TEMPLES AND TEA
"And aren't we to go to Tokyo to-day?" asked Mary Lee as she sat up in
bed the next morning.
"Don't ask me," replied Nan. "We supposed we were, and as it is only
twenty miles away we may be going yet though Aunt Helen did not say
anything about it last night. She and Mrs. Craig were plotting all
sorts of things for to-day while we were talking to Nell and her
brother. I caught a word here and there about temples and _tori-i_ and
things."
"And we, too, were making plans meanwhile, so it looks as if we might
have a busy day, Nan."
"Yokohama and Tokyo are practically the same city," Nan gave the
information, "for they are so near one another. Because of that we may
be going to carry out the original plan. I'll go ask Aunt Helen." She
pattered into the next room to find Miss Helen already up. "What's the
first thing on the carpet to-day, Aunt Helen?" she asked.
"Why, let me see; breakfast, of course."
"Decidedly of course, but I didn't mean anything quite so obvious."
"Then Mrs. Craig is coming for us and we are to take a drive to see
some temples, and this afternoon we are to call on a Japanese friend of
Mrs. Craig's."
"A real Japanese?"
"A really, truly one whom Mrs. Craig knows quite well."
"And we shall have the chance of seeing a veritable Japanese house?
Good! I've been hoping we might have such a chance. Where is the house?"
"In Tokyo."
"Then we are to go there as was first planned."
"I think so; it is more attractive than in Yokohama, and you know Mrs.
Craig is stopping there. She and her nephew came to Yokohama simply to
meet Miss Harding whom they will take back with them to Tokyo, so it
seems to me we would be better off there ourselves."
Nan uncurled herself from the foot of the bed where she was sitting and
went back to her sister. "Tokyo it is to be," she announced. "Tokyo and
temples and a visit to a Japanese home; that is the day's programme.
Isn't it great? You'd better get up, Mary Lee; Aunt Helen is all
dressed."
The two girls made haste to join their aunt and before very long were
ready for their morning of sightseeing. This time they were to go, not
in _jinrikishas_ but behind Mrs. Craig's stout little ponies which
carried them along at a good pace to a spot where suddenly arose before
them a great stone stairway.
"Oh, where do those steps lead?" asked Nan, all curiosity.
"They are the first intimation we have that we are nearing a _tera_ or
temple," Mrs. Craig told her.
"And do we climb that long flight?" asked Mary Lee.
"Assuredly."
They all alighted from the carriage and began the ascent. At the top
they confronted a queer gateway.
"Is this what they call a _tori-i_?" asked Nan.
"No, it is merely a gateway in the ordinary sense," she was told.
"We must stop and look at it," Miss Helen decided, and they all stood
looking up at the strange structure.
"What an odd roof," Mary Lee observed, as she regarded the peaked
pagoda-like affair.
"And such carving," exclaimed Nan. "Do look at all those queer
gargoylish lions' heads, and see the dragons on the panels; snakes,
too."
"And there is Fuji." Miss Helen, who was resting after her exhausting
climb, and was enjoying the view, directed their attention to the great
mountain whose dim peak arose above the town at their feet.
Nan turned from her regard of snakes and dragons that she might look
off at the scene. "No wonder one sees Fuji on fans and panels and
pretty nearly everything in Japan," said she. "I don't wonder the
Japanese honor and adore their wonderful mountain."
After giving further examination to the gateway, they all walked
on, presently coming to another one which showed more dragons and
gargoyles. Through this they passed to enter a sort of courtyard. The
girls looked with curiosity at an array of stone objects which they
supposed to be monuments. "What are they?" Mary Lee asked.
"Stone lanterns," Mrs. Craig told her, "and yonder are the Buddha
lions." She pointed out two strange, fantastic stone figures in sitting
posture each side the way.
"And does Buddha live here?" asked Nan with a smile.
"He lives in many places," Mrs. Craig replied with an answering smile.
Just ahead they perceived three steps leading to a low edifice. Men
and women were going and coming from these, stopping to kneel at the
entrance of this, the temple which they had come to see. Most of these
people tarried only a very short time, bending their heads in silent
prayer for a few minutes, while they joined their hands reverently.
