Landing in Japan.--Characteristic Street Scenes.--Native
Bazars.--Women of Yokohama.--Excursion into the Country.--Visit to
Kamakura.--Peculiar Scenes on the Road.--A Wonderful Bronze
Statue.--Popular Religions of the Country.--The Hakone Pass.--A
Youthful Mother.--Native Jugglers.--Temple of Shiba.--Review of the
Soldiery.--Ludicrous Sights.--A Native Fair at Tokio.--A Poor
Japanese Woman's Prayer.
Passengers arriving at Yokohama are obliged to land in small boats, as
there are no wharfs; and vessels, on account of shallow water, anchor
half a mile off shore. A small steam-tug came for us, and we found very
comfortable quarters at the Windsor Hotel, kept by an American,--a
large, well-organized establishment. The housemaids were little Japanese
men dressed in black tights, but very quick, intelligent, and desirous
to please. The servants all spoke English; indeed it is the commercial
language of the world, and there are few ports open to commerce where it
does not form the basis of all business transactions. French is the
polite or court language of many countries, and with these two tongues
at command, one can get along easily in nearly any populous region of
the globe.
When Commodore Perry, in 1854, cast anchor with his little fleet of
American men-of-war in the harbor of Yokohama, it was scarcely more than
a fishing village, but the population to-day must exceed a hundred and
thirty thousand. The space formerly covered by rice fields and vegetable
gardens is now laid out in well-built, wide thoroughfares, smoothly
macadamized and faultlessly clean and neat. The town extends along the
shore, which is level, but is backed by a half-moon of low, well-wooded
hills, among which are the private dwellings of the foreign residents,
built after the European style, on the location known as the Bluff. The
two principal hotels, the club-houses, and some consular business
residences, are located on the water-front, a wide thoroughfare known as
the Bund. A deep, broad canal surrounds the city, passing by the large
warehouses and connecting with the bay at each end, is crossed in its
course by half a dozen handsome bridges.
Ascending the bluff one gets a fine and extended view, embracing the
city on one side and Jeddo Bay on the other, with a foreground composed
of the harbor of Yokohama, where more or less shipping, representing
foreign nations, is always to be seen. In the distant west, over seventy
miles away, the white, cloud-like cone of Fujiyama can be clearly
discerned, while close at hand are the charming, villa-like residences
of the European settlers. Towards Mississippi Bay, as it is called,
numerous native gardens are to be seen, with cultivated fields of
millet, cotton, rice, and buckwheat. On getting nearer to them, one
discovers sweet potatoes, egg-plants, and a queer vegetable called the
daicum, of which great use is made by the people. It resembles an
elongated turnip, is about as large round as one's wrist, and milk
white. On the path leading round the base of the bluff were many pretty
wild-flowers, among which the blooming trefoil and the harebell were
seen intermingled with a large and handsome species of daisy. The
starwort, a great favorite with the Japanese, was met in abundance. It
will be remembered that this flower forms part of the Mikado's arms. It
was November, but the winter sleep of the flowers is brief here, and
there are said to be no days in the year when a pretty bouquet may not
be gathered in the open air. Ferns burst forth in abundance about the
bluff, and so great is the variety, that of this special plant, one is
constantly tempted to form a collection. Here and there among the
undergrowth were patches of soft, pea-green moss, of a velvety texture,
that no cunning of the loom can equal.
There is a smart, business-like aspect to everything in Yokohama; the
impression upon the stranger is that he is in a wide-awake community.
The first business of a traveler upon arriving in a new country is not
to look up its history, nor to study its geography or political economy.
He should be at least grounded in these already; he follows his natural
instincts, guided by curiosity, shrewdly watching the out-door life
about him, the dress of the people, the architecture of the houses,
modes of conveyance, mechanical operations, the fruits, flowers, and
shop-windows, and especially the manners of the women, their status as
it regards treatment, occupation, and the respect accorded to them.
Nothing is so sure a keynote or test of civilization and progress as
this. We do not look to see women receive, even in Europe, much less in
the East, such chivalric deference and respect as are shown to them in
America, but the nearer any people imitate us in this respect, the more
advanced will they be found in the other refined amenities of social
life.
