GEISHA GIRLS AT THE ICHIRIKI TEA-HOUSE, KYOTO. + (In the corner is inserted a geisha girl's visiting-card, _actual + size_.)] + +Finally some wee _maikos_ came shuffling in with their quaint dress and +hair make-up, their whitened faces and painted lips, and knelt among us +in picturesque attitudes. These _maikos_ are girls of from ten to +thirteen years of age who are learning to be _geishas_. Following them +came the _geishas_ themselves--the older dancers--and then the musicians +began to tune and twang their instruments, and to chant the monotonous +songs that tell the stories of the dancing. + +Our eyes grew big with wonder and delight as the figures were taken up +in turn, one after another--movements grotesque, but oh, so dainty and +quaint! Such posturing in adorably awkward attitudes! Such sliding with +tiny feet turned inward, heads and hands at all angles, eyes askew! To +one to whom their dancing has become familiar, it is all so fascinating +and fanciful, so full of delight and grace and meaning! + +Tomiji and Kanoko, both _maikos_--dear tiny figures in gay garments and +huge _obis_--danced the Story of the Stone Bridge. One of them was a +peony, and the other was a lion! Then a _geisha_, Harikiku, or the +Spring Chrysanthemum, danced the Story of the Spring Rain, which has a +theme like that of Romeo and Juliet, as old as the hills--only now one +of the lovers was a nightingale while the other was a plum. + +So they postured and made picture after picture, and when it was over, +came and sat among us to help pass the tea and _saké_ and cake and +fruits that had been so daintily prepared. After that there was more +dancing, and we took our leave amid much laughter and many _sayonaras_ +and wishes for a speedy return from our cheery little entertainers. + +The _geishas_ of Kyoto dress in more subdued colors than they do +elsewhere. An American woman would be impressed by the cost of some of +the kimonos, for no expense is spared in making them as beautiful as +possible. The designs are carefully thought out, and an artist is +selected to execute them. After the work is completed the stencils are +usually destroyed, so that the pattern may never be duplicated. + +These girls are the professional entertainers of Japan. They can be +called to private houses, as well as to tea-houses, to help pass the +time with their dancing and singing, and are cultivated in all the arts +and graces that may add to their ability to please. Thus a _geisha_ not +only sings and dances attractively, but she is a trained +conversationalist as well. She is not necessarily immoral, as Westerners +often imagine. It is not uncommon even to-day for a girl to die by her +own hand because she loves a man who, for some reason, cannot marry her. +Many Japanese believe, however, that _geishas_ are dangerous, designing +and hard-hearted creatures, related to fox-women--a kind of goblin-ghost +believed in by the ignorant. + +The _geisha's_ songs are usually of love, the universal theme, and are +sung to the notes of the _samisen_. They correspond to our classic love +songs, but are much more popular among the lower classes than any music +is with us, unless it be rag-time! The sentiment and phrasing are often +fairy-like in their delicacy and charm, but, of course, much of this is +lost in translation. The following is one of the chief favourites--it +depicts "a lover, when the landscape is white with snow, going to the +window to look out before he takes his departure." His lady-love seeks +to delay his going, and this is the song: + + "In vain thy cloak do I hide, Love, + And in vain to thy sleeve do I cling; + Wilt thou no longer abide, Love, + Nor give me for Winter, fond Spring? + I push back the window so slightly, + And point to the snow-burdened land: + O Love, wilt thou leave me thus lightly, + And choose the cold snow for my hand?" + +The little quip at the end which turns this one from a love song to a +tribute to the moon has doubtless teased many an ardent wooer: + + "In the wide, wide world + Of woes and tears, + Let us find a narrow spot + To live together, + You and I, + Until the world + Is quite forgot, + O my sweet-- + Moon that shines + In my little window!" + +Perhaps the best known tea-house in Tokyo is the Maple-Leaf Club. We +dined there one evening when there was a fine full moon, and the lovely, +mysterious little garden was like a dream in the glorious night. The +meal was served on the lacquer service by dainty _geishas_ as we sat on +the soft mats, while delightful dances were performed before us. Our +favourite was the spider dance, in spite of its name, but we enjoyed +them all, and even the music of the _samisen_ and _koto_, which many +foreigners do not care for. This house is famous for its excellent +dancing and its pretty girls. + +One feature of the meal which is characteristic of a Japanese dinner we +could have easily dispensed with--that was the live fish, which was +served to us still breathing, with a knife in its side, to show that it +was perfectly fresh. + +Theatre-going in Japan is a source of endless enjoyment. There is a big +and quite beautiful opera house in Tokyo where the national plays, both +old and new, as well as European opera with Japanese words, are given. +Here the combination of East and West is very interesting. The audience, +although for the most part wearing Japanese clothes, sits in seats +instead of on mats. It is said that when the first European opera +company came to Tokyo and the leading lady took her high notes, the +audience was so convulsed with laughter that the manager had to pull +down the curtain. + +The English plays and the light operas given by the Japanese strike one +as amusing. It always seems strange to see Orientals in European dress, +and one never gets used to their ballet on account of their queerly +shaped legs, which have been made crooked by ages of sitting upon them. + +A sample program of a performance given at the Imperial Theatre in +Tokyo, "Daily from 5th January, 1913," at 4.30 P.M., names five plays: +1. "The Soga Vendetta," a musical drama in one act, laid in the twelfth +century; 2. "Muneto," an historical drama in four scenes, representing +Kyoto in the eleventh century; 3. "Maria de Cronville," a musical +pantomime in four scenes, Paris in the reign of Louis XIV; 4. "The Woman +Hater," a modern farce in two acts, the settings representing the garden +of a hotel in Kamakura and a room in a "hospital for mental diseases;" +and 5. "The Merry Ferry," a musical drama in one scene, representing a +ferry landing in Yedo in the eighteenth century. It would be an exacting +taste which did not find something to satisfy it in a generous bill like +this! + +Most of the theatres are still quite Japanese. They are built of wood +and so flimsily as to be full of draughts. The stage extends across one +side of the square auditorium, whose sloping floor is divided into boxes +two yards wide by low railings, which can be used as bridges by patrons +arriving late or departing early. There is one gallery with boxes in +front and room behind where the lower classes may stand. The actors +enter the stage by means of two long raised platforms called +"flower-paths," which extend across the auditorium--they receive their +name from the custom of strewing the way of a popular actor with +blossoms when he appears. These paths have been given up in the Imperial +Theatre, as have also in some cases the little "supers," dressed in +black in order that they may be considered invisible, who were of great +service in perfecting the details of a stage-picture. But the old +methods are still used in most of the theatres. + +When an actor wishes to disappear from the audience he may leave the +stage by the flower-paths, he may vanish into the wings, or--more simply +still--he may hold up a small curtain in front of him and so accomplish +the desired effect. + +The revolving stage is used oftener in Japan than it is in Europe, to +say nothing of America, where it is practically unknown. It allows quick +changes of scene, for one setting may be arranged out of sight in the +rear of the stage while another is in use before the audience. Instead +of having the curtains lowered between the acts, the audience is often +allowed to see the stage turn, which is interesting. + +The plays usually begin at half-past four in the afternoon and last +until eleven in the evening. A play may run for several days, or there +may be three or four at one performance. During the intermissions the +audience goes out and gets dinner at one of the score of restaurants in +the building. + +Although stage people are looked up to a little more than formerly, they +are still regarded as a rather low class. Madame Sada Yakko is perhaps +the best known actress of the new school, for she met with great +success, not only on the Parisian stage in 1900, but later in America as +well. Danjuro, Kikugoro, and Sadanji, the greatest actors of the +Japanese stage, are all dead. To-day the best are Sojuro and Sawamura, +who take women's parts, and Koshiro Matsumoto, who takes men's. + +On a previous visit we spent a day at the Theatre Nakamuraza, which was +then the finest in Tokyo. Danjuro, who was playing there, "supported by +a strong company, including the great comedian Tsuruzo," was the +favourite actor of the time and delighted a large audience. I do not +feel competent to judge his acting, as I saw him only once, but critics +say that he was much like Henry Irving, and one of the world's greatest +artists of the old school. There is a marked difference between good +Japanese acting and the inferior article, the former is so much more +natural, with less that is grotesque and ranting. + + [Illustration: AN ACTOR OF THE PRESENT DAY.] + +The founder of the Japanese drama is supposed to have been a woman--O +Kuni, a priestess of the temple at Kitzuki. She was as beautiful as she +was pure, and was skilled in the dances which are supposed to delight +the gods. One day, however, she fell in love with a "wave-man"--a +_ronin_--and fled with him to Tokyo. Here her dancing and her beauty +soon made her famous. Not satisfied with this, she and her lover--who +was also her devoted pupil--became actors, and were the first to put +secular plays on the stage. While still quite young the "wave-man" died, +and O Kuni left the stage for ever. She cut off her wonderful long hair +and became a Buddhist nun, spending the rest of her life writing poems. +From her day until recent times women have not been allowed to appear on +the stage, men taking all the parts as in the plays of ancient Greece +and old England. To-day, however, women often take part with the men, as +with us. + +The old plays are very interesting and well done, the costumes being +superb and the scenery excellent. The characters consist for the most +part of _samurai_ and _daimyos_, two or three of whom are either killed +or commit _hara-kiri_ during the performance. While their postures mean +little to our eyes, to a Japanese every movement has its significance. +When the actors pose and stamp around and finally kill themselves, the +audience weeps in sympathy. The speeches are in the scholarly language, +which only the better educated (very few of whom are women) can +understand. This fact accounts for the large amount of sensational +action which is considered necessary to hold the attention of the common +people. One result of the many historical dramas given in the theatres +is that the lower classes know and revere their national heroes. + +In the early days of the theatre masks were much used. They were made to +express sadness, hatred or amusement, and the actors chose them to fit +the part they had to play. Often they portrayed the faces of well-known +persons, and these were especially popular. If the actors wished to +represent divinities or devils they had masks coloured black, red, +green, or gold, often with real hair on them. The custom of masking on +the stage was given up at the end of the seventeenth century. + +One day we went to a native theatre and sat cross-legged in a box for +over three hours, watching with real interest the exciting legendary +romance of the famous Forty-Seven Ronins, whose story is told in another +chapter. This was a very long play which had already taken twenty days, +from eight in the morning till five in the afternoon, and would require +three days more to finish it. The dialogue was, of course, quite +unintelligible, but the play was nevertheless very interesting, for +there was always a lot of action. The hero was truly superb--by a glance +of his eye or a threatened blow he could knock down a whole stage-full +of men! There was a very realistic suicide, with spurting blood and many +gurglings. The acting was a trifle exaggerated--at times even grotesque +and absurd--but I could follow the thread of events quite easily. + +Some clever tumbling and acrobatic feats were introduced after the play, +and a really funny funny-man, but to me the most amusing thing was to +see an assistant come out on the stage after some especially violent +scene and proceed to mop the perspiration from the actors' faces, +walking coolly off again when his errand of mercy was accomplished. + +The costumes and stage-effects were rather showy. There were no +drop-scenes or flies. The people sat on the floor in their little +stalls, and drank their tea or _saké_ and nibbled their cakes, coming +and going as they wished. + +The monkey theatres, where monkeys take the parts of men and women, +should not be forgotten. The apes seem to enter into their rôles with +great spirit and energy. They are dressed in complete costumes to +represent farmers, nobles, or two-sworded _samurai_, and they weep and +rant and slay each other through the length of a classic play in the +most natural manner. Their performance of comedy, tragedy, and drama +generally, is absurdly human. There are men behind the scenes who tell +the story of the action that is going on, but the monkeys themselves do +everything but speak. Now and then, however, they forget their cues and +the action stops till they are prompted. One "high officer," who came on +to the stage on a big black dog for a horse, caused much confusion by +refusing to dismount and kill his enemy, because the enemy, being a very +well-trained monkey, insisted upon falling dead anyhow. These theatres +are very small and can easily be moved about from place to place, like a +Punch and Judy show. + +Once while we were in Tokyo there came to town "The Royal Australian +Circus," which gave two performances a day to crowded houses--or rather +tents. As if the idea of a circus in the heart of Japan were not a +sufficiently striking contrast, they pitched their tents, each with its +familiar ring and sawdust, almost within the shadow of an ancient +temple. For a few _yen_ you got a box with red cotton trimmings and +watched "Mr. Merry-man" get off his jokes in cockney English and +Yokohama mixed. The show itself was poor, both in quality and quantity, +and peanuts--the fundamental element of a proper circus--were wholly +lacking. + +Moving-picture shows are very popular in Japan as elsewhere. Once, when +we were lunching at the hotel in Yokohama, a very pretty American woman +made up as a Japanese came into the room, attracting a great deal of +attention. We were quite unable to make out the situation, but were +afterward told that she belonged to an American moving-picture company +and had just come in from rehearsal. + +Everywhere the "movie" is taking the place of the story-teller, who used +to hire a room and tell over and over the tales of love and adventure +which the people enjoy. Only the more prosperous can afford to see the +_geishas_ dance, but crowds flock to see them on the screen. They also +see their native plays acted quite as realistically as on the stage, +where the actors might as well be dumb since they do not speak the +common language. + +Perhaps for the first time the kinematograph has been of use in making +history instead of simply recording it. When the Crown Prince of Korea +was taken to Japan to receive his education, rumours were circulated +among the Koreans that he was badly treated and was in reality a +prisoner. There was great danger of an uprising in his behalf, but the +Japanese Government hit upon the happy expedient of having the young man +followed through a whole day's routine by a man with a moving-picture +camera. When his subjects saw their Prince looking well and happy, +learning his lessons and playing games with his friends, their fears +were allayed and trouble was averted. + + [Illustration: MR. ARNELL AND MR. ARNOLD IN A JAPANESE PLAY.] + +Mr. Arnell and Mr. Arnold, of the Embassy, took lessons in Japanese +acting, and Mr. Arnell was able to make up extraordinary faces and to +kill himself, apparently in the greatest pain. Of course he dressed in +costume, and with his _tabis_ on he would make his big toe stand up in +true Japanese style, and would slash with his sword very realistically. +Mr. Arnold, in one of the plays they learned together, took the part of +a girl named Cherry Blossom; he did it very well indeed. + +The English and American colonies often give theatricals: a performance +of the "Merchant of Venice" at the opera house was excellent. We enjoyed +it, and the Japanese students flocked to see it. + +Sports of various kinds are occasionally indulged in. The annual fall +exhibition, at which L. was present during one of his earlier visits, +takes place late in October. The sports were held in the compound of the +University grounds, which was beautifully decorated in honour of the +heir-apparent--the present Emperor--then a good-looking little fellow +about ten years old, who sat on a green baize chair on a raised +platform, surrounded by chamberlains and officers. There were obstacle +races, and the 220 on a turf track was run in 27 seconds, the 440 in +60-1/2 seconds. A race between professors created great amusement, and a +sprint between champions of the different schools was enthusiastically +followed. + +"The annual fall meeting of the Nippon Race Club," wrote L. during his +visit in 1889, "was held the last of October. This is quite a successful +club, and is the racing association at Yokohama. They have a pretty +course out behind the Bluff, pretty from an æsthetic point of view only, +however, for it is a bad track with a regular Tottenham Corner near the +finish. The meeting proved to be great fun and quite exciting. The +runners are limited to China and Hokkaido ponies--little brutes between +12.1 and 14.1 hands--and though the time is slow the finishes are +generally close and exciting. In one race, the Yokohama plate, one mile +and three-quarters, the three leaders finished within a nose of each +other. The great interest is, of course, in the betting. There is always +a tremendous amount of gambling in the Orient, and these meetings prove +exceptional opportunities for this spirit to exhibit itself. + +"The second day's racing was graced by the presence of His Imperial +Majesty [the late Emperor] and his suite, and so was the great day of +the meeting, and a great day for Yokohama also. The Emperor seldom +leaves his palace, but his earthly half--for he is still considered half +divine by the people--is fond of horses and of horse-racing, and he +makes this one of the occasions on which he does exhibit himself. He was +very ceremoniously treated. After the last race he was driven around the +track in his carriage of State, surrounded by lancers, for the benefit +of the thousands who had come out to Negishi Hill to pay their respects +to their sovereign." + +Near Uyeno Park in Tokyo there is a racecourse, but it is not so popular +as it was a few years ago, for the Japanese are not horsemen. The horse +of Nippon is thoroughly a beast, and stubborn, and this fact created +variety and interest when L. visited the riding-school. The French +method was used in those days--hands out in front, body bent +forward--and they retained the old custom of short stirrups and knees +elevated toward the chin. + +The grounds of the school were good. There were about seventy horses, +but L. said that only a few half-breed ones were passable, for the +thoroughbred Japanese ponies were bull-necked, mule-hoofed, and had +miserable quarters. Since those days, however, horses from Australia and +Arabia have been introduced, and although they are said not to thrive +very well in Japan, they have improved the stock considerably. + +A typical amusement of the country is wrestling. The professional +wrestler is a man of no mean rank, standing far above merchants, +farmers, and actors in the social scale. His family has probably been +devoted to wrestling for generations, and he has been trained from +childhood and fed on special food to make him big and strong. If he is a +famous fighter his patron, who is doubtless some great nobleman, is very +proud of him, and the people of his province look upon him as little +less than a demi-god. + +Although the ladies all go to bull-fights in Spain, very few go to +wrestling-matches in Japan. Foreign women are apt to consider it a +brutal sport, somewhat on the order of our prize-fighting, because the +wrestlers are so fat and dreadful looking. But there is no +fist-fighting, and the skill is so great that I found it very +interesting. You can always tell the wrestlers when you see them, +because they wear their hair done in old-fashioned style, somewhat +resembling the queue of the matador. + +The history of wrestling goes back to the first century B.C., for it is +an ancient as well as honourable profession. It began as a Court +function for the entertainment of the nobility. Political issues of +great importance are said to have been decided in the ring in the early +days. The sport took on a religious aspect during the first half of the +seventeenth century, when the priests began organizing matches in the +temples to raise money for divers "pious purposes." In time many abuses +crept in. There was much bitter feeling between contestants from +different sections of the country, and so much foul play that the +Government put a stop to all public performances. Not until 1700 A. D. +were public matches again allowed, and then only under restrictions +which made it safer for the contestants. From that day to this, +wrestling (_sumo_) has been very popular with all classes. + + [Illustration: A WRESTLER.] + +In Osaka we saw some fine matches where the wrestlers of the East met +those of the West. People gather from all over the country to witness +these contests, which generally take place in the middle of the summer. + +There are wonderful matches in Tokyo also, which continue during the +month of February. Formerly they took place under a large circus-tent, +but now they are held in a huge arena, shaped something like a +bull-ring, only not open to the sky. The ring in the centre is very +small and raised on a platform beneath a canopy. A light is thrown on +the contestants as they come swaggering and waddling down the aisles to +meet in the centre, mount the stage, and take grotesque postures that +show to advantage the muscles of their legs and