My first Walk in Japan--A Paradise after China--Clean
Streets--Clean Houses--Hard Beds--Policemen--A Temple--Queer
Worship--Chanting and Drumming--The exhorting Gong--English much
goodee--Kanagawa--Hospitable Population--The Baths and Dress--On
Shore at Yeddo--The Tycoon’s Palace--Water-Nymphs--Sandalled
Horses--Bakers--Cheap Fare and Fruit--Hakodadi--Stoned
Roofs--Fish caught by Noise--Huckster Boats--Custom-house
Officers--The Governor’s Visit--The State Barge--A Party for the
Burial-ground--The Sacred Fire--The ancient Fireman--Pack-horses--A
grateful Kiss--Flagstaff and Salute.
If I looked eagerly and inquisitively about me upon first going ashore
in China, much more so did I on my first walk in Japan. The large
number of well-dressed people wearing swords were the first things
that attracted my attention. These, I understood, were gentlemen. They
appeared very clean--a pleasing contrast to the Chinese; and they did
not wear talons instead of nails. The streets of Nagasaki are not
paved, neither is there any attempt at gutters or drains or spouts for
the house-roofs. But the people do at least keep their houses clean,
and, not being in the habit of throwing all refuse and dirt out at
their front doors, the streets are clean and passable also--quite a
paradise after a Chinese town; as some of our crew said, “’Twas like
going into heaven” after China.
I liked the appearance of their houses, which seemed to me to be mostly
built of wood, two stories in height. Suppose we have a look at the
inside. There is a small space of earth, perfectly smooth and flat,
just within the doorway; beyond this the floor is raised and boarded,
and covered with grass mats, very clean, and, as Bob Brady said once,
“white as a hound’s tooth; he wouldn’t mind having his dinner off of
’em.” To reach this raised portion you must take off your shoes. No
decoration beyond a few simple carvings, so far as I saw, adorned the
rooms. The beds are raised above the floor, and are covered with mats,
which serve for mattress or bed. Hard lying is, perhaps, no hardship at
Nagasaki.
Instead of glass for the windows, a beautiful kind of paper is used,
which admits a subdued and mellow light, and is less liable than glass
to be fractured by earthquakes. Their shops are open, and very similar
to those of the Chinese; but I thought the shopkeepers seemed very
obliging, and that they did not exhibit such anxiety and desire for
money as do their less estimable neighbours the Chinese. I saw many
policemen in the streets, whose staff of office is a long rod, with
three iron rings on the top, which jangle together as they walk along.
The people seemed to be very much frightened at them. I fancy it is a
rare thing among them to hear of a lark with the “shiners,” as Jack
called the policemen.
One day I passed close to a large and gaudily decorated temple: inside
it was finely ornamented with devices, carvings, and richly-worked
hangings; in the centre of the floor, and under a showy silk canopy,
stood the god they worship--gigantic in height, big-faced, goggle-eyed,
and with a stomach decidedly corpulent. In one hand he held a large
club, and in the other a quiver of arrows, which he, no doubt,
was prepared to hurl at those “as didn’t choose to make fools of
themselves,” whispered Charley Cane to me. A little to the right, and
near the door, hung a bunch of low-toned, musical, tinkling bells,
which worshippers shook as they entered, to attract, as we thought,
the god’s attention. Then they fell upon their knees, and commenced a
monotonous chant, which was kept up about ten minutes; the priest, with
shaven crown, long black robe, and sandalled feet, walking meanwhile
round the edifice, bearing a stick of incense in his hand, as if to
make the petitioners’ prayers acceptable. A little boy in attendance
on the priest kept time to the low chant with a small drum, which,
nevertheless, made a great noise. The walls inside and outside were
covered with inscriptions in native characters, resembling somewhat
those of the Chinese. In nooks and corners of the court-yard were
figures of the god set back in little stone niches; and I saw various
offerings, such as flowers, trinkets, and money, strewed on the
ground before these dwarfish effigies. When the priest thinks the god
is impatient, and stands in need of homage, he strikes a loud and
melodiously-sounding gong, to call worshippers to a sense of their
short-comings.