In this commercial capital of Japan everything struck us as curious,
every fresh step afforded increased novelty, every new sight was a
revelation, while all about us were tangible representations of the
impossible pictures of the cheap fans, the lacquered ware of commerce,
and the school books. The partial nudity of men, women, and children,
the extremely simple architecture of the dwelling-houses, the
vegetation, the extraordinary salutations between the common people who
met each other upon the streets, the trading booths or bazars, and the
queer, toy-like articles which filled them, children flying kites in the
shape of hideous yellow monsters, each subject became a fresh study. Men
propelling vehicles like horses between the shafts, and trotting off at
a six-mile pony gait while drawing after them one or two persons with
ease, was at first a singular aspect to a stranger. So were the naked
coolies, by fours, bearing heavy loads of merchandise swung from their
shoulders upon stout bamboo poles, while they shouted a measured chant
by which to keep step. No beggars were seen on the public streets, the
people without exception seeming neat and clean in their remarkably
scanty covering.
The houses were special examples of neatness and of toy-like size, being
seldom more than twenty feet square. All persons, foreigners or natives,
took off their shoes before entering upon their delicately-lacquered or
polished floors. This we not only did out of respect to the universal
custom of the country, but because one did not feel like treading upon
those floors with nailed heels or soiled leather soles. The conviction
was forced upon us that such universal neatness and cleanliness must
extend even to the moral character of the people. A spirit of
gentleness, industry, and thrift was observable everywhere, imparting
an Arcadian atmosphere. We saw at first no domestic animals except a
tailless cat, with an attempt at that appendage, which was a decided and
ignominious failure. These creatures were frequently tied to the house
door like a dog, but for what purpose who can say? A cat confined after
that fashion elsewhere would strangle itself directly. Later on we saw
specimens of the curious lap-dogs of the country, so diminutive as to be
quite remarkable, and which were highly prized, though one could see no
beauty or attraction in their snub noses and big, bulging eyes. Great
care is taken in the breeding of these oddities, which at their
perfection are thoroughly useless. Some dwarfing process is employed, as
they do not exceed ten inches in length when full grown.
Cows' milk is unknown among the natives, though the universal drink is
tea without sugar, and by no means strong. The general food is rice and
vegetables seasoned with dried fish, but no meats. Some domestic fowls
were seen, not in abundance, and the eggs are used for domestic
purposes. Doubtless the fowls are also eaten, but the average Japanese
is satisfied with rice and vegetables, adding the inevitable cup of tea
three or four times a day. Women carry their children lashed to their
backs like American Indians, and thus encumbered perform field labor or
domestic work, without seeming in the least to realize their double
task. The elder children carry the younger ones in the same manner,
going about their play with a load on their backs that would stagger a
Yankee child. This we found to be a universal custom both in town and
country, while the great multiplicity of young children was a constant
subject of surprise. The married women shave off their eyebrows and
blacken their teeth as evidences of wifehood, the effect being hideous,
which indeed is the wife's professed object; and, like the ancient
Grecian ladies, they count their age from the time of marriage, not from
the time of birth. The ideas of strangers as to the proprieties are
sometimes severely outraged; but habit and custom make law, and men and
women bathe promiscuously in the public baths,--notwithstanding which
there is a spirit of delicacy and good breeding among them, in itself a
species of Christianity. Windows are glazed with rice paper in place of
glass, and the light is really but little impeded, though one cannot see
through the paper, all of which circumstances fix themselves on the
memory.
The pictures and authorities relative to Japanese life which one has
accepted as authentic have not quite prepared the traveler for the facts
and experiences which crowd upon him, when among this very interesting
race. The actual embodiment of the people, their manners and customs,
together with the local surroundings, are all so different from the
preconceived ideal, that everything comes with the force of a surprise.
Figure, physiognomy, costume, nudity,--one is not quite prepared for
anything; all is like a fresh revelation. Once brought face to face with
Japanese life, our fabric of anticipation tumbles to pieces like a house
of cards. Everything is unique. There is no criterion for comparison.
Nothing but personal observation quite reconciles one with the manners
and customs of a race, powerfully individualized by the isolation of
centuries. The generally accepted idea that the Japanese resemble the
Chinese in their lives and habits is entirely erroneous, the marked
differences between them extend into all the relations of life.
Especially is this the case as to courtesy and civility, qualities which
cost nothing, but which buy everything.
A visit to the curiosity bazars, or curio-shops, as they are called, is
one of the first excursions of the newly-arrived tourist. The Japanese
have quickly discovered to what European and American tastes run, and
they can manufacture antiquities as rapidly as purchasers can be found.