arms. When they first +come in they wear their gold-embroidered aprons, which are very costly. +Of course these are taken off when they fight. The referees sit at the +corner under a canopy, while two wrestlers try to throw each other out +of the ring. + +Each bout is preceded by elaborate formalities. The wrestlers pray to +their gods, and show themselves off to the spectators. Then they squat, +rub their hands, turning them palm outward toward the people, take a cup +of water, and scatter salt as a sign of purification. This done, they +take positions on all fours, facing each other, till, at a psychological +moment, they attack. If one starts his attack before the other, however, +it doesn't count, and they swagger back to the sides and rinse their +mouths and scatter more pinches of salt. Between the bouts much betting +goes on. + +Viewed in the dim light, through the smoke of the many little pipes in +the audience, the scene was stranger than anything else I have ever +witnessed. The wrestlers use such skill, and the excitement is so great +when one of them has won, that the cheering is as good as at a football +game at home. We saw one bout where fifteen thousand on-lookers became +frenzied with excitement, because a "number one" champion was thrown out +of the ring. On certain days the wrestlers appear all dressed up in +their ceremonial clothes and give a dance. + +Ordinary wrestling, or _sumo_, must not be confused with the more +scientific form known as _judo_, or more commonly, _jiu-jutsu_, which +has been introduced to some extent in our own country. Here weight and +strength count for little in comparison with skill and adroitness. While +ordinary wrestlers are perfect mountains of men, some of the cleverest +exponents of _jiu-jutsu_ are quite small. Mr. Harrison, in his "Fighting +Spirit of Japan," tells an amusing tale of a contest between exponents +of the two systems, to decide which was the better. "At the very +commencement of the struggle the big man picked the _judo-ka_ up and, +holding him high above his head, asked triumphantly, 'Now, where are +you?' Apparently not a whit perturbed by this turn of events, the +_judo-ka_ answered, 'Oh, this is just where _judo_ comes in! The moment +you attempt to throw me down, I'll kick you to death!' Terrified out of +his wits by this awful threat, the fat man, still holding the _judo-ka_ +above his head, rushed out into the street, shouting loudly for help." + +_Jiu-jutsu_ is not practised publicly as is _sumo_, for it belongs to +the upper classes. The matches are not advertised or reported in the +papers. Its history goes back to mythological times, and it ranks with +fencing as an art. Hundreds of young men get up at three o'clock on +winter mornings and practise until seven in order that they may become +proficient in this difficult exercise. + +The foreigner in Tokyo usually feels that he has not "done" the city +unless he has seen the sights of the gay quarter--the Yoshiwara--which +is very gay indeed and as naughty as it is gay. There is nothing exactly +like it outside Japan. It is impossible to see the place in a +jinrikisha, so one must thread the crowded streets as best he can on +foot. Girls in superb kimonos sit behind barred windows like dolls +displayed for sale in a shop. The condition of these girls is much +better than formerly. The Salvation Army has done a wonderful work for +them, and not long ago the Government allowed all who wished to leave +the houses. + +When other entertainment fails, there is always a _matsuri_. This is a +great holiday institution among the lower and middle classes--a fair +held in the streets or in the open spaces about a temple--for, like the +drama, the _matsuri_ traces its origin to a religious rite. The most +popular of these fairs is held near the great Buddhist temple known as +Asakusa Kwannon. The long street leading to this temple is very gay with +the shops on either side filled with wonderful toys. In various booths +in and about the temple there are many entertainments in full +swing--tea-houses and theatres and "movies," fortune-tellers and +jugglers--all jumbled up together. It is a strange mixture of things +sacred and secular. Murray says that even many years ago this temple was +so popular that they had notices prohibiting smoking, and warning people +not to take their afternoon naps there. + +Every _matsuri_ has its fortune-teller. I found one sitting in a little +booth--an aged, bald-headed old man with horn spectacles which did not +in the least conceal his piercing eyes. He asked my age, and muttering +continually, lifted the divining-rod to his forehead. After looking at +me through a magnifying-glass he proceeded to separate the packets of +rods and finally, by means of an interpreter, he said: + +"You will be married in two years, and have three children by the time +you are thirty!" + +I bowed gravely and thanked him, telling him that he was a wonderful +soothsayer--a verdict with which he seemed to agree perfectly. It may be +mentioned, however, that I am over thirty, and have been married many +years, with no children. + +Great reliance is placed on fortune-telling by the Japanese of the lower +classes. I have seen a mother with a sick child shake the curiously +lacquered box of sticks which the priest of a temple has in his charge, +hoping to get help. She exchanged the numbered stick that fell out for a +slip of paper which had a prescription printed on it, and then went out +to buy the medicine with a sublime faith that it was just what her baby +needed for its recovery. + +Fortune-telling is not confined to _matsuris_ or to temples. One hears +the calls of the prognosticator in the streets at night. There is also a +very elaborate system of foretelling the future, based on the colouring +and formation of the head and features, which a few men of a higher +class practise with quite wonderful results. + +To these amusements, which any one may enjoy, I add two other forms of a +more serious nature which are of great interest, although the foreigner +rarely has time or opportunity to see them during a hurried visit. They +are the _No_ dance and the _cha-no-yu_, or tea-ceremony. + +The Japanese nobility rarely attend the public theatres, but they do +attend--and even take part in--the _No_ dances, which are not really +dances, but high-class theatrical performances. Why a play should be +called a dance is hard to explain, unless one remembers that this is +Japan, where they begin a book at the wrong end, wipe with wet towels, +saw and plane toward themselves, shoe their horses with straw, and even +have their compass-needles pointing to the south! The Japanese world is +"topside down" to us, but I suppose ours is just as much so to them. + + [Illustration: THE _NO_ DANCE.] + +We were fortunate enough to see an excellent _No_ dance which was being +performed in a private house. The performance was given in honour of an +ancestor of theirs, who had died two hundred years before. It was a very +aristocratic audience--the upper class people are easily distinguished, +as they are more intelligent and stronger looking, as well as more +refined, than the middle and lower classes. The play was given in a very +dignified and ceremonious manner, and the acting was of the highest +order, but to one unacquainted with the language and the meaning of the +various postures even the best _No_ dance is apt to prove tedious. The +_No_ is further described in the chapter on literature. + +An even more serious form of entertainment, and one well worth the +attention of those who have longer to stay in the country and who wish +to make a study of the customs, is the _cha-no-yu_, a ceremony which has +almost the force of a religious rite. + +Viscounts Kadenokuji and Kiogoku took us to one of these tea-ceremonies +at a private club house--Hosigaoko--in Sanno. This was the most +wonderful piece of house-building I have ever seen--the polish on the +floor, the fitting of the frames, the joining, were simply perfect. Some +of the porch boards were forty-five feet long and as smooth and polished +as glass. + +A very small room of four and a half mats (nine feet square) is held +sacred for the ceremony. The entrance is made through a door which is +only a couple of feet square--a custom remaining from the time when +visitors were so received lest they hold swords hidden in their robes. +The guests, who should be five in number, sit down in a row, the +Japanese sitting on their feet in ceremonial manner; foreigners, +however, are allowed to cross their legs, tailor-fashion, for one is +expected to remain without moving during the whole affair. + +This _cha-no-yu_ is a relic of the old days when ceremonies were +invented to pass away the time, and is the most formal mode of +entertainment. It is taught as a fine art and accomplishment by various +schools, which differ in regard to small details of etiquette. The +master who performed it for us, Nakamura, is the most famous teacher in +Tokyo. + +The rite consists in making a bowl of tea. Even the tiniest motion has +its own particular meaning, and is performed most solemnly and +religiously. As in all Japanese ceremonials, it is done very slowly, +requiring three hours for its completion. Certain implements are used +for the _cha-no-yu_ alone, and these are of the finest make. It is part +of the performance to pass them around for the guests to examine, and it +is etiquette to admire them. The tea-making is followed by a formal +dinner, in which the guests get a chance to air their knowledge of +strict social laws, even as to what to eat, and how much. The exit is +made, after it is all over, by crawling out through the hole of a door. + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + BEAR-HUNTING AMONG THE AINUS + + +On the northern island of Hokkaido (or Yezo) is to be found the Ainu,[8] +and with him the grizzly bear which he hunts, kills, and yet worships. +The winter climate of Hokkaido resembles that of Canada, and Bruin +thrives there, growing to a large size--sometimes ten feet, it is said. + + [8] The Ainus are quite distinct from the Japanese, both in + appearance and language, and are gradually being supplanted + by them. + + [Illustration: THE HUNTING PARTY.] + +Mr. Arnell of the Embassy went up there in March, reaching the +hunting-grounds six days after leaving Tokyo. His party consisted, +besides himself, of Major Wigmore, Lieutenant Keyser, and Mr. J. A. +Fenner. They had engaged, besides a guide apiece, six Ainu men and three +women to meet them at Kushiro and carry their baggage. The women were +found to be "stunning walkers" and, with others of their sex, to be not +"bad-looking except when tattooed with a green moustache." I will give +the story of the hunt in Mr. Arnell's own words. + +"Choosing between drenching and freezing," he says, referring to the +heavy rains in Tokyo, "I prefer the snow-clad peaks of Hokkaido. + +"We reached Kushiro, the terminus of the railroad, three days after our +departure from Tokyo. We were met by our faithful Ainu, who had consumed +gallons of distilled spirits while waiting for us, and made us lose a +day waiting for him to recover. We finally succeeded in marshalling +three sleighs, each about the size of a Japanese mat, and seating +ourselves in a squatting posture, started up the frozen river. + +"The snow was about a foot deep at Kushiro, but increased in depth as we +approached the mountains, where it varied from three to five feet. It +took us three days to reach the hunting-grounds. After we left the river +the road was very uncomfortable. As long as we kept to the centre, +progress was good, but whenever the sleigh happened to go one foot too +far either side, over we went,--driver, horse, passengers, baggage! +Spills of this kind were frequent, and relieved the monotony of the +journey. We spent two nights at inns in lumber-towns on the way. + +"We had telegraphed ahead to the last town, Teshikaga, and a courier was +dispatched to collect the Ainu beaters, who were waiting our arrival. +There we held a council of war with the warden of the Imperial +forests--the dwelling-place of His Majesty's ursine subjects. + +"We also tried out our snowshoes, oval frames of mulberry wood, without +which locomotion was impossible. There was not time to make perfect +fits, so we had to make the best of ready-made ones, all of which were +baffled by the Major's avoirdupois. + +"An interesting bird had been shot at this camp the day before our +arrival; it has no name, but is known as 'the bird which appears only +every six years,' and is distinguished by having its legs above its +tail-feathers, so that when it waddles on dry land, if it ever does +waddle, its tail forms the head of the procession. It is probably +related to the penguin, but is different from it in that its beak is +long and straight like a crane's. Strange to say, on our return to +Kushiro by river a week later Mr. Fenner shot another of the same +species, and with the waters of the Kushiro we christened the fowl _Avis +rara Fenneri_! + +"On the day after our arrival we continued our journey by sleigh to the +shores of Lake Kutchare, which is in the heart of an uninhabited forest +and has a circumference of over twenty-five miles. Here we separated +into two parties--the Major and Fenner, Keyser and myself. Across the +frozen surface of the lake rose the ghost-like summit of Mount Shari. + +"'Bears, bears!' whispered the Ainus, pointing to the peak with their +hairy fingers. + +"After dining on salt salmon, corned beef and hard-tack, we put on our +snowshoes and set out across the lake, accompanied by the aborigines +carrying our baggage. Keyser and I, the 'lean detachment,' struck for +the higher spurs of the mountain, while the Major and Fenner, the 'fat +brigade,' fixed their gaze on the lower slopes. + +"Keyser and I--hereafter designated simply as 'we'--reached the foot of +the mountain as night set in, and, to our keen disappointment, found a +dilapidated hut made of pine boughs; we had yearned to spread our +skin-lined sleeping-bags under the starry heavens. (As it turned out, +however, the roof of the hut was sufficiently starry, for the night was +spent in receiving falling lumps of melting snow.) With the remnants of +the walls we built two fires, one for the wild men, and the other for +ourselves; while I boiled the coffee and the mush, Keyser fried the +bacon and the spuds. For dessert we had raisins and chocolate. + +"The rest of the evening we spent in council of war with our braves. +With our clothes on, our guns by our sides, and our Colt six-shooters in +our bags, we resigned ourselves to dreams of the morrow's chase, while +the Ainus spread themselves around us like the crust on a pumpkin pie. +The fires soon died out, and we were awakened about four in the morning +by the murmurs of frozen feet, and passed the remaining wee small hours +struggling between romantic sentiments and cold--very cold--facts. At +half-past five the hairy men relighted the fires, and at six I jumped +from my bag like a dum-dum from an automatic; I set the mush and coffee +to boiling, and was soon followed by Keyser with the spuds and bacon. + +"We decided not to wash for three days, for a bath is inconvenient with +all your clothes on, and the Ainus considered it bad luck anyway. At +seven we put on our snowshoes, and armed with a can of pork and beans, a +biscuit, a flask of brandy, a kodak, a Winchester high power +self-loading rifle, and a Colt six-shooter, we set out with one guide +and one packman each. + +"Our course first lay along the shore of the lake for about a mile, +after which we entered the snow-laden pine forest, where each step +through four feet of snow felt like a ton. After emerging from the +majestic pines, we started the climb, now erect and now recumbent, until +at last from the middle of the mountainside the country lay like a +conquered army at our feet. + +"'Where are the bears?' we asked. The Ainus pointed to the misty summit +above us. 'Whew!' we said, and went on. + +"The bears live in holes which are practically invisible, among the +spurs of the mountain, and it is no easy matter to approach their lair. +The attack is usually made under conditions that might easily give Bruin +the first fall. + +"At one o'clock we sat down on the spur beneath the peak and taking out +our lunch we fletcherized the brandy, and fed the beans to the Ainus and +the dogs. With our stomachs full, we clicked a charge into the chamber, +with four reserves in the magazines, and scanned the horizon. 'A bear +hole!' whined the Ainus--but alas, of last year! + +"We reached the summit; the day's work was done, but the bears were none +the worse for it, so far. Separating, we commenced the descent, Keyser +down one valley, I down another, reaching camp about six o'clock. I +forgot to say that one of the Ainus shot a hare, which provided an +entrée for our menu that evening. The other courses were identical with +those of the previous dinner, which happily relieved us from the +necessity of mimeographing fresh bills of fare. + +"At nine o'clock we were tired, but not discouraged, for our +expectations had been fully realized. We aligned ourselves for the +night, regardless of race or previous condition of servitude, and were +soon oblivious of the crackling of the snow, for the thermometer +continued to drop until the Hour of the Rat. The men of the wild snored, +but it sounded like the murmuring of the pines, and only added to the +romance. + +"Next morning we were up again at six, and, after eating, set out with +our previous equipment, except that we left our revolvers behind; we had +discovered that they impeded the hip movement, and in the event of a +race would leave us far behind the bear. Fearing that the animals would +be intimidated by the size of our army, we decided to separate into two +detachments, Keyser with his guide and packman and I with mine. He +climbed one valley, and I another, with three valleys between us. + +"My ascent was even more difficult than that of the previous day, but I +went with a knowledge of what was before me. I ate two quarts of snow at +each halt, and the anticipation of the next meal cheered me on. We +reached a broad open slope just below the summit at one o'clock. The +wind cut like a newly honed razor, but my alcoholic luncheon afforded me +all the comfort of a winter hearth. + +"The dog did not stop as usual to eat my pork and beans, but trotted up +the glassy incline for a little exercise. In about five minutes he +returned like an arrow from a bow, his tail seeking refuge between his +legs, his voice pitched in a minor key. + +"'Shut up, you fool!' growled the Ainu, thinking the pup had been +frightened by a shadow. + +"But the yearling only struck another key and continued his descent, +evidently expecting us to follow. We decided to see whether there was +any cause for his alarm, and followed his tracks to the side of a tree. +The dog watched us from a safe distance, growling his disapproval. Lo +and behold!--there was a circular hole in the snow, some six inches in +diameter. The edge of the hole was brownish, and no more evidence was +needed that the inmate was there and had already risen on his hind +quarters to receive us. + +"It had started to snow in thick flakes. There were no rocks on which to +seek refuge, and the soft snow fastened us at each step. I stamped a +foothold at a distance of seven feet from the hole--the nearer the +safer, the Ainus said, for we could not afford to let the bear evade us. +I was directed to stand sentinel, with the stock of the thunder-stick +against my shoulder, while the savages, singing in their native dialect, +ran down the slope to fetch a tree. + +"They were soon back with a trunk about eight feet long, and took up +their position above the hole. The old Ainu unfastened his girdle and +tied it to one end of the pole, which he placed in the snow over the +aperture. The guides had only one gun between them, and that a +single-loader, so the young Ainu decided to go in search of a club in +case my shot should fail to tell and we should be drawn into a fisticuff +with the enemy. + +"No sooner had the hairy youth gone than his square-jawed uncle pulled +the girdle, driving the tree into the den just before Bruin's nose. +Claps of ursine thunder followed. The beast rose to his feet with a +heavy thud. Next moment the snow scattered as if raised by a snow-plow, +and a broad head with flashing eyes and bared teeth emerged, and gave me +a glance that ran down my back-bone. He had not got out beyond the +shoulders, however, before I buried a .401 calibre soft-nose bullet in +his left ear, and close on the tracks of that came a round lead ball +from the savage's blunderbuss. + +"My Winchester makes a deep impression on animal tissue at a distance of +one hundred yards, deep enough to make a bear forget that he is alive, +so the impact at a range of seven feet was tremendous. When the bullet +struck the head it swung to the opposite side, as if hit by a +fifty-pound sledge-hammer. There was a pause of fifteen seconds, and the +huge form made another plunge, which was evidently the death struggle, +but giving the advantage to the doubt I pulled the trigger again; there +was no response, and I found that a bamboo leaf had choked the bolt. In +about five seconds, however, I was able to restore the gun to working +order by ejecting the cartridge in the chamber, and then popped two more +peas into the waning intellect of the brute. The Ainu's lead must have +gained admission, as he stood a foot nearer than I did, but we failed to +locate it at the autopsy. My bullet--a pancake of lead with splinters of +nickel-steel--was lodged in the right jaw, having passed through the +brain from the left ear. + +"The next step was to skin and quarter the bear, but before doing so my +Ainus insisted on paying their last respects to the spirit of the +departed--a spirit which was to hover over them for all time to come, +for the moment my bullet entered the ear of the bear he had taken his +place in the pantheon of Ainu gods. The savages spread his feet and +placed his head in position, then they arranged several branches in a +row before him, and kneeling on the snow, with bowed heads, they rubbed +their hands and muttered fervent prayers. + +"They prayed, 'O bear, we thank thee for having died! We humbly beseech +thee to permit us to kill another bear as we have killed thee. We pray +that this happy event may not be far off, and that when we meet thy +brother or sister, thy aunt or uncle, or other kin, whatever his or her +kinship may be, thy kin may not bite or strike us, and above all, dear +bear, that he or she may not evade our poisoned arrow or our leaden +bullet. O bear, we beseech thee to be always near, and to oversee our +welfare in this land, where since the advent of the Japanese the number +of bears is rapidly decreasing, so that we poor Ainus are day by day +being deprived of the pleasure of our forefathers. O bear, again we +thank thee for having died!' + +"After the prayer meeting had closed the young Ainu crawled into the +wintry home of the deceased. But the cub which we expected to take back +to