I do not think that the Japanese have been at all rightly represented
as to their coolness and reserve towards strangers; for when we dropped
anchor in the harbour many boats, with two-sworded gentlemen in them,
came about the ship, inquiring in broken English who we were; and as
soon as we said “English,” they were very pleased, and exclaimed,
“English much goodee--very goodee English!” From which I infer that
although such a short time has elapsed since England was admitted to
intercourse with them, a favourable impression has yet been made. On
shore, also, it appeared to me that Englishmen had the precedence, and
are looked on with far more respect than others. I heard, also, that
among the Imperial family a good feeling for the English predominates.
On September 14th we steamed out of Nagasaki harbour, having on board
the English Consul for Hakodadi. Nothing of note occurred during
the run, till our arrival and anchorage in Kanagawa Bay, Strait of
Yedo. In our route up the Strait the scenery was pleasant; but the
characteristics before noticed prevail--hills and hollows, bluffs and
cliffs, forest and field, and tall pinnacled crags, which shoot up into
the depth of blue sky, like solitary watchers of these wave-washed
shores. Between these we got pleasant glimpses of fertile country and
little scattered hamlets. Kanagawa Bay suddenly opens from the Strait,
revealing the town, seated on a pretty wooded hollow, at the foot of
a range of bold hills, with the lofty snow-capped summit of Fusyama
towering up into the clouds.
The town is small, the houses are built of wood, the streets are clean
and wide, but not paved; shops are numerous, with a good supply of
native goods. The people here were very hospitable and friendly, making
signs to us to enter their houses; in fact, their looks seemed to say,
“Come in and sit down;” and they appeared hurt at a refusal. We were
not slow to avail ourselves of this hospitality; some would say, “Come
on, chaps, let’s go in here and have a feed on the cheap!”
I looked one day into the public baths and saw there the people of both
sexes bathing away very merrily together, and apparently without the
slightest sense of indecorum.
The dress of the working men is very simple; it consists of a white
cotton wrapper passing between the legs and secured behind, leaving the
chest, legs, and arms entirely bare and free for work. The dress of the
women is more becoming to their sex: they wear loose silk trousers,
blue generally, or white cotton, and a graceful and flowing robe above
of the same material, which reaches to the knee. The married women
have black teeth, and all of them have comely features and persons, and
fair skins. Not moony; or, as some of our crew said, “as if they’d had
a dingbat across the bows with a deal board like the Chinese.”
On the 22nd we lifted our anchor and steamed fifteen miles farther up
the Strait, and anchored about six miles from the city of Yeddo; the
shallowness of the water preventing our getting nearer. However, as our
boats were going to and fro every day, I luckily had the opportunity
to go on shore, and saw something of the famous capital of Japan. It
stands upon a very fertile eminence overlooking the Strait and the
surrounding country, which is flat and well cultivated.
The houses, as in other places, are low, and mostly built of wood;
the streets are very long, tolerably well paved with rough stone,
and exceedingly clean; and, as it appears, sanitary matters are not
forgotten. The Tycoon, as the Emperor is called, has a very fine
palace. I only saw it at a distance. I should have liked a peep at the
Hall of Audience, which has golden pillars, and three towers, each nine
stories high, plated with gold.
I noticed the same indifference as to appearance or sense of
impropriety here as at Kanagawa. While rowing to shore one morning
early, we saw upon the beach a crowd of both sexes bathing, most of
them stark naked and frolicking in the water. They appeared in no way
disconcerted by the arrival of our boats; in fact, some of these nymphs
swam after us; but as we pulled with a will, they soon gave up the
chase. Old Dan, our coxswain, said, “Fine gals, them; shouldn’t mind
one like them for my wife; not afraid of the water.” It was well for
the damsels they did not understand other remarks that were made upon
them.
I did not observe any horses in Nagasaki, but in Yeddo I saw plenty: a
small, spirited little breed. They are shod with a kind of sandal tied
to their feet by thongs. In driving no whip is used, but a word or a
nod from the driver seems quite sufficient to make the brisk little
creatures put out their speed.