Some clapped three times quite slowly, though noisily. There were many
contributions made, small coins thrown into the big wooden box at the
entrance.
The girls stood watching the worshippers curiously. "It would be
interesting to know how much their offerings amounted to," said Mary
Lee. "I suppose very little in our money."
"Very little indeed," responded their guide. "When you consider a _rin_
is one-tenth of a _sen_ and that a _sen_ is only about equal to one of
our cents you can see that a very small contribution suffices."
"What is inside the temple?" asked Nan.
"The shrine of Buddha, but he is not on exhibition except on feast
days. If you go in you will have to take off your shoes, so perhaps we
would better wait till some other time."
They decided that they would not attempt an entrance at this time, but
they peeped through the paper-screened sides of the building to see a
dim interior whose contents were in such obscurity that they could not
make them out.
"Do you always have to take off your shoes before entering a temple?"
asked Mary Lee.
"Oh, dear, yes, and not only upon entering a temple but before entering
any house. You know all floors are furnished with soft matting rugs
which it would never do to soil. When one considers how much mud and
dust we carry into our homes on our shoes and skirts I am inclined to
think the Japanese have more than one custom which we might adopt to
advantage. If you want to see a _tori-i_, Miss Nan, I think we can find
you one not very far away."
"I don't exactly understand what a _tori-i_ really is," confessed Mary
Lee.
"There are two theories concerning them," Mrs. Craig told her. "Many
assert that they were originally perches for birds, one meaning of the
word being a bird-rest, and it is supposed that they were used as a
sort of altar on which fowls were offered to the gods; others maintain
that the word means simply a gateway. One can easily see how either
meaning could be accepted, for they do look like a perch as well as a
gateway."
After another drive through a labyrinth of streets, where were queer
little houses and queerer signs, they arrived at the bottom of another
hill where again a flight of steps arose before them.
"Dear me," sighed Miss Helen, "I wonder if I am equal to all these
climbs. I should like to import a few elevators for the sake of my
American powers of climbing."
However, rather than be left behind, the ascent was decided upon by
Miss Helen, Nan helping her up, and lingering with her when a pause for
breath seemed advisable. At last they joined the other two who, more
agile, had reached the spot before them. "So this is a _tori-i_," said
Nan looking up at the gateway. "Such a simple affair; just two upright
pillars with two things across them. It might easily be a bird-perch.
No carving, no letters, no anything, yet it is sort of impressive just
because of its simplicity. Is there a temple beyond?"
"No, only a shrine," she was informed, "and probably closed."
"Then we shall not have to climb that second flight of steps," said
Miss Helen in a relieved tone. "If one has to mortify the flesh in this
manner before seeing temples, I am afraid I shall not see many."
"Oh, but you used to climb lots of steps in Europe," Nan reminded her.
"How many were there in the duomo at Florence?"
"Don't ask me, my dear; the remembrance of them is still with me.
Probably because I did climb so many in Europe is why I hesitate here,
and perhaps the weight of years might be added as a second reason."
Nan frowned and shook her head. "You mustn't say that. You are as young
as any of us."
"In spirit, maybe," her aunt returned with a smile.
"We certainly shall not expect you to see all the shrines and temples
we come upon," Mrs. Craig told them, "for there are too many, and the
best way is to select the most famous only to visit."
"We learned to do that way in Europe," said Nan. "One gets mental
indigestion by tearing off to see every little thing, and finally one
is so mixed up that nothing is remembered correctly."
"And if one lived here a lifetime it would be impossible to see all the
sights or to learn all the legends," Mrs. Craig went on. "The best way
is to get some well-written book and study up between times. You need
to know a little of the folk-lore and something of the religions in
order to understand the sights you wish to see. It will be impossible
to get more than merely a very superficial idea even then, particularly
upon the question of the two old beliefs of Shintoism and Buddhism."
"The Shinto belief is the worship of ancestors, isn't it?" asked Nan.
"It is founded upon that, as we understand it," Mrs. Craig explained.
"Lafcadio Hearn probably can give you a better idea of what it means
than I can, so I advise you to hunt up his books."
"We have some of them," Nan returned, "and I shall look up the subjects
when we get home."
