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[Illustration: Cover art: THE TORII OF THE TEMPLE]
[Frontispiece: OUTSIDE A TEA-HOUSE]
PEEPS AT MANY LANDS
JAPAN
BY
JOHN FINNEMORE
WITH TWELVE FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR
BY
ELLA DU CANE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN
II. BOYS AND GIRLS IN JAPAN
III. BOYS AND GIRLS IN JAPAN (_continued_)
IV. THE JAPANESE BOY
V. THE JAPANESE GIRL
VI. IN THE HOUSE
VII. IN THE HOUSE (_continued_)
VIII. A JAPANESE DAY
IX. A JAPANESE DAY (_continued_)
X. JAPANESE GAMES
XI. THE FEAST OF DOLLS AND THE FEAST OF FLAGS
XII. A FARTHING'S WORTH OF FUN
XIII. KITE-FLYING
XIV. FAIRY STORIES
XV. TEA-HOUSES AND TEMPLES
XVI. TEA-HOUSES AND TEMPLES (_continued_)
XVII. THE RICKSHAW-MAN
XVIII. IN THE COUNTRY
XIX. IN THE COUNTRY (_continued_)
XX. THE POLICEMAN AND THE SOLDIER
XXI. TWO GREAT FESTIVALS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
BY ELLA DU CANE
OUTSIDE A TEA-HOUSE
_Sketch-Map of Japan_
THE LITTLE NURSE
THE WRITING LESSON
GOING TO THE TEMPLE
A JAPANESE HOUSE
OFFERING TEA TO A GUEST
FIGHTING TOPS
THE TOY SHOP
A BUDDHIST SHRINE
PEACH TREES IN BLOSSOM
THE FEAST OF FLAGS
THE TORII OF THE TEMPLE
[Illustration: SKETCH-MAP OF JAPAN]
[Illustration: THE LITTLE NURSE]
CHAPTER I
THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN
Far away from our land, on the other side of the world, lies a group of
islands which form the kingdom of Japan. The word "Japan" means the "Land
of the Rising Sun," and it is certainly a good name for a country of the
Far East, the land of sunrise.
The flag of Japan, too, is painted with a rising sun which sheds its beams
on every hand, and this flag is now for ever famous, so great and wonderful
have been the victories in which it has been borne triumphant over Russian
arms.
In some ways the Japanese are fond of comparing themselves with their
English friends and allies. They point out that Japan is a cluster of
islands off the coast of Asia, as Britain is a cluster of islands off the
coast of Europe. They have proved themselves, like the English, brave and
clever on the sea, while their troops have fought as nobly as British
soldiers on the land. They are fond of calling themselves the "English of
the East," and say that their land is the "Britain of the Pacific."
The rise of Japan in becoming one of the Great Powers of the world has been
very sudden and wonderful. Fifty years ago Japan lay hidden from the world;
she forbade strangers to visit the country, and very little was known of
her people and her customs.
Her navy then consisted of a few wooden junks; to-day she has a fleet of
splendid ironclads, handled by men who know their duties as well as English
seamen. Her army consisted of troops armed with two swords and carrying
bows and arrows; to-day her troops are the admiration of the world, armed
with the most modern weapons, and, as foes, to be dreaded by the most
powerful nations.
Fifty years ago Japan was in the purely feudal stage. Her great native
Princes were called Daimios. Each had a strong castle and a private army
of his own. There were ceaseless feuds between these Princes and constant
fighting between their armies of samurai, as their followers were called.
Japan was like England at the time of our War of the Roses: family quarrels
were fought out in pitched battle. All that has now gone. The Daimios have
become private gentlemen; the armies of samurai have been disbanded, and
Japan is ruled and managed just like a European country, with judges, and
policemen, and law-courts, after the model of Western lands.
When the Japanese decided to come out and take their place among the great
nations of the world, they did not adopt any half-measures; they simply
came out once and for all. They threw themselves into the stream of modern
inventions and movements with a will. They have built railways and set up
telegraph and telephone lines. They have erected banks and warehouses,
mills and factories. They have built bridges and improved roads. They have
law-courts and a Parliament, to which the members are elected by the
people, and newspapers flourish everywhere.
Japan is a very beautiful country. It is full of fine mountains, with
rivers leaping down the steep slopes and dashing over the rocks in snowy
waterfalls. At the foot of the hills are rich plains and valleys, well
watered by the streams which rush down from the hills. But the mountains
are so many and the plains are so few that only a small part of the land
can be used for growing crops, and this makes Japan poor. Its climate is
not unlike ours in Great Britain, but the summer is hotter, and the winter
is in some parts very cold. Many of the mountains are volcanoes. Some of
these are still active, and earthquakes often take place. Sometimes these
earthquakes do terrible harm. The great earthquake of 1871 killed 10,000
people, injured 20,000, and destroyed 130,000 houses.
The highest mountain of Japan also is the most beautiful, and it is greatly
beloved by the Japanese, who regard it as a sacred height. Its name is
Fujisan, or Fusi-Yama, and it stands near the sea and the capital city
of Tokyo. It is of most beautiful shape, an almost perfect cone, and it
springs nearly 13,000 feet into the air. From the sea it forms a most
superb and majestic sight. Long before a glimpse can be caught of the shore
and the city, the traveller sees the lofty peak, crowned with a glittering
crest of snow, rising in lonely majesty, with no hint of the land on which
it rests. The Japanese have a great love of natural beauty, and they adore
Fujisan. Their artists are never tired of painting it, and pictures of it
are to be found in the most distant parts of the land.