In the line of antique bronzes they especially excel; and as to old
china, from four to five centuries of age, it is now turned out by the
wheelbarrow load daily at Yokohama, from half-a-dozen establishments. Of
course there are some genuine pieces, though rare, and the prices
charged for such are almost prohibitory. Well made, substantial
lacquered ware takes the place of nearly all other for domestic
utensils. China and glass are far too brittle and perishable for common
use among the people. When strangers appear, the china is produced, and
the universal tea served in it.
There are two streets in Yokohama known as Honcho-dori and Benten-dori,
where the stranger will find an extensive collection of bricabrac, as
well as other fine goods. It is amusing to examine the old spears,
swords, daggers, bronzes, and astoundingly ugly carved idols. There are
stores also devoted to lacquer, china, porcelain, and satsuma ware, not
ancient, but choice, elegant and new patterns, far more desirable to our
taste than the cracked and awkward specimens held at prices equal to
their weight in gold. The former speak for themselves, the latter can be
and are constantly imitated. The reason that so many swords and daggers
are for sale, and at prices for which it would be impossible to
manufacture them, is because the army has discarded the native weapons
and adopted European arms. So the junk-dealers and curio-shops have the
former supply of the army. The Japanese sword is remarkably well
tempered, and will cut through a copper penny without turning its keen
edge, this being the usual test of its quality. In these streets there
are also some fine silk and lace stores, with many choice articles of
ladies' wear, embracing very fine specimens of native silk industry. The
Japanese trader has got the trick of asking twice as much as he is
willing finally to take for his goods, but there are also some of these
establishments where the one price system is honestly observed. As a
rule, however, all through the cities, the price at first asked for an
article need not be taken by the purchaser as any real criterion of its
value. Strangers would do well to engage the services of a resident whom
they can trust, when they go upon a shopping expedition; otherwise the
result of their bargains will probably be anything but satisfactory,
when the goods are received at home and prices considered. All buying
and selling in the East seems to be a sort of warfare, where each party
endeavors to take advantage of the other. In China it is much more so
than in Japan. Main Street, as the name indicates, is the principal
thoroughfare, quite Europeanized, mostly improved for stores and
offices, and containing at the northwest end the town hall, telegraph
and post offices.
A ride in a jinrikisha, a small man-propelled chaise, afforded us other
agreeable surprises. The loveliness of the hills and valleys, so
delicate and diminutive compared with our late Yosemite experience,
seemed more like fairy land than reality, making one crave the pencil of
an artist to depict them. In little plots adjoining the small, frail
native houses, various cultivated flowers were observed, among which
chrysanthemums and occasionally roses were to be seen; also a species of
fuchsia, bearing a bell-like blue and scarlet flower. The foliage of the
trees, and especially of the feathery bamboo groves, was very beautiful,
while the specimens of the various pines, yews, and arbor vitae were many
of them odd and new to us. The leaves and minor branches of the pines
seemed to emulate the alphabetical characters of the Japanese language,
growing up, down, and inward, after their own eccentric will. The tea
fields, mostly located upon side hills with favorable exposures, were in
full bloom, looking as though there had been a fall of snow, and the
flakes still rested on the delicate tips and branches. Far away and all
around were yellow rice fields, heavy with the milk-white grain, the
broad acres undulating gracefully beneath the pressure of the passing
breezes. The abundant wild flowers were vivid in color and fantastic in
shape, nearly all unknown to us, save now and then an azalea, an iris,
or some single-leaved representative of the rose family.
In the houses which we entered--all are open; there are no fastenings
upon dwelling-houses in Japan--we found neither chairs nor tables, the
people all sitting, eating, and sleeping upon the floors, which were as
neat and clean as a newly-laid table-cloth. The humility and deference
of all classes was quite disconcerting, for when we entered or departed
from a house, the host, hostess, and children bowed their heads until
their foreheads touched the floor. Japanese women, both in features and
general appearance, are far from prepossessing, but we were told there
were marked exceptions among the people of rank. The exclusiveness and
debased condition of the sex produces a shyness and diffidence very
prejudicial to their appreciation by strangers. The eyes of the women,
though elongated, are not nearly so much so as those of the Chinese, the
features being more open in expression, and devoid of a certain cunning
almost always observable in the face of a Chinese woman.