"Do all the Japanese adopt the Shinto creed?" asked Mary Lee.
"Oh, no, some are Buddhists, some are Christians, some have a
mixed belief in which both Buddhism and Shintoism have a part. The
ramifications are so numerous and so intricate that it would be
impossible to explain them. I know only a very little myself, and I
have been here three years. As to the language, it is hopeless. I
shall never be at home with it, and there are only a very, very few
foreigners who ever do master its intricacies. When you consider that
every schoolboy is expected to learn six or seven thousand characters
for daily use alone, and a scholar must know twice as many more, you
may imagine the undertaking. Moreover there are several styles of
writing these characters, so you may be glad you are not expected to
master Japanese."
"Oh, dear," sighed Mary Lee, "it makes me tired merely to think of it."
After the climbing of so many steps, and after the fatigue following
the constantly recurring sights which passed before their vision,
they decided to go home and rest that they might be ready for their
afternoon's entertainment. Their last sight of the _tori-i_ was one
they never forgot, for it framed the exquisite cone of Fuji as in a
picture, and they were interested all the more when Mrs. Craig told
them that these ancient gateways usually did form the framework for
some special object such as a mountain, a temple, a shrine.
After having had luncheon and a good rest they were all quite ready for
the next experience which Mrs. Craig had promised them. Eleanor who had
been off with her brother all morning joined them in the afternoon's
entertainment and was quite as much excited as the others to be a
caller upon a really truly Japanese.
"It is such a pity," said Mrs. Craig, when they were about to start,
"that you couldn't have been here in time for the Doll Festival which
occurs upon the third of March. I am hoping, however, that the dolls
will still be on view at the house where we are going, though they are
usually stored in the go-down at the end of the three days."
"And what in the world is a go-down?" asked Eleanor.
"It is the family storehouse," her aunt told her. "Very little is
kept out to litter up a Japanese house, where the utmost simplicity
is considered desirable, so they have these storehouses in which all
superfluities are kept. When you reach Mrs. Otamura's you will be
surprised at the very absence of furnishings, but there, I must not
tell you too much or you will not be sufficiently surprised."
"It is so lovely to be sensationed," said Nan with a satisfied air.
Mrs. Craig laughed and they proceeded on their way to the house which
stood, its least attractive side toward the street, in a quarter of
the city where the better class lived. The garden was at the back, and
there were verandahs at the side. There were no chimneys, but the roof
was tiled and the sides of the house were fitted with sliding screens
covered with paper. These were now thrown open.
At the door they were met by a servant whom Mrs. Craig addressed with
respect and with a few pleasant words, this being expected, for none
save the master is supposed to ignore the servant. Each one of the
party removed her shoes and slipped on a pair of straw slippers before
stepping upon the soft, cool matted floor. The room into which they
were ushered was indeed simply furnished; in an alcove whose floor was
slightly raised, hung a single kakemono, or painted panel, and a vase
stood there with a single branch of flowering plum in it; there were
also a little shrine and an incense burner. On the floor, which was
covered with thick mats, were placed square silk-covered cushions on
which the guests were to be seated.
But before this was done they were greeted by the mistress of the
house with the most ceremonious of low bows. She could speak a little
English and smiled upon them so sweetly that they all fell in love
with her at once. She was dressed in a soft colored kimono and had
her hair arranged most elaborately. Close upon her heels followed her
little girl as gaily decked as a tulip, in bright colored kimono and
wearing an obi or sash quite as brilliant. This _treasure flower_,
as a Japanese will always call his child, was as self-possessed and
gracious as it was possible for a little maid to be. Following her
mother's example she knew the precise length of time during which she
should remain bent in making her bow, and her smile was as innocent
and lovely as could be any one's who was called by the fanciful name of
O-Hana, or Blossom, as it would mean in our language.
There was a low table or so in the room and, as soon as the _hibachi_
was brought in, small stands were placed before each person, for of
course tea must be served at once. The _hibachi_ was really a beautiful
little affair, a fire box of hammered copper, in which was laid a
little glowing fire of _sumi_ sticks, these being renewed, as occasion
required, from an artistic brass basket by the side of Mrs. Otamura.