Tokyo was not to be found. However, on skinning the bear we did find +two lead bullets which told the story--the cub had been killed the +previous year, but the mother had escaped. It seems cruel to have taken +her life, but when one knows that she had killed at least ten horses +during her career, and would have continued to slaughter two per annum +for the rest of her days had she been allowed to live, she forfeits the +sympathy of the wise. The forests of Hokkaido are strewed with the +bleached bones of horses taken from the pastures by marauding bears. +Wherever we made our headquarters we were visited by owners of pastures, +who were often accompanied by the Chief of Police or the provincial +Governor, earnestly requesting us to come to their assistance. + +"Having justified my act, I shall resume the story. The first part which +the Ainus dissected was the stomach, which is dried and powdered and +serves as a panacea for all ills; this was the occasion for a short +prayer and was sanctified by repeated touching of the bear's nose. After +the skin had been removed, the meat was cut into six portions and was +buried in the snow until next morning. The skin itself was rolled into a +scroll weighing about sixty pounds, and was placed on the back of the +young Ainu. The head of the bear faced outward, and the packman looked +like one of the itinerant showmen who used to ply their trade along the +Tokaido in the days of the Shogun, with the mask of a long-nosed +hobgoblin fastened to his back. + +"We descended the mountain as if shod with skees and were soon crossing +the lake on our way to camp. When the _menoko_--female children, a +generic term for Ainu women--spied us at a distance of half a mile they +burst into a weird chant, clapping their hands and jumping up and down, +keeping it up until we reached the place where they stood. + +"Keyser had already returned with an empty bag. The Major and Mr. Fenner +joined us that evening, having deserted their camp after vain efforts to +traverse the soft snow which covered the lower hunting-grounds, on which +they had worked; later their _menoko_ followed with their baggage. The +evening around the campfire was very merry as we ate our bear meat and +watched the Ainus perform their devotions. + + [Illustration: MR. ARNELL AND AINUS.] + +"The ground had been cleared to make a space for the altar. On this the +bearskin was placed with the head pointing outward. Each Ainu knelt +before the head, and as he rubbed his hands--now and again raising them +to his forehead, after lightly touching the nose of the bear--he +murmured a prayer similar to the one made on the mountain. One +grey-bearded patriarch continued his fervent invocation more than five +minutes, then, having finished, he knelt in front of me, and after a +solemn salaam exclaimed, 'Hurrah, hurrah!' With this the introductory +service came to an end. + +"Meanwhile the barbarians had been boiling their bear meat and, the +services over, they started to make way with it, their eating +continually interspersed with rubbing of hands and mumbling of prayers. + +"Next day Keyser and Fenner went out again in search of bear, but I +decided to rest on my oars for one day, and so did the Major, who had +become completely disgusted with the snow. We spent the day in talking +and eating,--three meals on bacon and two on bear. All the comfort and +luxury of a cozy home seemed to be concentrated between our mud floor +and snow roof. At noon four carriers, who had gone up the mountain early +in the morning, returned with their loads of meat. + +"In the evening, after every one had assembled in camp and Keyser and +Fenner had reported that no tracks of bear had been seen, preparations +for the grand mass were begun. The Ainu to whom the hunting-grounds of +the mountain belonged removed the hide and meat from the skull. +Ordinarily he would have left the nose, but as I wished it for purposes +of mounting he reluctantly consented to cut it off. The skull cleaned, +it was placed on the altar. + +"The ceremony then opened and continued for over an hour, every Ainu +present taking part. While the mumbling of prayers, rubbing and raising +of hands, and occasional touching of the missing nose, were going on, +the cartilaginous soles of the bear's feet had been boiling, to the +accompaniment of intermittent chanting by the women, and after being cut +into two-inch pieces were arranged on sticks in front of the skull. +After another invocation the elastic tid-bits were removed and eaten +with much loud smacking. The meat was put through a similar ordeal, and +the services were followed by a grand feast, which lasted till after +midnight and was characterized by a great deal of mirth, despite the +absence of distilled spirits, which the Chief of Police had prohibited. +To us its absence was a blessing, but to the simple barbarians a curse, +for they imbibe spirits as we drink water--in fact, it is the principal +cause of the gradual extermination of the race. + +"We went to bed before the dark-skinned Mohawks, but got up with them at +sunrise. During the night sleet had begun to fall, and as we could not +tell how long it might continue, we decided to break camp and re-cross +the lake, as soon as we had seen the funeral services. + +"The place chosen for the last rites was the top of a snow-covered knoll +beside the camp, where a palisade was built of bamboos and fir branches, +decorated with the ceremonial sticks with the skull of the bear in the +centre. The men--for apparently the Ainu women do not take part in +funerals--then proceeded to the place in a line, and arranging +themselves before the palisade, invoked the spirit of the king of the +forests in loud prayers, to the accompaniment of the usual rubbing and +raising of hands. We were clicking our cameras meantime, which added a +musical touch to the solemnity of the occasion, but the snow showed no +traces of our tears. + +"Ordinarily the skull is left on the palisade for years and years, but I +needed it to mount the head of my trophy, so I negotiated with my guide +for its surrender. He readily consented, but when the women learned my +intention they made a terrible fuss, and with tears in their eyes begged +me to leave their god undisturbed. I was finally allowed to take the +skull, if I promised to see that it was not abused on the way to Tokyo, +and if, after my return, I would have it placed on the altar of my +parlour, paying it due reverence for all time to come. The parting +between the women and the skull was quite pathetic, and would have moved +a softhearted man to mingled emotions. I have fulfilled my promise, and +the mounted skull now adorns the dais of my drawing-room, with its nose +pointed toward all believers in the omnipotence of the bear. + +"The services over, we shouldered our lighter baggage and started on our +snowshoes across the lake, followed by the packmen. The ice had begun to +melt in places, as the lake is full of hot-water springs, so we had to +select our route with care. The women and the bearskin were left behind, +as there was some sort of a memorial service still to be held, for which +our packmen returned that evening. It was to have been a primitive +bacchanalia, but as the Chief of Police had ordered the only two human +habitations within miles not to sell any _saké_ or _shoohu_ to the +worshippers, they must have passed a merry night on icewater. + +"After crossing the lake we walked about five miles farther to a hot +sulphur spring, where we were given a fairly comfortable room by the +Japanese landlord. The hot springs were excellent, and we took three +baths each, one for every day we had hunted. We woke bright and early to +find the sleighs waiting to take us back to civilization, and contrary +to our expectations, the Ainus appeared at the appointed hour with the +skin. Paying them off, we bade them farewell until the scarcity of bear +meat in Tokyo should necessitate our return. As parting gifts we +distributed among them most of our remaining cans of corned beef, Boston +baked beans, sweet corn and strawberry jam. From the manner in which the +bear meat was treated by the recipients in the Capital, I fear we shall +have to find some other pretext than its scarcity for revisiting the +sylvan wilds of The Highway of the Northern Seas--Hokkaido. They said it +tasted granular, and fed it to the dogs, cats and chickens!" + + + + + CHAPTER XIII + + MOTORING AND CRUISING + + +Parties of tourists usually land at Yokohama, rejoining their steamer a +few days later at Kobe. After a little sight-seeing in Yokohama they +generally take a train to Kamakura and stop at the island of Enoshima. +If there is time, they continue on to Miyanoshita. They take in Tokyo, +Nikko, and Kyoto, with perhaps a few hours in each, and then go on to +Kobe. In the limited time this all has to be done by train, which, in +the present condition of the roads, is a quicker and surer method of +travel than any other. _Kurumas_ (jinrikishas) can be used for side +trips, or _kagos_ (sedan-chairs) for mountain climbs. Trolley cars are a +convenience in the cities, and often take one to quite remote places in +the country as well. The rates are lower than in the West, and special +cars can be hired for a moderate amount. + + [Illustration: _KAGOS_ (SEDAN-CHAIRS) FOR MOUNTAIN CLIMBS.] + +For those who have longer to stay, the motor offers a delightful way of +seeing the country as well as many opportunities for getting off the +beaten track and having adventures. Because the roads are narrow and the +bridges frail, the motorcycle, rather than the automobile, is after all +the ideal method of travel, for it takes one into really out-of-the-way +places which could not be reached in a larger machine. Of course this +pastime is only for men, and for men who are willing to rough it, at +that. If a woman is at all inclined to be nervous she had better not try +motoring in Japan, even in a car, except on well-known roads. + +The traveller with sufficient time at his disposal also finds various +trips to be made by steamer, such as the one through the Inland Sea, +which is described in this chapter. + +Motoring is just beginning to be popular in Japan. Many of the roads are +not bad except in spots, and the scenery is usually beautiful. During +the rainy season the country roads are very disagreeable,--often almost, +if not quite, impassable. Only in a city like Tokyo or Yokohama is it +worth while for the resident to have a car the year round. + +The best touring months are in the spring and autumn--in March, when the +plum blossoms are finishing and the cherry blossoms beginning, and in +April and May. In June comes the rain. The heat during July and August +is very severe, then come the typhoons, and rain again in September. +When the maple leaves are turning, later in the autumn, there is another +happy moment for the motorist. Although the winters are not really +disagreeable, there is a cold wind, and the Japanese inns are damp and +chilly. + +A short machine is necessary, as well as a skilful chauffeur, for the +turns are often very sharp, especially at the bridges. These bridges, by +the way, are treacherous and need to be strengthened for motor-traffic. +They were built for the use of a 'ricksha or--at the most--for a horse +and two-wheeled wagon. Gasoline may now be procured in many places, and +road-maps are also to be had. It is important to take some one along who +can speak Japanese, and to provide food for the trip, if one does not +like the native dishes. Hot tea may be had almost anywhere. + +In taking a motor trip one would naturally start at Yokohama. At first +glance this city seems thoroughly Japanese, but, on knowing it better, I +have found it to be in reality very European and not at all typical of +the country or its people. It is rather a laughing-stock among the +Japanese themselves, who call things "Yokohama" as a term of derision. +Most foreigners live on the "Bluff," which overlooks the bay. Some of +the houses in this section are fascinating, for they are surrounded by +gardens and command wonderful views. Some glimpses of real Japan may be +caught in the native quarter of the city, but coming back to Yokohama +after having been into the interior gives one the impression of having +left Japan behind. + +A trip which is easy and comfortable for ladies may be made from +Yokohama to Miyanoshita. It takes several hours each way, with a day +added if one goes on over the Hakone Pass. L. and I took this trip while +the plum-trees were in bloom. + +From Yokohama to Kamakura much of the way was through the paddy-fields, +which reminded me of trips on the narrow roads between the canals of +Holland. We passed some strange new pagodas on a hillside, erected +lately in honour of the Fire-God--a terrible creature carved on a rocky +cliff and painted in colours. We also passed a succession of little +places famous for the "plum-viewing," with their small tea-houses all +ready for the viewers. There were camellia-trees in bloom, too, and the +paddy-fields were beginning to show faint greens where the farmers were +pottering about in the carefully cultivated land. + + [Illustration: THE BUDDHA OF KAMAKURA.] + +Kamakura is sunny and warm, by the sparkling sea. Many invalids go +there, especially in winter--foreigners often rent the native houses. +The big Buddha, surrounded by plum-trees, has twice been washed by tidal +waves. The silvery branches with their white blossoms looked as if they +had been sprinkled with snow, and the delicate perfume in the air was +delicious. The Buddha is said to have stood there in the wind and rain +and sunshine for seven hundred years. It is perhaps the finest large +piece of bronze in the world; it has eyes of pure gold and a great +silver boss on its forehead that looks like a full moon, while on its +head are eight hundred curls. "These are the snails that kindly coiled +themselves on Buddha's head when by thinking too much in the hot sun he +might have been sun-struck." + +We visited another shrine at Kamakura, where there is a huge trunk of +cedar carved into a Kwannon--she is the goddess of pity and humility. It +is said that once upon a time an illumination was seen over the waters, +and on going to find out what caused it some fishermen discovered the +figure of this goddess, carved in wood, which they brought ashore and +set up for all to worship. + +It is told of Kwannon that "in her boundless love she divided herself +into many bodies and renounced the joy of Nirvana that she might bring +peace and happiness to others." She is often compared to the Christian +Madonna, and is considered the goddess of mercy, as well as the +protector of dumb animals, especially of horses and others that work for +man. She is variously depicted in Japanese art--sometimes with a +thousand hands, in each of which is an answer to a prayer--sometimes +with eleven faces, "smiling with eternal youth and infinite tenderness." +A remarkable piece of embroidery which was brought to the Embassy to +sell at a huge price showed Kwannon as the divine mother, pouring forth +from a crystal vial holy water, each bubble of which contained a tiny +child. + +Osame told me that Kwannon was the daughter of a king of the Chow +dynasty who sentenced her to death for refusing to marry. The +executioner's sword broke without inflicting a wound, but her spirit +went to hell, which, however, she straightway turned into a paradise. +The king of the infernal regions hurried her back to earth and turned +her into a lotus flower on the island of Pooh-to. + +While we were standing at her shrine, which is on the side of a +pine-clad hill looking out over the sea, there came a sad funeral +procession led by men carrying a big wicker birdcage. When I asked about +it, Osame said that birds were kept in it and were set free at funerals +to typify the release of the soul. There was the usual gold paper, and +the coloured paper lotus flowers. The unpainted carved box, or coffin, +shaped something like a palanquin, was borne on the shoulders of four +men. The widow was clad in white, which is the mourning colour. +Following the mourners came men, bringing trees and plants to set out on +the grave. + +En route from Kamakura to Miyanoshita we motored over the old Tokaido +road--the great highway from Tokyo to Kyoto--with its crooked pines on +every side and its views of the bright blue sea and of enchanting Fuji, +so often represented in Japanese art. + +On the way we passed the wonderful island of Enoshima. Here Benten, +goddess of the sea, has her shrine, for the island is said to have +arisen from the deep at her coming. She is one of the seven goddesses of +luck, and is likewise referred to as the divinity of love, beauty and +eloquence. It is customary for people who are in love, or for those who, +on the contrary, wish to be divorced, to go to Enoshima and pray to +Benten. She is said to have descended from the clouds and, entering a +cavern where the sea king dwelt, to have married him out of hand. He was +a dragon who devoured little children, but her good influence put an end +to his sins. She is depicted as having eight arms, and as riding upon a +dragon. Her shrines are generally found on islands. + +I had always felt that Fuji was much overrated, but on this day it +certainly wove its charm about me. Mayon, in the Philippines, is as +beautiful in shape, but it never has any snow on its summit. Our own +snow-capped Mt. Rainier is truly superb, but its shape is less +symmetrical than Fuji's. Snow-capped and perfect in line, Fuji seemed to +rise out of the sea in its mist, a great, beautiful ghost-mountain. +Seeing it, I felt the Spell of Japan as never before. + + [Illustration: _Fuji from Otome-Toge_] + +So many things have been said about Fuji, and so many poems have been +written, that it would be impossible for me to invent anything new in +regard to it. It is called the "Supreme Altar of the Sun" and the +"Never-dying Mountain.'' It is supposed to hold the secret of perpetual +life, and miracles are said to have been performed there. It is likened +to a white lotus, and to a huge inverted fan. Sengen, the fire goddess, +and Oanamochi, "Possessor of the Great Hole," dwell there, while near +the shrine of the God of Long Breath is a spring of healing for the +sick. + +Miyanoshita is one of the most famous summer resorts in Japan. It is two +thousand feet above the sea, and is surrounded by mountains as high +again. The climb up there in the motor went well; the air was fine and +clear, and the hot sulphur baths at the hotel refreshed us. This hotel +is excellent. It overlooks a beautiful valley, picturesque and green in +the foreground, and shading off into that pale blue of distance which +makes a Japanese panorama so complete. Around us rose high hills, +ravined and grotesque, with here and there the roofs of tiny tea-houses +peeping through the trees. As I looked from my window the tops of the +mountain opposite were all big and grey, like elephants' ears. The view +down the valley to the sea made me think of the wonderful Benquet Road +in the Philippines. + +In a tea-house garden near the hotel were many-coloured carp dashing +about in the clear sulphur water. The long-tailed cock of antiquity is +now rarely to be found, but there was one in this same garden, and also +a minor bird which spoke quite as clearly as our parrot at home. + +We went over the pass to Hakone. The road was difficult; the bridges +were often shaky, and occasional small landslides delayed our progress. +We were rewarded, however, by the sight of a charming lake some seven +miles in length, with mountains stretching down into it, and Fuji-San +beyond, hiding his lovely head in the clouds. The Emperor has a summer +palace at Hakone, built in European style. + +When we came down from Miyanoshita in the motor, it was a beautiful +morning, and a beautiful ride it was, too, down through the valleys and +out on to the plain, along the Tokaido with its avenues of cryptomerias, +and across the paddy-fields. + +I am told it will soon be possible to go by motor from Yokohama to +Miyanoshita by another route--over the new military road when it is +finished, across by Otome-Toge, and over the Hakone Range into the +valley this side of Fujiyama to Gotimba. + +Another trip from Yokohama is to Mishima. We did not try this ourselves, +but the account of it given by a writer in the _Japan Magazine_, from +whom I quote, shows some of the difficulties to be encountered on the +road: + +"It was on the stroke of ten, on the nineteenth of April, when three of +us, with a chauffeur, pulled out of the E. M. F. garage on the Yokohama +Bund in the new twenty-five h. p. Studebaker. Kozu was reached at noon, +and twenty minutes later we turned off the beaten track--from a motoring +point of view--at the terminus of the Odawara-Atami light railway. + +"Here the real interest of the day's run began. The road to Atami, +though rather narrow, has a good surface for the most part, and runs +along the coast, now almost at the sea level, now winding over the +hills, from which a magnificent panoramic view of the Odawara Bay far +below is obtained. From the heights the coast with its white line of +surf can be followed by the eye beyond Enoshima on the one side, and on +the other side a succession of capes, merging in the haze, end in the +dim vista of Vries Island. A halt of some thirty minutes at a roadside +rest-house near Manazuru to have lunch and enjoy the beautiful scenery +passed all too quickly. Atami was reached at 2.30 P. M. + +"So far the road presents no particular difficulties, but good care must +be taken, and a little backing is required to get around two or three +sharp turns. After a short halt to inspect the radiator and to see +whether the tires were well inflated, we started on the long climb." + +The motorist had gone over the road on foot, and it had seemed quite +possible to negotiate all the curves without backing, but this did not +prove true in actual test. The curves were for the most part of the real +hairpin variety and came in such never-ending series that count of them +was soon lost. On more than half of them it was necessary to back at +least once, before getting round. + +"Nevertheless," he resumes, "we were making good and steady progress +until within about a mile and a half from the top of the ridge, when the +gasoline began to get too low to reach the engine against the incline +and the cant of the car on the turns. From this spot on, the last mile +resolved itself into a trial of patience and muscle in manoeuvring the +car round each corner to a sufficiently even--or uneven--keel for the +gasoline to run to the engine until the critical point of each turn was +surmounted. The last two corners were negotiated in the dark, with the +writer sitting on the gasoline tank and the chauffeur blowing into it to +force the gasoline into the carburetor. At eight in the evening we +arrived safely at Mishima. + +"Taking the above experience as a basis, it can be safely asserted that +passengers on a motor car would not run any risk at all on this road, as +there are no unprotected banks over which they could fall, as on the +Miyanoshita road. It also makes one of the most beautiful trips out of +Yokohama, for as one gradually rises above Atami the magnificent +panorama of land and sea displays itself before one's eyes in ever +widening circles. In our case we reached the Daiba Pass too late to +enjoy the splendid view of the hills on the one side, and of the ocean +with a fringe of foam along the shore down below, though the breakers +could be distinctly heard." + +We often motored from Yokohama to Tokyo. The road-bed is comparatively +good, being hard and smooth, but it is very narrow, with constant +traffic, and there are so many children running across that speed is +impossible. Although the distance between the two cities is about twenty +miles, the street is like one long village with its rows of houses on +either side. It was endlessly interesting, with its procession of carts +and wagons with their picturesque loads, and its groups of little, +scurrying children in many-coloured kimonos clacking about on their +clogs. There were continuous rows of small open shop-fronts with their +wares set out in pretty array, and we had hurried glimpses of clean +matted interiors and quaint gardens and temple entrances. Every now and +then we would cross one of the queer, humped-up little bridges and look +down upon the thatch-roofed cabins and high poops of the sampans +congested in the river beneath. About an hour and a half is allowed for +the run. + +Once on this road we stopped at Osame's home--a perfect plaything of a +house about two inches big, with an artistic bamboo fence and wicket, a +tiny entrance-place, and little six-mat rooms. The wife prostrated +herself repeatedly, and offered us tea and cake with many protestations +which Osame translated. Their baby was brought in, and looked wisely at +some presents which we had for him. + + [Illustration: "LOOKED WISELY AT SOME PRESENTS WHICH WE HAD FOR HIM."] + +There are a number of one-day excursions from Tokyo for cars, and still +more one- and two-day trips for motorcycles. The roads about Tokyo are +good, but with a car one is likely to strike mires or bad bridges or +ferryboats that are too small. These difficulties can generally be +overcome, however, and they make the trip both varied and amusing. + +A short expedition from Tokyo, and one comfortable for the motorist, is +to the prehistoric caves--Hyaku Ana--near Konosu. These are some two +hundred cave-dwellings that have been uncovered on the side of a cliff. +They have long, low entrances, and vary from tiny holes to caves ten +feet square and high enough for a man to stand in. The pieces of jewelry +and pottery which have been found there are small help in reconstructing +the life of the troglodytes--"earth spiders," the Japanese call +them--who may have lived there some thousands of years ago. + +Another trip from Tokyo[9] is to the Boshu Peninsula. The tourist will +have an excellent opportunity of getting a few glimpses of unfamiliar +Japan without going very far afield. The road follows the seashore most +of the way and offers a great variety of scenery--pine-clad hills, rice +fields, pretty gardens, and fishing villages with the ocean breaking on +rocky cliffs. There is little chance for speeding, as the highway is +often narrow and passes through many tunnels with sharp curves, but the +trip was made without any trouble by Mr. S.'s large fifty h. p. +Clement-Bayard. + + [9] For this, and several other notes on motoring, I am indebted + to the _Japan Magazine_. + +Mr. S. and friends started from Tokyo after tiffin, and spent the night +at Inage, a small village two miles from Chiba, where there was a quiet +inn. Next day, they drove along the coast southwest to Tateyama, which +is a popular bathing resort, reaching there in time for tiffin. The +views along the way, both of the hills and of Tokyo Bay, were very fine. +They went on to Katsu-ura for the night, passing Mera, which is an +important fishing village at the extreme tip of the peninsula, built on +a cliff near a lighthouse. It was here that the _Dakota_ was wrecked in +1909. Part of the way the volcano on Vries Island is to be seen. + +Near Katsu-ura is the birthplace of the famous Buddhist saint, Nichiren. +He was born in 1222 A. D., and became a priest at the age of fifteen. +His doctrines being considered unsafe, he was sentenced to death, but +the executioner's sword was broken by lightning, and orders came from +the Regent to release him. Various well-known temples have been erected +in his memory. + +Next day the return trip was made by way of Ichinomiya, Hamano, and +Chiba. The entire excursion can be made in two days, and with an extra +day one could also take in Narita, which has a very interesting temple +and is well worth visiting. + +Mountaineering by motor is also possible in some parts of Japan. A +successful trip was made from Tokyo over the Torii Toge not long ago, +although the road left much to be desired, being narrow, tortuous, and +often washed away in places--between Azuma-Bashi and Narai it was +especially bad. This pass gets its name from the massive granite _torii_ +at the top, and is over four thousand feet above the sea. The road over +the Shiojiri Toge, which is thirty-four hundred feet high, is so well +engineered that it was found possible to get to the top on middle gear. +The views along the way are said to be of the finest, and the "Kame-ya" +at Shimono-Suwa, a very comfortable hotel with natural hot baths and an +obliging landlord. + +One motorist found difficulty in garaging his car, and it had to be left +under the wide eaves of the roof of the hotel. The ingenious landlord, +however, borrowed a huge sheet of thick oil-paper and covered it all up +snugly and securely from the weather, as well as from the attentions of +a crowd of boys who had gathered round. + +"I found the boys troublesome everywhere," this traveller writes; "they +were not content to look, but must finger everything. On one occasion +they turned an oil-tap and lost me half a gallon of precious oil which +could not be replaced.... After this I tied up the oil-tap every night +and took the wires off the accumulators, for on another occasion I found +that a boy had switched these on." Such hints may prove useful to the +prospective motorist. + +The road from Tokyo to Nikko is good, except at one point, where it +crosses a river. Next to Miyanoshita, this is the most popular +excursion, for the temples are glorious and the hotel is good. We did +not hear whether the road from Nikko to Chuzenji was passable. + +The Japanese have a saying that you must call nothing beautiful until +you have seen Nikko. L. says nothing is beautiful after you have seen +Nikko. It is supreme, the climax. In 1889 he journeyed three hours to +Utsunomiya, and then five hours by _kuruma_ to Nikko, through the +wonderful avenue of cryptomerias, with the foliage meeting overhead. +This avenue is said to extend for fifty miles. When the temples at Nikko +were being raised, some three hundred years ago, many nobles presented +portions of them; but some, poorer than the rest, for their share +planted these trees as an approach to the temples. + + [Illustration: THE WONDERFUL AVENUE OF CRYPTOMERIAS.] + +L. was not disappointed in going there on a later visit, for the great +trees still stood solemnly above the gorgeous temples, and peace and +religious quiet were to be found there as always. On the other side of +the rushing river, however, there was a change, for hotels and European +comforts had been provided. + +I am not sure whether one can motor from Tokyo to Fukushima or not, but, +in any event, it would be worth trying. We went there on a former visit, +staying at a Japanese inn, sleeping on mats in comforters. Next day we +went on, part of the way by train, part by jinrikisha, to the "eight +hundred and eight islands," the most fascinating place in the world. We +took a boat and went in and out among the islands until we came to +Matsushima, a little fishing town which is considered the first of the +Sankei--"the three finest views in Japan"--on account of its +exceptionally beautiful sea view. The islands are covered with queer, +stunted pines, among which quaint temples are to be seen. Even now in +the stillness of the night I can hear their bells, like a mysterious, +musical moan. + + [Illustration: A VIEW OF MATSUSHIMA.] + +The following condensed account of a trip by motorcycle from Tokyo to +Kyoto and beyond may be of use to the traveller. The distance is about +three hundred and forty miles. Three and a half gallons of petrol were +consumed, which is more than would have been used if the second and +third days' ride had not been in the teeth of a gale. The machine was a +2 3-4 h. p. twin-cylinder Douglas with free engine clutch and two-speed +gear. A lightweight of this sort has proved most suitable for Japan, for +there are dozens of occasions--lifting in and out of boats, up steps, +pushing over stony river-beds--when one is glad of its lightness. One +never wishes for more speed. Allowing time for rest, food, and casual +stops, not over a hundred miles can be made in a day with any pleasure. + +On this expedition the cyclist went by way of Kozu and stayed over a day +at Shizuoka. It is fifty-five miles from there to Fukuroi, where he +lunched, and then continued on to Maisaka for the night. + +"From Maisaka," he says, "one can cross over the Hamano Lagoon to Arai +by ferry, one can take the train over the bridge, or make the circuit of +the lagoon. As there was a strong gale blowing the ferry did not put +out, so this night was spent at Benten-jima, a pleasant little bathing +resort at the mouth of the lagoon." + +Next morning, he left Arai at nine o'clock. About two miles out there +was a very stiff hill, which is frequently mentioned in pictures of +Tokaido travel. The ascent commenced immediately after a sharp turn out +of a village street, so that it was impossible to get a good start. The +view over the sea from the top was splendid, however, and the run down +to Toyohashi among slopes blazing with azaleas proved delightful. + +At Atsuta, fifty-five miles from Toyohashi, the cyclist left the Tokaido +and passed through one of the suburbs of Nagoya. This is the third city +of Japan, Tokyo being the first and Osaka the second in size. It is +famous for its potteries and especially for its castle, which has a keep +typical of the ancient feudal times and often shown in Japanese art. The +castle is in fairly good preservation and is one of the best specimens +of architecture in the country. The central building is a massive +structure one hundred and fifty feet high, surmounted by two golden +dolphins, which may be seen from a tremendous distance glistening in the +sun. One of them was exhibited at Vienna in 1873; on its way home it was +lost with the ship, but was finally recovered at great expense. + +After Nagoya, Kano was reached. Here one turns to the left, without +entering Gifu, and proceeds along the Nakasendo--the great highway that +connects Tokyo and Kyoto by way of the mountains while the Tokaido runs +nearer the coast. Maibara, on the shores of Lake Biwa, was reached that +evening at eight o'clock; from there it was a straight run to Kyoto. + +Lake Biwa, the largest piece of fresh water in Japan, is about +forty-five miles long. It is surrounded on all sides by hills and is +supposed to have been produced by an earthquake early in the third +century before Christ. + + [Illustration: LAKE BIWA.] + +It is also possible to go from Tokyo to Kyoto by way of Atami, but it is +not a very good trip. Those who try it generally get on the train at +Kozu and get off again at Gotimba--a method much easier for a motorcycle +than for a car, of course. + +There are a thousand things to do and see in Kyoto, but if one is there +in cherry blossom season one must not fail to see the glorious old +cherry tree so widely renowned. Near it is the Mound of Ears. Osame told +me that long ago, after a great battle in Korea, the returning victors +brought with them their enemies' ears and noses, instead of the heads, +to show how many Koreans they had killed. These trophies were buried in +a mound to commemorate the battle. + +A trip was made from Kyoto to Ama-no-Hashidate--another of the "three +finest views"--by way of Suchi and Kawamori. For some miles the road out +of Kyoto is bad; there is a long climb before Kameoka and a steep, long, +but well-graded pass between Sonobe and Kinokiyama. The whole of this +day's journey lay through beautiful, well-wooded country with glimpses +of the Yuragawa as one rode along its left bank, then over a splendid +hilly coast road into Miyazu--a distance of about ninety miles in all. + + [Illustration: AMA-NO-HASHIDATE.] + +The return was made by way of Shin-Maizuru, where one turns to the right +after getting into the broad main street and soon reaches the coast +again near Takahama. From there on to Obama the scenery would be hard to +surpass with its views of the coast and of the wooded hills inland +covered with azaleas, wisteria and other brilliant flowers. The road +from Imazu skirts the western shores of Lake Biwa and is very narrow and +bumpy until within ten miles of Otsu. Indeed, the roads, after leaving +the coast, are often so narrow that there would be no pleasure in taking +a car over them. + +L. and I found most of the roads around Kyoto good. A few of them +present difficulties, such as the one from Kyoto to Kamazawa, but from +this point they are again fine, though many hills and dangerous spots +are still to be met with. On a former visit we went in 'rickshas to the +foot of these hills, passing green fields of rice and reaching the +Harashiyawa River, which flows rapidly into the plain. We took a +flat-bottomed boat and were towed and poled up the swift water between +the steep, wooded banks, where it was very lovely. We had tea at a +tea-house on the bank, and watched the fishermen in boats, and looked +out over the pleasant landscape in the sunset glow of crimson and gold +before the purple shadows fell across the plains. + +From Kyoto to Otsu, which is on the shore of Lake Biwa, is about an +hour's ride by rail. There one takes a small steamer up the lake to +Nagahama, where, after a tiffin of carp with rice and _soy_ at a +tea-house, one may take a train again for Nara. + +One may also go from Kyoto to Nara direct by _kuruma_--a day's journey. +There are interesting temples to visit on the hillsides along the +road--popular shrines where thousands of pilgrims with jangling staves, +and holiday-makers taking tea and cakes, enjoy themselves simply in +their beautiful surroundings. We passed among them, beneath the great +gates guarded by fantastic demon gods, green and red and blue, and into +temples, gorgeous but often dilapidated and dusty, past pagodas and +through long avenues of stone lanterns. At Nara we saw the Golden +Pavilion and the Silver Pavilion, the summer places of retired princes. +There are entrancing gardens with little ponds filled with goldfish, +tiny bridges and imitation mountains, the "wash-the-moon" cascade, and +the platforms where warriors used to sit and look at the moon--those +fierce, two-sworded warriors of other days. + +The old temples of Nara have stood there silently for over a thousand +years, beneath the gaze of that huge, ungainly bronze Buddha who looks +down with half-shut eyes, one hand held up in benediction, the other +resting on his knee. He sits on his open lotus flower beneath the tall, +solemn cryptomerias,--this wonderful Dai Butsu, the largest in all +Japan. + +We wandered through the groves and the park where the dainty wild deer +are so friendly. On the hillside above is a temple to Kwannon, over a +thousand years old, standing out from the dark green of the pines. +Farther along is a Shinto temple, low and with galleries and many +lanterns. Here we saw priests praying--shaven-headed _bonzes_ in their +robes--at whom pilgrims were tossing coppers. Beyond is the Wakamiya, +where, for a consideration, some priestesses perform a dance called +_kagura_ while priests chant and play the flute and the tom-tom. As we +went by, we saw a veiled priestess dancing there in true Eastern style. +At the foot of the slope is a five-storied pagoda, black with age, for +it dates back to the eighth century. + + [Illustration: ANCIENT TEMPLE NEAR NARA.] + +Nikko and Nara! The one a place of some three hundred years, gilded and +coloured--the other ancient, and sombre, and impressive. + +From Nara to Osaka you pass more old temples, where they say an eye of +Buddha is secretly guarded. Osaka is sometimes called the Venice of +Japan, on account of its many canals and bridges. The castle here must +have been by far the most magnificent in the country before it was +destroyed by fire. The moats and foundations that remain are splendid +specimens of masonry. + +From Kyoto to Kobe is a ride of two and a half hours in the train. The +road skirts the hills which bound Kyoto, passes Osaka, and follows some +rivers that flow higher than the level of the country--indeed, the road +runs through tunnels under three large streams! + +The terracing of the land is very marked along this route. Japanese +methods of farming and irrigation require that the land shall be level, +and so the country is all plotted off into little irregular terraces. +The ground is saturated with water, which stands to a depth of several +inches around the growing crops. Paddy-fields are really ponds of +standing water, while a farm is a marsh, the house alone rising above +the surface. Farmers, while taking in their rice or plowing their +fields, work with the water and thick black mud up to their knees. + +Kobe is the foreign name applied to Hyogo, the treaty-port. It is next +to Yokohama in commercial importance. The foreigners in Kobe--English, +German and American--have a very pleasant club, and pretty bungalows on +the hills back of the town. A beautiful waterfall and the Temple of the +Moon are not far away. + +Maiko, in the province of Harima, is one of the most enchanting spots in +this part of Japan. It is near the upper entrance to the Inland Sea, not +far from Kobe. Nothing can be more fairy-like and mysterious than the +spreading, twisted trees on the white sand there in the moonlight. +_Maiko_ means dancing girl, and the place gets its name from the effect +given the ancient pines when the wind blows the sand into shifting +scarfs about them. + +Lake Shinji, on the northern coast, is also one of the most interesting +places in the country and one seldom seen by foreigners. Ogo-Harito is +famous for its giant rocks washed by the sea into strange and fantastic +shapes. It is the female spirit of the west coast, while Matsushima is +considered the male spirit of the east coast. + +If one has time, Yahakii should be seen, for it is a very strange valley +with its enormous conventional terraces made by nature. At the bottom of +the canyon is a swift river, and temples are perched here and there on +high crags. Koro Halcho, in the province of Kii, is very beautiful, +especially in the spring when the gorge with its deep cliffs is made +lovelier still with wild flowers. A motorcyclist would find inviting +trips in Hokkaido, where the roads are not bad, though it is rather +difficult getting there. Over on the other coast, from Nazano to +Navetta, and around Kamisana, there are good roads. + +Our trip through the Inland Sea, from Kobe to Nagasaki, was one of the +most delightful experiences that we had in Japan. We chartered a boat at +Kobe, after an extravagant comedy of errors. L. went on board at +midnight to examine it, and the agent did not discover until after the +business was finished that it was not the boat which he intended L. to +see at all; but the captain was too quick for him, and seized the +opportunity to make a good bargain. + +It turned out very well indeed for us. The steamer was of two hundred +tons burden, one hundred and fifty feet long, with very comfortable +cabins--two small ones in European style and one large one extending +entirely across the boat, with mats in native style, where Japanese +passengers may lie side by side on their comforters. We took our own +supplies, and had a very good cook until he went off one night on a +spree. + +We went aboard one evening, and sailed at daybreak next morning, being +awakened by the rattling of the chain and the churning of the propeller. +Soon we were gliding out of the harbour between the shipping, just as +the sun came up out of the Eastern Ocean, chasing the shadows down the +hillsides and bathing the shore in a glorious crimson. We turned Hyogo +Point and headed for Akashi Straits, to enter the Inland Sea, passing +palisades like those on the Hudson. + +All day long we went through the archipelago of green and yellow +islands. At first the sea was glassy, then gently ruffled, and junks and +sampans with queer sails glided by. Toward evening we passed into even +narrower passages and straits, and the moon rose, all silver in the +twilight sky, while we turned many times, now to the right, now to the +left, finally coming to anchor off the twinkling lights of Onomichi. We +landed after dinner and walked through the little town, then sat out on +deck and sang in the flooding moonlight. + + [Illustration: JAPANESE JUNKS.] + +When we left next morning it was to pass more promontories on beautiful +islands, lovely mountains rising behind, and picturesque shores fringed +with tiny trees all green and purple in the haze. In the afternoon the +clouds and rain that crossed our path only added to and varied the +loveliness of the approach to Hiroshima. + +During the day we had an unsurpassed panorama of Japanese scenery, with +grotesque, broken islands fringed with pine, and ravined mountains +dipping down into the calm blue waters, on which the quaintest and most +unreal of sampans and junks were idly floating. We felt as if we were +passing through a miniature ocean with its islands and old-world +villages constantly appearing and disappearing in the rising, shifting +mist. No wonder the Japanese believe in ghosts and in Bahu, the Eater of +Dreams! + +As the sun went down we rounded the enchanted island of Miyajima--the +third of the "three finest views"--and glided into the bay before the +famous temple. When it grew darker the four hundred lanterns of bronze +and stone along the water's edge were lighted for us. The temple itself +is built on piles, and the _torii_ stands far out from the shore. We +were sculled across the still waters in a sampan. The tide was at its +highest, and the hundreds of little lights were reflected in its glassy +surface. Slowly we drifted beneath the great _torii_ to the temple +entrance. Once more the Spell of Japan stole over us. + + [Illustration: THE GREAT _TORII_.] + +The sunrise next morning was too beautiful for words. We appeared to be +coming out from a rosy dawn into a grey, dim future, as the sun came up +through a pearly mist and the little clouds rose in wreaths about the +tops of the strange mountains, making pictures such as the art of Japan +loves to depict. Tiny straw-sailed boats appeared and disappeared +mysteriously. It was all very silent and lovely. + +Later in the day we climbed the hill behind the temple, then came down +and bathed, having tea at a delightful little tea-house, taking tiffin +ashore beneath the tiny-leafed maples near a brook; we went aboard in +the late afternoon, and, hoisting anchor, steamed away. + +Next morning we saw the sun rise at Moji. We passed Shimonoseki and then +steamed out into the China Sea, keeping the picturesque shore of Kyushu +in sight all the way. We picked our course through the outlying islands +and the swirling straits of Hirado, and reached Nagasaki late at night. +Contenting ourselves with one look at its twinkling lights, we retired. +Morning showed us once more its beautiful harbour, the mountains range +on range behind it, and the city itself on either side, the houses +rising above each other on long terraces to the summits of the hills on +which Nagasaki is built. + +Near us a big ship was coaling--a wonderful sight to one who beholds it +for the first time. It was surrounded by countless barges upon which +were swarming crowds of Japanese--men, women and children. Forming a +long line that reached from the barges up a ladder into the ship's hold, +they handed baskets of coal from one to the other, so that a continuous +stream poured steadily into the ship. The strangeness of the costumes, +the unusual sight of women doing a man's work--many of them with babies +strapped to their backs--added to the interest of the busy scene. Down +in the hold, where the heat must have been suffocating, they plodded on, +men and women, clad chiefly in coal-dust. All day long they worked away +with happy smiles, the babies bobbing up and down on their mothers' +backs, doubtless wondering what it was all about. The sight reminded me +of the passage in the Æneid, where the poet speaks of the ants as "tiny +toilers of giant industry," and describes them carrying crumbs in their +mouths to the common storehouse in a seemingly never-ending line. + +As we steamed out of the harbour, the green hills rose steeply from the +water with houses and shrines peeping through the trees, backed by a +still higher range of hills which were finally lost in the blue distance +or broke off into crags and cliffs. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV + + FLOWERS, INDOORS AND OUT + + "If one should inquire of you concerning the spirit of a true + Japanese, point to the wild cherry blossoms shining in the sun." + _The poet Motoori._ + + +The Spell of Japan owes no small part of its potency to the abundant +flowers, which weave about the land an ever-changing veil of bright +colours and exquisite textures. First appear the fragrant plums, +earliest of the "One Hundred Flowers," and the freesias, and the +wonderful display of cherry blossoms in March and April, then the +wisteria and azalea, the iris and the peony, "the flower of +prosperity"--in China it is called "the queen of flowers"--in July the +lotus, and in the autumn the chrysanthemum, "the long-lasting plant." Of +all these the cherry and the chrysanthemum are the most famous. + +The plum, an emblem of chastity, is enjoyed chiefly by the intellectual. +There is only a breath of flower on the gnarled stock, a mystery of +white or pink or red, which requires close study to find delight in the +manner in which the blossoms scatter irregularly on the beautiful, +twisting branches, silvery with lichen. + +This charming little poem by Sosei refers to the plum as the herald of +spring: + + "Amid the branches of the silv'ry bowers + The nightingale doth sing: perchance he knows + That spring hath come, and takes the later snows + For the white petals of the plum's sweet flowers." + +The cherry, being gayer and more profuse, is more popular with the +people. It is called "the king of flowers," and especially represents +abundance and vitality. It is therefore a fitting symbol of the national +population. When the cherry is in blossom, the Japanese make excursions +to view particularly beautiful trees, and as they feast and float in +their pleasure boats, they enjoy even the fluttering petals, whether +seen in the bright sunlight or the pale moonbeams. So high an official +as a Prime Minister will take a day's journey for the sight of a cherry +tree in bloom. + +A Japanese of the olden time has beautifully pictured the blossoming +cherry trees: "When in spring the trees flower, it is as if fleeciest +masses of cloud faintly tinged by sunset had floated down from the +highest sky to fold themselves about the branches." + +The wisteria is an especial favourite with foreigners, no doubt for the +reason that we seldom see in America drooping clusters of such +length--the length of an umbrella, as the Japanese measure. It is +believed that this flower attains great size and beauty if the roots are +nourished with the rice wine of the country, and there is at Kameido a +tree producing unusually fine blossoms, at the base of which visitors +are accustomed to empty their wine cups. + +Every one is familiar with the beautiful and varied colours of the +Japanese iris, as the bulbs are shipped to all parts of the world. The +peony often measures nine inches across, and some of the tree peonies +have petals of a lovely silky sheen and texture. It is sometimes called +"the plant of twenty days," because it is said to keep fresh for that +length of time. In art, it forms a constant decoration on temple and +palace walls, and it is supposed, like the lotus, to have medicinal +properties. + +The lotus is not used for festivities or rejoicing in Japan, but for +sacred ceremonies and funerals. As it is a Buddhist flower, and as +Buddhism started in India, it is sometimes called the national flower of +India. It grows wonderfully, however, on the castle moats in Tokyo. + +In its season the chrysanthemum pervades the country. It blossoms in +every garden, it grows by the roadside, and it stands in every tiny +shop. Each loyal son of Dai Nippon has a flower upon which he may rest +his eye and with which he may delight his artistic and patriotic sense. +The sixteen-petalled flower is the crest of the Emperor, and no one else +is allowed to use that as a design, although the blossom is often +reproduced in decoration with fewer petals. The people go on pilgrimages +in order to gaze with semi-religious awe upon "the long-lasting plant"; +the Emperor gives a chrysanthemum party; and the season of this most +decorative of flowers is made one of general rejoicing. + +The chrysanthemum has been cultivated in China for more than two +thousand years, says Dr. Bryan in the _Japan Magazine_, and there is +evidence of its being cherished in Egypt a thousand years before it is +mentioned in China. Whether it came from Egypt to China, or vice versa, +it is impossible now to determine, but the Chinese like to regard it as +a product of the Far East. Confucius mentions it in 500 B.C., under the +name of _liki_. From China it was brought to Japan, where it has reached +its highest development. + +What the lotus was to Egypt, the fleur-de-lys to France, and the Tudor +rose to England, the chrysanthemum is to Japan. The flower is single, +yet many. It is a unity in variety, and a variety springing from one +undivided centre. The Japanese call it "binding flower," for just as its +petals bind themselves together on the surface, so the Emperor and the +people are forever bound together in indissoluble union. It was probably +chosen as the most natural and artistic emblem of the sun, but both this +and the cherry blossom, like the Emperor and his people, are considered +children of that luminary, whose orb resplendent stands for the country +as a whole. Many a maiden of Japan is named after "the binding flower," +and its use is very typical of Japanese art and life. + + [Illustration:_A Japanese Flower Man_] + +At one chrysanthemum show we saw nine hundred blossoms on a single +plant, and the flowers were arranged to form figures of warriors and +ladies of long ago, from the fairy tales of Old Japan. At Dango-zaka, a +place of professional gardens, an exhibition is held each year, for +which visitors are charged two _sen_[10] a peep. Here we saw wonderful +figures made of flowers--one of an elephant and his rider being +thirty-six feet high. In the grottoes and rockeries of the garden were +other life-like figures. It was a sort of "Madame Tussaud's" with the +characters in flowers instead of wax. On revolving stages were rocks and +mountains, horses and men in all sorts of attitudes, brilliant, curious +and interesting--all made of flowers. One scene represented Commodore +Perry's reception by the Shogun. + + [10] A _sen_ is three-fourths of a cent. + +The Imperial Chrysanthemum Party has been in vogue at the Japanese Court +since 1682.[11] Formerly, as the guests came before the Emperor, a vase +of lovely blossoms, to which was attached a bag of frankincense and +myrrh, was placed in front of His Majesty, and cups of _saké_ with the +petals floating in them were handed around. In the annals of China we +read the explanation of this custom: + + [11] For this description, also, I am largely indebted to the + writings of Dr. Bryan. + +There was once upon a time, as the story goes, a man who was warned of +an impending calamity, which could be warded off, he was told, by +attaching a bag of myrrh to his elbow and ascending a certain hill, +where he was to drink _saké_ with the petals of the chrysanthemum +floating in it. The man did as was suggested, but on returning home he +found all his domestic animals dead. When he informed his teacher that +the plan had not worked, the former replied that the calamity was to +have come upon his family, and that by acting upon the warning he had +averted it, throwing the vengeance on the animals instead. + +The Emperor's Chrysanthemum Party is now conducted in a somewhat +different manner from that of the olden time. It is held in the flower +palace of the Imperial garden at Akasaka. Upon the arrival of the +Emperor and his suite at the main gate, the Japanese national anthem +begins, and the guests, who are already in their places, line the +pathway on either side, bowing as Their Majesties, the Emperor and +Empress, and the princes of the blood, file past. Then the guests fall +into line after the Imperial party and follow to the place where the +feast is prepared. + +The Emperor takes his place on the dais at the head of the marquee, and +receives all the representatives of foreign countries and some of the +higher officials of the Empire. As each diplomat appears in the Mikado's +presence he bows three times, and his felicitations are translated into +Japanese by an interpreter who stands near His Majesty. The Empress is +seated on a dais slightly lower but very near, and all who approach the +Emperor bow also to the Empress. This function over, the Emperor sips a +glass of wine, which is the signal for the feast to commence. As soon as +the feasting is ended the band strikes up, and His Majesty begins to +prepare for his departure. The guests again line up, and bow in farewell +as the Imperial procession files out, then they enjoy the view of the +superb chrysanthemums. + +The Imperial Cherry Blossom Party in the spring is held in the same +garden at Akasaka, and is conducted in much the same way, an elaborate +feast being laid in a great marquee. The palace in these grounds +originally belonged to Prince Kishu, but after the burning of the +Emperor's palace in 1873 this one was used as a temporary abode of the +Imperial family, and was afterward the residence of the Crown Prince, +now Emperor. + +In the province of Kai there is a hill called Chrysanthemum Mount, +overhanging a river into which the petals fall. It is believed that long +life is assured by drinking the water. Among the people the custom also +survives of placing small blossoms or petals in the cup during the +wine-drinking that takes place at the festival on the ninth day of the +ninth month. + +The Japanese fondness for flowers is not bestowed chiefly on the rare +and costly varieties produced by the florist's skill, but is lavished +upon the familiar blossoms of every day. Love of nature is shown in +their pilgrimages for seeing flowers, picking mushrooms, gathering +shells, and even for viewing the moon, which form their favourite +holiday excursions. One of the prettiest conceits of the Japanese +imagination is that which regards the snowflakes as the flowers of +winter, and has added snow-viewing to the list of flower-festivals. + +Parties are even formed to rise at dawn and go out to see the +morning-glories open. I can testify, too, from my own experience that +they are well rewarded, for Japanese morning-glories are worth seeing. +One day when our train was delayed at a village, the station master +invited us to view the morning-glories in his tiny garden, about twenty +feet square. The colours were so beautiful that they were really a feast +for the eyes. Some were pale in tint, some brilliant, and some had +crinkled flowers and leaves. + +Among the Japanese popular names for plants are some interesting ones. +The tufted grass that grows on the hillsides has the delightful name of +"lion's moustache." The barberry, which grows wild in Japan as it does +here, is popularly styled "snake-can't-climb-up," on account of its +thorns, the idea being that the snake wants the berries, but the thorns +keep him off. The little pachysandra, sometimes used here for borders in +gardens, bears the high-sounding title of "noble plant." We are +surprised at this until we discover that it is very hardy, adapts itself +to any surroundings, and blossoms under the unfavourable conditions of +early spring. Because of these qualities, rather than for anything +striking in its outward appearance, it is called noble. It is also a +symbol of good luck, perhaps in recognition of the fact that a person's +good fortune comes chiefly from his hardihood, adaptability and power to +overcome obstacles. + +On one of our visits to Japan we imitated the fashion of the country and +made pilgrimages to view the lotus, which was in full bloom in July, its +pink and white blossoms almost covering the waters of the ponds. Again +in the autumn, we went on excursions to enjoy the charming colours of +the maples. Often we took jinrikishas and went to an inn by a rippling +brook, where we spent the day, eating the native food with chopsticks +from little lacquer trays, and looking out from the balcony of polished +wood upon the bright, sharp-pointed leaves dancing in the sunshine. + +At the various festival seasons of the year, different flowers and +plants are used, either alone or in combination with others. For +instance, the pine and the bamboo appear among New Year decorations; the +iris is the flower of the Boys' Festival; fruits and berries are used on +the first day of the eighth month. Such occasions as the coming of age +of a young man, a promotion in rank, farewell gatherings, death +anniversaries, poetry meetings, tea ceremonials and incense burnings, +all are adorned by their appropriate flowers. + +Japanese flower arrangement differs fundamentally from that of the West, +and includes much more than the mere massing of a cluster of blossoms of +beautiful colour and texture, set off by a sufficient number of leaves +of some kind. _Ike-bana_, as they call their art, considers the flower +as a mere detail and of little beauty apart from its proper place on the +stem. In addition to grace and beauty of line and an entire absence of +crowding, it requires the expression of the thought that what you have +before you is not simply cut flowers but a growing plant--which must +always have an uneven number of branches. Buds and even withered leaves +are used as well as flowers, in order to suggest the natural mode of +growth. By keeping the stems together for a few inches at the base a +strong plant is indicated, springing from the surface of the water, +which is supposed to represent the surface of the earth. + + [Illustration: _IKE-BANA_ OR FLOWER ARRANGEMENT.] + +As we learn the rules of _Ike-bana_, we do not wonder that it has been +the study and diversion of philosophers, generals and priests. The three +branches with which the arrangement starts are named Heaven, Man and +Earth. Heaven, the longest branch, must be one and one-half times the +height of the vase and must stand in the centre of the cluster. Man +should be one-half the length of Heaven, and Earth one-half as long as +Man. These sprays are bent into the desired curves before they are +placed in the vase. Finally, but with great care, every leaf or flower +that hides another must be ruthlessly cut off. + +By the use of special flowers and the varying disposition of the sprays +the season of the year or the particular occasion for which the +arrangement is designed may be indicated. For example, unusual curves of +the branches suggest the high winds of March; white flowers are used at +a housewarming, or they signify water to put out a fire; evergreens or +chrysanthemums are used when a youth comes into his property, to express +the wish that he may long keep his possessions. + +Following out the Buddhist idea of preserving life as long as possible, +the Japanese make their vases with a wide mouth, so that the water they +contain may be exposed to the air. This makes it necessary to support +the branches, and various kinds of holders have been devised for this +purpose. Both vases and holders are made of basket-work, porcelain, +bronze and bamboo, and according to their shape they are called by such +names as "Singing Mouth," "Crane Neck," and "Rampant Lion." Hanging +baskets in the form of boats, too, are popular, and receive names like +"Cloud Boat" and "Dragon-head Boat." In summer low, shallow vases are +used, which suggest coolness by the extent of water surface exposed. + +According to the law of _Ike-bana_, vases should be nine-tenths filled +with water in spring and autumn, in hot weather they must be brimful, in +winter only four-fifths full, and even less in very cold weather. +Pebbles may cover the bottom of the vase in imitation of a river-bed, +both white and black ones being used. An effective arrangement is to +place three large stones on top of the small ones--quite a high rock to +represent a mountain, a second flat one, and a third between the others +in height. + +The Japanese love to decorate their houses with flowers, but we might +say on entering, Where are they? Why, in the most honoured place of all! +On the raised platform of the alcove, perhaps beside the image of some +god, stands a large vase with a few carefully arranged branches of +flowers, or maybe of leaves alone. These are enough. You feel no need of +anything more. + +The table decorations made for Europeans are especially interesting. +They are often placed directly on the tablecloth. One that we saw +contained a conventionalized Fuji in evergreen needles, like a flat +print, overhung with cotton wool to imitate clouds. Sometimes miniature +landscapes are formed in a box, for anything tiny delights the Japanese, +and they spend whole days arranging such things. The Inland Sea is often +represented in blue and white sand, with real earth for the shores and +the islands, while small pine branches are introduced to look like +twisted trees. Boats and fishes are put in the blue sand, and small +temples set up on the shore. As every imaginable toy is made by the +Japanese, the scene can be varied according to the taste of the +designer--I have even seen tiny European ladies imitated, and railway +trains and telegraph poles introduced. + + [Illustration: "THE TABLE DECORATIONS ... ARE ESPECIALLY INTERESTING"] + +In the miniature landscapes which Watanabe devised for us he used +dwarfed trees in almost every instance, and imitated water and +waterfalls with sands of different colours. For the Fuji of these +pictures he sometimes used one of those oddly shaped pebbles that abound +in Japan. + +On Washington's Birthday Watanabe surpassed himself in this sort of +decoration. He represented Washington City by a diminutive Capitol and +White House and Washington Monument, set in a park-like arrangement of +gravel drives and avenues of tiny trees. Among these appeared absurd +little equestrian monuments and decorative detail of various kinds. As +he had never been in America we asked him how he had pictured it so +correctly. He answered that he found a photograph of the Capitol in a +book, and took it to a friend, who made models of the buildings for him. +He also had arranged a large cherry tree (which, because it had +artificial flowers, appeared to be in full bloom), into which the +proverbial hatchet was stuck. + +The Japanese art of landscape gardening arose from their fondness for +nature, which led them to reproduce in miniature the scenery visible +from their homes. No doubt Chinese influence had its effect upon this +art, as upon many others, through the medium of the Buddhist priesthood. + +Among the earliest examples of landscape gardening were the temple +groves of Nara. From the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries gardens +took on a freer form, more like that of the present time, but the +dried-up water scenery was used, showing the hollow of a lake dry, as if +in time of drought, sometimes combined with the bare mountain. In the +fifteenth century, when the tea ceremony was introduced, a special form +of garden was devoted to its use, while at the same time the art of +flower arrangement flourished. Soami, about 1480, and Enshiu, a hundred +years later, are among the best known landscape artists. "The Rocky +Ocean," "The Wide River," "The Mountain Torrent," and "The Lake Wave" +are fanciful names given to different styles of gardening. + +A Japanese garden is generally enclosed by a bamboo paling, often in +some pretty design, which may surround the house as well. There should +be one high point in the garden, which dominates the whole, and it may +contain a miniature mountain, dwarf trees, stones, and a tea-house with +a gateway at the entrance. If possible, there should be water with a +bridge over it, and a cascade to bring luck. + +From the varying arrangement of these features, we find hill gardens, +flat gardens, finished, intermediary or rough gardens. On our place in +Brookline, Massachusetts, we have a Japanese hill garden. The flat +effect is especially popular in Japan, with its gravel walks and stone +lanterns in different sizes and designs; but whichever style is chosen, +it must be so planned as to present its best appearance from the house. + +No garden is complete without one or more lanterns, which are placed, if +possible, by the water, that their light may be reflected in the pond. +The stone basins for washing the hands vary in style, and so, too, do +the gateways; these sometimes have thatched roofs, which provide +shelter, and can be made very attractive. There are twisted dwarf trees +here and there, of course, and variously shaped stepping-stones set in +regular order along the narrow paths. Low bridges, usually without +railings, cross the tiny pond, in which there are often double-tailed +goldfish and carp which rise to the surface when you clap your hands. +Some enclosures