Japanese women give the greatest attention to dressing their ebon-black
hair. None are so poor or humble as to forget this inexpensive
ornamentation. Nature has endowed them with a profusion of covering for
the head, and they wear no other. It is not very fine, to be sure, but
always black as ink, long and heavy, and when arranged in their peculiar
style, with broad-spread puffs, like old-fashioned bow-knots, it forms a
very striking exhibition of head-gear, shining with oil and sparkling
with flashy hair-pins. When once disposed to the wearer's satisfaction,
the hair is not disturbed for several days, and is almost the only
evidence of personal vanity which they exhibit, as they wear no other
ornaments in the form of jewelry. The pillow of which they make use at
night, when sleeping, is calculated to preserve the well-greased and
plastered tresses in good order, being nothing more nor less than a
curved piece of wood upon which the neck rests rather than the head and
frightfully suggestive of an execution block.
Here and there, upon the roadside, shrines and holy niches were often
observed, approached generally by a flight of stone steps, on a
hill-side, looking very old and moss-grown. Upon these were placed
consecrated idols, or religious emblems of peculiar character,
calculated in our uninitiated eyes to provoke mirth rather than
reverence. The principal object was usually a sitting figure in stone,
wood, or metal, gilded, and more remarkable for contortion of features,
multiplicity of arms, and obesity of body, than for any other
characteristic, visible or symbolical. Fertility of soil was manifest
everywhere, each square foot of earth bearing its tribute of rice,
millet, or vegetables, the rice crop predominating. The fertilizing
process is strictly observed and appreciated here, being the enrichment
of the soil almost universally applied in liquid form.
A trip to Kamakura, fifteen or eighteen miles from Yokohama, and near
where is located the wonderful statue of Dai-Butsu, was one affording
much satisfaction. We traveled by jinrikishas, the men drawing us
thither, one passenger in each vehicle, in three hours and a half, and
back again towards night in the same length of time. The road is mostly
located along the sea-coast, or rather in sight of it, so that in many
places the ocean comes in to give additional interest and beauty to the
scenery of green valleys, well-wooded hills, and richly tilled land,
Fujiyama, the one volcanic mountain of Japan, nearly always in sight.
Rarely is such rich and varied vegetation to be seen, combined with
beautiful outlines of hill-side and mountain top, here covered with an
infinite variety of firs. The ancient town of Kamakura was once the
political capital of the country, but is now composed of only a few
straggling tea-houses or small inns, and half a dozen native dwellings.
Here is the famous and deeply interesting Shinto temple of Hachiman,
one of the deified heroes of Japan. Some of the trees which cluster
about it are a thousand years old; while within the structure are
historical emblems, rich, rare, and equally old, composed of warlike
implements, sovereign's gifts, ecclesiastical relics, bronzes of
priceless value, and the like. Time consecrates; and what is gray with
age becomes religious, says Schiller. The temple is built upon a lofty
plateau, reached by climbing many broad stone steps, slippery,
moss-grown, and of centuries in age. Here was pointed out a fine, lofty
specimen of the umbrella tree, of the pine family, with broad leaves of
a deep green. The general form was conical, with branches and leaves so
dense as to hide the stem.
Less than two miles from this temple is situated the great Buddha image,
composed of gold, silver, and copper, forming a bronze figure of great
size, nearly sixty feet in height, within which a hundred persons may
stand together, the interior being fitted as a small chapel. A vast
number of little scraps of paper, bearing Japanese characters, fluttered
from the interior walls of the image, plastered there by pious pilgrims
as prayers to the presiding deity. As the door was opened for us to
enter and was closed again, these scraps rustled in the agitated
atmosphere like an army of white bats, producing a puzzling effect until
our eyes became accustomed to the dim light, and the cause was apparent.
This famous and sacred figure is certainly as remarkable as the Sphinx,
which so gloomily presides over the sandy desert lying at the feet of
the great Pyramids. As a work of art, perhaps its only merit consists in
the calm dignity of expression and repose of features which are so
colossal. It is many centuries old,--certainly six hundred years; and
how such an enormous amount of bronze metal was ever cast, or how set up
in such perfect shape when finished, no one can say. We are told that it
was formerly covered by a temple, long since mouldered to dust; but it
is certainly none the less effective and impressive, as it now sits
surrounded by the natural scenery and the thick woods. Were not the
groves God's first temples? Guide-books have not yet invaded the far
East, or we should be told how many square inches of bronze is contained
in the Dai-Butsu figure, and how many ounces it weighs; statistics
concerning which we felt a most sublime indifference, while we gazed
upon its combined and wonderful effect.