Here also I noticed a difference in the dress of the men: the
scantiness which struck me in other places does not prevail in Yeddo
to the same extent; the upper class wear loose flowing breeches, and
an elegant silk wrapper fastened in front by a fanciful pin, and with
loose and ample sleeves. Sandals are worn fastened to the feet by neat
leathern thongs. I saw in some of the shops beautiful specimens of
these sandals exposed for sale, mostly in the lacquer-ware shops, not
laid out for show, but placed on shelves around the walls. It would
not do, however, to stand looking into shops on a rainy day, for with
spoutless houses, gutterless streets, and no raised footways, a fellow
might stand a chance of being washed away.
The bakers place their bread on a kind of sloping board at their door,
and cakes and gingerbread are kept in little tins and boxes; but
the great bulk of the trade appears to be done by out-door dealers
with baskets and stalls, who sell oftentimes a better thing than the
shopkeepers. I saw no flowers in the houses, nor singing-birds in cages.
Here and at Kanagawa everything is very cheap: we could get eight
loaves of bread, each about the size of a twopenny one at home, for
half an itzeboe, a couple of ten-pound salmon for an itzeboe, sugar,
twelve pounds for two itzeboes, a couple of fat plump fowls for half
an itzeboe, and I dare say other things, such as clothing, paper, and
the like, although I never bought any, are in proportion. A basket of
beautiful grapes, such rich, luscious, black, thumping berries, that
their very look is tempting, can be bought for an itzeboe, or tenpence.
We left Yeddo on the 9th of October, taking with us the Consul and
his family for Hakodadi, and the Consul-General from Yeddo; and after
calling in at Kanagawa for fresh beef, bore away to the northward, with
a fair wind and sparkling sea. The distance from Yeddo to Hakodadi is
about three hundred and fifty miles.
The entrance to Hakodadi from the Strait of Sangar is narrow, overhung
by high, gloomy-looking hills, frequently shrouded in mists, which,
rolling away from their sides, obscures the entrance of the harbour.
But, these passed, the harbour opens to view, girdled on two sides by
high land, and at the inner extremity by low flats, beyond which we got
a glimpse of the blue ocean, and a stretch of flat country scenery.
The town extends itself upon the right-hand going in, on the rise of
a bluff and wooded hill, which extends far in the rear of the town,
covered with patches of fir and heath about half way up. The houses
are, as usual, of wood, but more strongly built, and less like shanties
than in other towns; the roofs are loaded with enormous stones, and
smaller stones fill the intervening spaces, a precaution against the
violent gales which sweep this part of the coast with tremendous fury.
The streets are broad, but in wretched condition; hence in wet weather
the mud is distressing.
In the early morning the harbour presents a curious spectacle, numerous
fishing-boats pulling away to their daily toil, and the strange chant
of the crews as their oars rise and fall, is borne not unmelodiously
upon the breeze. They use a curious practice to entice the fish to
their nets; pulling out well into the bay, where they know the fish
resort, they strike with staves a sounding-board in the boat, which
gives out a peculiar hollow sound. The finny community flock towards
the place of the sound, and are of course caught.
The huckster-boats, also laden with provisions, row out from the shore
and come alongside, their occupants seeming ready to welcome the
stranger. In most of these boats there sat a Dutchman who did all the
selling, or at least took the money, and saw that the seamen did not
try to ‘do’ the Japanese; but many of the men used to go down and come
back with fish, bread, or grapes, all on the ‘cheap,’ having been too
smart for the boatmen to detect them.
Soon after our arrival, which seemed to excite much surprise, the ship
was frequented by two-sworded custom-house officers, each well dressed,
and with a peculiar mark on his back to indicate his profession.
Though very polite they were also very inquisitive about our guns,
their number and capabilities, and seemed greatly astonished when we
fired one for their amusement.
Our having the British Consul on board for this port brought us
an unusual number of visitors, among whom came his Excellency the
Governor, who was mightily pleased with our ship, and the attentions
he received. The questions which he asked on different subjects showed
great intelligence and ability; and, as we understood, his tendencies
in common with those of many of his countrymen lean towards the English.