even contain gaily coloured pheasants, ducks and storks. + +[Illustration: _A Japanese Garden, Tokyo_] + +Curiously shaped stones are carefully selected for the garden, each one +having a name and a meaning attached to it. Standing upright in the +centre should be the high "guardian stone." You may look for the +"worshipping stone" in the foreground or on an island; you will find the +"perfect view" on the hillside or in some prominent place; you discover +the "water-tray stone" on the pond shore, and the "shadow stone" in the +valley between two hills. Next to the "worshipping stone" is the "seat +of honour," which is flat and horizontal. The "snail" is the most +important stepping-stone. + +Trees as well as stones have rank in the miniature landscape. The +principal tree is the largest, and is as a rule either a pine or an oak. +One in a secluded corner with thick foliage to afford shade is called +the "tree of solitude." The "perfection tree" should have fine branches. +Around the waterfall is planted the "cascade circuit," consisting of low +bushes; and in the background is the "setting-sun tree," which is turned +westward in order to screen the garden somewhat from the rays of the +sun, and is often a maple that will light up the place with its own glow +in the autumn. + +In the literature of gardens we read of male and female cascades and +rocks--just as of male and female styles of flower arrangement--the big +one being the male, the smaller one near-by the female. The flowering +tree is also considered a male, the plant in the same pot a female. + +The dwarf trees, that looked so strange when we first saw them, soon +became to us one of the delightful features of gardening in Japan. +These, as well as the gardens themselves, originated in the love of +nature, the Japanese wishing to have about them reduced copies of trees +which they admired. As the demand for these pigmies has greatly +increased in recent years and the process of dwarfing is slow, Japanese +florists have discovered a way of making them by a speedier method. When +they find old, stunted trees that have taken on unusual shapes--those +that have become gnarled and twisted by growing among rocks are +especially good for this purpose--they cut them back very closely, root +and branch, then leave them to grow for a time in the soil. After this +they take up the plants carefully without disturbing the earth +immediately about the roots, and place them in pots. Trees even one +hundred years old have been successfully treated in this way. + +But this is not "real dwarfing," which was described to me by my +Japanese gardener. For this process, if you wish to keep the tree very +small, it is raised from seed sown in a pot. After the seedling has made +the growth of the first year, it is taken up, and the earth is carefully +shaken off the roots and replaced with soil adapted to the special needs +of the tree, which is allowed to grow for two or three years. Then it is +time to begin trimming it into shape, and here the same symbolic +arrangement is followed as in _Ike-bana_, based upon the three main +branches, Heaven, Man and Earth. Root-pruning must also be started after +the growing season is over, and the larger roots cut away, leaving only +the finer ones. If the branches run out too far in one direction, their +growth is stopped by cutting off the roots on that side. A tree that is +to be kept very small is not repotted until the roots have filled the +pot; one that is to make a larger growth is transferred at an earlier +date. By scraping off the top of the soil occasionally and putting on +fresh earth repotting may be postponed for eight or ten years according +to the kind of tree. + +Dwarf maples from seed are ready for sale in two or three years; +seedling pines require from five to ten years to fit them for the +market, and plums four or five years. Lately, however, it has become the +custom to graft the plum, cutting back the tree until only a contorted +old stump is left, and grafting upon this. We had two such trees at the +Embassy, which were simply old stumps filled with plum blossoms, one +cluster pink and the other white, diffusing their perfume all over the +house. They were very beautiful with a plain gold screen for a +background. + +All kinds of evergreens, oaks and maples, the plum and some other +flowering trees, bamboos and every sort of flowering shrub, and some +vines, such as the wisteria and the morning glory, are all used for +dwarfing. Plants having thorns are never treated in this way, neither +are they used in the decoration of shrines nor in real Japanese flower +arrangement. For this reason the large, fine roses in which we take such +delight, had never been cultivated in Japan until perhaps forty years +ago, when the first one was brought from Holland, and the method of +cultivation was also borrowed from the Dutch. + +In gardens, these diminutive trees are carefully shaded from the rays of +the afternoon sun, and special pains are taken to keep them well +watered. When the temperature is above ninety degrees, they are watered +three times a day--at eleven in the morning, and at two and five in the +afternoon. If they are used as house plants, the care of them is a +dignified occupation, in which even nobles and princes may engage in +their own homes. As the use of ordinary fertilizers might be +disagreeable to these exalted personages on account of their bad odour, +a pleasant and economical way has been found of supplying the small +quantity of nourishment needed from eggs. After an egg has been broken +and the yolk and the white removed, the shell, with the small amount of +albumen that adheres to it, is taken in the hand and the broken edge +touched here and there to the soil of the pot, leaving on each spot a +tiny drop of white of egg. This process, repeated from day to day, +furnishes the little tree with all the nutriment it requires. Milk is +also sometimes fed to these plants by the Japanese, who have discovered +that it gives brighter colours to the flowers. + +We visited a charming exposition of pigmy trees in Shiba. Many gentlemen +of Tokyo had sent their tiny plants and miniature vases, _hibachi_, +lacquers, books and jades to decorate the doll-house rooms. These +playthings are in many cases of great antiquity and value, and lovely in +quality and colour; as much pains and taste are required to arrange +these little expositions as to decorate the large rooms of a palace. On +account of our visit the gardener had taken particular trouble, and he +showed us all the fairy articles with loving hands and words. There were +microscopic trees an inch high and landscapes two inches long, which +were a real delight, so exquisite were they. Such trees are really works +of art, and some of them indeed as valuable as gems. About us, in pots +of beautiful form and colour, were the dwarf trees of fantastic +shape--stunted plum in fragrant bloom, white and pink, and gnarled trees +hundreds of years old with blossoming branches springing out of +seemingly dead trunks. + +The Arsenal Gardens in Tokyo are said to have been formerly the most +wonderful in the country. Koraku-en, their Japanese name--literally +translated, "past pleasant recalling,"--probably means "full of pleasant +remembrances." They were designed some three hundred years ago with the +object of reproducing in miniature many of the most renowned scenes in +the Island Empire. In front of the pavilion, however, is a lake which is +copied from a noted one in China called Soi-ko. Beyond the lake rises a +wooded hill, on which stands a small, beautifully carved replica of the +famous temple Kiyomisu at Kyoto. Lower down the hill is a little stream +spanned by an accurate copy of the well-known bridge at Nikko; further +on is the shrine of Haky-i and Shiky-sei, the loyal brothers of Chinese +legend. An arched stone bridge leads to still another shrine, and from +this a path through a thicket of creepers conducts to a lake covered +with lotus and fed by a stream which forms a lovely cascade. Another +path crosses little mountains through thick foliage of bamboo and pine, +passes the artificial sea with its treasure island in the centre, and +leads over bridges, by waterfalls and around temples. + +In these gardens the Japanese most perfectly realized their desire to +transfer the features of a natural landscape to their immediate +surroundings; here were magnificent trees of great size, lakes and +streams and mountains in miniature, and a wide jungle of grass and +bamboo. Through the noise and dust and dilapidation due to the +encroachments of the Arsenal workshops, one can still catch a glimpse of +the underlying plan and imagine the ancient beauties of Koraku-en. + + + + + CHAPTER XV + + THE ARTIST'S JAPAN + + + "The great characteristic of Japanese art is its intense and + extraordinary vitality, in the sense that it is no mere exotic + cultivation of the skilful, no mere graceful luxury of the rich, + but a part of the daily lives of the people themselves." + _Mortimer Menpes._ + + +At every turn of the head the artist in Japan discerns a picture that +delights his eye--a quaint little figure dressed in bright colours +standing by a twisted tree, a fantastic gateway through which he sees a +miniature garden, or the curving roof of a temple, half hidden among the +trees. + +As architecture is always more or less affected by climate, the +Japanese, in their land of earthquakes and typhoons, have put up low +wooden structures, using cedar or fir principally, because they are +plentiful. The laws require that houses shall not exceed six _kin_, or +fathoms, in height, but allow warehouses, or _godowns_, which are more +substantially built, to be carried up much higher. If by any chance a +house has two stories, the second is very low. When I asked the reason +for such a law in China, where they have a similar one, I was told the +wind gods did not like tall buildings, but I was also assured that it +was partly to keep missionaries from building high churches. In Japan, I +think it is probably on account of the danger of earthquakes. + +Owing to the rainy seasons in spring and autumn, the houses have no +cellars and are set on low piles. The summers are very warm and the +winters are fairly cold, so the _shoji_, or sliding screen, without +windows, was no doubt developed for that reason. Every house can be +thrown open in summer and closed tightly in winter. As fires are +frequent, no house is expected to last many years, and therefore the +Japanese store their valuables in fire-proof _godowns_. + +The "Flower of Yedo" blossomed gloriously the other night, for hundreds +of the tiny fragile houses went up in smoke, and thousands of people +were made homeless. These Flowers of Yedo are the conflagrations that +time after time spread through wide districts of the Capital with +startling rapidity and leave nothing behind. Two days after the fire, +little houses and fences of fresh new wood were springing up, for the +people have been accustomed from time immemorial to these "Blossoms of +the Flower." + +In olden times the roofs were covered with thatch, but the danger from +fires is so great that this has been replaced on many houses by tiles. +In China it is said that the fashion of curving the roofs of buildings +originated in order that the devil, when sliding down over them, might +be tossed up again; in Japan, there are also curving roofs and--in the +interior of the country--upon the outer walls there are drawings of the +god Jizo, who carries a large sword in both hands to ward off +misfortune. + +In Japanese dwellings the kitchen is at one side of the front door. The +rooms seldom have more than one solid wall, the others consisting of +paper screens. In this solid wall there is always a _toko-noma_, or +alcove, raised about a foot above the floor of the room and perhaps two +feet deep. It should stand opposite the entrance, and is the most +honourable place in the house. Here, where the _kakemono_--a +perpendicular, panel-shaped picture--is hung, and a rare porcelain vase +of flowers may stand, is the seat of honour. At one side of the +_toko-noma_ is a cupboard--the place for the "honourable" book--and +above this is a drawer where the writing-box is kept, also the wooden +pillow. In some houses a square hole is found under the mat, in which a +fire is built for warmth or for cooking purposes. Where there are none +of these "fire holes," prettily decorated jars of charcoal, called +_hibachi_, are used. + +The _shoji_ is often adorned with paintings or made of beautiful carved +wood. The hammered brass, the lacquered and polished wood, and the +superb ceilings add much to the beauty of the homes of the rich. + + [Illustration: A CARVED PANEL.] + +Wood carving, both inside and out, is such a feature of the houses as +well as the temples that it deserves mention here. At the entrances to +fine places and also on the slanting roof over the doorway of the house +itself superb carvings are often seen. So many designs and colours are +introduced, especially on temple gates, that full scope is given to the +imagination and taste of the artist. The famous cat, for instance, on +one of the gates at Nikko, is so wonderfully carved and so life-like +that it is said to frighten the rats away. Bahu, the Eater of Dreams, +and the phoenix and other imaginary animals also appear in Japanese wood +carving. + +Temples are built on rising ground because the people believe that the +gods are pleased with high places. The old castles and temples are finer +architecturally than other buildings, the former, which were built upon +hills or beside great rivers, being extremely picturesque. They are +many-storied, pyramidal structures, with curving roofs and gables +projecting over each story. The buildings generally stand in three +enclosures, each surrounded by a wall or moat, and cover a large extent +of ground. The innermost, chief castle, is a large, square tower, three +or four stories high, in which lived the lord in feudal times. The +gentlemen of the household dwelt within the second enclosure, and in the +outer one the soldiers and servants had their quarters. + +In the erection of castles and pagodas which have stood for many +centuries, the Japanese have shown not only their skill as architects +but also their knowledge of the principles of construction. Castles and +the sides of moats are built of huge blocks of stone, some of those at +Osaka being over thirty feet long and fifteen feet high, but the walls, +slanting from base to apex, are really pyramids, which are supported +within and bound together by enormous timbers. + +Among the most interesting of these old structures are the castle at +Nagoya and that at Kumamoto, in Kyushu; the castle of Himeji is the most +perfectly preserved. Kumamoto was built in its present fashion in 1607, +and in the Saigo rebellion of 1877 it held out successfully against a +large force of rebels, showing no lack of strength in its construction. +The castle at Osaka, one hundred and twenty feet high and commanding an +extensive view over the River Temma and the surrounding country, was +once the finest fortress in the East, but has since been partially +destroyed in various sieges. + + [Illustration: THE CASTLE OF HIMEJI.] + +Pagodas--which are really towers with a series of curving roofs--are +very striking in appearance and most artistic. Some of them have stood +for seven hundred years or more, and many of them are kept upright by an +exceedingly ingenious device. In the centre, suspended from the top by +one end, hangs an immense log, the lower part of which is surrounded by +four other logs of the same size, firmly bolted to it. The base of this +enormous structure is about an inch from the earth at the bottom of the +pagoda, so that it forms a mighty pendulum, which in case of earthquake +sways sufficiently to keep the building stable. + +When we discover that in Japan every person is an artist, we wonder at +the universal deftness and skill in handiwork, until we learn that +Japanese calligraphy is itself a fine art. Every character is an +exercise in freehand drawing, each stroke of the brush, which is filled +with India ink, being made by a quick movement of the forearm without +support for the wrist. + +The methods of Japanese painters are very different from those of +Western artists. They begin work with a burnt twig, often on a piece of +prepared silk, afterward using the brush with India ink and water +colours. Each one values his own special cake of India ink very highly. +They do not draw directly from the object, but study it for hours in +every detail, and then draw from memory. After a picture is well thought +out, its execution may require only five or ten minutes. + +Japanese artists have conventional types of beauty, as the Greeks had. A +woman must have a forehead narrow at the top, eyebrows far above the +eyes, eyelids scarcely visible, and a small mouth. A man should have +greatly exaggerated muscles, and arms and legs placed in almost +impossible attitudes. Their pictures abound in bold, sweeping lines--the +touch of power--and perhaps for that reason, they have great admiration +for Michel Angelo's work. + +Although we may know the colour prints of the Japanese better than their +paintings, it is nevertheless true that their leading painters rank +among the great artists of the world. Pictures were painted for the +aristocracy; the colour prints, which cost but a trifle, were made for +the common people. Painting was introduced into Japan by Buddhist +priests, and some of the finest masterpieces are shut up from the world +in the temples of Buddha. Many of them, however, have been reproduced in +the beautiful series of wood cuts published by the Japanese Government. +America has two collections of the original paintings which are finer +than any in Europe--that in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the +Freer collection in Detroit. + +Painting, as a fine art, has existed in Japan for twelve centuries. The +oldest picture recorded is said to have been done on the wall of a +temple at Nara in the early part of the seventh century. The ninth +century was the first great literary and artistic era of Japan, when +Kanaoka lived, who is called the greatest master in the whole history of +Japanese painting. His works included not only Buddhistic figures but +also animals, landscapes and portraits. + +Tradition has it that the peasants in the neighbourhood of a certain +Buddhist temple were greatly troubled on account of the havoc wrought in +their gardens by the nightly visits of some large animal. Setting a +watch, they discovered the intruder to be a magnificent black horse, +which took refuge from his pursuers in the temple. They entered, but no +horse was there, except one superbly painted by Kanaoka. As they stood +beneath the picture, drops of sweat fell upon them--the horse was hot +and steaming! Then one of the peasants caught up a brush, and painted +into the picture a halter which fastened the horse to a post. This was +effective; he never again foraged in the peasants' gardens. + +The earliest purely Japanese school was the Tosa, which originated in +the tenth century. A glorious artistic period covered the three +centuries from the eleventh to the fourteenth. It was in 1351 that the +great Cho Densu was born, who has been styled "the Fra Angelico of +Japan." By some critics he is ranked with Kanaoka himself. Although he +was a Buddhist priest he did not confine himself to religious subjects, +but was equally great in other lines. + +The Kano School was founded in the fifteenth century. This was the +period of the masters of landscape painting, among whom Sesshiu is the +most famous. His landscapes are full of grandeur and dignity, but it is +said his figure paintings must be seen before his power can be +appreciated. He went to China for study, but to his disappointment could +find no artist who could teach him anything he did not already know. +Then he said, "Nature shall be my teacher; I will go to the woods, the +mountains and the streams, and learn of them." As he travelled through +the country in carrying out his purpose, he found Chinese artists came +to study with him. The Emperor of China engaged him to paint a series of +panels on the walls of the palace in Peking, and on one of them, as +testimony that the work was done by a Japanese painter, he depicted the +peerless Fuji. + +In the seventeenth century arose the Ukioye, or Popular School, of which +Moronobu and Hokusai were the great artists. They are perhaps even +better known for their prints. The Naturalistic School, more like +European work than that of the earlier artists, was founded by Okio in +the eighteenth century. To this group belonged Ippo, a fine landscapist, +and Sosen, one of the famous animal painters of the world, particularly +known for his pictures of monkeys. + +Yosai, who died in 1878, was the last great Japanese painter. He studied +in all the schools, and combined some of the best characteristics of +each. Since his death there have been clever painters but no great +artists. + +Like many other things in Japan to-day, her art of painting is in the +transition stage. There are two schools, the conservatives, who cling to +the art of ancient days, and the progressives, who believe that they +must borrow fresh conceptions from the Western masters, and feel that +want of reality has been a defect in the old Japanese work. However, in +copying Western methods, they are introducing vulgar subjects, from +which Japanese painting has generally been free. At the art exhibitions +of 1913 there were ninety-three who entered oil paintings; this alone +shows the great change in their work. While the Japanese painters of +to-day cannot escape the influence of European art, it is to be hoped +that they will not lose the delicacy of treatment, the subtle +suggestiveness, and the grace and sweep of line that belonged to the old +masters. + +To my mind the most interesting things for Europeans to collect in Japan +are the prints, which first came in vogue about 1690. The Japanese have, +in these, added a charm quite their own to every thought which they have +received from other nations. The conditions under which the artists +worked in olden times were most favourable, for they lived under the +protection of the great _daimyos_, were supplied with the necessities of +life, and were free from care. + +Mr. Keane, of Yokohama, is an authority on old prints, of which he has +made several collections. "We lunched one day with him at his home in +the upper part of his office building on the Bund, in Yokohama. (When +foreign merchants first went to Japan they always lived over their +places of business.) The view over the sparkling harbour and away off to +the horizon, where little fleets of slanting-sailed sampans were working +their way up the Bay of Yedo with the sunlight striking their sails, was +really superb. Mr. Keane stores his prints in a safe, but for the +enjoyment of his guests he took them out on the day of the luncheon. +They were so much finer and more interesting than the common, every-day +prints of the dealers that they quite took our