The glorious old temple of Hachiman, already spoken of, is a sort of
Japanese Mecca for pilgrims from all parts of the country; though when
we were there, wandering among its lofty and sacred groves, wending our
way over its well-worn stone steps and causeways, by its lotus-ponds and
heavy-eaved shrines, there were no other visitors. A strangely solemn
silence impressed us, until our very voices seemed to be echoed back
with a mysterious significance. The shaded and pleasant paths are kept
in perfect order, swept clear of every falling leaf or broken twig,
showing that care and a sense of responsibility is not wanting. Although
these temples are built of wood, so carefully have they been kept, they
appear as fresh and bright to-day as though a single decade only had
passed since they were finished, instead of a thousand years. A large
body of priests reside upon the spot, and are in constant attendance,
supported by the offerings of the semi-annual pilgrims who come from the
south in large bodies, as well as by the contributions of devout
visitors from neighboring cities.
It is well to mention in this connection that the prevailing religions
of Japan are Shinto and Buddhism, each, however, being sub-divided into
many sects. The Shinto may be said to be indigenous to the country, and
is also the official religion, being largely a form of hero worship;
successful warriors are canonized as martyrs are in the Roman Catholic
church. The Buddhist faith is borrowed from the Chinese, and was
introduced about the sixth century. There may be any diversity of creeds
among a people, extending even to idolatry. Creeds never came from
heaven, but morality is the same in Christian or heathen lands, because
it is of God. It is singular that two nations located so near to each
other, both of Asiatic race, and with so many important features in
common, should have for two thousand years maintained a policy of entire
isolation towards each other, though they are now good friends as well
as neighbors. This is more remarkable when we remember that a thousand
years before the Japanese borrowed from China their written characters,
religion, and philosophy. As to the language of Japan, it is composed,
as popularly written, of the Chinese and Japanese combined,--the fifty
Chinese characters being so intimately interwoven with the original
Japanese as to form a medley of the two. Modern authors freely use both
in the same sentences, and indeed the characters of both languages often
appear in the same line.
It is rather deductions than detail which we propose to record in these
pages, and though many excursions were made, a minute description of
them would prove tedious. Places were pointed out to us here and there,
where large and populous cities once stood in eligible spots, but where
no ruins marked the place. A dead and buried city in Europe, or even in
India, leaves rude but almost indestructible remains to mark where great
communities once built temples and monuments, and lived and thrived,
like those examples of mutability, Memphis, Paestum, Cumae, or Delhi, but
not so in Japan. At first it seemed strange that a locality where half a
million of people had made their homes within the period of a century
should now present the aspect only of fertile fields of grain. But when
it is remembered of what ephemeral material the natives build their
dwellings, namely, of light, thin wood and paper, utter disappearance
ceases to be a surprise. It is a curious fact that this people,
contemporary with Greece and Rome at their zenith, who have only reared
cities of wood and temples of lacquer, have outlived the classic nations
whose half-ruined monuments are our choicest models. The Hellenic and
Latin races have passed away, but Japan still remains without a dynastic
change and with an inviolate country.
One of our excursions carried us to the Hakone Pass. Miyanoshita is a
little hamlet, lost as it were among the hills, yet famous for its
beautiful scenery and natural hot-baths, accessible only by a difficult
mountain-pass which, having become belated, we ascended by torch-light.
It proved to be quite a climb, especially under the adverse
circumstances of a heavy rain, which impeded the narrow path with
miniature torrents; but with the advent of a clear, bright morning which
followed, we looked back upon the long, laborious, and even painful
struggle up the steep and narrow defile, as a mere episode to heighten
after enjoyment, and so it seems now in the memory. Happy the provision
of nature which leads us to recall more vividly the sunshine than the
shadows of our experience!