"The honorable" tea was served upon a beautiful lacquered tray and from
the daintiest of teacups, offered by a little maid who humbly presented
the tray as she knelt before the guests.
The conversation, carried on partly in English and partly in Japanese,
was interesting to the foreigners who were on the lookout for any
oddities of speech, but who would not have smiled in that polite and
gracious presence for anything. They drank their pale honey-colored
tea with as much ceremony as possible although not one of them was
accustomed to taking the beverage without milk or sugar.
"The dolls are really on view," Mrs. Craig told them after a few
sentences in Japanese to her hostess, "and O-Hana will take you to see
them."
"Oh, how lovely," cried the girls, their enthusiasm getting the better
of them.
At a word from her mother the little black-haired child came forward
and held out her tiny hand to Miss Helen, who as eldest of the party
deserved the most respect. Following their little guide they went
through the rooms, each screened from the next by paper covered
sliding shutters, until they came to one where upon row after row of
crimson-covered shelves appeared a most marvelous array of dolls, with
all the various furniture, china, musical instruments, and even warlike
weapons, that any company of dolls could possibly require.
"Aren't they perfectly wonderful?" said Mary Lee looking at a
magnificent royal family in full court costume.
"Oh, no, they are very poor and mean," replied the child who quite
understood her.
It was very hard not to laugh, but no one did, each turning her head
and pretending to examine the doll nearest her.
"And which do you like best?" asked Miss Helen.
"This one," O-Hana told her, pointing to a very modern creature in a
costume so much like their own that the girls could not restrain their
mirth at the reply.
"She is very beautiful," said Nan hoping that her praise would do away
with the effect of the laughter.
"She is very ugly, very poor," replied O-Hana, "but," she added, "I
like her the best."
"It would take hours to see them all," said Miss Helen, "and we must
not stay too long." So after a cursory view of officers and court
ladies, musicians and dancers, ancient heirlooms in quaint antique
costumes elbowing smart Paris creatures, they finally took their leave
of the dolls, wishing they might stay longer.
There was a little more ceremonious talk and then as polite a
leave-taking, O-Hana doing her part as sedately as her mother.
"I should like to have kissed that darling child," said Nan as they all
started off again, "but I didn't suppose it would be considered just
the correct thing."
"Indeed it would not," Mrs. Craig told her, "for the Japanese regard it
as a very vulgar proceeding. I fancy we foreigners shock their tender
sensibilities oftener than we imagine, for they are so exceedingly
ceremonious and attach the utmost importance to matters which we do not
regard at all."
"I know I shall dream of that funny little doll-like creature, O-Hana,"
Nan went on, "with her little touches of rouge on her cheeks, her
bright clothes and her hair all so shining and stuck full of ornaments.
As for Mrs. Otamura, she is delicately lovely as I never imagined
any one to be, such tiny hands, such a fine, delicate skin, such an
exquisitely modulated voice, and so dignified and gracious; I felt a
very clumsy, big, overgrown person beside her."
"You were right about the house, Mrs. Craig," commented Mary Lee. "It
certainly was simplicity itself. Think of our great masses of flowers
in all sorts of vases and bowls, and compare all that to the one lovely
spray of plum blossom so artistically arranged."
"Their flower decorations are a matter of great study," Mrs. Craig
answered. "It is taught as a branch by itself and all girls study
it. The few decorations a house possesses must be in harmony with
the season. When the cherry blossoms come you will see an entirely
different kakemono in the Otamuras' house, an entirely different vase
for the flowers and other things will be in keeping."
"It is all very complicated," sighed Nan, "and I am afraid I shall
carry away only a very small part of what I ought to find out about
these curious people."
She was quite sure of this as Mrs. Craig began to tell of some strange
customs, stranger feasts and still stranger folk-lore the while they
were carried along through the narrow streets to their hotel. Here
they found Neal Harding awaiting them with a friend of his, a young
journalist whom he presented as "Mr. Montell, who hails from the state
of South Carolina."
The addition of a bright young American to the party was not at all
regretted by the girls who went to their rooms commenting, comparing
and, if it must be said, giggling.
[Illustration: CHAPTER V
AN EVENING SHOW]