breath away. + +Of American collections, that of Mr. William Spalding, in Boston, is +particularly good, including, as it does, some beautiful rare figures in +black and white by Matabei, the father of the Ukioye school of painting, +from which the art of colour printing is derived. Mr. Spalding has +hand-coloured prints by Moronobu, some of which are in orange-red and +old rose. In some cases the paper of the old prints takes on a beautiful +yellow autumn glow with age, which adds to their beauty. The colours +yellow, black, orange and green were introduced about 1765. For the +orange-red and old rose red-lead (_tan_) was used, hence the prints of +this kind were called _tan-ye_, and are of great value to-day. Moronobu +was a wonderful draughtsman, and his figures in black and white are +greatly prized. + +Masanobu and Kiyonobu were prominent among the early artists, but the +perfection of technique in prints was reached under Kiyonaga. + +Utamaro, who became the leading print designer of his day, lived in the +latter part of the eighteenth century, when the art of making these wood +cuts was at its best. Unfortunately his whole life was a career of +dissipation; his father disowned him, and he was finally put in prison +for libelling the Shogun. Soon after that, his health gave way, and he +died at the age of fifty-three. Toward the end of his life, however, he +was so popular and so overwhelmed with commissions that in his endeavour +to fulfill orders his later work degenerated. Utamaro's style was copied +by his pupils, and his signature was so often forged that it is +difficult to pick out his prints. His chief works were pictures of +_geishas_, in which the long lines of the kimonos are much admired. His +were the first colour prints to reach Europe through the Dutch. + +Toyokuni was another master of the same period, whose favourite subjects +were actors in character. In this sort of print and in his technique he +was unsurpassed. + +Hiroshige--two of whose pupils took his name--lived at the beginning of +the downfall of Japanese colour printing. He was a prolific worker, and +his wood cuts are delicate and seldom show strong contrasts. He is +especially noted for landscapes, and did views of the Inland Sea, of +snow scenes, and of mists and rains, in very delicate pastel colours. +Eight famous views of Lake Biwa, as well as several sets of the Tokaido, +were done by this artist. Heads by Sharaku with a silver background are +very striking, and have lately become the rage in Paris. They certainly +have strength and individuality, but they are hideous beyond words. He +was especially fond of doing actors, and the faces are full of +expression. + +Hokusai, whom Whistler called "the greatest pictorial artist since +Vandyke," is placed by European critics at the head of all colour-print +designers, but in Japan is considered second-rate. For one reason, the +Japanese cannot forgive the vulgarity of some of his subjects. We might +well apply to him the name given to the school of art of which he is the +best example--Ukioye, "Mirror of the Passing World." He was born in +1760, and started as an engraver, but became a book-illustrator at an +early age. At eighteen he went into the studio of Shunsho as a pupil, +but his work was so original and so unlike his master's that he was soon +expelled. After that, he was so poor that he peddled in the streets of +Tokyo. + +Later, Hokusai collaborated with the successful novelist Bakin for many +years. The famous set of prints of a hundred views of Fuji, the series +of the waterfalls of Japan, the noted bridges, the scenes in the Loochoo +Islands, as well as the views of the Tokaido, were all done in the +latter part of his life. Hokusai used strong colours, and produced fine +work. He was most unfortunate in having all his original studies +destroyed by fire, and as he was careless about money matters he died in +poverty. Just before his death--in 1849--he said, "If fate had given me +but five years more, I should have been able to become a true painter." + + [Illustration: VIEW OF MOUNT FUJIYAMA.--PRINT BY HOKUSAI.] + +Entirely green and entirely red prints, I was told, were rare. I never +saw but one wholly green print in Japan, but that sold for a small sum, +so perhaps I was misinformed as to its value. I was also told that the +prints entirely in red were made to amuse the lepers in olden days, so +were destroyed afterward, hence few exist, but as I find some collectors +never heard of this story, again I am in doubt. The triptychs are +particularly valuable to-day. The long strips--the pillar prints--were +made for the poorer classes, the _kakemono_ for the nobles. Both +paintings and prints are usually in one of two shapes, either the +_kakemono_, or long scroll, or the _makemono_, the horizontal picture. +The former are not framed, so they can easily be rolled and stowed away +when not wanted for decoration. + +The blocks on which the prints were engraved were made of cherry wood, +both sides of which were used for economy's sake. The design on thin +Japanese paper was pasted on the block, face downward, then the wood was +cut by the engraver. Black ink was used in the first stages of the +reproduction. Proofs were then taken by hand-pressure and pasted on +other blocks, one for each colour. "'Each of these colour-blocks was +then cut in a manner to leave a flat surface of the correct form to +receive the pigment proper to it; and the finished print was the result +of a careful and extraordinarily skilful rubbing on all the blocks in +succession, beginning with the key block.'"[12] + + [12] Quoted from Mr. Arthur Morrison, in J. F. Blacker's "The + A B C of Japanese Art." + +Some of the great Japanese painters designed prints, others did not. +Often it is difficult to distinguish by whom a print was designed, +notwithstanding the signature, because artists sometimes gave their own +name to their favourite pupil. For this reason and many others, beware +of the print-dealer. + +The highly developed artistic sense of the Japanese has found expression +in various ways, but their deftness and delicacy of touch has led them +especially to the production of small objects that delight the collector +of curios. There is the _netsuke_ in endless variety; the _inro_, or +small medicine chest; the ornamental sword-hilt; minute wood carvings; +besides bronzes and porcelain in shapes innumerable. + +Collectors will show you with great pride their _netsuke_. These were +worn as ornaments attached to the cord of the tobacco pouch to prevent +it from slipping through the sash. The _inro_ and the pocketbook were +also worn in the same way. The oldest and most valuable _netsuke_ were +made of the heart-wood of the cherry, which becomes a rich brown colour +with age, and some were beautifully carved. + +A very old wooden _netsuke_, which was presented to us, represents the +goddess Uzume-no-Mikoto, popularly known as Okame. She was so beautiful +that she could not be pictured. As it was impossible to reproduce her +charms, a face was chosen to represent her that in no way was a +likeness, but was sufficiently individual never to be mistaken. She is +made very fat in the cheeks, and sits in the shade of a mushroom. + +_Netsuke_ are also found in ivory, bone and jade. Many are images of +gods and goddesses, and some are humourous figures. A beautiful ivory +one that was given us is in the form of a turtle, which signifies long +life, but on the under side is one of the seven gods of luck with his +shiny bald head. + +During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the _inro_ was worn as an +ornament, and no man of taste would consider himself well dressed +without it. This led many of the great artists to design them. Among the +well-known _inro_ artists were Jokasai, Iizuka and Saiihara-Ichidayu, +but there are so many others who are noted in Japan that it is +impossible to give them all here. Some of the finest specimens of their +work are found to-day in the Imperial Museum in Tokyo. Many of these are +of lacquer, minutely and exquisitely carved, those in gold lacquer and +dark red being the most valuable. + +There are lacquer vases and boxes, too, but the fine old lacquers are +not easy to get nowadays. Writing-boxes, some of which are in charming +designs, are also much in demand for collectors. Some of our +writing-boxes are of deeply carved old red lacquer, depicting houses and +landscapes. One is of gold and black with tinted maple leaves, exquisite +in design. Another has a background of speckled gold, on which are dwarf +cherry trees with blossoms of enamel, and still another of gold lacquer +is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. + +Sculpture, like painting, was brought to Japan by Buddhist priests, and +many of the earliest statues were figures of gods and goddesses. These +were usually of bronze or wood, not so often of stone. As early as the +seventh century fine bronzes were cast at Nara, and over a hundred +altar-pieces of that period are still in existence in Japan. To a +somewhat later age belongs the colossal Buddha of Nara, the largest +statue ever cast in bronze. The Great Buddha of Kamakura, rather smaller +but of finer workmanship than that at Nara, is believed to date from the +thirteenth century. + +Old bronzes are much sought after by collectors, the best dating from +the seventeenth century. Vast numbers of gods and goddesses and mythical +animals were made of small size to be set up in houses as well as +temples. Among these some of the Buddhas and Kwannons are fine. Buddha +has many attitudes--sleeping, exhorting or meditating--and all are +interesting. + +Temple-lanterns, candlesticks, bells and incense-burners were also made +of bronze in forms showing great wealth of imagination. The beautiful +old bronzes are of several kinds--gold and silver, and many shades of +green and brown. The gold bronze takes on a wonderful polish, and can be +made in different colours according to the proportions of the metals +used in the alloys, varying from a deep-blue violet to a red-yellow or a +golden green. The silver bronze has a fine silver-grey tint. These +metals are also used in combination with gold lacquers and with +mother-of-pearl and silver, or are encrusted with charming relief +designs in enamels. + +In the entrance hall of our Washington house is a huge green bronze +Buddha, at least ten feet high, with tight curls upon his head, +half-shut eyes, and the big ear-lobes, which signify longevity. In the +bronze halo about his head are small figures of Kwannon, and Chinese +characters decorate his garment. With one hand uplifted, he sits serene +and imperturbable, cross-legged on his lotus flower. + +Not far from the Buddha is a bronze Kwannon about five feet high, a +gracefully draped figure, standing on a large petal of the lotus. About +her neck are jewels, and behind her crown is a small image of Buddha, +typifying her ever-present thought of him. + +We also have a shrine that we prize greatly--a modern shrine, perhaps +five feet in height, such as is found in a Japanese gentleman's house. +The exterior is of black lacquer, but when the folding doors are open, +the interior is seen to be golden. In the centre stands a small Buddha; +the wise men--his advisers--sit cross-legged on either side. The carving +in this shrine is slightly tinted in colours, mixed with gold, and is +indescribably fine and beautiful. A _No_ dance is depicted for the +entertainment of the Buddha, above which are palaces, people and +animals, supposed to represent scenes in heaven. On either side hang two +bronze lanterns. On the table before the shrine are the ceremonial +utensils, consisting of an incense-burner, two flower vases, and two +candelabra. Below is a gong for the devotee to strike, in order to call +the Buddha's attention, and near-by is the box containing the holy +books. + +In feudal days the _samurai_ went into battle clad in breast-plate and +helmet, gauntlets and coat-of-mail, all of which were adorned by the +armourer's skill, but the most beautiful decorations were lavished upon +the sword--"the soul of the _samurai_." The _shakudo_--sword-hilt--is a +curio that people collect. The inlaying and overlaying and blending of +metals that was done on arms and armour in olden times was marvellous, +and even the metal-work of to-day is remarkably clever. Besides the +sword-hilt, there was the sword-guard, a flat piece of metal, often in +exquisite designs. + +Pottery from Korea and porcelain from China, of course, had some +influence in Japan. The Japanese are considered very fine potters, +perhaps the best in the world, and their old ware is highly prized. The +handsome old pottery made in Kyoto and also that of Bizen are much +valued by Japanese collectors, and the work of such famous men as +Nomura, Ninsei, and others is highly esteemed. Old Imari and Arita wares +are considered choice, as well as Satsuma, but all of them, especially +Satsuma, are much imitated to-day. + +The Arita, a blue ware, is thought very pretty, but not until after +German methods were introduced did it attain perfection. The Seto +porcelain, made in the Tokugawa Period, is very well known. Kutani is +especially popular in America, and Awada ware is also in demand in the +foreign market. The cream-white made to-day in Kyoto is particularly +attractive. Neither the ancient nor the modern Japanese porcelains, +however, compare with the old Chinese, some people even going so far as +to say that the only things in the Far East worth collecting are old +Chinese porcelains. + +Incense-burners are made in porcelain and bronze, and are beautifully +modelled in the form of gods and goddesses, and of birds and other +animals. Curiously enough, besides their office in worship, they were +used in playing a game, which consisted in guessing the name of the +perfume that was burning. + +There are attractive lacquer and porcelain _saké_ cups to collect, and +so many charming modern things that I will not mention any more, except +the wonderful crystal balls, so clear and mysterious that they quite +hypnotize you if you look into their depths. The legend called "The +Crystal of Buddha" seems to show that these balls were originally +introduced from China. I insert the story here in order that we may +always be reminded of the delightful mythology of Japan as well as of +the treasures of the land. In a few words it is this: + +A beautiful Japanese girl became the wife of the Emperor of China. +Before she left Japan, she promised to send back three treasures to the +Temple of Kofukuji. The Chinese Emperor found her very charming and +loved her very much, and when she told him of her promise, he put before +her many curios to choose from. She finally decided upon three fairy +treasures--a musical instrument which would continue to play for ever, +an ink-stone box which was inexhaustible, and the last, in Madame +Ozaki's words, "A beautiful crystal in whose clear depths was to be seen +from whichever side you looked, an image of Buddha riding on a white +elephant. The jewel was of transcendent glory, and shone like a star, +and whoever gazed into its liquid depths and saw the blessed vision of +Buddha had peace of heart for evermore." + +But alas! while the treasures were on their way to Japan, there arose a +terrible storm, during which the crystal ball was stolen by the Dragon +King of the Sea. A poor fisherwoman at last found it shining in the +depths of the ocean. While in bathing, "she suddenly became aware of the +roofs of the palace of the Sea King, a great and gorgeous building of +coral, relieved here and there with clusters of many-coloured seaweeds. +The palace was like a huge pagoda rising tier upon tier. She perceived a +bright light, more brilliant than the light of many moons. It was the +light of Buddha's crystal placed on the pinnacle of this vast abode, and +on every side of the shining jewel were guardian dragons fast asleep, +appearing to watch even in their slumber." The fisherwoman stole the +jewel, but it cost her her life. In reward for her bravery her son was +brought up as a _samurai_, so the wish she had most at heart was +gratified. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI + + SAYONARA DAI NIPPON + + +At the close of the last administration, L. resigned his post, and with +real regret we prepared to leave the Land of a Million Swords. We had +experienced nothing but the pleasantest relations with the Japanese, nor +had we at any time heard of rudeness to Americans. + +The day we sailed L. was besieged with people who came to say good-bye. +Among those who called were Mr. Sakai and Mr. Yoshida, for the Foreign +Office. Mr. Matsui, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, brought us a +superb basket of flowers, while Mr. Nagasaki, Master of Ceremonies at +Court, presented us with some orchids from the Imperial greenhouse. + +Best of all, as we thought at the time, Mr. Baba, Master of Ceremonies +to the Empress, came with a magnificent gold lacquer box from Her +Majesty. We received him in state in the parlour, and with much ceremony +and repeated bows he presented the gift, accompanying it with many +pleasant messages from the Empress. In return we bowed and expressed our +gratitude for the great honour, speaking of our love for the country and +our deep regret at leaving, and adding that we should always have the +happiest memories of our stay in beautiful Japan. The most gratifying +token of appreciation, however, has come to my husband since his +withdrawal from the diplomatic service. This is the grand cordon of the +Order of the Rising Sun, First Class, conferred in recognition of his +efforts to promote friendly relations between this country and Japan. + +Many people telephoned to know by what train we were leaving, but we +decided to slip away to Yokohama in the motor. We looked for the last +time at the Embassy, with its pretty garden, where we had been so happy, +and getting into the car were shot out of the porte-cochère and around +the circle, waving good-bye to some of the Staff and the servants who +stood bowing at the door. + +At the Consulate in Yokohama L. joined Mr. Sammons, the Consul-General, +and went to a luncheon at the Grand Hotel given in his honour by the +Asiatic and Columbia Societies, which are composed of the American +colony. All joined in drinking his health and in wishing him a pleasant +voyage and a speedy return. In answer L. said that during his all too +brief stay in Japan he had come to realize the great cordiality and +hospitality of the American community in Yokohama and other cities, and +this realization made it all the harder for him to say farewell. After +adding that each visit to Japan only made him like the country better, +he closed by saying that while he was about to cease to be officially +the Ambassador from one country to the other, he yet looked forward to +being in the future, unofficially, an ambassador between the two, and +hoped that he would soon see many of those present at his home, where +they would always be welcome. + +I went to Mrs. Sammons' luncheon, where she had several ladies as +guests. The table decorations were exquisite, in Japanese style. After +luncheon Mrs. Sammons took me in her motor to the wharf, where we found +L. waiting for us with a number of people who had come to see us off. +Everybody cheered as we boarded the launch, which took us to the +steamer; there we found baskets of flowers, candies, books, and other +gifts awaiting us. + +In a few minutes the big ship began to shake and the water to rush by, +and we knew that we were off. Soon the sun, a great red disk--fitting +national emblem of Japan!--went down in the glow of the dying day. Above +the darkness, which settled on earth and sea, rose the mysterious cone +of "O Fuji-San," seeming detached from all that was earthly below, a +divine spirit of a mountain-top, which slowly disappeared as the night +filled the heavens with stars. + +As I sat in my steamer chair I had time to think again and again of the +land and the people we had left behind. I remembered with pleasure the +pretty, gentle women with their laughing, almond-eyed babies riding +happily on their mothers' backs, and recalled with admiration the +Spartan men, so loyal to their country. Closing my eyes I seemed to see +the quaint little streets, lined on either side with paper houses, in +front of which gay toys were displayed for sale. Industrious workmen, +making curious objects with their deft fingers, sat in their doorways, +and painters also, designing fantastic animals of the imagination. Once +I seemed to catch the perfume of the plum blossoms, and with it I +dreamed of golden temples on the hillside and thought I heard a Buddhist +priest muttering to himself, "All beings are only dreaming in this +fleeting world of unhappiness." + +Mixed in the fantastic medley of this dream passed the animals of the +years--the strutting cock of 1912, the stolid bullock of 1913, and in +the distance the crouching tiger of the year to come. Then I saw the +little apes of Nikko, sitting motionless before me--Mizaru, who sees no +evil, Kikazaru, who hears no evil, and Mazaru, who speaks no evil. Above +them all flew the H-oo, the guiding bird of good omen, which only +appears to herald the coming of peace and prosperity. May he bring them +both to Japan! + + [Illustration: THE LITTLE APES OF NIKKO.] + +Many times since, on looking back, it has seemed as if Dai Nippon must +be all a dream--a fairy island, perhaps, conjured out of the sea by some +mighty giant. I often wonder if it did not truly sink into the sea +beneath the red eye of the setting sun. + +When I am troubled about this, I get out Osame's letter and read it +again. It came to us soon after we reached home, and is very reassuring. +In order that you, too, may know that Japan is real, I will let you read +it. + + "DEAR EXCELLENCY," he wrote L., "when the first news of your + coming to Japan announced I could not feel but the happiest news + like from Heaven, and only waited the day might flew to your + arriving date. The joy and happiness reached its maximum height + when I had the pleasure and delight of meeting you and Madam + once more at Kharbin. Three years passed since your last visit + and you and Madam had not least changed, like the peerless Fuji + towering high above the clouds I wished I had power to show you + the appreciation and gratitude I always indebted to you, but it + was vain effort. + + "However Heaven blessed me that you had an interview three years + ago with late Emperor and now again with His Majesty his son, we + look up to them like a living God enthroned since 666 B.C. I was + so pleased. Now alas you passed away again from Japan at four + o'clock on the fifteenth instant. As I left the ship I could not + utter a word with the heart-rending unhappiness of parting from + you. The launch blew the whistle thrice, and puffing out a great + column of smoke she slowly moved away. I saw you fading sight + and thanked you for your kindness of watching me until we could + not discern each other. And the joy and happiness rolled with + the waves following your course. With no sign of encouragement