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diff --git a/41722-8.txt b/41722-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f0458de..0000000 --- a/41722-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10455 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spell of Japan, by Isabel Anderson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Spell of Japan - -Author: Isabel Anderson - -Release Date: December 28, 2012 [EBook #41722] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPELL OF JAPAN *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Bergquist, Ernest Schaal, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - 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 THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPELL OF JAPAN *** - -***** This file should be named 41722-8.txt or 41722-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/7/2/41722/ - -Produced by Greg Bergquist, Ernest Schaal, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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