His Excellency was dressed in the simplest style of Japanese fashion:
loose silk trousers, and a fine flowered silk mantle without sleeves,
and fitting like a cloak. He carried one sword, and was bareheaded. His
hands looked as if he were not unused to work for himself, although he
was a governor. Our men all said of him, “What a fine man!”
We thought his state-barge a model of Japanese boat-building; in shape
it was like a Venetian gondola, with cabin richly decorated, and was
emblazoned with the illustrious man’s arms, while on the roof were
displayed silken banners, and emblems of his authority. There were
numerous rowers, who sat on finely carved and polished benches, which
were covered with well padded and showy-looking cushions.
Going ashore one day with a funeral party from our own ship, one
of the men having suddenly died, and arriving at the burial-ground
for Europeans, upon the top of a wooded and pleasant hill, whence a
splendid prospect of the bay and surrounding country is obtained, we
came upon an old Japanese man, who was very busy attending to two large
fires, from which a disagreeable odour arose.
On coming nearer, prompted by curiosity, we halted, full of remarks one
to another upon the evident pleasure with which the ancient fellow kept
the fire going, and some of our party, with “Here’s for a draw,” took
the opportunity to light their pipes at the, as we afterwards learned,
sacred fire. One of our officers looking on and hearing our conjectures
on the subject, told us that it was the custom of the higher class of
Japanese to burn their dead, collect the ashes, and bury them enclosed
in an urn.
No wonder there was a bad smell; the venerable was burning a corpse,
and we noticed how carefully he picked out the small bones, and laid
them aside on a cloth, and fanned the ashes from them with the broad
brim of his straw hat. While looking at him I thought he might not
inaptly have been likened to the old toll-man of Styx who once punted
across the souls of mortals. Our party now held their noses, and some
said, “Wouldn’t be in his shoes and do that if they’d pay me for it.”
The custom among the lower orders, on the occurrence of a death, is to
dress the body carefully in clean white linen, and bury it in a sitting
position.
The graves of the noble and rich are, as is the case often in other
countries, in some instances beautifully built. At times a miniature
temple is erected over the grave, in which the survivors may offer up
prayers for the soul of the departed. After the prayers, offerings of
freshly-gathered flowers, coins, and perfumes are deposited. These
appear never to be taken away, so sacred are they esteemed. Many of the
offerings which we saw withered and weather-stained had doubtless lain
undisturbed on the tomb for years.
So far as I could observe, a Japanese funeral, instead of being a scene
of mournful instruction, is one of great gaiety and dissipation. The
procession is quite a gaudy affair; banners and flags of many kinds
displaying inscriptions, some with native green dragons, and the figure
of a deity, the latter surrounded by a haze, and looking anything but
benevolent, are borne by men wearing their ordinary dress, for it does
not appear to be the custom to exhibit mourning by a change of dress.
Behind these the body is borne by a number of bearers, according to
the rank of the deceased, covered by a gaudily worked pall, either of
velvet or silk; and relatives, and the idle and gaping public, bring up
the rear. There is but little appearance of sorrow, and less silence;
and when they come to the grave they place offerings on the ground, and
set up a kind of subdued howl, and soon after hurry away.
Whether the same practice prevails in other places is more than I can
tell; but such was the scene I witnessed at Hakodadi.
I saw also that for riding and conveyance there were, as at the South,
numbers of little horses, and the streets are quite lively with strings
of them, loaded with vegetables and other things, which are thus
brought from the interior of the country. Many of the drivers of these
ponies are pretty native girls, and I once caught a refractory pony
and held it for its mistress, and I was repaid by a smacking kiss, and
a grateful look from her dark eyes; nevertheless, I was not captivated
by her, nor did I forget a certain little somebody else far away.
One of our duties here was to rig and plant a flagstaff for the Consul
in front of his house, on a fine slope overlooking the bay. We made
a natty job of it, and when finished, up went the Union Jack; and
the thunder and smoke of a salute of twenty-one guns from H.M.S.
_Highflyer_ announced to the Hakodadians the important fact that a
British Consul had taken up his residence among them.