Miyanoshita is a very lovely spot, a picture of complete isolation and
repose. Here a good hotel, almost American in its excellence and
comfort, is to be found, replete with cleanliness, and surrounded by
ornamental grounds after the Japanese style. There were rockeries, over
which tumbled mountain rivulets; ponds with gigantic gold and silver
fish, which seemed to be always hungry and inclined to breed a famine by
eating any amount of bread; pretty miniature bridges spanned water-ways
and formed foot-paths about the grounds. There were novel flowering
plants, and some remarkable specimens of dwarf trees, over which the
natives expend endless care and labor, together with examples of curious
variegated leaves, one of which had zigzag golden stripes upon a dark
green base. This hotel among the mountains was two stories high, an
unusual thing for a Japanese house; but it had only rice-paper windows,
and thin sliding panels in place of doors or partitions. If desired, a
whole story could be thrown into one apartment, or subdivided at
pleasure into cozy little sleeping-rooms. All material, all food, was
brought hither up that pitiless path on the backs of mountaineers.
People who do not feel able, or who are not inclined to go up the pass
on foot, are carried up in kagos, as was the case with two of our little
party. The kago is a sort of palanquin borne on the shoulders of four
stout men, the path being impracticable even for mules; but were it less
steep and wider, the Japanese have no mules.
When we came down that five-mile reach by daylight, we saw and realized
all the beauties which had been hidden from us under the inky cloak of
night during the toiling ascent. The scenery was lovely, sometimes
grand, often fantastic; and for the first time we heard the clear
ringing notes of the little Japanese nightingale. Watching the
exquisitely feathered bamboos in green clusters, camellias on trees
thirty feet high, the tall, slim, but graceful pines, the rocks fringed
with lichens and mosses, mingled with the rarest of ferns, fresh and
bright after the rain, kept the eye busy with delight. Now and then we
gathered the delicate maiden-hair ferns for a backing, and made bouquets
from the white, blue, and pink wild flowers that bloomed by the wayside.
They were not fragrant, though among them were blue-eyed violets, but
they were beautiful as they were frail. Deep gorges lined the way, here
and there relieved by sunny slopes of soft, bright green; while the
music of a tumbling cascade, hidden by the dense wood, occasionally fell
upon the ear. The sweet morning air was both a physical and mental
tonic. All was so enjoyable, so inspiring, that the ladies broke forth
in carols like the very birds among the branches.
After reaching the foot of the mountain we found our jinrikisha men,
each with his little chaise, ready to trot off for Yokohama, about
thirty-five miles distant. Along the road, as we progressed, evidences
met the eye of fine agricultural results; the fields and meadows were
cultivated to the highest point, entirely by hand. No plows are used;
every foot of the soil is spaded by men and women. We were told that it
was rather late in the season for the cotton to remain unharvested, but
the thrifty fields showed us an abundant crop of the yellow-white
vegetable fleece, in little balls like Marshal Niel roses. The absence
of domestic cattle was conspicuous. A few cows and sheep, browsing here
and there, would have completed a delightful picture of rural life.
Occasionally, when the men stopped at a wayside tea-house for a cup of
their simple beverage, the only stimulant or refreshment they desired,
we walked on in advance of them, observing the snowy head of Fujiyama,
the pride of Japan, and which every native artist is sure to introduce
into his pictures, no matter where located.
As we passed near a humble cottage, a youthful mother was observed at
play with her little nude, brown baby. It lay upon its back on the green
sward with wild flowers clutched in either tiny fist, itself only a
blossom of humanity, crowing and laughing at its mother's pranks, as she
kneeled over it. It was difficult to say which exhibited the more
pleasure in the occupation. The Japanese become mothers frequently at
fourteen, and here was one who was certainly no older, as brown and
nearly as naked as her baby. We had surprised her at this maternal game,
and she rose to her feet folding her hands before her, while looking
half abashed at the passing strangers. It was a pretty tableau.
As we dashed over the smooth road at a lively pace the glowing sunset
painted scarlet the white turbaned head of the distant mountain, while
it bronzed and gilded the clouds in the west. Opal fires burned all over
the sky, as the twilight threw its amber hues about us, and presently
the men halted, each taking out a funny little painted paper lantern
from under the seat, and lighted a candle inside of it, which they hung
on the end of the shafts. We went on then along the narrow way in a
procession of six jinrikishas, the men on the full jump; for the
approaching lights of the city inspired them to extra exertion, and they
shouted cries of encouragement and emulation to each other, and pressed
forward with increased speed. Altogether it was a very characteristic
scene, as we rolled into Yokohama at a mad gallop that night, returning
from the Hakone Pass.