I + reached shore and out the dream. I ran to the Post Office to + send a cable. + + "I hope you are enjoying the best health and the best time. Do + not forget this humble Osame, always with you no matter what + part of the planet you may travel, and always glad and feel + happy to hear. + + "Please recommend me to one who come to Japan. + + "I hope I may be a little service to you for the rare + opportunity and honour in my life. With the best wishes for you + and Okusuma, anxiously awaiting to hear I remain + + "Your humble servant, + "OSAME KOMORI." + +So it ends, and so likewise, respectfully bowing, the "Rustic Wife" +makes her last apologies and bids the "Honourable Reader _sayonara_!" + + + THE END. + + + + + BIBLIOGRAPHY + + + ANDERSON, WILLIAM: Japanese Wood Engravings + + ANETHAN, BARONESS ALBERT D': Fourteen Years of Diplomatic Life in + Japan + + ARNOLD, SIR EDWIN: Azuma, or The Japanese Wife. A Tragedy in Four Acts + + AVERILL, MARY: Japanese Flower Arrangement + + + BACON, ALICE MABEL: Japanese Girls and Women + + BINYON, ROBERT LAURENCE: Japanese Art. (In International Art Series) + + BLACKER, J. F.: The A B C of Japanese Art + + BRINKLEY, F. A.: Japan and China + + BROWNELL, C. L.: The Heart of Japan + + BURTON, MARGARET E.: The Education of Women in Japan + + + CHAMBERLAIN, BASIL HALL: Handbook for Travellers in Japan + ---- Things Japanese + ---- Aino Fairy Tales + + CLEMENT, E. W.: Handbook of Modern Japan + + + DAVIS, F. HADLAND: Myths and Legends of Japan + + DICK, STEWART: Arts and Crafts of Old Japan. (In The World of Art + Series) + + + GORDON, REV. M. L.: An American Missionary in Japan + + GRIFFIS, WILLIAM ELLIOT: Fairy Tales of Old Japan + ---- Hepburn of Japan + ---- Townsend Harris, First American Envoy in Japan + ---- The Mikado's Empire + + GULICK, SIDNEY L.: The American Japanese Problem + ---- Evolution of the Japanese + + + HARADA, TASUKU: The Faith of Japan + + HARRISON, E. J.: The Fighting Spirit of Japan + + HEARN, LAFCADIO: Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan. (See also other works + by the same author) + + HONDA, K.: Japanese Gardens. (In "European and Japanese Gardens") + + + MENPES, MORTIMER: Japan: A Record in Colour + + MITFORD, A. B. F.: Tales of Old Japan + + MORRISON, ARTHUR: The Painters of Japan + + + NITOBE, INAZO: Bushido: The Soul of Japan + ---- The Japanese Nation + ---- Thoughts and Essays + + + OKUMA, COUNT SHIGENOBU: Fifty Years of New Japan + + OZAKI, YEI THEODORA: Warriors of Old Japan + + + PASTEUR, VIOLET M.: Gods and Heroes of Old Japan + + PORTER, ROBERT P.: The Full Recognition of Japan + + PORTER, WILLIAM N.: A Hundred Verses from Old Japan: being a + translation of the Hyaku-Nin-Isshiu + + + RANSOME, J. STAFFORD: Japan in Transition + + + SCIDMORE, ELIZA R.: Jinrikisha Days in Japan + + SEIDLITZ, W. VON: A History of Japanese Colour Prints + + SINGLETON, ESTHER: Japan as Seen and Described by Famous Writers + + SMITH, R. GORDON: Ancient Tales of Folklore of Japan + + STRANGE, EDWARD F.: The Colour Prints of Japan. (In Langham Series of + Art Monographs) + + + TERRY, T. PHILIP: The Japanese Empire + + + + + INDEX + + A + + "A B C of Japanese Art," 366 + + Abe, Mr., 97 + + Adams, Mrs. Douglas, 234, 240 + + Ainus, 35, 274, 275, 277-291 + + Akasaka, 43, 73, 332, 333 + + Akashi, General, 18 + + Akashi Straits, 322 + + Akiko, 241 + + Altai Mountains, 2 + + Ama-no-Hashidate, 315 + + Ama-no-kagu, 238 + + Ama-terasu, 34, 137 + + Amaterasu-Omikami, 158 + + Ambassador, American, 41, 43, 45, 59, 81, 82, 84, 86, 87, 91, + 92; French, 90 + + America, 54, 55, 58, 71, 94, 102, 115, 124-126, 148, 172, 195, + 196, 200, 201, 205, 213, 235, 253, 340, 357, 372; diplomatic + service in, 41 + + American Board (of Foreign Missions), 207, 208 + + "American Japanese Problem, The," 118 + + Americans, 112, 117, 207 + + Amida, 174, 175 + + "Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan," 219 + + Anethan, Baroness d', 170 + + Anezaki, Professor, 212 + + Aoyama, 78, 79 + + Arabia, 263 + + Arabs, 182 + + Arai, 312, 313 + + Argentina, 119, 120, 122 + + Arita, 372 + + Arnell, Mr., 260, 274 + + Arnold, Mr., 260 + + Arsenal Gardens, 347; (Korakuen), 348, 349 + + Asaka, Prince, 75 + + Asakusa Kwannon, 268 + + Asano, Lord of Ako, 62, 63 + + Asa, 237 + + Atami, 303, 305, 314 + + Atsuta, 313 + + Attachés, Naval and Military, 64, 96 + + Australia, 47, 114, 263 + + Austria, 96 + + Ayaha Festival, 158 + + Azuma-Bashi, 309 + + + B + + Baba, Mr., 375 + + Bacon, Miss Alice M., author, 148 + + Bahu, the Eater of Dreams, 323 + + Baikal, Lake, 3 + + Bakin, 230, 364 + + Baptists, 207 + + Bashô, epigram by, 140 + + Bean Night, 147 + + Benquet Road, 301 + + Benten, 299, 300 + + Benten-jima, 313 + + Bergson, 212 + + "Beyond, The," 240 + + Bismarck, quoted, 37 + + Biwa, Lake, 315, 316, 363 + + Bizen, 272 + + Blacker, J. F., 366 + + Bluff, the, 261, 296 + + Boardman, Miss, 16 + + Boshu Peninsula, 307 + + Boston, 50, 71, 361; Back Bay of, 50; Museum of Fine Arts, 357 + + Boys' Festival, 153, 336 + + Brazil, 119-122 + + Brazilians, 42 + + British, 117; Islands, 112 + + Broadway, 55 + + Brookline, Mass., 342 + + Brownell, Mr., 111, 226 + + Brownings, of Japan, 241 + + Brussels, last sight of, 1; to Kyoto, 3; palace in, 74 + + Bryan, Dr., 28, 329 + + Bryan, Secretary, 118 + + Bryn Mawr, 196 + + Buddha, 29, 35, 51, 61, 142, 152, 153, 174, 175, 177-179, 184, + 297, 318, 357, 369-371, 373, 374 + + Buddhism, 160, 164, 173, 174, 184, 211, 328; in Korea, 16 + + Buddhist, 29, 46, 166, 196, 210, 213 + + _Bushido_, 164, 184-188 + + + C + + Caldwell, Mrs., 58 + + California, 59, 114-119 + + Canada, 274 + + Carolingians, 36 + + Catholics, Roman, 17 + + Central America, 114 + + Chamberlain, Professor, translation by, 138, 185 + + Champ de Mars, 78 + + Changchun, 4, 5 + + Chemulpo, 205 + + Chiba, 308 + + Chicago of Japan, the, 126 + + Chikamatsu, 243 + + Chile, 119 + + China, 19, 20, 45, 46, 55, 112, 120, 123-125, 133, 134, 156, + 203, 209, 326, 329, 331, 349, 350, 352, 359, 373; suzerainty of, + 12; Sea, 324 + + Chinese, 35, 141, 158, 200, 329 + + Chionin Temple, 28 + + Cho Densu, 358 + + Chosen (Korea), 6, 16, 17 + + Christianity, 201, 211, 212 + + Christians, 210, 213 + + Church, Roman, 184, 200 + + Chuzenji, 310 + + Clement, E. W., translator, 140 + + _Cleveland_, 93 + + Columbus, 133 + + Confucianism, 16, 211 + + Confucius, 184, 189, 329 + + Congregationalists, 207 + + Copts, 114 + + Corps, Diplomatic, 76, 77, 80, 90, 171 + + Court (Imperial), 52, 64, 74, 75, 76, 80, 97, 239; of St. James, + 76; Shogun's, 142 + + Crawford, Marion, 96 + + Crown Prince, 50, 74 + + + D + + Daiba Pass, 305 + + Dai Butsu, 29, 317 + + Daini-No-Sammi, 238 + + _Dakota_, 308 + + Dalny, 13 + + Dango-zaka, 330 + + Danjuro, 253, 254 + + Daredesuka, 226-228 + + Davis, F. Hadland, author, 219 + + Dick, 46 + + Dickinson, Mr., 80; Mrs., 81 + + Diet, 98, 99, 101 + + Dolls' Festival, 147-150 + + Doshisha University, 210 + + Dutch, 42, 243, 363 + + + E + + Eastern Capital, 36 + + East River of Heaven, 156 + + Ebisu, 160 + + Egypt, 329, 330 + + Eighty Myriads of Gods, 137 + + Eikibo, 226-228 + + Elizabethan Era, 230 + + Embassy, American, 40, 42, 43, 45, 47, 52, 57, 60, 61, 64, 65, + 69, 70, 81, 93-96, 101, 143, 146, 188, 193, 274, 298, 346; + Italian, 52 + + Emperor, the present, 24, 35, 50, 61, 64, 68, 70-76, 79, 80, 84, + 99, 161, 177, 261, 380 + + Empress, the present, 69, 72, 75, 76, 79, 81, 375, 376; Dowager, + 79, 95, 205, 206 + + Engineering College, 197 + + England, 97, 124, 255, 330 + + Enoshima, 293, 299, 300, 303 + + Episcopalians, 207 + + Eucken, 212 + + Europe, 85, 91, 96, 116, 120-122, 125, 126, 130, 134, 200, 253, + 357, 363 + + Europeans, 48, 116, 120, 339 + + + F + + "Fairy Tales of Old Japan," 215 + + Feast of the Oven, 162 + + Fenner, Mr. J. A., 274, 277, 287, 288 + + Festival of the Dead, 157 + + "Fighting Spirit of Japan, The," quoted, 211, 267 + + Fire-God, 296 + + Florin, 118 + + Formosa, 13, 19, 114, 133, 206, 243; description of, 19-22 + + Forty-Seven Ronins, 61-63, 185, 243, 245, 256 + + Fox Temple Festival, 146 + + France, 241, 330 + + Freer (collection), 357 + + French, 42 + + Ferrero, Guglielmo, 119 + + Fuigo Matsuri, 161 + + Fuji, 4, 20, 183, 299, 300, 302, 339, 340, 359, 364, 378, 380 + + Fukuroi, 312 + + Fukushima, 311 + + Fushimi, Prince, 71; (Higashi), 76; Princess, 76 + + + G + + Gare du Nord, 1 + + _Genro_, 99 + + "Gentlemen's Agreement," 115 + + Germany, 55, 100, 124, 203 + + Ghosts of the Circle of Penance, 157 + + Gifu, 314 + + Ginza, the, 55 + + Gion Festival, 154 + + Go-chiku, 30 + + God of Long Breath, 301 + + Gordon, Dr., 105 + + Gosho Palace, 29, 32 + + Gotimba, 303, 314 + + Grand Hotel, 376 + + Great Bell, Kyoto, 29 + + Great Britain, 124 + + Great Council, 87 + + Greece, 243, 255 + + Greeks, 118, 184, 356 + + Greene, Rev. Dr., 208, 212 + + Griffis, Dr. W. E., quoted, 185, 215 + + Guiccioli, Marchesa, 90 + + Gulick, Dr. Sidney L., quoted, 118 + + + H + + Hachiro Tametomo, 219-226 + + Hakone, 302; Pass, 296; Range, 302 + + Haky-i and Shiky-sei, 349 + + Hamano, 308; Lagoon, 312 + + Harashiyawa, 316 + + Harikiku, 247 + + Harima, 319 + + Harris, Mr. Townsend, 84-89 + + Harrison, Mr. E. J., author, 211, 212, 266 + + Hawaii, 113 + + Hearn (Lafcadio), quoted, 83, 151, 173, 234, 235; referred to, + 103, 168 + + Hepburn, Dr., 203, 209 + + Heusken, Mr., 87, 88 + + Hideyoshi, 29 + + Himeji, 355 + + Hindoos, 182 + + Hirado, 324 + + Hiroshige, 363 + + Hiroshima, 322 + + Hokkaido, 35, 274, 275, 285, 292, 320 + + Hokusai, 359, 364 + + Holland, 296, 346 + + Hongwanji, Eastern and Western, 29; Eastern, 175; Garden, 178 + + Honolulu, 207 + + H-oo, 379 + + Horikawa, Lady, 238 + + Hosigaoko (in Sanno), 271 + + + Horse Day, 146 + + Household, Imperial, 72 + + Hudson, the, 322 + + Hyde, Miss, 51 + + Hyogo (Kobe), 127, 319 Point, 322 + + + I + + Ichinomiya, 308 + + Ichiriki Tea-house, 245 + + Icliejo-Tadado, 79 + + _Ike-bana_, 336-338, 345 + + Ikegami, 160 + + Ikko, 174, 175 + + Imari, 272 + + Imazu, 315 + + Imperial University, 197, 212 Theatre, 251, 252 Museum, 368 + + Inada, Princess, 154 + + Inage, 308 + + India, 124, 200, 328 Southern, 174 + + Indians, 118 + + Inland, Sea, 35, 155, 183, 294, 320-324, 339, 363 + + Ippo, 359 + + Irving, Henry, 254 + + Ise, Temple of, 4, 84; shrine of, 34, 167, 168, 183 + + Italians, 47, 118, 119 + + Italy, 96 + + Ito, Prince, 83, 98, 99 + + _Itsukushima_, 155 + + Iyeyasu, Tokugawa, 37, 180; Precepts of, 182 + + Izanagi, 34, 113 + + Izanami, 34, 113 + + Izumo, 159 + + + J + + Jaehne, 45 + + Japan Club of Harvard University, 14 + + "Japanese Empire, The," 27 + + "Japanese Girls and Women," quoted, 148-150 + + "Japanese Nation, The," 189 + + _Japan Magazine_, 115, 240, 303, 329 + + Jesuit, 37 + + Jew, 119 + + Jimmu Tenno, 35, 235 + + Jingo, Empress, 36, 163 + + "Jinrikisha Days," 16, 244 + + Jito, Empress, 238 + + Jizo, 172, 173, 352 + + Johnson, Governor, 118 + + Jokusai, Iizuka, and Saiihara-Ichidayu, 368 + + K + + Kadenokuji and Kiogo, Viscounts, 271 + + Kagawa, Countess, 82 + + Kaka, 173 + + Kai, 333 + + Kamakura, 251, 293, 296-299, 369 + + Kamazawa, 316 + + Kameido, 328 + + Kameoka, 315 + + Kamisana, 321 + + Kanagawa, 203 + + Kanaoka, 357, 358 + + Kan-chiku, 30 + + Kaneko, Baron, 14 + + Kanemori Taira, 237 + + Kan-in, Prince and Princess, 71, 75 + + Kano, 314; School, 358 + + Katsura, Prince, 71, 97, 99, 100 + + Katsu-ura, 308 + + Kawamori, 315 + + Keane, Mr., 361 + + Kengyu (Aquila), 156 + + Keum-Kang-San, peaks of, 16 + + Keyser, Lieutenant, 274, 277, 278, 280, 281, 287, 288 + + Kharbin, 3, 5, 13, 380 + + _Kiai_, 186 + + Kido, 190 + + Kii, 320 + + Kikugoro, 253 + + Kinokiyama, 315 + + Kira, 62, 63 + + Kishu, Prince, 333 + + Kiyomisu, 349 + + Kiyomori, 220 + + Kiyonaga, 362 + + Kiyonobu, 362 + + Kitzuki, 167, 168, 254 + + Knox, Mr., 26 + + Kobe, 123, 126, 293, 318-321 + + Kodama, Countess, 16; Count, 18 + + Kofukuji, 373 + + Kojin, 152 + + Kompira, 184 + + Komura, Baron, 14 + + Konosu (Hyaku Ana), 307 + + Korea, 1, 3, 6, 10, 21, 36, 114, 133, 163, 198, 315, 371; + mourning in, 7; dethroned Emperor and Empress of, 11; Empress + Bin of, 11; history of, 12-15; religions, 16; missions, 17, 18; + Crown Prince of, 259; southern, 18, 19 + + Koreans, 35, 200, 259, 315 + + Koro Halcho, 320 + + Kosai Maru, 206 + + Koshiro Matsumoto, 254 + + Koya-san, 183 + + Kozo Ozaki, 230 + + Kozu, 303, 312, 314 + + Kumamoto, 355 + + Kushiro, 274, 275, 277 + + Kutani and Awada, 372 + + Kutchare, Lake, 277 + + Kwannon, 297, 298, 318, 369, 370 + + Kyoka Izumi, 231 + + Kyoto, 23, 24, 27, 34, 36, 39, 40, 44, 154, 162, 175, 215, 217, + 218, 237, 293, 299, 311, 314-316, 318, 319, 349, 372; Brussels + to, 3; description of, 28; prefecture, 33; _geishas_ of, 245, + 248 + + Kyushu, 221, 324, 355 + + + L + + Lancers, Imperial, 64, 78 + + Landsborough, Mr., 118 + + "Latin-American A-B-C," 119 + + Laughing Festival of Wasa, 159, 160 + + Liaotung Peninsula, 13 + + London, 59, 76 + + Loochoo Islands, 132, 364 + + _Los Angeles Times_, 119 + + Lucky Day, the, 146 + + Luther of Japan, the, 160 + + + M + + MacCauley, Rev. Dr., 207 + + Madonna, 298 + + Maiko, 319 + + Maisaka, 312 + + Makino, Baron, 80 + + Malay Peninsula, 114 + + Malays, in Formosa, 21 + + Manazuru, 303 + + Manchuria, 3, 5, 13-15, 114, 134 + + Maple-Leaf Club, 250 + + Masanobu, 362 + + Massachusetts, 101 + + Masumi Hino, Professor, 210, 211 + + Matabei, 361 + + Matsui, Mr., 375 + + Matsushima, 311, 320 + + Mayon, 300 + + McKim, Bishop, 206 + + Meiji Era, 98, 201, 237 + + Meiji Tenno, 24, 39, 82, 234, 240 + + Memorial Temple, 25 + + Mencius, 189 + + Menpes, Mortimer, 350 + + Mera, 308 + + "Merchant of Venice, The," 260 + + Meredith, George, 231 + + Mexicans, 118 + + Mexico, City of, 96 + + Michel Angelo, work of, 356 + + Michinoku, 237 + + Middle Ages, 133 + + Mikado, the, 25, 34-37, 39, 65, 81-84, 97, 98, 332 + + Milky Way, 156 + + Ming Tombs, 36 + + Mishima, 302, 305 + + Misogi, Festival of the, 155 + + Miwa-Daimyo-jin, 159, 160 + + Miyajima, 155, 183, 323 + + Miyanoshita, 296, 299, 301, 302, 305, 310 + + Miyazu, 315 + + Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Mazaru, 379 + + Moji, 324 + + Momoyama, 24 + + _Mon_ (entrance gate), 11 + + Mongols, 2 + + Moon Festival, 158 + + Moronobu, 359, 362 + + Morrison, Mr. Arthur, quoted, 366 + + Morrison, Mt., 19; renamed Niitaka-yama, 20 + + Moscow, 2, 3 + + Mound of Ears, 314 + + Mukden, 14 + + Murray, 268 + + Mutsuhito, Emperor, 24, 27, 79; tomb of, 24 + + "My People," 28 + + "Myths and Legends of Japan," 219 + + + N + + Nagahama, 316 + + Nagasaki, 38, 123, 321, 324 + + Nagasakis, the, 75, 375 + + Nagoya, 34, 227, 228, 313, 314; Castle, 227, 355 + + Nakamura, 272 + + Nakamuraza, Theatre, 254 + + Nakasendo, 314 + + Nara, 155, 316-318, 341, 357, 368, 369 + + Narai, 309 + + Narita, 309 + + Naturalistic School, 359 + + Navetta, 321 + + Nazano, 320 + + Negishi, 262 + + New Year, 136, 138, 140-144, 146 + + New York, 119, 122 + + Nichiren, 160, 308 + + Night, Queen of the, 158 + + Nijo Castle, 32 + + Nikko, 71, 180, 182, 293, 310, 318, 349, 353, 379 + + Ninigi, 34, 35 + + Ninsei, 372 + + Ni-o, 166 + + Nippon Race Club, 261 + + Nirvana, 178, 298 + + Nitobe, Dr., 95, 165, 189, 231 + + _No_, 242, 243, 270, 271 + + Nogi, General, 13, 14, 171, 185, 188, 196 + + Nomura, 372 + + Northmen, 235 + + Norway, 119 + + Nowazu, 79 + + + O + + Oanamochi, 301 + + Obama, 315 + + Obi River, 2 + + O'Brien, Mrs., 82 + + Odawara, 303 + + Ogo-Harito, 320 + + Oishi, 63, 245 + + Okio, 359 + + Okubo, 99, 190 + + Okuma, Count, 78, 99, 208 + + O Kuni, 254, 255 + + Onomichi, 322 + + Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class of the, 209; First Class of + the, 376 + + Osaka, 126, 215, 217-219, 264, 313, 318, 319, 354, 355 + + Osaka Museum, 61 + + Osaki Batsume, 231 + + Osame Komori, 4, 5, 56, 74, 94, 298, 299, 306, 314, 379, 381 + + O Sawa, 46 + + Oshima, 224, 225 + + Otome-Toge, 302 + + Otsu, 316 + + Ozaki, Madame, 96, 97, 214, 219, 373; Mr., 96, 99, 100 + + + P + + Panama Canal, 112, 122 + + Paris, 78, 95, 241, 363 + + Pasteur, 214 + + Peabody, Professor, quoted, 114 + + Peace Society, Japanese, 95, 96 + + Peking, 359; palace in, 11 + + Peony Hall, 69, 70 + + Perry, Commodore, 38, 97; reception, 331 + + Pescadores, 13 + + Philadelphia, 196 + + Philippines, 46, 59, 80, 114, 207, 300, 301 + + Phoenix Hall, 68 + + Port Arthur, 13, 14, 15, 206 + + Porter, William, translator, 237, 238 + + Portsmouth, N. H., treaty signed at, 14 + + Portugal, 121 + + Portuguese, 37 + + Presbyterians, 207 + + President of the United States, 38, 85, 87 + + "Priest, The," 241 + + Protestantism (of Japan), 174, 201 + + + R + + Rainier, Mount, 300 + + Red Cross, 16, 205, 206 + + Reese, Mr., 118 + + Religion, Japanese Bureau of, 209 + + Riddell, Miss, 204 + + Rohan Koda, 231 + + Rokumeikan, 78 + + Romans, 184 + + Rome, 119 + + Room of One Thousand Seeds, 70, 72 + + Russia, 96, 123, 205; negotiations with, 14; furs in, 55 + + Russo-Japanese War, 19, 126 + + + S + + Sada Yakko, Madame, 253 + + Sadanji, 254 + + Saghalien, 15, 19 + + Saigo, 355 + + Saikyo (Kyoto), 28 + + Sai-no-Kawara, 173 + + Sakai, Mr., 375 + + Sakatani, Baron, 213 + + Sakon-No-Sakura, 31 + + Salvation Army, 268 + + Samba (Ikku), 243 + + Sammons, Mr. and Mrs., 376, 377 + + Sandalphon, 176 + + San Francisco, 122, 190 + + San Joaquin, 118 + + Sankei, 311, 315, 323 + + Satsuma, 35; Lord of, 132; province of, 197; ware, 372 + + Scidmore, Consul-General, 9; Miss, 16, 244 + + Secretaries, 64 + + Secretary, First, 43; First Japanese, 43; of War, American, 59, + 80, 81 + + Seiryoden, 30 + + Sengen, 301 + + Seno, Madame (the Japanese Hetty Green), 110 + + Seoul, 3, 18, 22 + + Seoul, arrival in, 9; American colony in, 17 + + Sesshiu, 359 + + Seto (porcelain), 372 + + Seven Gods of Good Fortune, 142 + + Seyukai, 99 + + Shakespeare, of Japan, 243 + + Shamanism, 16 + + Shanghai, 209 + + Sharaku, 363 + + Shari, 277 + + Shiba, Park, 60, 158, 347; Temples, 60 + + Shijo Road, 154 + + Shimoda, 85 + + Shimonoseki, treaty of, 13; Straits of, 14; Chosen to, 22; + shrine in, 163; passed, 324 + + Shimono-Suwa, 309 + + Shinano, Prince of, 87 + + Shinji, Lake, 320 + + Shinmei Feast, 158 + + Shin-Maizuru, 315 + + Shinto, 25, 26, 142, 163-170, 184, 210 + + Shintoists, 210, 213 + + Shiojiri Toge, 309 + + Shishinden, 30 + + Shizuoka, 312 + + Shogun, 32, 38, 60, 62, 85-88, 97, 243, 286, 331, 362 + + Shokonsha, 161 + + Shunsho, 364 + + Siberia, 2, 69 + + Siberian Express, 2 + + Sierras, Californian, 3 + + Smith, R. Gordon, 219 + + Soami and Enshiu, 341 + + Societies, Asiatic and Columbia, 101, 376 + + Society of Universal Love, 205; Asiatic, 208 + + Sodesuka, Mrs., 111 + + Soi-ko, 349 + + Sojuro and Sawamura, 254 + + Sonnomiya, Baroness, 95 + + Sonobe, 315 + + Sosen, 359 + + Sosei, author, 327 + + South America, 113, 119, 120, 122 + + Southern Cross, 20 + + Spain, 263 + + Spalding, Mr. William, 361, 362 + + Staff, American Embassy, 40, 51, 58, 64, 68, 143 + + Stars, Festival of the, 155 + + State Department, 86 + + St. Valentine's Day, 94 + + Suchi, 315 + + Suez Canal, 122 + + Sujin, 36 + + Sun-Goddess, 34, 36, 66, 137, 167, 183 + + Susa-no-o, 137 + + Susa-no-o-no-mikoto, Prince, 154 + + Swift, Professor, 193 + + Syrians, 114 + + + T + + Taiken, Empress, 238 + + Tai-kun, 87, 88 + + Tai-Sho, 24 + + Takahama, 315 + + Takasu, 239 + + Takeda Izuma, 243 + + Tanabata, Princess, 156 + + Tateyama, 308 + + Temma, river, 355 + + Tennu, Emperor, 238 + + Terauchi, Count, 15 + + Terry, author, 27 + + Teshikaga, 276 + + Testevinde, Father, 203 + + Teusler, Dr., 204 + + Thanksgiving (Japanese), 162 + + "Theft of the Golden Scale, The," 226 + + Throne Room, 72, 76 + + Toda, Count, 67 + + Togo, Admiral, 13, 14 + + Tokaido, 86, 286, 299, 313, 314, 363, 364 + + Tokugawa, House of, 39; family, 61; government, 97; Period, 37, + 38, 188, 200, 201, 372; Prince (Keiki), 38, 39 + + Tokyo, 26, 27, 33, 36, 39, 40, 42, 43, 51, 55, 59, 60, 62, 65, + 77, 78, 85, 90, 91, 94, 102, 110, 115, 126-128, 132, 138, 141, + 158, 160, 161, 170, 171, 192, 193, 197, 204, 206, 212, 213, 231, + 250, 251, 254, 258, 262, 265, 267, 272, 275, 285, 290, 291, 294, + 299, 305, 306, 307-314, 329, 347, 348, 364, 368; Bay, 308; + London to, 3; Boys' Guild of, 46; climate of, 50; Club, 101, + 102; Normal School, 188, 193; University, 197 + + Tomiji and Kanoko (maikos), 247 + + Torakichi Inouye, 128 + + Torii Toge, 309 + + Tosa, 358 + + Toyohashi, 313 + + Toyokuni, 363 + + Trans-Siberian, 2 + + "Travels of the Two Frogs, The," 215 + + Treasure Ship, 142 + + Tsuda, Miss, 195, 196 + + Tsukiji, 42 + + Tsure Yuki Kino, 239 + + Tsuruzo, 254 + + Turkey, 96 + + + U + + Ukioye, 359, 362, 364 + + Ukon-No-Tachibana, 31 + + United States, 40, 59, 94, 115-117, 122-124 + + Ural Mountains, 2 + + Utamaro, 362, 363 + + "Utopia," More's, 229 + + Utsunomiya, 310 + + Uyeno Park, 61, 146, 262 + + Uzume-no-Mikoto (Okame), 367 + + + V + + Vandyke, 364 + + Van Royen, Madame, 58 + + Vega (star), 156 + + Venice, of Japan, 318 + + Vienna, 41, 313 + + Vladivostok, 3, 22 + + Vries Island, 303, 308 + + + W + + Wadagaki, Prof. K., translator, 182 + + _Wakamegari-no Shinji_, 163 + + Wakamiya, 318 + + Wallace, Rev. Dr., 207 + + "Warriors of Old Japan," 219 + + Waseda, 192 + + Washington, 50, 138, 340 + + Washington's Birthday, 94, 340 + + Watanabe, 46, 48, 94, 95, 148, 340 + + Watanabe, Count, 67 + + Western Capital, 36 + + West River, 156 + + Whistler, 364 + + Wigmore, Major, 274, 276, 277, 287, 288 + + + X + + Xavier, Francis, 200 + + + Y + + Yahakii, 320 + + Yahashira, Prince, 154 + + Yalu River, 13, 14, 100 + + Yamagata, met at luncheon, 13 + + Yamamoto, 99, 100 + + Yamato, 191 + + Yamisaki, 174 + + Yedo, 36, 85, 86, 252, 351; Bay of, 361 + + Yezo, 35 + + Yi, Prince, the Elder, 12; Prince, the Younger, 12; dynasty, 12 + + Yokohama, 90, 93, 94, 101, 207, 209, 259, 261, 262, 293-296, + 302, 305, 319, 361, 376; United (club), 101; Bund, 303, 361 + + Yorimasa, 153 + + Yosai, 360 + + Yosano, 241 + + Yoshida, Professor, 197; Mr., 375 + + Yoshitomo, 220, 223, 224 + + Yoshiwara, 267 + + Yuragawa, 315 + + + Z + + Zen, 186, 187 + + + + + Transcriber Notes: + +Passages in italics were indicated by _underscores_. + +Small caps were replaced with ALL CAPS. + +Throughout the document, the oe ligature was replaced with "oe". + +Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents +of the speakers. Those words were retained as-is. + +The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up +paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they +illustrate. Thus the page number of the illustration might not +match the page number in the List of Illustrations, and the +order of illustrations may not be the same in the List of +Illustrations and in the book. + +Errors in punctuations and inconsistent hyphenation were not +corrected unless otherwise noted. + +On page 130, "cooperative" was replaced with "coöperative". + +On page 276, "showshoes" was replaced with "snowshoes". + +On page 384, a quotation mark was added after "European and +Japanese Gardens". + +On page 389, a comma was added after "Indians". + +On page 391, a period was removed after "Meiji Tenno, 24, 39, +82, 234, 240". + +On page 394, a semicolon was added after "Shimonoseki, treaty +of, 13". + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spell of Japan, by Isabel Anderson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41722 *** |