As a rule, one has little patience with the foreign jugglers who annoy
and importune travelers to witness performances of snake-charming,
sleight of hand, and deceptive tricks generally, to the sound of a fife
and drum, but we witnessed one exhibition at Yokohama in the open air,
which was remarkable, not for any mystery about it, but as showing to
what degree of adroitness and skill the human hands may be trained by
patient practice. The performer was a middle-aged man who had just
closed a series of the stereotyped tricks before the British Consulate.
It was a new exhibition to us, though one that is well known, and which
we saw indifferently imitated afterwards in China. As has been said it
was out-of-doors, but the air was perfectly still. The performer took a
sheet of thin white paper, and tearing it so as to obtain two small
square bits, each an inch and a half in size, he rapidly twisted them so
as to rudely represent butterflies, and tossed them into the air.
Instantly drawing a fan from his girdle and spreading it, he kept them
suspended by its action in so remarkable a manner that it seemed as
though they must possess individual vitality. They were not permitted
to separate any great distance from each other, but the delicate force
of the fan was so scientifically applied as to guide them sometimes
from, and sometimes towards each other, now fluttering aloft as though
pursuing some object, then turning together as in a loving embrace, and
again separating, so that it was a marvel how the same hand could impart
the dual motion. Presently they were made to light upon an object close
at hand, the arm of one of the group of spectators, then dexterously to
rise again. But, most difficult of all, they would rest for an instant
on the tip of the fan itself, until promptly aided by the performer's
breath, the bits of paper were again launched into the air to go on with
their gyrations. The adroit performer never for one moment took his eyes
off the artificial insects: it would have broken the charm at once. In
using the fan, the juggler seemed scarcely to exert the muscles of the
arm at all. The effort came from the wrist, as an adroit swordsman
handles his weapon. Years of patient practice must have been required to
enable that man to impart vitality to bits of paper in such an
extraordinary manner.
Tokio, the political capital of Japan, is situated about twenty miles
from Yokohama, and November 3d, being the Mikado's birthday, we went
thither to see him review the local troops. A large field near the
citadel was chosen for the display, and all Tokio turned out to witness
it, forming about as conglomerate a mass of humanity as can be conceived
of; brilliant in its array of brightly dressed and painted women, not
ladies, for Tokio, like Paris, has its _demi-monde_. The number of
babies present was amazing. There were young mothers with their infants
strapped to their backs, and old women with their grandchildren
fastened to theirs. Each young boy and girl of nine or ten years had a
baby brother or sister secured to his or her back, and there were men
with babies in their arms, though this is unusual in Japan. The infantry
among the spectators outnumbered the infantry in the field. No matter
where one goes, on the coast or inland, the extraordinary number of
young children forms a marked feature.
There were about five thousand men in line, representing the several
arms of the service, all dressed in European costume, and mostly
officered by foreigners. The Mikado reviewed the troops on horseback in
due form, and made a very good appearance accompanied by a
well-appointed suite. The military display, being conducted upon
imported ideas, was very like such a ceremony in America, save that the
cavalry was small in numbers, riding upon the merest caricatures of
horses,--ponies about the size of Newfoundland dogs; but what they
lacked in size they made up in viciousness, so that it was about all the
gallant cavalry could do to keep in their saddles. Indeed, many of them
came to grief, spread out like galvanized bullfrogs upon the greensward,
while their horses scampered off the field.
Tokio must contain over half a million of people. There is said to be
over a million, but this may be doubted, though geographically it covers
more ground than London. It is well laid out, with broad streets and
good roads, and has a thorough police arrangement, having adopted
numerous European and American ideas. The city is intersected by many
canals and river courses, one bridge especially attracting our
attention, the Bridge of Japan, which is to this country what the
golden mile-stone was in the Forum at Rome: all distances throughout the
empire are measured from it. The review having taken place in the early
morning, we had a large portion of the day to visit places of interest
in the town. Among these was the renowned temple of Shiba, which is over
six centuries in age, composed of numerous kiosk-like buildings, looking
more like immense lacquered jewel cases than anything else. There are
many broad walks and courts, and stone pillars for lanterns, lofty trees
and sacred tombs, for here lie buried most of the by-gone Tycoons. The
temple portion of this vast space contains a great amount of gold,
silver, bronze, and carved articles, the intrinsic value of which
aggregates millions of dollars. Where could such an accumulation of
wealth come from? History knows nothing of the importation of the
precious metals, though it is true they are found in more or less
abundance all over the country. Copper of the best and purest quality is
a native product, the exportation of which is prohibited, and mining for
the precious metals is carried on to but a very limited extent. The
temple of Shiba is located near the centre of the population, occupying
many acres of ground, walled in and shaded by a thick growth of trees,
whose branches are black with thousands of undisturbed rooks and
pigeons. The principal characteristic of the architecture is its
boldness of relief, overhanging roofs, heavy brackets and carvings. The
doors are of bronze, in bas-relief.
After visiting the temple of Shiba we took jinrikishas to that section
of the suburbs known as Atago-Yama, a hill from which we were promised a
fine view of the city. Here a steep flight of a hundred stone steps
were ascended, which led to the summit, where were found some
tea-booths, tended by fancifully dressed Japanese girls, and a small
temple with sacred birds and horses. The temple required a strong effort
of the imagination to invest it with the least interest, but the view
from this point was fine. A couple of miles southeasterly was the broad,
glistening Bay of Tokio, and round the other points of the compass was
the imperial city itself, covering a plain of some eight miles square,
divided by water-ways, bridges, and clumps of graceful trees, looming
conspicuously above the low dwellings. The whole was as level as a
checker-board, but yet there was relief to the picture in the fine open
gardens, the high, peaked gable roofs of the temples, and the broad,
white roadways.
At a subsequent visit to the city we attended a fair held in the grounds
surrounding one of the many temples of Tokio, giving it a half-secular,
half-religious character; but the whole exhibition, as to any coherent
purpose, was quite incomprehensible to a foreigner. Enormous paper
lanterns covered with blue and yellow dragons, and other impossible
creatures, with small bodies and big heads, hung over the grounds in all
directions. We were told that these would be lighted at night, and
glaring fire would be seen coming out of the eyes of these dragons! The
temple was gaudily decorated for the occasion with bold and vulgar
caricatures, mingled most incongruously, the sacred with the profane.
The priests were propitiating the idols inside the temple with drums,
fifes, and horns, while the pleasure and trading booths were doing a
thriving business outside. The confusion was very great all over the
crowded inclosure. Old and young men were flying kites, some were
shooting at a mark with bows and arrows, and some were beating tom-toms
vigorously.
There was a show of wax figures in one of the booths, illustrating a
terrible murder, and another of figures constructed of flowers, similar
to immortelles. These last were certainly curious, and with swords and
spears placed in their hands were supposed to represent warriors of the
bravest type. Japanese art has much of the Chinese element in it, and is
apt to culminate in dragons with half human countenances. There were a
number of these graceful beings in the show. There were also inclosures
where dwarf trees in pots were exhibited, some actually bearing natural
sized fruit, like a baby with a man's hat on its head; beside these were
singular specimens of blooming plants. In another inclosure were strange
birds: green pigeons, Chinese pheasants, and parrots that looked
artificially painted, so very odd was their plumage. There were cakes,
candy, and fruit for sale, and men, women, and children devouring them.
In another department near at hand, there was exhibited china ware and
Japanese toys and curiosities, and our party "invested." The guide could
not make us understand what all this meant, but it was a "fair," that
was plain enough, and he gave it the English name. The natives were very
much in earnest, and worked hard to achieve a good time. At such an
exhibition and miscellaneous out-door gathering nearly anywhere else
there would have been sure to be many individuals present more or less
under the influence of spirituous liquors, and a squad of policemen
would naturally be in attendance. Here there was not the least evidence
of inebriety or of quarrelsomeness, and certainly no police were
present. There was a child-like satisfaction depicted on the faces of
the crowd, showing that the people were very easily controlled and
amused.
As we stood watching this gay and singular scene, a sad-faced Japanese
woman, of a youthful figure, passed up to the temple, without heeding
any one of the crowd about her, and pinned a small scrap of paper on one
side of the altar, among many other similar tokens. Then we wondered
what her prayer might be, as she retired quietly from the spot. Was it a
petition for forgiveness of sins, or asking consolation for some great
bereavement? Be it what it might, tendered sincerely, though in that
blind and simple form, it doubtless won as certain response as the
formal devotion of the most pronounced Christian.